# Bathroom remodelers



## D. Jones Const (Dec 31, 2009)

I currently do everything from decks to carpentry to remodeling, I want to start doing nothing but bathrooms and kitchens. How did you guys doing this break into this market to keep you busy full time?


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

It's very competitive. The established guys usually have a great hold on the market.

Kitchens: Your cabinet supplier will make or break you. How do you get renderings to your client? Where do they go to see displays? Are there a lot of options? How quickly can you get them (and replacement parts)?

Baths: There are a hundred ways to construct a bathroom. What type of services will you offer? Will you tile? Solid panels? Acrylic surrounds? Again, suppliers are important. There are thousands of tiling options. Where can you customer see some in person? What about plumbing fixtures? Make sure however you remodel a bathroom you are doing so for the life of the house; not some slapped together 10 year piece of crap.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Are you in an urban area? Makes a big difference. 

Kitchens and baths hold the highest profit margins for us, but for our operation we would have to a lot of kitchens and baths to hit our revenue needs. But we are in a rural area. If your a one or two man show has a versatile skill set, like cabinets and tile, I imagine you could do very well.

I would personally get bored just doing one thing. That's why I dig what I do. Anything from a custom home, addition, remodel, retaining wall, deck, boat docks,kitchens and baths, even some light commercial. 

Its all about marketing, networking and how you present your self in these things. I am a builder/remodeler and present myself as such. Present your self as a kitchen/bath remodeler.

Join your HBA, chamber, ect...and network as such. Put out adds as such. 

Its all about


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## D. Jones Const (Dec 31, 2009)

I am a one or two man show, I do every bathroom to last a lifetime and for that matter every project I do is way over built. Not really trying to do anything but custom with lots of tile. I have a very good plumber, I send my clients typically to the tile shop to look at displays because they have a ton or past jobs. I do a basic render in google sketchup, I have been screwed by suppliers and it is hard to find reliable people.

I typically gut the bathroom, I am into doing custom showers with kerdi and drain, frameless doors, Granite, marble, travertine, porcelain etc. I beef up the floor and use ditra, all new electrical and plumbing. Looking for 20k plus bathrooms not a bandaid job.

As for kitchens I have a couple of good cabinet guys for custom cabs and mainly looking for custom jobs not **** box cabinets.

I have not been around all that long and I am in an urban area but like you said it is very competitive and I just have not done enough to rely on nothing but refferals. It is a hard market to break into with so much comp and low ballers that it is tough.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

No easy answers. Maybe see if you can wiggle your way into aligning with a larger plumbing company. Maybe see if you can find a designer looking for someone to pull off custom work.

Work on a nice website with quality SEO.


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## D. Jones Const (Dec 31, 2009)

Thanks guys! How did you guys get established and how long did it take?


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## ECSOWNER (Jul 25, 2011)

Network, network, network! Join the HBA remodelers, NKBA, NARI. Go to local trade shows, cabinet suppliers, flooring centers. There are some very good contacts out there, just got to get out there and meet them. I met up with a new designer that is new on her own, been a certified kitchen and bath designer for 10 plus years, and she got me my first six figure kitchen. Quality work will sell you, but you have to sell yourself as well. It doesn't happen overnight, but before you know it you will have more work than you know what to do with.


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## DavidC (Feb 16, 2008)

I've got to agree with everyone else so far. We are in a rural market and will very likely never achieve the full transformation. It's been about 3 years since we started moving toward our goal of being a K&B remodeler.

We work with 3 kitchen design centers and our plumber for referrals. These relationships are crucial. 

Direct all of your marketing efforts toward your goal. It doesn't mean you won't take on other work, just that you only spend on the type of work you really want. Our home show set ups display only kitchen/bath themes. I'm also working on some changes to our website to narrow that down.

Be patiently persistent.

Good Luck
Dave


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

You need to get to the people selling and designing the cabinets and bath fixtures. Which the majority of have their own installers but some dont and are looking for good people. Plumbers don't get me any work at all because they are there after the customer has decided on a kitchen or bathroom and installer already lined up. The plumber then gets called. You just have to wait for them few good jobs to come around. Once you do a good job then they recommended you to people they know. I wouldn't hire anyone out of a directory to install a high end kitchen or bathroom. I would let my work speak for its self. 

