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How To Avoid These Top 10 Mistakes Homeowners Typically Make In Home Remodeling

May 16, 2022 Comments Off

1. Don’t Hire the Wrong Guy.
The number one home remodeling mistake people make while remodeling their home’s is hiring the wrong contractors. Hiring the wrong guy can make your life miserable and make you regret ever trying to improve your home in the first place. Make sure you investigate a proposed contractors credentials and get referrals. When considering a home remodeling contractor a good place to start is your local BBB. From there use common sense and ask questions. If something doesn’t feel or sound right move on to the next guy until you are comfortable. Lastly, get Everything in writing, you’ll be glad you did.
2. Do Your Research.
Being well informed about not only your home but the options you have and housing trends will prevent you from making big mistakes down the road. For instance even if you love pink walls and paneling its probably not a good idea to install them in your house. You may love it and if you never plan on selling or having company then great go for it, make yourself happy. But resale should always be kept in mind since you never truly know what the future will bring.
3. Honey Do, Doesn’t Always Mean Honey Can.
Keep your own abilities in mind. It is better to hire a professional for a task that you are sure you do not know how to do. By the time you figure it out, you will have more money and time involved than hiring a professional from the start. Save money and build sweat equity by accomplishing tasks you are comfortable with. You will not be doing yourself any favors by doing shoddy work on your home. Poor workmanship stands out and never adds value to your home.
4. Plan for the Future.
When Home Remodeling consider how changing life styles will be accommodated by your home. If you finish your basement for a play area for your kids it would be a good idea to run wiring for media areas, or pool table lighting so that when the kids out grow the play room you can easily covert the function of the space without elaborate remodeling costs.
5. Don’t Throw Good Money at Bad Money.
Make sure you take into account long term home remodeling goals. It doesn’t make sense to install new flooring this spring if you plan to build a room addition in the fall. Make long term goals and follow them. Make sure that you tackle tasks in the right order to prevent double paying or getting stuck short of your goals.
6. Don’t Band-Aid a Mistake.
If you put a Band-Aid on a mistake it’s a mistake with a Band-Aid on it. Make sure you are not covering up problems but instead addressing them properly. For instance, if you open up a bathroom wall and you see mold and structural water damage address the new found issues before covering them up. Putting a Band-Aid on it, or covering up the issue will only prolong your problems.
7. Allocate Enough Money.
Due to the common occurrence of unforeseen issues it is always a good Idea to allocate 10–15% in addition to your proposed budget. Having the extra money available will make life a lot easier if problems occur. Not much could be worse than running out of money before completion.
8. PPPPPP.
The old six P’s from college also applies to your home remodeling projects. Proper prior planning prevents poor performance. Make sure the plan is clear and your budget allocated before beginning. Making changes in the middle can jack the price through he roof. Re-designing your original plans mid-way through the remodeling phase always affects construction schedules and always increases the cost of your original plan.
9. See it Through.
When getting involved in any home remodeling project be prepared to go the distance with it. Often times unforeseen issues arise and need to be addressed accordingly. Stopping short will leave you with a half finished look.
10. Selecting the Wrong Materials.
It is a common mistake to select materials that by themselves look great, but when combined with other selections just do not work. Common examples are flooring, paint color, wall and floor tile, countertop selections and even lighting and fixtures. A good tip is when planning your project attain samples of each product so that the items can be physically placed together providing you an actual visualization of the final result. There’s nothing worse than realizing after your home remodeling project is done that, the colors and designs you have chosen clash or just don’t compliment each other well. Do not forget this important step.

Attn: Contractors: Create a Stress-Free Experience For Homeowners Using These Five Simple Tips

