New and used RVs will be on sale in one part of the dome while hundreds of home improvement vendors will be set up in another.
The economic downtown has dried up the housing market like a plugged-up downspout and homeowners are choosing to stay put rather than sell, contractors say. That has led to a shift in the industry.
“Had we not changed the way we did business we might not be in business,” said George Eide, owner of Renewal Remodels and Additions of Puyallup.
In the mid-2000s he had 22 employees. Now, he has half that. While he was able to adjust his business by downsizing his staff and using more subcontractors, he also greatly increased his efficiency, he said. Remodels are now 15 percent cheaper than they were before the recession, he said. That’s coming from his side, not the clients’, Eide added.
With 33 years in the business, 15 in remodeling, Eide has seen more than one boom and bust cycle. Asked what he does most, the mid- to high-end remodeler answers without hesitation: “Kitchens.”
Eide’s company is full-service, offering flooring, interior design, cabinets and more. It’s a trend homeowners are looking for he said. “They don’t like going to five or six vendors. They are looking for the one-stop experience.”
Popular in kitchens, he said, are space-saving amenities. “The bells and whistles that cabinets have now can make kitchens more functional – beyond the typical Lazy Susan.”
Eide said many of his clients come to him after they have looked into buying a house with a newer kitchen but then decided to stay put.
That’s a sentiment echoed by contractor James Peterson, owner of Tacoma and Olympia’s Lanza Construction. Peterson’s company builds custom homes and commercial projects but remodeling is a big part of the business.
“We’ve transformed from custom and spec homes to more remodels,” Peterson said. It’s now 80 percent of the seven-year-old company’s business. Projects range from whole house remodeling to siding repair – a big business in the area, he added.
Like Eide, Peterson sees more updating with money going mainly into kitchens and baths.
“People are willing to put a pretty high-end kitchen in a more average house,” Peterson said.
Popular trends in kitchen remodels, Peterson said, are frameless cabinets, alternatives to shiny granite countertops and on-demand water heaters.
“People are also getting more serious about alternate heating and energy sources,” Peterson said. His booth at this weekend’s show will feature geothermal (ground-source energy) and hydronic (water-based radiant) heating system displays.
Craig Sailor: 253-597-8541 craig.sailor@thenewstribune.com
