Guide
How to Prepare for a Renovation Consultation
What happens in an R&D consultation
- You describe the problem and the hope, in your own words, at whatever level of clarity you actually have.
- We look at the space together and talk about what the house will allow, structure, systems, and the constraints worth knowing early.
- We talk options honestly, including smaller-scope versions and, sometimes, the advice that a project isn't worth doing the way you'd imagined.
- You hear what happens next: what a site review covers, how a scope gets written, and how decisions get sequenced.
- No pressure. You should leave knowing more about your project than when we arrived, whether or not you ever hire us.
Genuinely useful to have ready
The short list
- Your one-sentence version of the problem you're solving
- A few photos of the space, including the parts you think are irrelevant (they're often not)
- Any inspiration images, with a note about what you like in each
- Rough measurements if easy, but don't stress: we measure properly anyway
- Your must/want/dream lists if you've made them
- Questions written down, the ones you think of at 11pm and forget by morning
- For ADU conversations: your plot plan and septic records if you can find them
The budget conversation, honestly
Homeowners often hold their number close, worried that naming it means spending all of it. Fair concern, here's the counterpoint: scope is a design input. A kitchen can be honestly built at very different investment levels, and knowing your comfortable range lets us design to it instead of presenting something you'll have to shrink. You don't need an exact figure. 'We'd be comfortable around X, stretched at Y' is plenty, and a contractor who reacts to that with pressure instead of options has told you everything you need to know.
What a good contractor should ask YOU
- How do you actually use this space day to day?
- How long do you plan to stay in the house?
- What's your tolerance for living through construction?
- What's gone wrong (or right) with past projects or contractors?
- Who needs to be part of decisions?
- What would make this project a regret two years from now?
Questions homeowners ask
Does the consultation cost anything?
Do I need drawings or a designer first?
What if I'm honestly not sure what I want?
Ready when you are.
Tell us what you're considering. A real person will review your request, and the first conversation costs you nothing but a few minutes.
Tell us what you’re considering. A real person will review your request, and we will not sell or distribute your project information.