I started listening to “Handel on the Law” a radio show hosted by a guy named Bill Handel, who takes legal questions from callers. It was recommended to me by one of our customers and it was interesting to hear the show validating my suspicions on a national level. Four calls during the one-and-a-half-hour call in show were from folks getting bamboozled during remodeling projects.
I’m not surprised because I am in the field everyday and I see the low standards out there, but listening to his show simply validates my suspicions and left me wondering:
WHY ARE HOMEOWNERS CONSTANTLY GETTING CHEATED DURING REMODELS?!
Jason and I are constantly talking about this topic, so we’ve hit the question from multiple different angles, and I’ve constructed my position in an environment of scrutiny, so you’re not hearing this from a lightweight! When we’re building a bathroom eight hours a day, this is the kind of stuff we talk about!
In today’s blog post I’m going to give you the low down from the perspective of a tile installer and an active observer of human frailties. I’m not attacking homeowners, you guys pay my salary and I love you! I’m hoping to set you up for success. This is also based on the idea that all “builders” or “contractors” are going to rip you off. This clearly isn’t true, there are great ones out there. But as a homeowner you mine as well assume that they are. No one is looking out for you, EXCEPT YOU.
Maybe you can use these six points to steer you in the right direction during your next home remodel recruiting session.
1. Homeowners have no knowledge or curiosity of standards and practices.
Customers can’t know everything about bathroom remodeling or construction generally, that’s what you hire “pros” for. But come on now, can you try, A LITTLE? The old Russian proverb (later credited to President Ronald Reagan) says it best: “Trust but verify!”
How do you go about “verifying”? Well, look for online content. A craftsman that shows his work takes pride in his work. Don’t just look for finished pictures or videos. Look for pictures of the company IN ACTION.
Another way to verify standards and practices is to get into the nitty gritty technical minutia during the interviewing process.
I’ve read many sales books and they say most purchases are made based on emotion. “I like this contractor; I’ll give him my work.” He’s from my church, I’ll give him my work.” NO, NO, NO!
The emotional stuff has got to go!
You want your re modeler to be a technical WHIZ and to speak in that language! Talk of rainbows and fancy pants is not an indicator of someone that will build you a lasting, functional, BEAUTIFUL finished product!
Also, do some research on your own. Put a couple hours into YouTube videos, technical manuals, blogs, social media. You’ll be spending a boat load of money, so do your research! Maybe you have ONE QUESTION that is a benchmark for the builder’s technical prowess and to determine if he’ll meet your needs. For shower building a great one is:
“Do you silicone all plane changes in the shower?”
If they say no or give an excuse as to why they don’t, you don’t hire them because you know (based on your research) that siliconing plane changes in a wet area is nationally STANDARD. So, if your recruit is neglecting that fact, they’re not following standards and practices.
Tell them: BEAT IT!
Most people get duped during a bathroom remodel because: THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE BUYING.
2. Homeowners fall for the loaded front end, without consideration for the back end.
When I use the term “front end” in the context of construction I’m referring to the owner that sells the job, the salespeople that are doing it for the owner, the brick and mortar store.
When I say “back end” I’m talking about the people who do the work.
It’s important to note, you’re not buying a smile and a store. That, of course, is part of the experience. What you are buying is a finished product within your house and the people who are performing this skilled craft are far more important than a slick sales pitch, a colorful brochure, or a “design consultation.”
If you are hiring a big outfit to build your project, make sure they have project managers that are on site and involved. Make sure the front-end people that sold you the job are truly involved and that they don’t just hand it off to the $20 an hour, mystery men in the white vans. I see more people bamboozled by this scenario than any other.
People are constantly getting cheated during a remodel because, they don’t vet the people who actually do the work!
3. Homeowners are constantly searching for “the deal”.
Being involved in the construction business for all these years and also talking with other tradesmen, I notice a pattern: There is no higher virtue than getting a deal.
Unfortunately, I find that deals are an illusion of a deal. You’ll have to put up with a lot of undesirable behavior and most likely an undesirable FINISH to get that “DEAL”.
