Eberle Remodeling was founded in Sacramento, CA in 1985. In 1989, owner Kent Eberle, took on a partner, and in 1992 the company incorporated. The partnership dissolved at the end of 1996. After 21 years in business, residential remodeling is still the sole focus. Eberle Remodeling is now known as the premier residential remodeling firm in the Sacramento area. The company has won over 40 NARI CotY awards in both design and construction categories on the local, regional & national levels, as well as winning various other industry awards.

Roughly 10 years ago, the company became exclusively a Design-Build firm. Eberle Remodeling is a full-service remodeling company and primarily remodels kitchens and baths, but also does both room additions and whole house remodels.

Recent projects included a NARI local, regional, & national award-winning kitchen remodel in the $60,000 - $100,000 category. In addition, we recently completed a local and regional award-winning bathroom remodel in the $30,000 - $60,000 category . In addition, we just finished a $400,000 whole house remodel for a well-known, high-profile client. This project consisted of a kitchen, a den addition, a 2-story master bathroom addition, a guest bath and powder bath remodel, as well as flooring throughout.

Typically, Eberle Remodeling runs 7-15 projects at a time of varying sizes ranging from $50,000 - $500,000.

Kent Eberle performs the design, estimating and sales functions for the company. We have a controller, office manager, production manager and 8 remodelers, all long-term employees, who perform demolition, foundation, framing, masonry, window & door installations, finish carpentry, electrical & appliance installations, minor HVAC work, drywall, & painting. We also employ long term subcontractors primarily per installation of the finishes, such as cabinets, countertops and flooring.

I was a physical education teacher and look at the remodeling process as an educational process. The more informed the Eberle Remodeling client is, the greater the success of the project. Consequently, Eberle Remodeling goes to great lengths to ensure that their clients are educated, not only about the products, but also about the process. Creating realistic expectations also goes a long way toward ensuring the success of a project.

Eberle Remodeling has created satisfied clients by focusing on the details. The devil is in the details and Eberle Remodeling tries to keep the devil away by focusing on the extensive communication of the details and by thoroughly educating the client. In addition, we always strive to do what we say we are going to do....in a word, we have "integrity".

We work in the greater Sacramento area and try to stay within 30 miles or so of our office. Our clients are frequently dual income professionals, state workers and ranging primarily in age from the mid 30's to their mid 50's.

Most folks have a very good idea of what they want. Our job is to act as a facilitator and guide to bring out what the client wants and improve on their vision. Our goal is to have everything decided on in the way of design, product and the scope of the work before we begin construction. Making decisions on the fly can make for a stressful and drawn out remodel process. Doing the details up front, prior to construction, is absolutely the best way to minimize problems once construction starts.

We would much prefer to do fixed price contracts, although on occasion we'll do a time and material contract. A T&M contract is especially effective when we we have a client who can't make up his mind or changes his mind daily. It's extremely difficult to schedule on projects like this, so it takes more patience from both parties.

We use computers and Palm pilots. We have a large HD TV in our conference to display CAD drawings in 3-D. It's extremely effective and impresses clients with the "vision" for their projects. We use e-mail to communicate and update our clients, even if it's just checking in or confirming decisions that might have just been made recently.

We have in-house safety training meeting and view educational training tapes on a bi-monthly basis. We also discuss client interactions, clean up, building code requirements, and methods of ensuring quality.

We motivate our employees by patting them on the back when a job is well done, through continuing education, by allowing them to take the time to do quality, award-winning work and by compensating them fairly (equitable wages, health care contributions, 401 K, gas / vehicle allowance, profit sharing).

Truthfully, I needed a job 23 or 24 years ago. However, after working in the trades for several years, I found that I enjoyed being outside and working with my hands, designing in the field, and figuring things out. Owning a full service remodeling business is a lot of hard work, it's not for someone who wants to just put in their time and collect a check. There are so many hats to wear and there's so much to learn in every aspect of the business. There's never a dull moment or a want for something to do. Doing Design-Build allows for a creative outlet. It demands even more creativity to design to a budget. This is definitely a challenge on every project.

I make it a priority to work out at least 3 times per week. It definitely improves my mental outlook.

Clients should enter the construction process with an open mind. They should be aware that there will be disruptions and that there will still be decisions to make once we open up walls and discover what's within them.

We market primarily to past clients with a company newsletter and post cards featuring our award-winning projects. We advertise quarterly in a local, high-end magazine. We typically do one home show a year. We distribute wine to past clients. It's made by a company in Paso Robles, California, and it just happens to have the same name - Eberle.

Without a doubt, the most difficult challenge we face is finding qualified personnel. Once we find good employees and good subcontractors, we do our best to keep them by offering competitive salary and benefits.

Keeping our employees busy with a constant steady flow of work is probably the most difficult task we are currently and continually faced with. However, this can change rapidly and typically does.

For several reasons, we don't work with architects. Our Design-Build process starts with the discussion of a budget - and not the client's stated budget but a realistic target budget that is determined by our company. Architects may not be well-versed in costs, and as a result, what's designed sometimes doesn't get built. Our number one interest is to have the smoothest remodel process that we can have. The more hands that are in the pie, the less opportunity there is to have a successful project. By guiding clients through the design, product selection, and construction phases of their project, we are in a much better position to create a happy, satisfied client.

Finding and training key personnel - like a designer and an estimator. Letting go of these tasks is the next step for our company. I've had various design staff over the years, but finding someone well-versed in kitchen and baths, as well as versed in all of the building codes that are necessary to create a set of blueprints for an addition, is an entirely different story.

Our company's success has been due in large to doing the details, communication, education, a lot of hard work, and integrity. In addition, having dedicated, hard-working, long-term, employees makes it much easier to maintain consistency and quality. Much of our success can be attributed to our dedicated staff.