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Steps to Custom Kitchen Remodeling

By Inspired Remodels / Kitchen Remodel / No Comments

Do you love your home but not the kitchen? Would you love a new custom kitchen but don’t know where to start the remodeling process? Understanding the custom kitchen remodeling process is the first step to a successful remodel!

Whether you’ve lived in your home for years or recently purchased a home, if you want to remodel your kitchen, this guide helps you understand the process.

Do Your Research

Although a kitchen remodeling contractor or designer can guide you through the design process, you and your family know the look you want far better than anyone!

Use a variety of resources to get inspired! Websites such as Houzz, television shows like Fixer Upper (or any other HGTV show), and social media platforms like Pinterest or Instagram provide great places to collect ideas, wants, and needs for your remodel. As you begin your discussions with potential contractors, having ideas and inspiration to share helps.

Find a Custom Kitchen Remodeling Contractor You Can Trust

Most people find the home remodeling process overwhelming and stressful – and understandably so! Working with a kitchen contractor you trust reduces anxiety and stress.

When looking for a general contractor, turn to Yelp!, your neighbors, or even Google for guidance. Talk to several contractors and collect multiple estimates. While price may be a major consideration, also consider how comfortable you feel with the contractor and their reputation for doing quality work on time and on-budget.

Keep looking if:

If you feel uncomfortable with the contractor
The general contractor lacks confidence
You can’t find references or completed jobs.

Your home is one of your most valuable assets, and you must trust the general contractor who works in your home. Check out How to Avoid Being Scammed by a General Contractor for more tips on this step.

Ask for References

Once you narrow your selection to 2 or 3 contractors, ask for the names and contact information for previous clients. Reach out and speak to the client. You may even be able to see the finished project firsthand!

A picture paints a thousand words, but seeing is believing. Have you ever purchased something online only to be disappointed in the quality when the product arrives? Checking references allows you to avoid disappointment in the quality of the contractor’s work.

Custom kitchen remodeling contractors expect you to ask for references. They understand you are interviewing them for a job, and they will gladly offer references for you to check. Reference checking allows you to verify that the person represents themselves accurately. Privately speaking with prior clients provides valuable insight you can’t get from an online review!

Ask Questions About Their Custom Kitchen Remodeling Process

Don’t be afraid to ask your general contractor questions! Whether it is about a certain material or a step in the custom kitchen remodeling process, ask the experts. Your contractor can address your questions and concerns.

Unless you’ve been through a remodel before, work in the custom kitchen remodeling industry, or have spent countless hours researching a kitchen remodel in depth, you will have questions. And when you do, speak up. Your kitchen remodeling contractor has the answers.

Prep for Your Remodel

Use the weeks leading up to your remodel to prepare for the interruption to your daily routine.
A custom kitchen remodel removes your kitchen. To avoid eating out or at a friend’s house for weeks on end, set up a temporary kitchen. Check out how in our Tips For a Smooth Remodel.

Certain trades may suggest or even require you to leave the home while they work (e.g. for a bathroom renovation, hot mop day) and you should prepare in advance. Ask your general contractor or the project manager what steps they need you to take to prepare your home for your remodel.

Understanding the process, performing due diligence in hiring a contractor, and preparing helps ensure your custom kitchen remodeling project results in the kitchen of your dreams.

bathroom renovation company adds fireplace to san clemente bathroom

General Contractors that Design and Build

From initial inspiration to the last construction detail, Inspired Remodels provides full general contractor and design services for Orange County remodels and renovations.

One room or the whole house, our customers enjoy extraordinary craftsmanship, laser-focused attention to detail, and dedication to customer satisfaction with every interaction.

Here’s what sets the design-build model apart.

Reimagining General Contracting

In a traditional general contractor (GC) role, the GC hires and manages the subcontractors, ensures the job site is safe, and installs the materials purchased by the homeowner. In some instances, the GC may also purchase the necessary materials, alleviating some of the work of the homeowner. They visit their client’s homes, check the quality and progress of the work, and update the homeowner, as necessary.

If a problem arises throughout the process, the homeowner serves as the liaison between the designer(s) and the general contractor. For example, if the contractor is in the middle of construction and finds something unexpected in the wall that cannot be moved, or is costly to do so, that impacts the design put into place by the designer, the homeowner would need to coordinate with both parties to determine the best path forward.

With the design-build approach to general contracting, the homeowner hires one firm to do all the work involved in the renovation or remodel. The project starts with the designer listening to the client’s unique needs and understanding their vision and goals for the project. Then the designer turns ideas into plans and component specifications.

Next, the plans become reality under the direction of the general contractor, working hand-in-hand with the designer along the way.

Bringing Designers and General Contractors Together

Better Communication + Coordination = Less Homeowner Stress

Ask any general contractor if undergoing a home remodel adds stress and strain to their clients’ lives. The honest ones will tell you yes, then explain how they try to make it better.

Putting the design and build functions under one umbrella gives the homeowner a single point of contact – typically the firm’s Project Manager or Site Supervisor. That improves communication, and in-turn reduces stress.

Unlike the typical general contractor and designer scenario where the homeowner is acting as the point person, in the design-build scenario, a Project Manager oversees the coordination of work on the homeowner’s behalf. This reduces the risk of miscommunication and errors (and headaches).

A unified team shares the vision and goals of the project, leading to smoother collaboration and faster decision-making – reducing stress on the homeowner!

