ProCraft's Remodeling Blog

Americans spent over 43 billion dollars on their pets in 2008. I know, I thought the same thing – damn, that’s a lot of dog biscuits! I hate to admit it, but is seems like my wife and I spent about 10% of that number just on our two dogs. What you have to understand, it’s not just dog biscuits. Consider special, gluten free dog food, 55 gallon drums of gourmet dog treats, fluffy, cozy beds, countless chew toys, trips to the beauty parlor, visits to the vet, doggie day-care, first class boarding complete with sheep skin “sleepy time” mats,  permits to the dog park, new fashionable collars, dog gates to keep them in or keep them out, more fluffy beds for the office, training, even more delicious treats, really long leashes ‘cause they don’t like really short leashes, Christmas presents (yes, wrapped), birthday presents, replacements for tore up fluffy beds (separation issues),  little sweaters, doggie booties – OK, you get the idea. And you understand how 43 billion can come and go pretty quick.

Believe it or not, pets have a say in remodeling too. And why shouldn’t they? Not only are they a part of many families, they occupy our time also. So, when it comes to remodeling, including Fido or Felix friendly features make a lot of sense. There are many possibilities to consider when you are thinking about a remodel. Consider these more popular options when planning a kitchen or bath remodel: canine friendly toilets, eliminating the need for Sparky’s unsightly water dish; mini feline cabinet steps which allow much easier access to counter tops for Fluffy; or the crowd pleasing kitchen island avian perch, assuring 47 year old Polly is never far from a cracker (we don’t recommend the feline steps and avian perch be installed in the same kitchen, for obvious reasons).

Now, if any of those pet friendly upgrades interest you, perhaps you need a therapist. Of course, we have never installed any of them. But, there are some options that you may want to consider, if a pet is part of your family. Access to the out-of-doors is always important, so maybe a doggie door makes sense. Thinking of pet food storage could be a consideration in a pantry, laundry room, or even the kitchen. For big dogs that like mud, we have created wash areas in a laundry or mud room, consisting of a shower base, tile walls, and a hand held sprayer. We’ve built a cat room in a basement, complete with shelves for litter boxes and ventilation to the exterior. Or we’ve built aquariums into walls that are way more awesome than any plasma television. Flooring is another consideration – big dogs have big nails. Hardwood floors can work, but the finish needs to be hard and durable (only certain finishes will do). Almost any feature that makes caring for a pet easier can be incorporated into a remodeling design. Just imagine a house that has those super cool hamster habitats running throughout – now there’s an idea.

So, when thinking about remodeling or adding space to your place, think about your furry, feathery, fluffy family members and consider their needs too! It will be good for you, and good for them.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 17 ¾ times. You’ve thought about it too. “What’s the return on my remodeling investment going to be after my kitchen or basement or bath is done?” In other words, how much damn money will I get back when I sell this dump if it has a spiffy new kitchen or a spa-luscious master bath? On the surface, that seems like a really great question. A really smart, insightful question. A responsible question. But, the answer you are hoping will enlighten you, the answer that will quiet your fears, the answer that will make you appear intelligent to your friends just may do the opposite. It may render you a fearful idiot stumbling in the dark. Really. And here’s why…

Everyone wants ROI. Even people who don’t know what the hell ROI is want it. Figuring you return on investment for your savings account or your stock portfolio or your IRA is pretty easy. How many dollars in, how many dollars out over a given period of time. Black and white. Cut and dry. Financial advisers can do that all day long and still have time for golf.

Some folks try and apply the same simplicity to the world of remodeling. Remodeling Magazines’ Cost vs. Value Report is a prime example. It is produced every year and provides estimated returns on various types of remodeling projects, based on a number of criteria including geographic location and project “plush ness”. You find this report everywhere – it’s Tweeted ad nauseam, it’s paraded around in articles, it’s referenced and referred and pointed out and pointed at. Contractors us it, real estate agents use it, lenders use it, financial types use it. And they should, because there isn’t much else like it. Plus, people want to know what the deal is, because it isn’t black and white, cut and dry.

Having your remodeling projected wrapped up with a nice little ROI bow is a comforting thought. Know what you spend, know what you’ll get back. Unfortunately, it just isn’t that simple, despite the nice charts, graphs, and analysis provided by those magazine people. The reason remodeling can’t be analyzed like a stock investment is, in fact, quite simple. A big part of the remodeling ROI is intangible. That’s right – you can’t see it, you can’t touch it, you can’t cook on it, you can’t  poop in it, you can’t have guests sleep in it.

Remodeling your home has two kinds of ROI – tangible and intangible. Tangible is the kind the Cost vs. Value report talks about – dollars in, dollars out. Tangible is what most people think about when they wonder how much they should spend on a project. Intangible is a whole bunch of stuff that isn’t made out of wood or granite or drywall. Intangible can be, and often is, more important than mere dollars in and out.  Here’s why…

This ROI saves you eight months of marketing time when selling your house, allowing you to move on with your life. This ROI creates a magical backdrop to so many family memories. It makes you feel special during a neighborhood party. It wraps you in comfort when the world gets too big. It fills you with pride, builds your esteem, lets you stand tall. This ROI really doesn’t have a price you can put your finger on. You decide what it’s worth.

