As consumers, we are always fearful that we will be taken for a ride. Remodeling is one of those places where, inevitably, the dollar amount charged is not what you expected and then there are the little things that carry a big price tag.
After repeat requests about "how much does a remodel cost," we created this educational series highlighting places where expenditures rise. Sometimes these expenditures can be avoided, sometimes not; however, the more prepared you are when it is time to remodel your home, the more confident you will be in your relationship with your contractor and your design decisions.
Demolition
On average, newer homes are easier and less expensive to demo. The plumbing and electric is generally up to code and the building materials are in good condition. So I will be addressing the cost of doing work in a pre-1978 home.
US EPA RRP Lead Laws
Right from the start, your contractor should be EPA Lead RRP certified. When permits are pulled for your project, your local government will require it. Homes that we're built prior to 1978 have a higher chance of being painted with lead-based paint. If your contractor is disrupting painted surfaces, they will need to partition off the area with plastic and vacuum the area with a HEPA rated vacuum. This should lower the risk of contaminating the rest of the home with lead paint dust.
You can expect a fee of a few hundred dollars for the material and labor for this service. The exact amount will be determined by the size of the area to be shielded in plastic. Once the area has been taped-off, stay out. If you do not like the way the plastic has been hung, talk to your contractor - do not remove the plastic on your own. Not only could this make you responsible for any damage the contractor's adhesive may cause your ceiling, walls or floor - but the contractor will probably charge you a second fee for having to reinstallation the plastic.
Glass Tile
The bathrooms of older homes often have this beautiful glass tile in large format. It can be just in the shower/bath area, or all around the room. The biggest problem with this tile is that it is heavy and it is not tempered. Carefully removing this kind of tile is time-consuming and therefore costly. Many of our clients opt to save money by doing their own demo; however, removal of this kind of tile is not a DIY project.
(As a word of caution, if you currently have this kind of tile in your home and it is loose or falling off the walls, but you are not ready to renovate the just yet; remove the few tiles in question carefully, or have a professional do it for you. If you have another bathroom in the home, use it excusively until you can have the room updated.)
Disruption of a "Seemingly Fine" Room
During demo is when problems with a room rise to the surface. Walls are opened and mold is exposed, floors and soffits hide iron drain pipes where the top halves are rusted away. If the room has never seen a renovation, or it has been several decades since the last remodel, be prepared for surprises. It would be wise to budget for unseen expenditures, as your contractor will not know what these costs will be until they are uncovered. Once you know what you can afford for your remodel, take 90% of it and give that number to your contractor or designer and save the remaining 10% as your cushion to pay for the unseen.
Can you save money on a demolition? Yes! But it will probably require you to take responsibility for the labor of removing and disposing of product and building materials.
Written by Imperial Kitchens and Baths, Inc. staff designer Stephanie Bullwinkel, CBD.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Remodeling’s “Hidden” Charges Exposed – Change Orders
As consumers, we are always fearful that we will be taken for a ride. Remodeling is one of those places where, inevitably, the dollar amount charged is not what you expected and then there are the little things that carry a big price tag.
After repeat requests about "how much does a remodel cost," we created this series education blogs highlighting places where expeditures rise. Sometimes these expenditures can be avoided, sometimes not; however, the more prepared you are when it is time to remodel your home, the more confident you will be in your relationship with your contractor and your design decisions.
Change Orders
Many builders and remodelers charge a fee for change orders. This fee can be a flat price or a percentage. Regardless of whether you are adding to a project or deducting from a project, this fee will probably hold. Be sure to ask your contractor about this fee and scan your paperwork for it prior to signing anything; they need to be upfront about it in order to charge for it.
Once a project is sold, the office will start to process the finalized paperwork. This process includes the obvious of ordering materials and scheduling trades. The not-so-obvious part is the distribution of information. Your salesperson/designer is your contact, but that person disseminates information to a team of people who distributes that information to their team of people.
Here’s an example to illustrate this: The salesperson gives a copy of the contract and all supporting documentation to the comptroller (to enter all information into the company’s system), to the accountant (to figure out payment schedules to the various vendors), to the scheduling department, to the supervisor and to the material handler. The comptroller pulls permits and other licenses, bonds, etc.; the scheduling department organizes all the various trades according to availability of labor and the availability of product; the supervisor looks over the plans and creates a work order for each trade and the material handler calls all the vendors necessary to get the products in-house when needed.
When a change order comes from a client, everyone needs to be alerted to the change. Even something as small as changing the finish on a faucet can cause turmoil. Time, effort and due diligence is required of all staff members and the risk of an error is raised substantially.
These are all factors that are considered when a contractor accepts a client’s change order. Without involving a fee for this disruption in the process, a contractor could easily go broke. And, of course, this is just for the service end of a change order. By removing product from a project, you can also expect a restocking fee (25% is standard) for the unexpected shipping, handling and additional paperwork on the part of the warehouse. Beware, custom and special ordered product is usually non-refundable.
Of course, things happen on job sites. A wall is opened and surprise! These kind of things are par for the course and you should not be charged an additional premium for a change order.
It can be said that change order fees discourage clients from changing their minds. From a contractor’s stand point, that’s not a bad thing. If you desire the smoothest project for the least amount of money, stay committed to the agreed to project.
Written by staff designer Stephanie Bullwinkel, CBD for Imperial Kitchens and Baths, Inc.
After repeat requests about "how much does a remodel cost," we created this series education blogs highlighting places where expeditures rise. Sometimes these expenditures can be avoided, sometimes not; however, the more prepared you are when it is time to remodel your home, the more confident you will be in your relationship with your contractor and your design decisions.
Change Orders
Many builders and remodelers charge a fee for change orders. This fee can be a flat price or a percentage. Regardless of whether you are adding to a project or deducting from a project, this fee will probably hold. Be sure to ask your contractor about this fee and scan your paperwork for it prior to signing anything; they need to be upfront about it in order to charge for it.
Once a project is sold, the office will start to process the finalized paperwork. This process includes the obvious of ordering materials and scheduling trades. The not-so-obvious part is the distribution of information. Your salesperson/designer is your contact, but that person disseminates information to a team of people who distributes that information to their team of people.
Here’s an example to illustrate this: The salesperson gives a copy of the contract and all supporting documentation to the comptroller (to enter all information into the company’s system), to the accountant (to figure out payment schedules to the various vendors), to the scheduling department, to the supervisor and to the material handler. The comptroller pulls permits and other licenses, bonds, etc.; the scheduling department organizes all the various trades according to availability of labor and the availability of product; the supervisor looks over the plans and creates a work order for each trade and the material handler calls all the vendors necessary to get the products in-house when needed.
When a change order comes from a client, everyone needs to be alerted to the change. Even something as small as changing the finish on a faucet can cause turmoil. Time, effort and due diligence is required of all staff members and the risk of an error is raised substantially.
These are all factors that are considered when a contractor accepts a client’s change order. Without involving a fee for this disruption in the process, a contractor could easily go broke. And, of course, this is just for the service end of a change order. By removing product from a project, you can also expect a restocking fee (25% is standard) for the unexpected shipping, handling and additional paperwork on the part of the warehouse. Beware, custom and special ordered product is usually non-refundable.
Of course, things happen on job sites. A wall is opened and surprise! These kind of things are par for the course and you should not be charged an additional premium for a change order.
It can be said that change order fees discourage clients from changing their minds. From a contractor’s stand point, that’s not a bad thing. If you desire the smoothest project for the least amount of money, stay committed to the agreed to project.
Written by staff designer Stephanie Bullwinkel, CBD for Imperial Kitchens and Baths, Inc.
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