The urge to improve your home is just about as irresistible as the urge to improve your spouse. But home improvement is both more likely to succeed and better protected by law. The legal protections are a good thing, given what can go wrong. Consider the possibilities:

• The contractor you hire to add a second story to your living room takes your deposit, tears off the roof, but is too busy with other jobs to make further progress.
• The kitchen remodeler brings in three subcontractors to do the work, then takes your check and skips town without paying them.
• The new swimming pool leaks. The contractor blames the plumber, and neither is willing to foot the bill for digging out the pipes.

A major remodeling brings enough head-aches without trouble from an unreliable contractor. To make sure the project goes as smoothly as possible, take time to choose a reputable contractor and make sure you have a complete contract. This chapter will explain your legal rights, what to put in the contract, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Subsections

1. Legal Protections
2. Hiring a Contractor
3. Troubleshooting the Project