Q. I want him to do some enviormentally friendly cool roofing.

A. -- Make sure they are licenced and insured. -- Check with the Better Business Bearue to see if anyone has complained about them. -- Look around your neighborhood for roofs that look new and ask them what contractor they used. -- A reputable roofing contractor will not be afraid to tell you of a couple jobs he has just done. Ask these people if they were satisfied with the company. after that, make sure you ask for some good references. a former customer will be really truthful

Q. I'm operating under the assumption that all dentists are not equal - that some are more skilled and more ethical. How do I go about choosing the best dentist? What I mean by skill should be obvious. What I mean by ethical is someone who will not tell the patient that he or she needs an unnecessary service / someone who will not overcharge for their services / etc. Do those dentists who charge less for their services possess less skill? If a practice has multiple dentists, are you able to request a specific one?

A. Ask your friends who there Dentist is and would they recommend them

Q. My roof was damaged by the hurricane and I have to get it fix. I found 3 contractors who made the free estimation for my roof but I don't know wich one to choose. What are the things that I have to consider before choosing the right contractor? Each one of them give me a different price, one of them ask me for 11000$,second one 8000$ and third one 9000$. My insurance company send me a cheque of 9500 and if i exceed I will have to pay the rest from my pocket. I know I want to make a good choice. So i don't want to get the less expensive one because the quality of my roof might be like crapp and at the same time too I don't wanna have to pay too much when the quality could be as good as the other one but a lil bit cheaper. So I really need some suggestion on this one. Before choosing the right one, what are the things that I should look at?Exemple how many years they been in business? ect.

A. Roofing contractor prices vary, sometimes for reasons you may not know about. You have every right to ask the contractors for references, that is the names of people they have done roofs for already, and you can call these people and find out what they think of the contractors work. You may find the 8000 contractor has just as many happy clients as the 11000 contractor, does just as good a job, and if so, you can have him do the work and pocket the difference from the insurance company. Just a few phone calls, and perhaps a few drive by looks at their work, could eliminate your doubts. Checking references is likely to be the most helpful thing for you to do. You can also call your local lumber yards for their opinions, if they will give them to you. Also, look at the bids to make sure they are all going to do the same things, i.e., take off and dispose of the old roofing, put down new plywood, use the same quality roofing materials, etc.

Q. We are looking to hire a carpet cleaning service to remove pet stains and smells from our carpet. What should we look for in choosing a carpet cleaning service.

A. You want someone with a truck mount rotary steam cleaning machine. You want the cleaner to be IICRC certified. You can use the IICRC referal service on there website www.iicrc.org

Q. I am going to get my kitchen remodeled where do you start? Does a contractor have to come first? If so then what any help would be great. And Thanks

A. If you are going to use a contractor, then your first step is to get 3 or 4 of them out there to bid the job. They will take measurements and discuss various options with you, then get back to you with a proposal. Your next step would be choosing a contractor based on those proposals. A good rule of thumb is to go middle of the road. Don't choose the highest guy and don't choose the lowest guy. And make sure the scheduling works for you and that you get a time table in writing, and cost over-runs must be approved by you beforehand. After you choose a contractor, the rest of the steps (permits, demo, etc.) are up to him. You don't have to make all decisions beforehand. The proposal will usually have budgets alloted for various things (cabinets, fixtures, tile, etc.) and you can shop and choose within those budgets while construction is started.

Q. If the station wasn't complete there had to have been thousands of independent (non military) contractors aboardd when it blew, right?

A. As a independent contractor i can tell ya, personal politics play a big role when choosing a job

Q. Installed with trim and stools in new orleans

A. I asked that same question a few years ago. The bids I received (nine) varied a great deal in cost. I recommend spending the time getting estimates (free ones) and choosing the contractor of your choice.

Q. When your looking in the yellow pages what add do you call? the big one, the little one? Does text matter? Ever get a door hanger from an electrician that was working in your neighborhood? if you did how would you respond to it? Ever looked for any type of contractor on-line? What do you think of newspaper advertising? and most importantly what type of text is apealing to you in any form of text advertising? In this case opinions are better then facts. Would you call off a radio or tv add? Besides price what is the most important factor when choosing one electrician over another?

A. The best way I've found is to ask friends who they have used. Word of mouth is usually pretty reliable. If a contractor does a good job for me, I get a few business cards from them when I give them the check. If they do a substandard job, I let people know about that as well. Hope this helps.