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Keeping Our Community Healthy

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As we continue to take unprecedented precautions for the health of our families, friends, and that of our communities, let’s also take care of our local economy. We have close ties to our community, and as an independent business ourselves, we’re acutely aware of how much local businesses contribute to the quality of life here in Northern Michigan.

Restaurants, as you know, are especially hurting right now. You have an easy way to help support them and help their businesses stay afloat. If you’re local, forget about cooking dinner for a night or two, and order for take-out or delivery. If you’re out of the area, buy a gift certificate you can use this summer, or send food or gift certificates to places that are working hard to keep us safe, like our hospitals, urgent care centers, and first responders. If you can, please tip generously — many places are using gratuities to help their laid-off workers.

To help, here’s a list of the McBride Remodeling team’s favorite places. Please give these restaurants your business. While you take care of your family’s health, you can support the well-being of those who work in these places too. Even though we’re physically separated, we can all work together to support vulnerable members of our business community. 

Thanks in advance for your support. We wish you all the best during these challenging times.

Tap This Image for a List of Our Team's Favorite Local Restaurants.

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Are Home Additions Beneficial to Your Property?

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Do you dream of having a study area or a home office room? If so, then you’ll need more space that will hold the new utility area that you’ll need. Home additions are an ideal method of creating more space that can change your home and provide your family and friends all the space and amenities they’ll need. Apart from providing you with more square footage and utility areas, home additions present many benefits. But where are the home additions contractors near me?

Read on to get tips on how to choose an ideal contractor and some of the top home additions benefit that you may need to consider when seeking to add more rooms and square footage to your home during home addition renovations.

Property Value Addition

A home with more square footage and rooms has more value than one with few rooms and low square footage. A home addition can help you to add more space to your home and square footage. Such additions also allow you to create more utility areas.

Creation of More Indoor Space

Is your kitchen and dining area too small to hold a home party? If so, then you might need kitchen remodeling services to increase your space. Most homeowners who seek to renovate or refurbish their homes often express the need to create more indoor space. With the help of home addition contractors near me, home additions can allow you to create more rooms and space to store your workout equipment or bikes and many other items.

Lease or Rental Income

Do you need a workout gym that is close to your home or a small library and study area for your home-based studies? Then you may share such everyday needs with your neighbors. You can build a home gym area and equip it with all the necessary gym equipment. You can lease such space to your local fitness enthusiasts within your neighborhood.

Home Additions Add Luxury to Your Interiors

Do you wish to add a sink or bathtub to your master bathroom? Do you need to add a swimming pool to your roof? If your space permits the installation of such luxurious additions, then your home addition project will add more luxurious utility spaces and lavish items within your home.

With a Home Addition, You can Host More Friends and Family Members

According to the findings from a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2012, approximately 40% or 21.6 million young people aged between 18 and 31 live with their parents. More older adults are also moving back in with their children to cut down their housing expenses. An estimated 4.6 million older adults move back in to cut down their housing expenses.

With enough space, you can make a home addition that includes an entire bedroom and a complete bathroom if your plumbing allows. With the help of home addition contractors near me, you can get more space, which can host your elderly parents or your child who isn’t ready to move out yet.

Home Additions Eliminate the Need to Move

It’s rather evident that home additions will be cheaper than moving. Moving presents an enormous hassle and considerable expenses because you have to hire a moving company and pay for their packing, transportation, unpacking, and insurance that covers your items. Instead of looking for a moving contractor, go for home addition contractors near me.

Conclusion

Approximately 85% of homes in the country were built before 1980, and most of these homes need some refurbishing. A home addition project provides you with an ingenious way to transform your home into a dream home with all the spaces that you’ll need to live with comfort. Additions are often less expensive than whole home renovations that involve your entire home.

Whether you’re looking for an extra room for your study or need to update your kitchen, you should never overlook a home addition as a homeowner. A simple search for home addition contractors near me on most online platforms should get you an ideal home addition contractor for your project.

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McBride Remodeling Operational Update

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I want to take a moment to share an update on our current mode of operation. In compliance with the current “stay-at-home” order, we have placed construction projects temporarily on hold, but we remain open for “virtual” business. The McBride team is moving forward with design consultations, design development, and construction planning–from the comfort of our own homes.

Fortunately, we are well-equipped to work with clients remotely. Since so many of our clients reside outside of the area, we have invested in the technology to facilitate these “long-distance relationships”. From our web-based project management system to our design software and video conferencing capabilities, we have all the collaboration tools at our disposal for developing designs, providing estimates, facilitating material selections and planning construction for projects of any scope and size.

