What I want to share with you today is one of the biggest enthusiasm-killers to any project, the shock you get when what you had in your mind doesn’t match up with the actual costs. I’m not talking about when you first start your research, although many of you have emailed with your disappointments. I hear you.
What I’m talking about is additions either during the selection process or during the project. You know the type – you decide to add can lighting to your kitchen. You went online to a box store, added the cost of 4 can lights, 4x $ 20.00 per can (and you weren’t in
You get the bill or change order for $ 900.00.
“What?!?” you say. “Wait a minute; I’m not paying for this! It should have cost 1/8th of that.” Now you’re steaming mad, refuse to pay, hop on the internet and blast your contractor for being a crook.
Hold on. Yes, your contractor was wrong, but not for the reason you think.
One of the biggest common failings in our industry is that we have a tendency to assume you all automatically know what we do AND how we do it. *scratch head* I don’t know why, but we figure just by talking to us, you have somehow absorbed every aspect of our business. Silly, isn’t it? Then we end up all shocked that you would be shocked, because we actually gave you a discount even though we had to drop everything else to accommodate this last minute change and it put us a day behind at another job and now our other client is upset.
Hurt feelings all around, but really? That’s our fault. We need to step it up and recognize no, you don’t know:
Knowing what’s involved is a big step towards understanding. Repeat after me: Failed expectations are the sole cause of anger. Ommm. *grin*
The last few years, I’ve taken time to explain where the costs come from and if I can, in the early stages, so that the adjustments for both budget and expectations can be made. Sure, I still have clients say: “I had no idea there was so much to this”, but at least they didn’t have any surprises.
And that’s my 2 cents for the day.
Kelly Morisseau
FW&D Remodeling Services marketing director, Ned Overton, attended the Internet Success System Master Mind Conference, hosted by Mark Hendricks in Atlanta, GA, starting on October 22, 2009. The main focus of the conference is internet marketing. Attendees enjoyed networking with industry leaders, hands on workshops, special mastermind sessions, and Mark’s famous Q & A session. Mark, pictured at right welcoming Ned Overton to the conference, is one of the few online marketers that offer attendees a special Q & A session to ask any question at all about internet marketing. To learn more about the Internet Success Conference and how you can attend visit http://internetsuccessystem.com.
Previous attendees of the conference stated “This program is truly an educational experience”.
Cindi Dawson of CindiDawson.com said, "I truly benefited from the Internet Success System conference last weekend. I met lots of potential joint venture partners, learned how to create three different types of products very quickly and easily, and had a wonderful time."
Jim Straw, legendary marketing professional, said, “ Anyone who attends this conference will
come away improved”.
Pictured left to right is the legendary Jim Straw, Ned Overton, and marketing genius Ken Compton.
The conference covered topics such as How To Develop a Press Release, Article Writing, Developing Video Presentations, and Using Facebook For Business.
“I generally try to get 1 nugget per day at a conference but at the Internet Success System Conference nuggets were flowing like an artesian well”, said Ned Overton of FW&D Remodeling Services.
FW&D Remodeling Services is located in the Fairlington Historic District in
If you would like more information about FW&D Remodeling Services please visit http://www.fairwd.com.
Do you feel cramped for space? Do you feel restricted when entertaining in your home? Then you should read these suggestions from an experienced design team and Fairlington residents.
Our first suggestion, assuming you live in a Fairlington Clarendon model, is to remove the non load bearing wall and replace the wall mounted cabinets with ceiling mounted cabinets. This makes the most of the space you do have, and opens up the room.
White cabinets or a light finish wood cabinet, such as a honey maple, give the perception of a more open space – dark colors tend to make to space more cave-like.
To add to the open feel, use glass front doors on both sides of the ceiling mounted cabinets. This visual trick keeps the kitchen from feeling closed off, and gives a nice flow from room to room.
Next, install recessed lights to free the ceiling area and focus the cone of light on the lighter cabinets.
There are additional benefits to remodeling your Fairlington kitchen with these suggestions. You now have more counter space. The feel of the open kitchen may spark positive life style changes. You’ll be more receptive to entertaining and perhaps the best benefit; it will increase the re-sale value of your home.
These are but a few suggestions to enhance the look and feel of your Fairlington kitchen.
Everyone wants to help out the environment, but sometimes the green alternative can be the pricey alternative. Not the case though with FW&D. We use products that are not only better for the environment, but save money!
Take the Excalibur model window. This is a window we regularly install in Fairlington homes. Made by Alside, these beautiful windows work for you. They feature PPG’s Solarban 60 Low-E glass. Who would have thought that the type of glass in your window could help the environment? But Low-E works year-round to keep your A/C or heateroff as much as possible. In the summer, this cool glass filters in long-wave solar radiation (the cooler rays). By keeping only the hotter rays out, you still get the pleasure of natural sunlight without the scorching heat of the August sun! In the winter, Low-E glass works double-duty: first it lets warm, short-wave rays into the home for natural warmth; then the Low-E glass helps block the warm air inside, rather than letting it seep back out into the winter air.
