Words of Wisdom from Professional Remodelers – Part 1

This excerpt written by Kevin Vick  and appeared in Texas Home and Garden July 14, 2014 edition

Whether you are doing a small renovation or a large remodeling project, it is important that you protect yourself so that you get the best outcome for you, your family and your home. Words of wisdom from professional remodelers.

Every project starts with the sales and estimating process.

Kevin Vick of Vick Construction suggests the following:

“Before starting any home improvement project a good plan needs to be in place. I am not talking about the architect’s drawings, but an outline describing what is included in the project. When remodeling a kitchen, for instance, there are so many things to consider. A written plan is imperative for any homeowner before embarking on such a project.

“Let’s say Suzy Smith lives in a home that was built in 1988 and she wants to update her kitchen. The kitchen is still functional, but it is tired, dated, and inefficient due to its layout and non-Energy Star rated appliances. Suzy has collected some great photos and ideas from various websites and home magazines, but she is overwhelmed with the thought of where to begin. That brings up the biggest questions of all…WHAT needs to be done and HOW MUCH is it all going to cost?

“Well, the logical place to begin is with a designer’s drawings, but this may not be in Suzy’s budget. If this is the case then an outline of the project from start to finish is a great beginning. Building professionals refer to the detailed outline as the Scope of Work, and it serves as a written plan of how the new kitchen will look and function. Suzy is going to write out a much simpler version of this, but it will serve as a great organizational and communication tool.

“One benefit to the home owner is that it levels the playing field for the contractors and allows them to produce estimates based on identical elements of the project. The benefit to Suzy is she will obtain an apples-to-apples comparison of the contractors she is interviewing. Without her outline, Suzy will get estimates based on each of the contractors’ interpretations, ideas, and experiences.  This will lead to higher costs during the construction of the project due to omissions, assumptions and interpretations by each of the contractors being interviewed.

“Another important benefit for Suzy writing a project outline is it will give her the opportunity to think through the project from start to finish.”