New Materials and New Practices Spell Success for Rhode Island Remodeling Contractor

The secret of survival in slow times, for residential renovator Joe Cracco, has been to keep finding ways of adding value to every project.

Joe is CEO of Modern Yankee Builders, a Cumberland, R.I., design-build remodeling firm with loyal clients across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

Back in 2000, Joe was a construction project engineer with an idea: Could he combine the thoughtful, detail-oriented design that discerning homeowners crave with the disciplined process of a dedicated construction management firm? He launched Modern Yankee, and found that he could.

Joe refined his approach during the early 2000s, adapting commercial project management practices to residential conditions. “Right off the bat, our clients enjoyed peace of mind instead of the headaches they expected,” he says.

“It helped that we’d always been good with systems. I come from a construction management background, and my wife, Amy, is a detail-oriented mechanical engineer and project manager. So we brought a high degree of control to the business.”

Then the market took a dive. All over the USA, builders scrambled to tighten belts and cut overhead. “From the beginning, we’d tended to run pretty lean, keeping our headcount low,” Joe says. “So, as business slowed down, the room for improvement in those areas was limited.” To stay competitive, Modern Yankee focused on expanding its value proposition rather than downsizing.

Identifying Client Pain Points

One successful tactic was listening for the pain points that lie behind what homeowners say they want, Joe says. “For example, people hate maintenance. It comes up over and over again. If you think about it, remodelers spend a lot of time correcting problems, especially exterior issues, that wouldn’t arise if owners had time for, or interest in, upkeep — or if their homes were just easier to take care of.”

When maintenance is the problem, putting more work into it is no solution. “If traditional materials deteriorate, especially on the outside of a house, replacing them with more of the same just kicks the can down the road.” A permanent solution may call for modern materials, he says, but that’s a big step for some traditional New Englanders.