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Room Additions

5 Key Tips For Hiring The Right Contractor For Your Home Remodeling Project

Hiring the right home renovation contractor really is an “inside job” that requires thoughtful research on the part of the homeowner. Folks who are considering renovating their homes this year should plan first on getting educated about hiring the right contractor for their project and understanding their rights.
The fact is that home improvement has consistently ranked at the top for consumer dissatisfaction and fraud according to various consumer agencies. With little accountability on the part of the home improvement industry, it becomes the homeowners’ responsibility to get educated and informed so they don’t become a victim of an unscrupulous contractor.
This much needed education focuses on the “pre-renovation” process, which centers on doing research that reveals background information on the contractor such as his/her business ethics, legal history, reputation and competence in handling your project. Skip this step and you risk getting involved with the wrong contractor and worse, a home remodeling nightmare.
The following 5 tips are critical steps any homeowner should do first regardless of the size and scope of their project. Hiring a roofing company to install a new roof or an electrician to upgrade and rewire the home can prove to be disastrous if you choose poorly.
The following tips will provide the consumer with key information about the contractors’ ethics and willingness to be transparent:
* Conduct background checks that include uncovering relevant lawsuits, any small claims court filings, mechanics lien history, credit standing with suppliers and licensing history if required by your state.
* Conduct a thorough interview, asking key questions around customer care, problem solving, safety issues, working with city inspectors, knowledge of code compliance, who will supervise your project and how much time they’ll spend, and how they handle unexpected surprises.
* State in writing that you require Lien Releases at the time of each payment (in writing as part of the contract) from all subs/suppliers for work performed and material supplied to date.
* Create a thoroughly written specifications sheet and contract with every single detail spelled out, including key clauses to protect yourself and reviewed by a construction law or contract attorney.
* Get in writing – as part of your contract – start and stop dates and hours of working time on your project: specify days- Monday through Friday, hours such as 7am – 3:30pm. This ensures that the contractor is committed to completing your project on time, has the crew to perform and is serious about his business. Signing on the dotted line to this commits him to adhering to the contract and that’s a good sign.
Implementing these steps will help to protect you from hiring an unethical contractor. A contractor who is willing to be transparent in his/her business practices and competency is whom you want to hire.
With thoughtful insight and due diligence, hiring a contractor you respect and whose work you appreciate makes it all worth it and in the end you’re rewarded with a positive experience and a great working relationship with your contractor.

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General Article

Bathroom Renovation: What to Consider

Bathroom Renovation: What to Consider

Renovating your bathroom is a great way of updating your home and can even add value to your home. Sometimes you can make a big difference just by updating the accessories in your bathroom, or you might want to take it further and replace some of the old fixtures with new ones. However, in some cases a complete renovation is needed to update your bathroom. Before going ahead with your bathroom renovation, there are a few things you need to consider.

The first thing to make a decision on is your budget. You need to make sure that your vision for your new bathroom corresponds with the amount of money you have at your disposal. Your budget will affect your overall vision so you need to set a limit before starting anything. If your budget is limitless then great, you can use the highest quality materials and hire the best laborers, but if you are not in such a fortunate position you may need to make some cut-backs. Using the best quality materials you can afford may cost you a lot initially but will lower your maintenance needs overall and will ensure that the work lasts longer. Whatever budget you decide on, you should always allow for overruns incase anything goes wrong.

The next thing to consider is who is going to do the work. Are you going to do it yourself, hire a contractor, or combine a bit of both? If you have the skills and experience to do it yourself then great, but most of us don’t have enough experience with plumbing or electrics to attempt a bathroom renovation without professional help. A professional designer will be able to help organize your ideas in to a feasible design and make sure that the project is doable. You can really benefit from a bathroom renovation contractor as they can keep things on schedule and make sure everything is above board.

The main idea of a bathroom renovation is to bring the room up to date and keep things looking fresh. You might want to use inspiration from other modern bathroom design trends to make sure that your bathroom renovation will stay up to date for the next few years. Try and pick a style that you think will go the distance as you don’t want to have to be doing another renovation a few months down the line when your bathroom is suddenly out of fashion.

Always be prepared for surprises. When you are doing any sort of renovation work on a building you may discover something that you weren’t expecting that could set you back days of work or a large amount of money. Things can go wrong but as long as you have a plan and take everything in your stride, there shouldn’t be any reason why your bathroom renovation shouldn’t be a huge success.

Make sure you have a plan that takes into consideration time, money and complexity. A well-planned bathroom is more likely to work well than one that is rushed and put together in a hap-hazard manner. Get your plan right and you are sure to love your new bathroom renovation!

