The most important trait to look for in hiring a builder

Renovating a home is hard work, and if you’re expecting everything to go smoothly, we have some unfortunate news: it won’t.

The simple reality is that any home renovation involves a contractor, a client, and a home. A contractor who, even though he or she is an expert, can make mistakes. A client can change their mind or misunderstand what was communicated. Last but not least, a home with years of wear and tear, outdated code, and previous owners’ patchwork solutions lurking in between walls and under the floors. Many of these issues aren’t even discovered until the demo begins. That’s a lot of moving pieces, and none of them are perfect.

Problems will arise.

At the risk of sounding too cliché or motivational speakerish, true character is revealed not when problems arise but in how you respond to them.

So you have to ask the question (maybe literally) to your contractor before you start a project, “How are you at solving problems?”

We want to share how we handle problems when (not if) they arise:

Cultivate trust by selling you an accurate bill of goods.

Home repair or renovating could be defined as “identifying a problem, dismantling it, and rebuilding it better and more suited to your needs than before.” Any time you can use the words “problem” and “dismantle” in a definition, it means there will be some pain. Some stress. Some unknown.

If anyone tells you otherwise, this diagram here (shared with me by a friend, not taking any credit here) will ring true. If you’re sold a false bill of goods or unrealistic expectations, it only leads to frustration. Honest, upfront communication on expectations that then exceeds expectations - that’s bliss (wow, the DMV only took 15 minutes!).

Through building trust, our goal is for your renovation to be as stress-minimizing (it won’t be stress-free), considerate, clean, and, dare we say, enjoyable as possible.

Embracing this graph will change your life. Truly.

Manage expectations by planning for the problems.

There is an important distinction to be made between managing and lowering expectations. The goal isn’t to intentionally undersell so that you can be blown away by a mediocre experience. The goal is to communicate honestly, clearly, and transparently.

We seek to do our homework on your home (age, state, scope) and apply an appropriate contingency budget (we wrote a whole blog tackling contract language on this here). Taking this route ensures that when unforeseen issues arise, we get to inform you that we’re taking care of the problem instead of sticking you with added cost. And that, readers, is bliss.

We are brutally honest and internally accountable for our quality.

Do you know how sometimes you can be too hard on yourself? Too self-critical? Sometimes, like when you’re doing a home renovation, that’s a good thing. We as a contractor refuse to cover up a flaw, an issue, or patch a problem that we know won’t wholly fix the root issue. The reality is that some issues cannot be discovered until you open up a wall, take out a bathtub, or remove a fixture. And sometimes, if the issue is large enough, it will mean added cost.

As your trusted contractor, we cannot let an issue that could compromise your home down the road go unaddressed. This is your home, and it deserves the surgery, not the band-aid, even if that means having difficult conversations due to the added costs involved in the work.

Own (and fix) our problems.

We make mistakes. There, we said it. We are fallible humans managing complex and ever-evolving projects. We aren’t afraid to own any missteps or unforeseen issues that arise that are on us. But honesty is only the first part of the equation. We are a solutions-oriented contractor, meaning we never come to you with a problem without a solution. Often (as in life), our best client relationships are where we have the opportunity to address a mistake or solve a problem honestly.

Conclusion

The actual test of a relationship isn’t when things are going well; it’s when the challenges arise. And they do occur. But through perseverance, the relationship is always stronger after coming through the trial. Your new space's finished product and daily enjoyment will be worth it. More than that, we hope you’ve felt like the project was a partnership and you’ve gained a friend - or at least a trusted contractor you’ll come back to for your next project! And when there are problems that arise and need to be solved, we know that in the end, the experience and enjoyment of your new space are worth it.