Go online to the web site for your state's Department of Labor and Industries or the equivalent and check whether his insurance and bonding are up-to date. The web site should also explain what insurance and bonding implies in your state.

Thanks! I did speak to our insurance agent, who said the mason should show me his policy of workers' comp for about half a million dollars and general liability for more.

I'm starting to think I will not hear back from this man since asking for this.

He's the third guy to bid and the only one who seemed competent! The others had insurance and bonding. LOL

chisue:

I carry $2,000,000.00 in liability insurance and will have my company send you a certificate of insurance upon request without a problem.

Bonding is used in commercial jobs to assure completion should the contractor fail to complete on time. I can't imagine under what circumstances I would bond a residential job. It just isn't done.

As a one man remodeling company, I carried $500,000 in liability insurance. I seldom worked on houses worth that much.

I was never asked about being bonded, as 99% of my customers were referrals from happy customers.

" I can't imagine under what circumstances I would bond a residential job. It just isn't done."

The state of CA. requires a bond to maintain your lic.

Without the bond your lic. is placed in an inactive status.

However, as stated, individual residential bonding is not required.

The contract should have a sufficiently graduated payment schedule.

The mason just left. He went and GOT insurance to do our job. We've paid him 1/3 down with the balance due on completion.

It's weird that the other guys had all the bells and whistles but I had no confidence they knew what they were doing. Neither could do ALL of our projects.

This man will install metal angles to hold the limestone sills in place, tuck point along some settled portions of our brick work, and repair where stucco has flaked off our chimney (10/12 pitch roof). He will remove sunken patio blocks, compact soil and lay gravel foundation, then re-lay the blocks.

All of these problems (except tuck pointing) are thanks to corners cut by the contractor who built for us in 2000.

This man was referred to us by a neighbor whose business is building multi-million-dollar homes.

Is he licensed?

"The mason just left. He went and GOT insurance to do our job."

We hired someone to do a job and we required that he have liability insurance. He, too, "went and got insurance to do our job." I contacted the agent to make sure it was legit and he confirmed that a policy had been issued. Unfortunately, since I knew the guy we hired, I did not require that the agent send me a binding certificate right away and told him he could send it on Monday (he asked if that would be okay). The job only took about a week, and I was still waiting for the certificate to arrive when the job was completed. I called the agent to see what the delay was and he informed me that the guy we hired had called him (apparently right after he started the job on Monday) and canceled the policy. I asked the agent how that was possible when he himself had told me that a policy existed, he said since he hadn't issued the certificate yet, the policy could be cancelled. I took him at his word that a policy was in effect, but I should have made him give me the certificate right then and there. I was disgusted, but it was my own fault ... I should have been more diligent and less trusting. Lesson learned ... if the guy has insurance, have the agent send you a certificate proving it. And don't take anyone's "word" for it. Any legit business will be able to have their insurance company provide you with a certificate. And if he truly did get a policy just to do your job, they will be able to issue that certificate immediately.

How does a legit contractor do business on a daily basis WITHOUT general liability insurance? I live in NY but I guess it is not required in some states? Why would you hire someone to work on the largest investment most people make in their lifetime and then hire a contractor that does not usually carry insurance to modify your "largest" investment? And I would tell him, nothing personal I don't trust anyone, give me a current certificate of insurance before you start work.

Not required in Cali. Lots of contractors here don't have it. I had to get rid of a contractor who told me he had workers comp, too, when he couldn't provide me with a certificate of insurance but showed up with an employee. He insisted he had it, but the Contractor's license board said otherwise, and he couldn't produce a certificate.

That baffles me jelly, I would think that would be about the most basic thing required.

"Not required in Cali."

Only if the contractor is not permitting the project.

When a project is permitted, by the contractor, a valid certificate must be produced.

Also, a lot of homeowners are not and choose not to be aware of the contractor lic. law.