Ask Questions, Get Answers

Josh talks about the importance of asking questions of your contractor.

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Eighty seven thirteen ten Wi Bay andask the experts hanging out with quite past.
Possibly the coolest cat I know,Josh Cowit's owner at Legacy Exteriors.
Josh, how are you doing thismorning? I'm doing good? How are
you? I had a smile beforewe came on air. I wrote down
a swear word on a piece ofpaper and it always, it always brightens
my day though, when when Iget a chance to hang out with you

(00:26):
and we've got some really important stuffto talk about. We're talking about some
of them must ask questions when itcomes to siding and working with the siding
contractor. But I'm gonna guess andcorrect me if I'm wrong. A lot
of this stuff applies to not justsiding, any contractor in general. As
a homeowner, you really want toask good questions, don't you. Yeah.
I think the more questions you ask, the better off you're going to

(00:48):
be in the long run as ahomeowner. I think the biggest misconception that
maybe people might make is, well, it's you know, whether it's roofing,
siding. You know, they justassume everybody is good at their job,
sure, you know, and thatmight not necessarily be the case,
Yes, and we're going to talkabout some of those really important questions.
And it's and by the way,asking questions is good for everybody. It's

(01:11):
good for the homeowner, it's goodfor the contractor as well. And having
that conversation, having all that informationavailable. We had to Josh on that
in just a moment. In themeantime, you have been to the website.
Yet, what do you do?One? Head on over there Legacy
dash Exteriors dot com. That's LegacyDash Exteriors dot com. Rselfhen number six
eight two two one three thousand.That's two two one three thousand for Legacy
Exteriors. Josh, I was atthe website Legacy dash Exteriors dot Com.

(01:34):
And I look at the awards andcertifications page, and I scroll and I
scroll, and I scroll and Iscroll, and I wonder, thank goodness,
you don't have to pay for extraspace on a website because there are
pages and pages of awards recognition whenit comes to different certifications, different awards,
different types of recognition. Legacy Exteriorsreally, really, it's a pretty

(01:57):
impressive when you start to see someof that stuff. One of which that
jumped out at me is the topfive hundred for qualified remodeler, and that's
that's a big deal. Let's talkabout what that is, how you become
that nationwide, and what exactly forlegacy ex years that means to you guys.
Yeah, I think it's I mean, obviously, like you said,
it's a nationwide award some people callqualified remodel or the Kelly Blue Book of

(02:21):
Remodeling, you know, the endall be all. But though the award
itself, there's so much that goesinto it, not you know, not
just total sales, but customer reviewsand customer satisfaction, where you at,
where you're at with your manufacturers.It's a it's a long process. It's

(02:44):
a very vetted process when they're choosingbecause if you think about it, I
mean, the award is literally topfive hundred in America. Yeah, so,
I mean there's you know, thecouple of thousand companies just in a
one hour radius in Wisconsin here.So there is a lot of that lot
that goes into it, a lotthat gets narrowed down. And we are

(03:05):
proud to announce that we won itagain this year. I think that is
eighteen to twenty times we've won thataward. So it's very, very humbling,
very Obviously, you don't set outin probably any industry to you know,
to win awards. Most people Ididn't know these wards existed when I

(03:29):
first started, but it is nicerecognition at the end of a year that
you're you're doing the right things andmaking your customers happy. I know,
it's really special to you and it'sreally important to get that. And then
as a homeowner as well, forfolks when it comes to choosing a contractor
having those type of recognitions, andas we talk later on the program about

(03:50):
those questions to be asking, that'sone of those areas being recognized in the
industry as a leader, as aas as one of the best of the
best. That's it. That isfor homeowner, that's a really big deal
too. Yeah, I think whatit does for us as a company is
it open doors. So when Ifirst started Legacy Exteriors, I knew that

(04:11):
there were certain products that I wantedto carry and I wanted to be at
the highest level with those manufacturers.And obviously you can't just start at the
highest level. You got to workyour way there. And what the Qualified
Remodeler did for us was give usrecognition in the industry, says, being
one of the top remodeling companies inAmerica. So companies would approach us,

