It was an imperfect system at best.  The Internet has brought a revolution to both locating and sharing photos of things you like–of course www.pinterest.com now has a corner on that market.   But before Pinterest, there was (and still is!) www.houzz.com.

Houzz made it easy for architects and contractors from around the world to upload as many photos as they want (subject to certain guidelines) of the beautiful work they do.  Then they made it possible for homeowners to open a free account, browse photos by category or keyword and then save them in “ideabooks” that can then be shared with as many people as they choose.

What this means for the average homeowner is that if you are remodeling your kitchen, you may have access to photos of a kitchen you like from 5 or 6 different angles instead of one.  Let’s say you want great pantry ideas.  Search for pantry, and find dozens or even hundreds of examples to choose from.  And let’s say you’re searching for an architect or contractor.  Instead of searching online and having to wade through dozens of websites, you can go to Houzz.com, search for professionals in your metro area, and see hundreds of examples of work done right where you live–not in area with completely different housing stock and styles.

The online response has been tremendous– 80 million monthly page views, and 3.5 million monthly unique users.  We regularly recommend the site to our clients when they are starting to collect design ideas.   And we admit to spending a little too much time browsing the photos ourselves–it’s hard not to when there are almost 400,000 of them to ogle.

This year Houzz.com recognized the growth and popularity their site has experienced by awarding “Best of Remodeling 2012″ to architects and remodelers who have project photos most regularly saved to ideabooks by their 1.2 million registered members.  Ventana Construction received an award for “Seattle-area Entry” (link here ).   We have been astonished by the number of people across the country and world that have saved and commented on photos of our projects.  We have even received phone calls and questions from other states about the color of the paint, or the size of the fireplace, etc.

The awards and the growth of the site are testament to a good idea being implemented well.  It’s also proof that collaboration and idea sharing benefits us all.   Thank you, houzz.com, for the award and to your members for recognizing the great taste of our clients, and the talent of the architects with whom we work!

This Seattle-area anecdotal data is substantiated by the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the fourth quarter of 2011, which is at its highest level in 5 years. Ventana Construction has participated in this quarterly survey of remodeling market conditions for the last few years. While the RMI shows a number of remodeling companies are still in recovery mode, the index did show increases in market demand both large and small additions.  And demand is clearly up again since the big downturn in 2008.

Homeowner demand for projects like this one--a large dormer addition currently under way by remodeler Ventana Construction in Seattle--are on the rise nationwide.

What does that mean for homeowners who are planning remodels this year? Start planning now. Architects who are busy now might not be able to start on a project for a few months, and that could push the start of construction out to mid-summer or even fall.

All of the projects architects are now planning now will likely start construction in late spring or early summer, so those time frames will be busy for residential contractors.

If you have looked into remodeling or building in the last few years, you will find that market conditions have changed. The dip in the economy in 2008-2009 created a temporary glut of contractors, but in the last two years, many firms have gone out of business entirely. That means there are fewer professional, qualified firms to choose from, and it’s looking like many of those will book up their schedules with all the projects already in the design phase.  That means securing a space on your selected contractor’s schedule as early as possible will be important.

Often, construction activity is seen as a bellwether of overall economic vitality, so seeing this increase in inquiries and plans for remodels in process is making us very optimistic about 2012.  It’s a welcome change.

Added 2/8/12:  One of our favorite design idea websites www.houzz.com just published a story today on this same topic.  Click here for the story.

Each year Remodeling Magazine publishes its Cost Vs. Value issue, where they compile average costs for a wide variety of projects, from kitchen remodels to second story additions and entry door replacements.  They provide an added layer of data showing “upscale” costs along with average ones.  If you’re thinking upscale is luxury, you’re wrong.  True luxury-level remodeling is off the charts and impossible to quantify in a survey like this.  But looking at the upscale pricing will help you with average costs on finishes that include nicer stone counters, engineered wood floors, custom lighting plans, wood clad windows, and the like.

The costs for all projects are broken out regionally–Pacific Region data includes California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.  But you can also download data specific to your metro area.  Interestingly, the Seattle metro area trends a little below the Pacific region average, though the costs in the city of Seattle will tend to be higher, and those in outlying areas, lower.

While the report is designed strictly as a look at the relative value of projects, I think it’s useful for another reason:  as a reality check of likely construction costs for projects you may be considering.  Could a 2-car garage really cost $60k to build?  The report says it can indeed.  Knowing what a minor, full and upscale kitchen remodel costs (and what’s in the scope of work) can help you determine your budget.  The report comes along with a description of the specifics of the work included for each project.  But of course, with any remodeling or building project, it is the specifics of your project and your home that determine the cost.  Bringing in a remodeling professional to help you with budgeting is the best way to understand what your construction costs will be.

