Replies

1. 
   runnerguy | Apr 23, 2009 03:03am | #1

   If the guys card says "Design/Build", make sure he's actually creative. It's said that talk is cheap. Ask him to you show his creative solutions....and not one's he only built, one's HE designed and THEN built.

   Runnerguy

1. 
   mulch52 | Apr 23, 2009 03:43am | #2

   thanks, runnerguy!  I'll put on my Missouri Show-Me face.  According to the initial phone contact, they do their initial design, then there's usually some back & forth tweaking before we sign the contract. 

2. 
   JeffBuck | Apr 23, 2009 03:46am | #3

   best answer is simply be realistic.

   life and remodeling isn't anything like the TV shows we've all seen.

    

   also ... be honest. And have a budget. A realistic, honest budget.

   and share it!

    

   I hate when people call ... we talk thru their hopes and dreams ...

   and they're so afraid of being ripped off they won't let me have that one piece of information that the whole deal revolves around.

   I need to know if we're thinking of a $20K kitchen or a $100K kitchen.

    

   also ... be clear ... your top dollar budget is the top dollar.

   so better to try to hit 15% ... maybe 20% below the very top to allow for changes.

   a good design/build firm will lessen the chance of needed that much extra.

   a good customer will also lessen that chance!

    

   make a decision ... and stick to it. That'll save the most money right there.

   solid ... early decisions.

    

   with an opening Q like you just posted, I hope you find a good GC and things go smooth ... nice when nice people enjoy a stree free remodel.

   Jeff

       Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   mulch52 | Apr 23, 2009 04:02am | #4

   Thanks, Jeff--I especially appreciate the contingency percentages you gave.  I once read a "how much to budget for a kitchen" article that tied the remodel budget to the house's value--have you heard any rules of thumb on that score?

1. 
   JeffBuck | Apr 23, 2009 04:09am | #5

   No ... kitchens can be the wild card.

   most every phase that can be inculded under "remodeling" can fall within a kitchen job. Lotsa different parts and pieces ... lotsa different trades ... lotsa room for error.

   Between myself and a good buddy ... we've noted that in out lifetimes ...

   we've worked exactly one "big kitchen" job that didn't have any wrong parts/pieces.

   We worked that one together ... didn't have one before ... and haven't worked one since.

   Might be as small as missing one knob ... but only had one in memory where everything showed up, showed up right, showed up in perfect condition ... and showed up on time.

   So ... expect a little of the unexpected.

   And I can't stress how the more decisions you carve into stone early ... and before you start ... will be the biggest money saver you'll find.

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   mulch52 | Apr 23, 2009 04:19am | #6

   Thanks Jeff.  I think I'll work on my must/want/tradeoff list between now & first candidate's visit.  Since my Mom was a champion listmaker, there's no telling where I'll stop!

1. 
   dude | Apr 23, 2009 01:48pm | #7

   ask gc what you can expect for various price points for a kitchen

   then you can plan on a practical level 

   try to pay promptly at each draw time as this will produce less stress on the gc & he will concentrate on the work at hand

   when a decision has to be made concerning the job problems ask him what he would do if he owned the house as this will make him fell more responsible for the outcome & if he has the experience he knows every way it can go wrong

   learned long ago if you are dealing with a control freak let them keep controlling till they make a bad mistake then they dissappear like a fart in a wind storm

   watch the guy who tells you he can get supplies cheap and will save you a bundle as he usually ends up the most expensive with the job screwed up & poor results

   Learned all the above & more due to 35 years on the job

   i learned if you feel you have to tell me how to do the job i shouldent be there for both our good !

3. 
   Piffin | Apr 23, 2009 02:14pm | #8

   Prioritize things between your definite 'must have's and your wants.

   Have a realistic budget.

   That would be a good starting place.

   It helps too if you have photos of styles you like from magazines or whatever, unless you and he are very good at verbal communications.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

4. 
   Piffin | Apr 23, 2009 03:16pm | #9

   I really like you as a client model. You are communicating well here and asking good questions.

   Like Jeff said, I hope you get a good one to serve you. You are a good client already.

   Something else that occurs to me that can make it go smoother and save you money, is if you have a space in the house where you can temporarily set up a functioning kitchen. some outfits that specialize in kitchens have small cook/sink units that can be used interim. Most Americans nowdays LIVE in the kitchen more than anyplace else, so naturally there is no other space that can disrupt your life ans psyche as much when it is in demo stage or disarray. I've had clients use a motor home or camper to do temp kitchen duties in for a week. Another had a vacant apt upstairs to make use of.

   Where it affects cost, is that if a client insists on being able to USE the kitchen while in progress, everything must be hooked back up each night before leaving. That can double to time and labour cost easily.

   OTOH, a bad contractor who can't plan ahead can make your life miserable by taking three months to do a 7-21 day job.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   JeffBuck | Apr 23, 2009 06:02pm | #10

   I was gonna come back to add "have pics". Good point.

   also ... I've set many the temp kitchen in the DR/Fam Room/ garage.

   save the sink base ... reuse old sink cut outta the CT or set in ply ...

   tack some small uppers up ... instant efficiency kitchen!

