So your home was built in the 80’s or 90’s. You feel that the builder used low grade materials and the workmanship wasn’t a high quality. Now it’s 2020 and the things you haven’t already remodeled are starting to fail or cause issues. What do you do?

The best thing to do is find a reputable company to repair/ replace the failing items in your home. For example, if the soffits and fascia in your home were improperly installed you may find yourself with unwanted tenants in your attic. Now the question becomes do you want to fix the problem right or just put a band aid on a gaping wound.

You need to be willing to invest in the repairs. Doing something the correct way can cost more than you anticipate but if your goal is to truly fix something then make the investment and do it right. When you cut corners or hire someone that is going to use lesser materials or isn’t licensed/trained in the trade you need you create a situation where the problem may be solved, but for how long? We all have that friend that says “I can do that for you and at half the price.” This is a great option until it’s not.

You have to consider who you will be more comfortable going to if you have a problem with their work. Do you want to see that guy at family functions knowing that the deck he was confident he could install for you is now pulling away from your house and all of the boards are crooked? Then you have to pay someone else to fix it or worse, redo the whole thing. Sometimes it’s just better to hire a professional and pay that person/company what they are worth to do a job and do it correctly.

It is also important that the company you hire stands behind their work. Reputable companies have workmanship warranties on what they do. Make sure you ask what type of warranty is offered and what it covers. If you buy a house , find out if warranties transfer. Some builders will not honor a warranty other than for the person the work was completed for within the warranty period.

All builders should not be treated or judged equally. Not all builders are bad, not all builders cut corners, not all builders use low grade materials. There can be a big difference between a builder that is building a home for their specific client and family and a developer that is mass producing homes for unknown faces. Keep in mind that while there are great custom builders out there, there are also great developers. In this industry you usually hear about the bad ones and that is what we measure all builders by.