From Vision to Oasis Advancing the Craft of Bathroom Transformation - Episode 53

Unlock the blueprint to thrive as a bathroom remodeling contractor, with an exclusive episode that dives headfirst into the significance of forging robust relationships across the industry. We lay bare the essentials, from client rapport to strategic partnerships with suppliers, vendors, and various professionals like interior designers and real estate agents. As your guide, I share indispensable advice on maintaining a high standard of work even amidst the chaos of heavy-duty remodels, revealing the impact of meticulous site preparation—think dust control and AC unit considerations—on your business's bottom line and reputation.

Joining us is Courtney, a beacon of expertise in bathroom aesthetics, who illuminates the allure of handcrafted Zellige tiles and the art of blending luxury with practicality in 'spathroom' designs. We navigate the currents of bathroom remodeling, where eco-conscious choices meet innovations like smart technology, inviting you to visualize the transformation of ordinary spaces into rejuvenating sanctuaries. Listen closely as we dissect the transformative power of strategic lighting and design trends that not only revamp your space but enrich your lifestyle, all while keeping an eye on the future of sustainable and accessible living.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. Let's go. Welcome everybody to the Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. My name is Chris Kirby and I'll be your host. I am the owner of three construction companies on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The show is about residential construction. We're going to cover topics of homebuilding and remodeling. Are you thinking of doing a remodel or building a home? Are you a contractor looking to improve your knowledge base or grow your business? Have you ever done a remodel project or built a home? There were so many things you wish you knew or that you could have done differently during the process. Then this show is for you. We break down the process of building and remodeling and how to have the best results during your project. Whether you are a DIYer looking for tips, someone looking to hire a contractor to do a project, or a contractor looking to expand your knowledge base or your business, welcome aboard. Glad to have you. Stay tuned. We kick off the show with my thoughts on homebuilding and remodeling. I'll share best practices and talk about some of our experiences in business and out in the field. These shared thoughts and lessons learned are meant to help you on your very own journey.

Speaker 1: 1:26

Let's go. Number one client. Number two suppliers and vendors. Number three, sub-contractors, and we'll move on to number four. Number four is industry contacts and professionals.

Speaker 1: 1:40

Networking is a big part of becoming or being a successful bathroom remodeling contractor. Yes, the first two subcontractor and the vendor and supplier those are also industry contacts, but they're ancillary contacts, such as a home loan specialist, like a mortgage banker. If there's a new construction project and they're needing a contractor to build them a home, they're needing a contractor to remodel a bathroom. Sometimes they're gonna take out a home loan or a home line of credit to do the bigger remodeling projects and you're going to have to be and touch and know some of those home loan specialists and tier designers. They are your best friend when it comes to being a contractor. But specifically, interior designers, who are product specialists in the kitchen and bath industry, are going to be a huge benefit to you, because the last thing you want to do as a remodeling contractor is make selections and be liable for those selections that you made. So having an interior designer on the project or actually talking the client into hiring your friend or your contact who is an interior designer is a big help for you, because the last thing that you want to do is be liable for selections. And then you install this beautiful bathroom and the vision isn't quite what the client wanted it to be. And then sometimes they could get angry at you. Well, you told me this material was good, you selected this, you made that paint color, you made this XYZ choice, and interior designer is going to take the time to talk them through that Home.

Speaker 1: 3:35

Loan specialists, interior designers, real estate agents. A lot of times when real estate agents are buying or selling or helping their client, they may need stuff done. And then when it's on a major scale right, not the minor stuff, home inspection type stuff but when it's on a major scale, when they're doing a helping a client flip a home or they're helping a client sell up a very much outdated home, their suggestion may be to remodel the bathroom. Or on the flip side not on the sale side but on the buy side the agent may say, hey, listen, let's get the home for a good price and then you can remodel it to the way you want. And a lot of times the master bath or bathrooms in general are a big part of the part of the home that they want to make their own and it is. It is really key to have a good real estate agent that will refer to you and ask you hey, come check this place out. Let my client know how much it'll cost to do the bathroom the way they want, and sometimes that helps an agent close a deal.

