Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live

Author: J. Jerrald Hayes; Published: Apr 29, 2009; Category: Business Philosophy, Methods of Work, Planning & Organizing; Tags: None; No Comments

Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live while the title for latest book from the talented and renowned architect by Sarah Susanka is also one of project specialties and part of the way we think here at Paradigm Projects.

Many of us first took notice of Sarah Susanka ten years ago with the release of her now seminal book The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live and saw it spark a movement in a direction away from the over-sized ‘McMansion’ direction that so many builders anxious to make money selling square feet over quality were pushing on the market in the late nineties and the first part of this century.

With the downturn of the housing market in 2008 a lot of people find themselves now thinking of remodeling rather than buying or building expansive new homes.

Sarah Susanka is famous for having said “build better, not bigger” and while we have longed believed in that sentiment that thinking is particularly relevant today and looking ahead into the future.

The book is packed with ideas and inspiration that can help the homeowner in identifying the small things we can do that deliver the greatest bang for the buck and have the most visual and aesthetic impact.

"It is my fervent hope that you’ll discover that the house of your dreams is actually hiding right where you live today." — Sarah Susanka, Not So Big Remodeling

Susanka is the author of eight books that collectively evoke the “not so big” approach.

Some Thoughts and Common Wisdom Regarding: ‘Going With the Low Bid’

Author: J. Jerrald Hayes; Published: Apr 21, 2007; Category: Business Philosophy, Estimates, Working With a Contractor; Tags: None; No Comments

“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money—that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do … If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
— John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Collect bids until you find contractor (not a bid!) you like!
— Author Unknown

The Remodeling Bill of Rights for Client & Contractor

Author: J. Jerrald Hayes; Published: Apr 12, 2007; Category: Business Philosophy, Working With a Contractor; Tags: None; No Comments

Contractors are entitled to:

• Know what the budget range is up front
• A complete project profile
• A written contract
• Have their time valued – client delays cost contractors money
• Prompt payment
• Manage the process without being micro-managed
• Make up for their mistakes
• Be paid for consultative work or ideas
• Be told when they are out of the running for a job

Clients are entitled to:

• Good estimates
• Honest, constant communication
• A written contract
• Immediate notification of delays, problems, and extra expenses
• Pay only for work authorized
• Audit hours if paying by the hour
• Honest feedback regarding the progress of their project