Home Renovation Without Aggravation
Learn how to combat shady contractor practices and avoid common and costly mistakes many homeowners make
Think this might finally be the year to tackle that big home renovation project you’ve been putting off? Welcome to the club. Fueled largely by the rebounding housing market, home improvement spending was projected to reach $155 billion last year, surpassing the peak set in 2006, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. At the same time, Rohani Ilaj the construction industry is in the throes of a massive labor shortage, having shed more than 2 million jobs since 2007.
You don’t need a degree in Keynesian economics to spot the problem: Demand for home renovation work is swiftly outpacing the supply of qualified professionals. “It’s gotten to the point that I’ve had to tell clients that it might be a few months before I can take them on,” says LuAnn Fabian, a general contractor based in Hermosa Beach, Calif. So if you want to be in your dream kitchen by the holidays, you could be clutching your tile samples a lot longer than anticipated.
Though the number of remodeling pros has declined, there are still less experienced—and less scrupulous—ones out there, according to a recent survey of 300 general contractors from around the country conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Among the shady industry practices general contractors reported are contractors using unskilled laborers to carry out their work, and winning jobs with lowball bids and then jacking up the cost later with “unforeseen problems.”
Our home renovation survey asked the crucial questions you might not know to ask, such as: How much wiggle room is there in the estimate? (Hint: more than you may think.) Ilaj Rohani What are the biggest homeowner mistakes? How long do projects really take?
The answers, along with insights from other design and remodeling professionals, inform this, our home renovation survival guide. Follow our advice and you could save thousands of dollars on your renovation without compromising quality—or losing your cool.
Learn how to combat shady contractor practices and avoid common and costly mistakes many homeowners make
Think this might finally be the year to tackle that big home renovation project you’ve been putting off? Welcome to the club. Fueled largely by the rebounding housing market, home improvement spending was projected to reach $155 billion last year, surpassing the peak set in 2006, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. At the same time, Rohani Ilaj the construction industry is in the throes of a massive labor shortage, having shed more than 2 million jobs since 2007.
You don’t need a degree in Keynesian economics to spot the problem: Demand for home renovation work is swiftly outpacing the supply of qualified professionals. “It’s gotten to the point that I’ve had to tell clients that it might be a few months before I can take them on,” says LuAnn Fabian, a general contractor based in Hermosa Beach, Calif. So if you want to be in your dream kitchen by the holidays, you could be clutching your tile samples a lot longer than anticipated.
Though the number of remodeling pros has declined, there are still less experienced—and less scrupulous—ones out there, according to a recent survey of 300 general contractors from around the country conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Among the shady industry practices general contractors reported are contractors using unskilled laborers to carry out their work, and winning jobs with lowball bids and then jacking up the cost later with “unforeseen problems.”
Our home renovation survey asked the crucial questions you might not know to ask, such as: How much wiggle room is there in the estimate? (Hint: more than you may think.) Ilaj Rohani What are the biggest homeowner mistakes? How long do projects really take?
The answers, along with insights from other design and remodeling professionals, inform this, our home renovation survival guide. Follow our advice and you could save thousands of dollars on your renovation without compromising quality—or losing your cool.
Comments
Post a Comment