Every Elite Improvements project runs the same way, whether it is a bathroom or a new lake home. You always know what happens next, who is doing it, and what it costs.
1. Pre-construction planning meeting
We meet at your home, measure, photograph, and talk through what you want and what you want to spend. We tell you on the spot if the two don’t match. You bring: inspiration photos, a budget range, and your must-haves. Takes: 60–90 minutes. Cost: free.
2. Written scope and proposal
You get a line-by-line scope of work and a fixed proposal, not a one-page estimate. Allowances for selections are spelled out. Changes later are priced before they happen. Takes: 1–2 weeks. Payments: an acceptance payment when you sign, a second payment when the project starts, then staged payments sized to the project and tied to milestones, balance at completion. Change orders are paid as you go.
3. Your dedicated project manager
One person owns your job from demo to punch list. You get their cell number and a reply the same business day. They run the crews, the inspections and the schedule. Jim stays involved; your PM is who you text.
4. Phased milestone schedule
Before demo, you see the schedule in phases: demolition, rough-in, inspections, drywall, finishes, final. Each phase has a target date and a payment milestone. When you sign, your start date is locked on our production calendar and we do not bump it for a bigger job. Before demo we hang floor-to-ceiling dust barriers, protect the floors on the path in and out, and run air scrubbers on dusty phases; the crew cleans up every day. Typical timelines: bathroom 3–5 weeks, kitchen 6–10 weeks, whole-home 3–6 months, addition 4–8 months, custom home 9–14 months.
5. Weekly updates
Every week you get a written update with photos: what happened, what’s next, any decision we need from you. If you live in Chicago or travel for winter, this is how you watch the job without driving up.
6. Final walkthrough and punch list
We walk every room with you, write down anything that isn’t right, fix it, and walk it again. You sign off when you are satisfied, not when we are done, and we send you a short closeout survey so the next client gets an even better job. Then the warranty starts: three years on all workmanship, interior and exterior, plus the manufacturer warranties on everything we installed.
What we ask of you
Make selections by the dates on the schedule. Keep pets and kids clear of the work zone. Tell your PM the moment something bothers you; small problems are cheap on Tuesday and expensive on Friday.
Built once, built right, built for generations. Elite Improvements.
Built once, built right, built for generations. Elite Improvements.