ABOVE THE FRAY
What sorts of things can go wrong? On one of the houses he built in the Oakland Firestorm aftermath, Winans worked with a framer who included in his estimate labor for marking where the framing metal should go, and a foundation contractor who included in his estimate the labor for setting it. Neither contractor figured in the cost of the hardware itself, however, and you need not have been in the industry long to know who ended up paying for it.
Unfamiliarity with trade contractors is one reason why Jay Riordan didn’t build houses after the 2003 fires and won’t after this year’s. Riordan, president of Dream Design Builders, in San Diego, says it’s taken him up to 10 years to find good, reliable companies in some of the trades. “I’m not going to tarnish my good reputation trying to find a good framer on a custom home.”
Riordan does, however, need to keep that good reputation by steering homeowners looking for his help to companies who are better-suited to serve them. He spent considerable time during and immediately following the fires speaking with home builders and insurance restoration companies, asking them about their processes and costs. He even spoke to some of those companies’ post-Cedar Fire clients as references. “I want to help, but I’m not doing anyone a service if I’m eating up their insurance money because I’m not set up to build new homes.”
In 2003, Jackson pledged to stay above the rebuilding fray. “I said, ‘I have a decent remodeling business right now. I’m going to concentrate on remodeling the heck out of everything.’” While many of his competitors were concentrating on new rebuild business, Jackson fortified his business by scooping up remodeling projects.
While he plans to rebuild for the company spokesman who lost his house in the fire, and while he says he’s OK if the company ends up with a couple more new-home projects, Jackson is once again sticking to the plan of concentrating on remodeling.
It’s already paid dividends. Jackson Design & Remodeling had four measurements scheduled for the week the fires were contained. After being closed that Monday and Tuesday due to the fires, the company kept those appointments, and had three committed customers by the end of the week. “They didn’t want to be left behind,” Jackson says. “They wanted to get locked in before the good contractors get busy.”