19Jan

Interior Designer

by Lee Seward Home Remodeling, add second story addition, building a house, buying a new home, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, fix and flip, flipping florida, flipping homes, florida homes for sale, for sale by owner, general contractor services, Home For Sale, home mortgage, houses for sale, Housing Market, improve sales in real estate, investing in real estate, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, market trends in real estate, new home construction, new home florida, new homes for sale florida, Paint, real estate market, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies, Uncategorized

Is the Contractor holding you back?

Details in your Design Expensive?

The Contractor is an Extension of your Creativity

We see and hear it all of the time, “I wanted to do this but the costs were to much so we removed it.”

Simple is easy and boring

Symmetry

Regardless what you imagine, don’t let yourself be restricted by simple.

Not Complicated

If you have experience and an open mind the work really isn’t complicated and there are ways to make it fit the budget.

You Control

The Designer is in control of the style and the contractor finds a way to make it happen.

Be You

Let Iridium Help

Private Commissioned Residences

For the Discerning Designer

561-597-0021

31Dec

Reoccurring Flood Damage

by Lee Seward Flood damage, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home Remodeling, Housing Market, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, Paint, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies, Uncategorized

Home DIY

Flood Prevention 101

Here are some tips to keep water where it should be

Did you know that “INSANITY” is defined by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

Replace drywall, install new cabinets, moldings, flooring, furniture…wait for it….BOOM! the next storm surge (not hurricane) your home is damaged again. Be angry at those property owners who drove past your home and created a wave that gets your house wet. How dare they leave the house they own to get away or go the house they own to check damage. You have every right to be upset, you just replaced all of the damage created from the last flood and now your home is damaged again.

If your house flooded from a storm surge and you only replaced everything, you could be INSANE. You need different solutions to stop future water damage.

Where was water infiltration entry?
How high was the surge and water level outside and flood water inside?
What height (off the floor) are the entrance doors to the house?

Take this information and create a plan.

Most likely the height of the water level caused the damage. Raise all of your door entrances up as high as possible. Replace the space above your doors to installing that space below your doors. Add a landing outside to enter, and one inside if needed. Waterproof the lower elevation of your home, the entire perimeter. There are many waterproof membranes that can be applied as paint and will stop any water from entering. Besides being easy to apply, you can also paint over so it is not visible. Build the grade around your house up, add planting beds to buffer water and make sure you waterproof continuously behind and higher than the beds prior to creating the beds. Your garage, raise everything off the floor, be sure to waterproof the all of the walls 24″ up and to the concrete slab. Remove HVAC units, water heaters anything in the way and replace after applications are applied generously. Cover the entire concrete slab, be sure to raise the entrance door from the house to the garage to the max and add landing as needed.

Raise your exterior doors to create a buffer below. This work may be involved but if you do it once correctly you won’t have to do it again unless something huge came through. If your home has 8ft ceilings and you door sits on the floor of your home, you have these options:

Option 1 remove the lintel and replace with a laminated wood beam that is short in height and fat. Use the difference in height to raise the door with cement infill and waterproofing. A typical door is supporting 1 or 2 trusses so a 4″-5″ tall laminate beam is suffice.
Option 2 remove the lintel and open the ceiling up inside, install a flush header above the block walls and joist hanger the trusses into the beam for support. put your door to the ceiling line and add the space below with cement and waterproof to bottom of footing.
Option 3 open the ceiling, remove 2-4 trusses entirely, create a reverse gable roof and infill with framing. Raise your door 2ft and create an entrance outside and inside. Be certain to waterproof your exter to the bottom of your footing or at the least to the top of your footing well below your concrete floor elevation.

What is the cost? What is the amount of work involved? Slightly more than the work to replace what is damaged. So if you do this work while you are repairing your home the cost is nominal and you would not feel it. You would stop the stress worrying about flooding again, you would also increase your homes value. When you have a claim on your home it is noted and recorded. Your premiums and future owners premiums will be higher and it will be an issue later.

Recap, doing the same thing and expecting different results is Insane.

Give us a call we provide free estimates and we can help you. 561-597-0021

17Dec

Home Flood Prevention and Mitigation

by Lee Seward Repairing Home, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, Flood damage, general contractor services, Home Remodeling, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, small construction companies, Uncategorized

Flood Damage

Flood Mitigation

When you have water damage the first thing you need to do when the water recedes is to dehumidify the area. If you have a dehumidifier set it up to run 24-7. If you do not have one then you can set your thermostat low and run your ac until you are able to get your hands on a dehumidifier. Remove everything that is wet from the house including drywall. Cut the drywall above the waterline until you find dry area. Drywall will soak the water so the sooner you cut it the less you will need to purchase later. Remove wet wood moldings carefully so you can possibly re-use when it drys out.

DIY PREVENTION

Besides raising your home there are steps you can take to prevent damage from storm surges. One is notice how the water has entered your home. Through the walls, through doorways etc. If your home is block construction on concrete slab (like the one in the picture), the focus needs to be on waterproofing the lower level of the masonry walls. Raise your entrance doors and help offset water damage to the extent possible.

