Ready to move forward with your whole-house remodeling project? Now comes the difficult task of getting a quality contractor to call you back, so you can get it on the schedule sooner rather than later.
Summertime typically means it’s the busy season for most remodeling contractors, especially in the current environment — with many states starting to emerge from forced shutdowns due to health concerns, including Indiana.
Contractors known for quality workmanship tend to book up quickly, so they could be too busy to take on your project right now, or you may need to wait for weeks or months to get on their schedule.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Think about it. If the remodeling contractor who calls you back right away isn’t too busy to immediately tackle your project, that could be a red flag for someone who cuts corners or performs poor quality workmanship.
Here are 3 reasons to schedule your home remodeling project now to ensure you find a quality contractor when you’re ready to start:
1. Labor Shortage in Skilled Trades Makes it Hard to Find Quality Crews
According to this survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, 80 percent of construction firms find it difficult to fill hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.
“Workforce shortages remain one of the single most significant threats to the construction industry,” AGC’s CEO Stephen E. Sandherr says in the report.
For more than 10 years, construction and remodeling contractors have felt the pain of the skilled trade labor shortage. Factors include:
- The mass exodus of skilled tradesmen looking for other work following the Great Recession of 2008.
- An aging and soon-to-retire workforce of Baby Boomers.
- A younger generation that needs to be persuaded to see the value in pursuing a vocational career versus a four-year college degree.
As an experienced general contractor who’s worked in the industry for more than a decade, Central Construction Group works with established crews and knows exactly who to call for each specific part of the job, from plumbing to electrical work.
Many remodeling jobs require a trim carpenter or a punchout guy to do the final finishing touches, so customers may need to get in line for those types of in-demand specialty workers.
At CCG, we handle many of those jobs ourselves, plus we pre-plan further out for every job to manage expectations and prevent delays. Once we know what the project entails, we start lining up our tile installers, plumbers, electricians, etc., so everyone fits into the schedule at just the right time.
Contractors who don’t focus on planning and organization may cause unnecessary delays in your home remodeling project.
2. Showrooms are open, with limitations
A major part of your home remodeling project involves material selection. What color of paint? What type of flooring? Bathtub or shower, or both? Replace or refinish kitchen cabinets? The list of decisions is endless.
During the recent COVID-19 crisis, most of our local and preferred material showrooms shut down temporarily, but CCG continued working on the design of several projects the company started over the winter. The showrooms are now back open, but some place limitations on how many people can come at once and how long material selection lasts, along with recommended face masks.
3. Schedule it now to lock in a later date
Scheduling your home remodeling project now doesn’t mean it’s going to start tomorrow. Remember how we talked about summer being the busy season for remodelers?
Manage your own expectations by finding a quality contractor now and getting your project on their schedule, but know the actual work probably won’t begin for months. In the meantime, you can take care of the contract agreement, design work, material selections, and more.
Contact CCG at 317-213-6246. We would love to discuss where you are in the process, the scope of work, and how we can help!
