"The Mares Difference"
What is it that really sets me apart from the competition? For one thing, I am a firm believer in quality over quantity. I would rather price things so that I am able to take my time, focus and do a good job on every job than be running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to do a bunch of jobs for cheap. When you hire me, you are getting someone who will openly, honestly and clearly communicate with you about the project from start to finish. I am extremely organized and careful. You can be sure that any projects done or managed for you by me will have all the permitting and other paperwork filled out correctly. Time will not be lost to me missing appointments or deadlines. I do what I say I will, it's that simple. Also I am actually licensed, bonded and insured. I'm not just "the guy down the street working for cash." I pay my dues. But it's not just those things. I will try to sum up the other possible differences between me and others you may be considering hiring for anything.
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Knowledge and Experience
When you hire me, you're not hiring your average handyman. Not only do I have a Bachelor's degree in General Studies, a minor in Mechanical Engineering and universal refrigeration certification from the EPA, but I have also been doing these types of jobs pretty much my whole life and just can't really imagine doing anything else. I'm always trying to fix something or make something work better or more efficiently whenever feasible. And I've gotten pretty good at it. I offer a lot of services, and I am comfortable doing a lot of things. I also have that basic kind of common sense to, just for example, wear clean shoes when vacuuming someone's carpets to not make it worse. I was a Boy Scout when I was younger and one thing they always repeat is "Leave it better than you found it." I guess that got drilled into me pretty good. It may seem like I am offering too many services to be able to do a good job at all of them, but I do know how to stay organized and careful to be able to accomplish a lot. I still know my limits though, and I know that no one can know everything. There are new things being invented every day, and if you want me to do something which would require the use of some material, tool or method that I have never heard of, I am more than happy to research it and possibly do it, but I won't tell you that I am comfortable doing a job for you if I am not 100% confident I can get it done correctly. I want you to be satisfied and I want to be able to sleep at night knowing I did my best. When I say that, I mean it. I will make return trips at no extra charge if something I did doesn't seem right and you want it fixed. But of course the goal is for that not to happen and for me to be able to get everything just the way you want it before I leave, and for it to stay that way.
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Insurance Coverage
In addition to being properly licensed and bonded, Washington requires a minimum of $250,000 of general liability insurance coverage for General Contractors. If you think about it though, the average value of a home in this area is much higher than $250,000, so it seems like contractors should want greater coverage. Many others may only have the minimum coverage required, and I considered that to save money, but ultimately I decided to invest in a $1,000,000 policy. With me you can have more peace of mind knowing that if some unfortunate accident should befall your property due to something done by me, more than only $250,000 of damages will be able to be paid for.
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Tools & Equipment
I am not coming to do jobs for you with cheap tools and equipment. I am charging premium prices and want to deliver premium results. Quality tools can really help with that. Whenever I need new tools, equipment or materials for a job, I take time to research what is currently available to try and find the best thing for the job, not necessarily the cheapest. Sometimes I get lucky and the best thing for the job is the cheapest, but not too often. Almost 100% of my power tools are Makita, rated for commercial use. In addition, almost 100% are cordless, even my miter saw. This makes setup and takedown a little quicker, but it also helps create a safer work area/job-site without all the extension cords running all over the place that corded tools would require. This also means I am not using your electricity as much as some other contractors might, since I charge all my batteries at home before any job. When I use an electric sander in an occupied area, I always hook it up to a dust extraction vacuum to be sure I'm not getting sawdust all over. My carpet vacuum is a heavy duty, commercial-rated metal Sanitaire Tradition with such powerful motor suction that it's just not even fair to compare it to the modern plastic vacuums of today that most people use. It actually works the deep dirt out of your carpet. I even upgraded it to an EnviroCare brand special high filtration type of bag collection system made for people with allergies. It advertises 99.7% filtration, which is the same as HEPA, although the manufacturer has not pursued HEPA certification for whatever reason. And I am not buying tools I have never used before to bring to your property and use for the first time. Before I ever bring them to use on any job, all tools I buy get run through some sort of testing process to make sure they are not defective and that they will do what I need them to. I could go on and on about all my different tools, but the main point is that I am not buying low quality tools and just hoping for good results. I make sure to buy things that I know for sure will dependably deliver high quality results.
