What?

   Aha, that simple, enigmatic four letter word that project managers all of the world say more than any other word......"What"?  This was certainly the word or thought of my day today for sure.

  Starting off with my first "What?", which came from a homeowner calling me very early this morning to discuss the fine etiquette's on proper painting techniques.  Now, please understand, I have no problem with, in fact I encourage, our clients to ask me as many questions it takes for them to feel comfortable with the construction process taking place at their home.  It was that this particular client has been watching way, way, waaaaayyyyyy too much HGTV.  The owner was very passionate, to the point of alienating me, about their position and felt that I should certainly see the error of our painter's best practices.  I decided it best to schedule a meeting with all parties involved to discuss the method we were going to use to proceed and hopefully the homeowners will better understand why the guy on T.V. is just an actor who is playing the role of a contractor and might not know the difference between a paint brush and a tooth brush.
  My second, "What?" moment came from one of our sub-contractors who is completing some irrigation work on the mid-town project we are getting close to finishing up on.  It seems that our irrigation person was really upset with the concrete guy because, "He has over poured concrete next to the concrete slab where

we need to re-route an irrigation water supply line".  I did my best to get a better mental picture so I could understand what the sub-contractor was all worked up about, but after what seemed to be 10 minutes of meaningless conversation, I decided to drop what I was working on and meet them on site to review the issue and come up with a solution.  When I walked onto the site the first thing I noticed was an employee of the sub-contractor trying , very unsuccessfully, to break the "over poured concrete" away from next to the concrete (poured in place slab) of the addition with a large sledge hammer.  He was going at it hard while his boss was standing over his shoulder shaking their head in disbelief.  I walked over to them with utter amazement at the two of them trying their best to remove the structural concrete foundation of the home.  I did my best not to smile as I made them both aware that they were never going to remove the concrete and why.  We came up with a alternate solution to their irrigation water line installation and I moved on to my next "What?" situation.
  The rest of the day only had a few minor issues and I went home for the evening feeling that we had an eventful day, but also one that was very productive.  That was until later in the evening when I received a phone call from one of our
client's personal assistant.  I know, your wondering why is a client's personal assistant (P.A.) calling me.  Well, we work with a lot of clients who utilize a P.A. to assist them during to their busy day.  I know I could sure use a P.A. from time to time, who couldn't?  Anyway, the assistant called me to discuss the current production schedule for their boss' home and needed to know if I was aware that the appliances had not been installed today.  Every P.A. is different and most of time them and I get along great.  I actually enjoying working with a P.A. since most of the time they are always available to answer questions while the busy client might not be.  That's not the case with this P.A., we just don't mix well....at all.  So, after answering multiple pointless questions, that felt more like an IRS audit questionnaire, about things I already knew, I hung up the phone, looked aimlessly into the night sky out the Kitchen window and said to myself, "What?!!!!".
   

Plan, Plan, Plan, Start

  Today my boss David and I met at a local restaurant in Tulsa for some breakfast and to have a project planning meeting.  David has been hard at work bidding and closing new projects.  Since last week he has successfully signed 6 new remodels up for us to place into our production schedule. Its one thing to get a couple of remodels signed up at one time, but to receive 6 in one week is just C.R.A.Z.Y. So, when this happens there is only one thing to do.....plan, plan, plan, plan and then some more planning.
  I know, I know, you're saying, "Duh, everyone knows that you have to plan before you start", right?  You'd be really surprised on the true number of people in this world who jump into all kinds of things without a proper plan before starting.  Planning for a construction project is no different than planning for a wedding, birthday party or marriage.  The more you plan before you start, the better and more smooth the wedding, birthday party, marriage or construction project will run. The smoother a project runs, the more enjoyable it will be to everyone involved as well.
   After David and I finished breakfast and discussing the new projects we headed out to one of the new projects to perform a pre-construction walk-through with the owners.  Like I have started before, we discussed with the homeowners all the details of their remodel and listened to them tell us about their concerns and expectations. I take down a lot (A WHOLE LOT!!!!) of notes during these meetings and then later I will type them up and place them into the project production folder.  I find that the older I get the easier it is for me to remember something, especially when I write it down.
  Its during these initial meetings with the homeowner that I feel it is important to let them know there is no good substitution for good planning.  I let them know when, why and how I will be scheduling out their homes remodel and what they should expect next from us.  There needs to be ample amount of time provided to the client to absorb all the information coming at them and I find that its always a good idea to follow up all client meetings with an e-mail reviewing what was discussed during the meeting.  The e-mail is also a great opportunity to provide the client with information on locations for then to select finishes (I.E., counter-tops, plumbing fixtures, lighting, etc...) for their particular project.
  Now that our new client has a grasp on how the project will be scheduled, what they need to select and where they can make selections, they need to go ahead and complete a good portion of their "homework" prior to me actually scheduling their project completely.  This way we will know if something has to be "special ordered" or if some important piece of the puzzle is "out-of-stock" and won't be available for 5 to 6 weeks.  How would you like not to have a bathroom because it was demo'd to make room for the new bath and your contractor just told you its going to take 3 weeks to get that "special ordered" floor tile you wanted in.  At that point you have two choices, chose something else (not getting what you wanted and having to compromise) or wait on the correct floor tile to come in and be with only one bathroom for your family of 5 to use for the next 6-8 weeks!!!  Plan, Plan, Plan.  I'm not saying all the material has to be sitting in your garage, I'm just saying you need to know if it is available and how long will it take to get onto the project.

