Category Archives: Planning To Remodel

Why Hire A Contractor At All?

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I was recently asked the question “Why should I hire you instead of just hiring my own plumber or electrician?”.  The quick answer is to save you the time and headache of finding good companies and then scheduling and managing when and what they are doing. Let’s take a little deeper look at what value we bring to the project.

We use the same sub-contractors on all of our jobs and have a great relationship with them.  We make sure they are all licensed and that their insurance is up to date.  And we handle the payments to them.  Some contractors like to brag that they don’t use sub-contractors.  That’s great, but do they have a licensed plumber or electrician on staff?  If not they may not even be able to pull the appropriate permits to complete your job.  Why not use experts in the field rather than a “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none”?

What is your time worth to you?  How much time can you take off from work or away from your family to manage all of the different trades that need to work on your kitchen or bathroom remodel.  Do you know when the plumber needs to be scheduled so they are not in the way of the electrician?  Or when to have the cabinets delivered so they are installed in time for the counter top templating process?  It can get costly if you get charged extra trip costs for not having the work completed in the right order and a sub-contractor having to make extra trips.

One point of contact and one company to pay.  We handle all of the payments to the sub-contractors.  If there is a problem you’ll have one person to deal with.  In most cases it will have been picked up and solved before you even knew it was a problem.

There are many things that go on behind the scenes to make a remodeling project run smoothly.  Unfortunately for good remodeling contractors the better we do our jobs the easier it looks to our customers.  Don’t let a smooth running job fool you.  It takes a lot of hard work to make a job look easy.

Give us your feedback.  What value do you see from working with a good contractor?

Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company, LLCHerb Coulter The Remodeling Company Glen Allen, VA

 

Keeping Communication Open Throughout The Remodeling Process

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How important is communication in a remodeling project?  Well, if you’ve ever been through a remodel and felt like you were left out of the loop you already know.  It’s very important.  Quality work and a fair price don’t mean much if you didn’t get what you wanted or were constantly chasing down your contractor to find out when they would be working or why something wasn’t done when you thought it should be.

Keeping an open line of communications throughout the project is always a priority for me.  I would rather be told I am giving too much information or too many updates than to find out we had done something wrong or left our customer feeling left out.  We start at the beginning by really trying to find out what you want, what you need and what fits in your budget.  Knowing all of this will help guide our process to get you more of what you want in the end.  Perhaps you can’t afford the kitchen or bathroom of your dreams but we may be able to pull in parts of that dream and still work within a budget that’s comfortable for you.

Little things like letting the homeowner know who’s going to be working on there home and when can go a long way in making a stressful process a little easier.

This is just one of many things to consider when deciding on a contractor for your next remodeling project but I feel it’s one of the most important.

 

Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company LLC

Do We Need A Green Building Code?

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Do you want to save money on your energy bills?  Do you want to have better air quality in your home?  Of Course!

Do you want your building and remodeling work to cost even more than it does now?  Do you want the government to decide you have to build green?  Well….

Lately it’s become impossible to pick up a construction industry magazine without being bombarded with “green this” and “sustainable that”.  It’s become kind of taboo to question how important it is to everyone.  Having only been asked  about this by a handful of our remodeling clients I wonder if it’s just another case of the media telling us what to care about or if it does really matter to homeowners here in the Glen Allen, Virginia area.  And more importantly should it be the law?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against building more energy efficient homes with better air quality but with construction already struggling and homeowners putting off projects because of the cost do we really need to force more costs into the system?

One thing that bothers me is just how safe the green products are.  With the current push to jump on the band wagon just about everything gets labeled green these days.  Most of them haven’t been around long enough to know if they are truly safe.  Which one is the next asbestos or lead?  Will contractors need to be government certified to remove these products from homes in ten years?

Is bamboo grown in China and shipped across the ocean and trucked across the country really greener than oak grown in a sustainable tree farm closer to it’s final destination?

On the other hand I do have to agree with better building practices that make for a tighter seal and better insulated house.  Being from the north I have a great appreciation for insulation and draft stopping to keep out the cold but those same principals do work here in the south to keep the heat out too.  Making for more efficient cooling in the summer.  But this is more about hiring a contractor that cares about the details and quality that you can’t see after the siding is on.

Is green building really as important as the media would lead you to believe?  Maybe it is.  Since we already have an energy code, do we need a green building codes to force us all to build green too?  I’m not so sure.

Let me know what you think.  Add your comments below.

 

Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company LLC

Is Your House Your Home Or Just An Investment?

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Dark pine kitchen circa 1985

1985 Called, They Want Their Kitchen Back.

When did our houses become just investments?  Don’t we still live in them?  Raise families, entertain friends and call them our homes?

I ask this because every article I read about whether or not to remodel in “the new economy” says not to do it because you’ll never get your money back.  It’s a terrible investment.

The one thing these “experts” seem to miss is the personal investment we make in our homes.  First you have to consider rather or not you plan to stay in your home or if you plan to move soon.

If you are planning to move it may be more advisable to simply spruce up your kitchen and bathroom with a new paint job or some new counter tops just to make it more appealing for the sale.

On the other hand if you are planning to stay, even for just five years, the emotional return on the investment of a major kitchen or bathroom remodel will be far more than the financial.  If you get depressed just looking at your kitchen and try to avoid having guests in the room than a remodel will definitely pay you back.

In the end it’s up to what you want to do with your own home.  Don’t let the “experts” or me for that matter tell you what to do.  It’s your home. Do what makes you happy.

Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company LLC