REMODELERS JOURNAL: Patricia Iacone, Advanced Contracting Inc.

 

NARI Metro DC member since 2001 featured under Members Spotlight. Click here to download the magazine.

 

“LOUDOUN TIMES MIRROR MARCH 2010 -Showcase gives new life to recycled materials–READ MORE…

 

 

Remodeling Today Magazine - 2008

 

Remodeling Today magazine has selected our company for a feature article in their fall/winter 2008 issue. The article will be written on our recent remodel project in Annandale, Virginia.

 

Advanced Contracting, Inc., our design and build company in Round Hill, Virginia, transformed a cinder block dungeon into aesthetic multipurpose space fusing functional simplicity with classic beauty. The remodel, which encompassed the client’s entire basement, includes a 1,200-bottle custom redwood wine cellar, a luxurious bathroom with steam shower, a versatile craft room, a family room with an egress and bar and a spare bedroom with a Murphy bed. The electrical plan was extensive and includes custom recessed lighting and “structured wiring,” which accommodates music, Internet, and telephone and video independently for each space.

 

A Remodeling Education

 

Remodelers show a strong interest in professional education for themselves and their staff, and they even see it as a key to future success. Yet most budget less than 1 percent of their revenues toward attending trade shows and seminars, and other educational opportunities.

 

This information comes from a Qualified Remodeler 2006 survey of 643 remodelers conducted at year's-end during the normal business planning cycle.

 

The goal of the survey was to gauge remodelers' level of investment in education at a time of year when the most optimistic commitments would be available. Of the 643 respondents to the survey, 111 said they would not budget for any education expenses beyond the usual local product training and required safety courses. Thirty-seven percent, 237 respondents, said their education expenditures would be less than 1 percent of their annual budget.

 

At the same time 53 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that holding a professional designation such as Certified Remodeler or Certified Graduate Remodeler are important to their future success. "Certifications will set you apart from the pack," said one respondent, Randy Iacone CR, CKBR, who represented a number of comments submitted on behalf of pursuing industry designations. "Any intelligent business owner

can see that. It is also reassuring to the homeowner that workers are certified. Those homeowners know all the horror stories about our industry."