Speaker 1: 4:41

We'll dig more into the industry relationships you need to maintain as far as industry contacts. We're gonna dive deeper on the next episode into that one, but just know it is a part of the four key relationships you need to maintain to be a good or great Bathroom remodeling contractor. Number one the client relationship is always number one. Number two suppliers and vendors. Number three subcontractors. Number four is industry contacts. Networking is key. All right, until next time I will jump on the next list, which is your 10 industry contacts that you need to maintain a healthy relationship with that are good for business If you're a bathroom remodeling contractor. And now we move into shop talk. It's the portion of the show where I bring in a co-host and we cover trending topics in home building and remodeling. Hope you enjoy. Let's go. It's gonna get into the vents and it's gonna blow dust, so you have to make sure that you're prepping and that you're covering that stuff properly.

Speaker 2: 5:51

Yeah, and especially if you're doing a larger job with a lot of sheet rock and a remodel of like a full you know, if you're gutting multiple rooms and doing a, you wanna shut down the AC unit because you don't wanna you don't wanna just do a special you don't wanna be a fool.

Speaker 1: 6:09

Well, not only that, but you know you can ruin people's stuff. So if you get enough dust and those things and it's blowing out everywhere, a, you're gonna be paying to clean multiple times Because that sheet rock I'm telling you, the sheet rock dust never is just one clean and done. You know what I mean. So containing that is a must. I can't emphasize it enough. But we go in there and we do, we you good.

Speaker 2: 6:35

Hold on, let's see how far this place is.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Might have to go and we'll pick it up. It ain't no big deal Going to Rochester.

Speaker 2: 6:42

Yeah, I got nine minutes.

Speaker 1: 6:45

All right, we'll do five, All right, and then we'll wrap it up, All right. So you, you know, like I said, you've made sure that you've done your drywall patching and prepping. So that means moving your fixtures, All right. If there's light moves and everything where the you know, you're gonna cut out for new lights and patch the old holes. You're getting all that stuff done before you put your floors down out of the main bathroom. Okay, we do that part now. Are you bringing in vanities at this point, or what are you doing?

Speaker 2: 7:16

So after the flooring's done we usually bring in the vanities. We get them installed so we can run the trim, because a lot of times you want your vanity in place before you're running your trim. Yeah, now if you get like a furniture style vanity that has like feet and stuff on it and many yeah. I mean, but for the most part most people use boxes, so we run trim to the boxes, yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:41

So you've got that in, you've got that in place, and but you may not have to countertop or if it's a, if it's a.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Usually the furniture vanities are all one piece, but If the vanity's set the countertop, the storm company can come. Template.

Speaker 1: 7:56

Yep, I mean they do a template, they get the material, they cut it. They're gonna come back in a couple of weeks put it in. Okay, hopefully, yeah depends, hopefully you've planned right. Optimally, you want to plan to where you're able to get those counters, I mean those cabinets, put in place to get that template.

Speaker 2: 8:14

So we usually have set out schedule day to day. Where our guys have to have to Certain milestones? Yeah, because you know those people work on a schedule too, so we have to. Our schedules have to align right. We're not getting all up by anything, yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Well, and that's all sub. For us it's sub work besides our electrician. Now you know that's in house but we're dependent on the plumber to come. Usually for us it depends on the size of the home. But you know, demi only takes us a day Right, especially in the bathroom. We get everything out of there the next day. We want the plumber to come in If the electrician's going to be doing moves. We want the rough end to start as soon as possible. Okay.

Speaker 2: 8:57

We can put it back together until the rough end's done. So we're usually we got the plumber on hook for either that. Day after we start Day after, or a couple, most of the times. We try that even. You know what I mean, because the first thing we can do is tear out the old showers and tubs and have this home in, have it still, and they're working as well.

Speaker 1: 9:18

So once they put in the vanity countertops, go in. Sometimes they have the sink, sometimes not.

Speaker 2: 9:23

Right. Then, after the top goes on with the sink, plumber comes and do, does his full, trim out.

Speaker 1: 9:30

And that's when which consists of hooking up your sinks and your faucets, installing faucets, hooking up the sinks, the toilet Okay, they're going to do the trim out in the shower, right, they're putting in the trim kit, right Of what else, with the plumber, and then the electricians gonna come in too right, right around the same, all kind of back to back behind each other.