March 11, 2021 Comments Off

Building or renovating a home can be stressful for your customers. That’s because having a contractor in is just another activity happening in an already busy household. Your customer may be juggling a stressful job, nightly little league practices, a sick pet, or a score of other issues. And now that they’ve decided to have work done to their home, they’ll have to add “inaccessible home” to their itinerary of things to deal with. It all can get very overwhelming for your customer.
Whether you’re a plumber, electrician, home builder or remodeler, it’s important to keep in mind that you do this kind of stuff everyday; for your customer, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime event. And they’re going to stress out about it. Here are five ways to show your customer a little TLC during a home renovation to keep them-and you-stress-free.
1. Educate them from the start
As a contractor, you’re used to the steps involved in a home renovation. They might include things like inspecting the home, pulling a permit, contacting the local code department, and ordering supplies from vendors. You have a system in place that allows you to get jobs done on time and within budget. Your homeowner customer, however, only knows that they want their bathroom remodeled. They may not know all the steps involved or how you get from A to B, so it’s important to educate them from the start. Advice? The minute they sign on the dotted line, hand them a checklist of all the steps you’ll be taking to renovate their home with a brief description of each step. Not only will it avoid confusion later, but allowing your customer to follow along and cross completed steps off the list will let them know that progress is being made. And of course, answer any and all questions they have.
2. Avoid industry lingo
As a contractor you’re used to throwing around words like “below grade,” “back nailing,” and “blind stop.” It’s easy to forget that the homeowner may have no idea what those terms mean. The best way to confuse them and make them stress out even more is to use industry lingo when describing their project without an explanation. Try to avoid slang around your customer, unless he is educated about your line of work. Describing each step and the parts needed for each step in a way they understand (without belittling their intelligence) goes a long way in maintaining a healthy working relationship with your customer.
3. Slow down and spend the time
When it comes to remodeling a home, things can move pretty quickly. You may have to wait for a permit to be accepted, for example, but once it is, it’s off to the races! As a contractor you’ll be ready to pick up the pace and get the project on its way. But slow down a minute. Now that you’re ready to move full-steam ahead, have you informed the homeowner? If not, take a step back and remember the checklist advice we gave in Tip #1. Before moving ahead, take the time to alert the homeowner about the next couple of steps, explain what’s going to be happening, and answer any questions they may have as you prepare to move forward. This will give the homeowners time to process what will be happening and allow them to prepare for the next phase of work. Continue to do this as the project progresses through the various stages. Which leads to the next piece of advice…
4. Keep in regular contact with your customer during the project
A lot of contractors make the mistake of communicating only twice with the customer during a home remodel: in the beginning when they start the work, and at the end when they expect payment. It’s understandable why this happens: contractors get busy, they have other customers and other jobs. But it’s a habit that can-and should-be broken if you want to offer your customer a stress-free experience. If not, your customer will be left holding a checklist of steps that you provided with no idea what step you’re on. The number of times you reach out to the customer will ultimately be determined by the length of the project, and is best determined by you. If it’s a weeks-long project, for example, stay in touch with your customer, say, at least once a week. The last thing you want is the homeowner calling you, saying he was wondering what was going on because he hasn’t heard from you in awhile.
5. Stay in touch after the project is complete
Another mistake contractors make once a home remodel is done is to cash the check and move on. Again, this is understandable because contractors have other contracts and other customers. But by failing to follow up with a customer or keep in contact with them once their project is done, you’re potentially missing out on a key thing that’ll keep you in business-more work. That’s because a contractor who asks to stay in touch with a customer-and then does-will be remembered by that customer, who in turn may have another project down the road, or will refer you to a friend of neighbor. So remember to always stay in front of your customers-past and present. That might mean a monthly newsletter full of home remodeling tips, requests for referrals, friendly emails, follow up phone calls to gauge their happiness with the project, an e-zine, holiday cards, mailers with current offers, etc. It doesn’t always matter how you stay in touch, just that you do.
These are only five ways to show a little TLC to your customers and ensure that they have a stress-free experience with you. They’re simple and easy to implement. Putting them into place will mean you’ll have a long list of happy customers who’ll be happy they signed on the dotted line-and who’ll refer more and spend more on your services in the future.

Wash Your Deck Like a Pro After Reading These Easy Tips

March 3, 2021 Comments Off

Any modern homeowner who has a superb deck knows that it is much more cozy and appealing when it is immaculately clean. However, constant changes in temperature, everyday use and the presence of numerous environmental toxins will someday take their toll on its luster and beauty, ultimately leading to unsightly blemishing and even rapid wood deterioration. Sounds quite frightening, right?
No need to worry just yet. Here are a few useful cleaning tips and advice that will not just help preserve the exquisiteness of your precious home addition but extend the life and integrity of the wood as well. Apart from making deck maintenance a breeze, you’ll definitely on your way to take your remodeling know-how to an even higher level in a jiffy:
Clear the deck of everything
In order to clean your deck thoroughly, you have to meticulously remove everything on it first – or else you’ll be perennially disrupted by wayward objects that always get in your way in the process. Make sure you start with smaller and lighter items like potted plants, deck chairs and shades before getting to the big stuff so you won’t have to worry about forgetting or overlooking anything. Cover delicate flora around your deck, too, to prevent damage.
Get rid of any visible debris
Start off by gathering larger bits of debris by hand, taking care of the more minuscule ones with a stiff-bristled broom. Make sure you remove wedged fragments of dirt, leaves and pebbles caught between your decking boards so water can easily run through the cracks and corners (similarly, this also prevents premature wood deterioration in the long run). Carefully work the more stubborn pieces of debris loose with a putty knife or a screwdriver.
Give your deck a spa treatment
Use a garden hose with a spraying attachment to douse the whole deck area with water. Thoroughly apply a liberal amount of laundry detergent or commercial deck cleaner until all sections are finished. Add a bit of bleach on areas with mildew and algae growth. Remember to scrub harder in places where dirt has gathered the most or chances are you might have to do another round of scouring sooner or later. Completely rinse your deck.
Reseal your deck for added protection
Wait until your deck has completely dried – usually after two to three days – before resealing it. Go for versatile brands that contain an active mildewcide as well as a waterproofing agent to make your deck as tough as possible the whole year round. Keep in mind to check your deck for debris such as minute flecks of dirt and dust that may have gathered while it was drying before applying the resealer for maximum effectiveness.
Replace deck furniture and accessories
As soon as the resealer fully dries, replace the furniture onto the deck along with other items like mirrors, parasols, assorted works of art and other attractions that you wish to put there to boost its engaging ambiance. To make it even more exciting, try mixing everything up from furniture arrangement to color themes to make your deck look like new again. Finally, as a reward for a great job, get yourself a cold one and have a great time!