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How to Hire a Remodeling Contractor in Tampa Bay

By Ricky Powers · Published 30 June 2026 · Updated 7 August 2026

I'm going to tell you how to vet the person you hire, including the questions that make people in this trade squirm. I'd rather you hire the right person, even if it's not me, than get burned and decide all contractors are crooks. The bad ones make the whole trade look bad, and the way you avoid them is knowing what to look for.

Letting someone into your home for weeks, and handing them a big chunk of money, is a real act of trust. Here's how to make sure it's earned before you sign anything.

Where should you actually start?

Not with a contractor. With your building department.

Call the county or the city your house sits in, describe the job in one sentence, and ask them two things: what does this project need on the permit, and who will you accept pulling it? Write down what they tell you. That is your yardstick, and it came from the people who actually decide, not from a guy who wants the job.

Then you check every bid against that answer, mine included. Somebody whose story doesn't line up with what the building department told you has just told you something important, and it cost you a phone call to find out.

I'm not going to print a rule of thumb here about what needs a license and what doesn't. Those rules aren't the same in Tampa, unincorporated Hillsborough, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, they change, and a paragraph on a webpage is the wrong place to bet your job on. The building department will tell you straight, for your address, for free.

Where Powers sits, so you're not finding out later

Here's the part most sites leave out, and it's the reason you should trust the rest of this page.

We do not hold a Florida state contractor license. You can check that yourself in a couple of minutes at the state's license lookup, and I'd rather you heard it from me than found it on your own halfway through comparing bids. Ricky is studying for the license now.

So ask your building department who they'll accept to do the work at your address. That answer is theirs to give, not mine and not any other bidder's, and it's worth having in hand before you sign anything. Whatever they tell you, you'll hear my read on it at the walk-through, not after a deposit.

Same goes for the permit question further down this page, because a list I tell you to run on us ought to have our answers on it. Ricky pulls the permit, and it goes in his name.

Do the same check on everyone else you're talking to. Ask them the question, then go verify the answer instead of taking it.

What should you ask for besides a credential?

A credential is one input. It isn't the job.

Ask for current proof of insurance, both general liability and workers' comp, and look at the dates. Workers' comp matters more than people realize: if somebody gets hurt on your property and the contractor doesn't carry it, that can land on you and your homeowner's policy. Ask for the certificate, not a yes.

What should you look for in reviews and references?

Reviews are a good start, especially recent ones with photos, on a profile that's clearly the real business. But go past the star rating. Read what people actually say. Do they mention the crew showing up, the site staying clean, the job finishing? Those are the things that matter when you're living through it.

Run that on us too, and here's what you'll find: we don't have a Google review history yet. That's a real gap and I'm not going to dress it up. So do the thing that was always better anyway. Ask to talk to a past customer, and ask to go look at real work in person. A contractor with happy clients will hand those over without flinching. One who dodges the question is telling you something.

A wall of stars is easy to buy. A neighbor who'll take your call is not.

What should a written proposal include?

This is where the good ones separate from the rest. A real proposal spells out the scope, the materials and allowances, the payment schedule, and the trade-offs, in writing, before anyone swings a hammer. A scribble on the back of a card with one big number is not a proposal. It's a setup for "well, that wasn't included" later.

When you get two or three bids, they won't match, and that's normal. Usually the cheap one isn't the same job. It left out the permit, or set a low material allowance you'll blow past, or skipped the part behind the walls. Reading a bid honestly is its own skill, and it's worth learning: why two remodeling quotes can be thousands apart.

What questions should you ask a contractor?

• What credentials do you hold, and can I verify them myself? (Then verify them, and check the answer against what your building department told you.)
• Who's actually on my job day to day, and will you be on it yourself?
• Who pulls the permit on this job, and whose name goes on it? (Here's why that question matters: do I need a permit to remodel in Hillsborough or Pinellas County?)
• What does the payment schedule look like?
• How do you handle surprises, like what you find behind the walls once you open them up?
• How do you communicate while the job's running?
• What happens at the end, with the punch-list and the cleanup?

How they answer tells you as much as what they answer. You want straight, specific answers, not a smooth pitch.

What are the red flags?

Some of these should end the conversation right there:

• Wants a big payment up front, in cash. A reasonable deposit is normal. Demanding a huge chunk before any work, especially cash, is a classic disappearing-contractor move.
• A story that doesn't match what the building department told you. Not "he doesn't have the right piece of paper," but "he's telling me something different from the people who issue the permit." Believe the building department.
• Dodging the credential question, or getting annoyed you asked. The answer can be anything. Refusing to give you one is the flag.
• No written proposal, or a one-line number with no scope.
• Pressure and a countdown. "This price is only good today." A real remodeler doesn't rush you into the biggest spend of your year.
• A price way below everyone else's. That's not a gift. It's a job that's about to grow with change orders, or get cut where you can't see.
• Can't or won't give references or show real work.
• A bad feeling. You're going to live with this person in your house for weeks. If something's off before the job starts, it doesn't get better once they have your deposit. Trust that.

The simple test

A good contractor tells you the truth even when it costs them the sale. They'll say a wall can't come down, or your budget doesn't match your wish list, or honestly, you might be better off moving than remodeling. Overpromising is the tell of someone who'll underdeliver. The person who levels with you before you've paid a dime is the one who'll level with you when something goes sideways mid-job. That honesty is the whole thing, and it's worth more than the lowest number.

Common questions

Where do I start when I'm hiring somebody for a remodel?

Your county or city building department, before you call a single contractor. Describe the job and ask what it needs on the permit and who they will accept pulling it. Write the answer down, then check every bid against it. It costs one phone call and it's the only answer in the process that doesn't come from somebody who wants the work.

Does Powers Construction hold a Florida contractor license?

No. We do not hold a Florida state contractor license, and you can verify that yourself at the state's license lookup. Ricky is studying for it now. I'd rather you heard that from me than found it halfway through comparing bids. Ask your building department who they'll accept to do the work at your address, and bring their answer to the walk-through.

Who pulls the permit on a Powers job?

Ricky does, and it goes in his name. That question is on the list above, and the list is one I tell you to run on us too, so there's our answer to it. Put the same question to everybody you're considering, and ask your building department who they'll accept pulling the permit for your job.

Why does workers' comp matter to me as the homeowner?

Because if someone gets hurt on your property and the contractor doesn't carry it, that can land on you and your homeowner's policy. Ask for the certificate and look at the dates rather than taking a yes.

What should I look for in a contractor's reviews?

Go past the star rating and read what people actually say. Recent reviews, with photos, on a profile that's clearly the real business. Do they mention the crew showing up, the site staying clean, the job finishing? Then do the better version: ask to talk to a past customer and ask to go see real work in person.

One next step. Run this list on anyone you're considering, us included, and start with the phone call to your building department. Then tell us about your project and you'll get a straight read on fit. If the honest answer is that we're not your crew, you'll get that too, and a pointer toward somebody else.