Remodeling Agents Blog

One of my mentors, Andria L, came up with the saying. It really stuck with me because I am always trying to explain to my customers that we can do anything you want to do: put in cheap cabinets and cheap materials but you get what you pay for. So I use the analogy of a Corolla versus a Lexus. If you pay for a Corolla, you are not going to get a Lexus. You will not get leather seats, you get cloth seats. You might get air conditioning in the Corolla, but you will not get the temperature controlled air conditioning like you would in a Lexus. Your expectations have to be set at the right level.

If you want to go inexpensive (I do not like to say cheap), you cannot expect your high-end quality. Now, what I try to do is get a fair, competitive price but also maintain a high level of quality; high quality within the price range and not outside of the price range. If you buy a Corolla, I’m going to try to step you up to a low end Camry. You are still going to have cloth seats but you might get tinted windows. you don’t want to get burned by undercutting your workers. In addition to what goes on with that is skilled laborers. When you use skilled laborers in your home, think of it as having someone work on your teeth. The higher the skill level, the higher the price. You don’t want the cheapest dentist working on your teeth. Your home is similar in the way that we are entering your home, your world. We are going to kick down a wall and drag materials in and out for a duration. It is an intimate invasion of your space. We do everything we can to protect your space and clean up but it is an invasion nonetheless. Why wouldn’t you want the right people in there? Why would you want to save a couple of bucks here and there so that in the long run - though not all the time, you will get lucky sometimes - you run into quality issues. You really don’t want to go to the discount dentist. You don’t want to constantly roll the dice with cheap labor. Now, I must admit that there are some inexpensive guys out there who do great work. However, I frequently hear “Oh, he did a great job on my house a few years ago, but I hired him again and he completely messed it up. Can you come fix it?”

Christopher Spaeth is the owner of Remodeling Agents, LLC, located in Dallas, Texas. He is dedicated to improving standards and practices in residential remodeling and construction by sharing his experience and unique insight. To contact Christopher, email chris@remodelingagents.com.

Beware Bullnosing Cheap Tiles

When you choose ceramic or porcelain tile, you choose them because of the low price. There are some companies that will bullnose these inexpensive tiles but be careful – they are often done from different lots and therefore will not match the finish or the color of the tiles.

You can tell a cheap tile job because when you look at it on the wall, the outer edge is an unfinished square edge; I don’t like the way that looks. Therefore, I prefer to have bullnoses installed on the edge. I therefore build the job around these bullnoses. Be careful and make sure you get to see the bullnoses because, from what I learned today, some manufacturers of tile actually manufacture the bullnoses at a different plant so the patterns aren’t the same. They don’t match up. I have got a beautiful, ceramic tile installed on the wall with this other bullnose piece that looks like a completely different piece of tile. How am I supposed to line the shower with these mismatching pieces? These off-colored bullnoses? It’s going to look like trash. And of course I talk to the manufacturer and I talk to the person who sold it and they go, “yeah, sometimes those bullnoses look like that.” But I’ve already ordered the tile; already delivered it to the jobsite. The only solution for my recent problem is to order a new batch of bullnoses and hope I get a closer color. Of course, you can always take the field tiles to companies like American Bullnose to fabricate bullnoses on any tile for a perfect match, but this might drive the cost up and over your budget.

The lesson? Make sure you see the bullnose that is represented for the tile you are ordering. When you receive the tile and the bullnose, check it before you receive it. Make sure it matches up before you haul it off to the jobsite. There is no way to head this off when you order it, hence beware cheap bullnoses and cheap tile.

Christopher Spaeth is the owner of Remodeling Agents, LLC, located in Dallas, Texas. He is dedicated to improving standards and practices in residential remodeling and construction by sharing his experience and unique insight. To contact Christopher, email chris@remodelingagents.com.