Many people, when they first move to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are pleasantly surprised to discover that when their home for sale in Rosedale is sold and their new Pittsburgh house is all paid for, they have a bit left over in the budget. A good use for this overage is having some renovations done to your Pittsburgh house to make it suit your needs better. However, the problem becomes: you're in a brand new city, you don't know anyone, and you need to hire a builder to do the work. How do you find one? How will you know who's the best? We can help.

Step 1: Better Business Bureau

The Yellow Pages for Pittsburgh have over 2,000 entries for construction contractors. Over 700 of them specialize in work on single family residential homes. That's too many to vet on your own. You need to speak to someone who knows their reputations. All construction franchises worth hearing about will be listed and vetted by the Better Business Bureau. They can give you a list of recommended contractors. Visit them online at http://pittsburgh.bbb.org or visit their office on 400 Holiday Drive (Suite 220).

Step 2: Phone

Once you have a short list of likely prospects (no more than 15 or 20 or it becomes unmanageable) you can start vetting them for yourself. It's all well and good that they come recommended by customers on Bayview Eglinton in Toronto but this is your house and you should be satisfied. Start by phoning each company and doing a brief interview of their representative, asking specifically what projects they have done, how long it has taken them, and what their rates are.

Step 3: References

One of the most important things to ask when you phone the contractor is if they have a few references you can check. If the company is not willing to give you a phone number or email of a customer who was satisfied with their work and would recommend them, you should be concerned. It's not enough to get the reference. You need to call them and check for yourself, and perhaps even make a trip out to their place to look at the horse fence the company installed for them. This is the best way to make sure you don't end up as one of the poor saps on Holmes on Homes.

Step 4: Estimates

Now that you've determined they're all legitimate, trustworthy contractors, it's time to find the one who can give you the best deal. Call each company and set up an appointment for them to come in and inspect the wire duct you want replaced and give you an estimate on how much it would cost to fix. Most companies do estimates for free.