What is the "Power to Remodel" ?

Simply put, the power to remodel is giving our client power over the cost, schedule, design and quality of the remodeling process.  We involve the client in the remodeling process in a highly collaborative way.  In fact we call our clients "Client Partners" because as our partner the client is responsible for setting the project requirements and goals.  Without our client as a partner we couldn't do our job.

Solving your toughest remodeling problems with the power to remodel!

Interference Penalty

If you’ve ever had an old basement remodeled you know that it requires a lot of soffits to get around plumbing and air ducts that protrude from the ceiling.

At Pullen Home Improvement we like to think of these as design opportunities and this old basement remodel in Mott Park is a good example. In this case there is quite a lot of plumbing above where the client wanted their bar so we took the opportunity to install a curved soffit above a curved bar.

So far so good but our client had a problem when the carpenter framed a soffit too close to a door. After the drywall was hung and finished the customer looked at it and didn’t like the fact that the door wouldn’t open far enough to suit their taste. The carpenter had a good reason for installing the soffit the way he did and the client had a good reason for not liking it.

This is a no brainer. Cut down the section of interfering soffit and move it so that it didn’t interfere with the laundry room door. Cost to me, over $500.00.  Result? A satisfied customer who tells all their friends how happy they are with their new basement and I get to brag about the project.

Carpet Bombed?

A couple years ago I was lucky enough to be the winning bid for a challenging basement remodel for George and Peggy, some wonderful clients in Flushing. The job was unique in that they had previously had a company come through and reinforce their basement walls by setting piers deep in the yard and running heavy steel rods from the piers through the basement walls and into some large steel plates mounted on the inside of the basement wall.

You can probably imagine how bad it looked with walls that were caving in (they were tilted inwards at the top about 3 or 4 inches) and big steel plates all around the basement, (circled in yellow), but to make matters worse the bolts holding the rods in place against the steel plates needed to be tightened periodically in order to keep outward pressure on the walls.

Well, we got through the basement remodel in good shape and I received the big smiles and handshakes that I have grown accustomed to from my clients. About a week later I receive a voice-mail, it was Peggy’s voice with that dreaded tone “There is something wrong and I need to call them.” To make matters worse when I make the call Peggy answers and won’t talk to me, instead she nervously says “let me get George”. This stunned me a bit because I had come to respect Peggy as a smart and tough lady. Any problem she didn’t feel comfortable discussing with me must be a big one. Finally George comes to the phone and there was a problem with a seam in the carpet and would I please come out and have a look. I arrive at their home in Flushing and sure enough the main seem running the full width of the carpet was visible and it shouldn't be.  I think it was good enough that at the end of the project we had all agreed that the basement was fantastic and that everyone was happy. But after living with it awhile it was clearly not up to our usual standards.

To solve the problem we agreed that they would hire their own carpet guy to come in and fix the problem and that I would cover the cost of the repair.  A week later the carpet was repaired and once again George and Peggy were happy customers.