There's no gay renters it will pay off though. You just need to get them first few good jobs then go from there. It ain't easy.


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## Metro M & L (Jun 3, 2009)

DavidC said:


> I've got to agree with everyone else so far. We are in a rural market and will very likely never achieve the full transformation. It's been about 3 years since we started moving toward our goal of being a K&B remodeler.
> 
> We work with 3 kitchen design centers and our plumber for referrals. These relationships are crucial.
> 
> ...


This is really really good advice. It's what I did two years ago it has been very successful. You need to spend money on advertising to find out what works and what doesn't. I've been told to expect your revenue to be 1/10th your advertising budget.


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## ryanshull (Nov 1, 2012)

*Time* is the biggest factor. Be patient, keep doing good work, and soon you will be able to turn down the decks and stuff you don't want to do, because you will be too busy with kitchens and baths. 

Marketing helps, but like BC said, the high end customers are smart enough not to just hire out of the yellow pages or a newspaper ad. 

Soon enough you will do a job for someone with a lot of rich friends, and as long as you do it right and keep your clients happy, the work will come. Again, be patient.


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

One possible trick.

If you can handle working with designers. Consider offering the labor on a showroom display. If you can swing it, and the finished product meets or exceeds their expectations... This method is working great for one of my buddy's.
The up side to working for designers is you build what they draw and price is less of factor in whether you get the job. 
Once again Angus' advice about building without compromise is most important.


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## ranteso (Nov 11, 2010)

If your intention is doing top quality work, complete guts down to framing members and rebuilding/replacing with quality material you will definitely need to find clients who appreciate that level of workmanship and willing to pay for it.

There are more facelift hack type remodelers out there coming in at such ridiculous low prices that you will never be able to compete. 

Find your market first who can afford your level of workmanship. The average person can not afford to drop 20-25g on a bathroom, but they can hand over 10g to some facelift remodeler that will make it look good on the surface (but you and I know what's behind the walls.)


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

ryanshull said:


> *Time* is the biggest factor. Be patient, keep doing good work, and soon you will be able to turn down the decks and stuff you don't want to do, because you will be too busy with kitchens and baths.
> 
> Marketing helps, but like BC said, the high end customers are smart enough not to just hire out of the yellow pages or a newspaper ad.
> 
> Soon enough you will do a job for someone with a lot of rich friends, and as long as you do it right and keep your clients happy, the work will come. Again, be patient.


Bingo! :cowboy:


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## Mike Tyrie (Nov 28, 2012)

I have one small piece of advice. If that is the route you want to go make sure you are efficient. That number looks great on paper on custom kitchens and baths but if you dont have experienced help the time and labor will eat your lunch. There is a lot of money to be made in kitchens and baths, make sure to put your clauses in contracts and clarify extras when the homeowner comes up with ideas in the middle of the job. Good luck, its a long and bumpy road.


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

Welcome back Mike. How you been feeling?


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## Tech Dawg (Dec 13, 2010)

D. Jones Const said:


> Thanks guys! How did you guys get established and how long did it take?


I pretty much got established right away.. a few people that I know took a pile of my business cards and opened up their loud mouths :laughing:

Bathrooms are key. If you keep the selections simple and can set tile nice it makes it very hard to compare price.
I carry samples like small tile boards, grout, Swanstone, Corian, prefab granite top chips, cabinetry, faucet books. I price instantly with my excel program and have a printer in the truck ready to go.
If you show up prepared and wear boot covers you have a better chance than the company that takes 3 weeks to price a job but you have to know your business to carry on this way.


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## Mike Tyrie (Nov 28, 2012)

ohiohomedoctor said:


> Welcome back Mike. How you been feeling?


Hey Ohio, not bad been pretty busy. Been doing alright?


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## madmax718 (Dec 7, 2012)

I've seen showroom trailers. They are just trailers, and they are completely done up like a bathroom to show off the skills and ideas. They park them in front of tile stores, DIY places, county fairs, all over the place.


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