Kathy's Remodeling Blog

Handyman steals pills, jewelry then passes out drunk in client's bedroom

Oops!

If you're a handyman and you're going to steal pills and jewelry from a client's home, for goodness sake don't pass out drunk in the bedroom with your pockets full of the goods. Just sayin'.

Full story here

Kathy's Kartoons — How NOT to Call a Contractor's References

GoAnimate.com: How NOT to Call a Contractor's References by Kathy's Remodeling Blog

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Why competitive bidding doesn't work

Perhaps you’ve heard this quip when a spacecraft is launched: “There goes the lowest bid.”

In my mind, trying to get the lowest bid for a remodeling project is just as foolish. And a lot of contractors agree with me.

Gayler Construction explains very clearly how buying remodeling services is not even remotely like buying a new car.

And check out how Baywood Building explains the problems with competitive bidding.

So why not?

First off, you won’t have complete plans for each of the contractors to look at in order to get an "apples to apples" bid. Complete plans are too expensive for an architect to create.

So the honorable contractor will include all the elements (like moldings and light sockets and so on) that are not on the plans, but should be. The shady contractor will not include those things, and will therefore give you a lower bid. That's called low-balling.

Later on, you'll be made aware of those extras, and will pay for them. By then, it's too late to turn back.

Also, some people get bids in order to see how much the project their architect designed will cost. That's an enormous waste of time for the contractor, and many self-respecting contractors will no longer do competitive bidding.

So, what to do? I suggest you find an excellent contractor (whom you judge by face-to-face meetings, talking to staff, talking to references, visiting prior jobs, searching the Internet, considering awards and professional certifications), and an excellent architect or designer (judged by the same criteria), and put these two stellar individuals together to design your remodel. Find the great people first, then move forward as a team.

This should eliminate the finger-pointing architects and contractors are famous for. Or, hire a design-build company where the designer and builders are in the same firm. This way, when the designer comes up with an idea that would blow your budget out of the water, the contractor will make that known immediately.

As one construction loan agent told me, the country is littered with architectural plans that were put out to bid and then abandoned after the bidding process revealed the project would cost two to three times what the clients could afford. That's sad.

So how about you? Have you found competitive bidding to be a satisfying way to achieve a remodel?

(Image: Solution Crafters Group)

Podcast — Strangers in Your House

What could be more disturbing than having strangers in our house?

Even if they are there to help us, to build our remodel, to offer their talents and labor, it can still feel like an invasion of our sanctuary, of the one place we feel safe.

Do we fall apart over this? Or strike out in anger? Or do we plan our strategy with understanding and savvy?

Click below to hear some wisdom and tips.

Podcast — Strangers in Your House

Photo: Door Security Pro

Mississippi tradesman rings the opening bell at New York Stock Exchange

Congratulations to this handsome hunk of a man, Delwyn Thornton, of Brandon, Miss., who won a skills contest — gripping, marking, clamping, sawing and drilling — put on by Irwin Tools.

As part of his honors, he got to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

Other than enjoying the visual of this fine-looking shoe repairman, and the fact that he is there to also honor "National Tradesmen Day," which Irwin created to honor its customers, the story is a little wonky for me.

First of all, does Delwyn own any stocks?

Is he part of Wall Street?

Second, look at the photo below and tell me who among these pepole ever touched a tool or honored the people who do touch tools?

Every single well-dressed, well-groomed person in this picture has benefited enormously, as we all have, from the talents and skills and sweat of plumbers and carpenters and plasterers and roofers and electricians and framers and mechanics and tile setters and drywall hangers and masons and concrete finishers and window installers and welders iron workers and lathers on and on. 

I hope, understanding how much of our comfort and security we owe to tradesmen and tradeswomen, that we honor them every day.

Markup and Profit — Why you want your contractor to get some

If you already think a remodeling contractor is entitled to an item titled "Markup and Profit" in the bid, you can skip this post.

But if you cringe at this concept, and try to negotiate markup and profit out of the bid, keep reading.

