It’s finally here- the first day of construction! It won’t be long until you are enjoying your new space!
While construction can be a little stressful, we will do what we can to make the process as pleasant as possible. We have been remodeling homes for over 60 years and have learned that remodeling is more than design and construction. The client experience is critically important to how we gauge the success of a project. This is your home, and it will be treated with care.
As we get started, we could use your help. As discussed at the pre-construction meeting, construction of the project will be more efficient if you take care of a few things before we start:
- Have all personal items removed from the space.
- Tag anything in the space that is to be saved. We don’t want to haul anything away that you were counting on reusing or saving.
- If you haven’t given your Project Manager a key to the house yet, please have one ready. It will be kept in a lockbox.
- If parking permits are required, we will need them on the first day of activity at the house.
- Notify your insurance company that you are doing work. It may effect your coverage or the value of the home.
Now that you have done your part- let’s get started! The exact activities that occur on the first day vary with the work to be done. Big picture- on “single scope” projects like bathrooms or kitchens, there is a pretty good chance that we will start demolition on day one. On larger projects that involve multiple areas or an addition, much of the first day will be spent on protection, layout and planning.
Some of the activities on the first day include:
- Putting a Case sign in your yard.
- Making note of existing conditions: we want to leave the areas that are not to be disturbed in exactly the same condition they were in when we started work. We often take a little time to take some pictures and jot down a few notes.
- If your home was built before 1978, we will be following the EPA mandated guidelines for lead safe work practices.
- A kit will be dropped off that contains a HEPA vacuum and other materials necessary to keep you and anyone working at the site, safe.
- Lots of interior protection materials will be dropped off as well.
- Plastic sheeting to limit dust, floor protection material, air scrubbers, and anything else we need to protect existing finishes or limit disturbance.
- Much of the work on the first day involves getting ready for work to begin. This preparation will vary with the job type, but may include:
- The delivery of a dumpster to contain construction debris until it is removed from the site. The location of the unit should have been discussed at the pre-construction walk through with your Project Manager.
- If site protection is required, it may start on the first day. Examples of this are silt fence to control erosion, snow fence to limit the disturbed area of your yard, or plywood to protect walkways, patios and other horizontal surfaces.
- If practical, dust protection work will begin inside the home. This may include building temporary partition walls to isolate the construction area, installing zipper doors, and sealing up return vents in effected areas.
- If we are adding space to the house, layout or excavation work may begin on the first day.
- Demolition of existing spaces/ finishes may begin on the first day- especially for “single scope” type projects.
While you have worked primarily with a Project Developer and Designer to this point, your primary points of contact during construction will be your Project Manager and Lead Craftsmen. But, your Project Developer and Designer are still involved behind the scenes and only an email or phone call away. You will see them at the job site for the mid-job huddle and probably a few other times too. It is very rewarding to see all of those conversations, ideas, selections, and drawings come together in an actual project.
So that’s your first day. It is time to turn that dream into reality.