Speaker 2: 9:52

I think the lights, and they're not fans of being in on top of each other.

Speaker 1: 9:56

I know, I know kind of work. Yeah. And then I mean so do you do the paint before the fixtures are in, or do you do it after it's paint?

Speaker 2: 10:06

All right, the end so if he's got everything roughed in where it's gonna go, I'd like to go ahead and paint and then we do touch ups afterwards.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Yeah that way, you know, I mean, it's these pain be so really it's and it's not necessarily always final paint, because you're gonna have some sort of a punchless to do, but You're gonna get all the fixtures set, the electricians gonna put their fixtures in, and then you're gonna, you're gonna prom, you're gonna get a prom coat or a first coat on right, alright, and once everything's finalized, do you final coat. And then what do do?

Speaker 2: 10:42

a punch list usually after Pain's done, we were moving to like accessories, like mirror.

Speaker 1: 10:51

Oh, you got your mirror.

Speaker 2: 10:52

All the paper holders towel, rods, all that kind of Fun stuff. Okay and then after that we leave them. You know pretty much punch list and have them go through.

Speaker 1: 11:04

It's not too bad. Yeah, if we get the order, you know, if we do things in order, you know, like we're supposed to, the phases are in order and they fall out how they're supposed to in a perfect world, then we've punched it so hard already. Yeah, that's, they don't really need to do my typical bathroom remodel.

Speaker 2: 11:25

The customer lives there, so every morning you have a punch list. Yeah, he's been there after you left more or less the question right.

Speaker 1: 11:34

Some of them are just a swizz of duty.

Speaker 2: 11:36

They want to know as long as you're Handling the day-to-day stuff with a customer At the end, you already know what he was looking for.

Speaker 1: 11:44

I'm sorry, yeah yeah, and then you know, and so usually just so.

Speaker 2: 11:49

Sign the punch list and and we're done.

Speaker 1: 11:52

Okay, well, we'll pick up another conversation. And where we're talking about the number ending punch list, we're talking about the YouTube warriors, where the clients are. You know they're every day. Before they got this remodel done, they went on YouTube and they started watching videos. So they're asking questions about product, they're asking questions about process. They're asking questions, just load. You know most of the people.

Speaker 2: 12:19

Go to estimates now. They already know they bring it up that they watch a lot of DIY Videos yes, they haven't.

Speaker 1: 12:28

Well, now, while we try to put out, we put out our own DIY and we try to educate them, because it's not gonna go smooth or it's not gonna go perfect and there's a profit, there's different, probably all wanted to go.

Speaker 2: 12:40

Yeah, we don't want it to. Everybody wants to go smooth and it'd be perfect. But yeah, I mean running the problems Construction gym. Yeah it's just working through it and that's right, all right.

Speaker 1: 12:54

Well, I'm gonna let you go, man. I know you got an estimate to do and we'll highlight you next time. Now we're gonna move into the portion of the show where we talk interior design. We're gonna bring in an interior designer and we're gonna talk trending design and products. Hope you enjoy. Let's go With sustainable materials as well.

Speaker 3: 13:18

Correct. I mean, we even found that out with lighting, changing out your lighting.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Yes, yes.

Speaker 3: 13:22

That has you involved too, the stein.

Speaker 1: 13:24

Right, right, and this does affect your power bill. I mean moving forward that when you're on a fixed income and you're aging in place, every little thing helps. So something as simple as sustainability and design helps with that carbon footprint which reduces your bills and people don't again. The West Coast has embraced it and it's moving this way, and I actually am a certified green builder, so I learned a lot about it. Now, have we built a green home yet? No, we haven't. I mean, but right there you go, but it is coming, and it's not just about the eco-friendly part of it, but these sustainable materials are really directly affecting your bottom line. Yes, at home. Yes, with your budget 100%.

Speaker 1: 14:15

Awesome Okay.

Speaker 3: 14:16

So sustainability, hand-formed, is becoming a largely popular tile specifically.

Speaker 1: 14:24

Okay.