Raise Exterior Doors

In the picture (above) you see the step up to enter the home at the front door, this is good and you can also see the space above the front door to the ceiling. Raise your front door, create steps and landing outside, modify the ceiling inside and outside, create a landing inside to step down. This would need to be done at all exterior doors including the one from the garage to the house.

Next, waterproof the entire lower section from below the interior floor level. Dig the soil away where possible by hand and apply a waterproof membrane. Manufactures are plenty (Laticrete is a brand we use often) and apply this over the surface and include the area you raised under your door ways. Cover the surface area heavily including wall to floor along your garage floor and walls, apply multiple coats after each drys properly. You can also apply Laticrete to the lower section of your finish interior walls and the corner of the floor, this will stop water from intruding into the wall and prevent your drywall from getting wet in the event you experience water intrusion. Laticrete and most products can be painted over so this will allow you to blend it in. They have a fabric that can be applied at the corner of the wall and floor, this will seal the edges and keep the wall dry.

The steps above will help resist water from flooding into your home based on the elevation but it is not a sure fix. Elevate your home is a sure fix and this can be done by building over your existing walls. The cost to elevate your home will reduce your flood insurance and increase your home value. Repairing will help prevent damage from surges at the lowest expense to you, but it will not increase your home value.

Information to know, single story masonry block wall homes are built on top of concrete footings set in the dirt. The floors are concrete slabs installed over compacted soil. Your interior walls are built over the concrete slab. House movers raise homes, these homes are typically wood frame homes (floor & walls) built on top of foundations. The interior floors are structural wood floors with beams posted down to concrete footings. To raise a wood frame home there are location points used to jack up the home, because the floor is structural they use the post locations to raise the floor and the entire home.

Could you lift a slab on grade single story masonry home in similar fashion? Yes but in order to raise it supports have to be added to the existing concrete slab that your interior walls sit on. So you tunnel underneath to add supports and lift or you cut up the existing floor and add supports to lift. Think of the amount of work involved. Labor is expensive and really what are you saving in the end?

Elevate your Home

Our solution is to remove your roof demo all of the interior walls and flooring, reinforce footings as needed with masonry piers, plus necessary anchors, then build a new floor, with new walls on top of your existing block walls at the elevation required. 3-4 months work and done to the style design you want all new.

The cost to elevate your home increases the value of your home offsetting the cost to do the work. We can raise your existing home at a cost of $111-$185 per square foot. The price is based on the structural integrity of your existing foundation and maintaining the same footprint of your existing home.

If you are interested give us a call and we can provide you with a free estimate. 561-597-0021.

26Nov

How to hire a Remodeling Contractor

by Lee Seward Remodeling, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, general contractor services, Home For Sale, Home Remodeling, Housing Market, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, Property For Sale, Real Estate, Rebuilding Homes, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies, Subcontractors

Remodeling in Pinellas County

New Kitchen or Bathroom is very important to you and your Family. The added space or versatility in use or just updating the design to something current requires selecting a licensed contractor to do the work.

There are many steps in the process and everyone wants to save money. What typically happens is the cheapest path becomes the most expensive and sometimes never completed. Horror story after horror story, clients have paid contractors more than 50% + of the contract and no or little work is completed in place.

Make sure you have answers to these questions in writing:

What precisely is the scope of work?
How long will the work take overall?
What are the work hours/days?
Will I be out of a Kitchen for 2 weeks or 9 months?
What happens if the project takes a year?
What happens if you did not add work but the Contractor wants more money?
Who is responsible for managing the subcontractors?
Is the contractor capitalized to operate business?

Typical issues

Google Reviews, There are companies you can hire to create multiple positive Google reviews. Companies with lots of positive reviews are not safe from being bad companies. But there is a way to vet the reviews to help pick good from bad. Read the reviews and you will start to see who the company truly is. You can tell the fake ones from real, the anger from clients and the absurdity from the contractors responses.

Renovation in Naples

If you follow these steps you will reduce a bad experience.

Read the reviews and responses.
Stay away from narcissistic responses from the contractor.
Meet face to face with the contractor and go over the work ask about all details.
Review the estimate provided by the contractor beyond the price, look for details= product description, qty, cost.
Ask for written language of time duration and how will the work be managed.
Ask for missing details to be added.
Define what you are expected to do and what you expect from them.
Add language for delays.

Transparency

Selecting the contractor because they provided the lower cost doesn’t mean that is the real cost. I have seen this numerous times over the years, clients pick the lower cost.

Now what?

The number was wrong, the contractor did not include 1/2 the work and you find out when you are to far in. You signed a contract that has no finish details but pages of how you cannot give a bad review or negative press.

If you have no details explaining what is included in your project then do not hire the contractor, this is true for Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, Roofing, or General Contracting, Lawn Mowing, Car Repair, etc.

Contractor not showing up

Above we discussed how to avoid a bad situation, but what if you are already in one?

Here are some things you need to know.