When it comes to remodeling, we don’t do it because we hope to make money from it. Just as we don’t buy that car we love because we think by driving it, it will go up in value. Or that stunning diamond tennis bracelet. We buy them because of the intangible benefits we hope they will provide. You can still do business in a run down, aqua-blue, gold swirl vanity topped bathroom. But how does that make you feel? Like a big pile of emptiness (you didn’t think I would go for the obvious cliché there, did you?)?

Our lesson here today is simple – remodeling has two types of ROI. Tangible and intangible. While the tangible is important, and we don’t want to be stupid, don’t overlook the intangible. For it is there that the true rewards of a well done remodeling project will be reaped.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

Like most everything else in America, things just get bigger over time. Less than a half century ago, most couples were perfectly content to sleep in a full sized bed. There were no territorial issues to speak of. Over time, beds got bigger and bigger, couples grew further and further apart, until the California King literally turned lovers into strangers. And it wasn’t just beds. We’ve seen this happen with cars (Hummer anyone?), burgers (the triple patty deluxe monster-burger), and even movie screens (IMAX neck strains).

Well guess what. Your master bathtub is no exception. Some genius came up with the idea of putting a miniature plastic swimming pool in the corner of your bathroom and told you it was cool. So cool, everyone was doing it, so you needed one too. As you can imagine, back in the day, tubs were big enough to get into and splash a little water on your bod. You could stick a kid in there without a life preserver and not worry. You could fill it in less than a day and maybe even get a couple of baths from the hot water tank. Aye, the good old days.

Flash forward to hip 80’s and the me 90’s. Here’s what I often see when visiting folks thinking about a bath remodel. There, in the corner, occupying 75% of the bath floor space, is a wannabe dolphin habitat we call a bathtub. And in the other corner: a Barbie and Ken sized master shower. Let’s see, we use the darn shower everyday and the tub maybe once per year. So, as a designer, I’ll put in a gia-normous tub and a micro-shower. Brilliant.

Don’t be fooled by the slick advertising showing beautiful people relaxing in the mega-tub 2000 – burning candles, eating candy, and reading poetry. Who are those people? These days, who among us has the time to even fill the thing? Let alone a few moments of solace to actually enjoy it. Even better, no one else in the house can enjoy a hot shower or bath for hours while the water tank strains to re-heat its contents.

Here’s a radical thought (not our first). Get rid of the tub in the master bath, reconfigure the space, and add a really nice shower setup. Your real estate agent may grimace, but in reality, as long as you have a tub in another bath, the master tub isn’t quite as important. If you have the room (and the budget), perhaps replacing the mega-tub with a smaller soaker tub might not be a bad idea. But, the key is to configure the space to end up with a killer shower. That’s what will make the idea fly. And will make future buyers bite.

The summary is quite simple. Big tub out, big shower in. Can we make it any easier than that? Now, go sell the dolphins and get to work.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.

Did I just driveby a 1989 Cadillac convertible with a soft top? I spun around the block and looked again. Nope – it was a hard top. Hard like lumber, and shingles, and door panels. No really, did that garage actually fall onto the poor saps car? Did he manage to save his Bob Seger Greatest Hits tape from the dash and his Members Only jacket from the back seat before all hell broke loose? 

There’s an old adage that goes something like this: “Hard work pays off over time, but procrastinating always pays off now”. Here we see the embodiment of that time tested advice. These folks lived it to perfection. The results are truly amazing. And pretty damned funny, you have to admit (unless you happen to be their neighbor).

The more sophisticated would call this an extreme case of deferred maintenance. “Deferred” being the politically correct term for lazy procrastination (is that redundant?). But deferred maintenance is a serious problem in America today. This was just a stupid garage and an old car. But we’ve all seen “deferred” rear its ugly head in bridge collapses and wings falling off airplanes and car swallowing pot holes on our highways. It’s a big problem.

You might not be able to fix a bridge or patch a pot hole, but you can make a difference. You can make sure your own piece of the world, your house, doesn’t fall victim to the vicious, relentless tag team of mother nature and father time. But how can you, just an infant in the grand scheme of things, stand up to mom and dad? Easy. Just keep your eyes open.

Here are my six “You’ve Got Issues” list of things to look for if you want to avoid becoming a lazy household maintenance procrastinator:

• If it changes color without your artistic flair, you’ve got issues
• If it peels, pops, cracks, or flakes with no human contact,  you’ve got issues
• If it separates, sags, leans, or moves sans you, you’ve got issues
• If it drips, puddles, runs, or smells and no pets are involved, you’ve got issues
• If it rubs, strains, sticks, or no longer opens without extraordinary effort, you’ve got issues
• If it is more than 25 years old but you think it is fine (and it probably isn’t), you’ve got issues

If you think you’ve got ”issues“, check it out. Fix it, get it fixed, see a therapist, or even better, rip the whole darn thing out and remodel it the right way (we love that advice). So, in summary, keep your eyes open and your car out of a leaning garage.

Mark Lewis

ProCraft Contracting, Inc.