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Setting Up Our First Meeting
When you contact Yates Remodeling LLC for help with your project, we’ll ask you some basic questions to ensure we can be of assistance including contact information, the location of the project, and anything else we may need to know before we meet in person. You’ll then receive a Google meeting request and an invitation to Buildertrend, our online project management portal, that will allow you to upload photos and documents, review your estimate, communicate with the team, check the schedule real-time, and track progress from start to finish. Before your Google meeting and/or estimate meeting, you can upload any inspiration photos, designs, surveys, or other relevant documents and photos to Buildertrend so that we can come prepared and up-to-speed on your project.
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Your Initial Google Meeting
Our first meeting will be an initial Google meeting. During this 30-minute meeting, we will be discussing your vision for your remodel, your ideas, and the ballpark budget. We will also go over our process and what we offer as a design-build remodeling company. This is also the time where you can ask as many questions as you would like about our process and questions relating to the remodel. The call will allow both of us to decide if we are a good possible fit for each other. If everyone agrees to move forward in our process we then set up an onsite meeting.
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Your Onsite Estimate Meeting
After your initial Google meeting, there will be an onsite estimate meeting. During this mutual interview, we’ll go over your preliminary design ideas, likely materials to be used, scheduling, and the estimate process. We find these meetings are best when clients come prepared with a list of ideas and a clear budget. We’ll be listening carefully to you to ensure we put together a plan that will meet your goals on budget.
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Budget
Your budget is critical to this process because the same project, say a 400 square foot Master Bathroom remodel, can be built for a variety of costs. When we know your budget, we can suggest a floor plan, tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, and many other features that will work for you. When we don’t understand your budget, we might create an Estimate based on your vision but out of reach of your budget. The key to a successful remodel is that we are on the same page and on the same team from the very beginning. Please, also note that in recent years materials prices have greatly increased and the lead time to get materials and fixtures has also increased. We have been told by suppliers not to expect prices to go back down
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After Your Estimate Meeting
Scope of Work
Within a few business days of your Estimate meeting, you will receive a Scope of Work (SOW). The SOW is a bullet point list of all of the highlights of your project. This will be an opportunity to clarify the particulars of your remodel that can significantly impact costs (e.g., hardwood floors, LVP, or tile). The SOW will also detail some basic construction details such as the size of your addition.
Collecting Important Information
If your project is an addition or a new structure, we will start researching and collecting important information that will ensure that your requests can be fulfilled within the rules of your City or Town. We’ll ask for a copy of your Survey and begin researching setback and impervious surface rules. We do this to ensure that the Estimate you receive is for a project that is permissible for your property. We may also ask you to confirm with your HOA that the type of project you are considering is permissible in your neighborhood.
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Preliminary Estimate
Once your project's Scope of Work (SOW) matches your vision for your remodel, we’ll set-up a Google Meet video call to review the SOW, a basic design, and review expected costs to complete the project. During this call, we might discuss potential changes to the SOW and their potential impact on costs.
Once any additional changes are made and if the project is ready to proceed, we’ll enter the design phase with a Design Agreement.
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Deposit and Payments
Once the proposal reflects your vision, you can then approve it electronically through Buildertrend. In order for us to add your project to our queue and begin designs, a 20% deposit payable to Yates Remodeling LLC by ACH (preferred) or check is required. You may also pay by credit card with the inclusion of credit card fees to your invoice. You will receive an email from Intuit QuickBooks for this and all future invoices. Once the job begins and/or we order materials and selections, we will invoice you weekly for any work to be done the coming week along with any work that has been completed up to that point that has not been paid for, Selections, and Change Orders. Your deposit will be used to cover 50% of each week’s work and materials invoice until the deposit has been depleted.
Work and materials invoices are sent weekly and are due within 5 days of invoicing. Any change orders that are made after the final design has been completed will need to be approved and paid for before that work can begin. An administrative fee may be added to all change orders depending on their impact on the project. All costs will be listed on the change order for approval before work will begin.
If invoices are not paid when due, work may be delayed or deferred. If payments are not received within 5 days of the due date a 1.5% late fee will be charged to account, as well as 1.5% compounding for every 30 days after that. A holdback of 5% of the total project costs will not be billed until the project is complete, all inspections are passed, and you have completed a final walkthrough of the project.
Please note, we do not accept payments through Buildertrend. Please only pay using the Intuit QuickBooks emails and their links.
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Project Management
We approach each project we undertake as a team. This unique approach ensures there is always someone available to assist you who is knowledgeable about your remodel. At the beginning of the project, you will be introduced to the person who will be your main day-to-day contact. We will supervise subcontractors, inspect work, and ensure you are notified of any schedule shifts.
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Subcontractors
Before construction, we may bring in subcontractors to appraise the job. We have a list of preferred subcontractors that we have used on many projects whose quality of work we can depend on. Throughout the project we will coordinate the scheduling of each trade required for your project and ensure their quality and consistency.
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Scheduling
We work hard to create schedules that are realistic and ensure the project is completed on time and to plan. Weather, time to receive order materials and products, permits, and inspections can all affect the schedule. We’ll try to build in time to create flexibility for the unexpected. We hope you’ll keep unexpected delays in mind as well as we work to meet your final delivery date. Access to the job site when needed is a critical aspect of keeping the project on schedule. We will need a key or access code so that work can commence on time. While generally work is done between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM, our subcontractors may request an early start or a late day and even the occasional weekend. Often these requests are designed to keep the project on track or negotiate weather challenges. Your assistance in accommodating these shifts is appreciated.
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Permits and Permissions
Yates Remodeling LLC will acquire all government permits and permissions required to proceed with the project. Each city, town, and unincorporated area has a different permitting office with different rules and fees for permits. We’ll navigate these government entities for you to ensure your project is completed to code. If you have a Home Owners Association (HOA) they may also have a set of rules and permissions that you’ll need to obtain. Understanding what will be required and what the timeline is for each of these approvals will be critical as we design the schedule and final estimate. Please share your HOA’s approval forms with us so that we can provide you with any information required for your application.
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Allowances
Mark-up is a general term that applies to the overhead and profit that any company needs to stay in business. It is the amount a business charges above their direct cost. It covers overhead items such as; advertising, sales commission, job supervision and scheduling, office expenses, project management software, insurance, accounting and legal fees, licenses, taxes, warranties, shop costs, tools, storage, employee expenses and salaries. These are some of the overhead expenses for a remodeling company. We do the best we can to keep costs as low as possible while still staying in business and providing the best possible service and products to our customers. All our estimated figures always include our mark-up. This can be a confusing subject for most, here is a link to an article that does a great job explaining this in more detail: https://www.markupandprofit.com/blog/how-much-should-contractor-charge.
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Review Us
Upon completion of the project, we’ll invite you to review us on social media and share your experiences. As a small business, we rely on referrals and reviews and hope you’ll love your project and want to share it. The craftsmanship of our work has a lifetime guarantee, but should you ever need anything else, please think of us. Our goal is to provide a 5-star experience. Please let us know if we can do anything else to achieve that goal.