Choosing a contractor is one of the highest-stakes decisions in any construction project — and it’s often made on gut feeling, a referral, or the lowest number on a page. None of those tell you whether a builder can actually protect your budget and your timeline. Here are five questions worth asking before you sign anything.
1. “Is design handled in-house, or outsourced?”
A contractor with in-house designers can move faster and catch constructability issues earlier, because the people drawing the building and the people building it are on the same team from day one. When design is fully outsourced, information has to pass through more hands — and more handoffs mean more room for gaps between what’s drawn and what’s buildable.
2. “What percentage of your clients are repeat business?”
This single number tells you more than almost any other metric. A contractor whose clients keep coming back has, by definition, delivered enough times to earn trust. If a builder can’t speak to a strong repeat-client rate, ask why.
3. “What construction methods do you have direct experience with?”
Wood frame, pre-cast concrete, pre-engineered steel, masonry — each comes with different cost, timeline, and performance tradeoffs. A contractor who only knows one method will steer every project toward it, whether or not it’s actually the best fit for your building.
4. “How do you handle change orders?”
This is where budgets quietly blow up. Ask specifically how the contractor manages scope gaps discovered mid-project, and how often that happens on their typical job. A builder engaged early in design — through design-build or CM delivery — should have measurably fewer change orders than one working strictly from a tendered bid package.
5. “Can I see projects similar to mine?”
A contractor’s general portfolio matters less than their track record on your specific building type. Industrial plant? Institutional facility? Multi-family residential? Ask to see comparable work, not just a highlight reel.
The Pattern Behind All Five Questions
Every one of these questions is really asking the same thing: does this contractor operate as a true partner from the start, or as a vendor executing someone else’s plan after the fact? The answer shapes everything from your final cost to how smoothly your project actually runs.
Ready to Ask Us These Questions?
Three Way Builders has been answering them since 1982 — with in-house design, direct experience across wood frame, concrete, steel, and masonry construction, and a client base where more than half are repeat business. Get in touch to talk through your next project.