This Delaware remodeler has diversified his business by providing customized space plans and estimating services for health facilities.. More
When a remodeler says his company is "design/build" what exactly does that mean? More
Todd Jackson of Jackson Design & Remodeling, in San Diego, developed a design process that starts with sales. “If you just turn a client over to a designer, they'll fall in love with a beautiful design that's over budget and can't be built,” Jackson says. More
When he started out 16 years ago as a practicing architect and partner in Socha Builders, Rob Adler did not charge anything for the creative phase. “We charged nothing so as to get noticed, and we agreed in advance that if the client was pleased with the design, they were only obligated to pay for the construction documents,” he says. More
I've long appeciated the advantages of design/build. This approach to construction... More
Could it be any easier for homeowners to find home improvement contractors? Only if the online referral industry maintains its current torrid growth rate. Having emerged in the 1990s and then largely imploded in the dot-com bust, this industry is back and bigger than ever. Hundreds of services exist today, from national behemoths that “match” contractors and consumers automatically to one-person companies that know every client by name. More
For some remodeling clients, the concept of a volume discount extends to remodeling projects. They argue that there are efficiencies of scale or that expensive finishes don't increase a remodeler's risk proportionately. Faced with a design/build remodeling project estimated in the million-dollar range, should you reduce your design fees? More
When you first begin charging for design, the fee is often seen as more of a client's commitment than a profit maker. “When you look at your efficiency in doing the design and moving the client through effectively,” says Mark Richard-son of Case Design Build, Bethesda, Md., “that's an indicator that you can start to look at the design fee more in terms of its profitability.” More
Mark Richardson of Case Design/Remodeling says Case has, over a 30-year period, evolved a process for charging for design ó preliminary design, for which the client is charged .5% to 2%; detailed planning, which is 6% to 8%; and construction. But Case didn't start out that way. More
In June, six design/build remodelers got together to talk about the business. Eavesdrop on their conversation. More