As far as I can tell, there are three major types of remodeling contractors:

1. Excellent and ethical contractors who really know how to run a profitable business. These are the ones you should hire.

2. Good-hearted and ethical contractors who are not good at business, who tend to lose money on jobs. You want to hire these guys, but you really shouldn't.

3. Scoundrels. Of course, you should stay far, far away from these guys.

It's that second group that I want to discuss. Many times, remodeling contractors get into the business because they truly like people and like pleasing people. But sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, they are not very good businessmen. And they sometimes bid way too low just to get a job, and then struggle to finish it.

This is what  you want to avoid. You want to avoid a contractor is working at such a low margin that when anything goes wrong, there's no cushion to make things right. If your contractor gets no markup and profit, and is basically working for wages rather than building a strengthening a company, you can be sure there will be troubles. They may not have enough credit to buy materials. They might struggle to pay subcontractors, who then revolt by not showing up. 

In my opinion, you are much better off hiring a company who makes a profit, who pays employees well, who provides some kind of benefits to them, and who has enough breathing room to come back to your job to fix anything that has broken or failed.

You might want to hire the cheapest guy, but I don't recommend it, for your sake.

For contractors, get this book Markup and Profit: A Contractor's Guide, and read it several times. I recently met the author, Michael Stone, and he is your advocate and champion for running a good business and not giving yourself away cheaply. Because that doesn't help anyone in the long run, especially not your customers.

See a video of Michael Stone here and read his blog.

Looking for a FEMA-approved contractor? There's no such thing

This post ran previously on Kathy's Remodeling Blog, but it's good to repeat now, following Hurricane Irene:

Just the other day, someone posted a comment on this blog saying his company's website listed FEMA-approved contractors looking for work. FEMA, as you probably know, is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which steps in after disasters.

The only trouble with directing homeowners toward a list of FEMA-approved contractors is that there is no such thing. Here is a direct quote from FEMA:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency neither certifies nor endorses any private-sector contractor. Individuals and government entities should be extremely cautious when hiring contractors after any disaster.

Further, don't fall for the line that any product is approved or certified by FEMA. A statement like that is just not true. Also from FEMA:

Use of terms such as "FEMA Approved" and "FEMA Tested" are patently false and may well be violations of Federal Trade Commission and state consumer protection laws and regulations.

So whenever you hear someone make the false claim that they or their product is FEMA-approved, you can just assume that everything else they have to say is a bit suspect.

Hire a remodeling consultant? It's something to consider

Sometimes the remodeling industry seems like the Wild, Wild West. It's crazy out here!

The cast of characters is huge! You've got your builders and general contractors and remodeling contractors and architects and designers and engineers and plumbers and roofers and tile setters and butchers and bakers and candlestick makers. Oh wait. Well, anyway, it can be very confusing.

And that's why consultants were invented. They are experienced in a certain field (remodeling in this case), can be a source of wisdom detached from any of the above, and can help and guide you through a project.

I know what you're thinking: The industry is already populated with so many characters, and now you add another? How does that help?

Good question! And to find out what these "building consultant" characters are up to, I asked renovation consultant Gary Belk a few questions. Here's what he said:

Kathy's Remodeling Blog: Why would someone remodeling a house hire a consultant first rather than an architect or contractor?

Gary Belk: Getting unbiased advise about the feasibility of your project and budget should be the first step. In my experience contractors and architects are reluctant to be the one to tell the client that their expectations about time and money are way off base. As a consultant it is my job to help the client understand and if needed, be the one to deliver the “unpleasant” facts. My clients pay me to give them an honest assessment. My main function at this point is to make sure their expectations are in line with the amount of money they want to spend.  I also help clients decide what professionals are needed for the project and help assemble the right team.  How does a homeowner choose the right professionals or even know what professionals to hire? A good consultant is a bit like a matchmaker and knows the right professionals for the client and the particular job.  

Getting rejected by a remodeling company

Have you ever been turned down by a remodeling company or a tradesperson?

