So you are considering a remodeling project or a home makeover. Perhaps you just finished cooking a big meal in your kitchen and finally had enough of bumping into each other and searching for the right pot or pan.

“Oh, but what a stressful endeavor it will be”, you think. Contractors never show up on time, the project will take forever, and the costs will be exorbitant!

Well, you are potentially correct. I want to help take some of the stress away by giving you some advice to avoid common pitfalls. Home remodeling projects do not need to be painful. It should be an enjoyable experience if handled by professionals. Here are a few things to consider:

1) Write down the most important attributes you would like in the contractor that you hire.

• Track record of showing up on-time
• Mostly positive on-line reviews
• Include all materials & labor

2) Whatever your list search for estimates from contractors that meet your criteria. If you want to purchase all of the materials yourself than do not as for an estimate from a contractor that does not work that way.

3) Call contractors previous projects. (At least 2) Ask if they showed up on-time, kept the environment clean, and finished on-time.

4) Cost Plus vs Lump Sum. Do you want to see the exact cost every part and piece for your project?
If you want a contractor that operates this way be prepared for your overall cost for the project to escalate throughout your project. When they need another 2×4 be ready to get your checkbook out. A Lump Sum contractor will be held to the cost on their contract unless you change the specifications.

5) Here is one more: Having someone work in your home is NOT a transaction it is a relationship. In remodeling sometimes things do not go perfectly so having a good relationship will allow for an easier process and ensure great results!

Note from Brian; “I love discussing home makeover projects. Feel free to email me any questions and would be happy to offer advice and thoughts.”

When hiring a remodeling company… and how to avoid them!

By Brian Martin

I like drinking coffee, not the fancy 3 shot-whole milk-double cinnamon-whip…way too many words at the drive-thru. Nope, just a simple coffee with a splash of cream for me thank you. Usually costs me $2.50 and I am happy. I feel very different when dealing with a car mechanic. I do not mind paying whatever it takes to get the job done right the first time. Anyone who has been stuck on the side of a highway will agree that cutting costs on a vehicle repair is not a good idea. I want the technician with the most amount of experience and I want the best parts made. I think we all have things we are willing to invest in and other things we are okay with the barebones.

Here are some things to consider when looking to hire for a home renovation project.

Whether this is your first remodeling project or your hundredth, it’s wise to be cautious, ask lots of questions, and speak with the remodeler’s former clients. And think through the following:

Mistake #1–– Being pressured to sign a contract. You should always see renderings or drawings and be completely clear on what’s being proposed. A qualified remodeling company should be busy and not make you feel the need to pressure you to sign up today.

Mistake #2–– Hiring for labor only. It may seem like a great deal when you see a lower dollar amount for a remodeling project. However, if the deal requires you, the homeowner, to acquire all of the materials, you’ll soon discover the stresses involved. Where to buy? You will pay retail prices anyway? Did you order enough material? (The labor-only contractor will leave your jobsite if there isn’t enough). Did you order the right size? And what will you do if and whenthere are damages or shortages?

Mistake #3–– Hiring sub-contractors. It’s not that sub-contractors are bad people, not at all! The problem is they may have many other projects they’re working on. Yours could be job #1 or #2. Yours could also be #15 or #20. So, when the contractor you hire is ready for the tile subcontractor, that sub-contractor could be tied up for a week on another job. The same goes for the carpenter, plumber, electrician, painter…. And what happens when the tile sub-contractor runs into a problem with the way in which the carpenter prepared the shower walls and now wants to charge more for the extra time it takes to install the tile? Who pays for that?

Mistake #4–– Not Hiring a Design Team. Without a design team to assist you, it can be challenging walking into a building material showroom on your own. Thousands of samples and many displays in a showroom, sales staff running around here and there, a long counter with people in line looking for help. Who can help you…and where do you start?