It goes without saying that we are concerned about the safety and well-being of our clients, team members and trade partners. As always, we take the greatest precautions to protect all the stakeholders. Ordinarily, that means running well-organized and clean job sites and mitigating issues like dust, asbestos, and lead paint. These days, job-site safety has taken on a whole new meaning. Whether the threat is a virus or another airborne contaminant, rest assured, we will remain vigilant in following the necessary safety protocols to protect you and your families.

As you spend time in your home thinking of all the ways it can be improved upon to make the space more comfortable, please don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a virtual consultation about your next project. This is the ideal time to begin planning so that we’ll be ready to hit the ground running when the shut down is lifted.

Thanks to all of you who have reached out to us with words of encouragement and support during this unsettling time. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and look forward to working with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Dave McBride

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Top 4 Materials for Modern Countertops

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Countertops set the style and tone of your kitchen. As a central part of the room, it has a great impact on aesthetics.

However, they type of countertop you choose has implications in terms of functionality and durability. The home renovation sector is projected to grow by 2% to 2025. The growth has seen an increase in the number of kitchen renovation services and products.

In this article, we’ll be looking at the different types of countertops you can get from your kitchen remodeling contractor.

Engineered Quartz

Quartz is becoming one of the popular choices for high-end kitchen renovations. It is made up of a mixture of aggregates, including quartz and engineered stone. The materials are forged together by a chemical binder. There are different types of quartz aggregates, such as Silestone, Celador, and CaesarStone, among others.

The main advantage of engineered quartz for kitchen remodeling is durability and aesthetics. You can get the look of natural stone, without worrying about the surface deteriorating. It is less susceptible to dents and scratches than marble and granite.

Soapstone

Soapstone is a natural stone with a smooth surface. It is also non-porous, which reduces the risk of bacteria growth. Your kitchen remodeling contractor may recommend it for a busy home because they also are resistant to heat.

Soapstone develops a patina as it ages. By applying oil on it, you can encourage the development of the patina for aesthetics. The main issue with it is that it can sustain scratches and dents. But with good maintenance, it is an ideal choice for kitchen renovations, for its durability and beauty.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is not an entirely new material for countertops. It has been a feature of restaurants for many decades. Stainless steel is now common for residential projects.

One of the disadvantages of stainless steel is that it can leave fingerprints and oil marks on the material. You must be cautious when using the countertop as it can leave scratches on the surface.

However, it is easy to clean, and the dents become less conspicuous as time goes by. An experienced kitchen remodeling contractor can quickly fix scratches. It can be the perfect choice if you are going for the industrial style with your whole home remodeling project.

Concrete

Concrete was a popular option three decades ago. It involved pouring the mixture on the countertop. However, today home addition contractors use advanced methods of installation like precasting that is non-intrusive.

The main advantage is that it is affordable and long-lasting. Concrete has better formulations than in the past, which makes it stronger. They come in a wide variety of textures and colors. It can be a good choice for a busy kitchen, where resistance to heat, scratching, and dents are critical. Concrete is also easy to repair as compared to other countertops given that chips, cracks, and dents can be filled using locally available concrete patch.

In Conclusion

Countertops can be found in a wide range of materials today. Each material has its qualities; some are chosen for their durability, and others for their aesthetics. You ought to carefully evaluate your choices against your needs, before calling a kitchen remodeling contractor for installation.

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McBride Service Day Helps The Manna Food Project

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In December, our team visited the Manna Food Project for a day of service. We helped to package 200 boxes of food for families in need. While we were there, we took the opportunity to prepare a tasty breakfast for the hard working Manna staff and volunteers. Finally, to show our appreciation for the wonderful work they do, McBride Remodeling made a $500 contribution to the organization, as well.  Toggle through the gallery below for a few highlights from our visit. For more information on this worthy non-profit organization, we encourage you to visit: mannafoodproject.org
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McBride Earns Fifth Consecutive Top 500 Remodeler Award

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Dave McBride, Owner of McBride Remodeling, poses with his Top 500 Award plaques.

For the fifth consecutive year, McBride Remodeling has been selected as one of Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 Remodeling firms. As the country’s premier publication serving home improvement specialists, Qualified Remodeler has been tracking the largest and most successful companies in the industry since 1978. McBride Remodeling’s spot on the list solidifies its position as one of the top remodelers in the United States.

“We are honored to be included on QR’s list of top remodelers. It’s a testament to the hard work and craftsmanship of our team, and the support of our community. We’re proud to have helped generations of families create the homes of their dreams,” says Dave McBride, Owner of McBride Remodeling.