Speaker 3: 14:24

So the idea of being an artisan is getting back to the market. People no longer want what's mass produced, what everybody has Green. The Zellage tile has really hit the market hard, and Zellage traditionally comes out of Morocco. It's a clay. Every piece is hand-formed Really Every piece. So no two are gonna be alike in the true edge. Which is called like ongelated or hand-formed Just means kind of wavy, but also even the coloring is never going to be the exact.

Speaker 1: 14:54

So then okay, in that case, for us you really need a client who wants that and understands it right and braces yeah, because which I love even sometimes when we're dealing with the mosaics or the stone, they don't match perfectly, and then that's what it's supposed to be, but it takes somebody who understands that right.

Speaker 3: 15:15

A designer to convey that to you. It is one of those other things where, if you go into a showroom and you've got a 12 by 24 inch sample sitting there that has a really pretty light gray bloom through it, you're like, oh gosh, I love that tile. Well, guess what? That tile is actually a V5 variance, meaning not every tile looks the same. Well, that really pretty light bloom, there's a ton in there that have a really dark, heavy, saturated gray and you're like that's not what I expected.

Speaker 1: 15:41

Yeah, and you know what that also is, that I've noticed that with countertops too, where you can get your veining is different, the color variation is different, things like that, and so you can end up you really gotta know and it's your job. Yeah, have a guy.

Speaker 3: 15:59

Let me be your spiritual designer.

Speaker 1: 16:01

I will be your designer. There you go, I'll cue through this.

Speaker 2: 16:03

I love that.

Speaker 3: 16:04

It's about knowing, having somebody who's knowledgeable in what they do, which I truly believe. If you're gonna be giving people advice, you need to be able to speak on that advice, not just speak.

Speaker 1: 16:14

That's right.

Speaker 3: 16:15

Yeah, and not to deviate it with the object.

Speaker 1: 16:18

But no, honestly, let's talk about cost. For that, though, I would imagine it has to cost more than traditional box top. Okay, okay, and you know, I mean handcrafted right Is what handcrafted anything, anything Should cost more Should. Okay.

Speaker 3: 16:37

And, if you think about it, when people talk about gifts made from the heart are more than something bought off of a shell.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Absolutely.

Speaker 3: 16:45

And the same thing when it comes to artisans out there. I would never wanna take somebody's hard work, their craft and say, well, hold on, they have something that looks like that at Lowe's.

Speaker 1: 16:55

Yeah, buy it in bulk.

Speaker 3: 16:56

Well, lowe's had a machine that tried to replicate what took me years to actually learn how to do and inspect. So yeah, it does take somebody who understands and really embraces that idea of. I know where this came from. There was a guy and his son and his wife all making this over in Morocco. Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 17:13

You know I love the story behind that. Yeah, okay, awesome, okay. So handcrafted got it.

Speaker 3: 17:19

Hand formed, handcrafted. Where are we at next? I have spa features, but then I also have spathrooms, so they are kind of two different things.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Okay, so a spa-like bathroom, spa features. And what did you say?

Speaker 3: 17:38

Spathrooms, so it's a spa-bathroom. So, spa-like features, different from like a spathroom. So spa-like features are where people are going from that regular shower head and now they're doing the rain head with the really cool wands that come off. And if you've looked at some of Delta's new products, they have some amazing wands out there that are actually designed where, at the very end of that wand, if you're used to looking at a shower and there's nothing on the top right.

Speaker 1: 18:04

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 18:04

Well, now there's actually a nozzle that you can spray down your shower with afterwards to remove all the soap and all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1: 18:12

Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 3: 18:13

So it actually helps you clean your shower and yourself.

Speaker 1: 18:15

There you go, brilliant Awesome.

Speaker 3: 18:18

So spa features, then spathrooms.

Speaker 1: 18:20

Okay.

Speaker 3: 18:20

Spathrooms is where you get those people who are like this is my sanctuary.

Speaker 1: 18:24

True, yes, this is my place. They're lighting the candles with the bubble bath and relaxing and doing the stuff.

Speaker 3: 18:30

What did you say about 20 years?

Speaker 1: 18:32

Oh so fun fact the average person in their lifetime spends 1.5 years a year and a half in the bathroom. I wanna know about an year and a half.

Speaker 3: 18:44

I do wanna know, though, what that lifetime is dependent on. Are we? Is this an 80 year old? Yeah, 90 year old, true.

