About Lori

Lori Drake, Owner & Experienced Remodel Advisor

There is nothing more personal than walking into someone's home, seeing how they live, listening to their family story, learning about their home's history, evaluating both short & long term lifestyle needs and discussing solutions. Extracting visions and helping homeowners find a way to make their ideas come to life, all within a realistic agreed upon target budget is what motivates me. 

Every home tells a story & my simple passion is in helping bring a new chapter to life! By guiding each homeowner into creating their home's individual "happy ending" is what keeps me motivated and loving what I do every single day. 

Remodeling truly is a roller coaster of highs and lows... No matter who you hire, there will be days where repetitive mistakes are being made by human hands and sometimes requiring multiple tries to get it right! There will also be days where you know you've hit a home run on design details and you walk in to see beautiful progress! It's as we approach the project finish line, that I can never hear enough of the "I wish I would have done this sooner's" that make the bad days worth it all.  

Hello, My name is Lori Drake. I first started in the San Diego home improvement industry in 2004, working for all types and sizes of remodeling companies along the way. I've successfully learned, designed, estimated, sold, problem solved just about every element imaginable that goes into building or rebuilding residential structures, and from all types of business models.  

(I must give credit. I've had amazing teachers...from small independent "Chuck in a Truck" contractors, to mid-sized remodeling firms with a "What you see is what you get" type showroom to a few of the largest and most respected full service design build firms in San Diego.)

I have successfully completed literally hundreds of San Diego remodels. From simple "design on a dime" cosmetic remodels, to remove & replace "mid range" remodels, to entire home "high end" million dollar budget redesign type remodels, to 1st story & 2 story room additions, to complete whole home rebuilds. 

However, I have always felt it was all a stepping stone preparing me for something better. 

Fast forward to 2019: It was time to take my years of accumulated home improvement knowledge and years of working for nearly every type of contractor in San Diego and investing it into myself and into you! I decided to start my own consulting business based on my desire to more efficiently help homeowners approach their remodel needs in a new and much better way - saving time, saving money and providing a much better overall experience with passion, pride, precision and personal connection. 

I proudly introduce to you.....MyRemodelAdvisor.com

Acquired Specialized Certifications - CAPS, CGBP

CAPS = Certified Aging in Place Specialist

CGBP = Certified Green Building Professional

Lori has nearly 18 years of design, estimating, sales and problem solving experience in the San Diego home improvement industry.  

Areas of specialized experience and strengths include:

• Design
• Estimating
• Providing and Managing Material Selections
• Project Management
• Schedule Planning
• Accountability during all phases
• Budget Planning - understand importance of respecting agreed upon budget.
• Managing level of finish by properly educating homeowneers on pros and cons of material types before it's purchased & installed. 
• Negotiations with trades and with homeowners
• Listening and providing responsible guidance to give a client what they ask for. 
• Handling all situations with honesty and integrity.
• Discussing and setting proper expectations
• Responsiveness