THIS is the LAST day that it's CHEAP to make changes on your job. Anytime you change your mind after this, with little exception, will wind up costing you more money. If there is anytime to be present during a full build day at your project, this is the one. There is no substitute for being able to answer questions as they arise and make changes that you want or need prior to the walls going up.
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There is no substitute for passion. Problems arise constantly on a construction site, its how you (and your GC) handle them that makes all the difference!
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The time has finally come...we're starting the physical construction! All the work you have put in up to this point will inform how smooth your job runs; not to say you won't have hiccups, cause you will...its construction. But the more leg work you put it before this day WILL dictate how smooth this job runs.
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The number one question I get with respect to design and product selection: What countertops should I use...here's your answer.
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If you want to skip the travel and engagement stuff, the kitchen design starts at the 8:30 mark.
Do you need to travel to Italy to design your kitchen? No, not really, but its a helluva lot more fun...and it was the perfect cover for my proposal idea.
In all seriousness, I wanted to sit down with my kitchen supplier because this is my personal kitchen and I wanted to go over every detail, which you can see in the Kitchen Deep Dive video linked below. Mittel Cucine does such a great job and they are always innovating with new finishes, new accessories, etc so we wanted to get our eyes on all this stuff, sit in a focused environment and make sure we crossed all our T's and dotted all our i's.
At the end of the day, whether your kitchen supplier is stateside, or in Italy, changes after you've started production will cost you a lot of time and money, so its worth YOUR focused time up front to consider each and every last detail.
Kitchen Deep Dive: https://youtu.be/gBlK0II-pzs
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I'd be lying if I said this is one of the more interesting vlogs, but it is super important; having a dialed schedule is critical to the success of your project. Now, don't think you need to be as involved as I am in this, I've been doing this for over 15 years, so I can drive a lot of this conversation and push for certain efficiencies. That said, I would definitely encourage you to sit with your GC and go through the entire job schedule. At the very least, it gives you a baseline to always come back to and evaluate whether you are on scheduled or falling behind.
I use Asana, as they have a pretty decent Gantt chart view, so I can use it as my general task manager and the project timeline as well. It doesn't matter what software you use so long as it works for you.
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Choosing tile can be one of the most stressful and anxiety ridden pieces of your entire renovation puzzle. I think it stems from a combination of the sheer amount of choices there are, and how difficult it is to change if you 'get it wrong'. That's why having the right tile SUPPLIER is just as important as your tile CHOICES. The right supplier helps you navigate that porcelain, concrete and ceramic sea of endless choices to get you to where you wanna be. Hope my process sheds some light on how to tackle this, and if you have more questions hit me in the comments...
Oh, and if you really wanna nerd out with me, here is my full length meeting so you can see all my questions, weird facial expressions, and deep thought:
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Time is money, as they say. And you know what else costs money? Telling your GC to re-frame a wall because you don't like where it is...that costs real money. That's why I always recommend taping out your floor plan to get an initial feel of the space. You need to learn how to read a tape measure, some blue painters tape, and a bit of patience. This is actually one of my favorite things to do because it is the first time you will feel the physical space you are going to create.
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I tell people all the time: 'don't just take the lowest bid, you need to understand the detail'. Well, that doesn't mean you need to get raked over the coals either!
This ep is a bid review and conversation with one of the contractors who tried to charge me an ASTRONOMICAL sum for this job.
Let me know if you've run into this, how you've handled it, and if you have any questions in the comments below.
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Aside from your Scope of Work, there is nothing more beneficial you can do for an accurate bid then to walk your potential contractors through the job so they can get eyes on the physical space, and ask questions in real time. This vlog only shows my walk through with the guys I wound up selecting, as I didn't want to be disrespectful to the other companies, but I did this walk multiple times. You gotta put the time in up front. #TheBuildTV #LoveTheProcess
If you haven't checked it out yet, http://www.TheBuild.tv is live and has some resources up on it already. Much more to come on the site.
There are lots of parts to this process, and in this case, some of them are physical...
Great to work side-by-side with my Dad again, at 70 he's still got that hustle man. Much respect.
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The foundation of a successful construction project is based on getting a complete price for a full job...you get that price by taking the time to put a comprehensive bid package together. Period. There are no shortcuts on this one, you just gotta sit down and DO IT.
That said, enjoy the process, think about how great your space will be when this is all done. Imagine all the things you want in that space...can you see them? GOOD, now add them to your Scope of Work!
You can check out My Plans and Scope of Work on the Resources page of this site.
The day is finally here! So pumped to share this series with you guys...here's a little intro to the project and what you can expect going forward. PLEASE hit the comments below and let me know what you most want to learn/see/understand through this process and I'll make sure I capture it.