Home Remodeling "Coach" Dan Stevenson Takes "Hands-on" Approach To Repairs

	Dan Stevenson (blue hat) had been working with Mike from Hayward on his back yard. The new fence was recently completed and they are just starting a fountain. The rocks they are placing will hide all the black plastic. New plants soon will complete the landscaping.

Learn how to remodel your own kitchen, bath, or even add a room or deck with Dan Stevenson, longtime OPEN EXCHANGE lister. Do it yourself or he will teach you how to plan and hire.

What's the most popular remodeling project right now?
Organizing—deciding what they really want before embarking on construction.

What do they think they want?
Here's an example. They're going to remodel a bedroom because their children are going to visit, but in truth their children haven't stayed over for 5, 6, 7 years. They visit but don't stay. So we remodel the room as a library and add a futon for the very occasional guest.

That doesn't require major remodeling.
Not at all! I might teach people how to make bookshelves, how to safely use the tools. I work with all skill levels, men or women. Maybe it's hand tools, rather than power tools. It's what they're comfortable with. My intention is empowerment. Some people think they're going to do everything, then they find that sheet rock isn't fun for them. So it's up to them to decide what they want to do. A lot of men are embarrassed that they don't know this stuff. Attorneys and doctors and intelligent men. Maybe they didn't have fathers that taught them.

What if people don't want to do everything themselves?
I help them find people who do. I also look over their contracts, sit in on the contractual businesses, actually come to the job site and inspect what is being done. City inspection services are very poor—permits are a revenue source but not a quality or a safety source. The city will see if you have smoke detectors but not actually open the electrical box.

Are people greening their homes?
The cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and SF require remodeling to include double insulation on windows and fluorescent lighting. For expensive items like wood decking the desire is there but not always the wallet. Solar is expensive now, but better, cheaper solar panels are about 2-3 years away.

Early adopters pay a penalty. What's the payback time?
I don't look at it that way. It's not a factor for the clients I've had. Many of them just want to get off the grid. For some people it's political. You feel good! Of course, once the prices drop the rate of change will be staggering!

What's the biggest remodeling mistake people make?
If it's a couple, not sitting down together and talking about the objectives. I get in the middle of a lot of very interesting conflicts because they don't agree on the overall view.

So you do marriage counseling on the side?
(Laughs!) I try to warn people to try to get clear. For example, maybe the man can live in mess during remodeling but the wife is a neatness person. And maybe they add ideas, the job gets bigger and bigger, and the costs goes up... they get carried away. I try to keep everything real, go back to the original budget. If they're refinancing they have maybe a little more money. If they're doing it monthly they have to realize the job is going to take longer, and they're ripping things apart—it's going to take longer to get together.