Psst -- know of any good contractors?

Finding a good contractor to do a small job in a timely fashion these days is like meeting your soul mate on a blind date. Not impossible, but highly unlikely.

With all the remodeling being done across the Southland, it’s often hard to get a contractor to even return a phone call. Factor in winter’s heavy rains, which delayed building projects everywhere, and there is no shortage of frustrated, unhappy homeowners.

“I started calling the contractor that our management company uses in January about a door that was damaged from the rain,” said Susan Green, who owns a condo in Studio City. “It took a few weeks to get them to come look at it, and four months before they finally fixed it. They did such a bad job, I had them send another person to redo it.”

In the meantime, two walls in her home needed repairs. This time, she turned to someone who had done work for her family in the past, a strategy that experts say is key to finding a good contractor.

Many workmen who aren’t seeking small jobs will do them anyway if it means keeping a longtime client happy.

“The recommendation route is best,” said Marshall Lewis, an architect in Marina del Rey. “If you call a guy cold, nine times out of 10, he’s not going to rush to call you back unless someone’s referred you. It’s all about who you know.”

If you don’t know anyone who has a good contractor, Lewis suggests driving through your neighborhood to look at remodels in progress and asking the homeowners for referrals. Many skilled contractors don’t need to advertise to drum up business, making it challenging to find them any other way.

“A lot of people get gypped because they look in the phone book and get people who do schlocky work and overcharge,” Lewis said. “I’d also stay away from the bigger firms that work for insurance companies. If a fire damages 20 houses, for example, that firm might handle all of them, but their job is to get in and out as fast as they can, as cheaply as they can. If you’ve got damage to your house, you want someone as quality-oriented as possible.”

Whether found through friends, family or footwork, homeowners can check the license status of referrals on the Contractors State License Board website at www.cslb.ca.gov, which also has consumer information on choosing contractors and filing construction complaints.

“A lot of people who work as contractors don’t have licenses, or the license is expired,” said John Anderson, a veteran contractor in Thousand Oaks who does small jobs and uses the site himself to search for subcontractors. “If they don’t have a license, they probably don’t have insurance or workmen’s comp, which puts all the responsibility on the homeowner.”

Anderson, in business 19 years, works only through referrals. A carpenter by trade, he does most of the work himself and hires subcontractors for electrical, plumbing, tile and marble work.

“One good way to find qualified people is to call a supplier -- companies that sell electrical items, paint, doors and the like -- and ask them for recommendations,” Anderson said. “Most of them will have a list of people who shop with them and they’re comfortable recommending. That keeps people accountable, because if they do a bad job, word gets back to the people who referred them.”

Byron L. Castro, owner of BC Construction in Chatsworth, said he didn’t advertise on his truck and rarely put his sign out on a job in progress because he usually had the next project lined up.

“If a small job is a referral from someone, like fixing a cabinet or replacing a door, I’ll do it. Otherwise I won’t,” said Castro, who specializes in residential remodels of 1,000 square feet and up.

“If we’re as busy as we are right now, small jobs are like a thorn in the side.” Depending on the contractor, a small job could be $200 for a door repair or $10,000 for a bathroom remodel.

South Pasadena architect Virginia Paca recommends narrowing the search to contractors who regularly work in your area on projects of a similar size and scope.

“If you have a remodel of a bathroom, you don’t want someone whose bread and butter is rebuilding tenements, to cite an extreme,” said Paca, who also serves on the South Pasadena Planning Commission.

“Get a list of four or five to interview, and in the interview make sure it’s someone who has a personality you can work with, and who will hear you.”

Paca suggests asking contractors who their subcontractors are and, during negotiations on a price for the job, asking to look at open books and pricing from the subs, rather than accepting a flat-fee estimate from the contractor.

“Sometimes real estate agents also know handymen they can refer you to,” she said. “If you can find someone semi-retired, or someone who works alone as a finish carpenter who hires other people, they can do the smaller jobs and still make a profit.”

When clients ask for her help in finding someone to handle small jobs, Paca said she tries to find a member of the original team of contractors on the client’s house to do ongoing maintenance.

“In this business, you’re in it for the long haul,” Paca said. “Success is reputation-based, so you stay in the community and respond quickly when there’s a problem. Right now, with interest rates low and the value of property going up, people are staying put and improving their homes.

“The work has expanded faster than the work force. I tell people this is a lesson in patience. Instant gratification just isn’t happening in the construction industry now.”