Home Remodeling, Improvements & Renovation Services
Dallas, Fort Worth & Southlake Texas

What If A Contractor Surprised You . . .
What If You Actually Liked Him?

The word "contractor" conjurs the image of a guy too lazy to hoist up his pants sagging under the weight of his tool belt. Even if he weren't robbing you blind with change orders and last minute "unforeseen circumstances," even if he finished the job on time rather than two weeks after you hoped and a month after you begged, if the contractor in your head--the contractor waiting to answer your call on the other side of almost every Yellow Page ad--extended his hand after a job . . . well, done . . . even then, you'd be hard pressed to extend your own hand and shake his. And if you did, you'd hold your hand away from your body like it was a dirtied rag and run to your shower first chance civility allowed.

Contractors have bad reputations. Our industry consistently ranks first or second for the most complaints in the annual Better Business Bureau report. I bet those BBB call takers cringe every time they need a home repair and forego remodeling altogether. They probably just move from house to house rather than add a new room for more space.

Most contractors excuse their behavoir and shoddy workmanship as the "industry standard." In fact, the phrase "industry standard" will be dropped on a typical remodeling jobsite more often than . . . well, the ball itself. A customer once said to me, "The previous contractor we had kept telling us what was industry standard and that it was the best he could do considering what he had to work with."

Just like we came to that customer's rescue, we'll come to yours. Even if you haven't dealt with another contractor yet, believe you me, I'm saving you. I only hire highly skilled, conscientious technicians. They won't smoke on the jobsite. They'll clean up after themselves. They'll even . . . wait for it . . . listen to you. I don't just make these promises here and during the design and sales consultation. I put this promise in writing. All of my employees sign to it and understand exactly what's expected of them.

The best contractor to hire is the one you're comfortable enough to shake hands with. I don't just mean the cleanly guy. I mean the guy you trust and respect because he respects and cares for you and your home.

In Home Remodeling, The Cheap Comes Out Expensive

Now, the big question is: Why shouldn't I get more estimates when everything I hear and read says to get three estimates?" That's a good question. Unfortunately, the home remodeling industry is notorious for scams. Reporters fill the evening news with contractor stings and stories prompting buyers to beware. What else is the media going to conclude other than, "Protect yourself. Get three estimates?" They can't recommend a specific company to their audience.

I am convinced that people do themselves more harm than good when they get several estimates. They start off wanting to compare quality but are quickly sidetracked and seduced into comparing price.

Economists have concluded over and over that it is imposssible for a company to deliver quality, good service, and the lowest price. Notice I said lowest not best price. There is a vast difference between best price and lowest price. The lowest price always sounds good. It's tempting--like the siren's song. However, just like that shipwrecker, the lowest price won't deliver a happy ending. In fact, we surveyed the more than 200 jobs we performed one year and discovered that, if the jobs had been done right the first time by the original remodeler, 58% of the homeowners would not have needed our services. In other words, they paid twice for the job. Many of them thought they were getting the best price. Sadly, they were just low-balled.

Getting back to the estimate issue, there are approximately 200 contractors in our local Yellow Pages. Countless others who do so-called "quality work" are not even listed there. You find them on flyers stapled to light poles and on cardboard signs stuck at intersection medians. The odds of getting three reputable contractors are extremely slim, and more importantly, the low-baller you do find just makes you distrust whichever reputable company you had the good fortune to find.

Let me share a story with you. This is perhaps the most extreme example from my years in remodeling, but it is nonetheless true. My church deacon referred a woman to me who had just returned from 37 years of missionary work. She'd retired and had inherited an old house that had structural damage. I gave her an estimate for $10,000 plus any plaster repairs that would be needed on the interior after our underpinning and jacking was done. She didn't give me an answer right then but agreed to give me one in two days. When I called her back, she was short with me and informed me that she had received another estimate for $100. (That's not a typo. Her second estimate beat mine by $9,900.) She was sure I had tried to rip her off.

"You certainly don't have to get me to do the work," I told her, "but please don't pay that other guy $100. All he could do for $100 is go under your house, smoke some cigarettes, come out a few hours later, and say he's done. Save your $100."

Luckily, her son was an engineer. I spent a great deal of time fighting for this woman's $100. Mind you, I wasn't even trying to get the job for myself. However, by explaining to her son step by step what needed to be done to make her home safe in order to explain how a $100 estimate was a most definately a scam, we got the job.

Alright, maybe you wouldn't have been fooled with such a large disparity between the estimates, but the same mentality the woman had tricks homeowners everyday into going with the $7500 rather than $9500 estimate. They're lulled into the poor decision by being smart shoppers even though the only thing they cut cost on was quality.

Rather than collect estimate after estimate for a remodeling job, go with someone you feel comfortable with, someone you can trust, someone who is reputable. Hopefully, you will find that to be us. We're never going to be the cheapest. If we are, I made a mistake. Talk to any of our past customers and they'll tell you that Your Construction Source is expensive but good, that we're expensive but always deliver exactly what they wanted.

As long as the customers keep calling us back, we won't change. If you want other estimates, have at them. As long as you have mine, though, you have the best.

We're The Best . . . But Don't Just Take Our Word For It

Read what the happy customers in your area have to say about hiring Your Construction Source. They're filling our mailboxes and even writing in to Angie's List. We couldn't write better press or marketing than our satisfied customers, so we thought we would just shut up and share their words.

