Host: Joining us this morning from Edge Construction is Mike. Mike, how are you doing this week? Mike: Great, Sean. Good to see you. Host: We’ve got something you know very well this week: tips for choosing and working with a builder. We’re going to talk about what all that entails and some of the things homeowners should consider. I know timeline is one of them. You do not want to approach a builder too soon, but you also do not want to wait too long and then say, “I want to start tomorrow,” because that is usually not how it works. Before we get to that conversation, I did want to talk a little bit about this time of year. You guys work year-round at Edge Construction, and you stay pretty busy during the winter months, don’t you? Mike: We do. There are a lot of families at Edge Construction, and we take that responsibility seriously. We do not try to force work into the winter months, because it does not really work like that, but we also try not to do big exterior projects where we have to tear a house open and expose it to the weather when it is freezing out. That said, we do have an addition coming up in a few weeks, probably after Thanksgiving. We are going to take the roof off a garage on a split-level house and put a master suite above it. It should be a fun project. Our only connection into the house is a hallway and some steps, so I think we can get that structure built, closed in, and weather-tight before we make the final connection back into the home, hopefully around Christmas. Host: That is really cool. And with projects like that—whether it is an addition, a kitchen, a basement, or any kind of remodeling—this has all been in planning and the works for quite a while. For people who are new to the show, one thing that is very important to you and the whole team at Edge Construction is planning, having a good plan, and having a good timeline in place before work begins. Mike: Yes, and oddly enough, while a lot of things in our world are predictable, some things have become less predictable. The permitting process over the last couple of years has definitely become one of them. On bigger projects, we might spend six months in design figuring out the scope, selections, and all the details. Then we sign a contract, think we are ready to go get permits, and things suddenly slow way down. On this current project, it took close to four months to get permits sorted out. It was not a zoning issue or a construction issue. It was adding a bedroom to a country house with a well and septic system, and once you get into that, you realize quickly that the county sewer and water folks are incredibly important because nothing really moves until they are satisfied. They are not difficult to work with, but you do have to follow their process and wait your turn. A couple of weeks ago, we finally got through that committee, then finished zoning and the building permit within a couple of weeks after that. Those are the kinds of things homeowners often do not realize are happening in the background. Host: And when someone says they want to start planning a larger project for next year, the reality is you are often already looking that far ahead. Mike: Exactly. About half of next year is probably already committed for us, especially on the bigger projects. We have room for maybe one or two more projects to sneak in before it gets cold next year, but even then, we need all that lead time. When you are talking about a larger remodel, nine or ten months is not unreasonable, and we often need every bit of that. Host: You mentioned permits, and obviously if you are building in the city, or in certain districts, that can be one thing. But even in rural areas or smaller communities, there is still some kind of permitting process, isn’t there? Mike: There is. The outlying areas often have a more condensed process because you are dealing with fewer people. Zoning and building review might be handled by one person instead of multiple departments, and that can actually be nice because you can have direct conversations. If they kick something back and say a detail is missing or the plans are not formatted the way they want, you can often sit down and work through it. In a bigger municipality like Madison or Dane County, they are not necessarily any tougher, but they are busier and less centralized, so it is harder to walk in and iron things out with someone face-to-face. Host: So when someone is interviewing a builder, it is fair to ask about that process and about their experience with permits. Mike: Absolutely. That is a very good question. Homeowners should ask who is handling permits and what that process looks like. Even for something that sounds simple, like a building permit, you want to know who is responsible for it. At the base level, if you are hiring a contractor, you want that contractor pulling the permit. That tells you they meet certain licensing and insurance requirements, because the state requires that in order to pull permits. It also means they are doing continuing education. In our case, that is twelve hours, and the code changes all the time, so those classes do matter. They force you to revisit things you may already know, and that is healthy. It keeps you sharp. Host: And it sounds like even for someone with a lot of experience, that process still matters. Mike: It does. Inspectors now sometimes ask for the math behind floor loads or beam loads. Years ago, I might have felt a little insulted because I know that stuff in my head, but now I appreciate it. Doing the math gives you options and helps you make better decisions. For example, if you are calculating a floor load, you can think not just about whether it holds the weight, but how much deflection you want. Maybe the floor technically meets code, but it still feels bouncy. I do not want our jobs to feel like that. You need to know the numbers to make better choices. Host: I have definitely been in houses where you can feel that movement. Mike: And that is often the difference between meeting the minimum and doing something really well. Host: One thing people do not think about much is closing permits too. That is another area worth asking about, right? Mike: It is, although please do not ask us about open permits. We hate open permits. Most of the time when one stays open, it is a paperwork glitch between the inspector and the municipality. We might have a green tag, pictures, and documentation showing final inspection was done, and then a year later the city says the permit is still open. Then we have to go back and sort it out. It is frustrating, but it is usually administrative, not because the work was incomplete. That said, homeowners can absolutely ask how a contractor handles permits and closes things out. Host: So there is a difference between an actual problem and a system issue. Mike: Exactly. If a builder is doing a lot of work, there may be a few permits that need administrative