 | Jim Bussey
is the owner of Bussey Building, L.L.C., and has been in business in the Wichita area for over 20 years. Jim specializes in residential remodeling, including kitchens, baths, basement finishing, and decks. He is a firm believer in a personal hands-on approach to his business, and says if the final product is to be of the highest quality he must be on-site, and always is. You can contact Jim at his office at (316) 773-9171 in Wichita. |
Home Remodeling
2003-05-01 11:49:00
Is this going to work?
: Wouldn't I save money for my kitchen or bath remodeling project if I bought all the materials myself and gave them to my remodeler to install?
ANSWER: Not necessarily, all experienced remodeling contractors have overhead costs as part of doing business. These include salaries, office, rent, administration fees, trucks and vehicles, insurance, computers, accounting, etc. In order to pay for these expenses and earn an honest profit for the risks of being in business, remodeling contractors need to count on sufficient gross profits from all jobs. Parts of the gross profits include markups on all labor, subcontracts and materials to form the basis of sales prices. If a contractor cannot include a fair markup on the products used in a remodeling project, he or she would have to raise other prices to compensate. The cost of labor would have to be raised to provide enough return in exchange for the costs of being in business. An analogy would be if you walked into your favorite fine restaurant with a grocery bag of food bought at the local food market and asked the restaurant to cook your food and reduce the menu prices accordingly. I'm sure you know what the answer would be. The restaurant counts on a fair markup on all their food (products) in order to receive sufficient revenue to cover their operating expenses and earn a fair profit. Remember that experienced remodeling professionals don't just provide an installation, they provide a valued service to assist you in design, analysis of all products and materials to be used, quality workmanship, and warranties to protect your continued satisfaction with the products and services provided. If you were to insist upon having materials installed that you provided, there would be no recourse if the products failed at a later date. Allow your contractor to earn a fair return for their expertise and assistance in making your remodeling project an enjoyable one for both of you.
