Beyond The Studs With Legacy Exteriors - "7 Questions"

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
One to one point five five bayf FM Mattison's clients cronk ac DC on
a two for Tuesday, also Beyondthe Studs Tuesday with Legacy Exteriors owner John's
Gowitt Season with Us Today, Joshshow, are you I'm doing great?
How are you doing great? Youstaying cool? Not in here? Yeah,
so we should let people in behindthe scenes our studio for I BAFMS

(00:22):
in the basement. But Josh doesanother segments on one of our sisters stations.
So I come upstairs to join Joshand this upstairs wing it's hot.
It is hot, makes no sense, No, it does not. It's
not fun. You're like half thebuilding but the halfway exactly exactly. You're
like, come on, let's justget rolling with this here so we can
get done. But we got areally cool topic ont a hand for us

(00:43):
today, which we'll get to ina second here. But of course Legacy
Exteriors, whatever exterior project on yourhome, most likely they can take care
of that for you, whether it'swindows, gun or signing, roofs.
Dak's three season, four season allseason rooms, pergolos, doors, even
everything but lands gaping essentially on theoutside of your home. But today is
going to be a little more educationalfor our listeners. Here josh On beyond

(01:06):
the stuts, we're gonna run througha list here of the top seven questions
you should ask a Homer modeling companysuch as Legacy Exterior. It's kind of
the interview process when choosing that's Homermodel company. Yeah, I think the
more questions you ask, you know, the better off you're going to be
in the long run, because aswe always said before, like it's it's
a partnership. You know, you'reyou're choosing the right contractor the contractors choosing

(01:32):
the right homeowner. It's got amutually both work. You've got to both
the mutually both fifth and trust eachother. So it's it's a process.
So I mean, you want tomake sure that you're picking the right person
right and vice versas. So Ithink the more questions you ask, the
better off you're going to be inthe long run and choosing the right contractor.
Yeah, I mean it too aswe quickly jump into these questions.

(01:55):
One question that isn't on here,but I think is key. It's just
kind of a gut feeling. Howdo you feel about that person? And
how do you feel about, youknow, the people that they send over
for the interview process, stuff likethat. Yeah, I agree with that,
Yeah absolutely. I think, likemost things, most things in life,
you go with your gut. Yeah, you go with what what your
gut is telling you to do.So yeah, it's either yeah, I

(02:17):
like this guy, I think youcan do a job, or hey,
this guy is a creepy exactly,so I think, you know, I
always trust your gut. So let'sdive into our list here again, we
are going to run through the topseven questions you should ask kind of as
you're going through the interview process andchoosing a homer modeling company. What's number

(02:38):
one? So this list comes tous by the way of LP smart Side,
one of the products that we carryfor the siding line. Sure,
but I read this list and Ithink there's some really good stuff here,
So let's share it with the youknow, the people out there. First
one, how many years of experiencedo you have? I think that's good,

(03:00):
But I also think another way ofasking it, or another follow up
question would be if they have aphysical place of you know address, So
so many people in this business workout of their homes, work out their
garage. So if they're doing that, more than likely they don't really have
employees, or they don't really havea place to store materials or things of

(03:23):
that nature. As soon as Ihear you say all those things, I
start to think of myself, whatthe hell is this timetable going to be
in this job? Right? Theydon't have employees, they don't have you
know, I think a massive redflag. Yeah it should be. Yeah,
So if they don't have a placeof business, I think that is
a red flag. So number twois can you provide me with your business

(03:46):
license, registration and insurance. Ithink that's great. Obviously you want to
make sure that they are you know, fully insured, they are certified all
those things. So one of thethings we do, and you can attest
to this, when we send overthe estimate to a homeowner for no matter
what it is, there's a letterabout our business. There's tells you all

(04:09):
that stuff, tells you the awardswe won, certifications, but it also
has a physical sheet that has allour certifications in it and literally copies of
them and not only you know,business insurance and contractor's license and things of
that nature, but also has allour certifications with all our manufacturers. Yeah,

(04:31):
so don't Yeah. And two twopeople out there don't be free to
ask questions about what those things mean. I agree. If you don't understand
something, ask it. Yeah.Number three, do you have references?
I hate this one? Really,I do. I get where you where
why people think they need to askthis one. But seriously, who is
going to give someone a bad reference? Well, plus, in the year

(04:55):
twenty twenty three, everybody's got awebsite exactly, So I think a better
way of kind of this information isgiving a list of your last three jobs
something along those lines, trying tokeep maybe that contractor off guard, or
because I can assure you nobody isgoing to hand out a bad reference.

