Franchisee Stories - Elmstead Remodeling

Meet Our Owners

Angela L. – Boise, Idaho

Angela spent 11 years as a project manager for a commercial general contractor before joining Elmstead Remodeling. She was good at her job but tired of the pressure to cut corners when budgets tightened. “I’d sit in meetings and hear, ‘value-engineer this down,’ and what that meant was cheaper materials and rushed work,” she says. “I wanted to run jobs where the answer to a problem was never ‘hide it.'” What drew her to Elmstead was the written price before work starts. “I’d spent a decade writing change orders. The idea of pricing a job honestly up front, and having a brand that enforces that, changed how I sleep.” Angela runs a four-person crew now. She names the brands she installs, KraftMaid cabinets, Moen fixtures, James Hardie siding, when she walks a client through a proposal. “Nobody has to take my word for it. They can look up the manufacturer warranty themselves. That conversation is so much easier than defending a mystery product.” Her favorite part of ownership? “Getting to actually care about the finish. I spent years being told the finish didn’t matter. Now it’s the whole job.”

Cole N. – Fort Worth, Texas

Cole was a solo carpenter for nine years. He booked jobs by word of mouth and worked alone most days. “I was a good carpenter and a lousy businessman,” he admits. “I’d give a rough number, then the job would take longer, and I’d eat the difference because I didn’t want an awkward conversation.” Cole joined Elmstead Remodeling because the Cedarwell Care Promise matched how he already worked with one exception: it gave him a structure for saying no to bad-fit jobs. “The shoe covers and drop cloths, the clean-up photo before we leave, I did that stuff anyway. But now it’s not me being fussy. It’s the standard, and clients know it before I show up.” Cole now leads a crew of three and handles the estimating himself. “The written price changed my life. I sit down, I walk the house, I write the number, and the client signs it. No more drifting.” He says the 365-Day Done Right Promise is the part he talks about least, but it’s the part that matters most. “I’ve had two callbacks in two years. Both small. Both fixed, no charge, no argument. That’s the whole point.”

Michelle L. – Charlotte, North Carolina

Michelle came from the supply side: eight years selling cabinets and countertops at a regional distributor. She knew the brands, Cambria, Silestone, Wellborn, and she knew which contractors bought the good stuff and which ones swapped it for cheap laminate after the client signed. “I watched too many homeowners get quoted a name-brand kitchen and then get something else installed. They’d never know. I knew.” When she decided to move to the contracting side, she looked for a company that made materials part of the promise. “Elmstead names the brands in writing. The client sees KraftMaid, they see Kohler, they see the actual product line. That’s how I wanted to sell.” Michelle runs bathroom and kitchen remodels with a two-person install team. She says the hardest thing she had to learn was letting the brand promise do some of the selling. “I used to have to convince people I was honest. Now the written price and the care promise do that before I even open my mouth. I just show up, measure, and tell them what it costs.” She’s also the owner who most appreciates the live-answer phone line. “A lead that calls and talks to a human is a lead that actually wants work done. I don’t waste evenings calling back people who’ve already moved on.”

Alejandro H. – Tucson, Arizona

Alejandro spent 13 years as a foreman for a production homebuilder. He managed large crews, hit schedules, and watched warranty departments handle the aftermath. “We built fast. The warranty truck was there before the sod was down. I knew early on I wanted to build slower and fix less later.” He chose Elmstead Remodeling after researching several franchise and contractor-network options. “Most of them gave me a logo and a website and said good luck. Elmstead gave me a standard of care and a promise I could point to. That’s different.” Alejandro now runs whole-home remodels and kitchen renovations in the Tucson market, where heat and hard water create specific challenges. “I tell clients up front: in this climate, you want certain products, certain caulks, certain cabinet finishes. The brands Elmstead works with hold up here.” He is careful about rest hours. “Quiet tools during family rest hours isn’t a nice-to-have when it’s 105 degrees and people are cranky. I follow that promise because it’s the right thing, and because my schedules stay calmer when the household stays calm.”