State of the Remodeling Industry Address

In today's environment, it is tough to get financing for adding a huge family room addition on the back of your house. However, an addition to bring aging parents home, rather than them moving into a nursing home, is a great idea. There are usually funds made available after the sale of your parents' home to help the financial aspect of the project.

The remodeling market has changed over the last year, and homeowners are now realizing that they need to keep their homes "alive," which means keeping up with items that need to be replaced due to age, such as; rotting wood, windows, doors, shingles, and HVAC systems.

Our clients know that keeping kitchens and bathrooms up to date is also a good idea. It is always nice to do the work so your family can start enjoying the new spaces sooner rather than later. Plus, much like your car and other things, wiating to perform the work will end up costing you more.

Studies show that 90% of falls happen in the bathroom. There are many new products available to make bathrooms safer and update their looks. Homeowners are alos concerned about saving water and updating the lighting, so we have performed quite a few bathroom renovations.

Many clients are performing what we call, "Green kitchen facelifts," where the existing cabinets remain, or are painted, and energy efficient appliances, lighting solid surface countertops, sink and faucet are added. Our clients are delighted with the updated look and feel good about the energy efficient appliances and reducing water consumption.

Everyone is trying to be smart with their money and we are seeing a big increase in clients concerned about the energy efficiency of their home and having MVP come in and perform a home energy performance audit and then having our company add the insulation in the attic, seal the holes in the walls and make the repairs that make your house more energy efficient. We are also hearing that a "Cash for Caulkers" program is in the works, this would increase the tax credits available.

Kitchen Facelifts

Many clients have come to us with cabinets that are in decent shape but want to update the looks of their kitchen and take advantage of the more energy efficient appliances and switch to solid surface countertops.

So, we have seen plenty of kitchens with natural oak cabinets with contact paper veneer sides that have had the finish on the cabinets yellow over time while the veneer sides stay the same. This causes the sides to not match the rest of the kitchen. We install 1/4” luan over the existing veneer sides, ready for priming and painting.

The kitchen shown here has had the cabinets degreased, sanded, primed and painted, cabinet hardware updated, Granite countertops installed with stainless steel undermount sink and sink fixture, tile backsplash, light fixtures replaced, stainless steel appliances and a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

This particular kitchen had the hardwood floor installed after the cabinets, so a decorative ¾” spacer was installed prior to the new countertops so the dishwasher would have the required clearance.

Importance of Designations

Remodelers that have gone the extra distance by earning designations have been educated by industry leaders on how to perform building and remodeling projects and run their companies with the highest level of professionalism. The fellow remodelers and other professionals attending these classes share their experiences and the knowledge gained goes way beyond the textbook information provided in the curriculum.

I have found the information learned to be very helpful to my clients, and they benefit from the different designations in many ways. The Certified Graduate Remodeler Designation requires the applicant to complete a PREP test, which determines the strengths and weaknesses in performing remodeling, from accounting to marketing and advertising to client relations to job scheduling. The results of the test determine which classes the remodeler must complete and once the designation is earned the CGR must keep taking classes to maintain the designation.

The Certified Aging-In-Place Designation has been very helpful in designing projects for people with disabilities and age related limitations and how to work with them best. But the beauty of Universal Design is that it is not only for people with challenges, but it makes a home safer and easier for everyone, and the latest products don’t look like they belong in a hospital, they are stylish and compliment any homes décor. As a CAPS professional I am always looking for ways to plan for my clients future, whether it is installing blocking behind the walls in the bathroom for future grab bars or making sure door openings are large enough or can be made larger in the future with minimum cost. Proper planning for the future makes any project’s value much higher.

The Certified Green Professional Designation teaches construction methods and materials that are the most energy efficient and treats the home as an envelope and the best methods for controlling moisture, insulating and removing unwanted gases. The basis for the CGP Designation was how to “Go Green” without increasing the costs to the homeowner. A few examples would be the orientation of the home on the lot, location of windows, overhangs, etc. A lot of the specialized green products do have higher price tags than their non-green equivalents, but can make up for it in energy savings and the thought of lessoning our impact on the planet makes them well worth it to many homeowners. The products our company uses are now checked to make sure they are safe for our clients and care is taken to recycle whenever possible, minimizing the amount of materials brought to the landfill.

Just like in any profession, the top people in remodeling are constantly trying to gain knowledge of the newest products and procedures and share their knowledge with fellow professionals. Earning and maintaining all of these designations show a remodelers’ commitment to be one of the best in their field.