(05:15):
You know, so that I getwhere why people are told to ask this
question. But let's find a differentway to ask. Yeah, or even
have you done any of their homesin my neighborhood? Yeah? Give me
the addresses? Something along those lines. Number four does your estimate include all
costs? Yours? Does? Yet? I think this is a good one

(05:39):
because I think some companies are obsessedwith leaving the lowest price, and in
such doing so, they're leaving outcrucial things that should be in that job
and they know should be in thatjob that they will build later. So
I think this is a good oneto ask if you. I've seen a
lot of other companies estimates out thereand it's very vague of what they're even

(06:00):
doing. Yeah, so if ifyou don't understand, ask questions or you
know, like again, you canattest to this. Our estimate is literally
broken out to the nail. Itis, isn't that it is? I
don't even there's no question on whatwe're going to do on that percent,
and there's no hidden costs, asyou said, especially down the road,

(06:23):
which everything is very clearly late itis. We're talking with Josh Gallwitz here
Beyond the Studs Tuesday on IBAM FIMowner of Legacy Exteriors again, their website
Legacy dash Exteriors dot com, theirphone number two two one three thousand.
But we are running through a listcourtesy of LP Smart Signing, which is
a great product that Legacy Exteriors caninstall a line your home. About the

(06:44):
top seven questions you should ask whenkind of choosing an exterior company. So
number number five, yep, whatare the product and workmanship warranties. So
again, I think this goes withnumber four. It should be very clearly
in there what product they are youusing and what is the warranty associated with
such products? So I think thatkind of goes hand in hand with number

(07:05):
four. But I agree with thatthat it should be clear and on there.
Yeah, I think people need toask a lot of questions though too
when it comes to warranties, becausewe've discussed here some warranty seem were really
great, but when you readefine print, when you're really you know, investigating
further, they're you know, worthabout as much as this piece of paper

(07:25):
in my hand. Yeah, it'slike a tire warranty. It sounds awesome
until you drive on it and thenit's like, okay, that was great.
So well, and that's the thingtoo, because we talk about don't
just you know, call one exteriorcompany, right, make a few calls,
make sure Legacy Exteriors is one ofthose calls, but invest get ask
them about the competitor's warranty. Yeah, you know, yeah, I mean,

(07:45):
the more questions, the better offthat you're you're going to be in
the long run, because you're incontrol of this you're the one spending the
money on this product. Absolutely,you're in the driver's seat. So I
think some people just maybe don't knowwhat to ask, which is totally fine.
I think this list is a goodstarter list. Yeah, that's why
we're here. Yeah, educate Numbersix, here we go. Who will

(08:07):
supervise the stite on a daily basis? And how often will we be in
contact? I think that's a goodone, just for the fact that there
should be someone that a homeowner hasto go to with questions during the project.
So with you guys, is thatNate. Yeah, n be like
my go to when I hit you. Nate's gonna be the guy in charge

(08:28):
of all things production on residential forsure, But on site there is also
an on site project manager that isgoing to relay information between your you know,
homeowners and and Nate themselves. SoI think it's good to have a
designated person for that homeowner too ifthey do have any questions. So I

(08:50):
think you know our case. Youknow, you dealt with Nate. He
told you, you know, histimelines were awesome and they were right spot
on two and even he was veryupfront with me when I first called you
guys, and then met with youguys. You came out and walking my
roof. He was very upfront about, Hey, it's gonna be you know,
not for another I don't know.I think it was three weeks.

