When researching home improvement contractors, there are so many different certifications and accreditations that is can sometimes seem like the contractors are making them up for themselves! Of course, there are many different accreditation programs out there, and some of them really are useless for helping homeowners actually research and find a good contractor.
The James Hardie Contractor Alliance Program is one of the good ones. James Hardie closely monitors members of the Contractor Alliance for usage and customer satisfaction. The best contractors in each district are recognized with Preferred or Elite Preferred status.
Blue Jay Exterior Renovations has been an Elite Preferred contractor since August of 2019, and our performance this year has qualified us for 2021 as well. Here is a brief rundown of what we have to do to maintain this status. (Note: the qualification metrics for the program vary from region to region. These metrics are specific to Alberta)
Number of projects
It’s common knowledge that the best results with James Hardie siding projects come with experience. Most of the really terrible Hardie installations out there were completed by installers or contractors that just didn’t understand how the product is supposed to work.
That’s why the main factor in James Hardie contractor program status is the number of projects completed. In order to be an Elite Preferred contractor, we have to install a minimum of 18 full Hardie renovations every year.
Homeowner Renovations
It isn’t just the number of projects that counts, it’s the type. James Hardie understands that simply installing siding on a house months before anyone moves in is very different from completing a renovation project on an occupied home. Renovation projects for homeowners require much more communication and customer service than new construction projects for builders.
GuildQuality Scores
Of course, just because a contractor installs a lot of projects doesn’t mean they’re a contractor you’d want to work with. In order to make sure that their contractor partners are doing a good job on their renovations, James Hardie uses GuildQuality to survey our customers after the job is done. If a contractor doesn’t maintain a 90% positive review rate on these surveys, they are put on probation. If the issue doesn’t improve, they are removed from the program altogether.
Trim attachment
Believe it or not, there are contractors out there that are happy to use inferior trim products with HardiePlank lap siding. Often, homeowners don’t even realize that they’ve been duped with a knockoff trim. This means that if their trim starts failing after a few years, the customer incorrectly blames HardieTrim. Of course, James Hardie doesn’t like that. That’s why Elite Preferred contractors are required to install HardieTrim with HardiePlank projects at least 90% of the time.
Of course, not every James Hardie Preferred or Elite Preferred contractor. You’ll still want to make sure that you do a thorough review of any contractor’s proposal to make sure that they are set to meet your expectations on the project. But, if you are getting quotes for a James Hardie renovation project, getting quotes from Elite Preferred contractors is a great place to start.