Why Design Build is Best For a Custom Home Library

When planning and building a custom home library, there are many things to consider. From sufficient space, to usage, design, comfort, and more, there could be a great deal to think about. This is where an experienced design build contractor will come in handy. In fact, there are many reasons going with the design build process can be the best choice for your personalized in-home library.

Proper Licensing and Communication

Some aspects of building your home library may require a permit and proper licensing. This is especially true if you will be changing the structural layout or adding/finishing rooms. For certain things, these permits can only be granted to a properly licensed contractor. Communication is key throughout the process, for this and other purposes. It’s extremely important that both the homeowner and contractor are clear with each other on what will take place.

Experience and Synergy Designing Custom Living Spaces

Design build contractors have experience planning and creating a multitude of spaces for a variety of reasons. Because they have knowledge regarding the whole picture, it eliminates the need for hiring an extra designer. The designer works on the same team as the contractor and, in some cases, may be the same person. This will often help prevent confusion regarding the end result, since you are not working with more than one company. Communication within the same company is much easier than with several outside sources.

Ability to Preview Possible Outcome

A design build contractor is involved in your entire project and can show you previews of the intended finish. Unlike some remodeling methods, a clear picture is given with discussion and input from you before and during the process. There are many effective ways to achieve an end result. However, having the ability to preview what your custom home library will look like can give you some peace of mind. From there, leaving the hard work up to the contractor can be much easier.

Whole Space Design

With design build remodeling, the whole space is taken into consideration. Your home library will be customized based upon what your space will look like at completion. Anything that is built takes into consideration area usage, other items that will be in the room, your style and needs, and more. For some, this benefit makes design build the perfect choice, in comparison to other methods. Customizing the design around the whole space, rather than just the area that needs to be constructed helps ensure the finished space is exactly what you want and need.

Your Personal Style and Needs Are Met

Speaking of wants and needs, one of the main purposes of design build is to focus on exactly that. Your design build team will be sure that the new space fits what you envisioned. They will do this by discussing the plans with you throughout the process, as well as giving you previews of what’s to come. Your home library will be designed with your exact input in mind (and is previewed and approved by you before construction. Because of this, the end result is highly likely to be exactly what works for you.

 

When You Realize That You Need More Space

Getting married and starting a family is an exciting time in everyone’s lives. It is around this time that many decide to take the extra step of buying their own home. Home ownership is one of the rites of passage kinds of things that make most men and women truly feel like an adult. The combination of being a parent and owning your own home is like the ultimate American dream come true.

While owning your own home is a great thing, it also comes with its challenges. The biggest of these is when the planned family size is exceeded, especially when it is greatly exceeded. Many couples decide to have just two or three kids, but destiny deems that more is in store for them. When they have four their four bedrooms home simply isn’t able to accommodate the larger sized family.

What becomes such a problem is that many couples cannot afford to sell their current home to get a bigger one. That is an expense they simply cannot take on, especially since they have more children than what was expected. There are options that make sense, and the best one of these is the home remodel.

Remodeling your home can usually be done at a reasonable cost, keeping your financial security safer than deciding to buy a new home and move. One of the best places to start is to look at larger sized rooms and see if they can be turned into two smaller rooms. While some space is taken away by an additional wall and a new door, the fact is that two children get their own space, or four kids can share two rooms instead of just one room.

You can also look at great rooms you may have. Many families have a basement or downstairs living room that could be turned into rooms. A simple addition of walls and even a bathroom can do the trick for you and give you the added number of bedrooms that you need.

The unfinished basement is one of the best places to remodel, usually because they are made to do with as you please. Many are just big open spaces with some support beams around spread evenly around. These support beams make it easy to add walls and build the additional rooms you need.

There are times where that may not work. You may not have extra space like that, and so you will need to add space to your home. This can be costly, especially if you do not have a lot of property to build off of. For many the solution is to look at the garage as an option. The garage can be used in one of two ways to solve your problem. If you do not need to park in the garage you could turn the garage into a room or two. Frequently there is water access in the garage so a bathroom can be added as well.

If you need to have your garage space, then look into putting the room above the garage. This is obviously more costly, but is a way to use the space you have to accommodate your needs.

5 Ways to Ease Your Next Kitchen Remodel

Remodeling your kitchen can be easy, fun, and adventurous if you take the right steps and get the right people involved from the beginning. You’re getting the kitchen you’ve always wanted. That’s definitely something to take seriously. But it’s also an experience you should enjoy.

Get All Financial Parties Involved

Bring everyone together that will have anything to do with the financial aspect of the remodel. This should include anyone involved in contributing financially. That way, everyone is on the same page from start to finish. Set goals and a budget early on so that there are no discrepancies in what’s going on.

