Many forms that remodelers use have war stories behind them; harrowing tales of how not having the form cost them thousands of dollars on a job, and how they've used it ever since. That's not the case with Classic Remodeling & Construction's pre-drywall sign-off form. “It wasn't one particular instance, but sort of an epidemic,” says company owner Bob Fleming of the impetus behind creating the form.
Due to company error or misunderstanding on the part of the homeowner, the Columbia, S.C., remodeler found that at the end of a job, there often was an issue surrounding the placement of electrical outlets or switches, among other things. About five years ago, Fleming instituted a policy requiring a walk-through — lasting as long as four hours on big remodels — once rough-in is essentially complete but before the drywall goes up. Mistakes can be fixed for $75 or $100 at that point. However, if the error or misunderstanding isn't discovered until the end of the job, correcting it might cost four times as much.