cleanup, but that is very different from somebody not following through. Host: We were talking during the break about the different ways permits can be handled, and there is another option out there, which is the homeowner pulling the permit. Mike: Yes, and in Wisconsin, homeowners can pull their own permits—building, electrical, and so on. That sounds terrifying to me. It still has to pass inspections, and if you are not capable of doing the work or managing the process, inspectors are going to get frustrated. When you pay for a permit, part of what you are paying for is those inspections. If a homeowner keeps failing inspections and the inspector has to come back again and again, that creates problems. One inspector told me they had to go to a house twenty times. Nobody is happy in that situation. That is one of the biggest reasons to have a contractor pull the permit. It adds another layer of responsibility. If the homeowner is pulling the permit and things go sideways, that liability shifts in ways people may not fully understand. Host: And that also ties into insurance, which is another huge question homeowners should be asking. Mike: Absolutely. If you are not in construction, you probably assume that if you hire a company and they send someone to your house, that worker is covered if they get hurt. In construction, I would guess it is fifty-fifty whether that is actually true. All of our people have workers’ comp. We only hire subs that have real employees on payroll and proper workers’ comp coverage. These injuries can be expensive fast. We had one employee step down six inches into a driveway with a little gravel in it, his knee buckled, and he tore everything up. He was out for six months. That one injury was well over a hundred thousand dollars. If that person is not properly covered and the injury is serious enough, lawyers start asking whether the homeowner had any liability—maybe there was ice, maybe the surface was uneven, maybe there was some negligence. Even a small percentage of liability can become a lot of money. Host: And those are the kinds of things homeowners never imagine when they are hiring someone. Mike: Exactly. Another longtime employee slipped on the ice a few years ago and broke his elbow and shoulder. That turned into a many-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars injury over a three-year recovery. These things happen. Even when somebody is covered, injuries are painful and expensive. If someone is not properly insured, the homeowner does not want to be caught in the middle of that. Host: So this is not just paperwork. This is real peace of mind. Mike: It is. And yes, it is expensive for a legitimate contractor to carry that insurance. On our outside people, workers’ comp can be around twenty percent of payroll. For an average field employee, that can be fifteen to twenty thousand dollars a year just for that insurance. But it is worth it. If somebody slips on ice, I do not have to wonder whether they or their family are protected. Host: We talked a lot about injuries and safety, and one of the things that stands out at Edge Construction is that you provide training and good tools. That seems like part of the bigger picture too. Mike: It is. Homeowners are actually far more likely to get injured doing this stuff on their own than professionals are on job sites. Tools are safer than they used to be, and training matters. We do safety meetings, and we are always talking about how to avoid injuries. In finish carpentry alone, think about how many cuts somebody makes over a lifetime. It is a huge number. Injuries usually happen when someone is using a tool the wrong way or getting careless. So we talk a lot about treating every cut like it is your first one. You can never get too comfortable. Host: We were also talking about those saws that stop if they detect skin. Mike: Yes, we have one in our shop. It detects conductivity, and if it senses something like a finger, it stops almost instantly by firing a piece of aluminum into the blade. I bought it not just because of the safety feature, but because it is genuinely one of the best-designed table saws I have ever used. It is safer, but it is also just a really good saw. Host: One of the fun things about Edge Construction is that you do have a shop and can build custom pieces. Is that something homeowners should ask about too—whether a contractor can do custom work? Mike: Sure. We can do custom work, and we do. The truth is, though, it is hard to compete with dedicated cabinet shops on price because that is what they do all day long. They buy materials better and work faster. But there are still times when we build something from scratch because a homeowner wants a look or feature they cannot get elsewhere. Range hoods are a great example. Sometimes the standard options just do not have enough personality, so we build them ourselves. We also do custom bookshelves and specialty pieces. We are absolutely capable of it. It just takes time, and you have to set that time aside. Host: And that is one of the cool parts of what you do. Mike: It is. If I could spend all day in the shop building things, that would be a pretty fun day. Host: Another thing homeowners should ask about is who is actually doing the work. You mentioned plumbing and HVAC as things you usually subcontract, but you are very specific about who you work with. Mike: I am. I am very loyal in construction. We have worked with the same plumbers for a long time. There are ups and downs in any business, and there are times when a trade partner is overloaded or short on manpower, but we stick with people we know and trust. Sometimes that can be frustrating in the short term, but we know what we are getting and how they work. That matters. We do not subcontract much. Plumbing and heating are the main things we typically do not do in-house. Pretty much everything else we have our hands in. That gives us more control, and I like that. Host: So if a contractor says they are just going to bid everything out and go with the cheapest number, that is probably something homeowners should pay attention to. Mike: It would make me nervous. If someone says they are going to get the plans together, send them out to bid, and then just use whoever comes in the cheapest, I would have a lot of questions. That is not the most predictable way to get a good result. It takes years to really know your trade partners, understand how they work, and trust the quality of what they do. Host: And once the job is done, that relationship still matters. It is not just about getting to the end of the project. Mike: Exactly. You are making a big investment in your home, and you want to trust the people doing the work, the people they bring in, and the systems they have in place. It is not just about pretty pictures. It is about responsibility, craftsmanship, communication, and knowing that the team behind the project is solid.