Excalibur windows also have Argon gas between the panes of glass. Argon gas is a colorless, odorless, nonflammable, nontoxic and safe inert gas. Heavier than air, the Argon gas creates an additional layer of insulation that reduces the transmittance of heat and cold, but not light. Pretty cool, huh?
What do these big words and fancy products all mean? Well, not only do you help save the world by using less energy, you can save yourself a lot of money! Energy efficient choices can save families about a third on their energy bill! WOW! Excalibur windows meet the strict Energy Star ratings set by the EPA and the US Department of Energy.
Isn’t it great when doing the right thing is just so easy?
Are you tired of the dated 70’s look in your basement? Would you like the perception of more space in your basement? FW&D recently completed a basement stair railing system in a Clarendon model townhouse in Fairlington. If you would like to update the look of your basement, whether you’re in Fairlington or not, then contact your full service remodeling company.
As part of a proper application we tape and mud the joints.
together and it's called Remodel Crazy. What's different about this forum is they are welcoming all of the players in a remodeling project to participate in the forum. Sounds crazy but if you have a homeowner asking a question surely one of the members will be able to answer the question when the forum has a membership represented by most every trade, suppliers, vendors and a few crazies. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who the crazies are. So take the time to check out www.RemodelCrazy.com.
Also Known As:
What’s wrong with just getting 3 bids on my roofing project? And, Could someone please help me to not get screwed by the contractor I choose?
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner,
I would like to address the vulnerability you are subjecting yourselves to by going out and requesting 3 bids for your project. Maybe the advice should be to make sure that you get the best qualified contractor to do the job right in the first place, instead of worrying about problems down the road. The 3-bid suggestion is just there so you can hopefully get lucky and find one who fits that category. Would you be astounded to hear that according to major roofing related manufacturers, that over 90 % of all roofs do not qualify for the manufacturers long term peace of mind warranty, from the initial installation time? I know I am. And, That’s a proven fact!
I know what you have been told; "Go out and get at least 3 bids", and throw away the contractors bid at the bottom and the contractors bid at the top and select the one in the middle. After all, isn't that what almost every single, "How to Choose a Contractor Guide" suggests you do. Isn't this the only way to ensure you do not get the low ball fly-by-nighter or the contractor who has to charge too much to justify his overhead or just wants to make too much profit from your job?
When you decided you had a need for this particular project, did you say to yourself?
"Gee, I want to make sure I get somebody who does not provide me with the full scope of work we need to validate the manufacturers full length warranty, (even if we do not really know what specifications those are yet), and I also want to make sure they do not have enough experience for this type of project?
Of course you didn't! That would be foolish and absurd!
Well then, that obviously eliminates anybody who would not spend the proper amount of time with you to be able to assess your projects complete requirements, while attempting to remain within your financial means to afford this enhancement to your home.
From years upon years of experience, we have discovered that the majority of bid work usually omits many of the necessary items that should have been included in the first place. We have chosen a different path. We decided that it would be better to explain the proper price for the job being done correctly at the beginning, rather than have to make excuses for the lack of quality for years to come.
Do you really think that there are so many corrupt or deceitful contractors out there? Actually, no there are not. The unfortunate consequence of requiring multiple contractors to be bidding on the same project without pre-determined specifications to be met is that most contractors feel compelled to find ways to cut corners to be able to "Win" the job. There is a necessity to "Make the
Well now, what will happen next, once the job starts. Here are two possible scenarios;
A) The contractor will do all of the minimal work specified in the contract, hoping that no one alerts you to the fact that additional specifications should have been included in the first place. If you never find out that some specs were omitted, Great Job. Everybody is happy. That is until things do not work as they were intended.
Even though, “Roofing is Not Brain Surgery”; There are many Wrong ways to roof a house. But…There is only…One “
But, if the building inspector approves it, doesn't that mean it was done correctly? Yes and No! The building inspector is only there to ensure that the "Minimum" specifications were followed. That means that they pass things all the time, where some contractors only do the least amount of work to just barely be on the legal side of the ordinances. Is this what you want, a "barely passed minimum standards job"?
B) On the other hand, what if you realize that the project is not advancing towards your vision you started out with? Aha, you inform the contractor that more work needs to be included in the project scope. Great!!! The contractor replies, but first, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner, please sign these additional work change order forms. That work you now realize that you needed to have included, was not in our initial bid! We thought we were doing you a favor, by keeping the costs down for you, isn't that what you wanted?
So, what is a homeowner to do? The best that you can do is to find a contractor who is proposing to do the job 100 % the
After you have done all of this, which contractor do you now believe is going to give you the Right Job for the Right Price?
More than likely, the only one out of the original 3 bidders, who even had a shot at producing the right results, was the supposedly highest priced contractor. Now, can you see that the highest bid, probably is not really the highest cost to you, but the only one to have provided the proper value to the specifications to ensure your warranty is validated by doing it the
The bottom line is that only the right “Qualified” bidder should even be considered in the 1st place.
This article is geared towards FW&D future roofing clients but is a valuable guide for any remodeling experience.
This article was written by my friend Ed Fako, owner, Right Way Roofing Company.