Speaker 1: 18:52

I guess they're taking the average age, which is like 78, I don't know. Yes, a year and a half. Can you just imagine a year and a half of your lifetime of spitting your bath?

Speaker 3: 19:02

If it's in a spathroom, yes.

Speaker 1: 19:04

Absolutely.

Speaker 3: 19:05

I got a picture. So spathrooms deviating away from just like shower heads. You have your spa showers, your sauna showers, your steam showers. I'm actually doing for one of our clients. It's over in Orange Beach. His shower is also going to be a sauna.

Speaker 1: 19:22

Yes, and we've done that. We did it over in Mobile where we had. It was huge, it was probably, I think it was a nine foot wide shower, they had double heads, they had diverters, they had the steam shower and in the center they had the rain head. I mean a bench along the back wall, like it really was something.

Speaker 3: 19:42

That's where you're elevating to your spathroom, not just spa features, but again that's coming down to us focusing more on our wellbeing and our health. So soaking tubs actually can be considered a spathroom feature. The saunas, the steam rooms, the shower heads, also smart technology bathrooms. That's getting really big as well. People don't want to have to reach into their shower, turn it on or get the spa settings. They actually are getting panels put into their walls.

Speaker 1: 20:12

Yes, we've put in some panels In that same bathroom. Actually, we did put in a panel.

Speaker 3: 20:16

Well, that way you can set it, get it ready, it does its thing, and then you're just ready to go in and enjoy your spathroom.

Speaker 1: 20:21

Now, what about the vanity areas of these? Is there different lighting? Is there?

Speaker 3: 20:27

Under cabinet lighting.

Speaker 1: 20:28

Okay.

Speaker 3: 20:29

That's normal for kitchens. Nowadays it's called toe kick lighting.

Speaker 1: 20:32

Yep.

Speaker 3: 20:33

So a lot of cabinetry now for these spathrooms. You're adding in that really nice kind of soft ambient lighting. That way if you're soaking in the tub you don't have these harsh overhead light. It's a soft, calming kind of atmosphere, gotcha.

Speaker 1: 20:46

Okay, so spathroom. You heard it here first. Maybe it's out there, I don't know. I heard it here first from Courtney.

Speaker 3: 20:53

I'm not just thinking of words. They promise.

Speaker 1: 20:55

Yeah, absolutely All right, so we're gonna go one through 10, all the way down.

Speaker 3: 21:01

I did not have these in all.

Speaker 1: 21:04

All right, let's go.

Speaker 3: 21:05

Okay, warm and cool towns Got it. We touched on that one Color.

Speaker 1: 21:10

Got it.

Speaker 3: 21:11

Mixed metals.

Speaker 1: 21:13

Mixed metals got it.

Speaker 3: 21:15

What do we do next? Aging in place?

Speaker 1: 21:17

Aging in place. Aging in place yes.

Speaker 3: 21:19

Sustainability.

Speaker 1: 21:20

Sustainability.

Speaker 3: 21:22

Large format.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Large format.

Speaker 3: 21:24

Hand formed.

Speaker 1: 21:25

Hand formed.

Speaker 3: 21:26

Where we at next Spa features.

Speaker 1: 21:28

Spa features.

Speaker 3: 21:29

Yes, and then spathrooms, Spathrooms. We got them all.

Speaker 1: 21:33

I was only not.

Speaker 3: 21:34

Oh was.

Speaker 1: 21:37

You led or did you do lighting, Lighting you didn't say lighting.

Speaker 3: 21:40

Don't forget.

Speaker 1: 21:40

And lighting and lighting, All right perfect.

Speaker 3: 21:43

That is, we can count.

Speaker 1: 21:45

That's right, okay, so thank you, courtney, as always, for coming and joining us and talking about bathroom remodels. I'm sure throughout the month we're gonna do another session and get some more ideas for design trends, things that are trending and how to update your bathroom to revolutionize your home. Thanks for joining us today. As always, we are grateful for our listeners and your continued support. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on social media via Facebook, instagram and TikTok. Get more info at our website, wwwthethombuildingshowcom, and, as always, remember who we are the home building and remodeling show.