Improved Outcomes = Better Customer Satisfaction

The collaborative nature of the design and build approach fosters stronger client-designer-builder relationships. This results in highly tailored renovation, remodeling, and renovation projects satisfying outcomes for clients and general contractors, too.

Because homeowners received coordinated expert guidance throughout the process, their vision becomes a reality effectively and efficiently. If problems come to light during the demolition process, for example, the designer gets notification and begins work on alternatives to solve the problem. Instead of getting bad news, the homeowner gets notification of the situation and proposed solutions. This collaborative approach improves customer satisfaction, even when problems arise.

Inspired Designers and General Contractors

Inspired Remodels offers design and build services to Orange County homeowners. With over 20 years of experience in home remodeling, Joe Mueller takes on the role of both General Contractor and designer. From the initial meet and greet at the design center, Joe gets a feel for the wants and needs of every client and helps them bring their visions to life. Whether a homeowner comes in to the process knowing exactly what they want, or if they need help in their decision making process, Joe can guide them each step of the way.

Joe brings an added element of expertise as a real estate broker, helping clients evaluate their renovations not just for aesthetics and function, but for long-term value. Through the eyes of a broker, he’s able to guide homeowners in their decisions taking into account how long the client intends to stay in the home and ensuring the improvements made are appropriate for the neighborhood they are in.

With all of the materials needed to complete a remodel available at the design center, Orange County homeowners can avoid the stress of having the track down materials on their own. From tile, countertops and cabinets, to plumbing fixtures, accessories, and lighting, see everything come together all in one place!

How to Avoid Being Scammed by General Contractors

By Inspired Remodels / Bathroom Remodel, Home Improvement, Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off

Choosing to remodel your home – and selecting the right general contractor to bring your vision to life – is a major decision. For most of us, our home isn’t just where we live – it’s our most valuable asset. Inviting someone into your home to handle a renovation of any size requires a great deal of trust. From a general contractor’s perspective, being entrusted to work in someone’s home is a responsibility that’s not to be taken lightly,

Unfortunately, we have all heard horror stories about general contractors who didn’t live up to expectations. Given these stories, it’s no wonder some homeowners are cautious when it comes to hiring a general contractor. So how can Orange County homeowners looking to complete a renovation protect themselves from hiring the wrong general contractor, but instead hiring a general contractor they can trust? There are a few simple steps you can take to ensure you’ve found a quality general contractor.

man using laptop to check general contractors license online with state website

Let your fingers do the walking to check credentials online

Warning Signs & Red Flags

First off, there are a few general warning signs, red flags, or statements made that could lead you to ask a few more questions or dig a little deeper into the general contractor.

“I’m available to start tomorrow,” or something along those lines. If a general contractor has availability to start immediately or soon thereafter, you may want to ask yourself why they don’t have other work scheduled. Some general contractors book out months in advance, allowing for proper planning, product acquisition, etc.
High-pressure sales tactics. When you start feeling rushed into a decision, or the pitch takes on that all-too-familiar used-car salesman vibe, it’s time to hit pause.
Overall job costs that seem too good to be true. Unfortunately, they likely are! If you receive a few different estimates from different general contractors and one of them comes in much lower than the others, take the time to compare the estimates you’ve received. Ensure you are getting like-for-like estimates, i.e. the contractors are providing estimates on the same scope of work with the same quality of materials. Oftentimes, if you go with the much-lower bid, you may end up seeing more change orders throughout the process bringing your job total up in the long-run.

Credentials Matter

“Jack of all trades, master of none.” Although maybe an extreme example… would you entrust your dentist to perform brain surgery? While both went to medical school and sport the name doctor, that doesn’t make their credentials to do the job equal.

While some tradesmen carry multiple licenses, it would not be recommended to hire a plumber to wire your new bathroom. Or having your electrician remove a wall to create that open-space feel.

Instead, look to hire an Orange County-based general contractor who holds a State of California license (or if you are in another state, the respective state’s license). In California, utilize the Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB) website to verify a contractor’s license status and credentials. You can search by Company Name, License Number, or even the contractor’s first and last name.

glasses on general contractor contract pages

Do some online research of general contractors you are speaking to

Ask for References

For most legitimate companies, you can find online references on sources such as Yelp, Facebook, Google, or even Houzz. However, take the reference check one step further and ask your general contractor for a couple of references you can speak to directly.

Although review websites do their best to eliminate the spam or paid-for reviews from their sites, some testimonials do end up slipping through their review process. If you are looking online and noticing overly generic praise, repeated phrases across multiple review, or a sudden flood of five-star rating in a short timeframe, take the reviews with a grain of salt. They may be a spam or paid-for review to boost the company’s overall rankings.

Instead, ask the general contractor(s) you are considering to hire for a couple of references you can reach out to directly. This allows you to ask any questions you may have, hear from an actual homeowner about their experience, and in some cases, see the finished work firsthand! If a general contractor gives you the “I don’t want to bother my clients” excuse, maybe do some additional online research of your home prior to signing a contract with that specific company or general contractor.

Trust Your Gut!

If in your conversations and interactions you’re noticing that “ick” feeling or something just doesn’t seem quite right, trust your instincts! While there may be a delay in getting your renovation started as you find another general contractor to work with, you want to find a general contractor that you feel one hundred percent confident with and in. Hiring the wrong general contractor or team can lead to extended timelines, costly mistakes, and potentially costly repairs.

If you are considering a renovation of your home, the Inspired Remodels team would love to speak with you. Having completed hundreds of remodels in Orange County over the last 20+ years, we are confident we can assist you in building your dream space.

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