5 Remodeling ‘Uh-Oh’ Moments and How Pros Made Them Right
Find out how pros committed to correcting a mistake to achieve the high-quality work they promised their clients
Completing high-quality work makes your current clients happy now and helps attract new clients in the future. And while everyone would love to have things done exactly right the first time during a project, it doesn’t always happen. Measurements are miscalculated, colors and materials are different from how they appeared in the sample and so on.
But when faced with a mistake on a job site, it’s important to pull out the stops to get the mistake fixed and the project back in line with your and your client’s original vision. Here, five pros share recent remodeling “uh-oh” moments and describe how they stuck with the process to get it right.
But when faced with a mistake on a job site, it’s important to pull out the stops to get the mistake fixed and the project back in line with your and your client’s original vision. Here, five pros share recent remodeling “uh-oh” moments and describe how they stuck with the process to get it right.
Getting the stain color right on wood cabinets or floors is one of the most common details that needs redoing. So many factors come into play that affect the end result that it can be difficult to get it right the first time.
Designer Alexandra Killion and her clients had a specific vision for the look of the rift-sawn white oak wood cabinets in this Houston kitchen. They were going for a clean, contemporary design with a slight nod to midcentury modern style. “The grain and stain were important to give the kitchen a warm feel without looking dated,” Killion says.
But the first stain application ended up too dark and orange. “We had to rework all of them to get the correct color, which caused a bit of a mess,” Killion says. “Luckily, it all came together beautifully.”
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Designer Alexandra Killion and her clients had a specific vision for the look of the rift-sawn white oak wood cabinets in this Houston kitchen. They were going for a clean, contemporary design with a slight nod to midcentury modern style. “The grain and stain were important to give the kitchen a warm feel without looking dated,” Killion says.
But the first stain application ended up too dark and orange. “We had to rework all of them to get the correct color, which caused a bit of a mess,” Killion says. “Luckily, it all came together beautifully.”
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Designer Kristyn Mark of Mark Design faced an “uh-oh” moment when refacing the cabinets in this Orange County, California, kitchen with rift-sawn oak fronts. “We decided to reface all the cabinets and reuse the existing boxes because they were in pristine condition,” Mark says. “We envisioned a Scandinavian modern kitchen design with open shelving, flat-panel fronts and wood cabinetry. We decided to use rift oak because it has a straight, tight grain and was most consistent.”
But a dilemma arose when the new appliances came. “The sink was 1 inch too big, and the fridge wasn’t going to fit the existing opening,” Mark says. Oops.
But Mark had a good cabinet person on the team and was able to act quickly. “All hands were on deck to make it right, and our cabinet guy made it work,” she says.
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But a dilemma arose when the new appliances came. “The sink was 1 inch too big, and the fridge wasn’t going to fit the existing opening,” Mark says. Oops.
But Mark had a good cabinet person on the team and was able to act quickly. “All hands were on deck to make it right, and our cabinet guy made it work,” she says.
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To keep a project on track, you might be inclined to ask a client to accept a stain color or other detail that doesn’t match the intended vision and move forward. Sometimes adjustments like this are fine, but other times it’s too much of a compromise.
Designer Brea Valenzuela of cityhomeCollective had a tough decision to make when she saw the first iteration of the custom tubular hood vents in this Salt Lake City kitchen. Powder-coating the vents in a brass color hadn’t produced the impressive finish she and her client sought. “They turned out way too plastic-looking and didn’t have the depth and character of actual metal,” Valenzuela says. “We decided it was worth it to have them redone in a real, aged brass with local fabricator Meta Designs. This truly made the space what it is.”
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Designer Brea Valenzuela of cityhomeCollective had a tough decision to make when she saw the first iteration of the custom tubular hood vents in this Salt Lake City kitchen. Powder-coating the vents in a brass color hadn’t produced the impressive finish she and her client sought. “They turned out way too plastic-looking and didn’t have the depth and character of actual metal,” Valenzuela says. “We decided it was worth it to have them redone in a real, aged brass with local fabricator Meta Designs. This truly made the space what it is.”
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Sometimes a design anomaly baffles everyone. That was the case for designer Amber Scott when having this intimate living room painted entirely in Off-Black by Farrow & Ball.
A round spot on the ceiling appeared after the paint dried. “We initially thought it was water damage from the second floor, a roof leak or flashing from a patch, although everything checked out,” Scott says.
So she repainted. And repainted. And repainted. Eventually the spot went away, after the fourth repainting job. Sticking with it resulted in the beautifully dramatic entertaining space her clients wanted.
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A round spot on the ceiling appeared after the paint dried. “We initially thought it was water damage from the second floor, a roof leak or flashing from a patch, although everything checked out,” Scott says.
So she repainted. And repainted. And repainted. Eventually the spot went away, after the fourth repainting job. Sticking with it resulted in the beautifully dramatic entertaining space her clients wanted.
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
But the first attempt at patching the removed wall didn’t look quite right. “When removing a wall, a skilled drywaller is worth their weight in gold,” Soricelli says. “Sometimes the walls don’t quite match up and it can be hard to hide the patched area where a wall was removed. We had to have the drywaller come back and add an extra coat to smooth the ceiling and the wall opposite the shiplap. It was a small delay that was definitely worth it.”
This is a good example of why it’s important to maintain good relationships with subcontractors and tradespeople. Asking someone to redo work during a remodeling project can be difficult. But getting the details right is vital to a successful project and a happy client. Plus, it’s all part of running a professional service that promises quality work.
A management tool such as Houzz Pro can help, as it will allow you to create detailed plans, schedules and even 3D floor plans that you can easily share with your contractors and edit as you go along.
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