It is great to know ROI for projects like these, particularly if you know there’s a possibility you may need or want to sell your home in the short term (5 years or so).  But as you can see from the report, recouping what you invest is not a sure thing.   The beautiful bathroom you install may not fit the taste of the people who eventually buy your home (we have remodeled more than our share of baths and other rooms that had been remodeled recently by the last homeowners).  That means that the truest (and I think highest value) return on investment for homeowners is the ability to improve their home and enjoy it in the long term.  That means remodeling not for ROI or the person who may buy your home in future, but instead remodeling for YOU.

At Ventana Construction headquarters, that means we are raking up lots of leaves to keep the storm drains clear, and we’ll be putting covers on the old-style hose bibbs and landscape risers on the outside of our building to keep the pipes from freezing.

Neither takes a long time, but both are easy ways to prepare for winter.

Two more steps we’ve taken at our own home:  servicing the furnace (including changing out the filter) and snaking a drain outside our garage to make sure it doesn’t back up in heavy rain.

Take a good look around your own home for places where heavy rain, snow or piling leaves can cause trouble and you’ll be one step closer to being ready for winter.

The biggest buzz around the show was about how to reach potential clients via social media.  Most builders are proficient with computers, but the subtleties of social media, blogs and Twitter escape them.  We started a Twitter feed of our own last month @ventanabuilds and it’s been great for short, easy-to-post bits of information.  It’s also been fun to see the number of followers grow.    There was a lot of talk at the conference about using monthly email blasts to reach out to clients, but I wondered what is the best way to get the right information to those who really want it.  If any of our readers have input, we’d appreciate hearing from you.

One of products I was happiest to see at the conference is a new exhaust fan from Panasonic.  Yes, exhaust fans aren’t that sexy, but when they work well, they improve indoor air quality and they save you money.  The traditional exhaust fan goes on and stays on until you turn it off, or you can use a switch with a timer.  But a timer doesn’t always do the trick.  A long shower can put enough humidity in the air that even when the time is up, the bathroom is still muggy.  Or, as happens at our house, the fan simply never gets switched on in the kids’ bathroom.  They just don’t think about it.

The new Panasonic fan is motion “on” with an interior timer (no ugly timer on the switch) and and humidity “off”.

Motion on/Humidity off Panasonic exhaust fan

Both the timer and humidity levels are adjustable inside the fan, so once you’ve set them, you really never have to think about the fan again.  It turns on and off at the preset levels.  Love it!  It’s so new that it’s not on the Panasonic website yet, but the reps at the booth said it is available.

There’s also a new switch with the humidistat inside the switch itself, so you can even retrofit your existing fans.  It’s a nice way to make sure your old fans don’t stay on forever, and saves money in operating costs because the fan only runs when you need it.  Nice solution to an old problem.

Switch turns exhaust fan on, and stays until until humidity is low

A typical Seattle home with mechanical chimney to the left and main fireplace chimney to the right.

Mechanical chimneys tend to be small in size—2 feet square or so—and run from the basement or crawl space where the furnace and hot water heater are to a few feet above the roof line.  Their function is to convey heat and fumes from gas- or oil-fired heating equipment to an area where it isn’t dangerous inside the house.  The chimneys are there because for decades homes have been heated by incredibly inefficient furnaces and water heaters.   The earliest furnaces in Seattle were coal-fired, and then converted over to oil.   We still run across the occasional coal-fired conversion—they look a little like a spaceship and are usually lined with asbestos—nice stuff!

Old furnace converted to oil with visible asbestos wrap at ductwork

In the latter part of the 1900s, the furnaces installed tended to be 80% efficient units, a rating of their relative efficiency and also an indicator that they still required a B-vent—a vertical vent to carry the heat and fumes.   That can be achieved with either masonry or a metal flue.

In a typical older home, the masonry chimney runs from the basement, through a corner of the kitchen, and up through the attic.  It usually gets in the way of a kitchen remodel (it’s essentially lost cabinet space, or happens to be in a wall that is slated for removal) or is an issue with a second-story addition or dormer (the chimney has to be extended with masonry or metal, and often is in an inconvenient location for the upstairs floor plan).

Interestingly, the furnaces and hot water heaters that are now being produced solve this issue entirely with their high efficiency.  The 90% efficient units (and their super-efficient cousins, 93% efficient and 95% efficient) don’t need a mechanical chimney or B-vent.  They vent out of your home via a nice, relatively small PVC pipe, and can go out any exterior wall that isn’t too close to an opening window.

