Cipriani Remodeling Solutions: A full-service design build firm making homeowners’ dreams come true
Over the past 40-plus years, Cipriani Remodeling Solutions has grown into one of the largest and most prominent full-service remodeling firms in South Jersey. But it all started in high school wood shop.
“Some of my teachers admired the furniture I made and asked me to do repair jobs around their homes,” says company founder Jay Cipriani, a 1977 graduate of Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights. “As word spread, I did more jobs and realized I really enjoyed working with my hands and doing projects that made people happy.”
After graduation, Cipriani opened a home improvement business, hiring a helper and working out of his used Chevy El Camino. They were humble beginnings, but Cipriani Remodeling Solutions now has 35-plus seasoned professionals who have completed more than 6,000 renovations in homes throughout South Jersey. And they have the happy customers to prove it.
“We’ve come a long way since the El Camino days, and I owe it to my wife Cindy and to the team of professionals who have represented the company so well over the years,” says Cipriani. “Everyone, from our professional design consultants to our detail-oriented carpenters to our dedicated administrative staff, has prioritized making homeowners’ dreams a reality and ensuring the process is enjoyable.”
Cipriani was recently recognized among the top 500 remodelers of 2022 by “Qualified Remodeler (QR),” a leading national publication of the remodelers and home improvement industry that based its findings on business volume, longevity, industry certifications, awards, association memberships and community service. Among nearly a half million U.S. remodeling businesses, Woodbury-based Cipriani was ranked 247th.
The growth, Cipriani notes, has been slow, steady and deliberate. In the early years, he was out at every job, talking to customers about the nitty-gritty details of their home projects and working alongside his crew on all aspects of the job. By the late ’80s, the company had evolved from providing general contracting work to full-service remodeling. That entailed hiring an award-winning design team and project managers who could take projects from conception to completion.
We do have busy days making it all happen, but we have happy customers.
“A general contractor will build your project but you will have to pick out everything, from countertops and backsplash for a kitchen to the paint color, light fixtures and every other detail of the design,” says Melissa Firth, a remodeling designer.
“That works if you know the business. But most homeowners don’t have that expertise or the time to figure out how to put together an electrical plan, lay out lighting or figure out spacing for cabinets. That’s where we’re very, very valuable. We wear all of the hats and we bring the whole project together so it flows seamlessly from the very beginning until the last nail is hammered. It’s a first-class service. There are a lot of meetings. We take our clients shopping. We do a lot of hand-holding to make sure they feel good about their choices.”
With his customers in good hands, Cipriani has had more time to devote to education and outreach to keep the company on the cutting edge. “I attend classes and seminars offered by trade associations,” he says. “I’ve traveled around the country to meet the heads of other large design build and remodeling companies. We trade ideas about running this kind of business, making sure we’re up to date with technology and how to take care of our homeowners and staff. It’s been a great education.”
Taking a project from concept to completion may sound intimidating, but Cipriani Remodeling Solutions designers break it down into manageable steps, says Designer Anne van de Rijn. “We talk about the function of the project, the size and scope and what they want to invest in it, and we will develop it from there. So we work with them to figure out exactly what the best layout is for the intended function. We obtain any permits and we go with them to make their selections, working together on all the details.”
It’s the same process whether the project is small or massive, says Firth.
“We really do a little bit of everything from a $35,000 bathroom renovation to a half-million dollar complete home renovation.”
No matter the size, the company takes pride in keeping all projects within a client’s budget and on schedule, says van de Rijn. This is no easy task considering the frustrating delays in shipping, scarcity of products and cost increases everyone has experienced since the pandemic started.
“When you’re doing 80 to 100 jobs a year, you have buying power,” she says. “Our different trade partners really respect that and any savings get passed down to the homeowner.”
One of the reasons the company can keep to its schedule is that Cipriani has its own construction crews and artisans on the job.
“Schedule is very important to us,” says Firth. “Projects are fully scheduled as soon as all the pieces come in, and then it just flows. We do have busy days making it all happen, but we have happy customers.”
Although doing business throughout the pandemic and beyond has been extremely challenging, innovations born out of necessity have made the company better at what it does, Firth says.
“The pandemic taught us how to be versatile,” she adds. “First, we all learned how to work well together from home. We can save time and get work orders executed securely with docu-sign and meet with customers and trade partners remotely. I’m working with a customer right now who lives in Seattle, and we jump on Zoom meetings to talk about design and make selections. Before the pandemic, that would never have happened. It’s one of the many ways we meet customers where they are, and we make sure we’re able to turn their home remodeling dreams into reality.”
Specialties:
Additions, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Basements, Sunrooms and Porches
How to get started:
Get in touch with us about your remodeling ideas by calling 856-316-1600 or visiting CiprianiWay.com.
Have a home remodeling question?
Get answers to the most popular home improvement questions and more from the Remodeling Reimagined Podcast with hosts Jay and Cindy Cipriani. Look for it wherever you get your podcasts.
Mt. Laurel |856-316-1600 | ciprianiremodelingsolutions.com
