Our homeowner explains the beginning stages of construction

This is a continuation of our series about working with your remodeling contractor and more specifically, how we work with our clients. Be sure to also read Part 1.

Homeowner Susan Violette had lot to say when she was interviewed about her experiences with Lighthouse. She was so darned nice that I’ll let her tell the story in her own words:

“When it was time to get started on our project,” explained Susan, “I wondered whether there would be a clash of styles or egos having a designer and contractor working together. To my pleasant surprise, David Bengtson was quite comfortable working with the designers and didn’t try to take over their role. Quite simply, David prepped for the cabinet installation and the designer installed them. It was all very professional and congenial.

“David was always thinking ahead. He prepped for the cabinet installation two weeks early in case they came in ahead of schedule. The quote indicated that they would arrive in about 16 weeks but he prepared for them to arrive in 14 weeks, which worked well.

“When it came to subcontractors, every sub was chosen carefully. He vouched for them and we liked the plumber and electrician so well that we have since used them on four other projects. David also helped with buying lighting, plumbing, tile, etc. We didn’t know where to start but David demystified the process by directing us to the right suppliers. His guidance in this process was invaluable.

“Let me give you another example. We decided to expand the size of our pantry which would require building custom doors. David didn’t have a door company to call because it wasn’t a normal size. So he found custom door people and I also looked some up online and sent them to him for his review. It wasn’t a shot in the dark; he made sure we got quality people but he also involved me in the process.

“Meanwhile I had told him what I wanted the pantry doors to look like. I was particular about not wanting the hinges to show so he found hinges that would work in our situation. He was good at listening to me say things like ‘Here’s what I want from an anesthetic and functional point of view,’ and he took it from there and made it happen. He was very patient and he never made me feel like what I was asking for was unreasonable or putting him out. I can envision someone helping me saying, ‘This is good enough, what’s the big deal?’ David never said anything like that.”

We will let Susan continue in our next blog posts, where she will explain about communication and some more specifics about how things went during the construction process. Stay tuned!