What should I ask a contractor before hiring?

Key facts

Why do dental build-outs need a dental-experienced contractor?

Dental & Medical Counsel says dental offices require specialized plumbing, electrical, medical gas and millwork, and recommends a general contractor with dental experience (Dental & Medical Counsel). The first five questions test that. For the selection process overall, see how to choose a dental office contractor.

Experience and licensing (1–5)

1. How many dental offices have you built in the last few years, and can I call those doctors?
2. Are you licensed for this work in this state, and who are your plumbing, electrical and medical gas subcontractors? In California, for example, the state licensing board publishes a license lookup for consumers (CSLB).
3. Who installs and verifies piped medical gas, and to what standard? NFPA 99 governs dental gas systems; see NFPA 99 for dental offices (APSF).
4. Have you worked with my equipment dealer's templates? Chair makers specify utilities in detail; A-dec, for example, says utilities must be accessible without tools and puts the in-wall access method on the design team, dealer and contractors (A-dec).
5. How do you coordinate x-ray shielding? If the physicist's design calls for lead, it goes in with the drywall (NC DHHS). See x-ray shielding.

Pricing and contract (6–11)

6. Is your bid complete to the drawings, and what is excluded? Compare bids line by line (Husch Blackwell).
7. Will you price open-book, with bid tabs from your subs? (Husch Blackwell)
8. How do you price and approve change orders? Get scope and change-order procedures in the contract (Dental & Medical Counsel).
9. Is the payment schedule tied to milestones? (Dental & Medical Counsel)
10. What warranty do you give on labor and materials, and when does it start? On AIA forms, warranties start at substantial completion unless stated otherwise (AIA Contract Documents).
11. What do the dispute and termination clauses say? (Dental & Medical Counsel)

To check a bid against typical ranges, the free build-out cost & timeline calculator (coming soon) is planned to combine square footage, operatory count and region into a budget and schedule. See build-out cost per square foot.

Schedule and inspections (12–15)

12. What's your critical-path schedule, and what are the long-lead items? Ask for milestones through substantial completion (Husch Blackwell).
13. How long from permit to certificate of occupancy on your last dental job? BuildCrux puts typical dental TI at 16–28 weeks (BuildCrux).
14. Who schedules inspections, and how will I see results? Dental & Medical Counsel lists building, health, fire and dental-specific inspections in California (Dental & Medical Counsel).
15. What delay penalties will you accept? (Dental & Medical Counsel)

To keep every permit, inspection and result in one place, the free permit & inspection tracker (coming soon) is planned for this step. See dental office permits.

Payment and closeout (16–20)

16. Will you bill on AIA G702/G703 or equivalent? These show work completed, stored materials, retainage, previous payments and change orders against a schedule of values (AIA Contract Documents).
17. Will every pay application include lien waivers? AIA advises contractors to include lien waivers and sworn statements with each package and to get change orders approved first (AIA Contract Documents).
18. Will you accept a 10% holdback until the punch list and final lien waivers are done? (Husch Blackwell)
19. How do you run the punch list? On AIA G704, the contractor prepares the list and the architect verifies and amends it (AIA Contract Documents). See the dental office punch list.
20. What will I get at closeout? As-builts, O&M manuals and warranties (Husch Blackwell).

What answers are red flags?

• No dental references, or none you can call.
• A low bid with long exclusions.
• No written change-order process.
• Payments by calendar date instead of milestones.
• Resistance to lien waivers or a holdback.

Dental & Medical Counsel calls construction disputes among the most common and expensive legal issues in dental startups, and recommends attorney review of the contract (Dental & Medical Counsel). This page is not legal advice.

How should you compare the answers?

Score each contractor's answers in writing, side by side, so the decision rests on the same questions.

How FloorStack helps

FloorStack is a dental build-out platform. Give every bidder the same plan and equipment list so bids compare cleanly, then track the job against it. Start at the Dental Office Construction hub, and see build-out delays and tracking construction remotely.

Free tools on the FloorStack dental build-out platform for this step: Build-out cost & timeline calculator (free tool, coming soon) and Permit & inspection tracker (free tool, coming soon).

Free tools for this step

• Build-out cost & timeline calculator (free tool, coming soon): estimate budget and schedule from your square footage, operatory count and region.
• Permit & inspection tracker (free tool, coming soon): track every permit, inspection and sign-off through the certificate of occupancy.