We do mostly residential remodeling and building. We do home repair. We also do a great deal of commercial work - store infills. And we do a lot of roofing. I am the owner. We have 12 employees. My company's about eight years old, but I've been building and doing construction work all my life.
Do you use any subcontractors?
We carry qualified subcontractors to do specialty work, but a lot of our work is done by employees who work for me. We have more employees than other remodeling companies, and many do more subcontracting than we do. We try to keep it all under the same roof. It makes it more organized. We've always felt like we wanted to keep control of the company. As soon as you're using an excessive amount of subcontractors, you tend to lose control because ... they're running their own business. I want to make sure our guys are there doing their jobs day in and day out. (Also), customers sometimes are concerned that you're just farming the whole job out to someone that they could have hired. ... Subcontracting is just a different way to go.
What's the role of the HBA Remodelors Council?
As a group of remodelers, to have a voice in the community, and also, to (provide) a group that's all of the same interests and dealing with the same issues. Part of it is helping with the HBA Home Remodeling Expo. The chairman is really responsible for putting together the topics for the monthly meetings ... sending e-mails, visiting (members) and inspecting work for other remodelers who want to become a member of the Remodelors Council.
What key issues are remodelers facing?
One might be (the fear) that the remodeling industry's going to have a slump in work. We haven't seen that. We haven't had any issues with having work. ... At the beginning of this year, there was a lot of concern nationwide about the business, and I read a lot in magazines and online (about) being careful to take care of customers, but I think we've seen the opposite. I think there are a lot of people out there wondering why they can't get anybody to do their work. I see that a lot, when I bid for jobs or talk to homeowners and they'll say, "Well, I've asked three other people and never heard back." Everybody's really busy.
What remodeling trends are you seeing?
People are ... changing their houses to expand outdoor living big-time. Decks, roofs over decks, outside kitchens. Expanding the (indoor) kitchen. Taking that wall that divides the kitchen and living room out so that it's a bigger space. People are wanting to invite the light into their homes. There's a lot of redoing kitchens and adding granite countertops rather than laminate countertops, and updating, but really, the outside, the casual entertainment is a big trend, like the fire pits.
]Make sure you do your homework and find out as much about them as you can. When you walk into a restaurant, you can often tell by the front of the house what the kitchen's going to look like, and it's the same thing with a remodeler. It's the same with a remodeler when they walk into your house. You can often tell what kind of work you're going to get out of them by visiting with them, getting their references and looking at work they've done.
Tell us about your family.
My wife, Lisa, is an accountant. She's been the accountant for our business for four years. We have two boys and a girl: Zachary, 13, Ryan, 11, and Alissa, 9.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