Let’s face it, in order to get something for free, a corner has to be cut or someone else has to lose. This is a fact of life. As a tradesman myself I wonder, what ever happened to paying people what it costs to have something done right. Well, I must attest that there are unscrupulous “builders” out there and the stereotype of the shady builder is well deserved, in many cases. I suppose it’s the point of this article.
But, if you find a great one, pay them!
When I see a bathroom that is lousy, I ask the homeowner, “How much did you pay?”
Invariably, it is a laughably low number and I’m surprised anything got done.
I think, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT TO GET?!
In 2020 things are extremely expensive. It’s a fact of life. Buy groceries, a car, college, anything. Construction is no different.
Homeowners regularly get burned on their bathroom remodel because getting a deal is the highest virtue.
4. Homeowners don’t understand the enormous undertaking of a remodel. Many have a “high time preference.”
Someone with a high time preference is focused substantially on their well being in the present and the immediate future.
So, get it done, yesterday!
Bathroom remodeling is a huge endeavor. I’m not going to sugar coat it, or downplay it as “easy”. Even the smallest construction project can take days to complete, countless trips to the store, and years of accumulated knowledge so, when a person calls and says,
“Oh, it’s just a small back splash, it should be easy.”
Or
My favorite
“A shower takes 11 days to build? That’s ridiculous, it should take 4!”
I cringe!
The worst part is that construction workers have internalized this desire of homeowners to have things done faster, faster, faster. They use guilt on us when they hear how long our projects take. They comment:
“I would have had that done in a week.”
To these guys I respond,
“We don’t have to come back to fix things.”
For many construction guys, the speed in which they complete a project is the highest virtue.
Speed and quality rarely play well together!
A master bathroom can be months of work. Good things come to those who wait. Just be prepared to allow the people who are performing the work in your home the time they need to get it done, with quality and precision.
Homeowners are constantly getting raked over the coals on their remodel because they value SPEED over QUALITY.
5. Homeowners care more about “LOOKS” than “Longevity and functionality”
With tile, looks are only part of the equation. What gives tile it’s long lasting reputation is mostly the quality of the installation. Therefore, worrying about the looks alone is a brutal mistake.
Obviously, looks are important, but many failures that we see looked great when the installer left, only to mold or rot. I can install beautiful tile that looks incredible in a shower, but it’s installed on sheet rock that will mold in 2 years. Get my point?
Many worry about looks exclusively without worrying about FUNCTION.
If you don’t like heavy maintenance, for example, you don’t buy natural stone. Natural stone LOOKS great but functions poorly without constant upkeep.
The important part of a bathroom remodel or any tile job: WHAT’S UNDERNEATH.
Many homeowners are burned on remodels because there is too much focus on the aesthetics and not much care for the important stuff: What’s underneath and how the project will function during daily use!
6. Homeowners don’t have high standards during the recruiting process.
I was recently at an interview that our client had with a flooring company. Our client asked the flooring guy for a business card and he said,
“I haven’t had a business card in 40 years, we only have our names on these shirts because my tax person told me I needed a write off.”
That, my friends, is a bad sign!
No business cards, safe to say no website!
I would not be able to personally hire this person because I wouldn’t be able to VERIFY his work. I don’t care how good of friends I was with the person who referred him, I want to see a history of CONSISTENT, high end work, the people he is working with and you should want to see these things too!
You need to have HIGH standards when hiring a re modeler.
If you don’t think of remodeling as a PROFESSION, you’re cruisin’ for a brusin’ and your checking account will be a lot lighter for your trouble.
What’s the person look like when they come for an appointment? Are they professional? Do they dress nicely? Speak in a way that portrays experience and quality? Do the people you are hiring share your culture and values? Is it someone that you’d trust with your 90-year-old grandmother? You’ll be spending a lot of time and money with the people working in your home, so compatibility is very important.
Standards have waned but reality has not. If you wouldn’t want to give this person the key to your house, they shouldn’t be working at your house.
Many people get gypped during their remodels because they don’t have high standards for construction workers!
I listen to the people that call me with remodeling problems and most of the issues can be avoided with a little bit of foresight and self-awareness.
You see the bullet points above; these are things I see and think about every day. I study “the why” as it relates to remodeling and my hope is that I made you a bit more aware of the mental pitfalls during a home remodel: because awareness is half the battle.
GOOD LUCK