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Posts Tagged ‘home remodeling’

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Spring Is The Time For Home Improvement Projects

March 18th, 2009 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Home Financing, Home Improvement, Home Tips

As winter comes to an end, the spring season invites homeowners to step outside, check out their yards and consider which home improvement projects that they will tackle for themselves. Despite being in the grip of a deep recession, homes need to be maintained and if my personal observations are correct, those packed parking lots at nearby home improvement stores is evidence that many people will be tackling projects themselves over the coming months.

paint canWith this in mind, SayEducate.com will shift its focus during the spring season to include additional tips, tools and news articles to help you plan your home improvement project. We know that some people will be hiring contract professionals to handle at least some of the work, while others will be taking on projects that they’d normally farm out to a service contractor. Money is tight, but the work must be done.

Your Home Improvement Guide

Beginning tomorrow, we’ll share with you important steps you can take to secure financing for those bigger projects, specifically tapping the equity in your homes. We understand that home values have taken a beating over the past year, but quite a few homeowners have built up a sizable amount of equity which when tapped in part can pay for needed repairs and home improvement jobs.

After that, we’ll look at a variety of projects including lawn care, interior and exterior painting, window and door replacement, gardening, attic organizing and improvement, basement remodeling, garage improvement, you name it. We’ll also cover subjects such as decluttering your home (and holding a yard sale to get rid of unneeded stuff or donating these items to charity), outdoor entertaining, creating a child friendly yard, setting aside a pet-friendly area outside, and more.

Including Expert Advice

On occasion, we’ll have an expert share his or her tips and we’ll also point you to sources such as our companion site at Let’s Renovate where you can find remodeling and money saving tips.

Finally, you can handle many projects yourself, so please allow SayEducate.com to be one of your biggest boosters when get down to working on your home.

Photo Credit: Ratnesh Bhatt


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How To Hire A Home Contractor

September 5th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Construction, Home Improvement

Your Home Remodeling Contractor

Are you looking for a home contractor? Youll want to choose someone who knows his stuff and can give to you the peace of mind that hell get the job done right, on time, and for a fair price.

Are you looking for a home contractor? You'll want to choose someone who knows his stuff and can give to you the peace of mind that he'll get the job done right, on time, and for a fair price.

If you’re planning to have any sort of renovation done to your home, whether that means rewiring the house, adding a family room, or replacing an aged deck, you’ll be dealing with professionals who will do the job for you. Electricians, carpenters, and plumbers can handle these tasks, but if your project is much more comprehensive than that, then a contractor should be used to oversee everything.

By using a home contractor who can supervise other professionals while overseeing your home addition or other major project, you’ll be entrusting him with getting the job done and done right. If you find the right contractor, your project will be completed as planned, but if you hire the wrong contractor you could be faced with the job from hell, a real nightmare that can cost you time, money, and a lot of heartache.

Find A Quality Home Contractor

You can find a quality home contractor if you plan out your project carefully:

Craft a plan — Avoid misunderstandings by detailing as much of the project in advance before asking contractors to bid on the job. A contractor who is worth his salt will guide you through the process while others will simply offer a bid and hope that you accept it.

Get recommendations — The best contractor for the job is the one who has completed jobs like the one you want to have done. Ask neighbors, check with nearby friends and family members, even consult co-workers to find out who they used.

Seek estimates — You’ll want to get at least three estimates for the job. Provide a detailed spec sheet for each bidder and have them base their estimate on your information. Rule out anyone who can’t get their bid in on time or whose estimate is incomplete or too low.

Furnish references — Contractors who are being considered by you should furnish local references, preferably for jobs completed within the past six months. Call them! Find out if the contractors’ customers were satisfied and, if you discover that there were problems, find out how they were handled.

Check licensing and insurance — Your town probably requires that your contractor be licensed and have insurance. Make sure that everyone who sets foot on your property is covered by the contractor or has their own insurance and is licensed.

Sign a written contract — Incomplete or verbal contracts can get you into trouble.  Price, cost of materials, starting and ending date, and all other details about the project should be outlined. Do not sign a contract until you are satisfied that it represents what you want done. Most states allow homeowners to cancel a contract within a certain amount of time, usually three business days.

Make payments — Never offer to pay for the job in full up front. Make payments in cash and increments — as each part of the job is complete, write out a check. Hold back your final payment until after the job has been completed and inspected to your satisfaction. Make sure that all subcontractors have been paid as you don’t want someone showing up at your door days later demanding payment.

