Take Proper Precautions to Prevent Frozen Pipes

With temperatures in the Lowcountry expected to drop into the teens (and wind chills near zero along the coast), Charleston residents are bracing for some bitterly cold weather tonight - something we don't experience that often.

Because extreme cold temperatures are somewhat uncommon, it's easy to forget to take proper precautions to prevent frozen pipes. Here are a few simple steps you can take to protect your plumbing:

1. Leave a faucet dripping over night. Flowing water is less likely to freeze. Even if some of the water in the pipes does freeze, keeping the faucet open and water flowing helps prevent pressure from building, which can cause a pipe to burst.

2. Cover exposed pipes. Your local home improvement store should carry pipe insulation. If you don't have time to get the insulation, grab a few blankets or towels and wrap any exposed pipes. Don't forget about pipes in the garage, attic or other unheated areas of the home.

3. Disconnect garden hoses. It's not uncommon to leave your garden hose connected to your outdoor spigot year-round. The problem is that if water freezes in the hose it puts pressure on the entire plumbing system. Disconnect your hose, drain it and cover the spigot just to be safe.

4. Know where your water shut-off valve is located. If you do have a pipe burst, use this valve to shut off your home's water supply and hopefully minimize any water damage.

Classic's 2013 Client Appreciation Party a Big Hit

Every year we look forward to our annual client appreciation party, when we get a chance to get together with past clients and new clients for an evening of food and fun.

This year, our party took place at the St John’s Yacht Harbor’s Headquarters Room. Despite some concerns earlier in the week about the weather, it turned out to be a picture-perfect evening.

More than 100 of our clients and employees came out for the evening and were treated to a full spread of homemade dishes, prepared by Classic’s staff.  Our “head chef,” Bob Fleming, provided the main course of pulled pork, mac & cheese, green beans and cornbread, Charleston Oyster Company provided the oysters, and an array of appetizers and mouth-watering desserts helped round out the buffet.

Despite all of the delicious food, one of our favorite offerings of the evening wasn’t food related.

Like all good party hosts, we don’t like to send our guests home empty-handed. This year, in addition to the koozies and oyster knives, we also wanted to give back to our community and those in need. There are so many deserving organizations throughout the Lowcountry, we decided to let our clients help us decide where our money should go. So, we selected 3 charities* and gave each client a stone valued at $10 to drop into the donation jar for the charity of their choice.

Thanks to the participation of our clients, Classic will be making donations in honor of our guests, to Susan G. Komen Lowcountry ($250), Operation Home ($350) and Water Missions International ($490).

It was a wonderful evening and we’re already looking forward to the next party. Thanks to everyone who attended and we hope to see you next year!

*About our selected charities:

Susan G. Komen Lowcountry - The Lowcountry Affiliate of Susan G. Komen supports breast cancer awareness projects and promotes breast health programs in 17 counties across the Lowcountry. Additional proceeds support research, educational and scientific programs around the world.

Operation Home - Operation Home helps low-income residents of Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties remain in their homes by increasing safety and accessibility through the coordination of critical home repairs.

Water Missions International - Water Missions International provides sustainable safe water and sanitation solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas. They are currently providing critical assistance to the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Let's Celebrate! A Fantastic End to a Fantastic Renovation

What’s the best way to celebrate the completion of a project for some great clients? With a party, of course! This past weekend, we put down our tool belts and put on our aprons to host a party for the Smith's and 70 of their friends and neighbors to celebrate the completion of their interior renovations.

The Smith’s own a lovely 1940s bungalow in the Charleston’s Wagener Terrace neighborhood (if you read our last post, this is the project that prompted the Shelton's to contact us for their renovation). Over the course of the renovation project, the charming home was updated, bringing it more in line with the homeowners' current needs. The home now boasts a beautiful master suite with a new master bathroom, updated kitchen cabinets and countertops, a new powder room, expanded dining room, and new screened porch. Here are a few before and after shots of the project:

An under-utilized breakfast area was converted into a new sitting room

Master bath, before and after

A crumbling brick archway and porch was replaced with a new screened porch

Once the project was wrapped up, we couldn't think of a better way to thank these wonderful clients, than with some homemade food and an evening spent with friends, courtesy of Classic Remodeling & Construction.

 

Client Testimonial - 1940s Wagener Terrace Condo

One of Classic Remodeling's core values has always been to provide superior customer service to all of our clients. In an industry where referrals are key to the success of our business, customer satisfaction is not something that can be taken lightly. We go to great lengths to monitor our team's performance, using survey services like GuildQuality and review sites like Angie's List or Houzz.

It is extremely satisfying to hear from clients at the end of a project and learn that they had a great experience. We received one such note this month, from a client who hired us to renovate their 1940s condominium. 

