Have you ever wondered just how many ad campaigns and marketing slogans would be rendered mute if you struck the word “value” from the English lexicon?  It’s a tantalizing concept, since it would require companies to be a bit more specific about just what their products and services contribute to the lives of their customers.  Like the words quality and service, the meaning of value has become a marketing cipher into which many businesses expect their customers to apply their own definition.

Which is precisely the problem when applying value to the business of remodeling.  While the concept of value may be a bit fuzzy to many consumers, far fewer have a difficult time defining the term bargain.  And unfortunately for those of us in the remodeling industry, these two words are too often thought of as being synonymous.  As a company that takes great pride in the value that our services represent, we think it’s high time to open up a discussion as to just what that term means.

The idea of “getting a bargain” when it comes to a remodel makes us very uneasy.  After all, there is a reason that so many businesses throw out the lowest bid when it comes to getting quotes for products and services.  There simply is a cost to things below which you cannot go without sacrificing the quality and integrity of materials and services.  The willingness of a service provider to go below that threshold should raise a red flag when it comes to their professionalism and experience.  And while quality and integrity are certainly “value propositions” in our minds, we think these two attributes should be a given for anyone in our business.

A more popular concept of value in recent years has been “return on investment”, or ROI.  In the heady days of the real estate boom, the idea of picking up a property for little or nothing down, upgrading the interior and/or exterior, and then “flipping” the property for a windfall profit was a mighty tempting behavior for a lot of homeowners.  Too tempting, as it turned out.

With real estate prices languishing for the foreseeable future, we think it makes a lot more sense for homeowners to look at where they live as a “quality of life” rather than “return on investment” proposition.  The days of treating ones home as an ATM are long over…to which we say, “thank goodness”!  We encourage our customers to look at a remodel as a process and outcome that adds to their quality of life, and not to their indebtedness!

In thinking of value as something we experience, rather than a “bottom line” transaction, we see value in both the process and outcome of a successful remodel.  And after all, if you reject that idea of value as something material, what you are basically left with is a qualitative definition – one that looks at the experience of the “thing” rather than the thing itself.  In our next blog installment, we’ll talk more about the concept of value as an experience, and just what that “thing” is from the perspective of our customers.

Most homeowners do not use the features of their programmable thermostat – a statement from our HVAC specialist, Brad Thomas, with Todd’s Heating and Cooling.  Complexity is one reason (remember the VCR?), but mainly ties to the flexible schedules we have, especially if the homeowners have differing schedules.  The opposite is true in commercial applications due to predictable work schedules with weekends away.

Environmental blogger Treehugger discovered that “other evaluations found that homes with programmable thermostats consumed more energy than those relying on manual thermostats” – a link to their article is found here.

Image shows the round thermostat patent filed  in 1942 by inventor Henry Dreyfuss, click to enlarge.

We attempt to complete a personal  follow up interview with all of our clients in the hopes of receiving solid objective feedback.  We have completed hundreds of surveys over the past 20 years, and have received valuable tips on how to improve our service a little more each remodel.  We encourage objective, candid comments – in fact we often start with “you won’t hurt our feelings…”.

In addition to interviewing our clients following a remodel, we use the  independent construction industry research firm Guild Quality (originally as a beta tester in 2005).  As of this writing, 194 of our recent clients have taken the time to provide  feedback and testimonials (thanks!).  Our goal?  We sincerely want to improve our service,  and who else better to talk to than the people who have hired us – we want our clients to talk behind our back. You can see the results of Guild Quality survey here. Our favorite discovery – out of the 194 interviewed, 191 of our past clients (98%) would not only hire us again, but would also suggest us to a friend,  family member or coworker – it is our privilege to help you, thanks!

