HUGE general contractor overrun...educate the rest of us
11 years ago
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- 11 years ago
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Hiring a non-local builder as general contractor?
Comments (7)I think it really depends on your town and their building requirements/restrictions, the degree of difficulty involved in the process of getting appropriate approvals, and your specific lot/property and any encumbrances it may have. If you live in one of those places like Texas or parts of Tennessee, where getting a building permit takes about five minutes and involves little more than standing in line at City Hall with some plans and getting a stamp, then by all means, go this route. But if you live somewhere where the process is long and involved, and requires variances, board of adjustment review and critique, historical commission approvals, board of health approvals, possible state environmental approvals, or extensive site-work, you definitely want to go local. Two years ago, we were going this same route with a non-local company (factory-built modular shell, site-finished house), and got really far along in the process before we realized the truth of what henry said above. Although the company built great houses, and even used local subs for sitework, overall it was a huge cluster, because they had no idea about how extensive the approval process is in our town. It can take 6 months to a year or more to get a building permit in my town. This company was totally clueless. Bottom line here is, the houses in my town that get built and get the fastest approvals are the ones that are presented to and defended before all the required Boards by the local architects, local engineers, and local GCs. We thought we were saving money by looking outside of our "zip-coded" zipcode, but in the end, we actually wasted a ton of money trying (and failing) to go the non-local route. Before you even ask the company how they handle it, you should find out or know more about how your town handles the building permitting process. Your answer will be there....See MoreFrustration with General Contractor (GC) /Industry Obfuscation
Comments (69)We have signed a contract - with a different remodeler and it's in budget! We're so excited. The GC we were so frustrated with did lower his proposal, but was still $14K over budget. In the end, we feel that we are not his target customer and that's okay. We have found a GC that fits us and we are moving forward. We have a rough estimate of when work will start and will have a more exact date once he has a chance to plug us into their system. He expects they'll start work the end of October or the beginning of November. Monday we meet with our cabinets guy to go over things one last time before placing the order. We called and secured our granite today and then I had to swing by to ogle it and touch it. LOL I also started looking for alternative backsplash tile options, because the glass tile we picked out before is ridiculously expensive it turns out. I've found a good alternative that is $8.99 sq. ft compared to what The Tile Shop estimates the other one ran at $35.00/sq ft. We love that the GC we are going with will tell us that Option A costs $x more than Option B. That's the information we need so we can do our part to keep things in budget....See MoreInterior designer before a general contractor to compare GC prices?
Comments (40)Dear Kim, I think you are a little ahead of yourself. Like the majority of people wanting new kitchens you are trying to get your new kitchen done. And Without being able to communicate what it is you really want and expect to Get AFTER your new kitchen is done. You are designing the kitchen but not Your Life You expect to be Living In It AFTER it’s done. “ I already have the kitchen layout chosen for the most part since a friend of mine who is a designer has the same layout and I'm probably going to go with a similar layout.” I believe a kitchen is a Home & Life Improvement Project, and NOT a get a new kitchen project to satisfy your urge for something new. Because you don’t like your existing kitchen, with the Hope of getting what you truly want and desire. This is a recipe for kitchen project failure almost everyone blindly follows. This is the Wrong approach and I believe the Wrong destination for you! What you truly want, if you think about it, is a new, different, better, easier life than the one you’re living now in your existing kitchen. That you know from your own experience doesn’t work for you. Because it’s Not Your Kitchen but the kitchen you inherited from the previous owner. That you had to Adapt to by putting your items where ever they fit and as long as you know where everything is you’ll make do. What makes you believe your new kitchen will be any different? What makes you believe you won’t Have To ADAPT to your new kitchen? If you want to get the new kitchen and new life you truly want and expect your new kitchen project to deliver, and not do any of the work yourself. I believe you will need to hire a designer and a GC. Your budget is going to dictate what you can actually get in design, product, and services. You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Is your budget realistic? Fact: You are NEVER going to renovate this kitchen again for as long as you’re in this home. I believe that if you are going to take on a new kitchen project, Your Ultimate goal is Home & Life Improvement. And as dramatic an improvement in Home and Life, for your money, as possible. However, price shouldn’t be the Determining Factor. Why? Because you are NEVER going to renovate this kitchen AFTER it’s done. No Matter What Happens! You will be living with it, for better or worse, for as long as you own this home. Imagine, you’re in this home just 10 years from now. Will it matter then that you saved thousands of dollars, but have lived with disappointment and regret. That you didn’t get to live your new life you were hoping for, for the last 10 years? Or that you spent thousands more to get the new life and new kitchen you still love and enjoy living in every single day? Buyer Beware…Hiring anyone in the services industry is tough for everyone that has had to do this. Doctor, lawyer, plumber, electrician, GC, designer it doesn’t matter. Too many choices and it seems no easy way to tell service providers apart. You may want to hire a GC that does kitchens so you don’t have to find tradesman and do it yourself. That comes at a cost. You may want to hire a designer to create your kitchen design drawings for you so you can get bids and shop for your best price and value. This also comes at a cost. Which route is the best one for you to take? You can’t answer this question because you don’t have enough information. You are in the forest among the trees. So let’s see if we can get you above the trees to get you a 30,000 foot 360 degree view. So you can see clearly what is involved in what you are about to do. Every GC you talk to is a GC and every designer is a kitchen designer so far no help. We are all individuals and as individuals we are all uniquely different. We have different ways of doing the exact same things, we have