(09:11):
I mean, everything that he laidout it was. It happened on schedule,
which I was very surprised with becauseyou guys are really my first experience
with a homer modeling company, right, and so my experience was amazing.
Really that's good because obviously there arehorror stories out there as far as the
home and remodeling. Yes, intimelines, going over budget everything, oh

(09:31):
yeah, and we tried to thatand that's why I think we're so upfront
with everything, Like our our estimate, it's broken out the way it is
so there is no hidden things orconfusion between us and the homeowners. So
everything is is very very transparent.So and I think the way that's the

(09:52):
way homeowners like it. We've hadever since we switched to these estimates.
I think it's been a couple afew years now, but it's been well
received with homeowners. Yeah, yeah, I mean I think I think part
of that is is like this isan investment, as we've talked about these
things are not cheap, these projects, and we want to make sure that

(10:15):
we can kind of see where everysingle penny we're spending is going. Yeah,
but you hit the nail on thehead. It is not. It's
an investment. Yeah, it's yourhome, right, So whether it's rough
and siding, windows, whatever,none of it's going to be cheap.
But is it something you want todo again, right? You know,
so you might as well do itright the first time. Yeah, Well,
there is that old saying. Youknow, you pay for what you

(10:37):
get, right, you know,Well, if you spend a little more,
there's gonna be quality and and andnot saying what you guys do at
Legacy Exteriors is more than what otherpeople are charging out there. But you
know, there is that fine line. People do have to understand that if
a price is so dramatically lower ora bit I should say, from another
company, there has to be areason behind that. I agree, But

(10:58):
look at it this way. Sayyou spend a little bit more with a
with a with a company and it'sright and you don't have to do it
again, or you go to thecheap company and then you have to do
it again at the time that youhave to do it again. Are you
thinking yourself how much money you saved? No, No, you're thinking about
how much more money I'm about tospend exactly. Yeah, So that was

(11:18):
my point. Yeah, it makessense, And that's where the questions come
in. Yeah, they're great.What am I getting? What's my warranty?
If? Is there anything not coveredin my warranty? So yeah,
the more questions you could ask,the better off you're going to be in
the long run. And don't assumeeverybody that installs this stuff is good at
what they do, because that's justsimply not the case. Some are very

(11:41):
good at schmoozing you in that firstmeeting that you had, whether it's in
you're living your own or whether whereverit may be. Yeah, just because
you're great at sales doesn't mean you'regood at install And the truth is in
the pudding. I always feel likewith the manufacturers, sure, how high,
how how highly does that MANU factorrate that company? Yeah? Yeah,
you know, because that is thetrue test, because you're installing it

(12:05):
their products exactly, and they know, Yeah, they know are are doing
Do you install well? Or doyou not install well? Right? If
you're doing install well, I thinkyou're going to become a mass relieve roofer,
for example, as you are withgas. Yeah, or in this
case, we're at the highest levelin the state with LP smart side,
right, so I think that's youknow, to me, that's a lot

(12:26):
of that, right. There's whattwo other companies across a high level and
LP No, we're the only onesin Wisconsin. They're only choosing one per
state for right now. There willbe once this rolls out, but they
wanted uh companies that's going to representthem really well during this test phase of
this high level one. And that'skey because you're gonna hear other companies out

(12:48):
there on the radio, on TV, on social media, whatever may be
saying that they install LP smart signing. Some local home improvement stories also sell
it, so you could install iton your own. Yes, but there's
one come by that LP Smart sidinghis chosen here in the state of Wisconsin
to be their preferred contract exactly,Legacy Exteriors exactly right. And and I'm

(13:09):
not saying that there's other companies outthere that don't install it, right because
that's just not true. There's butwhat we are saying is make sure you're
choosing a company that is going toinstall it right, and that's where these
questions come into play. I thinkyou're going to weed a lot of people
out with your gut feeling to answersto these questions, and that way,

(13:31):
you're narrowing it down to somebody thatyou feel you can trust. Trust is
a big thing, and they're stuckwith Jess Gallett's, owner of Legacy Exteriors.
Beyond This does Tuesday on IBA.You have, fem We are down
to our final question here of thetop seven you should ask when choosing an
exterior remodeling company. Johsh what isour final question today? I think it's
I can't read it, but Ithink it's how hotel? How long will