Tankless hot water heaters can be vented directly out a wall, or the venting can cross a room, making their installation very flexible.

For a kitchen remodel, that might not be much help.  It’s hard to justify replacing your furnace and hot water heater just to open up a wall.  But for second-story additions and dormer additions, it’s almost kismet.  The additional square footage and bathrooms are sometimes too much for the current equipment to handle, or the equipment is so old it’s on its last legs anyway, so frequently we end up installing a new furnace or hot water heater as part of the second-story addition project.

The best part of this changing of the guard in the mechanical room is that you end up with heating systems that provide better efficiency than you’ve ever had.   Another is that by removing unreinforced masonry from your home, you instantaneously make it safer in an earthquake.

One thing to consider carefully is whether to use a 90% efficient gas tank water heater or a tankless water heater, and whether to include a recirculating loop and pump in the system so that you have hot water at the tap instantaneously.   They have pros and cons, including the amount of noise they make, so it’s worth doing some research and consulting closely with your remodeler.

Sorting out whether your project needs a permit may be as easy as visiting the main Department of Planning and Development website.  The site has a comprehensive collection of informational Client Assistance Memos (CAMs) that cover a wide range of topics related to permitting and building codes.  They also have a nice FAQ section with basic information.

The DPD provides a dollar threshold for repairs and alterations ($4,000) that don’t require a permit, but those improvements can’t include anything structural or that reduces the building’s compliance with health, energy and safety codes.

Some projects, like repainting your home, installing new kitchen cabinets (over existing walls and ceilings), and even voluntarily adding insulation to your home do not require a permit even though they will likely exceed that dollar limit.

Permits are required for projects that add onto your home in any way, or that trigger the need by code for installation of things like insulation, smoke detectors, or when there are other code, health, and safety items that require inspection.  They are also required for outbuildings like garages and sheds that have roofs larger than 120 square feet.  Of course, any change to electrical wiring or plumbing or gas lines requires a separate mechanical permit.

Reframing or building new stairs requires a permit because treads and risers need to measure within a certain range, and there are codes regarding head height and handrails.

A typical demolition-to-the-studs bathroom remodel would easily include the following, all of which require inspection:

New lighting and outlets (which require compliance with code regarding outlet placement and installation of Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) outlets).

Installation of bath fan and ducting (an exhaust fan is required by code)

Installation of insulation in exterior walls

Changes to plumbing waste and supply lines

While many homeowners express annoyance at the need for permits on small projects, remodeling without one can cause problems, both immediately and down the road.  It’s not unheard of for neighbors to call in complaints to the DPD for unpermitted work, which can cause the project to be red-tagged.   It’s also very nice for homeowners to be able to produce evidence of permits for remodeling work when they sell their homes.  If an obvious remodel has been done on a home with no permits, it can be problem for potential buyers.

There are no special requirements for taking out a building permit in Seattle.  You just have to follow the instructions and fill out the forms outlines in the CAMS on that subject, file the forms with the DPD and pay the fees.   Homeowners can get a permit themselves or have their architect, designer or general contractor obtain them.   Homeowners can also take out electrical and plumbing permits provided that they are performing the work themselves, though a general contractor or architect cannot.

Interested in the permit history on your home in Seattle?  Go to the DPD Permit and Complaint Status section and put in your address.  You will see all building, electrical and mechanical permits taken out for your home.  Plumbing permits will not appear, as they are issued by King County’s health department.

Only the government agency with jurisdiction in your area will be able to tell you what is allowed and what permits are required for your particular home project.  Check with a specialist at your local building department for specifics.

So you’ve made a short list of contractors from friends, local signs, the Internet and other referrals.   You’ve vetted those companies online by looking at their websites and checking their credentials with state licensing offices and other agencies.  Then you’ve interviewed three or four of the best to see how they work and how much you like them in person.  The final step is to see them in action in the real world.

Job site visit. You can visit a job in progress or one that is complete, and ideally, it would be great to see both.  At a job in progress you can observe general site cleanliness and get a sense of the size of project the contractor currently has under way.  You can see how effective site protection is, what kind of rules are in place (is the music blaring, are there workers smoking) and get a sense of the pride the contractor takes in keeping the home clean, orderly and free of debris.  Having said that, a jobsite is unlikely to be tidy in the middle of the day… there are people work there, after all.  Folks like electricians and plumbers are drilling holes through studs and joists, and picking up as you go tends to not be the most cost-effective way to clean up.

It’s also valuable to visit a job site, particularly for clients who have never remodeled, to get a sense of how their house is likely to look during construction.

