The 5 Essential Keys^™

Detailed Specifications provide the road map for all the workers involved in your remodel project. Floor plans provide the beginning basis of your project, similar to a menu being the basis for a dinner party. The dinner menu will require all of the ingredients, recipes, and the coordination of courses in order to produce an outstanding meal. Remodeling is no different. A floorplan is a beginning, but not sufficient enough information to allow construction to proceed. Detailed specifications not only list all the pricing and sourcing of selections (the ingredients), they also provide all the directions needed to install the selections (the recipes). A well compiled specification document gives you (and your builder) a much-needed resource; the ‘cookbook’.

A construction quote/bid is only as accurate and meaningful as the detail and accuracy of the plans and materials specified. Contractors can readily price what is well-defined. They can only make assumptions for unknown/imprecise items; those assumptions are called ‘allowances’. Illustration: A Carpet Allowance of $2,000 does not define the quality or style of carpet. Such allowances are difficult to evaluate and may not be in line with your expectations. Until you begin to research & select, the price ranges for the items you dream of are pretty much an unknown. (When is the last time you priced cabinetry or a granite counter?) It is the all-too-common composite list of allowances from a contractor that while being a well-meaning ball-park figure, is in no way a true reflection of what the project will ultimately cost. Time well-spent in the production of detailed specifications will allow the contractor’s bid to be more realistic. An accurate, line-itemed bid takes the mystery and surprises out of pricing. It gives you the control and power to make well-informed decisions on the compromises and trade-offs necessary to manage the amount you want to invest.

Everyone wants to know when their project will get started and when it will be done. The only sane way to enter into the controlled chaos created by remodeling construction is with a construction calendar in hand. It takes time to schedule and plan out a calendar and it should not be disregarded. A construction calendar serves multiple purposes, all of which work towards creating a successful remodel. It gives you knowledge of who will be in your home, doing what work and when. It is a guideline upon which to measure progress as well as when specific materials need to be ordered. The calendar should provide pre-set weekly meetings for all involved to discuss progress and any necessary adjustments. It affords your designer the opportunity to assist in the implementation of the design along the way. Projects with a published construction calendar, which is often updated as the weeks go along, always run more smoothly and with less trauma. And that is a good thing for all!

You’ve got to have a great general contractor! The cost of their bid is only one consideration. Their skill-set along with skills and quality of their subcontractors is going to be one of the determining factors in the successful outcome of your remodel. The all-important Detailed Specifications outlining the scope of work and products selected delivers a guideline for the talent, scheduling and costs needed to implement your approved design. The construction crew will be spending a lot of time in your home, their ability to communicate in a timely and professional manner with each other and with you is critical to the sanity of all involved and the smoothness of your project. Choose your general contractor well – you need him or her. The general contractor works for you – and is accountable to you. This is the 5th and last of the Essential Keys to creating successful Kitchen and Bath remodels.