The Hidden Costs of "Surprise" Renovations: Expert Tips to Keep Your Project on Track

How Do I Avoid Surprises During A Construction Project?

What lies behind your walls could make or break your renovation budget. General contractor Jeff Bass sheds light on renovation reality, explaining why proper planning isn't just paperwork—it's peace of mind.

The renovation journey begins long before the first hammer swing. Bass shares why setting realistic expectations through clear communication between contractors and homeowners prevents the most common remodeling pitfalls. "The client is responsible for proper communication as well with the contractor, so that we can all know what to expect," he explains. Those flickering lights might not be fixed with new fixtures—they could signal serious electrical problems requiring panel replacement.

Every homeowner should budget 10-15% beyond their estimate for contingencies. Those "surprise" discoveries after opening walls—mold, faulty wiring, or structural damage—can quickly derail budgets and timelines. Bass recommends homeowners prepare by gathering records of previous work, disclosing known issues, and considering pre-renovation inspections for foundation, electrical, and plumbing systems. One client's simple request to replace light fixtures revealed an entire electrical system needing updates—knowledge that prevented mid-project panic.

Think skipping permits saves money? Think again. Bass shares how one neighbor's complaint about an unpermitted garage conversion could force homeowners to reverse thousands in renovations. While permits may delay projects, they protect everyone by ensuring work meets current codes and prevents costly mistakes. Ready to renovate without the roadblocks? The path to success starts with proper planning, honest communication, and realistic expectations. Your dream space awaits—just be prepared for what might be hiding behind those walls.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Remodel Contracting Podcast,
where outdated spaces meet theirmodern makeover destiny.
Hosted by Jeff Bass, generalcontractor, home renovation
expert and guy who firmlybelieves your avocado green
bathroom has gotta go.
Based in the DFW Metro, remodelContracting is here to help you
level up your living spaceBecause, hey, you updated your

(00:27):
wardrobe, now it's time toupdate your home.
Expect more, live better.
Let's remodel.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Jeff breaks down why planning isn't just paperwork
it's peace of mind.
Jeff breaks down why planningisn't just paperwork, it's peace
of mind.
From permits to plumbingproblems, here's how to keep
your remodel on track and undercontrol.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host andproducer, back in the studio
today with general contractorand home renovation expert, jeff

(01:02):
Bass.
Jeff, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Doing wonderful, Sofia Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, it's great to have you back on today Now,
because no one wants to hearuh-oh mid-remodel, and today
we're talking about how to dodgethose curveballs.
Let's get into it.
So, jeff, how do I avoidsurprises during a construction
project?

Speaker 3 (01:25):
So this is a great thing.
This is a case of where youdon't want to put the cart
before the horse.
Everybody has their vision ofthe remodel project, whether it
be kitchen, bath or whatever,and in their mind they have the
goalpost.
But in order to get to thegoalpost we've got to first get
down the field.
So we've got to start at thebeginning.

(01:47):
That's the most important part,and that starts with
expectations.
Okay, when I go and meet withsomebody, I don't want them to
have unrealistic expectations,and it's easy for a contractor
to get into that emotional trapof wanting to please the client
and kind of skimming over thingsjust to get to the end.

(02:10):
But you've got to setexpectations up front.
And those expectations, theunrealistic expectations, come
from a few things.
They come from poorcommunication, they come from an
incomplete scope or set ofplans and they come from
homeowners not being preparedfor what they should expect, and
I can get into each of those ina little more detail in just a

(02:33):
minute here.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
So starting off is, the most important tool and I
think we've talked about thisbefore is communication.
What kind of communication istaking place between the client
and the contractor?
And that right under that fallsinto having a proper scope or
set of plans.
Now, whether it's a job thatneeds to be permitted or no

(02:58):
matter how many trades areinvolved, everyone needs to be
on the same page.
And we've all played the gametelephone or some people call it
great vine where you saysomething, then the next person,
the next person, the nextperson and two or three people
later it's completely changed.
And it's no different with ahome renovation project.
The scope or the plans need tobe set up front, and even if you

(03:27):
plan all of that properly oncewe get into a project, there are
other things that can or maycome up that we won't know until
we get into the project.
I tell clients that once I takeout a piece of sheetrock, I can
see what it looks behind there.
There could be mold, therecould be poor wiring, there
could be a lot of.
It happens in DIY projects orjust people who in the past, who
worked on the house, whoweren't competent.
It could be foundation damage,could be structural damage.

(03:49):
We don't know what's in a pieceof drywall until we open it up.
So the client needs to beprepared for that as well.
Quite often somebody wants toremove a wall.
Well, I'll tell you, great, wecan open that wall up and see
what's in it.
But we're not going to knowwhat it's going to take to move

(04:09):
that wall until we get in there.
You set the expectations upfront for the client and it
helps out a lot better down theroad.
And then are there problems thatthe house has.
Has the client told you hey,I've got problems with my
electrical system.
My lights flicker.
Hey, I've got problems withthis drain.
It doesn't drain very well,I've got a leak here.
I've got this problem there.
The client is responsible forthat communication as well.
Because they live in the house,they know what's wrong with it,

(04:29):
so they can give thatinformation to the contractor
and the contractor can betterbuild the project around those
other concerns that may need tobe addressed.
For example, I've got a houseright now where the client
initially they said oh, I wantyou to replace all of the old
lights in my house with LED canlights 46 of them.

