7 Truths About Remodeling
If you want to truly enjoy a pleasant remodeling experience, there are 7 truths about remodeling you need to know. Whether you are remodeling a bathroom, kitchen, or your entire home, these 7 truths about remodeling will make your project much more satisfying and successful.
The 7 truths about remodeling are:
- Have A Plan
- Don’t Start Until You Have Everything
- Hire A Professional. All Companies Are Not the Same or Equal
- Hire Experience – Real Experience
- Let Your Contractor Purchase the Materials
- Don’t Make Changes
- Expand Your Definition of Cost
The Truth About Remodeling
Remodeling is one of the most stressful journeys that one can undertake. Remodeling requires an investment of both time and financial resources. Nevertheless, each year, millions of people want and need to improve their homes. Often, selling their home and moving is just not time or cost effective. Remodeling IS the answer. However, you do not want to become a victim of a “remodeling nightmare.” You’ve heard time and again from friends and relatives, “Expect a nightmare. It will cost twice as much and take three times as long.” It does not need to be that way! Simply follow the 7 truths about remodeling!
You can fill the void experienced by homeowners who can’t find an honest, reliable remodeling expert by following the steps below. These are the steps that DAD’s Construction follows and the reason our clients are overwhelmingly satisfied and refer DAD’s year-after-year to their friends and family.
After more than 45 years in the remodeling business, I’ve seen it all! These secrets (or truths) will ensure a success remodel. Here are the 7 truths about remodeling:
Secret #1: Have A Plan
Would you go off on a long expensive vacation without first planning your trip and taking along a road map? Of course not! To do so would be a disaster. Your trip would be full of unwelcome surprises and expensive changes. Remodeling is the same way. I’ve always said, “anything carefully planned, properly executed, will be a success.” A great remodeling partner helps you figure out what you want BEFORE you start by putting it down on paper and in the drawings. Professional designing with attention to the details will ensure that your project is on time, on budget, and beautiful! Remember – a picture is worth a thousand words!
Secret #2: Don’t Start Until You Have Everything
Picture this – your contractor demolishes the bathroom (maybe the only one you have in the home). Three weeks later you’re still trying to get him back. His answer to you (when you finally manage to get him on his cell phone) is that the bathtub was delivered damaged and the shower fixtures were wrong. He further informs you that the job is now delayed 4 to 6 weeks. Not a good scenario. Unfortunately, this is all too often a real scenario. You want and need a Contractor who will order all the required products, get them in, open the boxes and make certain they are the right color, not broken and fit together properly before scheduling your job. Never let anyone tear up your home until everything you need to keep the job on time and running smoothly is delivered and on site.
Secret #3: Hire A Professional. All Companies Are Not the Same or Equal
Remodeling is one of the largest investments you can make in your life and home. Remodeling also provides some of the highest returns on investment. For example, a properly constructed bathroom remodel can return over 132% of the invested value. A well designed and constructed kitchen can return more than 133%. In contrast, a poorly constructed and designed project can create damage that far exceeds the savings you thought you had enjoyed by hiring “the guy your friend used to paint his house.” Only an experienced contractor with decades of hands on experience is truly familiar with construction and what can and cannot be done. The best way to protect your assets and your personal belongings is to hire an experienced, licensed, and insured contractor to build your project. Make sure there is a contract and professionally developed drawings that list and illustrate EXACTLY what you are getting. Your Contractor should provide you with consistent, pain-free, high quality remodeling.
Secret #4: Hire Experience – Real Experience
The remodeling and construction industries is full of “Jacks of All Trades.” You wouldn’t hire a barber to perform brain surgery so why would you hire a plumber to remodel your bathroom or a company that builds patio covers to construct a new kitchen? Hiring someone who specializes in your type of project increases the experience level which leads to a much higher quality project, a more efficient and timelier project and a higher level of product and design knowledge.
When you hire a Contractor, make sure they have at least 25 years of proven hands-on experience – experience working on the job, not someone managing from behind a desk or selling. The best Contractors are those that continue to physically perform demolition, framing, drywall, finish woodwork, etc. regardless of their years in business. Although physically demanding, it keeps them fresh and up to date. It’s these types of Contractors who really understand and know their business as they physically do it every day – they know what they’re talking about and not just pushing a pencil.
Think about it for a moment. Do you want to discuss and then sign a contract to build or remodel your home with a salesperson or with the Contractor personally? Do you really think a salesperson knows the intricacies and details of building and remodeling . . . or are they merely interested in getting your business along with lots of expensive change orders after the project starts? Remember, almost all salespeople earn their living from commissions – the more revenue they generate the more money they make. Compare this to the actual Contractor who signs a contract with you. Once you agree on the price – that’s it! There should not be a change order unless you add or subtract something after the contract is signed.
