Host: This is The Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction. You can learn more at EdgeConstructionCompany.com, where you will also find photos of recent projects, along with links to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Houzz. If you are thinking about remodeling, they would love to talk with you at 608-636-3343. That number is easy to remember: 636-EDGE. Joining us in the studio this morning is the owner of Edge Construction, Mike Twohig. Mike, how are you doing this morning? Mike: Good, Sean. It is good to see you. Host: We have an important and very timely conversation this morning. Spring and summer in Wisconsin mean storms, storm damage, and suddenly trucks start rolling into neighborhoods. I do not know what it is, but contractors really seem to love Dodge Rams. Mike: They are awesome trucks. Host: They are nice trucks. We had hail damage by us a couple of months ago, and ever since then we have had contractors nonstop knocking on doors. I noticed they all seem to drive Rams. There must be something to it. Mike: Good carrying capacity, good for pulling things. Host: That makes sense. In the industry, you call some of these folks storm chasers, right? Mike: Right. Not always affectionately. If a neighborhood gets hit and every house in town suddenly needs a roof, the local group of contractors could never handle all that work on their own. So there is a place for outside help. But it is still buyer beware, because you are getting into something that should last twenty years or more, and you want to make sure the work is done right. Most of the time it probably is, but there are definitely stories out there. Host: And there really are companies and people who look at weather maps and just show up, aren’t there? Mike: There are. Insurance companies know when those areas get hit, so there is this whole system built around responding to storm damage. I have a friend who works as an independent inspector for insurance companies. His whole job is to go out, look at storm damage, climb on roofs, and say whether a roof needs replacing or whether siding needs work. There is definitely a structure in place. But even with that, homeowners still need to be careful. Host: One of the things that came up before the show was that some of these out-of-town crews will ask what the insurance company is paying and then magically bid just under that number. Mike: Exactly. We had past customers call and say their roof looked damaged, maybe some siding too, and those storm-chasing groups were already on them. I told them, do not trust those same guys on windows, and let us at least help you think through the siding part. I know of one very simple ranch roof where the insurance number was around seventeen thousand dollars, and suddenly the contractor’s bid was just under that, almost to the dollar. That is not a coincidence. We had our regular roofing contractor look at the same house, and their number was far lower. I told the homeowner that if the insurance company is paying either way, I would personally trust the local contractor who is here, accountable, and established. Host: That is one of the big advantages of working with somebody local, isn’t it? A trustworthy local contractor can look at your roof and say, yes, it needs to be replaced, but no, it does not necessarily have to happen tomorrow. Mike: Exactly. You can get on the list. If someone trustworthy says, yes, there is hail damage, you may not have to do it that second. A lot of people use those out-of-town contractors because they want peace of mind and want it done fast, but you do have options. Host: Since our hail damage, the door knocks have slowed down because we put a roofer’s sign in the yard, but the phone calls started. I do not know whether insurance lists get shared or not, but the calls definitely started. Mike: Oh yeah, they will cold call people too. In the replacement contractor world, roofing, siding, and windows especially, there is a lot of sales pressure because those are profitable jobs. You hear a lot of stories about aggressive window salespeople too. They are often commission-driven, and some can get very pushy. I have heard stories where one person is home with the kids and this aggressive salesperson is trying to force their way into the house or pin them down. That is just not a good way to do business. Host: And even if you do not sign something, if you walk away from that encounter feeling terrible, that is usually a pretty good sign it was not right. Mike: Exactly. If they walk away and you do not feel good about it, that is a bad sign. Host: At Edge Construction, you work on larger remodeling projects, so roofing is not your day-to-day thing, even though you certainly understand it. Mike: Right. We are not roofers by trade. Our guys do really good work, and we have had homeowners we know and trust ask us to do roofs, and sometimes we have. But generally, the replacement contractors are a different world. Roofing, siding, and windows are their day-to-day business. Host: Do you also get calls after flooding, like basement flooding or interior water damage? Mike: We do. After some of those big flood years, the basement waterproofing people got very busy adding drain tile and stopping leaks. We do get calls when there is damage inside too. Unfortunately, interior water damage often works differently with insurance than exterior storm damage. We had one past customer where a valve in an upstairs bathroom failed while they were gone for the weekend. Water rained down into the kitchen and dining room and led to a lot of additional remodeling. Insurance wanted to cover only a small portion of what it was really going to cost. That made me reevaluate our own insurance policy. If damage happens, it is just going to cost what it costs. Host: And people may not realize how much water can come from one failed valve, especially if nobody is home. Mike: It can be really bad. There was a stretch maybe fifteen years ago where there was a popular shutoff valve that ended up failing all over the place. If we are in a house working on a room and we get the chance, we replace those shutoff valves. I do not care if they are only a year old. We would rather swap them out than leave a problem behind. Host: Let us talk about the warning signs people should watch for when hiring any contractor, not just storm chasers. One of the biggest ones seems to be money up front. Mike: Yes, but there is some nuance there. If you are hiring a contractor with no track record, maybe somebody small and just starting out, I would be more reluctant to give a big amount of money up front. There is just not enough evidence that they are stable and reliable. But if you are dealing with somebody who has been around for decades, like us, and there is no pattern of unfinished jobs or problems, that is a different situation. On our projects, we do ask for money down at contract