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Step 1
Ask friends and people you know. Word of mouth is often the best way to discover a contractor to use. Talk to people who have had work done that is similar to yours. Ask whether the contractor's fee was reasonable, whether they returned calls on time, and whether they performed the work on time.
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Step 2
Consider joining a website of peer-reviewed customer ratings such as www.angieslist.com. These sites provide unbiased ratings of service people such as contractors. Contrary to other ratings you might find on the web, you don't run the risk that the contractor himself and friends have voted for themselves, saying they do a good job when they really don't.
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Step 3
See if your state's attorney general provides a list of licensed contractors. To be licensed, contractors must meet a series of requirements and can not have too many complaints against them. Try typing in the name of your state, then "attorney general", then "licensed contractors". Check out the National Contractor's Licensing List at http://www.clsi.com/state_contractor_license_board.htm. They have a list of all the state agencies that have records of licensed contractors.
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Step 4
When all else fails, look in the phone book under "contractors". However, you should never hire a contractor based only on advertisements. You never know whether a contractor will be good or bad based on his own advertisement. If you do use a phone book, get references! Every reputable contractor should have a list of references from clients he has previously done work for.
