It’s almost Christmas!! Have you finished all your shopping and wrapping? Don’t forget the cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer! As you know, we are a family owned and operated company, and Christmas is a time to be with family. That means we want our employees to spend time with their families too! Please look below for our holiday hours, and have a Merry Christmas!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We have decorated our office tree (stay tuned for photos), the sounds of “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” fill the air and there is pumpkin pie for the tasting. Today we are an office full of happy elves because we helped Z104 Stuff the Bus! May said “Close the office, we are going shopping!” and you didn’t have to tell us twice. It is a worthy cause and we had so much fun pulling toys left and right and tossing them into the cart! Valerie did her homework and knew all the sales and popular toys of the season before we arrived. The Marines met us at the drop off to help carry all the goodies onto the 12th bus that they were in the process of filling. Their goal this year is 20 buses! W.T. Anderson and the Anderson family have been happily supporting Stuff the Bus for 10 years and they will be heading back tonight with their kids. No matter whether you support Stuff the Bus, Toy for Tots, Angel Tree or another cause, it is the time for giving and celebrating!

It is that time of year again. Time for family, and festivities, and falling into a turkey coma. It is also time for giving thanks. Here at W.T. Anderson, we are thankful for our clients, all of them. We are also a family operated company, so we put a high level of importance on family time. We also wouldn’t be able to run on a daily basis without our crews and office staff. That is why we are showing our thanks by giving them Thanksgiving and Friday off to spend with their own families. We will be closing today at 5:00 pm and re-opening Monday November 30th at 7:00 am.

It is also the time for decorating! If you missed our Facebook #TipTuesday post from GAF on 5 Tips for Holiday Decorating Without Damaging the Roof, check it out!

We wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy #WisdomWednesday everyone! As we explained on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter earlier, we were so busy with rain preparations yesterday that we weren’t able to post a #TeaserTuesday post for today’s #WhyWT? That’s alright though. Because anyone who has spent time on our social media pages would have known exactly what we were talking about without the hint.

Having all the legalities of licenses and insurances straight is very important, you want to know your contractor is on the up and up. But knowing your contractor is one that gives back is also important. That is one of the reasons why W.T. Anderson could be the contractor for you. We like to get involved in our community. This past spring, we did our No Roof Left Behind campaign and at the end of summer we installed a roof for our lucky winner. We love working with such a wonderful organization and helping our a worthy individual each year. A couple of weeks ago one of our estimators went to a meeting regarding the St. Jude’s Dream Home, to see if how we could be involved. Just this past weekend, we participated in the Christ the King Catholic School Fundraising Auction. We gave away a free gutter job and next week we are meeting with the lucky winner to discuss what we can do for her.

We love the Hampton Roads area, and want to be a part of what makes it great. Make sure the contractor you are looking at hiring is legal, yes. But also make sure that they are givers and involved. #WednesdayWisdom

It’s ‪#‎FundayFriday‬! Who has fun ‪#‎fall‬ plans for this weekend? We were talking about our weekend plans and that made us ‪#‎flashback‬ to all the fun we had last week at the ‪#‎ESG‬ Employee Appreciation Dinner. One of our office gals won a great long sleeve t-shirt from Norfolk Plumbing Inc that night and brought it in to wear today in case she got cold. Believe me when I say that the photo does not do justice to how bright and fun this shirt is! If you missed it, you can catch up on all the fun we had on the blog. http://bit.ly/1NRgsxF

We enjoy #TBT because it gives us a chance to show off some of our favorite renovations. Today we are sharing a photo from just after the rain we had recently. The job had to be delayed because of the weather, but I think the owner would say it was well worth it. We hope this example will give you the push you needed to add some color to your house. There is nothing wrong with standing out among your neighbors and the colors they chose made everyone in our office ooh and aah for days. If you are interested in this specific color, it is Bayou Blue by Georgia Pacific. Beautiful and festive, don’t you think?

We are happy to present the 2nd installment of #WhyWT? Today we want to highlight the importance of proper Licensing and Insurances. When looking for a contractor, whether you are doing work inside or outside of your home, there are some key insurance and license types to watch for.

Does The contractor have a business license? That’s great, but not enough. They should also have a Contractor’s License.  Contractor Licenses are broken down into 3 types, Class A, Class B, and Class C.

Class A: has an unlimited total value per single contract or project.

Class B: is limited to less than $120,000 total value per single contract or project.

Class C: is limited to less than $10,000 total value per single contract or project.

Each level of a Contractor License requires specific and proper testing to be obtained. You can check out the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation website to make sure the person or company you are looking to hire has the proper licensing.  For example, if you were to enter W T Anderson Corp into the search bar, it would show you that we are a Class A Contractor that is current on our licensing.

When choosing to hire a contractor, check that they are also properly insured. The 3 basic types of insurance to look for are Workman’s Comp, General Liability, and Umbrella.

Workman’s Comp Insurance protects employees under state laws, and provides for them if they are injured or killed while on the job.

General Liability covers claims arising from a liability due to damage or injury during performance of duties or business.

Umbrella insurance is extra liability insurance and it protects you when accidents happen and your existing liability insurance policies cannot cover all the expenses. Standard business liability coverage will take care of you in most situations, but when serious situations arise, commercial umbrella insurance will help ensure that their business is protected.

It is crucial that your contractor have at least Workman’s Comp and General Liability insurances so that not only their employees, but you and your home are protected in the case of an accident. You can request copies of a contractor’s up to date proof of insurance when you meet with them, or reference it when you call to make an appointment so that they make sure to bring a copy with them.

Licensing and Insurance sound complicated and like the last thing you want to think about or deal with in this process. But there is good news! A good contractor will already have this taken care of and all you have to do is ask for the proof. If you set up an appointment with our guys, they would show you that we are covered by all 3 of the insurance types mentioned.

We hope you found today’s #WhyWT? to be enlightening Don’t forget to check back next #TeaserTuesday when we will give you a hint for next week’s #WhyWT.

#TipTuesday has now become #TeaserTuesday! I won’t go into the details of tomorrow’s topic, but I will tell you that it is one you won’t want to miss. We will be discussing the importance of being properly licensed and insured, and we don’t mean driver’s licenses and medical insurance! It may seem like a bland topic, but it is a crucial part in the step to finding your contractor and one of the many reasons #WhyWT could be the right choice for you.

As predicted, we had a blast on Friday at the 1st Annual ESG Office Employee Appreciation Dinner! Each owner that was present got a chance to pump up their office staff, and our very own May did a great job cheering on the companies that weren’t able to make it. I’m sure they will hear how much fun we all had and make it to the next one. The food was wonderful and we were all completely stuffed by the time we hit out talking points. We had a rousing conversation about client relations and another one on referrals. Valerie, W.T. Anderson’s own front woman, might just have had some of the best ideas and therefore the biggest pile of raffle tickets. Though I think Nicole from Norfolk Plumbing was close on her heals. By the time the dessert rolled around just about everyone had won a raffle and all of our swag had been distributed. Great things were definitely happening, the best of which was simply getting to know each other and forming a better sense of community. Thank you everyone who came out!