The remodeling market declined significantly at the onset of COVID-19 in March and April of 2020, but has since more than fully recovered.
Sandy: Well hello, Tom, and happy April.
Tom: Back at ya, Sandy. Inasmuch as you are the lady with her ear to the popular winds, what kind of calls are you getting these days? Are they COVID-related?
Sandy: Oh my, not COVID. However, speaking of COVID, I am thrilled to see the rollout of the vaccines.
Tom: My wife and I received our vaccinations at the Findlay Center. Very well organized. No waiting. But, I agree, so many are ready to move on and start to enjoy life.
Sandy: Most of the calls we are getting at YCCA are homeowners asking for information on four basic topics. Bath remodels, kitchen remodels, interior and exterior painting and handicapped accessibility retrofitting.
Tom: Wow! You really have your finger on the pulse. The remodeling industry is staying quite steady these days.
Sandy: I would say steady, strong and pretty darn solid. With families staying at home more, their imagination takes over and opens all manner of ways to refresh their homes. Tom, can you give us some of your thoughts on these topics?
Tom: Sure. The best starting point for any project is PLANNING!
Sandy: That message has been consistent. And good planning goes hand-in-hand with research.
Tom: With just about everybody here having access to the internet, it has become something folks can do while staying at home. We find that most folks have been to our website long before they make the call.
Sandy: I agree. At YCCA, we take the time to help folks wade through the tons of information out there. A call to us can save hours or even days of searching.
Tom: YCCA is a great service to the community, for sure. Getting back to steps to take, I suggest the budget should be next. If you have $5,000 to do a 5’ x 8’ bathroom, then that will direct your focus to certain solutions. You truly need to communicate that up front with a design professional.
Sandy: That is so true and so many folks are afraid to give out that information. I know the average national cost of replacement in a bath that size is almost twice that amount.
Tom: Yes, you are right on. So, communicating budget up front saves you and the remodeler quite a bit of time.
Sandy: The point is to not spend time guessing and working on a plan that does not even match the budget. And a budget can always be matched with a plan. Let’s talk about painting. I feel that planning for painting, while not as potentially complex, is still important.
Tom: You need to choose colors, of course, and a qualified painter can help you select the type of paint appropriate for your project.
Sandy: A licensed, bonded and insured painter (also a member of the YCCA) can also assist with preparation, fixing all the knicks and cracks before painting. So, yes, planning is needed. When planning on painting, I always suggest obtaining three bids. It is important to call out the paint use. There are three levels of exterior paint and if this is not specified up front, the bids will most certainly be unbalanced. Gosh, I could go on and on about painting. I would hijack our column for sure!
Tom, I would say retrofitting for disabilities certainly needs planning. There are a lot of different ways to make aging in place more accommodating and comfortable.
Tom: True, the solution to making your home more accommodating and comfortable begins with determining the level of disability one has and what that might lead to in the future. Many disabilities are not wheelchair-bound, as is the common perception.
Sandy: Are there certifications people should look for? I see an alphabet soup of acronyms following people’s names. I am pretty savvy and I do not know what they all mean.
Tom: LOL! I don’t either and I have a few after my name as well. Generally, you can Google the acronym and determine its significance. There are quite a few educational organizations out there that support the remodeling industry.
Sandy: I am aware of some really good ones, like the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, or NARI. They do a great job of supporting designers, contractors and homeowners with all kinds of really super information.
Tom: Great example. Renovations has been a member for years. It conducts courses, usually online, designed to help educate people in all manners of problem solving.
Sandy: As an architect, you have had all kinds of training and education. Have you kept up with all the changes over the years?
Tom: Mostly. The American Institute of Architects, as with many professional support organizations, has a Continuing Educational Unit (CEU). These are designed to keep old guys like me in the know. With many professional organizations, a member needs to have a certain number of CEU credits per year to maintain membership.
Sandy: That is great information for our readers to have. Tom, it is important to let our readers know that spending on residential improvements will continue to grow at a healthy pace over the next several years.
Tom: You are correct, Sandy. Professional remodelers from across the country from a group I belong to agree that this is the case. Consumer spending is at an all-time high.
The remodeling market declined significantly at the onset of COVID-19 in March and April of 2020, but has since more than fully recovered.
Sandy: I can attest to that after that small dip at the beginning of the pandemic, remodeler confidence bounced back and my phone continues to ring and ring.
Tom: It is nice to see that homeowners have a desire to invest in their homes.
Sandy: Tom, at the beginning of our conversation, you asked if the calls coming in were COVID-related. I said not really, but with homeowners using their time at home now to remodel, the demand and backlog for remodeling remains high. So, COVID did cause folks to look at their homes and make them more user-friendly and give certain rooms a facelift for more ease and enjoyment.
Tom: As a warning, projects are taking longer, COVID has created volatile material prices, labor shortages and material delays.
Make it a great month. Thanks for stopping in “At Home with Tom and Sandy.”
You’re in good company and we love sharing important information with you.
See you next month. QCBN
By Tom Reilly and Sandy Griffis
Tom Reilly, LEED Accredited Professional, Architect, Contractor, Renovations 928-445-8506 www.renovationsaz.com
Sandy Griffis, Executive Director, Yavapai County Contractors Association. 928-778-0040
Remember to tune in to YCCA’s Hammer Time every Saturday and Sunday morning 7 a.m. on KQNA 1130 AM/99.9 FM/95.5FM or the web kqna.com. Listen to Sandy and Mike talk about the construction industry and meet your local community partners. Hammer Time is a great way to start your weekend.
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