Each day, more and more states are calling their citizens to shelter in place due to the spread of COVID-19. This means that us Illinoisans are spending our days primarily at home for the next couple of weeks. But that doesn’t mean that you have to put a halt on any remodeling plans that you were considering. Remodelers across the country, the Patrick A. Finn, LTD. team included, are scheduling virtual design meetings to help you plan out your remodel. We’re here to tell you how to make that meeting a success!
Picking a Platform
To make the most out of your virtual design meeting, you’ll need to know what to prepare prior to the meeting. The first thing to determine with your remodeler is what platform you’ll be using to conduct your virtual design meeting. Some common platforms include Zoom and Google Hangouts. Determine how long the meeting will be and if you anyone else in your household is involved in the project, ensure he or she can also make it to the meeting. This will set you up for a successful first encounter.
The “Walk Through”
If you’ve already reached out to your design build remodeler, you probably already have a good idea what areas of your home you’d like to work on. Ensure that you can “walk through” those areas while at your virtual design meeting. If you know rough dimensions of the space, that would be helpful as well. By flipping the camera, you can show your designer the spaces that you’d like to change and what specifically isn’t working for you in each space. The more detail you can provide during this initial meeting, the better your design build team can help you come up with solutions for the space.
Helpful Documents from You
If you’re considering any structural changes, such as removing a wall, moving plumbing or electric, or doing an addition, it would be helpful for your remodeler to see the original plans of your house. If you don’t have the plans, don’t worry you can still have a very productive meeting. For those of you considering an addition, the plat of survey would be helpful to review to determine exactly where your lot lines are. If you do have either of these documents handy, it would be great to send a pdf or picture of them to your remodeler prior to your virtual design meeting. This will give your design build team a chance to familiarize themselves with your home prior to the meeting.
Questions
Just as if this meeting was had in your home, a virtual design meeting will likely involve many questions from both you and your remodeler. Your remodeler should have questions for you about how your home currently functions for you to learn more about your needs. Some questions to ask you remodeler may include:
Are you licensed and insured?
Have you worked on projects like this before?
Do you have any references I can speak to?
Who will be executing the design, management and construction of this project?
Helpful Documents from Your Remodeler
It is likely that your remodeler has some documents that they like to review with prospective clients when he or she is at your home. The same can be done on your virtual design meeting. Ask your design build team what they usually go over with homeowners and if they can send you that information prior to the meeting. This will allow you some time to review the information and have any questions answered while attending your virtual design meeting.
Determining Your Next Steps
Once your virtual design meeting nears the end, it is important to determine what next steps you’d like to take. Determining the next step at each milestone will help you to keep your project on track. Common next steps include: deciding you are ready to begin some design work, scheduling a follow-up phone call or scheduling a follow-up meeting.
And just like that, you will have successfully completed your first virtual design meeting! There is a lot going on in the world and everyone’s individual lives at the moment, but we’re here to help you keep your remodeling plans on track the best that we can. If you’ve been thinking about remodeling and have now realized that you don’t have to put your plans on hold, schedule your virtual meeting with us today!