Confront your contractor and request a completion schedule in writing, make sure you paper all interactions going forward.
Request a list of who and what was paid to date along with signed, notarized lien waivers.
The lien waivers are proof of payment and you need to know who was paid and how much by your contractor.
Regardless of how much you paid your contractor, if the subcontractors were not paid they can legally (within 90 days) lien your home and foreclose on your property.
The state of Florida is very difficult to obtain a contractor license. You can use this as leverage, all contractors are out of business without a license. Report your contractor, it is a class one felony to take a clients payment and use the funds for anything outside of the clients project.
Threaten a lawsuit and hire an attorney. Most likely you have paid for the majority of the work and nothing or hardly anything is completed on site. Hire an attorney and go after the liability insurance the contractor has, also you can go after the state for allowing this person to operate. If this has happened to you there is a very high probability there are many more clients in the same situation, find them and share the cost.
If you have come to terms, sign a new amendment to go with your original contract. Be certain to have an agreed completion date, cost to complete, timeline and penalty for delays, all missing details of what is included, and all lien waivers that match your overall payments to date and request lien waivers for all future payments.

If you are in a bad situation with your current contractor we can help you by providing you with a real cost to complete the work. This can be used to collect the overpayments you have made to your contractor. We can also work for you as an owners rep and help manage your contractor to complete the work at or near the contract price if possible.

New Bathroom or Kitchen

If you want to remodel your home please contact Iridium Development Inc. We provide free transparent estimates that are detailed. Our contracts are detailed as well and we use industry standard AIA contracts. During the construction process, we provide our clients with login portals to view who we paid and how much we paid each vendor and sub.

You can be assured our prices are very fair, the cost includes the entire scope of work to perform the work and complete the work. We stand by our timelines and minimize the overall duration. With our full transparency we eliminate stress and drama and that is always our goal.

18Nov

Remodeling

by Lee Seward Home Remodeling, add second story addition, boost real estate earnings, building a house, buying a new home, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, florida homes for sale, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home For Sale, home mortgage, houses for sale, Housing Market, HVAC Design Critique, investing in real estate, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, market trends in real estate, mortgage rates, new home construction, new home florida, new homes for sale florida, Paint, Property For Sale, Real Estate, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies, Subcontractors

Considering Renovating Spring 2024?

Most people start considering remodeling projects and renovations in the spring. Here are somethings to consider:

Create an overall plan
Build your team
Obtain pricing from your GC
Leave enough time

Create your overall plan and if needed do the work in stages. By staging the work you can do things that fit in your budget now or within your time frame between vacations or school etc.

Build your team, You may think you need a designer or architect first. You really should put everyone in place early before you start designing. I have seen to often when I deliver a price to a client and they are shocked by the number. They tell me it is impossible the cost should be that much, when actually the cost is really the same cost I would pay for my home. What usually happens is a client will negotiate the Architect to charge $X percent over the cost of the project. The client provides a target construction budget and the drawings are suppose to reflect that. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. Client’s many times cause increased budget costs. It is easy to love something drawn on paper, not so much when it blows up the targeted budget.

On my end I would rather be involved early and give input to numbers while the design develops. If I understand what my client wants to spend I can help with value engineering while the plans are developed. How do you hire a GC early and protect yourself? Interview and screen your GC candidates. You want transparency and trust, knowledge, willingness to work and proactive. You can lock in your GC based on a percentage fee over cost. You can also hire a GC for pre-construction work and send the final plans out for bid to make a final decision. We usually wrap our pre-construction into the project rather than bang up the client for a few hours of time.

Time, drawings and design can take 3 months easy. Between selection and review and revision that is a generous time frame. Then permits can take another 2-3 months depending on the work and sometimes longer. Add the time to make GC selections and such and y0u could lose 8 months in preplanning and prep time. Goodbye spring!

Remodeling

Build your team and select a General Contractor who is knowledgeable and can provide you preliminary numbers.

Inside tip: The process of hiring a GC or Architect, Designer etc. is the same process and challenge we face when hiring subcontractors. We look for proactive attitudes, details written on paper, fair pricing, professionalism, and really try hard to weed out the BS.

Construction Budget

Details matter, when your G.C. provides your estimate there should be line items with details. You should be able to see what is going into your project and the cost for each item. If you receive one line item with one cost for the entire project…stay away!

Some GC will submit very few line items and one price. They may tell you this and that is included, but if you choose someone who cannot put the details on paper you put yourself in a bad place. We stay away from subcontractors who try to do this with us. The gray area is where all the trouble sits. Full details reduce anxiety, surprises, opens up communication, and if everyone is on the same page then you eliminate problems.

New Homes

Everything should be transparent when dealing with finances. This image is a budget for one of our projects based on renderings we received from the Architect. We have also contributed costs allocations prior to receiving money from this client. Our clients are able to login and view the finances and details associated with the projects we are completing for them 24-7.

When you are seriously considering a new home or remodeling project you should put thought into the entire design. Know the cost as you design so you do not over design or over build for your neighborhood.

Stage the work based on financial decisions and how you have to live during the work. It may be better to move out short term or work on one floor (or area) at a time.

Make certain you know what is included by the estimate and not what someone is speaking to you. Have everything listed with a value, this makes changes later much easier. Tile to plumbing fixtures, cabinet design and drawer count, hardware to ceiling light counts. Details, details, and more details.

