Before the first call
Questions we get before the estimate.
These come up on commercial jobs and residential ones alike. If yours is not here, the fastest way to get an answer is the number to the right.
License, scope, schedule and cost
Yes. Upgrade Construction holds NJ Home Improvement Business Contractor license #13VH00985500, and the registration is active. Insurance is carried on every job. Ask for the certificate before work starts and you will get it.
Both, and in the same week. One side of the business is commercial buildout and fit-out, steel-frame shells, floor coatings and loading docks. The other is residential: additions and add-a-levels, kitchens, baths and basements. The crew and the license are the same either way.
Yes. Most jobs start before there is a drawing, at the stage where you know roughly what you want and are not sure what the house or the building will allow. That conversation is part of the estimate, not a separate fee.
It depends on the scope and on how much of it is hidden. A kitchen or a bath usually runs a few weeks. An addition or an add-a-level runs months, and in a shore town a slice of that is permitting and inspection rather than construction. You get a schedule with the estimate, and you are told when it moves.
For a kitchen, a bath or a basement, usually yes, with a dust wall and a plan for water and power. For an add-a-level, usually not for the period the roof is open. Which one you are looking at is worth settling at the estimate, because it changes what the job costs you in ways the invoice never shows.
Yes. Changes are normal, especially once a wall is open and you can finally see what is behind it. What matters is that a change is priced and agreed before it is built, not discovered on the final invoice.
Kitchens, baths and finished basements are the reliable ones, and near the shore an addition that gains living space without gaining footprint tends to hold its value well. No contractor can promise a number, and any who does is guessing at your appraisal.
Call (908) 670-7860 or send the form on the contact page. Estimates are free and there is no appointment fee. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.