To qualify for the QR Top 500, businesses must meet a set of criteria including installed remodeling dollar volume, total years in business, industry association membership, industry certification, industry awards, and community service.

“Based on Qualified Remodeler’s analysis, the Top 500 firms tend to share several common attributes, including strong revenues, a commitment to customer service, insightful sales techniques and strong customer loyalty,” says Qualified Remodeler owner and editorial director, Patrick O’Toole. “These attributes helped put the firms on this list and contribute to their success.”

McBride Remodeling has been crafting beautiful, inspiring home environments with superior quality and craftsmanship for over 35 years. Their core values of professionalism, cultivating relationships, integrity, dedication to community, and the drive for excellence guide every home maintenance and remodeling project, making them the preferred choice for home remodeling in Petoskey and beyond.

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Welcoming Earl to the McBride Team

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Today is a particularly proud day for our McBride team as we get to introduce all of you to the newest addition to our company. I’m sure you will find him a strong symbol of all the hard work we accomplish here at McBride Construction. 

You may have seen him hanging around the office for a few weeks and wondered… who is this new guy?  Well, we can tell you he is as strong as steel and has the strength of 10 men. His stature’s been the same ever since he was brought into this world. He is a tough one who many say was forged from fire. His nickname is “Tube-Man”, but his real name is Earl!  

We had to persuade him to come up to Northern Michigan where he could enjoy life a bit more. He is an old soul and deserves some of the comforts we all have here. He has been called many things through his extensive work in the trades. His reputation for years has been part of the folklore told around campfires. There have been songs written about him and his work. His time in the south of Florida has left him a reputation that spans many years of stories, jokes and a standard of the work ethic known only as “Earl”. Because of his unknown background, but obvious vast experience, many have bragged that he actually had a hand at solving some of the most difficult construction projects known to man…  

  • The Colossus of Rhodes
  • Great Pyramid of Giza
  • Hanging Gardens of Babylon
  • The Eiffel Tower

Mysteriously there are cave drawings near The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Pyramids of a stick figure of a tube-like man who carries a HUGE hammer and spike. No one can verify Earl’s age, so don’t ever ask him, and he sure won’t tell you about his travels.

In our time of knowing him it has been very hard to determine the validity of many of the stories that are told, but this we know to be true from a trusted source…Earl brings Good Luck! His fellow workers down south worked tirelessly next to him in the blazing sun, and he always was on site for inspiration and a symbol of work well done.  At days end fellow workers honored his presence with a simple pat on his hard hat just for a job well done, and it always brought them good luck and safe results. So as you get familiar with Earl as our newest hardworking symbol, remember the folklore that will bring you good luck for the rest of your days. A simple pat on his hard hat or maybe just a little recognition as you walk by can’t hurt. 

The bottom line is that Earl does represent what we all do every day. We work safe, hard, and proudly carry a BIG hammer. We’re very glad he is in our corner and will keep a watchful eye on all of us. 

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What is McBride’s Design/Build Difference

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What is design-build?

Design/build is a method you can use on your next construction project that assigns one firm to do the design and construction. This is a different approach from the traditional construction process, where you would hire an architectural firm to design a structure, and then request bids from contractors to build the structure based on the design. You can compare design-build to design-bid-build here.

In design-build, you communicate with a single point of contact for both the design and construction of your project. This may be a better approach to take because it can help you reduce risks and control costs. For example, if your design is seen as impractical from the builder’s perspective, you have the opportunity to discover and resolve the issue with your design-build contractor before significant work is started. In turn, this will reduce your overall costs and lead to better results.

Having a single point of contact also helps you, as the homeowner, to maintain control over your project. Instead of having multiple design and construction budgets to oversee, you can use design-build to help you negotiate an overall cost for completing the project and moving forward in construction with the same team that initiated the design.

Having a single driving force working with you may provide real advantages, considering all the risks and errors that can occur during a construction project. The Design/Build method helps increase your involvement and control over the project management and communication, which will ultimately help you complete your project successfully, with less stress and frustration.

The McBride Difference

A design-build company such as McBride Construction can often offer an easier and more affordable remodeling solution. From the very beginning of your project, our team of professionals make it a collaborative effort to draw up your plans and be held accountable for the final result. Our mission statement, “to provide superior quality construction and remodeling services, while doing what it takes to make the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible for the client”, infiltrates every aspect of our business. Read more about our McBride Method here, and give us a call for your next construction or remodeling project.