You may have been rejected, but a savvy contractor's manner of turning down clients may be so artful that you don't even realize it happened. All you know is that you're calling other companies.

First, why would a potential client be rejected by a remodeling company? Aren't all remodeling companies desperate for clients?

No they are not. Well, not all of them, anyway. In my decades of reporting on the industry, I've heard these reasons for subtly turning a client away:

• The homeowners are obsessed with price, with getting a deal, and put that above all else, even down to questioning the cost of a single sheet of drywall.

• The homeowners may be excruciatingly picky and demand way more perfection than is problable or possible. While there are companies who cater to super picky people with high-end projects, the costs are proportionate.

* The homeowners may be rude or bigoted. I talked with a highly respected female remodeling company CEO who told me that if a client seems disrespectful of different genders, races, sexual orientation or whatever, she will not take the job and subject her employees to that.

• The homeowner may have a brittle personality and be just unpleasant to be around. Who needs that?

• The potential client may have tustled with or sued previous contractors. One way contractors find this out is to ask about past experiences with remodeling contractors. If a homeowners tells the truth, that reveals a lot.

In these cases and more, remodeling contractors are wise not to pursue particular jobs. But they must do so in a way that doesn't anger the homeowners, as those homeowners might well refer other people who are more compatible with the companies.

If you are being rejected, you'll hear phrases like this:

• We're not a good fit for your project.

• I'll give you some name of other companies.

• We're too busy to take this on right now.

Or, a strategy used by some remodeling companies when they face a difficult client is to price the job so high that the bid is sure to be rejected. And if the high bid is accepted, at least there is extra money to make the painful job worthwhile.

The worst way of all for a contractor to turn down is a client is to shut down communications and not return calls. I hope no legitimate remodeling company chooses that tactic. 

Daily 5 Remodel: Savvy Industry Intel from Leah Thayer

One of my favorite remodeling journalists of all time, Leah Thayer, has launched a new enterprise called Daily 5 Remodel. If you sign up, you get an email every weekday morning with all the news about the industry. 

Each day has a pertinent and perceptive news feed that looks like this:

Morning! It’s the “all’s good” Friday edition of d5R. Long-term mortgage rates hit record lows. More cash, easier business borrowing? 3.2 million jobs, just waiting for the right person. Benefits rate high for employees’ health and financial security. Commercial property values up 30% over 2009. Rising mortgage apps, rebounding home sales. Striking it rich in the national parks. Paints, camera, level! Home improvement/design apps for the iPhone. Economic recovery in the Great Lakes. “Who’s not for saving money?” Growing use of home-energy trackers, savers. New reverse-mortgage program helps cash-strapped seniors. Michigan remodelers in the news. From the blogs: High-performance decking diverts from the waste stream. Grilling a home inspector. Women improve team problem-solving. Interactive:Ikea cats. Slideshow: from warehouse to wow.

Then, you get your daily five stories. Today's are:

 BENCHMARKS 

An Industry Breakthrough

It's official: Remodeling is now the dominant force in residential spending, and it's only going to get bigger.

Read More

---

 BEST PRACTICES 

Ideas: Run With Them

Ripped from the Remodelers Advantage Summit, these seven low- or no-cost strategies can help bolster your business on the cheap.

Read More

---

 SNAPSHOTS 

Design-Build: the Video

"Clients seem to love the fact that we're offering them multimedia options for getting to know us better..."

Read More

---

 ANSWERS 

Pinpointing Your Market

Hmmm. How to identify every homeowner within three miles of your office who's likely to remodel in the next year?

Read More

---

 INNOVATIONS 

More Than Its Footprint

"Wow. This is much bigger than I expected." Student-designed Lumenhaus packs expansive potential into 570 energy-efficient square feet.

Read More

And Leah posts questions so contractors can see what their peers are thinking about vital topics of the day. Other sections include Benchmarks, Best Practices, Snapshots, Answers, Innovations and Blog. It's essentially an online magazine with a whole lot of substance.

