How This Remodeler Stays on Top of His Work

Top Job Value, Full-Service Remodeling
Fischer Construction, Los Angeles
550 Rank: #173

Editor’s Note: This is one of eight profiles honoring outstanding firms on the Remodeling 550. To read the rest of the profiles, click here.

Joel Fischer surrounds himself with his work—literally. The founder and president of Fischer Construction, the No. 173 Full Service remodeler, lives in a neighborhood where he has built or remodeled nearly 25 homes, including the one directly across from his own. “I’d sit in the garage—the office—and I’d say to the guy working on it, ‘Make sure that window is straight,’” he recalls.

His proximity to the projects illustrates Fischer’s ability to build a solid reputation in his own community based on word of mouth, but it also affords him the chance to closely observe the contractors on the jobsite. This approach has worked well for Fischer, who began his company fresh out of college in 1984. A finish carpenter and cabinet maker by trade, his efforts have translated to high-priced projects that average between $500,000 and $750,000, with some residential work reaching upward of $1.4 million.

“For us, the success comes from the management of all of the people and supervisors who watch over all the details and push everybody to do the best work,” Fischer says. “We’re like the movie director and we are controlling all the players, and through our management style we raise up the craftsmanship style of the contractor.”