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Avoiding Home
Remodeling Nightmares What You Need to Know Before You Begin
Entry Point KW
Avoiding Home Remodeling Nightmares - What You Need to Know Before You Begin
There are a great many reasons that homeowners decide to commission larger
home improvement projects, from improving the look and function of their homes
to actually increasing the real AND perceived value of their property. People's
motivations for choosing to improve their home through home remodeling and
home renovations but they all have some wants in common - they want a good job
done at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately every year hundreds of homeowners who decided to entrust their
hard earned money to a contractor to execute their home improvement vision end
up disappointed, heartbroken even and way out of pocket because they contractor
they choose was not quite up to the job.
In this white paper we are going to share just what you should be looking for when
you are choosing a home improvement contractor and how to avoid becoming one
of those heartbroken homeowners whose home improvement dreams become a
nightmare.
What Can Go Wrong?
If you were to speak to any home remodeling and home renovation specialist who
has been in business for a while no matter where they are based they will be able
to tell you at least a few home improvement nightmare stories, often because they
were the ones who had to step in to and fix the chaos.
Here are a just a few real life stories
'from the trenches' as told by
contractors who had to right the
wrongs of others and homeowners
who lived through the nightmares;
"The homeowner had requested that the contractor replace an old fashioned popcorn ceiling with a light
textured finish. The problem was that the contractor assigned the task to a sub-contractor who
completely failed to understand the brief and applied the texturing to the ceilings, the walls and
practically every surface in the kitchen. Rather than agree to fix what the subcontractor had done the
contractor simply walked off the job, leaving a huge and costly to fix mess behind for my company to
deal with."
"We hired a local contractor to put a small addition on the back of our home to serve as a sun porch. He
poured the foundation and did begin to frame out the structure, but then, without a word, he simply
disappeared. Unable to track him down we lost our deposit and when we hired a new contractor they
discovered that the new foundation was not at all sufficient and it had to be redone, adding thousands to
our original budget."
"We wanted to completely remodel our kitchen, but the construction company we hired suddenly said
the crew could only work in the evenings. They showed up for two weeks, and then one day, they just
didn't show up anymore. They left behind a complete mess and we had to hire a new company to finish
the job. We had paid the first firm as they went, but next time we will get an agreement in writing to
make sure the job is done. Lesson learned. "
Why Does This Happen?
It may be very hard to imagine that a remodeling
contractor would simply abandon a job and yet it
actually happens a great deal. Most consumers
are savvy enough to know that they should never
pay a contractor in full up front, so often a
contractor that is in over their head has little to
lose by disappearing. Deposits are usually
nonrefundable so they simply take what they can
get and leave. It's a nightmare for the
homeowners but very hard to litigate.
Inexperience and lack of care is a real problem in the construction and remodeling
industry. In this day and age anyone can set up a website and all too often a person
who considers themselves to be a great DIY expert decides that this means that
they can also be a great remodeling contractor.
Therefore, the onus shifts to the consumer to do some due diligence before they
hire a remodeling contractor for any project.
What Does a Good Remodeling Contractor Look Like?
You do a Google search for a kitchen remodeling contractor in your area and lo and
behold dozens of results pop up, all in reasonably close proximity to your home.
Now what? How do you even begin to start? Let's take it step by step:
The Website
Most people's first point of contact these days with almost any company is their
website. Do not be fooled though. While a nice looking website can be a good sign
you should not be blinded by a very fancy one. Being able to build a nice website
(or to pay to have one built) does not mean that you can build a great kitchen!
There are some things that you should be looking for though. Clear contact
information should be prominently displayed and not just a contact form either, a
real telephone number and a real address should be easy to find. If a remodeling
contractor does not list such things that should be a red flag (remember the
contractors who ran away? It is easy to do if your only point of contact is an email
form.)
Experience
Not all contractors are jacks of all trades. Some are far better at certain projects
than they are others. During your first discussions you need to determine what
their level of experience is with your specific project. For example, a company may
be able to show you dozens of examples of their great kitchen remodels but how
does that skill translate to the deck you are hoping to add to your home before the
summer comes?
The Human Touch
Letting strangers spend days, weeks, or even months come and go in your home is
a big leap of faith. If a contractor is not willing to arrange a face to face meeting
then even more alarm bells should start going off in your head. You are also
entitled to ask questions about why the company is in business. It may sound a
little silly at first, but if a contractor is not passionate about what they do - and
about great customer service - then they are simply not going to do the best job
possible.
Any good craftsman is proud of their work and that is especially true of any home
remodeling contractor. Most great remodeling contractors will want to flood you
with examples of their great work, sometimes until you beg them to stop. That is
not a bad thing though, it means they are proud of what they do and will carry that
passion onto your project.