Give yourself time to plan and then execute the work, we spend more time planning the work then executing the work. Who wants to live in a construction zone longer than needed? Plan ahead of time as this saves you the most money and grief. Transparency, if your contractor is not transparent then stay away and part ways. To often clients listen to the sale of the project and jump into contracts that have no real explanation or detail of what the work includes. Some contracts have pages of what is not included and how the contractor is not liable for anything. That is a sign to stay away and pump the brakes. You can easily end up paying a deposit or your first invoice that reflects 50-70% completion of the contract work and only have 5% actually finished on site. 5-10% deposits are standard anymore than that beware. Progress payments are for progress. If there has been no work on your property then you should pay nothing. Be Careful to pay only for what you have received or what has been completed on your home. Do not over pay your contractor and only pay for what was completed.

Renovation

Set yourself up to enjoy the process and succeed. New homes, remodeling, and renovating can and should be fun. Work with people who know what they are doing and remove the stress and drama from your project.

If you are considering remodeling or renovating or even building a new home please contact us as we would enjoy working with you.

561-597-0021 or info@iridiumdev.io

8Nov

When to Remodel my House

by Lee Seward Remodeling

Remodeling

Many early conversations with Clients are contemplation of remodeling, should we or should we just trade up? The answer really depends on where you live and the neighborhood. Do you love your location so much to not move? Then it is a financial decision, today interest rates are higher and if you have a low rate and mortgage you may not want to change that. Staying in your current home may make more sense.

New bathroom is an easy decision, same as a new kitchen renovation. Should you add a second story addition? Or are you in a flood zone and considering the cost to elevate your home? We can help you with those decisions and guide you cost wise prior to engaging drawings and expense. One important factor when considering remodeling or major renovations is the total cost of the improvement added to the cost of the property? Will your total cost be less than the market value or sellable value of the improved home? That is an important consideration and yes I have come across many homeowners who say they are not concerend as they want to stay in the home forever but honestly you never know and why box yourself in.

Kitchen Renovation

Deciding what you want to do and creating a budget is easy with help and we would be more than happy to assist. You can add all the bling like Tommy Hilfiger did when we renovated his place or you can create a Chef’s Kitchen as we have done many times. The decision is yours and staying within a budget that works is on us.

On a high level overview the first place to start is create a wishlist of items you would want in any home. Then we can go over the items to give you ballpark cost to implement these items in your current home. This will help you decide what should stay in the scope of work or go. Once we have narrowed down the costs and scope of items you want, we can then engage an architect to draw up a plan with your designer. Once they have finished we can send the plans out for hard numbers, define the scope of work and pull permits to begin the build.

Sound simple?

It really is and you should always keep in mind is the overall cost compared to what your improved home would be worth. The value of improving your home compared to the cost of moving into a new home with a new mortgage. That perspective should define what is a have to have or have not.

Earlier I mentioned an Architect and an Interior Designer. These are very important people to implement into your project. I have seen many finished projects where the builder is the architect and designer. That is a huge mistake for an owner to make. Architects and Designers are involved in current designs and they have an educated background of design style. You do not want to throw everything into your project without having a design. You also want to stay away from trends and fads as they go away as fast as they appeared. A great Architect can design a second story that looks like your home was built that way from the beginning. A great Designer is going to tell you that a barn door for your bathroom is not a great idea and gives you no privacy. They will tell you that black fixtures while popular in the south is a design already out of style elsewhere and polish chrome is the current design style. Can you imagine renovating or building a new home and within a year the fixtures your builder selected are outdated design style? There are numerous new homes for sale where I can tell the builder is the designer and it shows horribly. Most design comes from Europe and is picked up in NYC and spread around the U.S. What you see here in the South or the West Coast may be dated already in NYC and Europe. Why choose something that is out when you can create something current that will be in style for the next 10+ years? Black window frames, black fixtures, have been a style from 2009, in most design situations it is not really in today.

Custom Home

To sum everything up, remodeling your home may be the best decision for you today. Staying within your budget and improved home valuation helps you spend money wisely. Making design choices that reflect current styles helps keep your investment relative to today and tomorrow design. Our house photos are older design styles and we are actually using all white windows as it is a classic design style for this type of home, our interior fixtures will be polished chrome, our bathrooms will be modern with spa like feeling and our kitchens are always chef quality.

If you would like to talk about remodeling your home and want to know ballpark costs, contact us at 561-597-0021 or info@iridiumdev.io

22Oct

Home Equity

by Lee Seward real estate market, boost real estate earnings, building a house, buying a new home, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, fix and flip, flipping florida, flipping homes, florida homes for sale, for sale by owner, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home For Sale, home mortgage, Home Remodeling, houses for sale, Housing Market, improve sales in real estate, investing in real estate, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, market trends in real estate, mortgage rates, new home construction, new home florida, new homes for sale florida, Property For Sale, Real Estate, real estate agent, real estate commission, real estate investing, real estate license, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies

Create Equity and Wealth

Wealth Building

Challenging markets are when you seek ugly ducks in great neighborhoods. Renovate and create your equity and increase wealth.

Houses that have been on the market longer were overpriced and not as desirable. The location can be and at some point the seller will take reasonable offers or just remove the listing. These are the deals to seek out and create. Place an offer and see what happens.

Remodel

This home was flood damaged and the sellers want out. Remodeling this home regardless how cheap is not worth it because it can flood again. But you can raise the home for about $170,000 and create a sustainable environment and equity.