(13:54):
the project take? How long willthe project take? Yes? And I
think it's also good information to know, but I think it's it should be
more about when will the project start? Okay, that's an interesting way to
look at this question. Yeah,because you definitely don't want to be six
months down the road, you know, on a roof that maybe you're leaking

(14:15):
right now. And if you go, how long did the project take?
Oh, it's only gonna take aday. Oh that sounds great, and
then it's you know, a halfa year away. That's one of those
horror stories you're talking, right,So I think I think it should be
you know, some follow up questionsin there. I think this is a
great baseline for customers to ask theircontractor, but just you know a few

(14:37):
follow up questions. Yeah. ButI think this is key to kind of
hone in on here and talk aboutthis during beyond the sets with you owner
of Legacy Exteriors, because you canadd in these other you know, smaller
questions or whatever that people should beasking things. People should be you know,
aware of when they're choosing in exteriorhome remodeling company. So it's important,
it really is. Yeah. Imean you just want to make sure

(14:58):
that you're putting your money in theright spot, yeah, and that you're
not going to have to do thisproject again down the road, and that
you know, there wasn't a loopholein the warranty, right, there wasn't
this, and that I mean,you don't want those little things to ruin
what should be a really fun experiencein remodeling your home. Yeah, it
really should, because that should bringyou a lot of joy every day you

(15:20):
come home to that house and youshould be should be proud of it.
You really should be, you know. So okay, last question it wrapped
is up. I want to askyou, owner of Legacy Exteriors, if
I could speak Jess Gwatt, isthat the remix version? The remix?
Yes, it was the remix version. So if I were to call you
a two two one, three thousandand I want to you know, learn
more about Legacy Exteriors and you guysbeing you know, possibly who I would

(15:43):
go with as an exterior remodeler here. Who do I ask these questions too?
Is it Nikki on the phone?Is it Brock or whoever is the
salesperson that comes out to my home? Who do I ask these questions too?
So? Yeah, whoever the salespersonis that comes out to the home,
that does the measure does the measuring, does the you know the pictures
so we can throw that house intothree D image and we get all the

(16:04):
measurements. So that's your point ofcontact. That's who I would ask all
these questions. Uh two. Andif you know they don't have an answer
for you, they can find ananswer for for them. It's also again
to follow up like, it isnot a bad idea to go to that

(16:26):
place of location, go to theshowroom, see that they have a physical
business, See that people actually workthere, See that there's you know a
lot of different company trucks and stuffof that nature. Just you want to
make sure that it's it's an actuallocation, not somebody's house in the garage.

(16:47):
There are people that work there,things of that nature. I mean,
and maybe you go to that showroomand you see something that you didn't
know existed or didn't think about.You can see all the colors are Yeah,
so you didn't think about. Ithink it's it's truly just an always
a good idea. But then thenmaybe you get to meet the production manager
sure, face to face. There'sa lot of I think more positives that

(17:11):
can come from going there and physicallyvisiting the location. Yeah, And I
mean I don't want to spend aton of time in this because we've gone
on a long time today, butwhen people were or when people would come
to visit your physical location over thereat well, like you see exteriors,
you walk in and you see youknow, I don't want to call it
like a mantle, but all theawards you've wonder there. You have different

(17:32):
displays up, whether it be whatwe talked about last week with master shield,
gutter guards, different signing, differentcut. Like you walk in and
you can see that you are afull you know, operating or model company,
and that's what you should look forwith these companies. I think that's
a big part of it. Yes, I think there's a lot of components
today that we covered that are greatstarter questions and well it should hope make

(17:59):
that buying Experi's a lot better.Yeah, I thought you and I were
gonna go short today because it's sohot and we go along today. Oh
I'm so dehydrated. It might notbe able to leave. You might not
be a little lock up. Thatis Jas Gallwit's owner of Legacy Exteriors again
their website Legacy dash Exteriors dot com. They're number two two one, three
thousand. Whatever exterior project and yourhome you want to take care of,

(18:21):
they can do it for you.Gang let them leave their legacy on your
home. All right, give mea few minutes, I'll get this interview
posted on our website WYBFM dot com. Two for Tuesday, it rolls on
with you two and the Doors nexton a one point five