Placing emphasis on our shelter

Remodelers share their project request during this stay-at-home season

Overhead view of family time at home

Nearly everyone is spending more time at home due to Covid-19, and there’s no doubt this shelter-in-place experience has resulted in the demand for home improvements. According to Pam Patter, executive director of National Association of Remodelers (NARI) of Central Ohio Chapter, members of that organization are seeing an increase in requests for home offices, decks, closet renovations and kitchen overhauls. “To say their phones are ringing off the hook is an absolute understatement,” Patter says. “Many of them are booked solid through the end of the year and into 2021.” That’s true, according to April Howe, Allied ASID, marketing coordinator at The
Cleary Company who says, “We’re busy! We’ve had three months in a row of record setting inquiries. Our designers are scheduled out two to three months and our production schedule is out six to nine months.”
“Covid has changed the pace in which we are able to work due to limiting workers on a job site,” says Bryce Jacob of J.S. Brown & Co. “Material delays have also impacted the efficiency in which we once started new
projects.” With these issues in mind, we’ve asked several Columbus area remodelers about the
requests they are getting and the work that they have been doing over the past several months. Here is what they had to tell us:

Let’s be honest—a good soak in the tub is the closest many of us are getting to a vacation these days. –Jamie Bratslavsky, Dave Fox Design | Build Remodelers
We have been involved in furnishing several outdoor spaces since our clients are not traveling and are looking to these areas as a place for the family to relax and have fun. –Kim Pheiffer, KP Designs & Associates LLC
The kitchen remodels we are doing these days are not about creating a larger space, but rather using that space more efficiently. Including an entertainment space adjacent to the kitchen allows family to gather, and provides a great space for eating, talking and playing. –Todd Schmidt, Renovations Unlimited
We added a covered front porch to a home due to the fact the family wanted to visit with friends/extended family in an outdoor area where they could socially distance under cover. –Bryce Jacob, J.S. Brown & Co.

We converted a 1908 basement to a lower level gathering space for a family which includes, a wine cellar, kitchenette, and movie room. – Dave Osmond, Dave Osmond Builders

We’re getting a lot of requests for three/four season rooms and basement remodels. This particular project was an outdoor living space that includes an attached roof structure with a kitchenette and patio. –Wes Graham, Third Space Builders, LLC
We took a small, closed-in kitchen and knocked down walls to open it into a large gathering space for the family. –Jared Mason, Owner, The Creative Kitchen
We have seen an increase in finished basement requests as homeowners seek to fully utilize the space within their homes. –Shannon Weigand, CMKBD, ASID, Eagle Specialty Remodeling
With this front porch addition, we removed a greenhouse our clients never used, relocated and expanded their front door, and built a lodge style gabled porch on this country home. –George Cleary, CR, Owner, The Cleary Company. Photo by Marshall Evan Photography

Article by Karen Bradner