When you are looking to add money to improve a home you need to be able to sell the finished product for 2x+ or higher what your total costs are. We usually operate with 3x+ but we are also doing our own work.

Purchase is where you make the most gains. Know the market and what land costs are (reasonable costs). This helps you decide what your max purchase price will be. Know your improvement cost, this house at $300,000 and $170,000 in improvements = $470,000 total cost. The finished home elevated above FEMA floodplain will have lower insurance premiums saving a buyer $10,000+ every year. This home would sell easily finished at $940,000 in this neighborhood.

You created $470,000 in equity today. Many people will tell you that this is impossible, but it is possible. We do it and you can to.

Raise your Home

Spend money on sustainable remodeling. Elevating the home stops water damage from future flooding, it lowers your insurance rates by $10,000+ per year, the best thing is you just significantly increased your equity and wealth.

Contact Iridium Development and we can help you with raising your home.

info@iridiumdev.io

561-597-0021

Florida License #CGC1534948

9Oct

How to Build a Spec House Part I

by Lee Seward Housing Market, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, florida homes for sale, for sale by owner, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home For Sale, Home Remodeling, houses for sale, improve sales in real estate, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, new home florida, new homes for sale florida, Property For Sale, Real Estate, real estate market, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies

Location Location Location

Yes it is all about location, great schools are very important, a street that is not busy, walkable area, low crime neighborhood, everything you would care about when selecting a place to live for yourself.

Now here is what you might not know about selecting the property. Ideally you want a lot that will allow the house to sit slightly uphill from the street. Not on a mountain, just an upward crown an elevation difference of 2ft depending on lot size and house location.

Next you want an open lot or one that you can open up. Clear out brush and dying trees. If there is a tree worth saving make sure it is not dying by having an arborist look at it.

Triangle lots are tough and usually not worth the trouble, corner lots are the same. Corner lots are viewed as having two front yards and the setbacks from the street in front typically are the same for the side street greatly reducing your build footprint.

Neighbors, you definitely do not want to build a spec house near the neighborhood hoarder or front yard mechanic. No fence will hide what you see on your first and every approach to your new home. You also want to get along with your new neighbors when you purchase your property.

Price, this is mathematics not feelings. Before you start looking for property you need to know a few things first.

What price are you looking to sell your new house at?
What are the comps for the targeted market? Bedroom, Baths, house sft, lot size?
What is the cost you can build at per foot to deliver the same type home in that space?
How big is the market space and how many days on market to sell?
Then select the area you want to build based on the local comps.

New homes sell for more than older homes per house size, bedroom count, and land size. Waterviews and waterfront increase the sales price as do pools and other features. Sometimes they are worth adding and sometimes not, the math will tell you.

Having completed your homework you can then decide on the price for the land. Your ceiling is set by the comps, you need to deduct the cost to build with the features the other comps have, then the land price, closing fees, and have enough profit to be worth the effort.

House for Sale

Trust the math, numbers do not lie. Be sure to include the build cost, land cost, closing costs to purchase, architect and permit fees, utility fees, insurance, taxes, finance fees, this has to be deducted from your selling number and net proceeds to be certain you will make a profit. When you sell you are responsible for paying all real estate closing fees title costs, and legal. This can be 7%-10%+ taken off the sale price depending on where you live.

What is the targeted profit that you should seek after closing costs from your sale and real estate commission?

That profit range is totally up to you but for the risk and cost of money, you should at the very least worst case scenario clear 25%+ per year over the cost. If you are setting your goals for less than you should give your money to an investor who will provide more return with less risk and less work/stress for you. What if the timeline from purchase to sale takes longer than a year? That profit margin you calculate has to be higher than 25%+ per year. If D.O.M. in your area is 180 days that is 6 months of sitting waiting for a buyer. Your home has to be showcase condition 24/7. Lawn maintenance, house cleaning, touch up paint, are all the weekly expenses you must cover to keep your house in showroom condition.

Now you have your math homework complete and you are ready to select and bid on a property. You have your construction cost, and all of your costs associated with the complete build and sale of your new house. These are fixed numbers based on tangible items. The purchase price is the last variable and when you reach your ceiling and the seller cannot make it work, you have to walk away. So many times I hear from builders that they paid more than they intended because the location is worth it and when they finally sell it wasn’t worth it.

At the end of all your hard work and late nights staring at the ceiling trying to sleep, all of this stress has to be worth it or why do it? Do your math and stick to the numbers.

More coming later on the other stages of building a spec house.

info@iridiumdev.io

8Oct

Remodeling

by Lee Seward Remodeling

Remodeling

Renovating your Home

New Kitchen, Bathroom, or considering a Remodeling Project, be sure to know what you are getting when you select your General Contractor.

Here in Florida I have witnessed two General Contractors (in St. Petersburg FL.) start projects and never finish them. Homeowners with projects started and never completed waiting patiently for years (not months). They are told story after story and they are hoping one day the work will be completed. Most likely that day will unfortunately never come.

How do you protect yourself from being a victim?

Start with the estimate you receive and make sure it has detailed line items for the work you require. A short paragraph and zero definitive details is not worthy of a conversation let alone awarding the Contractor a project. You should have around 10-16+ line items of work required and costs associated. Each line item should explain the detail and the cost for labor and material.