From Terese Scarritt Shelton and Tom Shelton

homeowners in Historic Wagener Terrace

downtown Charleston, Summer 2013

“The Classic crew teamed up with us to renovate our old black and white tiled bathroom, circa World War II. While the job seemed like a small endeavor, we knew that it could become complicated.

We really needed the right professionals, since we also faced my husband’s knee replacement and needed a compassionate team to work with us on making our spaces “orthopedically-friendly” and accessible. In older buildings this is often a huge challenge!

As we considered contractors to update our bathroom and repair and freshen other parts of our home, we happened to be able to watch Classic Remodeling crews in action on a large-scale renovation of a neighbors’ charming historic bungalow. Our neighbors seemed incredibly pleased with the skill and organization of their Classic team, so we interviewed with Classic’s front man, Russell Scheider. His listening skill, quick response to our many questions and obvious knowledge of housing and construction won us over fully!

  

Entering into a relationship with Classic Remodeling proved to be the smartest move we could have made. In our case, we needed not only a team with airtight reliability and skill; we needed design help to accommodate our need for home features that would enable us to “age-into” our living space safely.

We needed professionals who were compassionate, too. We were going through a major surgery while the renovation work was underway. This required a great deal of sensitivity to our needs and to the timing of work. Everything had to be neat, tidy and uncluttered during the six weeks worth of construction…because any clutter might pose a hazard to navigation as Tom tried to maneuver about.

I must say, we chose very wisely when we picked Classic’s professional team of skilled craft-folks and project managers. They brought the job in before deadline, under-budget and with nearly perfectionistic attention to detail and quality. All of their communication and organizational talents aided in completing the job with the utmost respect for all of our needs.

Working with Classic’s talented crew was more like undertaking a project with reliable family members whom we felt always had our best interests at heart!

We wholeheartedly recommend them to our neighbors and friends. We would love to work with them again in the future. If others are lucky enough to get to work with Harold Butler, Project Craftsman, Russ Scheider, Sales & Design Associate and the fantastic Cava Compton, Project Manager, they won’t have to worry for even a minute. Just hand them the keys to your house with complete confidence…and they will get the job done!”

Classic Remodeling Featured in Remodeling Magazine

Classic’s Bob Fleming will be a featured panelist in an upcoming Owner Series Webinar sponsored by GuildQuality, which will focus on how company owners preserve their core values and company culture while growing their business.  In advance of the webinar, the panelists shared some of their thoughts with Remodeling Magazine. Below is an excerpt of the article.


Focus Your Culture on Service Excellence
Is your company's culture helping you exceed client expectations?

Managing expectations is important, but exceeding client expectations is essential to growing your business. There's a definite correlation between a company's success and how its culture focuses on service excellence.

Fitting In
Creating defined processes and an encouraging environment where teamwork and accountability are valued is critical to developing a strong culture of excellence. As your business grows, preserving that culture can become a challenge. Bob Fleming, president of Classic Remodeling & Construction in Charleston, S.C., considers whether new hires will be a cultural fit during the interview process.

“First and most important, I hire for attitude," he says. "All the technical skills in the world will not compensate for a lack of people skills. I find that when you find someone with good people skills who is motivated to learn, you can teach the technical skills quickly and easily.”

Fleming also emphasizes the importance of his company’s core values with new team members and trains them to deliver excellence to clients. He monitors his team’s performance using GuildQuality.

“There is nothing more satisfying than getting the feedback from our clients that everyone involved with the project was great to work with and knowing that those results occurred without any daily involvement from me as the company owner.”

To read the full article, check out Remodeling.com. 

8 Tips For Keeping Your Home Safe While You Are Away

Planning your summer vacation? Don’t forget to make plans to keep your home and belongings safe while you are away. Here are a few practical tips to ensure your house stays safe, whether you are gone for a week or a month.

1.     Install interior lights with timers. Use the “random” setting to make your home look occupied while you are away.

2.     Keep your home’s exterior looking tidy. Stop newspaper and mail delivery or have a neighbor pick it up for you. And, if you’ll be away longer than a week, make arrangements for your lawn to be mowed.

3.     Unplug your garage door openers to prevent tech savvy burglars from gaining easy access to your home.

4.     Don’t hide a spare key. Instead, leave a key with a trusted neighbor.

5.     Unplug your electronics to prevent damage from lightning strikes.

6.     Lock up or hide your valuables. Burglars are usually most interested in what they can get their hands on easily.

7.     Make sure you have deadbolts installed on all outside doors and lock them. Pushbutton locks are easy for burglars to open.

8.     Don’t advertise your vacation on social media. This is an easy way for people to find out when you won’t be home. Share photos and details of your trip after you return.