Despite rising supply costs, home remodeling service strives for perfection
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“Give me a picky customer,” said Joseph Cracco, president of Modern Yankee Builders in Cumberland. He is confident his design work will meet even the toughest demands.
Cracco has the experience to back up his claim. He started in commercial construction in 1984, finishing his career with Gilbane in Providence before opening his own company in 2000 with a friend in the contracting business.
“The mindset has to be not ‘that’s good enough,’ it has to be ‘that’s perfect,’” said Cracco.
He does not vouch to be the lowest bidder, but “if (a customer) is looking for a thoughtful redesign and to remodel their kitchen and living room space, then maybe we are the customer for them,” he said.
Construction and design is in Cracco’s blood. His father was an industrial arts and drafting teacher while his grandfather was an architect.
“I completed a set of house plans by the time I was 11 or 12 years old,” and was using power tools at a young age, he said.
Most of the marketing for the company comes from word-of-mouth. Only this year did Cracco begin an advertising campaign to introduce the area to his work.
Cracco uses his Web site to find customers who are looking for the high quality work offered by Modern Yankee. The “are you ready to build” questionnaire asks customers about their knowledge of the building industry, the stage of planning and design they are at, and about any past remodeling projects.
A low score indicates a need to do more research and develop a better understanding of what they want from a remodel. A score in the middle suggests a solid basis for remodeling and proposes consulting Yankee Builders for further assistance. A top score indicates a prime customer for Cracco and his team.
Cracco works with two or three contractors. Specialty work like plumbing, electrical and roofing is contracted out to trade contractors associated with Yankee Builder.
“We try to make remodeling as unobtrusive as humanly possible,” said Cracco.
Experts say the housing market still looks strong for new construction, which generally means residential remodeling follows suit. However, as the real estate market softens, homeowners will look to sell before remodeling, he said, noting prospective remodeling dollars are put toward a new home.
Additionally, building supply prices have increased 15 percent to 20 percent per year, insurance rates have skyrocketed and overhead costs are higher, said Cracco.
“Prices are getting more expensive, we are making less money, and we are getting fewer projects,” he said, explaining that at least six projects this year did not come to fruition because of higher costs.
The ideal customer is active in the design and remodeling process.
Unfortunately, for the industry, there is a bad stigma with remodelers, said Cracco; but it’s well-deserved, he said, because there are more than 800 contractors in Rhode Island that have had their licenses either suspended or revoked.
Running a legitimate operation with appropriate insurance and worker benefits costs more, said Cracco, but “ultimately you are going to end up with a better product.”
The company also spends thousands of dollars annually on educational courses. “Our job is to try to bring the level of professionalism up in our industry.”
The current goal for the company is to add one or two contractors in the next few years.
Cracco may need to build an addition on his own house for all the hardware he has recently received.
In late October, Modern Yankee was named one of eight companies nationwide to win a Janus Award for excellence in building design. This recognition came on the heels of a Chrysalis Award in April for the best product in the category of room remodeling. “The awards are a byproduct of producing high-level work; we want our work to stand out as being different,” said Cracco.