signing, because if no money changes hands, it is not much of a contract. And we also have real expenses right away. We are ordering cabinets, reserving slabs for countertops, locking in materials, flooring, windows, doors, and more. Suppliers are not floating that money until the job starts. Host: So down payments are not necessarily a red flag if they are tied to actual ordering and real project milestones. Mike: Exactly. There should be a fair system, and that money should be accounted for. We do not ask for excessive amounts, but if you are ordering cabinets, tops, windows, doors, and custom products, that usually gets covered in the down payment. Host: But not every failed project is an outright scam, right? Sometimes it is just an inexperienced contractor who underbid the job and cannot finish it. Mike: That is a huge problem. I think one of the biggest reasons projects fall apart is when an inexperienced contractor bids too low just to get the work. Homeowners see one bid at twenty thousand and several others at forty and think they found a deal. But a newer contractor often does not know what they do not know. Then they get into the work and realize they missed half the cost. At that point, the whole thing can fall apart. Maybe they cannot pay suppliers. Maybe they start using money from one job to pay bills on another, which is illegal, by the way. That is very dangerous territory, and you do not want your house to be the job where that happens. Host: And if the contractor does not pay their suppliers, those suppliers can still come after the homeowner, right? Mike: They can. If you make a payment thinking the contractor is paying for materials and subs, but they do not, that supplier may still believe you owe the money. They can file liens, they can sue, and now you are stuck in the middle of it. Host: That is a really important point. So one of the best things a homeowner can do is check for a real track record. Mike: Absolutely. That is why a real portfolio, reviews, history, and accountability matter so much. Houzz is a great resource for that, by the way. It is one of my favorite sites. It has become a clearinghouse for everything remodeling. There is advice on there, maintenance information, design ideas, and a massive library of photos. I think we have close to two hundred projects on Houzz now. If we come to your house for the first time, I am probably going to ask whether you have done any homework on Houzz or Pinterest and whether you have started figuring out your style. Host: It is also a really good way for homeowners to see a real body of work and not just one or two flashy pictures. Mike: Exactly. You should not expect perfection all the time, but you do want a track record. If someone has been around for years, their work should be visible. And if I were starting over and trying to build a reputation, those are the places I would showcase my work too. Host: Another thing we hear about a lot is free inspections. That sounds very appealing to homeowners. Mike: It does, but it can be a little like letting the fox into the henhouse. We see free inspections with a lot of outside trades, especially roofing, siding, windows, and some of the bath-in-a-day people. They are willing to evaluate everything for free because there is a very high return if they sell the job. I am not saying every free inspection is dishonest, but again, it is buyer beware. If you can get a second opinion from a friend, relative, neighbor, or trusted contractor, that can really help. Host: We should also talk about permits, because that seems like one of the clearest red flags. Mike: Yes. If you are worried about getting scammed, one of the first clues is if your contractor says, “Would you mind pulling the permit?” A homeowner can pull their own permits for building, electrical, plumbing, and heating work. But if a contractor asks you to do that, it can mean they cannot pull the permit themselves. To pull permits, you need licensing, continuing education, and the required insurance. I just did my continuing education again. It used to be easier. Now it takes more time and more research, which is actually a good thing. You also have to prove you have liability insurance. Just being able to pull permits does not make someone a great contractor, but if they cannot do even that, it means they have not done the basic things required to operate properly. Host: So even if a homeowner is doing their own work, they should still pull permits and have inspections. Mike: I would never recommend doing work without a permit. Even if the homeowner is doing it, the inspector can come in, look at the work, and tell you what needs fixing. But if you are hiring a contractor, they should generally be the ones pulling permits. Host: You also made a really important point about warranties. A lot of people hear “one-year warranty” and think that sounds fine, but that may not tell the full story. Mike: Exactly. The state kind of gives builders and contractors a one-year framework, and some people treat that like a countdown clock. Day 366 arrives, and they are done with you. I do not think that is a great system. If we did something wrong and there is a mistake, I do not care if it is three years later or five years later, we want to fix it. We do not want someone else coming in to fix our problem. And if there is a product issue, like a plumbing fixture that goes bad, we will help customers work through that too. Thankfully, we do not have a lot of warranty issues, but I think warranty is a great question to ask. If someone has no reviews, no website, no track record, and underbid everybody else, what are the odds they are going to help you later? Host: One final thing before we wrap up: those bath-in-a-day and replacement-style companies. If they are tearing into a bathroom, there are permits and licensed trades involved there too, right? Mike: Absolutely. If you are replacing plumbing fixtures, updating electrical, or changing that kind of stuff, permits and inspections should be part of the process. Plumbing work should involve a plumber. Electrical work should involve an electrician. I know there are not master plumbers going door to door selling bathrooms. So yes, that is a really good question for homeowners to ask. A lot of bathrooms need updated plumbing, shutoff valves, wiring, and code work. There are definitely people doing that kind of work who are not qualified to do it. Host: And that is exactly why this conversation matters. There are great contractors out there, and there are also some people homeowners need to be very careful with. Mike, this has been really helpful. Mike: Thanks, Sean. Host: If you missed any of today’s show, be sure to share it with friends and family. And if you want to learn more about Edge Construction, see their work, or start a conversation, visit EdgeConstructionCompany.com or call 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.