Clean & Safe

  So its no real BIG secret that a clean job site is a safe job site. We call this in our industry a "101" item.  We have a lot of other items that also fit into the "101" category, but I'll save those for another day.  What I really wanted to focus on today, during my normal project daily visits, was the cleanliness of each site.  I want to make sure that we, as company, are doing our best to keep the remodel neat and tidy, free from clutter and especially free of any safety issues that could cause harm to the homeowners, their children, their pets and/or our employees and sub-contractors.
  We continually work with our employees regarding keeping a site clean.  Keeping the sites clean shows the homeowners that we respect them and their property.  Its not always our guys though who left a site messy, sometimes its one of our sub-contractors employees who have left some trash/debris laying around after they have completed their work on site for the day.  There are many trades in the remodeling industry and each trade can have multiple people working on the same site.  This is why its sometimes difficult to control the cleanliness and safety of a large project,  Most of the time is it is simple lunch wrappers and plastic bottles that seem to have no previous owners and have just magically appeared onto the site. It seems at times that "It's someone else's trash", is the motto for many sub-contractor employees.  I've also had the pleasure of hearing the "Do you want my boss to charge you for us to clean up after ourselves" statement from one of my plumbing contractor's men.  Ha!!!  Yeah, not the greatest words to tell a project manager.
  Whatever the mess or safety issue is, its important to realize that everyone working on a project, no matter who signs the front of their paycheck, is responsible for keeping a site clear of trash and especially safety issues.  This was not the case at one of my stops this morning, where I found more than one issue.  Not that any of the issues were safety issues, mainly they were all just loose items that are laying around.  A nail here, a scrape of wood there, all these things in of themselves is not much, but as a whole it detracts from the overall project and starts setting a bad example for others to follow.  Now, I could have called one of our guys to come to the site and pick up all the items, which would have worked, or I could just spend a few minutes picking up the items myself and set an good example for the people who were there working.  You just have to make sure to ask them to do the same as you are doing or they might think your their mother and think you'll start picking up after them.

 A clean project site is not only a "safe" one, it also bestows a great deal of confidence for the general contractor to the homeowners, building trust throughout the project and forming long lasting friendships.

Welcome to Real Life Remodeling

Welcome to the Real Life Remodeling Blog.  I want to provide you a brief description of who I am and why I started the Real Life Remodeling Blog.
 First of all a little something about me.  My name is Marc Wells and I have 22 highly productive years of remodeling and restoration construction experience ranging from residential remodeling to large industrial renovations.   I have worked abroad on large residential projects and I have worked my way up from a general laborer to my current position as a Construction Project Manager for Masterpiece Renovations in Tulsa, OK. 
 I began to consider starting a blog about my daily activities a few months ago when a client of ours asked me a lot of questions about my past experiences with other high end remodeling projects.  He, the client, seemed very interested in the other experiences I've had and took every opportunity available to prod information out of me.  His persistence made me start thinking about doing something to showcase my everyday activities in the remodeling world, but I always felt that I would sound like some of the, not-so-real-life, home remodeling shows on T.V. today.  That's not me, I'm not made for T.V. and what we do is "Real Life".  We don't have a bottomless amount of available funds, we don't have "all the time in the world, and we sure don't have re-takes. 
  I think that is why my client was so interested in what a "Real Life" perspective of the remodeling industry looks like.  Sure you see some mistakes on T.V., but what you don't see or hear about is all the other issues that surface from time to time during the coarse of a major, or minor, home remodel.  I finally decided the other day that a blog would be a great place to start telling my stories.  Not just any blog would do either.  I needed to tell the real story, showcasing the good with the bad, the happy with the sad.  A blog that would provide you the reader a "Real Life" look into the what it takes to complete totally transforming remodels.  A blog that not only shows the construction process from demolition to completion, but all the drama, problems, accomplishments, fighting, planning, arguments and agreements along the way.
 Real Life Remodeling doesn't happen in 30 minutes, and as this blog will show, it takes the dedication and talents of a lot of great craftsmen, vendors and designers to complete them.  I hope you enjoy following the Real Life Remodeling Blog and I encourage you to share this blog with others so they can also enjoy this journey as You and I dive head first into the world of Real Life Remodeling