What Is Pre-Construction Consultation?

Q. What is Pre-Construction Consultation?

A. As a pre-construction consultant (PCC), I assist home-owners with their residential building and remodeling projects. I prefer to consult with the home-owner prior to beginning the project or even hiring a contractor. A consultation before any decisions have been made allows us to find the best solutions possible before any time or money has been spent.

Residential construction projects can be one of the most stressful events a person can go through. Sadly, many divorces between spouses and lawsuits between home-owners and builders occur due to the tremendous amount of stress involved. By pre-planning the construction project, many potential problems can be preempted and resolved before they even happen.

Can you imagine showing up to your wedding and trying to make decisions about the ceremony as you are going through it? Of course not. But this is how most home-owners and builders approach a construction job.

On a new build, the architectural plans are selected, handed to the builder, and as the foundation is poured and the frame work goes up, the home-owner is hustling to select all the other materials that are going in the home or are pressured to make decisions on the fly because the builder is moving forward quickly but usually with very little communication about what's coming next. For example, the builder calls on Tuesday to say the tile will be laid on Thursday but you haven't been looking at tile. So you are now forced to drop everything, run around to every store you can think of, and try to find a tile in stock that you hopefully love. This is like trying to find a wedding dress three hours before the wedding! Why would anyone do this? But it happens on most new construction jobs.

Remodeling projects are even worse. Because the home already exists, the home-owner has even less time to prepare because the builder isn't busy framing or working on the roof. He's ready to go NOW! Typically, residential remodelers hurry to demo the home, then ask the home-owner to start shopping. You are then left living in a mess until you can make up your mind about products and materials.

Just because this is the way it's always been done doesn't mean the madness has to continue!

So how do you prepare for your construction project if you don't know what to do or how to get started? Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting lists of decisions that need to be made for each room of your home, and the lists will be in the approximate order that items need to be purchased. This will, hopefully, keep you on track, on schedule, and prevent your contractor from surprising you with a deadline for a decision you aren't prepared to make.

Most construction projects, no matter how competent the contractor/builder is, go over budget and over time. The reason for this is a lack of planning, organization and being prepared which result in expensive change orders. Again, think about the wedding scenario. Sure, you could probably pull a wedding together at the last minute, but it would undoubtedly cost you more money, more stress, and you wouldn't get what you really wanted.

The absolute best investment you can make is hiring a pre-construction consultant before you begin your project. This one investment could save you literally thousands of dollars.

New construction? Let your PCC see your architectural plans and have them point out potential areas that may not live up to your expectations (Enough wall space for furniture? Is the "walk-in" pantry as big as you think? Is your refrigerator in a corner? It shouldn't be!). For a remodel, have the PCC look at your home, tell them your plans, and have them make recommendations that you may not have thought of. Your PCC should also be able to help you come up with a budget or, if you have a budget, give you a realistic idea of how far your money will go. If you don't have a PCC in your area, contact me. I can do in-home consultations via Skype or you can send me your architectural plans and we can then meet via Skype while looking over your plans together.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about your project, please email me at renovatekate@cox.net or twitter your questions to www.twitter.com/renovatekate.

Also coming soon...online videos that will coach you through your project, offer information about cabinets, appliances, tile, countertops, paint selection, plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures, quick tips and lots more! Become a follower of my blog, twitter account or my website at http://www.renovatekate.com/ for announcements about the videos. They will be short, educational videos (10 to 20 minutes) packed full of relevant, informative information and will be very reasonably priced ($10 to $15). If you like them, tell your friends and family about them. If not, tell me. I value your feedback.

Hire a PCC and make sure you don't waste your valuable time or money, that your relationships stay intact, and that you get the home of your dreams.

Until next time,

RenovateKate
http://www.renovatekate.com/
www.twitter.com/renovatekate

Luxurious Walk-in Pantry? Beware!

Q. Why is a tall cabinet with pull-out trays better than a walk-in pantry?

A. In my experience, walk-in pantries are one of the most requested features in a new or remodeled kitchen. It's such a luxury to have a small room dedicated to storage of canned goods, pet food, small appliances and other items that we don't want cluttering up our wall cabinets and countertop space. However, so-called "walk-in pantries" can be very deceiving on paper.

Architectural plans that show a walk-in pantry are rarely as large as they seem. Like closets, the architect typically does not draw in the shelving that must go in. Subtract the 12 to 15 inches of depth for each shelf, then put that shelving on two walls of a U-shaped space, and your "walk-in" pantry can quickly become a "reach-in" pantry because there is little to no floor space to stand in.

Unless my client has a minimum of 54" across the shortest wall of the pantry, I don't recommend putting one in. Here's how I got there...54" minus 24" (12" for each shelf, assuming two walls of shelving) leaves 30" to actually stand in. Anything less than 30" gets very tight and the deeper the pantry, the more difficult it will become to maneuver in less than 30" of space with your hands full.

A great alternative is to incorporate into your cabinetry design a tall pantry with pull-out trays. An 18" wide by 24" deep tall cabinet with four pull-out trays will hold much more than a 36" wide "walk-in" pantry with a few 12" deep shelves, or even deeper shelves that hold more, but cannot be easily accessed.

You can also add as many pull-out trays as you need, and if the cabinet is pre-drilled for shelving or trays, they can be adjusted according to the height of the products you are storing. If you have large containers for dog food, you can set the bottom tray at 24" off the floor. If you have a tray for spices, the tray above it can be set at 6" to 8" from the tray below.


Another advantage of the pull-out tray system is that you will no longer be reaching over cans and bottles and boxes to access the products behind. You simply pull out the trays (I recommend full-extension glides on these trays) and you can stand to the side of the pantry to easily reach all the products in the back half of the tray.

Remember, when talking to your builder or remodeler, be sure to ask about the width of your "walk-in" pantry. If it's less than 54" wide, consider making the pantry part of your cabinetry. This will save space in your kitchen, maximize your storage space, and put the items you need closer to your preparation area.


Until next time,

Renovate Kate

http://www.constructionology101.com/
www.twitter.com/renovatekate