The Emotional Rollercoaster of Remodeling

typical emotional roller coaster of remodeling.
Remodeling contractors roller coaster

Remodeling your home is by nature disruptive to you daily routine and can be a roller coaster ride of emotion. How crazy a ride it is depends on the contractor you use. 

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Remodeling

If you haven’t done a significant remodel in your home before, you may be surprised by the emotional ups and downs you will experience. Your home is your haven, a private, sacred place that holds not only your possessions, but your routines, your way of life, and your memories.

Making the decision to change your home is exciting, but there may be anxiety-producing moments as you give up some control of your home to others. You might be caught off-guard by how a remodel’s disruptive nature affects you emotionally. 

woman Evaluating a remodeling estimate for a remodeling project

Top Reasons For Stress and Anxiety When Remodeling

Confusion About Cost

Not having confidence in your budget or in the estimates you get can be very stressful. 

Decision Fatigue / Overload

There a lot of decsions to make and it’s the decisons you forget to make that can really cause trouble. 

Lack of Knowledge

Are you getting good advice? Whose right your designer or contractor, that showroom rep or the internet?

Uncertainty of Results

Will they show up on time?  Will my house be dirty? Wil there be surprise costs?  Will it be done well?

The way to avoid this stress is work with a qualified design build remodeling company. Get a detailed estimate and make sure you understand what is included and what isn’t.

Your contractor should have a clearly outlined process so you understand what to expect and they should communciate clearly and respond quickly to questions.

 

remodeling process Tallahassee FL

5 Reason Remodeling Projects Go Wrong

 

1. Inacurate Estimates

Most remodeling estimates are off by 20 percent or more. What’s worse is they don’t list enough detail which leads to miscommuncation and confusion.

Our Good Better Best Budgets have proven to be accurate to within 5% of actual project costs. Every labor and material item is listed in detail so there is no confusion about what is included. 

2. Inexperienced Designers / Bad Design

A lot of contractors provide no design service while others rely on a friend or spouse who have little formal design experience.

Bad design is sneaky and you often won’t realize the mistakes that were made until the project is done and you start using you new space. Bad design is the #1 source of remodeling regrets.

Our designers undergo extensive training and continuing eductation each year. Your project  is reviewed by the whole design team and our project managers before it is  finalized.

3. Poor Materials Choices

Choosing low quality or inappropriate materials is the # 2 reason for remodeling regrets. Most contractors don’t provide advice on material selections and most designers rely on outside showrooms instead of personal knowledge.

You can rely on various showrooms but you tend to get different answers from every one you ask… their job is to sell their products after all.

Our design team get regular product training from our vendors and we attend additonal trainings at national conferences each year. We’ll curate some options for you and make sure you understand what you’re getting. 

4. Poor Planning  and Communication

What you’ll hear from many contractors is “I’ll give you a call once we get the materials and let you know when we can start”.  They don’t have  schedule, they don’t have a plan. When they finish on time its luck, not good planning.

We create detailed project schedule for your entire project and review it with you.  You have full access to the schedule through our online project management system. 

5. Poor Project Management

Most contractors are not on site every day. They schedule their subs and rely on them to do the work and ‘figure out’ any problems. Often this means you become the project supervisor in their abscence.

When working with us you will have  a dedicated project manager who is on site every day making sure things go according to plan. They keep your project schedule updated and do daily logs 3 times a day so you know exactly how things are progressing. 

My Friend Referred Me to A Contractor. They Had a Great Experience But I Did Not. Why?

You call a contractor your friend said was great but then your hire them and are disappointed with the results.

What happened? Is it you?

There are two reasons this can happen.

1. You just have higher standards than your friend.

2. The contractor does not have a consistent process.

Everyone has different standards for work quality, communciation, cleanliness and service. It’s one reason that referrals are only one step in the process of finding a contractor.

One of the hardest things to do in remodeling is provide a consistent experience across different projects. Every project is different and every homeowner is different and there can be a lot of unknowns.

The way you combat this is working with a conractor with a good remodeling process. 

Luck vs Process

Most contractors don’t have the staff, or the systems in place to create a consistent remodeling experience. When things go well its usually more because of luck than because of any careful planning.

When looking to hire a contractor referrals are important but even more important is to make sure the contractor you hire has a process in place to provide consistent results.

typical emotional roller coaster of remodeling.
Remodeling contractors roller coaster

A Typical Experience Vs the MKB Experience

It’s hard to remove all the emotional ups and downs of a remodel. Living in a home undergoing construction natualy comes with some ups and downs.

How dramatic the ride is depends in large part upon how your project team approaches the project, from design and selection all the way through project completion. 

Here is a graphic representation of the difference a good project team can make.

 

New Construction Vs Remodeling

Many contractors and subcontractors do not specialize in remodeling. They focus on new construction, taking remodeling projects every now and then.

When the job starts, they treat your home like a new construction job site because they are used to working in empty houses.

They show up when they want, store tools and equipment where it is most convenient for them, and schedule work to be done when it best suits their schedule, not yours.

This may be okay for a new home under construction, but it is far from ideal when remodeling. It makes the ups and downs of the roller coaster more dramatic and the whole project more frustrating.

Our Remodeling Process In 4 Steps

faster project completion Without unexpected delays or cost over-runs

Exploration

You don’t always know what you want until you know the options 

Our design and budget consult will help you explore options and costs.  

Inspire & Prepare

We’ll create a unique design that inspires you

And construction documents to make sure things are built to plan.

Execute

You’ll meet your project manager during design.

He takes care of everything makes sure things are built on time and on budget.

Follow Up

We follow up after a few weeks to make sure no small a

You will get a “tune up” visit after 6 months and a 5 year warranty

Estimate from a Remodeling Contractor

Get a realistic, no pressure assessment of your options and costs. 

Schedule A Design and Budget Consult

  • Clarify Your Design Ideas with 3D Renderings
  • Detailed Estimate of Materials and Labor
  • Explore material and fixture options in our showroom

Design Build Remodeling Contractor, Tallahassee

McManus Kitchen and Bath is a design build remodeling contractor with a full service showroom right here in Tallahassee. We help homeowners update their home with a turn key process so you can enjoy the remodeling experience as much as you’ll enjoy the result.

We start with a detailed and realistic budget. From there your designer will help you explore options, choose the perfect materials and create a final design specific to your needs.

Once design is complete we order everything for you and store it until needed. Your dedicated project manager supervises all on site construction and makes sure your home stays clean and safe throughout the project.