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Dear Roy,

A direct result of previous bad experiences, we were somewhat hesitant to retain anyone to perform work on our house, however, when it became clear we could not replace guttering and repaint without help, we reluctantly called for quotes.

Your company, your employees and yourself have managed to change this preconceived idea to a positive experience and we really are "THRILLED" as promised.

Some of the things which impressed us most:

• Written proposal and presentation
• Work completed on time and when it was promised
• No mess and excellent clean up
• Polite and professional workforce
• Excellent follow up by yourself and the Project Coordinator (Steve)
• Questions answered
• Attention to detail
• Quality of finished product

Our newly painted house and replacement gutter have been admired by family and neighbors, in addition to a number of tradesmen.

The bottom line is we would have no hesitaion in recommending Your Construction Source to others and are happy to present this testimonial regarding our personal experince. Thank you, Roy, for everything. Be assured we will be calling you again in the near future.

Best Regards,

Berni and John Gillon
Grapevine, Texas

* * *

Dear Roy:

Since completion of the remodeling done on our kitchen and game room, we have been enoying the new look. This letter is to let you know how thrilled we are with the finished workmanship and overall appearance.

Your staff, particularly Mike Detwiler, Director of Operations, and Kenneth Grantham, Lead Carpenter, is to be commended on their professionalism and willingness to help get the job done. Mike did a superb job of coordinating the subcontractors during each step of the project which included granite countertops, installation of 2 sinks, a new stovetop and ventilation fan, panting of the cabinets with an antique glaze finish, new cabinet pulls and handles, painting of walls and ceiling in kitchen, painting doors with new doorknobs and hinges, addition of lighting under the cabinets, installation of recessed ceiling lighting, installation of 2 ceiling fans, installation of many electric switches and receptacles and installation of a new microwave oven. His ability and desire to make the customer satisfied smoothed the bumps that occurred along the way. Kenneth Grantham was also an asset to completing any jobs that needed to be done. The finsihed look is awesome and just what we wanted.

We have recommended you to others and are looking forward to doing business with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Philip E. and Mary Ann Pooley
Southlake, Texas

cc: Angie's List

* * *

Roy,

Despite the fact that you set us up with what I thought to be very high expectations, you and your crew still managed to exceed all of those expectations on several levels.

Overall Project Expectation - Our decision to replace all of our windows was driven mostly by: a large number of fogged windows; several windows that were difficult to open (either because the seals were broken or due to minor shifting/settling/aging); and compared to other planned home improvements, this was the only choice that would begin paying for itself immediately. You told us that replacment windows versus replacing just the glass, would significantly improve the looks of our home, but that was not a factor for us, as it seemed like subjective marketing language at the time.

Reality - The new windows look so good from the inside that we now leave the blinds wide open, bringing more of the outside in, and making the landscaping fel like part of the inside atmosphere. The inside of the house looks 10 years newer.

Expectation - The floor in our master bath has always been cold in winter. That room is over the porté cochére, so we thought we needed to add insulation in the floor when it is time to replace the carpet.

Reality - After replacing just two of the three windows in the bathroom, we walked in and were surprised that the floor was warm! As more windows were replaced in the days that followed, we became more aware of the draft in rooms with the old windows. We'd never thought of our home as being drafty, but now we realize how much it was. Now that the project is complete, the entire house has a different feel to it.

Expectation for Professionalism and Cleanliness - You told us the crew would lay tarps inside and out, and we envisioned living in a construction zone for the week, as we've seen with other homes in the neighborhood. As the project began (right on schedule), we realized that we'd previously scheduled an event in our home immediately after the first day of work. Rather than reschedule either side, we decided to ask guests to understand that we have some construction going on for a week.

Reality - We were surprised that before they left evryday at 5:30, they picked it all up and carried it off until the next morning. When I returned home from work the first night, I thought maybe they hadn't shown up until I noticed the new windows that were installed that day. When our guests arrived a few minutes later, they had no idea that a crew had been working there all day! Except for a little dust and the smell of the sealant drying, there was no evidence that the crew had even shown up that day.

Timeliness Expectation - Although the project started on time, the crew ran into two significant roadblocks that slowed progress the first day. We hoped they'd not finish too far behind schedule, as we were due to leave town for the holidays.

Reality - They finished ahead of time, without any signs of rushing or cutting corners.

Roy, it was a pleasure working with you and your team, and we look forward to having back for the other home improvement projects we have planned.

Sincerely,

Marty and Tia Metzger
Grapevine, Texas

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Think that's all our customers have to say? Wrong. Visit our Testimonials Page to read more.

THRILLED!
That's How We Leave Our Clients!

How Do We Do It?

1. YOU get a detailed, WRITTEN PROPOSAL and a GUARANTEED PRICE.
   
   


2. WE handle all phases of YOUR project from CONCEPTION TO COMPLETION.
   



3. YOU receive a WRITTEN TWO YEAR WORKMANSHIP GUARANTEE.
   
   


4. YOU receive a CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE before WE start.
   
   


5. 24 YEARS of experience and over 950 HOMES in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area means YOUR PROJECT IS DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
   
   


6. WE complete jobs promptly without sacrificing QUALITY, and WE leave YOUR home SPOTLESS.
   

I believe you will be so THRILLED wth the way your project turns out, start to finish, that you'll insist on referring Your Construction Source to all of your friends and neighbors. If you're not pleased with any facet of your project, not only will I immediately service your request until you are completely satsifed . . . I will pay you $200 cash for your inconvenience.

-Roy Lange