Remodeling Frequently Asked Questions
Remodeling Process
INITIAL CONSULTATION: Your remodel design begins with an initial consultation with one of our highly trained design team members, during which we will discuss your likes and dislikes and your family’s needs. We will sit down with you, listen to your dreams, discuss your budget, take reference photos of your home, and measure the space(s) to be remodeled.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: Next, we will consult with our in-house team of design professionals, building code experts, and experienced project managers regarding the design development of your project. If you decide to move forward and retain our services to design your remodel, we will review and sign a design agreement to begin analyzing initial selections, reviewing budgets, and creating initial drawings.
DESIGN SHOWROOM VISIT: For our next meeting, we will meet in our Irvine Spectrum area design showroom, where we will review plans and drawings. Using state-of-the-art photorealistic computer renderings, our staff of technical and aesthetic experts brings your remodel vision to life! This makes it easy to visualize and make decisions. While reviewing the conceptual design, we will continue refining your project’s scope and budget, making adjustments as needed.
CREATION OF CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS: Once you approve the conceptual design, the Sea Pointe Design & Remodel team will create the necessary construction plans, which will include floor plans, elevations, perspectives, and necessary renderings. These documents provide the details we need to bid on the project and estimate engineering and permit costs (if needed).
DEVELOPMENT FINALIZATION: We meet to review the remodel design and the established budget. If everything is approved, we review the final design and pricing and sign the remodeling contract, which includes details of the materials to be used, progress payments during construction, and an estimated time frame from start to finish.
PRODUCTION PLANNING: Upon your approval of our estimate and the signing of the construction contract, we begin ordering cabinetry and materials, allocating manpower, and creating the project schedule, which includes scheduling the pre-job walk, job site prep, demolition, foundation, framing, doors/windows, electrical, plumbing/gas, drywall, siding/stucco, roofing, flooring, cabinetry, trim work, painting & punch lists.
PRODUCTION: We start your remodel, produce as planned, and finalize punch lists. Great planning ensures a smooth remodeling experience with predictable timelines and results that exceed expectations.
ENJOY YOUR REMODEL!
What is Design + Build?
Sea Pointe Design & Remodel proudly offers Design/Build remodeling services specifically for Orange County, California. Our expertise and commitment to service and quality help reduce risk and ensure your project’s successful completion.
Fundamentally, design-build combines design, engineering, and construction services under a single contract, bringing together the roles of designer and constructor. Sea Pointe offers this integrated approach to construction, enhancing cooperation among all parties involved and ultimately maximizing each participant’s capabilities. With design-build, quality, cost, and time are determined concurrently. We design your remodel with value engineering in mind.
Sea Pointe Design & Remodel’s expertise in this format helps clients save money, save time, and gain peace of mind that the final construction project meets their functional and aesthetic needs.
Choosing a Remodeler
Excerpt from: Critical Facts You Must Know Before Remodeling
(Click the title above to download your free copy.)
Any homeowner planning to remodel wants nothing less than a professional job. Who wouldn’t want the best quality workmanship and materials when improving their most prized and valuable asset? However, when selecting a remodeler, too many buyers conveniently forget the time-proven adage, “you get what you pay for.” Many homeowners face the dilemma of wanting a top-notch job at the lowest possible price. With price as their primary focus, they ignore other criteria that may carry more weight in delivering a successful project and a smooth working relationship with the remodeler.
The nature of remodeling as a service becomes even more pronounced when you consider that you’ll be sharing your home with the remodeler’s crews for weeks or even months, depending on the project’s scale. All remodeling involves some inconvenience, but it can turn into a nightmare if your remodeler doesn’t put your family’s comfort and concerns first.
Rather than choosing a remodeler based on which bid is lowest, focus on finding a professional remodeler. A professional remodeling firm will offer you important services – years of experience, a network of suppliers and trade contractors, and an in-depth understanding of legal regulations, cost estimating, scheduling, and the most current construction techniques. When you find an experienced remodeler you are comfortable with and confident in, but the bid is higher than your budget, work with them to decide where you can cut back or what you can postpone to reduce the cost. You can always have the remodeler frame in a fireplace to be installed later, but they can’t upgrade the company’s customer service and workmanship if there wasn’t any to begin with.
To ensure that you hire a professional remodeler, keep in mind the following qualifications as recommended by the National Builders Association:
Experience – How long has the remodeler been in business? The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracked business enterprises in ten major industries from 1998 to 2005. They found that 57% of new construction firms were no longer in business by the end of their fourth year and 70% had failed by the end of their seventh year. Longevity suggests financial stability, which is critical in this economy and necessary for the remodeler to finish the project and remain available if problems come up after the job is completed. Also, the more jobs the company has done, the more expertise the remodeler will bring to your job and the hidden surprises that remodeling typically involves.