Just think, you can get this every weekday. To join up, click here.

5 Favorites on Kathy's Remodeling Blog

You can tell what's up in the world by what people search for on the Internet. Here on Kathy's Remodeling Blog, we've got five consistently favorite subjects that interest your fellows readers. They are:

Green Remodeling

Kitchens

Before & After

Contractor Issues

 

Design Ideas

 

Build Like a Pro: Should I flash an exterior door under a covered porch?

If you want to remodel like a pro, I suggest you do what the pros do. For inspiration, many professional contractors hang out at the online forums of JLCOnline. 

This is the website of the highly respected Journal of Light Construction.

To participate in the forums, you have to be a professional contractor. However, DIYers and homeowners are welcome to read and learn.

Here's a question that was posed recently under the Exterior Details forum:

What is the standard in terms of flashing an exterior door when it's completely under a covered porch. Early 1900's home. Door is set in about 3' from the closest side so potentially some seriously sideways rain, maybe? But could I get by with just good caulk behind trim and under sill, spray foam gap from inside and call it good?

Now, notice that the two suggestions offered by other contractors look into the future of the house, not just what will work in the moment.

Answer #1:

Treat it like a regular door. The house may be powerwashed one day.

Answer #2:

Agreed. Don't skip any protection under the assumption the door won't see weather. That porch could be a thing of the past one day, but the door might remain.

In my opinion, looking into the future and building right for all those eventualities is the key to building like a pro. Some of this carefulness is driven by the desire to reduce future liability when things fail on a house. But it's also the basic desire, which we all should have, to build something that will last.

Protect your family from lead-dust poisoning during remodeling

If you live in a house older than 1978, there's a chance it contains paint with lead in it. Now don't freak out. Even though lead when ingested or inhaled can cause brain damage, the paint itself is not dangerous unless it's chipping off or is turned into dust by sanding and cutting.

In a home remodel, old paint that contains lead could well get turned into dust and will potentially harm your family and pets. Do not let this happen.

If professionals are working on your home, and disturbing more than 6 square feet of surface, they are required by EPA to get certified in how to handle lead paint. The newly enacted rule is referred to as RRP and a firm operating under the law will be referred to as a Certified Firm or Certified Renovator (logo above).

If you're doing your own work, you don't need to get certified. That means you must take your own precautions when working on your house. If you poison your family with lead-tainted dust, you have only yourself to blame.

To check for lead, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy some LeadCheck swabs. They cost $25 for 8 of them. To find out how to deal with and control lead dust, do a Google search and you'll turn up all kinds of resources.

Or, if you want to see how the pros do it, you can purchase a new DVD training program that teaches on-the-job workers how to protect themselves, the homeowners and their own families from lead poisoning during renovations.

To purchase this training video, go to Train2Rebuild

To see a movie trailer of the DVD, watch the 2-minute clip below:

The carpenter's daughter with elevated blood-lead levels

The other day, a little girl's doctor told her parents their child's blood-lead level was elevated. It wasn't yet at the 10 micrograms per deciliter that is considered dangerous. But at 6 micrograms per deciliter, it was moving in that direction. And her dad freaked out. Why?

See how lead blood levels are tested

The little girl's dad, who I won't name so I don't embarrass and humiliate him, is a carpenter who has been working with salvaged wood on a really cool reconstruction project. And I mean a really cool project. For a environmentally sensitive carpenter, using century-old reclaimed wood to include in a LEED building is as hip as it gets.

However, this dad, who loves his daughter more than life itself, was not using proper lead-safe practices. Suggestions had been made to him and his crew that they take special precautions to avoid spreading toxic lead dust, but nothing was really done about it.

The problem with lead dust is that when ingested, through simple breathing, lead in the blood causes all kinds of problems. For kids, it leads to attention deficit disorder, behavior problems, learning difficulties and, in the most extreme cases, death. In adults it causes high blood pressure, fatigue and loss of sexual drive.