It can be helpful to see a completed project and a bonus if the homeowners are around to talk with you in person about working with their contractor.  You can get a good sense of the quality of materials the contractor works with, and how well they complete the small details of the project.

Calling references You may be able to ask questions in person or may have to call, but asking previous clients about their experiences will go a long way toward understanding how the contractor is likely to perform during construction.  Ask about how well they stayed on schedule, and why they went off schedule if it happened (could be alot of change orders, poor weather, or something else entirely.  Ask how close they stayed to budget, and again, why or why not.  Ask how thorough and timely their paperwork is, and how quickly they respond to questions and concerns.  Ask about the biggest problem that needed to be solved during construction, and how the contractor not only problem-solved but kept the clients in the loop.  Don’t worry about asking nosy questions—that’s why you’re calling!

Visit their office Finally, visit their place of business.  If the contractor is working out of a truck or a spare bedroom, you need to know that.  With a large project, a lack of office staff may be a red flag.  You want to know who is taking care of business-related tasks and who you will call if you have questions about invoices or anything else.

Looking around the office will tell you a lot about how business is done, how organized it is, and how productive the staff is.  If they can’t put together a functional office, how on earth can they put together your home?

In the end, though, your choice will be based on what is most important to you, whether it’s quality of work, price, warranty, comfort level or something else entirely.  Happy interviewing!

The third phase of selecting a contractor involves actually meeting up with them in person.  This gives you an opportunity to see first-hand how well they communicate and to get a sense of their personality, how they approach the work, and the depth of their knowledge, both about building and business.

It is worthwhile to interview at least three contractors, and possibly more, but not because they will necessarily come in with better pricing.  The goal of the interview is to understand the subtleties of how each one does business, to gauge their expertise, and to get a sense of whether you like their personality and approach enough to sign up for having them in your life for an extended period of time.  If you don’t like the contractor personally, feel lukewarm about them, or get a sense they either want to sounds like they know it all, or clearly don’t know essentially things, it can be a red flag.  You want to feel comfortable on a gut level that you can trust your contractor to look out for your best interests AND be capable of executing the work.

It’s also helpful to meet in person to go over each estimate.  The level of detail you will get during that meeting will give you the best sense of how thoroughly the contractor understands your project.  It will also provide you with an opportunity to ask questions that come up and to better understand the differences between the estimates you receive.

There are number of questions you can ask to draw out the specifics of how contractors do business, and who will actually be at your house doing the work.

Who supervises the projects on a daily basis?   This will tell you if the contractor and their employees are continuously supervising work on site, or if they only drop in occasionally.

What kind of contract they prefer:  Cost Plus (time and material) or bid?  Some contractors will offer both, and even a hybrid T&M with a guaranteed maximum.  Others will insist on only one kind and that may not be the kind you want.

How their billing works: do bills arrive every week, once a month, at milestones?  What kind of documentation comes with the invoices, and do they include a percent completion analysis.  Is there a deposit?  Is there retainage?

Hourly rates and markup:  This will tell you relative hourly cost for the contractors’ employees on site.  The markup is the percentage by which the direct costs of the project are multiplied to cover the contractor’s overhead costs.  But even this information can’t necessarily be compared apples to apples on estimates.  A little more on that in a future blog entry…

Understand how employees are screened and taken care of by the company:  Does the contractor do background checks?  Do they offer benefits?  Both of these are signs of a contractor who cares who they are bringing into your home and wants to recruit and retain the highest quality employees.

How much work is subbed out:  How much work does the contractor do with their own forces?  What work will be performed by trade subcontractors?  And perhaps most importantly, how does the contractor screen those subcontractors to make sure they are licensed and have current workers comp insurance?

Processes to ensure satisfaction:  Does the contractor check in every few months after work is complete, offer an easy warranty process?  Do they send surveys?  Do they use a punch list system at the end of the project to ensure everything is complete?

Methods of communication:  Does the contractor use email, call on the phone, send printed documentation?  How often will you hear from them?  How quickly will they respond to your calls and emails?  Do they have an office?  Is it staffed full-time?

Things they will provide organizationally:  How will the contractor communicate with you about items that still need to be selected?  How will you know when you need to move out of the house for the floor refinishing?  Will someone be there each day when you get home from work to debrief?  Is there a weekly or biweekly meeting with the contractor, clients and architect?  Who takes notes?  How do they handle the small details?

Change orders?  Are they written, verbal, does the work happen before the price is provided?  What constitutes a change order… is it a change in countertop material, surprise asbestos in the wall, or used to resolve allowances?

Next, Part 4: Final Steps