different levels of perfect that need to be met. We all feel differently about what we do. And We all add different levels of value to the work we do. So although on the surface service providers are grouped together in your case GC, designer, every GC and every Designer is different and will produce dramatically different results at dramatically different costs. So How do you compare them to discover their differences and who’s best to work for you? You ask this simple question, “What do I get if I hire you that I won’t get from anyone else?” You care about What You Get not what they do. If you’re looking for a GC to do your entire new kitchen project chances are they design kitchens or are going to farm out your project to a kitchen designer anyway. To a designer you didn’t get to interview. These designers will design a kitchen (not your kitchen) that suits your budget. You’ll truly believe you’re designing your new kitchen too. Because you’ll get to make choices but you’re not. Because you’ll only get to see and choose from what they show you that fits within your budget. You’ll realize this is true, AFTER your new kitchen is done and you’ll blame yourself and regret that you didn’t do this project differently. NOW that you have the experience of HOW Not To do your new kitchen project. You don’t have the luxury of gaining experience this way. So what do you do? Think about your new kitchen project like a journey you’re going to take. To get you from where you are now, Your existing kitchen that doesn’t work for you. To the world’s perfect kitchen for you, that resolves all of your existing kitchen’s performance problems esthetically and functionally. And delivers that new, different, better, easier, more enjoyable life, that you don’t experience now in your existing kitchen. Where you want to be Living AFTER your new kitchen is done. How? 1. You start where you stand in your existing kitchen. Analyze it to discover what performance benefits exist that you’d like to keep and what performance problems it has that you need to resolve, fix, or eliminate. Now you are clear about what works well and what needs improvement in your kitchen’s performance of the 5 Basic Tasks (storage, preparation, cooking/baking, delivery (food & beverage), and clean up). Reproducing the benefits and resolving the problems gets you to the world’s perfect kitchen for you! And all of this space planning work should be done BEFORE interior elevations are ever done. Your goal is to create the world’s perfect plan that’s uniquely your own. Creating the Foundation your new kitchen will be built upon. How? 2. You create every possible appliance and cabinetry combination to create every possible new kitchen layout that provides a solution, to your unique kitchen design dilemmas discovered in step 1. Use the following link to see what I mean. https://www.kitchendesignco.com/layout-laboratory/ Analyze and Compare all of your new kitchen options you were able to come up with (there should be at least 5). If you need DIY kitchen layout help use the following link: https://www.kitchendesignco.com/diy-kitchen-layout-help/ Just like you did in step 1 so you are clear How each layout (plan) works day to day and when you entertain. After you’ve gone through all of them…do it again. Only this time by direct comparison and using the process of elimination you’ll get down to one plan. Your perfect new kitchen plan. How do you know for certain? You’ve seen and compared all other options leaving no doubt that you have your perfect plan. 3. Now that you have your perfect kitchen plan. Having your interior elevations and 3D perspective drawings done is easy. Actually you should be able to get an estimate on how much your kitchen will cost using your layout (plan) alone. However, if you have a complete set of kitchen interior design drawings done, like these (to see examples follow this link): https://www.kitchendesignco.com/kitchen-design-drawings/ Once you select your finishes you can get accurate pricing from EVERYONE on EVERYTHING you’ll need to complete your kitchen project and long BEFORE you build it. So you can discover definitely if your budget will get you the new kitchen, home and life improvement you truly want, and expect it to deliver. REMEMBER...You are NEVER going to redo this kitchen for as long as you'll own it. For better or for worse live with it and make do, or get what you truly want and expect. It’s your decision. Hope this has been helpful. Joe Brandao Kitchen Design Company...See MoreKitchen remodel--One stop shop or general contractor?
Comments (29)Thanks @mcarroll16. 1. I hear you about under sink trash. I think that might be a pain. Plus it means opening a door and sliding out vs just sliding out. Currently our trash can is in the dining room right through that doorway at the top of the diagram. It's a holdover from when the kids were little and we had a baby gate up with the trash on the other side. It doesn't bother me that it's there but it really confuses guests lol. 2. There is a structural limitation. The kitchen is bumped out from the rest of the house, so that wall next to the little 9" cabinet is just a wall to outside. Nothing wider can go there. Is your baking sheet thing a drawer where they lay flat or a cabinet where they stand up? I do like that they can stand up, but would be ok with them being in a stove drawer I think. But I will probably just keep the 9" cabinet. 3. I have pondered getting rid of the island seating. I'll need to think about that more. I never sit there. Guests do very occasionally (I mean, I almost never have guests and when I do, they don't sit there much). My daughter sits there a lot but she just moved out. My husband sits there sometimes. I'll definitely give that more thought. 4. We have a 12" drawer unit now and you're right, it's tiny, but we've managed to make it work, and a new drawer unit would have under drawer rails so it would add an inch or two. But, I'll take a look at the really wide drawers and how they could be divided. Or try to determine if my pots and pans could fit in a 27" set of drawers. Also, all this depends on whether my husband has really given up on getting a hood instead of over the range microwave. If not, I need to shove the microwave under the island. Thanks for giving me more to think about. Who needs a kitchen designer!...See MoreRelated Professionals
Saint Peters Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Schaumburg Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Artondale Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Cleveland Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Hickory Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Hoffman Estates Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Sioux Falls Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Winchester Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · North Chicago Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Dover Cabinets & Cabinetry · Hanover Park Cabinets & Cabinetry · Livingston Cabinets & Cabinetry · Marco Island Cabinets & Cabinetry · Salisbury Cabinets & Cabinetry · Bloomingdale Design-Build Firms- 11 years ago
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