Schedules, Smartphones, and Speaking Up!

Schedules, Smartphones, and Speaking Up!

One of the biggest concerns that homeowners often have is, “who will be in my house?”. At Van Cleave Construction, Remodeling, and Design we want to minimize your stress and worries as much as possible during the remodeling process. We are always happy to answer any questions, or walk through any concerns you may have. The best projects start and end with a positive relationship.

Stress and anxiety are common feelings for a homeowner to experience when a remodeling or construction project is about to start in their home. There are plenty of components to be concerned about, like budget, what the completed project will look like, and picking out fixtures that will be in your home for quite some time. But one of the biggest concerns that homeowners often have is, “who will be in my house?”. This question can understandably raise stress levels, but here are a few things to keep in mind about the carpenter in your home.

The first is that every carpenter in your home is there to provide a service that has been planned out. Weeks, and sometimes months of planning and preparation has gone into scheduling and planning out your project to cause as little inconvenience, or disruptions to you and your family’s daily lives.  Before arriving at the project site the tradesperson has been briefed on the scope of work, which allows them to already have an idea of what materials they will need, best practices for building and how long the work should take them. It can be very tempting, and easy to ask a tradesperson to do additional work outside of the scope at this time, but it also can hold up progress on the project. Sometimes change orders are inevitable, but other times they can be planned for. If you know that you have additional work you are wanting completed in another area we are happy to schedule that into the timeline ahead of time. In the end, we want to reduce hiccups and speed bumps along the way as much as possible so that you can start enjoying your new space.

The next important thing to keep in mind is that we live in a technology heavy, digital age. Almost everybody has a smartphone on them at all times and while this can sometimes be a distraction, it can also be a major asset to the project and productivity. It can be easy to assume that if someone has a smartphone in their hand they are scrolling through social media, or texting their friends but that isn’t always the case. Many contractors today, including ourselves, use project management programs to organize and store all project information. Programs like Buildertrend and Co-Construct make it easy to look at the scope of work, selections, and budgets. Today a smartphone can be just as valuable of a tool to a tradesperson as their hammer or drill. 

The last thing to keep in mind, which is relevant for any working relationship, is communication. Communication is paramount as far as seeing a project’s outcome result in exactly what you imagined. While we try our best to communicate all details to every member of our team and our subcontractors, sometimes small things can get overlooked or forgotten about. Like parking preferences, and to make sure your pet doesn’t sneak out the front door while entering and leaving. While it can be frustrating to have your parking spot occupied, the person parking there simply might not know. Communicating your preferences to the carpenters and subcontractors working in your home can help create a positive atmosphere rather than build frustration. 

At Van Cleave Construction, Remodeling, and Design we want to minimize your stress and worries as much as possible during the remodeling process. We are always happy to answer any questions, or walk through any concerns you may have. The best projects start and end with a positive relationship.