Starting A Remodel: What Happens At The First Meeting?

September 1, 2011

The first meeting is important.  The purpose of the meeting is to determine the feasibility of your project, define a general scope of work, identify a realistic budget, and determine if Expert Design & Construction is the right firm for you and your project. One of the first questions you will be asked is, “How [...]

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Changing Your Time

November 7, 2010

I have been able to spend some great time with my kids and reconnect with my wife. In doing so, I was reminded how funny my wife is. That was a great discovery.

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Overhead & Net Profit or “Bills I Gotta Pay & Why I Work Saturdays”

March 16, 2010

Last year I had a very funny client. She was, like most of us, very budget conscious. During the bid presentation she poured over the estimate, examining every line until she got to the bottom of the spread sheet. Her eyes narrowed, her mouth tightened and she announced, “Wait a minute, you get overhead AND [...]

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Defining Estimate Terms: Margin vs. Markup

March 11, 2010

Do you remember the story of the Tower of Babel? Without getting into all the details, when God wanted to stop the building project, He didn’t send down fire or a flood – He confused all of the languages. All of a sudden, a carpenter is calling out measurements in Italian to his partner who [...]

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Understanding Remodeling Estimates – Step One in a Fair Deal

March 2, 2010

For a moment, let’s put aside politics and what you think of corporations, and consider Mc Donald’s. Whatever you may think of their policies or products, one thing is sure: when you say “Big Mac”, everyone knows what you mean. Whether you’re in Washington DC or Washington State, the term refers to exactly the same [...]

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How do you judge a Designer’s credentials?

February 9, 2010

To become a contractor, you have to prove you have the necessary experience in your field and pass a written test covering business and building practices. You are assigned a license in a specific field, with clearly defined areas of work that you are allowed to do. Without this license, you are NOT allowed to [...]

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Are References Worth Calling?

February 5, 2010

Like most people, I don’t like TV commercials. Usually, I TIVO right past them. But what if they were different, what if they were interactive? Instead of waiting through the whole “Slap Chop” or “Sham Wow” presentation, I could stop “Vince” and ask some questions? “Hey, Vince, just how much is that shipping and handling? [...]

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Advantages of a Fixed Price Design

February 1, 2010

I’m sure some of you are mechanics. My dad was (along with many other things) a desiel mechanic for a time. I know that I need to maintain my car, but I wish it was a closed system that didn’t need maintenance. Since that’s not an option, I have to go to the mechanic from [...]

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The “Free Design Fairy” and her assistant “Discount Design”

January 28, 2010

I applaud the creativity of my fellow remodelers. Everyone has their own value proposition and their particular brand of vanilla. In the end, however, grandma was right – there is no free lunch. I’m referring to the practice of offering a “free” design, “IF, you sign our build contract”. Or “We’ll give you 50% off [...]

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HUGE DISCOUNTS!!!

January 27, 2010

This weekend at the Northern California Home & Landscape Show we will feature HUGE discounts on the appliances in our booth! Call the Expert office 916 635-3709 for free tickets to the show and visit our booths (in the Pavillion and in building three) to see the great deals!!! Also, come by the Pavillion Friday [...]

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