Your primary contact should be the Contractor, not a sales person or some other representative.
The actual responsible licensed Contractor, from day one, from the first meeting, should be your primary contact. The truly professional Contractor, who physically works on your job every day, knows what their talking about. Only this type of Contractor can answer your questions and concerns with confidence! These Contractors are few, but they are worth their weight in gold. DAD’s Construction is precisely this type of Contractor.
You want the Contractor’s team to be very experienced – not one that consists of day labors, journeymen, and people who are dropped off in the morning whom you can’t even communicate with. The Contractor who only shows up when it’s time to get paid or mails an invoice is worthless. The good Contractors have a team where each member has better than 20 years’ experience as craftsman in their trade. Don’t trust your home or hard-earned dollars to anyone or anything else! Trust DAD’s Construction!
Secret #5: Let Your Contractor Purchase the Materials
I know. I know. You can save a few bucks if you buy that tub yourself and cram it into the trunk of your car. The problem is that most homeowners don’t know what to buy, what fits with what or how much to buy. Making a mistake in product procurement takes a great deal of responsibility out of the hands of the contractor not to mention the inevitable blame game that can ensue if something goes wrong. Do you really have time to go back and forth from the plumbing supply house to return the wrong thing and get the right one . . . five times!
Secret #6: Don’t Make Changes
Changes are the single largest cause of remodeling nightmares. You’ve done everything right so far. You’ve followed the previous five secrets, but you just can’t help yourself and you make changes during construction. Well . . . all bets are off. The schedule flies off track, your contractor can’t manage his or her time and new materials must be bought. The key to not making changes is to LOVE your plan and be certain that your team knows exactly what you want. Yep. Back to secret #1: Have a Plan. But don’t just have one . . . LOVE IT! Don’t sign a contract until you know exactly what you are getting . . . makes, models, colors, etc. Ensure that the plans, specifications, and layout are exactly what you want and then let the professionals go to work.
Secret #7: Expand Your Definition of Cost
Initial price gives only a peephole view of the true cost of a remodel over the lifetime of your home. A low price may mean a good deal, or it may signify a lack of quality, durability, and experience. Or it may mean that some design, materials, or building costs are not included in the price. A higher purchase price can mean a better deal in the long run: you can reduce the cost of living in your home by choosing quality resource-efficient fixtures (lowering monthly utility bills) and durable materials (requiring less frequent costly replacement and maintenance).
The lowest bid will cost you more.
The only thing that deciding on bid price alone guarantees is that you will never operate by lowest total cost. In all cases where the lowest or lower bid is declared the winner, you can safely conclude that you are dealing with seriously misguided remodelers and builders. There is no such thing as a commodity in the real world of home remodeling and building. This fact is so obvious and proven in everyday experience that it is bewildering that the low-bid or lower-bid approach still exists. There is simply no better way to sabotage quality and your budget than hiring someone on price alone.
Think about it . . . when you’re looking at 2-3 different estimates to remodel your bathroom or kitchen renovation, how much do you personally know from decades of hands on experience which is correct and why?
So, there you have it: 7 Truths About Remodeling – the secrets to a successful remodel. I’m confident that if you follow these 7 truths about remodeling, you’ll increase your chances of remodeling success one hundred-fold.
Always Hire a Reliable and Dependable Contractor to Remodel your Home
Always work with a trustworthy contractor like DAD’s Construction. We are experts in bathroom, kitchen, and full interior remodeling. We remodel and manage projects in an efficient manner. DAD’s Construction will do everything to minimize the possibility of change orders. Our team will make sure we have all the necessary information to prepare a proposal that meets your requirements.
Rest assured that we will provide you with a detailed, by line-item contract. We will make sure that the contents of this agreement are properly and clearly communicated to you. If you have questions or need updates regarding your project, we will always answer your inquiries.
For over 45 years, DAD’s Construction has been helping Orange County homeowners remodel and renovate their homes to better serve their needs, enhance their lifestyles, and make them fall in love with their homes all over again. With DAD’s, you get a home designed to make you happy and your project will run smoothly and be both pleasant and satisfying.
DAD’s takes special pride in the thoughtfulness, responsiveness, and innovation of our design work. DAD’s uses high quality materials, products, and craftsmanship. The personal service we provide our clients is second to none. Turning spare rooms into cozy personal spaces…adding or remodeling a bathroom or kitchen…or remodeling an entire home, gives you the space and feel you are looking for. We can turn the house you have into the home you want; a home designed and remodeled to make you happy.