(04:50):
And my first question is whywould you like to do that?
Are you just wanting to updatethe look?
And they said, no, my lightsflicker.
Well, the client is assumingthat replacing an incandescent
bulb with an LED bulb is goingto solve that problem.
When it's not so, we have ourelectrician come out and look

(05:12):
and we're going to wind upreplacing the panel and some
wiring.
So the client's responsible forproper communication as well
with the contractor, so that wecan all know what to expect.
Another thing related to that isthe budget.
If the client says, hey, it's a$20,000 project, I've got
$20,000.

(05:33):
Exactly that doesn't allow forany contingency.
You should have a 10, 15%contingency in there to take
care of those unexpected things.
Maybe you pick out a moreexpensive tile than the
contractor had on the estimate.
Maybe we get into a wall andthere's mold damage and we need
to remediate that.
You don't know until you'reinto the project.
So you should have acontingency budget of at least

(05:53):
10 to 15%.
So before the project even getsstarted, all of those things
are there to consider.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Amazing, amazing.
Thank you so much for fillingus in on that.
Now can homeowners do anythingearly to uncover potential
structural or system problemsbefore you get there?

Speaker 3 (06:15):
Well, the best thing they can do would be to have the
records of work that they havehad done in the past ready for
the contractor to review.
And you know, that kind of goesback to what I said before.
Right, the client needs to haveconversations and communication
with the contractor becausethey live in the house, they
know the condition of it and itmay be the case before we even

(06:36):
start work we have someinspections done, whether it be
a foundation inspection, whetherit be a plumbing inspection,
electrical inspection, you know,to get those utility things out
of the way before we begin theproject.
Quite often I'll go into ahouse and I'll notice there's
foundation problems and ask thepeople when was the foundation

(06:57):
fixed?
It could have been fixed 10years ago and they just never
fixed the cracks.
It could have been fixed threemonths ago and then we're going
to need to wait at least six to12 months for the foundation to
finish settling before I'mcomfortable going in there and
doing any more repairs.
Yeah, the communication for thehistory of the house really is
necessary for the client to havewith their contractor.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
And in what cases would it be most important to go
in and have those thingschecked, or maybe some signals
that they need to be checkedbefore the contractor gets there
?

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Any underlying issues they're aware of Previous water
damage, recent water damage,previous or recent foundation
repairs, hail damage.
We'll go into a project went toa project recently.
The guy wanted to have somesiding replaced.
We are the experts, so when wego in there and we look at the
siding, the siding has haildamage on it.
We look at the screens, theyhave hail damage.

(07:53):
The gutter has hail damage.
I send somebody on the roof.
The roof has hail damage.
That's a different project.
Now we're not just replacingsiding, it's an entire roof
claim, an insurance claim, andthat benefits the client too,
right?
Because now all they're doingis paying a deductible and
getting the entire project takencare of by the insurance
company, which is rightfully so.

(08:14):
That's why we have insurance.
We pay for insurance for thatprotection.
But yeah, just the client'sknowledge of the history of the
house is going to really helpany project they're getting into
.
Knowledge of the history of thehouse is going to really help
any project they're getting into.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
One final question for you today, Jeff.
What do you say to clients whowant to skip permits to save
time or money?

Speaker 3 (08:31):
You know that's an interesting question.
So you know, ultimately thedecisions the client makes are
on the client and for me thatfalls into every category.
Okay, having a permit may causedelays, but it protects
everyone involved.
The client can have and againit depends on the project but

(08:55):
the client, if we go through thepermit process, whether it
delays it by a week, three weeks, four weeks, it's going to
ensure that everyone involved inthe project is protected.
It also it gives the client theassurance that the work that we
are doing is satisfactory inthat it meets current codes.
Whether for a commercial jobthat's going to include ADA I do

(09:16):
a lot in ADA compliance on aresidential job, it's going to
be meeting whatever the citycodes are.
You know.
You know sometimes, for example, we have, I've had clients
approach me and want to converta garage into living space.
Well, a lot of cities don'tallow that and so when we go to
start that permitting process,we make that inquiry and we're

(09:37):
told they're not allowed to doit.
We let the client know that'sgoing to keep the client out of
getting in trouble, right?
So let's say a client spendswhatever 40, $50,000, they
convert the garage into livingspace and then one of their
neighbors calls the city andsays, hey, these people
illegally converted their garageinto living space.
Well, guess what?
The city is going to come backand make you reverse all of that
work.
It's a good protection toolhaving a permit.

(09:57):
It is, and it gives some goodpeace of mind to everyone
involved, even though there's alittle bit of cost involved and
there's a lot of time delayinvolved and uh, you know.
But I mean, it's just, and somecities are easier and quicker
than others, the some cities are.
City of Dallas itself is a bigcity, so it takes a little
longer.
Put me in the suburbs.
I go up to the counter, I knowthe girls behind the counter and

(10:19):
it just goes really fast, so itjust yeah.
But permits are.
I recommend permits, butultimately I do what the client
wants me to do, but I dorecommend permits.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Wow.
Well, thanks, jeff, for givingus the inside scoop on staying
ahead of the chaos, alwaysnecessary.
Until next time.
This has been RemodelContracting Podcast, where
remodels get real.
Thank you, sophia.

Speaker 3 (10:45):
where remodels get real.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
Thank you, sophia.
That's a wrap for this episodeof Remodel Contracting Podcast.
Ready to kick that 90s kitchento the curb?
For a free in-home consultation, call 469-831-5620 or visit
remodelcontractingnet.
Expect more, because your homedeserves better and, honestly,

(11:16):
so do you.