Hiring a General Contractor
If you are thinking about home remodeling or building-out a new home or office interior, you need to consider hiring a general contractor. Perhaps you are asking yourself, ‘How do I make that happen?’ Perhaps you may have a vision in mind from your travels or a collection of magazine and Pinterest clippings as a wish-list for each bedroom, the kitchen, the library, etc. That can be a great place to start. Are you all about function or do you want beautiful, functional and inspiring all at the same time?” If so, now you are speaking my language. I have had many clients with a collection of ideas but most have nothing at all in mind except for a need or desire to make changes and a personal reference to a someone who does great work.
A Design-Build General Contractor
Considering a design and build general contractor may be a perfect answer because we are your single-point of responsibility. Someone who will coordinate and deliver our mutual objective.. Some clients have a full set of plans that have already been developed with an Interior Designer or an Architect. Maybe you have some scribbles on a cocktail napkin but whatever your situation, you have to consider a Licensed General Contractor to help implement that vision. (aka Certified General Contractor) You may already know that we are not all created equal. Personally, I feel it is best to find a GC who cares about the outcome, about the details, and about the people experiencing the end result. As you know, when you spend time in your home or office, it is all about an experience. That does not necessarily mean ‘fancy or costly’, it just means it should be well thought out beyond its utilitarian minimal requirement.
A Licensed General Contractor
…should have a few common capabilities such as a knowledge of safety and legal matters, building code requirements and how to build things. No brainer, right? The evolution to GC for most tradesman comes from a particular discipline that they have spent some time in i.e.; carpentry or drywall. Those are the most common trades. Professionally, we have to recognize that this is a service-business. We are here to provide a service to manage and support a process to achieve a desired outcome for our clients. In other words, we are here to make you happy. Reliability and competence to complete the scope of work is the bare minimum.
Keep the following in mind as you consider K. Salowe & Co. to be your GC-project manager, designer-builder, fabricator, etc…
The evolution to my professional capabilities today began at an early age as an illustrator and lover of beauty and form. My family always had a beautiful home. My mom was an award winning interior designer, now retired. Being surrounded by the art, the beauty, the language, the uncompromising expectations of quality was awe inspiring. Then I earned a bachelor’s degree in Architecture. An education in architecture and design teaches the process of design. It does to teach creativity, patience, tenacity or any personal traits in line with being a good or talented professional. To aspire to be those things is about personal growth and individual integrity. I would like to think that comes with the package but let’s get back to the subject.
It was inspiring to see so many beautiful things in my travels as well as how they were made. While experiencing art and design in Europe, Newport, California, Chicago and around the world, I would ask myself, who did this kind of work…Who does this kind of work? Over time it seemed like a calling, why not me? By luck or fate, (or by hard work) my strengths have accumulated to include all of the aforementioned experiences and education. In the 1980’s at age 25 I began my company as a fresh architecture graduate. My interest was more in the architectural arts for interiors i.e.; interior detail and form, beautiful cabinetry, painted finishes, decorative mouldings, integrity in design, in other words things that have synergy that work well together and make a better overall composition in a finished interior. Inspired interiors!
As a Licensed Design-Build General Contractor,
we are all about a common objective with you, the client. I know that I can achieve beauty and inspiration along with function. Personally, I am invested in an outcome that brings joy and makes you say WOW! I believe the difference between a work of architecture and a building is that architecture should make you feel something.
The bare bones of the work involved as a GC can be overwhelming. Often starting with the non-glamorous but necessary demolition work to remove old or existing walls and fixtures, trash removal, framing & drywall, mechanical work such as HVAC, (heating, ventilation & air conditioning), fire safety, electrical needs, plumbing needs, flooring and countertops, wall and surface finishing, lighting, kitchens and other built-in cabinetry, and coordinating all of the skills and talents to bring it all together. You need to be able to communicate with your GC.
Why hire a licensed General Contractor to remodel your interior? There are a lot of personalities on a construction site. It is a balancing act. A construction project must be controlled and organized. In addition to my artistic and design background, being the General Contractor on a project gives me a stronger opportunity to deliver a comprehensive finished product where I am the single-point of responsibly to you. That is ultimately good for my clients.
One beautiful philosophy of my company is spelled out in the quote below, respectfully,
“He who works with his hands is a laborer,
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist”
-St. Francis of Assisi.
Thank you for looking! Ken
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