Mistake #5–– Cost-Plus Contractors. Some contractors will list the cost of every bit of material and will list a labor price separately. So, if your project takes longer or requires more material than initially listed on the contract, you, as the homeowner, pays the difference. And when you see the contractors sitting in their trucks eating an hour lunch or you see them making mistakes cutting tile causing hundreds of broken pieces being thrown away –– are you the one paying for this? It’s better to have a LUMP-SUM agreement in-advance where the contractor lists one cost for the project and is held to that amount regardless of their mistakes or miscalculations.

And before you sign, ask lots of questions, seek references, speak with recent homeowners who have used the remodeling company.

© Copyright 2023 Brian T. Martin & TMC Construction Services, Inc.

The Kontopos family of Loveland turned to TMC Construction Services (TMC) to transform their home and it changed their lives.

A larger upgraded kitchen with some personal style headed the list of what V (Mr.) and Amanda (Mrs.) Kontopos were hoping for when they called on Brian Martin and TMC to make some improvements in their Loveland home. They were familiar with the quality craftsmanship of TMC having seen several home improvement projects they completed for some close friends including an outdoor living space and home office just over a year ago.

“They’re getting their kitchen done next,” said V Kontopos. “It says a lot they’re having TMC back, not just one time, but several times.”

It made the choice easy when it came time to plan and design the remodeling for their home. They knew the quality of work and the level of satisfaction TMC brings. Still, TMC takes it to another level making it personal.

“Above all trustworthy,” V Kontopos said describing what stood out about the TMC team. “Friendliness. They became a part of our family watching us get the kids off to school mornings.”

The Kontopos’ have two boys. They are at “that age” where they are constantly running from one thing to the next. Both are active in sports. TMC started the remodeling job in mid-August and completed the work in mid-November. So, they were there for about three months – like trusted members of the family. They were working late one evening when V needed to run their youngest son to a choir concert while an electrical contractor continued working.

“The TMC people, I really knew,” said V. “It was okay, I feel good leaving Adam here, I can go take my son to the choir concert and Amanda was taking our other son to soccer that night. They locked up. We felt like a family member was here watching the contractor.”

It is often said: “The devil is in the details.” and with TMC the Kontopos felt like no detail was missed. They felt like the TMC crew heard what they said and responded.

“They listened,” said Amanda Kontopos. “They were very good about things specific to our family. They listened and created solutions to our problems.”

With two boys active in sports, they needed multiple solutions to accommodate their athletic shoes and fill water bottles. There is now a charging station in the mud room – no wires on kitchen counters. They built a custom shoe closet in the expanded mud room where the old laundry room was. A filtered-water station was custom built into the custom beverage center where the old pantry closet was. An active family also means lots of laundry. Amanda told them they could not lose the washer and dryer while construction was going on.

“They listened,” she repeated. “We never lost the washer. The hooked it up and moved it multiple times. They tried to keep things as normal as possible.”

It was a big project. Amanda ran down the list beginning with the kitchen addition, increasing the size and moving the laundry room to the second floor, creating a bigger functional mud room, adding a bigger half-bath while converting the old bathroom to a pantry and the old pantry closet to a beverage center with a custom filtered-water station. The laundry room was an eye-opener for V. right from the start.

“I would say the laundry room was the first part because that was the first thing that got done,” V said. “That was eye-popping to me. They took a space that wasn’t being used for anything upstairs. TMC came up with the concept to make that the laundry room. I would never have thought of that. It was a great idea. It was one of those things, like wow, these guys are really, really good.”

He used words like trustworthy, reliable, caring, pride and craftsmanship when describing their work. The TMC team gave the Kontopos family confidence their project had the full focus and effort of the team.

“They take a lot of pride in their craftsmanship,” said V. “You can tell they are more than just job-to-job, they take a lot of ownership. There was a long wait to get started with them. It was very worth the wait. You knew they were giving you 100% attention and they want to do that to the next client.”

It was not just creating a solution for a second floor laundry room and a custom shoe closet in the expanded mud room, but the special touches like the cabinets and handmade custom counter top in the new laundry room.