This roof has an obvious leak in the porch area due to poor installation techniques. FW&D was called in to make an assessment and recommend a solution. We proposed to use Certainteed WinterGuard™ waterproofing shingle underlayment as the solution for winning the battle against water penetration in this roof's most vulnerable place, the valley. But we decided to go for maximum protection and covered the entire porch roof area. WinterGuard™ is a composite material of asphalt polymers, formed into a rolled sheet. The asphalt makes it vapor-tight, and the polymers make the asphalt elastic and sticky. This protective
barrier is able to stretch and seal around nails driven through it.
was to turn the 2x4 block at a 45 degree angle to act as a curb to hold the insulation and still allow air flow into the attic space.
Through that association I have had the opportunity to meet several of the members such as Mark Buckshon, who writes the Construction Marketing Ideas blog, Frank Albert, owner of Albert's Roofing and a slate roof expert, and Sean Lintow Sr., owner of SLS Construction. All three of these guys have provided support, mentoring, and knowledge towards my effort to take FW&D to a higher level. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
Very carefully!! This Fairlington bath remodel provide provided us an opportunity to show case our skills not normally used in a typical bath remodel. One would think that laying the larger tile would be easier and faster than conventional size tile. On the contrary, the tile pieces all need to be inspected very
closely for defects and cracks. The pieces that pass inspection are placed in a separate pile and the culls are then used for the pieces that need to be trimmed or cut to size. Placing 1 tile takes a bit more time to set due to the weight and then we can only set 1 course and have to wait for it to setup before we can set another course. On this particular job we had an angled wall that when we set the tile we applied a custom made support to hold the tile in place and then let it setup overnight. Sorry, no picture of that process.
FW&D Remodeling Services recently completed construction of a custom shed in the
cement slab, purchasing the materials and storing them on site in the FW&D utility trailer. The components such as the walls are laid out and nailed together, trusses are site built and staged for assembly. Got to get back to work putting
this shed together so we’ll check in later with the updates on construction.
What is really unfortunate here is that the workers had an attitude that if the homeowner can't see it from the ground then we don't have to do a proper repair. As you can see the gap between the bottom of the
siding and the roof flashing allows water to get into the house. FW&D
will show the homeowner these pictures and propose an economical repair.
we cover up or drywall the areas, add a lintel and firebrick to the fireplace to accomodate the size of the new custom fireplace screen , and start setting cabinets. Now it looks like we're making progress but in reality we did get a lot of small time consuming projects completed. Once we get the cabinets set we'll install the stone veneer on the fireplace, new fire rated door to garage, new hardwood floors and a paint job. Stay tuned for updated pictures.
FW&D LLC is a proud member of the National Roof Group. So you are bound to be wondering, "What is National Roof Group?"
National Roof Group was founded by Chris Rayburn on the principle that roofing contractors should not have to pay for services that help them build their business. NRG links roofing contractors with the product and service providers who supply the premium products they are searching for. As a roofing contractor, we benefit from items like a roofing forum where people genuinely want to help one another succeed. The Member's Only roofing forum has allowed us to forge relationships with roofing contractors from around the country, and learn the tips and tricks that work for the roofing industry, and the ones that don't. Other services provided by the NRG are The Roofing Channel, Roof Campus, Roofer Data, Roofwebs.com, Roofer’s Auction, National Roof Group blog, and the Roofing Entrepreneur Magazine.
I spoke to quite a few of the members who told me what they liked most about the National Roofing Group Forum was that it was private, you have to register which leaves out most of the spamming and leads to better content. They say Chris runs a loose ship for the good of the forum but will step in and take control if someone gets too far out of line.
The National Roof Group Member Forum is one of the most helpful roofing forums on the internet. It’s a place where people genuinely care about the other members, and do whatever it takes to help. You don’t have to gain respect within our group, you simply have to show up. It shows a willingness to get involved and help others, and that goes a long way to increase the responses of others.
Well the day has finally arrived when all of the materials that were
ordered have been shipped and received and FW&D LLC could schedule the start of an interesting remodel project located in 
bookcases on each side of the fireplace, add a gas fireplace starter, wire the cabinets for cable TV, sound surround audio system, and separate electrical circuits. We will also add a floor electrical receptacle, install hardwood flooring, and a new fire rated door from the den to the garage.
Let’s get started on the demo. First we seal the the work area from the living area with a plastic wall. Then we start removing the brick from the end wall. The brick will be recycled and incorporated into an outdoor project. A friend asked if he could have the firewood storage box and we told him we could move that to his house with no problem. As this FW&D remodel project progresses we will update the blog site. We hope you come back to visit often.
Each year approximately 30 Americans are attacked by alligators but 347,000 Americans are injured because of falls from ladders. If you had LeafProof® gutter covers you would never have to climb a ladder to clean your gutters again. LeafProof®’s advanced gutter protection system can be installed on any type of roofing, including shingles, slate, metal and tile, and on any pitch. With LeafProof® installed, leaves and debris fall off the roof, while rainwater easily flows into the gutters. LeafProof® gutter protection systems enclose your gutters, eliminating the messy hassle and danger associated with cleaning them.
For complete information on all LeafProof® Gutter Protection Systems, just give us a call. We’re in your neighborhood.