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Renovation Contractor

Home Decorating – Why Window Treatments Really Matter

Take a glance at the windows in your home. Have you invested time and money in your windows that will maximize the benefits that come from effective window curtains? If you have, you know that you can reduce your energy costs and appreciate the feeling of warmth that can be conveyed through window treatments. Effective window “dress” can give your home the feeling of “home!”
With many choices in the market place today. You will want to consider what it is you expect to gain from your window treatments. From wood blinds, shades, roman shades, to cellular shades; your choices are endless.
If you are looking to add a certain feeling of warmth to your room, invest in curtains that reflect your taste and your home d?�cor. The color choices will be room will be warm and inviting, with window treatments that reflect who you are. Make sure to read the instructions when it comes to caring for your new window decorations. The type of fabric will determine if you will be taking a trip to your local dry cleaner of your washing machine. Being an informed consumer is always a good thing.
Cellular shades are a great option for someone that is looking for a feeling of warmth, accompanied with energy saving capabilities. Available in cordless, top-down-bottom up, colors and fabrics that meet your needs; these are a win,win for you. Depending on how much natural light you need in our room, will determine if the top-down-bottom up feature is something you will benefit from. The amount of energy saved determines on the company you are working with and the type of fabric used. Do not be afraid to ask questions, as window curtains are fairly permanent; they are not something you will be replacing every two-three years.
Wood or faux wood blinds are an option for someone looking for an attractive window treatment. These blinds are easy to clean. There is no dry cleaning or any extensive process involved. Your patience may be tested when it comes to cleaning them; but they are very consumer friendly. If moisture is an issue in your home, you will want to invest in faux wood blinds. Depending on the supplier you are working with, will determine your color choices. Yes, you will have many wood species to choose from, as well as color options. It’s a good idea to take a sample of the wood trim with you when you shop for wood or faux wood blinds.
And in the grand scheme of things, your window treatments will not give you the “wow” factor you desire if your flooring is in poor shape. Laminate flooring is an affordable choice when it comes to flooring. It is not only stain resistant, fade resistant, but also environmentally friendly. Combine your window treatments with your flooring, and your home will be one you want to spend hours in. Yes, your window treatments really do matter and effective dressed window will not only save you money, but give you a fine place to call “home.”

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General Article

Giving Great Looks to Your Bathroom

Giving Great Looks to Your Bathroom

Renovating your bathroom needs lots of thinking and if you are planning for renovating your bathroom then sit on your study table and write down all the important ideas you can think. You can find interior designers and take their advice for your bathroom renovation. But hiring an interior designer can cost you more and if you do not want to spend more amount of money then you can design your own bathroom by doing small research on internet. In this article you will find some important tips and steps which will help you in renovation of your bathroom.

If you are living in a house for more than five to six years then it is obvious that you might need a change and in fact there should be a change in the surrounding in which we perform our regular activities. And by doing these changes, we can get excited and concentrate on our work. Most of the time while giving a new look to the entire house, we may forget the importance of giving a new look to our bathroom. If you are planning for giving a new looks to your bathroom, the job might become tedious one and you may need help of some extra person like a plumber. First of all decide what your budget is and how much money you can spend just for renovation of bathroom. Once you decide your budget then you can go ahead and start selecting the new items which you think will be suitable for you according to your needs and thinking.

If you are designing your bathroom on your own then there are few things you should keep in mind before starting the work. First of all you can think about the flooring. Flooring in any room gives the looks to that room so you can select from the wide varieties of floorings such as marbles, tiles or different patterned floorings. If you can spend more money then you can extend those marbles or tiles on the wall too as it give a finished look which looks bright. But before the flooring and tiles work, you should contact a plumber and tell him to fix the pipes, water caps and shower wherever you want. This can be done after demolishing the previous floorings and before installing new floors. Do not add many pipes and showers in the bathroom and try to be realistic and create something new which you think is good in looks and decent.

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General Article

Table Lamps – What Should You Consider As Right For Your Home?

Table Lamps – What Should You Consider As Right For Your Home?

So you need to light up the rooms in your home and you want to find out what options that you have. There is only one chance to make a first impression and the lighting is often that chance when someone walks into your house for the first time. It should be important that you make sure that they feel welcome.

The traditional way in the past has been to have a hanging light from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Nowadays, this is rarely the most stylish way to do it and in modern interior design it is usually the last home decor option.

You could try a tall floor lamp in a corner of your room. Unfortunately this often takes up valuable floor space so is not ideal in the smaller room.

A lot of people come to the conclusion that the best option is to light their homes by using table lamps so let us take a look at a four basic things that you must decide on:-

Which room – You may decide that you will treat each room in your home differently. You could use traditional lighting in one room and table lamps in another. The style of those for the bedroom will, however, be subtly different to those for the living area.

Color – Firstly you will want to ensure that the color of both your lamp stand and lamp shade fit in with the rest of the room. You need to decide whether you want a striking color like black or red to make a big statement or perhaps a more soothing pastel color to give a serene atmosphere.

Design – You will need to give this a lot of thought as there are many choices. If your home is minimalistic perhaps a modern or contemporary table lamp will be best whereas you may want an old-fashioned approach and go for an antique or a vintage style. You can also choose what they are made of. Some materials are much heavier and bulkier than others so are better suited to bigger rooms.

Cost – In the final analysis the amount you can afford will often have to override your other preferences so we recommend that you decide on your budget first and then look for the options in your price bracket

You should now have a better idea of some of the things that you need to consider.