(04:36):
you know, instead of us goingto them and trying to hey, we'd
like to carry your product. Itwas the other way around once that started
happening, And because you know,like any you know, all manufacturers want
their products being associated with the youknow, some of the best companies.
So being on that list is abig deal, not only for the customers

(04:58):
that we that we have, butfor us as a company as well when
we're trying to not only get thebest products, but we want to be
at the highest levels we can offerthe best warranties. That's interestinct perspective that
I guess I hadn't thought of before, is that when you mentioned, you
know, the qualified remodeler, beingthat blue book, the Kelly's Blue Book
of Remodeling, and getting that recognitionin the industry. And then of course
you look at things like the President'sClub Award with GAF Triple Excellence Award Winners,

(05:23):
Platinum Certified Contractor with Pella Mastic Preferredcontractor, remember the Better Business Bureau
Master Elite. I mean, allthese different things, and it kind of
comes back to that overarching umbrella ofbeing Okay, we are we are one
of the best and recognized nationwide,and that brings us to our conversation this
week about questions you should be asking, and specifically about citing. But this

(05:46):
stuff can oftentimes be applied to mostevery conversation you have with a contractor.
And one of the you mentioned,Josh, the warranties, and before we
kind of break down some of thesequestions that goes in, we talked about
LP smart Side for example. Becauseof your level of skill and you know,
the training and all the all theimportant things that go into the remodel

(06:06):
work that you guys do at LegacyExteriors, you have been able to offer
the absolute highest warranty with things likeLP smart Side for example. Yeah,
so a little background on that.So most people know that we are a
Master Elite contractor with GF, whichis you know, the stats on that
is like less than two percent ofroofing contractors in America are at the Master

(06:29):
Elite level, so it's very veryrare. GF does a really good job
of making sure the best rofing companiesare carrying that level of certification and citing.
There hasn't really been too much inthe way of matching that what roofing
companies have tried to do. ButLP smart Side, I believe it was

(06:50):
last year, wanted to put togethera program similar to the Master Elite,
so only select few contractors are goingto be able to offer it, and
what they can do is offer amuch higher level warranty than standard and for
this first initial roll out, theyonly wanted companies that they knew they could

(07:10):
you know, trust and going toinstall their product the right way and do
and do good things so that programyou know, does take off, right.
Yeah, Well, so they decidedto offer it to one one company
per state, so I think therollout is fifty yea initially from what I'm
told. The cool thing for usas Legacy Exteriors is we got asked by

(07:35):
LP smart Side to be the Wisconsincompany that represents that, which is a
big deal, huge honor, onethat we quickly accepted, and so we
had to go through a different levelof certification and some different steps that we've

(07:57):
done in the past for them toget up thatification level. But it's great.
It was it was I think it'ssaid a lot about our team and
our installers, literally our whole organizationthat LP smart Side chose us to to
lead that program in Wisconsin, andyou know, it's been going great so

(08:20):
far. It's it's helped us,you know, because when there's only one
company that's listed as I mean,it says a lot if you're even remotely
considering citing and let alone LP smartSide and you see that, well there's
one installer to go one one installerto go to. It's it's pretty great.

(08:41):
And uh, I think we're representingLP smart Side very well in that
manner. But you know, likethey came to us and and was like,
well, we know we're not goingto have any problems with you.
And I think that just said alot for our team and everybody it works
at Legacy Exteriors, trusted by theby the Manu factors, and also of
course trusted by homeowners as well.And we talked with Josh Gowitz, owner

(09:03):
at Legacy exteriears it's a great dayto start that conversation. All I get
who just pick up phone, giveM a call six to eight two two
one three thousand, So that's twotwo one three thousand. I know we've
had we've had some guests on fromLP in the past to remember a little
piece of trivia. I don't know, you don't do you know this?
Do you don't? Do you knowwhere LP smart side, where the materials
come from? Tomahawk. Yes,I'm not gonna get anything right here in

(09:26):
Wisconsin. I thought it was Howcool is that? Josh Gowitz, owner
at Legacy ex Eriars, tell whatnumber six away two two one three thousand,
that's two two one three thousand.Think exciting, Think you're groofing.
We of course we talked out theother week about master Shield gutters and just
an amazing product there for your homeas well. If you've got a question
about the outside of your home,you want to make it function better,
perform better, look better. Joshand the team at Legacy Exteriors love to

