By Tony Lotven
This post is the first in a three-part series offered to share our experience remodeling our home. Hodges Roofing & Siding provided the exterior work on our home.Keeping A Watchful Eye During The Remodel
As well as we thought we planned, I knew that the unexpected always pops up. We were very fortunate that our plumber asked a key question before replacing our drain pipe. He asked about the depth of our new sink. Realizing that our new double sink was deeper than our 30 year old double sink, the plumber said that he needed to adjust the height of the drain connections in the wall to accommodate the deeper sinks. This is something that I had not even taken into consideration. By asking this simple question, we avoided having to make the plumber try to redo the drains after the sinks and sink cabinet had been installed. If you ever have had to work under a sink inside a cabinet then you know what a pain it can be. That scenario was totally avoided. Finding that cracked pipe ended up being one of those blessings in disguise.
I have found that many construction workers don’t invest themselves into their work. Of course, the same can be said of other jobs and industries, but let’s stay on topic here. Their owners and sometimes foremen may have more to lose. The workers for this type of job will be here once and then gone forever, so they don’t have to face the homeowner later about the quality of their work. Fortunately, the plumber showed that he always cares about the quality of his work, and proved it by thinking ahead about the kitchen installation. I don’t expect perfection, but I want some sense of pride and care. Being present at the house during work let the workers know that we were watching them. That careful watch helped maintain quality awareness but did not alleviate some quality issues.
I know that hiring one company and general contractor can give you a single point of contact to watch quality control and discuss problems. The question becomes one of trust and expense. Hiring a remodeling company in charge of all the aspects of your project will raise the cost of the total project, and that extra expense can be very significant. In our case, we knew we could get everything done within our budget cap if we served as our own project manager. Its a trade off, and in our case, we were prepared to wear that hat. I knew that everything wasn’t going to be perfect or go exactly to plan. Like our lives, everything wasn’t perfect. However, looking in the rear view mirror, everything stayed pretty much on track and the transformation of our house in five weeks is very impressive and looks fabulous. No matter the savings, if you don’t trust yourself to oversee, plan, and schedule your project, then find a contractor you trust and budget the extra expense.
