It’s April Fools Day. I had a trick played on me today that was prompted by my own foolishness. About ten days ago I went to a prospective clients home to meet with them about a lower level finish. We talked for awhile and I did my best to listen to their wants, needs and desires. They were very interested in a ballpark figure and I explained to them that it was very difficult to pin down a dollar amount for any remodeling project but it should be between forty and fifty; depending on the wet bar which was his desire, not hers.
It was a basic lower level finish with a full bath, wet bar and finished oak stairs. The bath was already roughed in and everything was clean and dry so I was pretty comfortable with my “ballpark” figure.
After spending many hours drawing and estimating we arrived at a price of $48,579.00 including the wet bar, which had me very excited because that was within the range I had given them. This morning at 7:00 AM, I was at their door to present them with the floor plan and costs we had come up with. When I told them the price they both deflated visibly and asked, “Why is it so much? You said it would be between $40.00 and $50.00 per square foot!” I meant $40,000.00 to $50,000.00 for the project but they were thinking in square foot costs.
I flashed back to our original conversation and remembered them talking about square foot prices and me explaining that remodeling doesn’t work with square foot numbers. There are too many variables with remodeling, such as the age of the home, design and working with existing conditions. To give them a square foot price would do them an injustice and because we never look at costs that way, I really had no idea what that number would be!
I learned a valuable lesson this morning about being more precise with my words. By my not communicating well enough, I had disappointed a potential client and wasted their time, mine and that of my staff. It was a rough way to start April Fools Day!
Here at RIGGS Company & Design the costs for your project is an actual job price, not a square foot figure subject to overruns and change orders. We have over 50 years of experience in the accurate pricing of all materials, trades and selection items that includes all the variables so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises along the way.
