Integrated Home Improvement

FAQ

We provide you with a schedule, but since remodeling is often a creative, collaborative, and sometimes logistically challenging process, the schedule is subject to change as necessary.

Usually, we ship materials such as tile, plumbing fixtures, and lighting directly to your home to be stored there. Lumber and paint cans are usually also left at your home in a neat, organized manner. If, for any reason, this is a problem, bring it up to us, and we will help you figure out the best course of action. For countertops, we pick them up for you and store them at our fabrication shop until it's time to install them.

If applicable to your project, we will discuss this with you to see when and for how long you should stay elsewhere, but many times it will have to do with your own lifestyle choice and personal preference.

The remodeling timeline will vary depending on the scope of your project. We will provide you with an estimated timeframe before commencing work.

The suppliers that we use are defined by the design needs of your project, so we'll use whichever suppliers best fit those needs. We do have certain preferred suppliers such as Ferguson Kitchen & Bath and West Elm, but there are no limitations on our choice of suppliers for your project.

If you want to remodel the entire home, but your budget only allows for a few items, then start with your biggest priorities. If your budget allows for the whole remodel immediately, then we can help you create a plan that will maximize comfort throughout the process.

We service the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex.

Rain and other wet weather generally affect outdoor projects, but indoor projects proceed regardless of weather unless transportation becomes a problem due to slippery roads, etc.

Certain trades are noisier than others. Demolition, for example, can be loud, while electrical work is generally noiseless. We will point out the days on the schedule in which more noise is likely to occur, in case you want to plan to be elsewhere.

We generally design in-house, however, you do have the option to design yourself. However, we find that if there's significant design work and design decision-making necessary for your project, it's best if you hire us for the design work as well. This reduces the friction that can occur in logistics, timing, and end-product when two parties are working separately on one project. For this reason, it's best to keep it all in-house, but don't worry! Our design team is trained to develop our designs based on in-depth conversations with you about your lifestyle, and functional and aesthetic preferences.

Yes. Unless you have significant experience in construction, hiring a company to put the project together for you generally saves a lot of stress, time, and money in the long term.

Ideally, we recommend having 20% more than the contract price set aside in case change orders come into play due to unforeseen construction necessity, or if you want to make a creative decision mid-way through the project that increases the budget. Unfortunately, there are unknowns in construction that only become visible after some of the work has been completed.

We provide quality, professional work, and superior customer service at market value.

Your bid will be itemized, and very information-rich. For example, if we're quoting a kitchen, there will be a plumbing section with each plumbing task to be done under it and its corresponding price. You'll also be able to see the total plumbing price. The same will be true for other sections like countertops, flooring, electrical, and so on. If the quote includes variable items such as a sink or a ceiling fan, the quote will also include pictures. The description for each line item will also tell you what it does and doesn't include, and any other information that will give you the best idea of exactly what you'll be getting for the corresponding price.

Yes, and no. It depends on the scope of your project and on which materials. We need to be able to buy things like plywood, paint, nails, grout, etc. If there's a lighting fixture or plumbing fixture you'd like to buy yourself, that is fine, but if it's a relatively large project, we generally encourage you to hire our design team to help you through this process, as it can be a lot of work, and the remodeling process may be slowed down otherwise. We will never buy anything without your approval, and we will never sell you anything above retail price.

We believe that opening up an honest conversation about the project budget saves everybody time in the long run. Especially for larger projects, and when you've hired us for design as well, much time may be wasted during the quoting and design process if we take 2 weeks to make a proposal that happens to be $20K over your budget. Now, we have to go back to the drawing board, and we have to talk about your budget at that point anyways. Having your budget in mind helps us develop a plan for tackling your remodel as realistically as possible. For example, if your budget happens to be lower than we believe is necessary to achieve the original scope you envisioned, we will help you prioritize your favorite or most pressing items. If your budget is higher than necessary, we will let you know so that you can decide if you want to save some money or spruce up your remodel even more.

Yes, we provide financing options upon request, and we also accept credit card payments, though we do charge an additional 3%.

Hopefully, by looking at our testimonials, past projects, quotes, and meeting our consultation specialist during your free consultation, you’ll be able to decide for yourself if you think we’ll deliver quality at reasonable pricing. If you're still on the fence, we are happy to let you talk to one of our past clients. That said, we encourage that you do your due diligence to gauge market pricing. We suggest that you make sure that you're constantly comparing apples to apples in the quality of service and the final product you will receive.

Generally, getting more than one estimate is a good idea. Due diligence is important, not only to gauge fair market value for yourself but also because it will usually allow you to be more confident when you finally make your decision. Our one suggestion here is that low pricing is not always cheap in the long run. Cheap often ends up being costly when it gets you poor quality results, and you have to put a band-aid on the first remodeling attempt. This often results in more spending than if you had gone with the better company initially. Our pricing is generally competitive for the results and service we provide. Save yourself the headache and go with the company that you think is going to do the best job within your budget.

You can most easily schedule an appointment with us by filling out the "Get Quote" form on our website, or via call or email. From there, someone will reach out to you within 48 hours to schedule your free consultation.