We are also proud to announce that since 2007, we have been honored with the distinctive  Guildmaster Award every year,  and are nominated for 2011.  From the GuildQuality site:

“GuildQuality also provides a third-party Guildmaster certification program that allows builders and remodelers to earn a Guildmaster rating by meeting stringent qualifications for consistently superior customer service. The Guildmaster certification provides remodelers and builders with objective affirmation of their hard-earned reputation for superior customer service.”

You can read more about the Guildmaster Award here.   Again, thanks to our clients for your input.

When we started with this home, we had some aesthetic issues to work through.   At first site, the roof has some minor structural issues, which turned out to be not so minor.  The original siding had been covered over in the 60′s or 70′s with metal siding, a fate that many Northend homes met.  Along the way, the front porch walls had been removed.  A summer of remodeling brought this home back to it’s original glory.

Here you can see the before of the home.  It appears as though the gutter is falling off (which it is), this was actually a separation of the roof sheathing that had to be reinforced and replaced.

From Qualified Remodeler:

RemodelOrMove.com’s U.S. Homeowner Sentiment Report for Spring 2011 reveals that homeowners who are interested in remodeling or expanding their homes have limited options. Of the 5,000 homeowners surveyed, today the average amount of home equity is $106,000 compared to $176,000 in 2009. This trimmed equity is partly due to a reduction in the average home value from $302,000 to $281,000.

If a homeowner moves, the report showed that the new home that meets their needs will cost, on average, $428,000. This is $145,000 more than what they could sell their current home for. On the other hand, the remodel cost estimate is approximately $100,000 to make similar improvements to their existing home. “To remodel or move has always been a difficult decision for homeowners,” says Dan Fritschen, founder RemodelOrMove.com. “This most recent survey reaffirms that both options could cost the homeowner more than $100,000. The calculator on our site can help homeowners to quickly gather information on renovating and moving and then make a recommendation which is best for an individual’s situation.” Fritschen adds that anyone who is considering a move or remodel should work with a real estate agent who can give them three key data points: an accurate estimate of their home’s value, the amount their home could appreciate as the result of a remodel and the price of a different home that would meet their needs.

So, what changes do homeowners want to make if they remodel or move? The Spring 2011 report includes the following data:

• 57 percent report that they would like to have at least one additional bathroom;
• 49 percent would like a kitchen renovation;
• 46 percent are looking for more bedrooms; and
• 44 percent would like a bathroom remodel.

While home expansion and renovation is on many people’s minds, the majority in the survey reported that they are very satisfied with local schools, their home’s location and neighborhood.  A detailed report is available here.

It’s never been more dangerous to be a firefighter. Our homes and the stuff inside them are nearly six times more flammable than they were 30 years ago.  What that means for firefighters is the amount of time they can safely be inside a house on fire has dropped from about 17 minutes to three minutes or less.  That’s when flashover happens — the moment when a room or building is fully engulfed in flames.  Read the full story here.

Kitchen Remodel in the North End

This Kitchen won a first place award in NARI’s photo competition.  The former Kitchen in this North End home had not been updated for decades.  Due to size constraints and bearing wall placement, the Kitchen remodel was contained within the existing footprint of the former Kitchen.  Relocating appliances and moving the sink location was simply not an option, although we were able to slide the dishwasher 24″ to create more space at the sink.  The goal was to complete the remodel without affecting the walls, but upon removal of the backsplash and cabinets, it was discovered that the walls contained absolutely no insulation.

Click photos to enlarge:

After the Kitchen remodel. We refinished the existing fir flooring (typical floor for this era of home), but updated everything else in the space. Replacing the door and windows will come at a later date. Before the Kitchen remodel, the dishwasher was crowded up against the sink cabinet, making it impossible to stand at the sink while loading the dishwasher.

We hit a sewer line – no worries, all fixed up with absolutely no inconvenience to the home owners.  Watch Bob Mundy, our production coordinator, explain what happened:

Taking advantage of the frozen ground to access a deck/patio remodel in the foothills. Steep access from the front of the home forced us to look for alternatives. Our production coordinator Bob Mundy on site: