A few years ago, about the only time we did a bathroom was when it was part of a larger project. Even stand alone kitchens were rare for us. Many of our additions included a kitchen and bath or we might gut a kitchen and expand it into a family room addition, but rarely was a kitchen or bath the only project involved.
Over the last two and a half years that has all changed. Our clients still want to improve the quality of their home life because they spend more time there than ever. But in today’s market, many have scaled back their dreams to match their tightening budget. Not only is money harder to borrow, their investment in their home is worth less now than before the depression of 2008. Overall, this “correction” is a good thing. People are beginning to realize they have to live within their means and debt and overspending has once again become a bad thing, not a status symbol.
So, to survive and prosper in this market, remodeling companies have had to change their business model and so do the people that work for these companies. We were geared for much larger projects than a single bath or kitchen “remove & replace” and our carpenters and laborers were categorized into skill sets that rarely crossed paths. We had our common laborers that cleaned and hauled and dug; our demolition experts, heavy framing carpenters, a few specialized carpenters that were very efficient on smaller jobs and our highly skilled trim crew who did all the finely detailed finish work. We also had trade contractors that were set up to go to a job and stay for a few days, not go in and wire a bath fan or hook up one sink. With that type of a crew, small baths and kitchens alone meant too much traveling and moving men and trade contractors to be competitive.
With the change in our business model to a much more streamlined and self sustaining staff and crew came a change in employees at RIGGS Company & Design. We lost some very fine union craftsmen who couldn’t or didn’t want to change what they did. But we also retained and hired both staff and crew who understood that the “old ways” were a thing of the past and adaptation was the key to surviving. Now our very finest trim carpenters will go into a bath or kitchen and are willing (and happy) to disconnect the plumbing, kill the electric, demolish the finishes down to bare studs and do the framing needed to install the new finishes. We still bring in licensed electricians and plumbers to do their work, but our crew will hang the drywall, set the tile and a number of other tasks that we used to sub out. When the kitchen or bath is all ready for the fine trim work, that same carpenter will be there to do that work as well. What sets us apart from other remodeling companies is that we didn’t form a crew of people that were a jack of all trades, master of none, but rather took our masters of our signature fine finish work and they adapted and learned the skills to do the other types of work.
This has been especially good for our clients because one person is on the job from start to finish. There is very little transition from one “expert” to another and the comfort level for our clients is extremely high.
In 2010 our Kirkwood, MO based firm will complete roughly twenty five stand alone kitchen and bath projects whereas four years ago we completed six. What was once considered too small and burdensome for our methodology has now become the mainstay of our business. We still use our crew system on the larger projects that we do now but those projects aren’t as frequent as they once were. One day, our clients will decide that the value of a large project is worth the investment and we still have the systems in place to handle that work. You hear everyone saying that those companies that survive this depression will be stronger and better than before and that’s true. RIGGS Company is because we now have systems in place to do projects that range from a bathroom “dress up” or a minor repair to a million dollar whole house renovation.
