Building trust

After three years of home-remodeling projects, Frank and Tami Monkman not only like their contractor, they call him a friend.

The Lake Stevens couple initially hired him to build a back porch. They liked his work and his ability to listen so much they kept hiring him.

Now the couple knows they can sit down at their kitchen table and work through problems.

Their good relationship leaves their contractor more apt to suggest ideas the couple hadn’t thought of, and he has referred them to others in the business who do good, reliable work.

Not all homeowners want to strike up a friendship with their contractor. But the ability to communicate with one can save time, cash and headaches.

While remodeling is ultimately a business transaction, it’s wrapped up in homeowners’ emotions and dreams.

It makes sense to talk with several contractors and to choose someone who understands a customer’s vision of the project, said Tony Lee, a permit services manager for the city of Everett.

“Rapport is very important,” Lee said. “You’re going to be working with this person very closely for a few months to a year. A contractor who understands what you’re talking about is very helpful.”

Lee and his team of inspectors see hang-ups when homeowners and contractors don’t talk about issues such as who will handle cleaning debris, or who will call inspectors and secure permits.

Miscommunication can lead to costly delays, particularly if the homeowner is financing the project with a bank loan, which may be contingent on securing a final inspection by a certain date, Lee said. If that date is missed, expensive penalties can follow.

The conversation starts during the hunt to hire a contractor. It is essential homeowners discuss the quality of materials with a potential contractor as they sort through bids, Lee said.

A homeowner may receive two bids to paint a house and one is significantly lower, he said. The difference might be that one contractor is using paint that costs $4 a gallon and the other’s costs $30. Or both contractors could say they plan to “prep the house” and mean different things.

“Does that mean taping off a few things or power washing the building?” Lee said. “Looking at the price alone doesn’t tell the whole story.”

Most contractors that city inspectors come across do good work, Lee said. But he has seen headaches and heartache ensue when homeowners assume a contractor is going to do something and then doesn’t. It’s better to have a conversation and then get guarantees in writing, he said.

All of that didn’t seem necessary when Lance Swehla first thought about remodeling his kitchen pantry into a washroom. That’s a decision he now regrets.

Swehla, of Everett, and girlfriend Sheri Smith hired a handyman to remodel the room.

Four hundred dollars later, the handyman was gone and the wiring and plumbing didn’t work.

The couple isn’t sure if the handyman knew he made mistakes. It’s hard to know because they didn’t talk much.

He was “not communicative,” said Swehla, who spent $600 to hire an electrician and a plumber to fix the work. “If he ran into difficulties, he should have told us and he didn’t.”

When it came time to hire a contractor to handle a major remodel, Swehla and Smith got pickier after the botched washroom experience.

They wanted demonstrated skills and someone who would talk to them if problems came up.

The couple chose an acquaintance, Dave Shaver, a Granite Falls carpenter with a contractor’s license, whose work they had seen and liked. Shaver specializes in working on older homes, making him a good choice for the couple’s ’50s-era rambler near Forest Park.

He’s working on remodeling a carport and back room into a master bedroom and bathroom suite. Shaver said he makes a point to talk with homeowners about what they want and to talk about problems when they come up.

“That’s important to me,” Swehla said. “I need a comfort level with this person since they’re going to be here everyday. I’d like to have a good rapport.”

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.