(09:48):
talk with the augutist pick up phonein McAll six away two two one three
thousand. That's two two one threethousand. We're gonna talk about some of
the questions you should be asking whenyou're working with a contractor and interviewing a
contractor. You will do that withJosh next as ask the experts what Legacy
Exteriors continues here on thirteen ten.W Ibi. I know this, if

(10:15):
Legacy Exteriors started doing heating and cooling, we would have a much better situation
here at the studios because it wouldbe taken care of right away. Talking
this morning with Josh cowit's owner atLegacy Exteriors website Legacy dash Exteriors dot com
telf when number six a two twoone three thousand, that's two two one
three thousand, yahs. Little alittle toasty in here, a little sticky
in here. This it's a littlehot. I'm just happy. It's not

(10:37):
just me getting a little worried,Like it's not just you know, you're
over there fanning yourself. So we'vegot as we as we're talking this morning,
we of course started off talking aboutabout what you're able to do with
LP smart side, and of coursethe recognition and the training and all all
the fantastic things that Legacy Exteriors bringsto the table for homeowners. I know

(10:58):
one of the big things with youis any time we talk about making a
phone call, you always stress that, you say, you know what,
make sure we are one. Wedon't have to be the only one,
but make sure that if you're doingyou know, whether we're a for siding
or anything exterior in your home thatyou call Legacy Exteriors, and have you
guys come out and take a lookat it, which I think is we're
going to break down this some ofthe some of the questions you should ask.

(11:20):
Before you even start asking questions,you should arrange to have probably a
couple few folks come out just totake a look and kind of get their
opinion or their thoughts on what mayneed to be done. And the reason
why I say that, and Ithink anybody that works for us says that
very thing about we don't care,you know, if you're calling other people,

(11:43):
let's just make sure we're one ofthe phone calls. And we're so
confident about it is because I usedto, you know, work for other
home improvement companies. So and I'vebeen doing Legacy Exteriors for twenty years now,
so I've been in the business forlonger, and so I know how
we operate, obviously, but Ialso know how there are other companies operate.

(12:05):
So that's there's a reason why I'mso confident in that fact. But
so this list of uh seven questionsthat you should ask your contractor this.
This was put together by LP smartSide. It's and I think it's got
some good information here. There's somesome stuff that I would like to change.
But first question, how many yearsof experience do you have? Obviously

(12:26):
that's very important. I think anotherway to go beyond that is do they
have a physical address? There's somany companies in this industry that work out
of their house or out of theirgarage, and I don't think you can
do that and do this very well. Yeah, there's there's that would draw
a lot of red flax, isthere, And I think it shows a

(12:48):
level of commitment as well as lasttime I checked having having business space not
the most affordable thing, but itsays, you know what, we're going
to make this financial commitment to say, because we are doing this work and
we're committed to what we're doing,we're going to go there. And it
also says we have employees, whichis important. Number two. Number two,

(13:09):
can you provide me with your businesslicense, registration and insurance? Obviously
all those things are very important.When our estimates are sent out, they're
also sent out with cover letter welcomingthem to the company, things of that
nature. But they're also sent outwith our our business license, our contractors

(13:30):
license, our proof of insurance,and then all our certifications for all our
products, so they're automatically all sentthat and I think that is that is
a good question to ask, butit's better to maybe go a little deeper.
The third one I don't love.Okay, it's it's do you have

(13:54):
references? I think the idea behindit is great, but who is going
to give you a bad reference?Not that not the contractor, no,
So so I don't like that one. I think maybe can I see your
last three projects or can I havethe numbers of the customers for your last

(14:15):
three projects? Something along those linesto get it, because I think people
are used to do you have reference? This type thing, and they're never
going to give you a bad one, so that's kind of a waste strain
till they have the same last names. That's an important one. Talking this
morning with Josh Gwit's owner at LegacyExteriors six A A two two one three