Reputation – A remodeler’s former and current customers are the best source to gauge the company’s reputation. Ask for the names and phone numbers of customers you can call to find out their evaluation of the company’s work and customer service. If possible, ask for references from customers whose projects were similar to the one your family is planning, and visit to see the work done. You can also go visit a job in progress to see how the company manages the construction process and how clean they keep the job site. Ask whether these homeowners would hire the remodeler again.
Business Credentials – Find out which professional associations and groups the remodeler belongs to. Groups like these help to keep their members informed about new products, construction techniques, business practices, and industry issues. Participation demonstrates a remodeler’s commitment to professionalism and to the remodeling industry.
License and Insurance – Ask for the contractor’s license number, then go online to the state licensing board to confirm it is under the correct name, current, the proper license for your type of project, and to see whether there are any unresolved complaints against the company. The address for California is www.cslb.ca.gov. This site also shows the contractor’s bond and workers’ compensation insurance information. Also, verify that the contractor carries liability insurance. Have the remodeler show you copies of both their workers’ compensation and liability insurance certificates to protect yourself from legal responsibility in situations involving job site injuries or property damage resulting from the work being performed on your home. See below for further information on the importance of proper insurance coverage by your contractor.
More Information on the Importance of Contractor Insurance Coverage
According to Laura Olson, CISC (Certified Insurance Specialist in Construction) from GMGS Insurance in Irvine, CA, general liability insurance coverage by the contractor protects the homeowner for the following:
Property Damage – Damage to the homeowner’s property that occurs while working on the job site. Examples would be a drill dropping on the tile floor and breaking the tiles, or breaking a water pipe and flooding the home. A contractor’s liability policy would pay to replace the damaged property and cover any cleanup costs.
Bodily Injury – This covers injuries to a third party, such as a homeowner’s guest, caused by construction in the home. For example, a guest might trip over a ladder or an electrical cord and injure themselves. If the contractor is not covered, and the injury is severe enough, the third party may then sue the homeowner.
Completed Operations – This covers defects that occur after the project is completed. This could be several months or several years after completion. Examples include leaking windows that damage walls or foundations, or an addition that starts to move, causing cracks and stress on the original structure. Completed operations is the most important coverage a contractor can have.
The most common recommended limits for liability insurance are $2 Million General Aggregate, $1 Million Products/Completed Operations Aggregate, and $1 Million each occurrence. Auto liability at $1 Million is also recommended.
Regarding workers’ compensation insurance, employers must provide coverage for their employees. If a contractor does not carry workers’ compensation, then they are not in compliance with California state law. If they are not carrying the coverage and one of their employees is injured on the homeowner’s premises, the homeowner could be drawn into a lawsuit and be liable for medical expenses.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY OF “CRITICAL FACTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE REMODELING”
Budgets and Pricing
Every step in our budgeting process is designed to help our clients move through the remodeling process with as much control and understanding as possible. Surprise costs are rarely appreciated, so we do everything we can to eliminate them.
Budget
Starting a project with Sea Pointe Design & Remodel begins with a first meeting for an in-depth conversation about the scope of work, the problems you hope to solve, and any budget you’ve already established. We will involve members of our design team to help provide budget information after early site visits. This collaborative approach helps us better understand the unique issues we need to consider for your project and establish a realistic budget early in the process.
Design Agreement
One of the first steps in the budgeting process is entering into a Design Agreement. This Agreement provides the homeowner with valuable planning and design services while allowing free information flow and cost analysis. Sea Pointe will provide design and working drawings to finalize a budget and contract for the proposed remodel. The design fee covers your Designer’s time during the design process, including reviewing interior floor plans, black-and-white elevations, perspectives, and 3D-colored renderings. Sea Pointe will also provide color and material selection services to help coordinate the materials used for cabinets, counters, walls, and flooring. After completing the preliminary plans, we will draft a proposed cost budget. We will refine this with the homeowner and the designer to reach an acceptable job budget.
Contract
The final step in the budget process is to create the project contract, which includes all specifications and items agreed upon in the Design Agreement phase.
Handling Change Orders
A change order is a written agreement between the client and the general contractor to change a remodeling contract. Change orders add to, delete from, or otherwise alter the work set forth in the contract documents at the time that the construction contract was bid. As the legal means for changing contracts, change orders are standard in the construction industry.
Change orders can arise from code changes, unforeseen conditions, or homeowners wanting to add to or change the remodel project. Sea Pointe Design & Remodel averages a change-order rate of about three to four percent, compared to a national average of 25 percent or more.
A low change order rate like Sea Pointe’s indicates that the company takes the necessary time in the design and research phases to ensure the project meets code requirements and the clients’ needs.