We knew this intuitively and logically, but with a recent survey we also confirmed it statistically: Most custom home builders are taking on remodeling work to get through these tough times. A full 85 percent of our respondents said they’ve diversified, pursuing kitchen and bath redos, whole-house renovations, basement remodels, and room additions to stay afloat. For those of you who came up through the ranks, starting with small remodeling jobs and eventually building up to new custom home construction, this is familiar territory. So, too, for those of you who’ve always kept a remodeling division going as a hedge against the countercyclical nature of these two kinds of work. But there are also plenty of custom builders who only know about new construction—a brand-new house on a pristine site with no one living on the premises. For the uninitiated, remodeling is a very rude awakening indeed.
The first thing remodeling virgins will learn is that the work is more complicated and it pays less. Even if the individual job appears lucrative, what gets lost in the calculus is the unbillable time spent managing multiple, smaller jobs with endless unpleasant surprises. The second thing you’ll learn (or relearn if you’re getting back into this after a long hiatus) is that remodeling clients are more demanding than new-house clients, despite the fact that their jobs are smaller and less lucrative. If you’re lucky, those remodeling clients aren’t living on the job. But chances are likely in this economy that they have chosen to stay put, to save money they can channel back into the project. So, your client will scrutinize every step you and your subs take. Every night they’ll go over the job progress with a magnifying glass, and every morning you’ll face an e-mail or phone call with a question or complaint. Whew.
The biggest lesson is that remodeling customers will have even greater expectations of the whole-house custom builder than they would the professional remodeler. They will presume you are the holy grail—a contractor who really can pull off a great job without constant supervision and correction. It’s exhausting, but if you do it right, you might find it even more gratifying than your typical line of work. Transforming a flawed, outdated house into a home that really works for its owners is a beautiful thing. In fact, it’s the pièce de résistance.
Email: cconroy@hanleywood.com
