Riggs Construction & Design turned 50 years old this month.  Amie, Bill and Lauren Kolbe of our PR firm, KolbeCo Marketing Resources, planned a celebration that had all the elements of a great party including great food from McArthur’s Bakery, wine, beer, games and raffles.  Best of all, we had a fantastic idea to raise money for breast cancer research.  Since it was our “golden” anniversary, we asked everyone to bring any gold jewelry that they could donate to the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Program at Siteman Cancer Center.  Jim & Martha Durbin from Durbin Jewelry here in Kirkwood were kind enough to spend their time collecting and evaluating what was brought in.  If course, it rained all day, the temperature was in the 40s and the plan was to hold the party outside!  Fortunately, they planned for all possibilities by setting up a tent with heaters and a direct connection to the office interiors so that our guests would stay dry and comfortable.  But would all our past clients, trade contractors, suppliers and other friends of the company come?  The weather conditions made that question even more doubtful.

Before I answer that question, let me give you a little inside story about a division within the company that this party created.  We have the “older” generation with me, Steve, Pam and Kathy whose parents grew up during the great depression and have lived through some pretty rough times ourselves and then we have the “youngsters” who have experienced a steady paycheck and boom times over the last 20 years.  That would be Bill, Amie, David and Brett.  Chris, our estimator is in between and I think he had some reservation but tried his best to be enthusiastic and encouraging.  The rest of the crew had their own opinions and I’m pretty sure what they were.

We old folks thought that not only was this party a waste of money, but no one likes coming to these things anyway!  How embarrassing it will be to hold a big party and have no one show up.  I wanted to say no to the party but in letting go of this company over the next few years, I have to let Bill and Amie make decisions and carry them out regardless of the outcome.  It’s the best way to teach them how to run this business.  In making mistakes and suffering the consequences we all learn the most enduring lessons.

Then, on the day of the party it started to rain and the temperature began to drop.  We said, “See, this is never going to be successful.”  They said, “Let’s party!”

Our guests started to trickle in at 4:00 PM; slowly…We were worried.  By 5:00 PM it started to get a little crowded and I saw past clients that I hadn’t seen in 5 years!  We were surprised.  By 6:00 the place was rocking!  Even clients we had done little repair jobs for showed up!  Our trade contractors, suppliers, fellow Rotarians and Chamber members were there.  Art McDonnell, the Mayor of Kirkwood gave us a proclamation making that day “Riggs Construction & Design Day”.  The wine ran out and Kathy ran out and bought more and she was happy.  The beer ran out and Pam went and bought more and she was happy.  The pile of gold kept getting bigger and bigger as did Jim and Martha’s smile.  More past and present clients kept showing up, some that I wouldn’t have guessed would take the time to come in a million years.  Even the food began to run out and McArthur’s brought enough to feed an army.

It rained all night.  It was cold, wet and miserable but people just kept coming.  Kathy, Pam, Steve and the rest of the old folks were amazed.  We were smiling and laughing and shaking our heads in disbelief. The youngsters just partied on.

We old folks happily admitted that we were wrong and I think we enjoyed the party more than anyone.

I didn’t know that crow would taste so sweet.

Tom Life In General, Uncategorized

Downsizing one’s home is becoming a very popular trend with the Baby Boomer generation.  Multiple bedrooms, bathrooms and larger living spaces just aren’t as necessary as they once were when the house was full of kids.  Of course, there are the grandkids but that’s planned as a short stay during vacations or overnight visits.  Energy costs and general maintenance and cleaning are much easier with a smaller home, so downsizing makes sense.

But there is an interesting phenomena taking place with the downsizing of this generation.  Whether it’s buying an existing smaller home and remodeling it to fit their lifestyle or building a new home, this generation is not doing things halfway.  There might only be two baths and one kitchen but they are magnificent rooms with all the accommodations one could imagine.  Counter tops are marble, granite or other high dollar products while appliances are top of the line, energy efficient, designer units that will do practically everything.   Flooring, plumbing, electrical fixtures, paint, roofing and other owner selected products are being researched on the internet and chosen based on their reputation, good looks, desire and the effect they have on the environment much more than by what they cost.

The overall result is that the downsizing taking place might be smaller in size but is turning out to be as much, or more, of an overall investment.  Baby boomers still feel that the best investment they can make is in their home.  They plan to truly live there and they want to be comfortable with low monthly expenditures on utilities and maintenance.  They are thinking about their own comfort and feel that they have worked long and hard to get to a place where they can spend some of those earnings on themselves and what makes them happy.  Retirement is right around the corner for this generation and they have been saving and doing without for the benefit of the family and with the hope of living out their “best years” in style and comfort.

Even with most 401K and IRA accounts in the dumps because of the economic recession, their hopes & dreams remain alive.  This generation has lived through tough times in the past and has seen the market come back even greater than before.  They believe in the system and are banking their future on not only their own ability to pull through but on the younger generations that follow.

Tom Uncategorized downsizing, luxury amenities, remodeling

Welcome to the Riggs Construction & Design Blog!

With the launching of our new web site comes this new feature, our remodeling blog.
I’m Tom, the president of the Riggs Construction & Design team.  We hope this blog will be entertaining, informative and read by all of our clients, future clients and anyone who is interested in remodeling.  I’ll be writing many of the blogs but I’ll also bring in other members of our team who are the experts in their field; from architecture, interior design, kitchen and bath design, production gurus, product selections, financing and estimating.

We hope that our blog is interesting and interactive.  Our goal is to give and receive as much expertise as possible to better educate you and the Riggs team.  I’ll post things that I am well versed on such as green building, the design/build process, the remodeling experience and the business of remodeling. We’ll talk about how to design your existing home to fit your needs, using the space you have, or adding on.  Product trends, handyman tips and tricks, remodeling budgets or construction methods are all on the agenda.

We hope to inspire and excite you by providing and receiving insightful and creative ideas.  Remodeling your home can be a fun and creative experience if approached with the team concept in mind.  We realize your home is an extension of who you are and how you want to live your life.  It’s more complex than just creating “space,” it’s about creating the right space for you and your family.  That means listening to you and your dreams.  We hope this space will give you the opportunity to do just that!

If you have any topics or questions you would like addressed you can leave them in the comments section or email it directly to me here.

Welcome and enjoy!

Tom Riggs, Certified Green Professional; Certified Graduate Remodeler

Tom Uncategorized commentary, housing market, kirkwood, remodeling, st. louis, webster groves