So how did lead get into this old wood? Prior to 1978, lead was added to paint to make it more durable, more colorfast and resistant to rot and pests. What's not to like? Well, we've known for a long, long time that lead causes neurological damage to kids and adults. And so in 1978, it was outlawed in paint for residential construction. But guess what? The old paint in older homes didn't go away. In some cases it has been covered up non-leaded paint. And that's fine. But when you go cutting into that wood, sanding it, and otherwise disturbing it, then that lead becomes airborne dust, and becomes a current problem.

And so it came to pass that the carpenter's daughter had lead in her blood that was likely a result of her dad coming home covered in lead-tainted dust.

From this day forward, the carpenter will take this issue seriously. And the EPA is going to force professional remodelers to likewise take this seriously and it has recently enacted the RRP (Renovation, Repair and Painting) Rule for lead-safe practices on the jobsite. Read about the rule here.

A lot of professional remodelers don't like this rule because they have to become certified to work on homes where lead is present, and they have to train their crews, and they have to spend a few bucks on protective coveralls, gloves, plastic sheeting, painters tape, and a few other items. And their workers must be trained and must wear all this gear. And that's certainly a bother.

But at the end of day, when these workers are operating according to the law, none of this lead-tainted paint dust will go home with them to poison their own children. And none of the lead-tainted paint dust will remain to poison the people in the house.

And no one will have to feel the guilt the carpenter must be feeling right now.

To see a training program for workers dealing with lead-tainted paint, click here.

More folks go online to prepare for a remodel

According to a story on CNN.com, the Internet is a bounty for those ready to remodel. You can find help and information in many areas, including:

• Finding a contractor (check out Franklin-Report.com and Angieslist.com)

• Checking on a contractor's credit rating, license and insurance (contractorcheck.com)

• Ordering supplies (HomeDepot.com, Lowes.com, eFaucets.com, TileShop.com, and so on)

I'd like increase that list a little, based on what you need to get through a remodel:

• Check online for takeout menus. If your kitchen is under construction, you'll need something to eat.

• Look online for vacation deals and discounts at bed and breakfast inns, then book your room. When a remodel is making you absolutely nuts, you need a change of pace.

• And finally, download some soothing music or meditation instructions from iTunes. You will need to calm down, so plan for it.

Owners of pre-1978 homes may soon have a better pool of contractors to choose from

Own an older home? Beginning April 22, only contractors who have been trained in safe handling of lead-contaminated paint dust can legally work on your home. And that's a good thing for you.

If you've been keeping up with contractor-type news, you know that contractors are not happy at all with a soon-to-be enforced EPA law that requires extra precautions when dealing with lead contamination in homes. 

Lead was routinely added to paint prior to 1978. When that lead-infused paint is sanded or cut into, dust is created that can be ingested. Lead poisoning has been proved conclusively to cause brain and neurological damage to children. That's what this law is all about, to protect the health of children. And I can tell you from personal experience, life is hard enough without the added burden of brain damage. Congress directed the EPA to enact these safety requirements nearly 20 years ago, and it's only now being done.

Some contractors say the financial burden of these safety precautions is too great. Some have turned it into a political issue and another reason to dislike President Obama and his administration.

The law requires that in order to work on houses built prior to 1978 (the year paint with lead in it was banned for residential construction), each contractor must take an 8-hour class that costs about $250 and pass a 25-question multiple-choice test. Then, the workers in the company must be trained on how to protect themselves from lead-contaminated paint dust, and how to protect the jobsite. This often requires plastic gloves, masks, plastic bags to collect the contaminated material, a HEPA vacuum, etc.

Times are tough right now for businesses and so many contractors are rebelling by saying they won't get certified and they simply won't take any remodeling jobs on houses built prior to 1978. Some companies report they will go out of business because of this new requirement.

What this means is more work for the companies who are certified to work with lead-contaminated paint dust. The EPA estimates some 125,000 certified contractors by the April 22 deadline, with companies continuing to be certified after that.