Plan Earlier Than You Want Work Completed

Start your plan well in advance of your ideal timeline for work completion. A comfortable  starting point would be around 8-12 weeks before you actually want the remodel project completed. This gives everyone enough time for planning and deciding exactly what needs to be done.

Contact/Retain a Design Build Contractor

A design/build contractor can help make what you’re envisioning come to life. Before any work is done, the contractor will help you make plans and design your kitchen with you. Then, once everyone is satisfied with the design, the same contractor will build, knowing exactly what is wanted and needed. Hiring a design/build contractor helps ease confusion that can often occur when proper plans aren’t made ahead of time.

Reconfirm Your Goals and Budgets

Do some research on your own in the comfort of your home about styles, kitchen gadgets, fixtures, countertops, appliances, flooring, and everything else you’d want and need in your kitchen. Then, reconfirm your goals and budgets with your contractor.

Set a Firm Start Date

This is important for many reasons. A start date let’s you know when to make alternate plans for kitchen use while it’s being worked on. Obviously, it also let’s the contractors know when to begin so they can put it on their schedule. As mentioned above, early planning is best.  That way, everyone is ready and aware of schedules enough In advance for proper preparation.

Make Plans For Periods of Downtime

Remember that you will be without your kitchen during the time it takes to remodel. Times will vary for each individual project. Your contractor should discuss specifics with you. Think about what will happen during your kitchen’s downtime. Where will you cook? What will you do with kids and pets? Can they be restricted to a specific area or will they need to stay with a sitter? Will you stay in the home during the remodel or will you stay elsewhere?

Important Things to Remember

  • Let your contractor know immediately if something is not going well in the process.
  • The sooner everyone is on the same page,  the smoother things will go.
  • Remember to enjoy the process. It’s not every day that you get to be involved in having your dream kitchen built.
  • Slow down and breathe. A kitchen remodel can be exciting. Don’t forget to relax and relish in the moment.

 

Shrewsbury Remodelers Use Digital Media to Boost Customer Satisfaction

The demand for remodeling services in Shrewsbury has risen significantly over the last couple of years. Kermit Baker, a director for Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard said that recent data shows the need for remodeling services may surpass the peak in 2007. Competition is increasingly in line with the market, which is forcing remodelers to leverage new digital media to improve the quality of the services that they provide.

How Will Digital Technology Affect the Remodeling Industry?

Since the Massachusetts remodeling industry is on the verge of rapid market growth, contractors must offer their services more efficiently and find more effective ways to reach customers. There are a number of ways that they are taking advantage of new technology to reach their goals.

Bruce Case, president of Case Design/Remodeling, told CNBC that social media has been a very effective outlet for reaching new customers. “Most of us got into this remodeling business because we love the smell of sawdust, we love design, we’re passionate about homes,” said Case. “Now we have to be experts in social media and all these other platforms.”

Social media isn’t just more efficient for finding new leads. It is also becoming essential for earning trust and bidding against other competitors. Consumers have abandoned using the Yellow Page and started turning to platforms such as Yelp and Houzz to locate contractors. There are a number of reasons these websites are preferable to the old Yellow Pages:

  • Contractors can update their information immediately, which makes it easier for customers to reach them.
  • Customers can view feedback from other homeowners, which helps them choose the right contractor.
  • These websites can be accessed on any device in a matter of seconds.

These websites are clearly simplifying life for both homeowners and contractors throughout Massachusetts. They are even playing an important role for the remodeling industry in Shrewsbury and the surrounding area. There are currently 406 contractors in the area listed on Yelp. Feedback among prior customers shows that the quality of these remodelers varies considerably, so these sites make it much easier for customers to make unequivocal comparisons.

At Remodel Werks, we have found that sites such as Houzz have been especially beneficial. They have helped us draw more qualified leads, so we can work with the clients that are the best fit. We have also received great reviews from previous customers such as this:

“We would highly recommend Remodelwerks. Joe and his crew created a fantastic entertainment room in our basement. We are very pleased with the result, and our kids and their friends love this new, appealing space of their own. Mark and Ron did the majority of the work. These guys are hardworking, skilled, and professional. It was a pleasure having them in our home. Remodelwerks attended to every detail, and Joe did an excellent job of designing and coordinating the project. He was at our home regularly to check on progress and kept us informed about the schedule. We will definitely hire Remodelwerks for future projects.”

Since people are highly influenced by feedback from other customers, we appreciate receiving such reviews. They prove that we take pride in the work that we deliver to our customers.

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RemodelWerks knows what you may be thinking: “My basement isn’t a livable space!” Au contraire potential cellar dwellar! Many of RemodelWerks prior clients didn’t think their basements were either—at least not until we turned them into believers using our cutting-edge 3D design technology that showed them how we could take their cellars from drab to fab given our award-winning team’s experience and know-how!

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