How to choose a contractor?

[withm]

One of my first criteria is "do they return phone calls?

We were looking for a contractor to do a bathroom. Our number one pick was a guy we know who's reputed to do decent work. We get a return call back NINE MONTHS LATER. wtf? We were already done with it by then.

Well, it's kind of a catch-22 situation. The GOOD contractors are busy, and booked up for weeks or months at a time. The contractors that are really cheap, or less reliable, don't have so much work - so they will return your calls, cause they are really hungry.

For a long term project, you want a contractor who is recommended by your friends or neighbors. You need to be comfortable with him/her and you need to be able to trust him. (Yes there are lots of women in contracting but for simplicity I'll use the masculine.) He and his people will be in your house, and in your face, for a long time. You really don't want the low-ball guy who may not know what he's doing cause you may not figure it out until you have given him lots of $ and have no recourse to get it back, or get the work completed properly.

For the Rinnai - that is almost best left to be designed into new construction projects. Retrofitting into an older house is very expensive, and the system is expensive to begin with. Even with tax incentives, you are hard pressed to get your payback on the system.