Buyer’s Guide · North Texas
How to choose the best commercial general contractor in DFW
“Best contractor” lists are ranked by ad spend, not by who will finish your building on budget. This guide gives you the real evaluation framework — the criteria, the questions to ask, and the red flags — and applies it to the specific permit reality and cost basis of 12 North Texas cities. Honest first; choose any contractor, Pereff included, against it.
The six criteria that actually matter
These hold true in every market. Each city guide adds the local permit reality and cost basis on top.
Relevant, recent, comparable experience
Generic 'commercial' experience is not enough. A GC who has built warehouses is not automatically the right team for a dental office, a restaurant kitchen, o…
Delivery method — and who validates the design
Design-bid-build hands a finished design to a contractor who bids it; nobody with construction knowledge checks the drawings before you commit, which is how …
A real preconstruction budget — not a low per-SF teaser
The single most common trap in commercial construction is the artificially low per-square-foot number quoted to win the job, followed by a wave of change ord…
One full-time superintendent on YOUR job
Ask whether the superintendent running your project is assigned to it full-time or splitting time across several jobs. A super covering multiple sites is one…
Licensing, insurance, bonding, and safety
Texas licenses trades (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) through TDLR, but general contractors are licensed at the city level — confirm the GC is licensed where yo…
References, repeat clients, and how they handle problems
Call references and ask the uncomfortable questions: did the final number match the contract, did the schedule hold, and what happened when something went wr…
City-by-city contractor selection guides
Each guide weaves the city’s real permit window and cost basis into the evaluation framework.
Put Pereff through the framework
Tell us your project type, location, and where it stands. You’ll get a straight read on whether we’re the right fit and an honest directional budget either way.