Because this is such a broad and obscure term I don’t know how well I can answer that for you, however, I can do my best to explain this! If you search for a specialty contractor you will find many different contractors offering different services so you may have to sift through multiple pages to find what you’re looking for. You may find topics like:
- Driveway Sealing
- Excavation
- Fire Place installation
- Custom Carpentry
- Roofing
- Pressure Washing
- Kitchens and Bathrooms
- Historical Restoration
- …and a bunch of other things in and around these topics.
So what makes us “Special”? I will relate this to what we offer. Although we provide a full menu of services for interior remodeling such as Kitchens, Finished Basements, Tile Flooring, Painting etc… I consider our bathroom services as specialized. Most of our work is remodeling bathrooms for a wide variety of different needs. We can provide a standard bathroom remodel for your Carlisle, Pa home or if you’re in need of a Handicap Accessible showering facility or plan to Age in Place with a Barrier Free bathroom… those are all topics and services that we excel in! It’s not self-promotion either because at some point a contractor can find themselves in a niche service or market where inquiries from advertising and word-of-mouth become abundant.
In most situations a specialized contractor may charge more for their services. I’m sure that can be a little scary to you, the homeowner, but there is a huge difference when it comes to knowledge and resources between a generalist and specialist. A general based contractor simply does not study every single area of the trades and services offered and this will create two situations:
- Relying on subcontractors to know.
- Not charging enough money due to lack of knowledge.
Any type of project is subject for a Change Order because there are obviously unforeseen factors at the time of the estimate. It’s all in the approach… sometimes I have to list out a few items that can be a possible change order so that all parties are aware.
For instance, you may have an exhaust vent or two somewhere on the roof or exterior of your home… that doesn’t mean the bath vent fan is hooked up to one of those. Rather than tear through your house trying to find out or fish through your attic that has a small (and painted shut) access panel we can just check that out when we remove the bathroom ceiling and add a necessary vent boot at that time. In a real-time experience, I had a recent job with no access to the wing of the house we were working in. There was a vent boot on the roof (right above the bathroom) but turned out the fan hose was stuffed in the insulation and the dryer vent ran 100 feet to hook up that particular outlet (so obviously we had to fix that).
Overall, you may or may not find the need for specialty services but it is something to consider. Many homes in Carlisle are that of historical status and you may want to keep your remodeling project “Period Specific”. Hiring a contractor that you are comfortable with and can bring all of the resources to the table is important. It may solely be in the tile design or a great contact with a local mill work shop that can duplicate your trim work… Even a specialist can become a general contractor in these situations when hiring a few outside sources to provide customized products for a successful project.
All that being said, if you’re planning a project and serious about receiving quality work – contact us for a Meet & Greet! We can talk about your ideas, concerns, budget and selections and decide if we’re a great fit.
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