Here is an example of one line item:

Do your Homework

When you find the company you are comfortable with and you can tell what is included in the price by the scope and details if the work then go to contract.

Some General Contractors have local attorneys make contracts and I reviewed one of them that had more language about not reporting negative reviews than any protection for the client or even the contractor.

We use AIA contracts, this is the industry standard and this is what the courts use to solve conflicts. When you read an AIA contract you see that it is very fair for both parties involved in the project. It covers all of the typical discrepancies and sometimes unseen issues that can arise in a project. This is not unfair for the Client or the Contractor, it is just more transparent so both parties clearly know who is responsible for what and when.

Be your Advocate

If you are a victim in a bad deal then you need to be your advocate and change the terms.

The first step is to have a few contractors come to give you an estimate for the work that is left to complete. Of course a detailed line item estimate.

The second step is to assess the cost to complete against the cost paid to date. Most likely you will have grossly overpaid your current contractor.

The third step is to speak with a few attorneys and research your options.

Florida adopted House Bill 7125 governing claims of Contractor Fraud. Section 489.126 of the Florida Statutes covers the following:

When a contractor receives an initial payment of at least 10 percent of the contract price for any repair, restoration, improvement, or construction job involving a residential property, the contractor is required to apply for any necessary permits within 30 days of receiving the payment, and to start the work within 90 days after all necessary permits have been issued.
When a contractor fails to meet the deadlines, the client must send a written demand letter insisting the contractor either apply for the permits, start work, or refund the initial payment.+ If the contractor cannot meet these deadlines and refuses to refund the payment, the contractor must show “just cause” for the failure, unless the contractor and the client agree to an extension of time in writing; keep in mind, however, that failure to respond to the client’s demand letter within 30 days of receipt creates a legal inference that the contractor does not have “just cause”.“
If the contractor receives total payments for a project “in excess of the value of the work performed,” the contractor may not refuse to complete the job within 90 days (or a different time period specified in the contract) or refund the excess money charged; if the client sends the contractor a written demand letter demanding completion or a refund, the contractor must reply within 30 days of receipt.

A contractor who violates the law is subject to criminal prosecution for theft. The degree of the offense–and the accompanying jail time–escalates depending on the total amount of money received:

If the amount received was less than $1,000, the contractor can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor;
If the amount is between $1,000 and $19,999, the charge is a third-degree felony;
If the amount is between $20,000 and $199,999, the charge is a second-degree felony;
If the amount is $200,000 or greater, the charge is a first-degree felony.

Proactive is always better than Reactive

Renovations and remodeling is not that bad and should be fun. Unfortunately there are a few bad apples out there and if you hired one the process is not fun.

Know that there are laws protecting you the victim. Be transparent in all of your dealings and expect transparency in return.

Yes discrepancies happen and sometimes they are not in anyone’s control. Having a detailed fair contract avoids most issues or at the least provides instruction of how to handle unseen issues when they arise.

If you are looking for transparency and fair pricing please contact us at:

info@iridiumdev.io

561-597-0021

21Sep

Is the Building Code Enough?

by Lee Seward Contractors

Should you only build to code?

So many builders and tradesman stop at what the code requires. This falls under my earlier blog of “Good Enough”. The building code is the baseline not the end line.

Remodeling, New Homes, Commercial and Residential require more than just “to code”. Applying more than just code reduces call backs and improves the quality of your service.

Stone Slab Floor

This stone floor made of 3/4″ thick slabs cut to fit the floor space. We set the slabs over 1-1/2″ thick cement slab. The top of the finish stone is the same elevation as the finish wood flooring. We have a 1/4″ metal angle tucked under the slab edge to finish the stone to wood edge, everything is even at the top elevation.

How?
Why?

The framed floor in the photo shows TJI floor joists and also LVL joists. The LVL joists are shorter elevation than the TJI. This is how we create room for the cement slab under the stone. If you were pouring a cement slab floor you would create the same situation (bathrooms and showers).

Flush or Drop Beam?

Do you opt for drop or flush beams? Drop beams are easy to install and easy for tradesman to run wires, pipes, ducts.

Which one is better?

Flush beam I have found serves multiple purposes and is always what I opt for. Yes it requires more installation labor, yes the electrician, plumber, HVAC contractors have to work around this. But the advantages are huge.

I always discuss with my structural engineer sizing and prefer wider over height, short and fat is perfect for this application. I always prefer the beam to be shorter in height than the floor joists. I always set the beam to the top of the joists. The gap at the bottom allows the needed wire or pipe to run past if needed. The drywall will also easily run past without a bump.

The biggest benefit over the two installations is the weight transfer above the beam. Most times you have a beam to cut span and also the engineer will stack weight from floors above on this beam. Have you ever been in an old house and the doors are angled? Floors by the door jamb have sunk down, or the top of the door is cut on some sort of angle so it will close?

The reason for this ( I really hope you see it in old houses and not new) is that there is no blocking between the joists running over the dropped beam or bearing wall.

With TJI joists you have to add squash blocks to the side of the joists. They work great when a door opening above aligns perfectly over the squash block but not when the other side is in between joists. The proper install for a drop beam or joists over a bearing wall is to add bearing solid blocking. The issue is most trades after the framer remove the blocks to run there items over. It is not code so the inspectors do not make you change it.

