What to look for when picking a home renovation company

By Wendy A. Jordan October 30 at 10:14 AM

Jennifer Villani and her husband, Nick, searched extensively before finding the 1941 Bethesda house that fit their budget and had the potential to meet their remodeling vision. Once they bought the house, Jennifer Villani took the lead on finding the right company to make that vision a reality.

The project they proposed in 2013 was far from simple: They wanted a new kitchen and bathroom on the first floor; renovated bedrooms and bathrooms on the second floor; and a two-story addition with a family room below and a bedroom above.

Nationally, renovations are on the upswing. The National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Market Index based on a survey of remodelers has risen steadily over the past six quarters to an all-time high of 57 this quarter. Anything over 50 shows that remodelers are reporting activity including requests for bids, work assignments for the next three months and backlogs that is higher than in the previous quarter.

But watch any home renovation show and you will quickly see all that can go wrong with a remodeling job: conflicts with contractors, disagreements between spouses on preferences, and termites, mold, faulty wiring or other hidden problems that can send costs spiraling well beyond the budget.

After choosing a contractor and enduring several months of living in a construction zone, Villani and her family settled into their remodeled home in February. She says she has no regrets about either the renovations or the remodeler. The company did a good job, she says, and it stuck to the budget and stayed on schedule except for changes resulting from new decisions that Villani made along the way.

Renovations can be daunting, traumatic and heartbreaking. But like Villani, homeowners can have a relatively drama-free experience and a happy ending.

The right research, planning and preparation on the front end are essential. Heres how she did it:

Design-build or construction firm?

The first step in Villanis decision-making process: researching the types of companies that remodel homes. They are almost as varied as the projects themselves and the homeowners who want work done. Variations are based on project size and scope, the complexity of design and construction, the homeowners budget, the price range of the products that homeowners have in mind, the services the homeowners want and when the project needs to be completed.

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What to look for when picking a home renovation company