Remodeling – Dream or nightmare?
Every improvement in life begins with a dream or a vision of something better. Unfortunately, not all dreams come true; some end up becoming nightmares. Remodeling a house is no exception. According to the Consumer Federation of America, home improvement projects generate more complaints than any other segment of the economy. Lack of careful planning is responsible for much of the frustration homeowners experience when remodeling their homes. The saying, “To fail to plan is to plan to fail,” has never been more true than when remodeling.
Four factors contribute to this costly lack of preparation. First, remodeling, while not rocket science, does involve a certain amount of specialized knowledge. This simply means that there are principles, practices, and terms used in the remodeling industry that most of us are not familiar with.
Second, the remodeling industry is pretty disorganized. From architects to day laborers with every imaginable educational and cultural background, differences in attitudes, methods, languages, and practices make uniformity virtually non-existent.
Third, most of us lead very busy lives. Preparing for a remodeling project of any size places a considerable strain on us physically and mentally. It requires a lot of time and energy. Combine this with the nature of the industry and doing the necessary research can seem like jogging on snowshoes.
This brings us to the fourth factor. Contractors often provide enough customer information to keep them engaged while keeping information that could influence them to make decisions that the contractor does not prefer. Once committed to a method, product, material, or timeframe, it is difficult to make changes without customer approval. To avoid this, one simply refrains from being very specific. For example, let’s say the contractor’s bid includes the installation of medium-quality carpet. What is the middle grade? When it comes time to select your carpet, you can be sure that the homeowner and the contractor will have different ideas about what constitutes average quality carpet. If, on the other hand, the contractor specified the weight, name, and manufacturer of the carpet, there is little room for disagreement. Contractors often consider items such as floor coverings, cabinets, and accessories; just as often, the allocation turns out to be insufficient to cover the actual costs of quality material. This makes the initial offer seem low, but it creates additional costs. These additional charges are written as “Change Orders” or “Secondary Work Orders.” Many contractors make most of their money this way. Most of these extras, billed at a higher rate, can be accounted for in a full suite of plans. The savings can be significant.
So how do we plan thoroughly? First, imagine what you want. Don’t worry now about what is possible. Just let your imagination explore the possibilities. Next, put together everything that illustrates what you want, like, and prefer. Write down the ideas about the project. Clip pictures from magazines, visit home shows and model homes, draw floor plans, watch HGTV, and take photos of features you like in other homes. This helps clarify your thoughts and communicate with designers and contractors.
Next, hire a competent designer; someone who can put your ideas on paper. These preliminary drawings allow you to evaluate the floor plans and elevations and get an idea of what things will look like. A word of caution; many contractors, as well as kitchen and bath companies, have or work with a designer. This designer knows the capabilities and preferences of the company he works for. To avoid being led into a predetermined set of options, hire your own designer whose agenda will be to learn what he wants and help you plan the best way to get it. You will save money and have a better chance of discovering all the options from him.
When the preliminary drawings are reviewed to your satisfaction, the designer will add details, convert them to working drawings, obtain the necessary engineering, and submit them to the City for approval. Once approved, he will be ready to receive offers.
Finally, spend time familiarizing yourself with your plans before putting them up for auction. You’ll feel better understanding what’s involved, and the contractors you meet will realize that you’re knowledgeable enough to spot mistakes. Honest and professional contractors appreciate well-informed clients.
So, to make your remodeling dream come true:
o Be clear about what you want; Gather material that helps you communicate it.
o Hire a competent designer to turn your ideas into plans.
o Study your project; means more to you than to anyone else.
o Get it in writing; compare, check and verify.
