We are going to write this the way we would explain it to a friend, which means being direct about how our own industry goes wrong.
Almost nobody gets hurt by a contractor who tried hard and built it slightly imperfectly. People get hurt by deposits on work that never started, by uninsured injuries on their property, by unpermitted work discovered at closing, and by bids that were never comparable in the first place.
Every one of those is preventable before you sign.
Licensing, and why it is confusing here
Colorado does not license general contractors at the state level. Licensing happens at the local jurisdiction — city or county — and requirements differ across the metro. A contractor properly licensed in one city may not be registered in the next one over.
So the useful question is not "are you licensed?" It is: "are you licensed to pull this permit in this jurisdiction, and will you be the one pulling it?"
That second half matters. If a contractor asks you to pull the permit as the homeowner, understand what you are accepting: you become responsible for the work meeting code, and much of your practical recourse evaporates. There are legitimate reasons a homeowner pulls a permit. "The contractor prefers it" is not one.
Insurance, verified properly
Ask for a certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers' compensation — and ask that it come directly from the insurance agent, not as a PDF forwarded by the contractor. A certificate is trivial to fake and easy to verify.
Workers' comp is the one people skip. If an uninsured worker is injured on your property, that can become your problem in ways your homeowner policy may not fully absorb.
The roofing rules worth knowing
Colorado has specific residential roofing statute, and it exists because storm-chasing is a real pattern here after hail.
- A contractor may not pay, waive or rebate your insurance deductible. Under C.R.S. 6-22-105 that is illegal — and it is offered constantly after a storm. It is not a discount. It is insurance fraud with your name on the claim.
- You get a written contract that identifies the contractor and the scope.
- You have 72 hours to rescind, including within 72 hours of written notice that your insurer denied the claim in whole or in part.
Anyone who knocks on your door after a hailstorm and wants a signature that afternoon is working against that clock deliberately.
How to make bids actually comparable
Three bids are useless if they describe three different projects, which they almost always do. Force them onto the same footing:
- Same scope, in writing. Give every bidder the identical scope document rather than letting each define the job.
- Named allowances. "Tile allowance" is meaningless. Which tile, at what price per square foot, from where?
- Who supplies what. Fixtures, appliances, finishes — a bid that excludes them will always look cheaper.
- Permits and fees included or not.
- Payment schedule tied to milestones, not to dates. Large deposits before work begins are the single most common warning sign.
- Change-order process. How does a change get priced and approved? Get it in writing before you need it.
- Written warranty, with a duration and a scope.
When a bid comes in far below the others, the correct reaction is not delight. Something has been excluded, and it will reappear as a change order.
The five-minute checks
- A real physical address. Not a PO box, not just a mobile number.
- A checkable trail. Reviews across more than one platform, and photographs of their own completed work.
- References from projects like yours, ideally finished a year or two ago rather than last month. Problems surface with time.
- Permit history. Jurisdictions keep records. A contractor who claims volume but has pulled almost nothing is worth a second look.
- Ask who is actually on site. Employees or subcontractors, and who supervises them daily.
Holding us to the same standard
We would rather you ran this list on us than skipped it. Starting with the easy one: BH Builders LLC holds a City and County of Denver Residential Contractor licence, Class C, license number LIC00255323, held by Dan Tourdegman and active through August 31, 2029. Go and check it on Denver's contractor license search — company "BH Builders", last name "Tourdegman". For jurisdictions outside Denver, ask us for the registration that applies to your address, because as noted above that is how licensing works here.
Ask for our certificate of insurance from our agent. Ask whether we are licensed to pull your permit in your jurisdiction. Ask for the scope in writing with named allowances. Ask how change orders work.
A contractor who is comfortable being checked is the only kind worth hiring — and if we ever come back to you with a change order, it will be in writing and signed before anyone picks up a tool.
See who we are, our completed projects, and the cost guide that explains how we price work.
Keep reading from the BH Builders blog
A contractor who is annoyed that you asked for a certificate of insurance has told you everything you need to know, and it only cost you one uncomfortable minute.DT · Owner, BH Builders
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