If you own a home built prior to 1978, the pool of contractors that you can choose from to do remodeling will not be bigger, but it will be better. 

Certain companies have a special affinity for older homes and you will be more likely to choose such a company when others with less of a commitment to older homes drop out of the business. Plus, the companies who have taken the time and effort to become certified in the handling of lead-contaminated dust are the companies who have a demonstrated affinity for safety, both for their own workers and for the home's occupants.

There have always been people who resent the government stepping in to protect the safety of consumers. Drug companies really hate it. So do polluting industries. Yes, protecting consumers and workers does cost money. However, if a company is so close to financial ruin that a commitment of $1,000 for new safety training and equipment puts them over the edge, you have to assume that if it wasn't this new safety requirement then it would be something else that caused them to shut their doors, like a late-paying client or being turned down for a business loan from the bank.

I'm certainly sad when good contracting companies go out of business. These are really tough times for everyone. I'm even more sad about contaminants we expose young children to in this modern world. 

Bottom line: When you as a homeowner of a house built prior to 1978 seek remodeling services in the future, the contractors who can legally work on your house, meaning they are certified to handle lead-polluted paint dust, will have demonstrated a level of solvency and commitment to safety that should give you some comfort.

My plea to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry — help us locate award-winning contractors

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is an organization that helps raise the professionalism of remodeling contractors. So what does this have to do with homeowners?

NARI holds a competition each year called the CotY Awards, or Contractor of the Year. Winners are chosen in a variety of categories, like Best Residential Kitchen Under $40,000 and Best Residential Bath Under $30,000.

No problem with any of that. In fact, I often suggest to homeowners nervous about having a bad contractor experience that they hire award-winning companies. 

I've found that the companies who: 1) are members of professional organizations like NARI, 2) enter their projects in competitions and 3) win those competitions are often many steps above other companies.

So here's the problem: NARI does not make the information on winners easy to access. It does not give us a highly searchable database. And why not? I guarantee you if there was a winner database searchable by area, project type, price and with before and after pictures . . . well, I'd be on that site for hours.

Instead, what we're offered is a static list of winners announced Jan. 22, 2010 with no hot links to the winners, no pictures, nothing. What a missed opportunity. See what I'm talking about here. 

On that page, you'll find a listing of a 2010 winner that looks like this:

Residential Bath under $30,000

Region 1 Northeast

Dwyer & Leavenworth, Inc.

Monroe, NY

First of all, what is Region 1? Why not hot link to the company's website in case I want to check them out? And where is this winning bath? We know the company submitted copious photos to enter the competition and that the judges saw them. Why are we being denied?

The list of past and current winners is even more deadly boring, if that's possible. See it here.

OK, so maybe there is another location on the website where all the before and after photos are located. I found a digital magazine that lists the 2009 winners and shows one little picture for each winning project. The "magazine" looks like it took a lot of work and talent to layout and produce. But it's bulky online and has a weird search function. And again, where are the before and after photos! Please, the potential clients want, need, crave, salivate for before and after photos. Again, why hold back?

So this concludes my rant. Again I plea: NARI, give us a user-friendly way to find the winning companies and see the before and after photos of the winning projects. How can I suggest to homeowners that they hire award-winning companies if you make it so difficult to find those companies? Thank you for listening!

Yoga for builders

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?

 See the whole story at Fine Homebuilding.

 

Couples' retreat for married remodeling company owners

While everyone tries to balance family and work life, married business partners are working on two sometimes diametrically opposed relationships simultaneously.

Paul and Nina Winans, married 33 years, began their annual couples retreat workshop (Feb. 26–27, 2010, in Tempe, Ariz.) to help others encountering the same challenges, says Nina, who had a bookkeeping background when she began to work with Paul 31 years ago. Before they sold their successful $2.4 million company in 2007, she was vice president. Now Paul is a facilitator and consultant for Remodelers Advantage, and both are principals in Winans Consulting.

The Winans learned about their own relationship from mentors. “It’s been an ongoing process,” Paul says. “But we were able to take input from people who know more than we do ... which helped us see things differently.”