More Work,
Quality Results!

Flush beam in place tight under sheathing provides constant support and also provides continuous ceilings below. Solid blocking over bearing walls and monitoring trades provides the same constant support as well.

As the Builder or General Contractor you have the ability to sit with the structural engineer and architect to avoid future issues, include a higher level of finish.

Your workmanship and management shows in the level of quality provided by your detailed finishes. Most people do not notice these details and regardless if they do, you still spend the time and coordination to provide them. That is the difference between “Great work” or “Good Enough”.

Any questions please contact us info@iridiumdev.io

11Sep

Is Good Enough, Good Enough?

by Lee Seward Remodeling

New Homes and Remodeling

When we renovated this home and added a pool in the basement we had to work with existing conditions, we also saved the rooms directly above this location so the beams had to stay intact.

I mention this because when you are remodeling an area you have to work with existing conditions. How easy would it be to just stick lighting in the ceiling, or HVAC vents, at locations that are easy to work with? Very easy in fact most of the time spent on a remodel or renovation project is coordinating existing and new installation so it works with the design intent. After all what would be the point of working with a Designer or Architect if you are just going to place things where and when it is easy?

Design is personal as is style, when you look past the design or style of something and focus on the details what do you see? What should you see? I will share what I see when I view pictures of others work.

“Good Enough“, when you see lighting in a Kitchen without symmetry…a light over the kitchen sink that is not centered, or offset in front of the refrigerator (not centered over appliances), or huge obnoxious air vents (randomly placed)? A gaggle of switches most likely operating lights around the room and not near the location you enter. Ugh, or crown molding that runs the perimeter of the ceiling and stops at all of the wall registers or window openings…?

What I see is much more than what is in the picture. I see disorganization and lack of planning, I see “Good Enough” just leave it. I see a project where the client hired a General Contractor, maybe an Interior Designer, or Architect, there were probably design drawings and rather than work with the team the GC provided excuses to why this is not possible or that will not work. The results of the work is “Good Enough” not “Wow that’s Great.”

How does this happen? It is accepted or overlooked. If you take what I just explained and searched GC firms, Design Firms, Architect Firms you will see what I am talking about. “Nice from Far but Far from Nice.”

When you select your next GC or Remodeling Contractor, see if they are ok with Good Enough!

We accept only excellence.

info@iridiumdev.io

6Sep

How to Protect your House from Flood Damage

by Lee Seward Renovation

Water Damage

What can you do to protect your home and investment from flood damage.

The best answer is to elevate your home although this may not be possible for older homes. If you cannot elevate than you need to reduce damage and we will give you advice on how to do that.

Flood damage can cause your doors, windows, and walls to cave in. But in Florida there is worse damage that is caused after the water recedes, it is mold. Once your house is flooded and the water recedes mold starts to infiltrate. The longer the items are wet the more intense the mold builds and starts to spread.

The first step to reducing the damage is to remove and discard everything that is wet as soon as possible. Remove everything from the house including drywall, carpet, insulation and wet furniture. Please do this after your appraiser comes out or if you have a long wait then take a careful detailed video of everything before and after.

Once you have removed all of the wet contents then you need to dry the house out and apply a mold killer over everything.

You can find suggestions on the CDC website and bleach is an easy to source product.

Your air conditioning can be used to remove moisture in the home, have your ac running at a lower than normal temp so it continues to cycle and pull moisture from the air. You can also purchase/rent a dehumidifier as well.

Once you dry the home you will need to assess the damage along with creating a list of repairs and itemized costs.

Wood framing needs to be treated so mold does not come back, any wet drywall needs to be removed. Wet electrical wires have to be replaced as well. If you have any low HVAC vents that were flooded they should be replaced or looked at.

You also need to put some thought into this, what will stop this from happening again?

Prevention

Can you prevent future flooding? Maybe or most likely maybe not.

You can prevent future damage and this is what we are going to cover.

Change your design style along with materials. If possible elevate your entry doors and waterproof the sills.

Use cement board in place of drywall, replace carpets with stone or tile, install stone/tile base moldings.

Use rigid foam for insulation instead of fiberglass, raise wires and ductwork,

Use cabinetry that is wall mounted and elevated from the floor (european look).

Try to use materials at floor level that will not absorb moisture. Treat these areas as if the walls and floors are a bathroom shower.

Laticrete makes a water proofing application that is painted on and will seal the floor and the wall. Apply it all over your concrete floor and up the wall making sure the inside corner is covered generously. Cover the water proofing with tile or paint. What you created is a stop for water to penetrate behind your walls and mitigated the damage to contents on the floor rather than destruction of your walls.

For more information or a free consultation, contact Iridium Development 561-597-0021

23Aug

Mortgage Rates

by Lee Seward Remodeling

Lower Cost

Savings

Are you feeling trapped by high mortgage rates? Instead of considering the daunting task of purchasing a new home with even higher mortgage rates, why not explore the option of remodeling your current home? With Iridium Development, a trusted and experienced general contractor, you can transform your existing space into your dream home while still living there.

