Why are these plumbers hanging drywall? - Plumbing & HVAC

Luxury PlumbingAgainst the flowPlumbers find business success in renovationBy Simon BlakeLyle Swanson’s business card reads‘Plumber/Gasfitter/Renovator’. In abusiness where ‘renovator’ is a dirtyword, Swanson is one of a handful ofplumbing contractors that have foundsuccess by offering complete bath andkitchen design and renovation services.Today these plumber/renovators aredoing some amazing projects. “We’vedone washrooms that will blow yourmind – $20-30,000 dollar renovations...It’s stuff that people don’t expect us todo,” remarked Rick Harris, a licensedplumber, designer and renovator withHarris Plumbing & Heating of Aurora,Ont.Plumber Rick Harris, left, and apprenticeRyan Crouse hang drywall.Statistics Canada projects renovationspending, of which bath and kitchen is alarge part, at a lucrative $38 billion for2005. It’s an area in which a licensedplumber can shine. The tradesmanbrings credibility that no renovationcontractor or bath/kitchen designer canmatch. They know what works andwhat upgrades are required.“The customer will get the design aswell as advice on the practicality of it. Imay end up telling the customer: ‘It’s agreat idea and a great design, but that’sjust not going to work,” noted Swanson,who operates Bathrooms Unlimited inEdmonton with wife Brenda.Harris agrees. “I may actually downsella washroom. The customer may say:‘I want to put a whirlpool in.’ I’ll questionthem on it. I’ll ask if they are reallygoing to use it, or is it a novelty itemthat after three months they won’t usebecause the fun has worn off?”Who does whatBath and kitchen renovation requiresnew skills such as carpentry, drywalland tiles. The contractor can bringthose skills in-house, create a formalpartnership with a construction/renovationcontractor or sub-contract themjob-by-job.The in-house approach offers strongcontrol over costs, workmanship andscheduling. Harris Plumbing & Heatinguses this approach, thanks to a uniqueblend of skills among different familymembers. “We do the carpentry, thedrywall, the ceramic tiles …” reportsRick’s brother Greg, a licensed plumberand former cabinet maker. Establishedby father Ray in 1975, Harris Plumbingadded design and renovation services18 years ago. Today, four of the company’snine employees work fulltime onrenovation. Each two-man team typicallycompletes a washroom project infive to seven days.With five employees, Swanson alsohandles most projects in-house, althoughhe adds extra help in busytimes. Customers prefer this, says Greg.“It’s only the one set of guys coming infrom start to finish.” There’s no questionabout who’s responsible if there’s aproblem, he added.However, the plumbing contractormay also partner with a renovator. RickRogers, a licensed plumber and presidentof Professional Plumbing andHeating Inc. in Newmarket, Ont., enteredthe renovation market 15 years ago.Harris Plumbing typically completes a bathroom renovation in one to two weeks.Plumber Lyle Swanson converted a bedroom into this luxury bathroom forcustomer Bonnie Davenport.“We were doing a lot of plumbing withanother company that did nothing but(renovation) contracting.” Later, Rogersbought out Jetwork Contracting.Today, he sub-contracts most renovationwork. “We pick and choose the renovationswe do because … we just can’tget (enough) good tradesmen rightnow… Pay a little more and get a guyyou can depend on,” he suggests.DesignHaving the right trade skills is onething. Working with the customer ondesign is also critical.The contractor must have a goodknowledge of products and designtrends along with people skills andpatience. Customers do their homework.The contractor must do his, saysRick. “I am always checking out tradeshows and going here and there andseeing what the latest stuff is …” Heenhanced his skills with design coursesfrom the National Kitchen and BathAssociation (www.nkba.org).The first step in the design stage is tolearn what the customer wants, thespace they have available and theirbudget. It is important to establish thecustomer’s daily habits, added Swanson.One recent customer is a ‘multi-tasker’– she likes to do laundry, run the dishwasherand have a bath at the sametime. (Please see sidebar.) This meantmaximizing DHW capacity.“We typically start by doing a simplesketch,” reports Swanson. “We see thefixture layout they have in mind andgive them ideas as to what works best.”This first meeting generally takes abouttwo hours.Harris Plumbing works up the initialdesign with a basic fixture package. “Wesubmit the price and then we startshowing them what they’ve got versuswhat they could get and explain theupcharges,” reports Greg.A home visit helps establish howcomponents fit. There is almost alwaysconsiderable work required beyond therenovation itself, reports Swanson. “Iwill catch code infractions, poor ventingand other plumbing problems thatmust be addressed.”Clear written pricing is essential.10 Plumbing & HVAC Product News – May/June 2005 www.plumbingandhvac.ca