See the rest of the story at www.remodeling.hw.net

Homeowners more cautious on remodeling projects

'Twas only a few years ago, when the housing boom was in full roar, that homeowners didn't have to fret too much over whether the money they invested in remodeling would be paid back at resale time.

Indeed, it was practically a no-brainer: Home sale prices were going up so high and so fast that remodeling the kitchen or the master bath would nearly pay for itself. Some remodeling companies had so much backlogged work that clients passed the time on waiting lists.

"These days, it's a new ballgame," said Sal Alfano, a former contractor who now is the editorial director for Remodeling magazine, a trade journal. "Now, the jobs are smaller, the scope of work has been cut back, and consumers are doing things in phases."

See the whole story at www.chicagotribune.com

Inmates help remodel police department

Extensive renovations to much of the Marshfield (Mass.) Police Department’s interior, which took place from April to July, included a complete remodel of the building’s lobby, dispatch area and records room.

The months of full-time labor that it took for those projects to come together was completed at virtually no cost to the taxpayer, said Lt. Paul Taber, who helped the town link up with Project Labor, which is a Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department program that puts inmates to work for municipalities.

“We estimate the labor on the dispatch area alone saved us over $100,000,” said Taber, who on Dec. 7 met with several town officials at the police department to show them the recent work that had been completed. Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr., corrections officers and the five inmates who volunteered their services were all on hand for the occasion.

“The town just pays for the materials and they go to work,” said sheriff department spokeswoman Sara Lavoie, who added that there was one small catch to the arrangement. “They just have to buy the whole crew lunch every day.”

See the whole story at www.wickedlocal.com

The remodeling blues from Home Depot

For lack of a kitchen sink, Darrell and Colleen Brandt wash their pots and pans in the bathtub. Sheets of cardboard and drywall serve as their countertop.

It's exactly the situation the Golden Valley couple were trying to avoid when they chose a contractor for their kitchen remodel. 

In September, they hired the Home Depot because they thought the home improvement giant would use only the best remodeling professionals.

See the whole story at  www.startribune.com

Checklist for hiring a builder or remodeler

Use this checklist to help you select a builder or remodeler to work on or build your home.

• Does the builder or remodeler have a permanent business location and a good reputation with local banks and suppliers?

• How long have they been in the building business? It usually takes three to five years to establish a financially sound business. Will they be around after the construction is complete to service any warranties?

• Have you called your local Better Business Bureau? They can alert you to any complaints.

• Does the builder/remodeler have sufficient workers compensation and general liability insurance? If not, you may be liable for any construction-related accidents on your premises.

• Will the builder/remodeler provide you with names of previous customers? Ask them if they would hire the builder/remodeler again.

• Have you seen the builder/remodelers work, both completed and in progress? Check for quality of workmanship and materials.

• Are you able to communicate with the builder/remodeler? Remember you will be in close contact with them throughout the construction process and afterward as you live in your new home.

• Will the builder/remodeler provide you with a complete and clearly written contract? The contract will benefit both of you. Review it carefully.

• Be cautious of unusually low-priced bids. If the builder/remodeler is unable to pay for the materials and labor as the project proceeds, this may indicate a potential problem.

Call your local home builders’ association for the names of member builders and remodelers. Find contact information at www.nahb.org/findanhba.

via www.nahb.org

Unlicensed contractor faces jail time, restitution

An unlicensed Napa (Calif.) contractor has been ordered to pay full restitution to three customers he defrauded or he faces a six-year prison term, the Contractors State Licensing Board said this week.

Ronald Russell Clawson, 27, pleaded no contest in Napa County Superior Court last week to elder abuse, identity theft, grand theft and fraudulent use of a contractor license number, board spokeswoman Venus Stromberg said.

See the whole story at www.napavalleyregister.com

Remodel a home in a shaky market?

The troubled housing market isn’t just hurting homeowners who want to sell, it’s torpedoing incomes for builders and remodelers as well.