Imagine having a brand-new kitchen that perfectly suits your culinary needs or adding that much-needed extra room for your growing family. Our team of skilled professionals specializes in various aspects of home remodeling, including kitchen remodels, additions, window installations, roofing repairs, and more. We are committed to providing free estimates and delivering top-quality workmanship to ensure your satisfaction.

By choosing to remodel instead of moving, you not only save yourself from the stress and expenses associated with buying a new property but also have the opportunity to customize every aspect of your home according to your preferences. Whether it’s creating an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for additional rental income or upgrading your bathrooms and flooring for enhanced comfort and aesthetics, our dedicated team will work closely with you to bring your vision to life.

Don’t let high mortgage rates hold you back from achieving the home of your dreams. Contact Iridium Development today and let us guide you through the exciting journey of transforming your current space into a place you’ll love coming home to.

Tag Home Remodeling

Is the Contractor holding you back?

Details in your Design Expensive?

The Contractor is an Extension of your Creativity

We see and hear it all of the time, “I wanted to do this but the costs were to much so we removed it.”

Simple is easy and boring

Symmetry

Regardless what you imagine, don’t let yourself be restricted by simple.

Not Complicated

If you have experience and an open mind the work really isn’t complicated and there are ways to make it fit the budget.

You Control

The Designer is in control of the style and the contractor finds a way to make it happen.

Be You

Let Iridium Help

Private Commissioned Residences

For the Discerning Designer

561-597-0021

Home DIY

Flood Prevention 101

Here are some tips to keep water where it should be

Did you know that “INSANITY” is defined by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

If your house flooded from a storm surge and you only replaced everything, you could be INSANE. You need different solutions to stop future water damage.

Where was water infiltration entry?

How high was the surge and water level outside and flood water inside?

What height (off the floor) are the entrance doors to the house?

Take this information and create a plan.

Raise your exterior doors to create a buffer below. This work may be involved but if you do it once correctly you won’t have to do it again unless something huge came through. If your home has 8ft ceilings and you door sits on the floor of your home, you have these options:

Option 1 remove the lintel and replace with a laminated wood beam that is short in height and fat. Use the difference in height to raise the door with cement infill and waterproofing. A typical door is supporting 1 or 2 trusses so a 4″-5″ tall laminate beam is suffice.

Option 2 remove the lintel and open the ceiling up inside, install a flush header above the block walls and joist hanger the trusses into the beam for support. put your door to the ceiling line and add the space below with cement and waterproof to bottom of footing.

Flood Damage

Flood Mitigation

DIY PREVENTION

Raise Exterior Doors

Elevate your Home

Remodeling in Pinellas County

New Kitchen or Bathroom is very important to you and your Family. The added space or versatility in use or just updating the design to something current requires selecting a licensed contractor to do the work.

Make sure you have answers to these questions in writing:

What precisely is the scope of work?

How long will the work take overall?

What are the work hours/days?

Will I be out of a Kitchen for 2 weeks or 9 months?

What happens if the project takes a year?

What happens if you did not add work but the Contractor wants more money?

Who is responsible for managing the subcontractors?

Is the contractor capitalized to operate business?

Typical issues

Renovation in Naples

If you follow these steps you will reduce a bad experience.

Read the reviews and responses.

Stay away from narcissistic responses from the contractor.

Meet face to face with the contractor and go over the work ask about all details.

Review the estimate provided by the contractor beyond the price, look for details= product description, qty, cost.

Ask for written language of time duration and how will the work be managed.

Ask for missing details to be added.

Define what you are expected to do and what you expect from them.

Add language for delays.

Transparency

Selecting the contractor because they provided the lower cost doesn’t mean that is the real cost. I have seen this numerous times over the years, clients pick the lower cost.

Now what?

The number was wrong, the contractor did not include 1/2 the work and you find out when you are to far in. You signed a contract that has no finish details but pages of how you cannot give a bad review or negative press.

If you have no details explaining what is included in your project then do not hire the contractor, this is true for Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, Roofing, or General Contracting, Lawn Mowing, Car Repair, etc.

Contractor not showing up

Above we discussed how to avoid a bad situation, but what if you are already in one?

Here are some things you need to know.

Confront your contractor and request a completion schedule in writing, make sure you paper all interactions going forward.

Request a list of who and what was paid to date along with signed, notarized lien waivers.

The lien waivers are proof of payment and you need to know who was paid and how much by your contractor.

Regardless of how much you paid your contractor, if the subcontractors were not paid they can legally (within 90 days) lien your home and foreclose on your property.

The state of Florida is very difficult to obtain a contractor license. You can use this as leverage, all contractors are out of business without a license. Report your contractor, it is a class one felony to take a clients payment and use the funds for anything outside of the clients project.

New Bathroom or Kitchen

You can be assured our prices are very fair, the cost includes the entire scope of work to perform the work and complete the work. We stand by our timelines and minimize the overall duration. With our full transparency we eliminate stress and drama and that is always our goal.

Considering Renovating Spring 2024?

Most people start considering remodeling projects and renovations in the spring. Here are somethings to consider:

Create an overall plan

Build your team

Obtain pricing from your GC

Leave enough time

Create your overall plan and if needed do the work in stages. By staging the work you can do things that fit in your budget now or within your time frame between vacations or school etc.

Remodeling

Build your team and select a General Contractor who is knowledgeable and can provide you preliminary numbers.