    

   thinking next time I'll switch from coil copper to pex for the water line.

   add a 5 gal bucket under the drain and they're set.

   then remind that the major washing should be done in the utility or bath sink.

    

   most people can survive nicely if U have a microwave and coffee maker next to the fridge that's sitting on masonite on top of the carpet somewhere ...

   I learned how to rig a proper kitchen from my buddy Joe ... somewhere along the lines he found an old painting of a window scene that showed the morning sunset.

   He always hung that above the temp sink or main appliance table.

   customers loved it! It was a terrible painting ... but made everyone smile.

   everyone tried to steal it at the end of their job ... but Joe insisted his next customers would need it more.

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   mulch52 | Apr 24, 2009 12:33am | #11

   Thanks, guys!  I've already resigned myself to boarding the cats for the "strangers-in-the-house" period (which is OK,as one of them thinks that a trip to the vet is a good excuse for a ride in the car), and I can gin together some sort of quasi-kitchen;  I can move out for a week or so, if it'll help.

   I'll systematize my picture collection, if only to show what I don't want.  I can break a problem down all day long, but synthesizing a solution (harking back to runnerdude's comment) is tough for me.

   Are there standards of practice/standard contract terms that address securing the property when I can't be there?  Gawd, I have alot to learn--I'd better start a Great Big List of to-do and to-ask...

1. 
   MikeSmith | Apr 24, 2009 12:36am | #12

   lots of contractors don't understand "care & custody"  when the Owner is not there

   perhaps  some of our resident lawyers can explainMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   jimAKAblue | Apr 26, 2009 07:58am | #14

   Mike, please tell us about care and custody from your perspective.

2. 
   JeffBuck | Apr 26, 2009 08:06am | #15

   for me ... the care and custody deal ... is based on a line my Dad used to kill me with.

   Growing up, working on his job sites ... we were always told ...

   "make it look like the remodeling fairies were here ..."

    

   as in ... show up, do the work ... then clean so well it looks like the work magically appeared. And plead our case as we would ... there was no such logic as ...

   "that dust was here ... I didn't make that dust ..."

   The stock reply to that was ... "I want it cleaner when we leave than when we showed up ..."

   Something else I demand of helpers ... and myself ... tarps from the front door to the work site ... and no one steps off a tarp! There's no reason to step off the tarp. There's no reason to be in a room/area other than the work site. (tarps are run to the bathroom they say's OK to use too) If anything ever shows up missing ... when CSI comes in to dust for prints ... I don't want my boot prints anywhere near the scene of the crime!

    

   and since I started with the "remodeling fairies" ... I gotta say ... after all these years ... I still hate those damn fairies! Can't stand them little bastdiges!

   how can a kid compete with that?

   Just unfair ...

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

3. 
   MikeSmith | Apr 26, 2009 01:10pm | #16

   i don't know what the legal requirements are.. but i surmise that once they give me a key, and they are not on the premises.... we are responsible for everything in itlegally...this is where the Owners need a Builder's Risk addendum to their Homeowner's policy... and the GC needs his CGL policy... and read the exclusions and coverageif the Owners are still occuppying, it's a little differentif the Owners are absent, the GC is wholly responsiblethe GC can loose a lot of money making things whole that were not part of the scope of workMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

4. 
   mulch52 | Apr 26, 2009 06:54pm | #19

   this is where the Owners need a Builder's Risk addendum to their Homeowner's policy... and the GC needs his CGL policy... and read the exclusions and coverage

   Mike, thanks so much for this!  I'll check in w/ my insurance agent tomorrow 4sure. 

2. 
   Landman | Apr 26, 2009 03:53pm | #17

   "he found an old painting that showed a scene of a morning sunset"

   Love that line.

1. 
   Huck | Apr 26, 2009 04:12pm | #18

   sounds like a line from "what condition my condition was in", the old Kenny Rogers hit.  Or maybe Oh Susanna.

   rained all night the day I left, the weather was bone dry

   I watched the dawn all night long, the morning sun set in my eye

   oh susanna, don't you cry for me....

   btw, we can make fun, but him and Piff have give some good solid advice here - I should print it out and save it for future reference."...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn

   CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com

1. 
   Landman | Apr 26, 2009 09:36pm | #20

   I don't disagree about the advise on the alt. kitchen at all. A good set up to keep the house functioning.

    I think hanging the picture does a couple of things

   1) Lets the client know that the builder has an eye for details

   2) Gives the client a smile everytime they see it. Having your kitchen torn out while you live in the house is probably stressful for the whole family. This would take the edge off and be what is remembered about the reno a few years down the road.

5. 
   Ted W. | Apr 24, 2009 02:18am | #13

   Just by posting this topic, your off to a really good start. ;)

   ~ Ted W ~

   Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
   Meet me at House & Builder!