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Pro Spotlight: 3 Major Remodeling Missteps and How to Avoid Them
A Portland-area pro details the most frequent and frustrating remodeling mistakes — and how you can dodge them
Sponsoreret indhold
Who: Joseph Patrick of Lamont Bros.
Where: West Linn, Oregon
In his own words: “After growing up in the construction industry together, we founded Lamont Bros. in 2008 to help change people’s lives.”
We’ve all heard a few home remodeling horror stories — like ballooning costs you can’t escape from or project finish lines that are always just out of reach. “There are three very common problems that the best companies will work hard to combat,” says Joseph Patrick, the co-founder of design-build firm Lamont Bros. with his brother David. “Your initial design doesn’t accurately account for costs, the price quoted on your contract turns out to be mere guesswork, and the expected timeline falls wildly behind schedule.”
Where: West Linn, Oregon
In his own words: “After growing up in the construction industry together, we founded Lamont Bros. in 2008 to help change people’s lives.”
We’ve all heard a few home remodeling horror stories — like ballooning costs you can’t escape from or project finish lines that are always just out of reach. “There are three very common problems that the best companies will work hard to combat,” says Joseph Patrick, the co-founder of design-build firm Lamont Bros. with his brother David. “Your initial design doesn’t accurately account for costs, the price quoted on your contract turns out to be mere guesswork, and the expected timeline falls wildly behind schedule.”
Luckily, these seemingly inevitable stressors can absolutely be avoided. Below, Patrick shares how homeowners can anticipate, navigate and resolve the most common mistakes in home renovation.
1. The Design Scope Sets an Unrealistic Budget
Many companies try to get their foot in the door by offering an initial design and budget proposal for free. “If someone isn’t being paid to give particular attention to the budget, they’re going to shoot from the hip,” Patrick says. “On top of that, there’s likely no one on the team whose job it is to review the budget and ensure it matches the design scope.” Homeowners are offered a vision but not accurate cost information.
The solution? Whether you’re working with a general contractor or a design-builder, make sure you’ve partnered with a team that follows a precise budgeting system. “Ask your prospective collaborators if they have a dedicated team member, someone who is paid on their staff, whose role it is to make sure they’re not running over the budget during the design process,” Patrick says. “Our team tracks these numbers closely and we’ve been able to keep the variance between the initial budget and the end of the project cost to just a 3% difference on average.”
Many companies try to get their foot in the door by offering an initial design and budget proposal for free. “If someone isn’t being paid to give particular attention to the budget, they’re going to shoot from the hip,” Patrick says. “On top of that, there’s likely no one on the team whose job it is to review the budget and ensure it matches the design scope.” Homeowners are offered a vision but not accurate cost information.
The solution? Whether you’re working with a general contractor or a design-builder, make sure you’ve partnered with a team that follows a precise budgeting system. “Ask your prospective collaborators if they have a dedicated team member, someone who is paid on their staff, whose role it is to make sure they’re not running over the budget during the design process,” Patrick says. “Our team tracks these numbers closely and we’ve been able to keep the variance between the initial budget and the end of the project cost to just a 3% difference on average.”
2. A Lack of Effort Upfront Inflates the Project Cost
Once the project begins, Patrick says, costs are likely to increase for two key reasons: a lack of proper design preparation, such as identifying which load-bearing walls will or won’t move, and agreeing to a fixed-price contract with ample allowances. “Many contracts are written in such a way to give a rough idea of the cost, but the homeowners take on the risk and extra cost when those guesses are wrong, which they often are — and sometimes wildly so,” Patrick says.
The solution? “Hire a contractor who has a real fixed-price contract with no allowances, one that shows what everything will actually cost in the current market,” Patrick says. “By dedicating more time and effort to our designs, investigations and cost breakdowns upfront, we’ve been able to keep the price differential to just 5% as the project progresses, and that includes client-initiated change orders.”
Once the project begins, Patrick says, costs are likely to increase for two key reasons: a lack of proper design preparation, such as identifying which load-bearing walls will or won’t move, and agreeing to a fixed-price contract with ample allowances. “Many contracts are written in such a way to give a rough idea of the cost, but the homeowners take on the risk and extra cost when those guesses are wrong, which they often are — and sometimes wildly so,” Patrick says.
The solution? “Hire a contractor who has a real fixed-price contract with no allowances, one that shows what everything will actually cost in the current market,” Patrick says. “By dedicating more time and effort to our designs, investigations and cost breakdowns upfront, we’ve been able to keep the price differential to just 5% as the project progresses, and that includes client-initiated change orders.”
3. Inefficient Communication and Inadequate Manpower Will Slow Your Project
When a project is running behind schedule, whether by weeks or by months, it’s likely a planning issue, a staffing issue or both. “Contractors who are working at a large scale rely on subcontractors who work on more than one project, which means your project is impacted by the work progressing on other, completely unrelated projects,” Patrick says. “On top of that, when problems arise, slow communication from a project manager who isn’t on-site every day will stall projects for hours or days.”
Before hiring your contractor, Patrick says, ask them how they manage their schedules. “Ask to see a schedule of the job they’re currently working on,” he says. “Find out if they have a project manager on-site every day who has the authority to make decisions. We dedicate one superintendent to each project who is tasked with moving the project forward. Averaged over the last year, we were able to keep our project delays down to two days.”
When a project is running behind schedule, whether by weeks or by months, it’s likely a planning issue, a staffing issue or both. “Contractors who are working at a large scale rely on subcontractors who work on more than one project, which means your project is impacted by the work progressing on other, completely unrelated projects,” Patrick says. “On top of that, when problems arise, slow communication from a project manager who isn’t on-site every day will stall projects for hours or days.”
Before hiring your contractor, Patrick says, ask them how they manage their schedules. “Ask to see a schedule of the job they’re currently working on,” he says. “Find out if they have a project manager on-site every day who has the authority to make decisions. We dedicate one superintendent to each project who is tasked with moving the project forward. Averaged over the last year, we were able to keep our project delays down to two days.”
Want to learn more about choosing the right contractor? The Lamont Bros. team has put together a comprehensive guide to help homeowners make the right choice.
More: For more information on Joseph Patrick and examples of his work, visit Lamont Bros.’ Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
More: For more information on Joseph Patrick and examples of his work, visit Lamont Bros.’ Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
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