AUGUST 4, 2005
Atlanta Journal Constitution - DeKalb Business

Extra effort gets job done in half the time

For most homeowners, the dream of a new kitchen, an updated bath or a bigger family room comes with a dark side. While it's fun to envision sleek, contemporary rooms instead of cramped quarters, the thought of having to live through a renovation can be terrifying.

Ask anyone who's lived through it, including Bruce Meller.

"Not only did they immediately grasp what I was trying to do, the fact that they paid a good deal of attention to the logistics was what got me."

The secret behind Home Forge's successful first year in business is the way it organizes each job, said chief operating officer Carol Freitag, a former Home Depot vice president who grew up in a family of remodelers.

"We don't go to a client's home until we have everything we need to do the job," she said. "That minimizes the chaos. When you remodel, you are disrupting their homes. We do all the selection, then warehouse all their products so from the time we go in and start demolition until they're frying an egg on their stove is about 3.5 weeks."

The process starts with a Home Forge employee helping the client pick out every item required to complete the job. Each item is then delivered to the company's headquarters in east Decatur where a warehouse stores all the fixtures the client ordered. When all materials are assembled, they're loaded onto a trailer and driven to the customer's home where they remain until the job is finished by a team of craftsman who stay with the project from beginning to end.

"One of their employees spent a day with me at Home Depot, helping me pick out what I needed," said Mound. "Then it arrived in atrailer that stayed out front of the house. I think that sped the process up, too, since the crew could get what they needed right off the trailer."

Having all the project pieces sent to a warehouse first ensures that the items are exactly what the client ordered. If not, they don't hold up the project waiting for replacements.

For instance, there has always been a high damage rate in the cabinet industry," says Freitag. "But by having everything delivered to the warehouse, we can inspect it, make sure it's in perfect condition and it's what our client ordered. Some people will tell you that means extra handling and time, but we believe this is a better way to do it. And we're more than competitive with other big remodelers in town."

Freitag has built four of her homes and lived through one renovation. "With a traditional modeler, I found you have this constant chasing of product," she said. "But we create an explicit step-by-step plan so our client doesn't have to live through that."

Though Home Forge's primary market now is inside the Perimeter, Freitag says there has been some discussion about expanding outside the Atlanta area.

"Based on the financials of our first operating year, we think we have a winner with a strong potential of growing nicely,"she said. "And that's because we understand the importance of customer service and respect our customers' time."