You know you have an excellent home improvement contractor for the job when he meets all of your requirements and is available to you as the job progresses. If he explains himself clearly and listens to your concerns, then this is the type of person best suited to handle your job.


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Steps To Finding A Quality Home Contractor

August 14th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Home Construction, Home Improvement

Choose your home remodeling or new house contractor wisely. Get detailed estimates and ask for references.

Choose your home remodeling or new house contractor wisely. Get detailed estimates and ask for references.

Whether you’re remodeling your current home or building a new house, the people who will be doing the work must be skilled and in most cases licensed to take on the job. A home contractor will oversee the entire project, but that doesn’t mean that he has the qualifications to handle your project.

The person you hire has to be the right fit, a knowledgeable administrator as well as an effective communicator. Who hasn’t worked with someone who really knew their stuff, but did a miserable job keeping everyone informed? You want to work with someone who keeps you in the loop and manages all aspects of the project.

Effective Steps To Finding The Right Home Contractor

There are three steps to take in order to find the right home contractor:

Laying the Foundation — Planning your project in advance will help you determine which contractors to contact. If you’re remodeling your home, you want to find someone familiar with handling improvements, including replacing a roof, expanding the upstairs, finishing a basement, ripping out a bathroom, etc. For a home contractor, an individual whose work is to build homes from the ground up will handle this job.

Tearing Down Walls — You’ll need to interview contractors to find the best person for the job. You’ll want to secure detailed estimates from each one spelling out all costs including materials, labor, permits, taxes, etc. Allowing you to choose between different grades of lumber, flooring, tile, roofing materials, etc. and listing these choices on their estimates will give you a good idea of what your final costs will be for this project.

Completing the Home — Finally, you’ll want to confirm your contractor’s abilities by checking references. With each supplied estimate, contractors should furnish references. Contact each person to determine what work the contractor did for them and if they were satisfied with the job. Ask the contractor to show you his license, proof of insurance, and ask him how he plans on paying his subcontractors. You don’t want a disgruntled electrician or plumber contacting you later on asking for payment because the contractor didn’t pay him.

Once you have a contractor in place, you’ll want to receive regular updates from him as the project unfolds. In many cases you’ll be required to pay 1/3 of the project up front, 1/3 half way through, and the remaining monies after the job has been completed to your satisfaction.  To pay for the project consider your home equity financing options.


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Strike A New Mood By Repainting Your Rooms

July 30th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | No Comments | Filed in Home Tips

Paint RoomWithout a doubt, your first impression of any room in a home when entering it is often determined by the color of the walls, even more so than the choice of carpeting, furniture, and fixtures. Warm colors evoke one set of moods while cool colors bring out an entirely different kind of feeling.

Selecting specific colors to create a mood is recognized by experts who understand the power of color psychology. By choosing the colors that are right for you, you can change your home without doing a major renovation.

Warm Colors, Cool Colors, Or Something Neutral

The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute has identified two groups of colors for setting the mood. I’ll add in a third group, neutral colors, and then explain what I mean:

Warm Colors — Red, yellow, and orange are the brightest colors you can possibly choose, each evoking varying degrees of warmth and energy. Passion, intimacy, and sexuality are some of the feelings ascribed to a room with a red wall, but less so with orange. Yellow can be wonderful choice in dark rooms or hallways, but take care: if the shade is too bright it could create anxiety!

Cool Colors — Green, blue, and violet are some of the coolest colors, offering a sense of peace and calmness. Green and blue, of course, are natural landscape colors — the two colors which evoke relaxation. The perfect color group choice for a baby’s bedroom, play areas, and many other rooms.

Neutral Colors — If it is white, then it is right. White walls look great in any room as they signify cleanliness and purity. Popular in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, white and close variations of the same are popular choices, the easiest to match with whatever you’re doing with a room.

Of course, some colors are virtually impossible to use and those include black, brown, and gray — shades which if mixed with white can look fine, but by themselves would create a mood too negative for any home.

Ultimately, your room color choices should depend on your tastes as you’ll be spending the most time in your house. If you decide that you don’t like a particular color or shade, you can always repaint the wall to suit your desires. Not a big home improvement project and a cost effective one at that.

If you’re planning an important renovation project for your home and are looking for tips on how to get the work done, then SayImprove.com is where you’ll want to go to gather all the information you need to successfully update your house. Visit our Home Improve Directory to find information on renovating your attic, main floor, outside garden, or other rooms. Save money by planning carefully today!


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