The importance of preparation

How do you prepare this?

One of the things that are most of the time overlooked when doing a finishing project is propper preparation: On the one hand, preparation work and materials are expensive, takes time, and you run the risk that your quote will be uncompetitive. On the other hand, everyone is exited to get started, the products are ready, and it just looks so easy to quickly install and get out; but what are the consequences of this oversight or shortcut?

A lot can be mentioned: Cracks, products delaminating, major discolouration in the finish, the impact on longevity of your project, the hassle of time wasted, broken trust, fights, etc. In essence; all negative.

If you just painted over the cracks; this is what it will look like

But, let us just focus on your pocket for now. The goal when building – or doing any project for that matter – is to keep as close to budget as possible. You will look at the different quotations and a lot of times people choose the middle one feeling safe that they are not taking the worst guy, but also not getting ripped off; but what happens if something goes wrong?

Before the project starts, the common argument is: “if the contractor screws up, he will have to fix it”. But after three months of struggling to fix something that were supposed to take a month; that argument falls out the window. You want your life back, and you can’t wait any longer for this idiot to just finish.

Or the contractor walks away; and what can you do? Sue him? How much would that cost?

The point that I’m trying to make here is that all of this can be avoided if the preparation is done correctly. The only other problem with this is; usually preparation materials are quite a lot more technical than the finishes themselves, and if the people don’t know what they’re doing, you’re practically sitting with your finger stuck where the sun don’t shine! And you’ve wasted a lot of money: The cost of fixing something after it’s been done wrong can be much, much more than double the cost that you would have initially paid.

Nicely prepeared and beautifully finished

We have a little joke in our company: “He got what he paid for”. You don’t want to be the next one on who the joke will be. Rather save a little longer than jump at the cheaper option.

At Creative Touches we have paid the price of mistakes and have invested a lot in staff education as well as product research. We know what it takes to make your project a success.

Just another reason why your journey should be with us.

About the author: Michael Pretorius is an experienced interior designer and owner of Creative Touches interiors. For more information you can visit www.creativetouches.co.za or call him directly on 082-392-3336