Good question David! We tried to find some type of “roadmap to a pop top,” but unfortunately that doesn’t exist. At least not without a Contractor, an Architect/ Draftsman, and a few other very important pieces and people.
So where did we start? Google…of course! We looked through different area contractors who listed pop-tops. Among these was HomeWrights (www.homewrights.com). They offer a unique (and cost-saving) approach to home building and renovation projects where the homeowners function similar to a General Contractor. They provide lists of vetted subcontractors, paperwork, tools to stay organized, and their guidance and coaching while you are making your way through your project. This was intriguing to us, especially as a way to be more involved and save some money on a very expensive endeavor. We reached out and eventually met with one of their project managers. It was November 2020. The world was in the thralls of a pandemic. We wore masks during our meetings, or had those meetings on our back patio and spaced out appropriately everywhere. We learned lumber prices were astronomical and were encouraged to slow our roll in getting things started until those (and many other prices) came down. It was taking a year for windows and appliances to come in. It seemed daunting. It still does!
We wanted to see what other contractors had to say too, and we have neighbors who had recently done a complete house remodel, so we reached out to the general contractor they used for their project. He sat down with us, asked what we were looking for, described the process, and got us in touch with an architect he works with frequently. She met with us and we went through the same process we had gone through with the others…talking about what we want, what we could do with our space, what the City of Denver would let us do, and all of the details that go with all of it.
We also had a company who had more of the feel of a “big box” contractor to them. The guys came through with their matching embroidered jackets on and had their smooth talk that nearly promised everything we wanted from our build. Seemed somewhat fake and unrealistic for this type of project. No thanks, we’ll pass.
In the end, we decided to have HomeWrights be the contractor for our project. We wanted to be more involved in this thing, and saving some money helps too! So we have our contractor. Next it was time to find someone to design the thing and start talking to subcontractors.
2020- The pop-top was just an idea. We had bigger plans at the time...like a new retaining wall! We were over our heads then too...
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