…AND HOW TO AVOID THEM! (PART 3)

By:  Brian Martin

LOVELAND, OH (May 24, 2023) – This is the third in a five-part series from Brian Martin and TMC Construction Services,Inc. on Loveland Beacon helping homeowners avoid making critical mistakes on any home remodeling project.

I like questions.  I like asking them and I like when other people ask them.  My friends would likely tell you I annoy them with all my questions.  “How are you today?”  “What are you doing?”  “When are you going there?” “Why are you doing that?”  See, very annoying.  Some people can sit down and eat a piece of cake and others want to know how it was made.  I am the latter. 

We recently got on a plane to see my 80 year old uncle.  I hadn’t flown in years, so my senses were on full-alert.  I eyed the other passengers to see who I could count on to jump on anyone who may try something silly.  I gave extra special attention to the pilot.  I watched how he walked. I inspected his face for any signs of impairment. I studied him closely.  I wanted to know how many years he had been flying.  Was this his first time?  Did he learn how to fly on YouTube or, what was his training? 

While trusting a company to remodel your home may seem very different than trusting your pilot to fly your airplane, you may be surprised how similar it really is. – Brian Martin, TMC Construction Services Inc.

Mistake #3 Not asking enough questions

“Ask lots of questions,” says Brian.

There’s no such thing as a dumb question, and besides, it’s your money! The goal is to settle on someone you can trust.  You have every right to ask as many questions as you’d like. It is important to know what materials are being used and why specificly those materials.  Perhaps even more important is who will be doing the actual work. What experience do they have?  Is a different “sub-contractor” performing separate tasks during the project, or is one crew performing all of the tasks?  When do the payments need to be made? 

Let’s talk for a brief second about who is actually doing the work.  Some companies have their own employees and other companies utilize sub-contractors.  A sub-contractor is a person likely specializing in one trade or who will participate in only one part of your project.  For example, a plumber, electrician, or a painter will be called in to perform only that specific task.  Some companies self-perform the entire project with their own staff.

For some types of projects a company using sub-contractors may work well. For other project-types it may be best to have a team of actual employees completing the entire project.  It is good to ask the questions.  Similar to getting on an airplane, it is good to know the person flying the plane knows what they are doing. 

So, you receive multiple estimates for your project, none of them the same.  Now what?  We will talk more about that in the next article.

Remember before you sign, ask lots of questions, seek references, and speak with recent homeowners who have used the remodeling company.

© Copyright 2023 Brian T. Martin & TMC Construction Services, Inc.

https://www.tmcconstructionservices.com/