“Their work is amazing,” Amanda said. “Not everybody is going to go the extra mile. Our project was kind of big in scale and we were also still living here.”

The whole first floor was pretty much torn up. Tarps covered the dining room. Furniture was packed into the front room. Where the kitchen addition and dining area is now was completely cleared out. Keeping things clean and livable is often an issue during a remodeling project of this scope. The Kontopos’ said that was not the case citing the extraordinary measures TMC went to cleaning up daily.

“They cared for the things they weren’t touching,” said V. “Anything they moved, they tarped it off.”

It was more than that.

“The one thing that really impressed me too was they cleaned up every single day,” said Amanda. “It wasn’t just putting stuff in a pile so it was out of the way. They vacuumed floor to ceiling and polished things.”

Amanda launched into a story about having family in for Halloween and concerned about getting things cleaned up for the guests. The TMC crew was still working and she needed to leave to go pick up the boys. When she came back, they were polishing all of the furniture in the dining room – a room in which they were not even doing anything. V told how they blew the leaves off the driveway every day and said his garage has never been cleaner. Three months together like a family.

“They take their time with you to do it right,” V explained. “You don’t feel like you are part of a checklist. You feel like they are going to finish your job and then move on. I like that fact. They are all hands on deck on this job. They are fully committed to you. They are not multi-tasking. We felt it. We felt we got their full commitment.”

Giving the customer their full attention is the commitment of TMC. The Kontopos home has been transformed. Listening to Amanda and V, walking through the house with them, looking at the quality craftsmanship and design work completed, you can see the transformation carries beyond the physical home and into their daily lives. Sure when they were going to knock out an exterior brick wall, there was some nervousness. It takes a lot of trust to let someone knock a hole in your house. In the end, Amanda talked about the things they did to make it unique to the Kontopos family. Kitchen lighting and tile finish on the island and the wood accent wall helped create their personal style.

“It was exciting. It took a lot of trust,” Amanda said. “They are a class act. They are like family. I miss them. I want to know what’s going on in their lives.”

They’ll be back. The Kontopos’ are already talking to TMC about their next project.

So you want to do a home remodel?

I know how it is, you walk into that same kitchen you have walked into for years, maybe decades. You go to your old wood cabinet that has slightly faded over the years and grab your morning coffee cup. As you sit at your kitchen table sipping your brew you glance around and think to yourself how nice it would be to have brighter color cabinets with crown molding, simple but elegant quartz counter tops, an updated stainless under-mount sink, and a really cool bold looking tile back splash. Wait, you think, could we even remove that wall and make the kitchen even larger?

As your finish your coffee you likely have thoughts of messy contractors that rarely show up, weeks or maybe months of an unusable kitchen, escalating costs that never seem to have an end in sight. And with those last thoughts, you throw your cup in the same beat up sink and go on about your day.

Covid and our present economy has certainly changed the landscape of the home remodeling industry. In 2015, TMC had a 3 month wait list and we could order materials within 2-3 weeks of the project starting and everything would be available and ready to go at the start date. As of, February 2022, TMC has a 12 month wait list and cabinets for example have a 3 month lead-time.

Quality minded contractors with a loyal following and strong client on-line reviews have long wait times. These long wait times have an upside that clients have time to make thought out decisions on the products they would like to have in their newly remodeled spaces. TMC’s design team walks our clients through step by step, item by item, to ensure that each piece works well with the next and that orders can be placed in the right amount of time for the project. The quartz tops will look great with the tile backsplash and the paint colors will make the new cabinets look incredible.

Do the project now or later? Here is what the owner of TMC says, “It typically costs very little to investigate a potential project. Likely if you start investigating today your new kitchen, bathroom, or addition is 12 months or more away. Look at on-line reviews and talk to neighbors and friends, make a wish-list. Select your top two or three candidates and start the conversations. Next year at this time you could be drinking coffee in a beautiful new kitchen.”