The Legal Stuff
Another huge headache for a homeowner is an improperly insured contractor.
Hiring a contractor who is not properly insured can be more of a problem than you
might think. Contractors of any kind - but especially remodeling and renovation
contractors - need to carry two types of insurance; liability and worker’s
compensation.
For you, as a homeowner, this protects you in two ways. Liability insurance will kick
in in the event the contractor causes damage to your home. For example, what if,
during a bathroom remodel something goes wrong and the bathtub goes crashing
through the floor? It would be very, very unlikely that your homeowner's insurance
will cover you.
Worker's comp is important to protect
you from being liable if a worker is
injured while on your property
undertaking the job as specified. Your
own homeowner’s insurance policy may
help cover some of the costs to pay that
worker’s claim but that will usually result
in a hike in your rates and make it harder for you to get a new policy in the future.
Before you sign anything, ask the contractor about these issues.
A Listening Ear
You may not have the technical knowhow to pull of your desired home
improvement project but you do know what you want and that usually is not
exactly the same thing as your neighbour, and the people down the street have.
Some companies, usually the larger ones actually, will offer you set options for
standard remodels. You can have A, B, C (or maybe even D) floor plan with X, Y, Z
counters, flooring and cabinets. Any deviations are considered 'custom' and will
cost you double the price. That is not the way a home remodeling project should
work. Look for a contractor who will listen to your vision and then tell you how
they can execute it, explaining any challenges they foresee in getting you exactly
what you want.
An All Seeing Eye
There is more to most
remodeling projects than
just the technical aspects of
laying the floor in bathroom
or installing the cabinets in
the kitchen. Most people
are remodeling for form
and function and so how a
remodel looks when all is
said and done is very important as well. Ask the remodeling contractor you are
considering what their interior design experience consists of as well. Good
contractors will either have a qualified individual on staff or they will have a solid
working relationship with a reliable and trusted associate who can help ensure that
all of the design bases are covered as well as the technical ones.
Get it all in Writing
After you have made your decision on just which contractor you want to use make
sure that there is not only a written contract but a written plan of action as well. In
the course of a larger remodeling project this may need to be changed over time -
as in 'oops I do prefer blue over white for my ceramic tile after all' and other such
changes - and for the protection of both parties these requests should be made in
writing as well, rather than simply casually mentioned to the foreman of the crew
when they show up for work one morning.
Tips for a Smooth Working Relationship with Your Remodeling
Contractors
Once work actually begins you are going to become very well acquainted with your
remodeling contractor and there are some things you can do to make the whole
process smoother for everyone. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Set Some Ground Rules
If there are certain areas in your home you would prefer that your contractors not
go state so politely up front instead of getting mad when a worker unwittingly goes
someplace where you did not want them to.
Remove Kids and Animals
Whenever possible
children should not
be present anywhere
near a remodeling
job and the same is
true of pets. There
have truly been one
or two horrible cases
in which a beloved
family pet has ended
up sealed behind
drywall because the
homeowner forgot
to tell the contractor that they existed :( In addition, all the banging and crashing
and the influx of strangers will scare pets half to death so if they cannot be sent to
'pet daycare' at least make sure they are kept in a secure place away from all the
action and that your contractors are aware they are there (so that no one lets
them out accidentally.)
Communication is Key
If something is not quite proceeding as you like then you should speak up
immediately rather than grumbling to other people. A good contractor really only
wants one thing - to please their client - and will be happy to listen to your
concerns and go about coming up with ways to solve the issue. But they can only
do that if they know that something is amiss in the first place.
In conclusion, a home remodeling or home renovation project of any kind is a big
undertaking and will affect your, your family and your home for years to come.
Therefore take the time to implement and follow these suggestions and get the
great job you are looking for done right the first time.
Thanks for downloading one of our White Papers. Please feel free to email, tweet
or otherwise social bookmark out this report to your friends and colleagues. If you
quote from it however in published form as it is a protected copyrighted work
please provide a link back to http://entrypointkw.com/
About Entry Point KW
EntryPoint KW is a construction company located in Waterloo, Ontario,
that takes pride in offering quality projects for the home at an affordable price. We
understand how important it is to get things right and put ourselves in our
customers’ shoes to make sure that we are offering the solution that is right for
them.
Our experienced staff is very experienced in many areas of home remodeling and
renovation as well as interior design. Please feel free to contact us at any time at
226-988-3696 or via http://entrypointkw.comto discover just what we can do for
you.
Aron Pinto, Owner and General Contractor
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