As a result, contractors have cut bids by 20% in many parts of the country, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal, which adds that many contractors are willing to take on small or otherwise unappealing jobs they’d have turned down a few years ago.

So maybe this is a good time to redo the kitchen or bath, build a deck or finish a basement.

But does it make sense to put money into a home when the housing market is so shaky?

See the whole story via www.mainstreet.com

Here's one way contractors spend their time in a down market

The dynamic home remodeling trio of Brandon Keyser, Jason Ball and Al King was wondering which of their many fine projects to exhibit for the recent Oregon Remodelers Association Home Tour.

“Our one in Vancouver was the one we really wanted,” said Keyser, a general contractor for 13 years. “It’s beautiful. But it was too far away.

“We thought about it some more, until I finally said, ‘What about my house?’ It was easier because I didn’t have to deal with a homeowner. My only sacrifice was that I had to let my wife drive my truck.”

via www.lakeoswegoreview.com

Homeowners find bargains in this year's remodeling - Wall Street Journal

People who refrained from splurging on big home-improvement projects during the housing boom are reaping the rewards now.

Depending on the region and the job, some homeowners are paying as much as 20% less for home-remodeling projects than they would have a few years ago. Many contractors are willing to accept smaller jobs and "handyman" projects that they used to snub. And more projects are being delivered on time and on budget—a stark contrast from the boom years.

Kim and Chandra Sobieski of Cat Spring, Texas, considered expanding their home two years ago, but thought the contractor's $380,000 estimate was too high. Earlier this year, Mr. Sobieski, a 54-year-old retired title-company executive, called the same contractor and got a quote for a slightly revised expansion for 20% less. The couple wound up paying $300,000 to add 1,500 square feet to their old 3,400-square-foot home, including installing a new roof, converting a garage to an entertainment room and adding a new garage.

via online.wsj.com

Ensuring healthy indoor air quality during a remodel

Living through a major home remodel can turn anyone’s life topsy-turvy, but when you suffer from asthma, it can become a hazard to your health. That’s why it’s important to hire a contractor who knows how to minimize indoor air pollution during a home remodel, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). Dust, debris and fumes from demolition and construction can wreak havoc on your eyes, nose and skin. A skilled remodeler will know what steps to take to minimize pollutants infiltrating the other living spaces of the home. 

John Martin, owner of Straight and Level Construction Co. in Austin, Texas, recently won a regional Contractor of the Year Award for a residential remodel for a family with three asthmatic children. The scope of the project included a second-story addition, a first-floor addition and kitchen remodel.

via www.shorenewstoday.com

A new bathroom concept, ready for prime time

Matt Plaskoff has invested 10 years and $4 million into One Week Bath, and after nearly 1,000 fast-turnaround bathroom remodels in Los Angeles since 2004, he’s ready to roll it out across the country. One Week Bath Kansas City, a joint partnership with Jake Schloegel of Schloegel Design Remodel, will have its grand opening – and the concept’s national debut– on November 1.

One Week Bath [your city here] is an extension of a business model that Plaskoff and his team have tweaked, perfected, and primed for its national roll-out. It’s not a franchise operation, he clarifies, but a business partnership that leverages the model’s operational strengths and buying power, and his business partners’ local reputation and sales and installation skills.

(Right: Portion of a One Week Bath project)

via www.remodeling.hw.net

Ask an expert: Keeping home, family safe during remodeling

By Michael McCutcheon for the Mercury News

Q: How can I keep my home and family safe during a remodel?

A: That's a great question. Clients usually dwell on price vs. quality, and the remodeling schedule, but rarely do they seriously consider the safety of their family and home during a remodel.

Yet I would argue that this is one of the most important aspects that separate a well-run remodel from the average project.

Recently I was asked to look at a troubled remodel that was still in progress. Among other transgressions, I was shocked to see that the contractors had been leaving the back of the house open every night when they left. This was a house with a single woman and young girl living alone!

via www.mercurynews.com