A young couple with a child moves into what appears to be the perfect home: slightly older in an established neighborhood with two bedrooms, one bathroom and an economical kitchen.
But in five years time, the family has grown by two children and it appears the perfect home is getting smaller. What`s the couple to do?
Conventional thought would advise that it is time to buy a new home. But in reality, more and more households are turning to remodeling.
In fact, the remodeling industry, nationwide and surpisingly in Du Page County, has overtaken new home construction and does not appear to be slowing. ”In Du Page, for every $3 spent to build a new home, there`s $4 spent to remodel an older one,” noted Homer Lundeberg, managing director of the Chicago-based Professional Remodelers Association of Illinois.
Nationwide, total annual sales for remodeling projects in 1989 is projected to be $82 billion. It could reach $109 billion by 1992, according to figures provided by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
”It`s not all of a sudden,” Lundeberg said. ”Remodeling has been building up because houses keep getting older and the older a house is, the more it needs to be rehandled.”
For some families, an existing house is bought with renovation plans in mind. For others, they simply outgrow the home in which they live but don`t desire to move.
The projects can be as simple as installing a sky light or building a backyard deck to the more complex like adding a bedroom or family room and completely redoing the kitchen.
Kitchens, room additions and patio/decks are the most popular jobs being requested, sources in the industry said. Window bays and octagon shaped rooms also are increasing in popularity. Whirlpool baths and high-tech bathrooms are becoming passe, they said.
Although remodeling is not limited geographically to any one area, in Du Page County it is most likely to be occurring in older communities like Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst, where the homes have existed for as much as 60 to 100 years and vacant land for new development is scarce.
”The average homeowner has enough equity built up in their existing house to be able to do something other than sell,” said Todd Walker, the owner of Walker Construction Co. in Warrenville. ”It`s not cheap to move.”
Walker`s company works about 30 projects a year, with the average job taking seven weeks to compete.
The price tag can be as low as $1,000, but generally is near the average of $50,000, Walker said. More elaborate jobs can cost six figures depending on the project`s scope.
”It starts out the person wants to add a room and winds up remodeling the whole house,” said Paul Avers of Avers Builders in Hinsdale. ”Most of the time, even if you`re doing some kind of addition, there has to be some kind of interior change.”
Ironically, one of the major drawbacks with which remodeling contractors must contend is the homeowner, whose expectations can be unrealistic, according to contractors.
”I`ve had occasion to tell people this is not worth the bother,” Walker said.
”Some people are very eccentric,” Avers said. ”If there`s a way of doing the job, we`ll do it.”
But that is not always the case.
”You have to work within the parameters of the house, architecturally and aesthetically,” Avers said. ”Sometimes I can foresee that they`re not going to like what the think they want.”
One job Avers bid on in Hinsdale (a Civil War era house requiring total interior renovation) was estimated to cost $212,000, well beyond the price of some new homes.
”At that point you just have to ask, Why not knock (the house) down and build a new one,” he said, adding that the owners eventually decided to proceed with remodeling.
Walker said the owners` budgets, more than architectural feasiblility, determines whether most jobs get done. ”Anything is possible if you can afford it,” he said.
As a general rule, though, if the job will add value to the home, should the owners ever decide to sell, then it is probably worth doing, he said.
The impact the improvements will have on the home`s heating-cooling system and plumbing must be taken into account when designing the project, he said.
The homeowner comes into play again when workers are on the job in the middle of construction. The project evolves beyond the original concept as both homeowner and contractor suggest last minute changes.
For the most part, the contractor-owner relationship is a positive one, but it can turn testy, especially when the project gets delayed for one reason or another.
People lose their patience after having to wash dishes and eat in the basement for weeks without end because the kitchen is filled with dust and wood scraps, Walker said.
”When there`s young children that just compounds the problem,” Walker said.
Walker and Avers advised that homeowners have a clearer idea in mind than a simple desire to add space before a job is begun. Most contractors insist that the homeowners hire an architect to do detailed drawings or allow them to subcontract that particular aspect of the project.
Choosing a remodeling contractor is no easy task. As with new home builders, prospective customers should check the company`s reputation with past clients, competitors and agencies like the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Protection Division of the Illinois Attorney General`s Office.
People also should read the contract carefully before signing, obtain estimates from at least three different contractors and secure a sworn statement of the names and addreses of all subcontractors and lien waivers from each of them.
As Walker put it, you do not want to get stuck with the subcontractors`
bills if, after paying the contractor, he stiffs his subs.
”For a person to spend $30,000 to $50,000 on the house and not do those kinds of things is really foolish,” Walker said.
Lundeberg said the Professional Redmodelers Association, with the help of the Attorney General`s Office, established an arbitration board to hear disputes between contractors and clients. The process, while relatively new, has managed to keep many cases from turning to the ever-crowded court system, Lundeberg said.
However popular home remodeling is, it is not likely to replace new home construction completely, Walker said.
”The new houses set the tone for what happens in remodeling,” he said.