(14:35):
thousand. But that's six A twotwo one three thousand. Coming in at
number four is does your estimate includeall costs? I think that's a big
one and I think that that companiesdo do some tricky things to kind of
hide the fact that maybe not allthe costs are included in that original estimate
because I think they're they love toget that number really low. But guess

(14:58):
what, this and this and thisis not included. This is extra,
So be careful with that one.I think that one is definitely a good
one to ask. And our estimatesare broken up to the nail for a
reason because we want to make surethat the hustomer, the customer knows what's
included, but also everybody at legacyknows what's included. Does that bring up
then kind of get us to warrantiesas well as as you mentioned that type

(15:20):
of stuff is now we're going tostart getting it. Is that a question
should probably be asking it? Yeah, I think that should be in your
estimate with including of a cost.So like ours. You know, say
you're doing siding, Well, it'sgot line item by line on everything we're
doing from removal to what products goingback on to the nail literally under layment.
But then the last item on thereis what warranty we're offering on that

(15:41):
particular job. So it is allin there and that we're including a building
permit and all that fun stuff.Oh, it's fantastic, God. Number
number five. Number five, it'sskipped over right. Number five, Well,
well we can skip over that thatwhat product? What are the product?
And what are the workmanship warranties?That's number five, So we kind
of covered that. We offer lifetimeworkmanship warranties, but I would say standard

(16:03):
in the industry is probably two years. Okay. Number number six, who
will sir? Who supervised the siteon a daily basis? And how often
will will we be in contact?So that I think that's a good one.
That just I think people want toknow that there is going to be
somebody physically in charge on that projectand maybe who's who's their go between?

(16:26):
Does Brock do a lot of that? I feel like Brock seems to be
that type of guy that Brock isthe estimator on the project. Okay,
so if if you want to askhim questions, it's definitely doable and I'm
sure he'd answer. You know,you know Brock, he likes to talk,
so and he becomes their custom thecustomers best friends. Yes, we

(16:48):
have Nate who runs production and thenon every given project there's a team leader
in the installed group. Oh fantastic. So they got that point person that
any questions anything like that that somebodycome up, there's somebody's there to take
care of all that is perfect.As are talking this morning with Josh Gawitz,
owner a Legacy Exteriors telephone number sixaway two two one three thousand.
That's six Away two two one threethousand, the website Legacy dash Exteriors dot

(17:12):
com. That's Legacy Dash Exteriors dotcom. And of course we're talking about
some of the questions to ask yourcontractor before you sign on the dotted line
and of course I start that projectcoming in at number seven. What is
this? This is how long willthe project take? I think that is
a good, good one, ButI also think you should ask when would

(17:33):
the project start? Yeah, that'strue, you know. So I think
there's some follow up questions you couldask with that one. But I think
these are all good questions to ask. I don't think there's any bad questions
you should ask your contractor before hiringthem. Just remember that two ask questions
because not every contract firm is equal. Yeah, you know, And so

(17:57):
I think the more questions you askbecause this is at the end of the
day, it's a relationship. It'sa relationship between you and your contractor and
vice versa. So it's got tobe built on trust and it's from the
start. So I think questions ishow you get there and getting good answers.
And it's interesting as we kind ofwent through these through these these questions
that should be asking is getting thoseyou know, having those answers there for

(18:19):
you, not just like we'll getthat figured out, trust me. You
think about things like how long willthis project take and when will it start.
That's an important part of that thatprocess and just having somebody say we'll
get we'll get your your our nextcustomer, you're up next. Well that's
not really firm. Get get realfirm answers. And exactly all I can
think about it's so hot in hereis the anchorman where he's like milk was

(18:45):
a bad choice and like coffee wasa bad choice. Every time I drink
my coffee. Josh, it's alwaysgreat hanging out to you, my friend.
You enjoyed this day. Today isa nay to pick up phone,
give a call Legacy exterior say Ihad to Nikki this morning six o eight
two two one three thousand. That'stwo two one three thousand, ask lots
of questions and of course meet withthe folks at Legacy Exteriors see what they

(19:07):
can do for you. Again thetelephone number six O eight two two one
three thousand, the website Legacy dashexteriors dot com. Dan o'donald comes your
way next year on thirteen ten wi ba