The first benefit is lifestyle. It can add a pleasing visual element or increase comfort in your home, both of which may bring you joy. It can also increase functionality like a more spacious kitchen, for example, or a kitchen that makes your cooking process more efficient. The second benefit has to do with the use of remodeling to increase your home's value if you’re looking to sell. The third benefit has to do with necessity if your home has water damage from a natural disaster for example, in which case a restoration company would most likely come in first, after which a partial or full remodel will be necessary. If you're remodeling for necessity, the good news is that insurance companies are most likely going to play a large role financially.

It's possible to design custom islands that are proportional to the size of your kitchen. During our consultation, we will take measurements and address what would need to happen.

No. While design changes may occur during the process, we must have a complete design in mind before beginning construction.

Yes. If the timing for each stage is already certain, we can include all stages in one agreement and adjust the payment schedule accordingly. Otherwise, we can discuss your priorities and focus on your highest priority items in the first stage and repeat the regular process when deciding to move forward with stage two.

The itemized scope of work, as much detail as possible, images when applicable, and pricing.

We will provide a “Completion Agreement” that affirms payment has been made and that the services outlined in the original agreement have been completed.

We offer a turn-key design service where we provide inspiration collages of different material combinations for materials like lighting, plumbing fixtures, tile, and countertops. This will also come with a list of the materials with links, video consultation with our design team, sample delivery, and an editing round. Once you approve the final selection, we order the materials for you and ensure arrival at your home.

Our most frequent method of communication will be through the easy-to-use messaging on the Houzz portal where we can communicate and have easy access to files, estimates, change orders, daily logs, timelines, and more. Each time we send you a message, you'll also receive an email. We can also always get in touch is via text, call, or email.

Yes. We are insured through Liberty Mutual.

1-year workmanship warranty.

Yes, we will handle all of it. The city will hire an inspector when applicable.

Generally, we begin work anywhere between 8 am-9 am. We cannot promise one fixed time due to variables that frequently occur in our industry, such as a long line to purchase a specific material. We will aim for 8 am, or 9 am, depending on the client’s preference, and communicate accordingly if anything changes. We'll generally leave by 5 pm or 6 pm.

We will cover work areas with plastic where necessary to avoid dust accumulation and unwanted paint.

If there are changes from the time of the executed agreement, we will provide you with a change order that includes any change in scope and price agreed to by both parties before proceeding with the change.

The only time we need you to be there is to open the door in the morning, though some clients like to be there at other times as well.

It depends on the project, but in many cases, as long as you remove any items from the work area you need to use during work, everything else can stay, as we can cover it up with plastic. For cabinetry and countertop installation, we need you to take everything out of the cabinets before commencing work.

Our founder started “Angel Fish Home Services” in 2010, which eventually grew into Integrated Home Improvement, incorporated in 2019.

Not at this time. We used to be part of BBB, but we found that organizations like that, and others such as NAHB or NARI are more "old school" than where we are trying to take our business.

Case by case basis. It's going to depend on the supply chain and market conditions at the time of purchase, as well as your specific selection. There are many variables out of our control regarding material delivery timeframes, but generally, we always try to make it ASAP, and we never break ground on your project before having a solid idea of when everything will arrive. Some basic materials are much easier to get than others, like nails vs. sinks for example.

Feel free to reach out to us at any time via Houzz message, text, call, or email, and we will answer your questions as soon as we can. You'll also be able to speak to a supervisor, who will be on-site at various times throughout the project.

There will be a separate contract presented once the quote has been accepted, but the approved quote will be an annex in the contract.

Once we execute the contract, we'll be able to look at our schedule and determine a reasonable start date so that we're able to give your project all of the attention it deserves.

Only as many as we can handle with our current labor resources. As of March 2021, we won't take on more than three projects of the same project type at a time.

It depends on the specific pre-project preparatory needs of the project, but it can range from 20%-70% The only time this varies is on projects that are financed through us, or our financing partners at Brick, which allow us to offer only $500 down and the rest paid upon completion.

Yes. We will update you daily. We often work through a Daily Log Dashboard that we share with you, but we can also update via text, call or email if you prefer.

While we won’t be there at all times, we will be there to supervise once or twice per day to guide the project and make sure that everything is up to quality.

All time anticipations are estimates based on prior experience, so we are confident in them, and most times, we can get pretty close if we don't hit it on the nose. That being said, things do come up sometimes that are out of our control, such as unexpected delays in the delivery of the tile from the tile company, client change in opinion about the design, or finding something technical about the property during work that necessitates a delay to regroup and plan.

We service the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

While construction can get messy, we always clean up after ourselves to the best of our ability, both during and post-project. If you ever note a level of cleanliness that doesn't meet these standards during the course of your project, please let us know, and we will take the appropriate steps to fix it.

We have worked with many people and slowly trimmed our team to only the most polite, clean, professional, and skilled workers. If you run into an unpleasant experience with one of our workers, please let us know immediately and we will take action.

For example, if we are remodeling your kitchen, we will cover any entrances into the kitchen with plastic and open any appropriate doors and windows to maintain healthy air flow. We will also tape up air vents if we are working on a project that will produce a significant amount of dust.

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