You are going to need to hire a lot of different people when you are your own general contractor. We call those people sub-contractors. Depending on what you decide to do yourself, you may be hiring carpenters, painters, excavators, plumbers, electricians, designers, surveyors, consultants, roofers, and a whole lot more.
This page is mostly geared towards people who live near me (Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, and maybe Utah, Nevada, and California) because I will be sharing with you the people that I hired after shopping around for months.
I spent weeks hiring each subcontractor. First I googled the trade for as many people or companies that I could find in the surrounding area. I made sure to call at least one from each of the cities around me in case one city was considerably less expensive than another. I asked anyone I could get ahold of for a quote. Then once I had as many quotes as I could get, I would compare the prices. I also paid close attention to the service people were offering.
- Did they get back to me quickly?
- Did they answer all my questions?
- Were they patient when I needed extra help?
- Did they have suggestions or point out problems I may need to fix?
Those are just a few of the questions I asked myself when narrowing it down. Then I would call or email the top two sub-contractors with a few final questions. For the most part, it has been easy to tell who is trying to help me and who doesn’t really care to try.
While I have been happy with every sub-contractor I have hired so far, there have been a few that have absolutely blown my socks off with how helpful they have been. I will make it very clear to you which ones those are once I have a chance to dedicate posts to them. For now, here are the extra special people I have hired that gave me permission to put their names on this site, and please please don’t hesitate to name drop guys! Let them know the Farmer’s Wife sent you. Help me, help you, and help them!
House Plan Designer: Vyacheslav construction Slavik 989-6035 David (son) 989-8326 ulyanchukv
Speak to David he speaks better English, nice, helpful, patient,
Septic System Designer: Mark Nelson of MCN consulting 509-304-9062 mcn.ellensburg@gmail.com Ellensburg, Washington
Prompt, nice, honest, problem solver, best price
Window Supplier: Perfection Glass 509-586-1177 Tri-Cities, WA
Excellent service, went above and beyond what they needed to, delivered on a Saturday because I needed my windows right then, and dropped their price 10% to meet my budget!
Ask for Cesar and mention the Farmer’s Wife sent you for 10% off your window order too!
Electrician: Elite Electric- Travis 801-550-8244 Herriman, UT
He is definitely a perfectionist and for that I am grateful. We were so glad to have his help answering questions and helping us figure things out. This was a huge electrical job and it would have taken us weeks to finish it without him.
Hvac: Apollo Heating and Air- ask for KC 509-440-2348 Tri-Cities, WA
Where do I even start …. Showed up early every day. I never saw them “taking breaks”. Incredibly respectful, used good language, turned down the music when I came in, etc. Did multiple “extra” jobs that weren’t even part of our deal. Also the most IN-expensive for the high quality brand we wanted in our home. They have other locations so call even if you are not local.
If you live anywhere near these people/companies be sure to call them first. I hired them because they proved themselves to be the best option at the best price.
Happy hiring!
~Farmer’s Wife
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Moriah says
I don’t live in WA anymore but I grew up in the tricities so to see walla-walla and the tricities listed here just makes me so happy. Just thought I would share that with you ?
Moriah says
Err… Not walla walla, Moses lake! Sorry!
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Oh cool! I hope you are enjoying where you live now but central Washington will always be the best place on earth! 😉
Marje says
I don’t live in the area. Where did you go to find your contractors?
Thanks
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Searched online for my area, asked other people who were building or had built in my area, asked other sub contractors, looked in the phone book.
JHorton says
Newer to the site so maybe I just missed this list…but do you have a general list of who to hire?
Ex:Framer, Electrical, plumbing, foundation, Sheetrock, painter….?
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Welcome! I do not have that list right now, but I will put it on the “to-do” list! Sorry about that.