|
Lacamas Life Magazine
Clark County -
There's No Place Like Home Clark County is busting its seams and it’s easy to understand why. At 656.6 square miles, it offers 40 miles of Columbia River frontage, urban living, parks, farmland, fishing, hunting, swimming, and…well, you name it. Easy access to the Portland Airport and Interstates 5 and 205 make it even more accessible, and thus, appealing. We are now rated the fifth most populous county in Washington State, and people are still moving in. Some of these new residents are arriving with architectural plans for their dream home either tucked neatly into a rear pocket, or still sketching itself out in their imagination. Moving to a new area can be exciting and challenging. Add building a home to that and a whole host of questions and potential problems can cloud the horizon. It’s important to know how to find a reputable builder to assist you in your project. The Building Industry Association is one avenue that can be explored. This trade association is for the purpose of promoting and protecting the building industry and has a membership list that can be found on their web site. Although they do not make recommendations, they do provide a means for accessing names of people in the industry. Once those names are in your hand, however, the most important thing to do is your homework (Yep, just like when you were a kid.) Even in the best of situations, building is fraught with potential problems. Knowing that your builder is reputable and trustworthy will make the experience of creating your future home as stress free as possible. Steve Strong, of Strong Construction, is a native of Clark County and began working in the construction business in 1979. He emphasizes the importance of researching your contractor of choice thoroughly, noting that many problems occur precisely because individuals, eager to start work on their dream home, don’t take the time to check credibility. And that although our County is growing, we are still small enough to benefit from that tried and true resource: word of mouth. The old grapevine is alive and healthy in the construction business. And apparently, lumberyards are a good place to start. Construction horror stories and disreputable behavior quickly trickle into this particular tributary of the industry. What’s commonly referred to as ‘counter top talk’, will often shed light on whether a contractor is highly regarded or not, and whether he’s busy (always a good indicator). Another option is to check their financials; and always ask for a list of referrals. Then, make sure you contact those referrals to determine whether the project went smoothly. Steve Strong often gets calls asking him to help finish a job that ran into trouble. And although it can become costly and time consuming to try and fix construction problems, the bigger issue is the loss of trust in your builder. Take the time and do the research, it will pay off in the long run. After you’ve narrowed your choices down, spend some time discussing your plans in detail to determine whether or not your potential builder and you communicate well. “Communication is a key point,” says Mr. Strong, “because the builder has to be able to create the dream that’s in your mind.” If you end up butting heads due to communication problems you should keep researching other contractors. Building a home is a complicated process that requires a lot of planning in advance to insure a successful outcome. Once you’ve got these particular ducks in a row and you’ve contracted with your builder of choice, make your material selections as soon as possible. Indecision on items such as paint color, cabinet choices, tile or granite, or flooring can hold a project up and create unnecessary delays if they are held back too long. Once items are decided upon and ordered there can always be delays in shipping, or materials can arrive damaged. The more you can decide in advance, the better off you’ll be should you run into problems that are out of your control. It’s also important to know where you want to put the bulk of your money. Do you care more about having a great kitchen with all the latest appliances, or would you rather spend more on roofing materials. Maybe you’d like a media room, or an outside entertainment area. Go over all the possibilities with your contractor in detail and decide as much as you can before the project starts. Once building begins indecision can cause delays. And delays cost money. And always, always remember: once the project starts, changing your mind mid stream is like causing a train wreck. Stopping to alter established plans sets up a sequence that involves subcontractor scheduling, reordering of materials, and a host of other items that can all too quickly spiral out of control. It’s your contractor’s responsibility to manage all aspects of the project, thus it’s important that he have excellent subcontractors that he can trust. If you’ve done your research and chosen well you should be assured of that. But remember that problems can arise on all jobs; it’s just the nature of the game. A good contractor will be far sighted enough to get his project organized as much as possible before breaking ground, knowing that once started, it falls on his shoulders to navigate any disturbances along the way. Whether you are doing a remodel or building your dream home, scheduling is vital. So do your homework. Building a home is an exciting adventure, and with some thoughtful consideration it can be an experience you’ll enjoy, and one that will stay with you for a lifetime. Building Industry Association
|