Many of us live with parts of our homes that we might like to renovate but haven’t.
Maybe you want to refinish your kitchen or basement, but something is holding you back. If it’s the fear of having someone in your home, and trusting them to get the job done without taking advantage of you, your hesitation is understandable.
My goal here is to offer some basic advice to help prevent people from pulling out their hair during a home project — or even worse, having to take out a second mortgage because a renovation ran over budget.
In 20 years of owning or building 15 homes in addition to businesses, I have seen and heard it all from contractors, from shoddy work to no work at all. One dispute even resulted in a lien being placed on my home (even though I had paid my bill in full).
I have heard every possible excuse about why things were screwed up or not finished on time.
Just recently, a business partner and I leased a new space for our 10-year-old fitness gym. (I do, after all, enjoy having my hand in different pies.) The space needed to be completely renovated. Despite the fact that we hired a general contractor who happened to be a friend of my business partner, he failed to mind our budget or shop around for the lowest bids. During the four-month project, I began to think he was putting a kid through college on the profit from our job alone.
On top of our fee disagreement, the subcontractors failed to pull the proper permits. Sometimes, they didn’t even show up.
This brings up a key lesson with regard to home renovations, says Michael Sizemore, an inspection services manager with the city of Denver. Nearly all home renovations require a permit from the city or county.
“The reason we require a permit is to protect the consumer from bad workmanship,” says Sizemore, who adds that a permit should give homeowners the peace of mind that at least the minimum construction guidelines required by law will be followed.
“Many people feel it is just a revenue source for the city and they try to bypass the process,” he says. But “that is against the law and would ultimately be a detriment to both the homeowner and the neighborhood.”
No matter what, Sizemore says, don’t let a contractor talk you out of getting a building permit.
The is another important tool for protection from inept contractors. I recommend using it to see if there are any complaints against the company you are preparing to hire. To that end, you can Google the company name to look for reviews and advice. Just beware of sites or critics that are paid to post positive reviews.
When interviewing contractors, don’t forget to ask a lot of questions. When it comes to building, there is no such thing as a dumb question.
Taking all these steps won’t guarantee a hitch-free renovation. But it should make your remodeling life less stressful. It may still be difficult to get the job done exactly the way you want it. Just remember: Once it is done, you will have accomplished something that you will enjoy for years to come.
Aaron LaPedis is a guest columnist. The Denver-area art and collectibles dealer is the author of “The Garage Sale Millionaire.” For more information on the book, visit thegaragesalemillionaire.com. Do you have a question for the writer about an antique or collectible? E-mail it to living@denverpost.com.
Protect yourself from bad workmanship and unscrupulous builders
There is a fee for pulling permits. This is standard. But be sure to check the fee amount listed on the actual permit and compare that with the contractor’s fee for the service.
