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.

With 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

Your Home Remodeling Contractor

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.

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.

Without 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.

Home theaters have graced the mansions and executive homes along Rodeo Drive as well as residences in some of the tony neighborhoods of New York; Washington, DC; Las Vegas and elsewhere for quite some time now. Even before home theater technology was brought to the masses, news of some jetsetter’s custom designed in-home theater was splashed on society pages or featured on an early evening entertainment show. Bowling lanes, saunas, and ice rinks were some of the other creature comforts of these uber-rich, but it is home theater systems that have have made the transition into the homes of the middle class.

Home Remodeling Done Right

This holiday season, why not view “Its A Wonderful Life” or “The Christmas Carol” on your own home theater system? Prices have never been lower and the quality never better. Please read on to learn how you can turn one room in your house into a dedicated home theater living space that you can be proud of.

You may not have to do any structural changes to your home to accommodate a home theater. Some homeowners, however, will take an existing den or television room and push out the walls in order to maximize space. Why not make use of your home to provide all the comforts that you and your guests will appreciate?

Home Theater Basics

Other than having a room with four walls, a ceiling and a floor, the electronic equipment for your room should consist of a television set of at least 27 inches diagonally and four speakers. You’ll want to have the proper equipment to create a surround-sound effect by separating the signals to each speaker. In-the-box systems, which contain everything you need to get your system up and running are a popular way to expand your entertainment options.

Prices range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on the sophistication and quality of the system. Please keep in mind that in-the-box systems, while good, may not measure up to your requirements. Some systems are geared more toward providing audio entertainment while others do not include adequate auxiliary inputs to hook up VCRs, game players, DVDs and more.

Choosing Better Equipment

Many home theater users get by with a standard rear-projection television as their “movie screen” while others insist on a front-projection arrangement that works very similarly to the way movies are viewed at the theater. With the latter, you’ll need a dark room but not a whole lot of space. The disadvantage is that a front-projection unit does not come with a television tuner — you’ll only be able to use if for movie watching.

Rear-projection televisions remain popular because of their low cost and the availability of wide screens. Older units may have a limited viewing angle which can still be all right for a handful of people to watch but unpleasant in a room with a crowd present.

Very popular today are flat panel televisions which can be hung on a wall and are perfect for tight living spacings. Both plasma and LCD flat panels provide superior picture quality, but be prepared to pay a premium price for either type. Still, when room is limited and a high picture quality is desired, a flat panel television could be the best choice.

How Big A Project Should You Go With?

Just how much you want to invest in a home theater room is up to you. Beyond the home theater basics and equipment selected, some homeowners choose to upgrade their rooms by adding acoustical updates ( noise barriers, sound shapers, isolation clips, etc.); choosing custom wall units; including cinema loungers; wet bars; you name it. Of course, there are now contractors who specialize in this type of home remodeling project and interior decorators who can add a special touch to your room.

Home theater systems have come a long way and people’s desire to improve their living space continues unabated. A home entertainment room can provide continual satisfaction and even add value to your home should you decide to eventually sell it.

You can save money on December renovation projects

Doing any kind of home renovation during the holiday season almost sounds like a crazy proposition until you consider something about the merry month of December — contractors are looking for work. Yes, just because most homeowners save their renovation projects for January ’til November (with a break during the summer) doesn’t mean that you must. In fact, there are some compelling reasons why finding a contractor now can work to your advantage.

Please read on and we’ll take a look at how you can make your December renovation project work out just fine for you.

Contractors Are Looking For Work — Not every contractor wants to have four weeks or more of unpaid vacation handed to him all at one time. Rent has to be made, vehicles maintained, and salaried employees still must be paid.

New home construction goes on year ’round while home renovation projects tend to slip off dramatically as Christmas closes in. The contractor who is too busy during the Spring and Fall seasons may be eager to keep the work flowing year ’round; you should be able to secure multiple bids during this time from available home contractors.

You Can Save Money — Although there is no guarantee that you’ll save a bundle, the winter months mean that housing materials are slightly lower as demand dips. You probably won’t be able to replace that roof during the month of December if you live in Minnesota, but you certainly can do so if you live in a warmer climate. A new roof, sliding door to the deck, or an updated bath are just a handful of the many projects that will take only a few days to complete — the workers will be in and out of your home quickly, allowing you to get back to celebrating the holiday season.

Banks Are Ready To Deal — If you are financing your home remodeling project, financial institutions are still in the business to lend you money. If your credit is excellent, you’ll find plenty of lenders bending over backwards to offer a home equity loan or equity line of credit to you. Chances are you’ll find the loan process moving along very quickly as the backlog of loan applicants is reduced during the holiday season.

Besides the practical reasons for tackling a home remodeling project now, your house will be ready for welcoming and entertaining your guests — the best Christmas present that you can give to yourself!

Your Basement Can Become A Terrific Living Area

One of the least costly home renovation projects involves fixing up a room you may already have in your home that is not currently being used. Attic space and the garage are two areas which can be converted into habitable space as can a basement. Taking away attic space means getting rid of an important area of storage while converting a garage into living space means your cars will have to stay outside.

A basement, if you have one, can be the best choice for a new living area as many homes already come with a partially finished living area below ground. Habitable during Spring and Fall, basements need a cooling mechanism when outside temperatures soar and a heating capability when they dip. For as little as a few thousand dollars, you can convert that unused space into a recreation room, play room, or family room adding needed room and value to your home.

Two Matters To Keep In Mind Before Converting Your Basement

Before you convert your basement there are two things to keep in mind: is your basement dry and is the ceiling at least seven feet high? If you regularly have water problems with your basement, then you may find converting this area into living space much more costly then you had expected. Drains, water diversion systems and outside grading can keep water from entering your basement while having a dehumidifier handy will help remove dampness. Waterproofing the walls can go a long way toward keeping water out.

If your ceiling area is low, anyone over six feet tall may have trouble using your basement. Pipes, electrical conduits and heating ducts can be hidden behind a false ceiling, but if that ceiling is too low, then using your basement as a living area becomes less appealing. In order to free up limited head space, a qualified HVAC contractor could reroute the equipment.

Local Building Codes Can Be A Factor

In some locales, home building codes forbid the finishing of any basement that doesn’t meet certain building code criteria (e.g., ceiling heights, number of exits). Always make sure that your home improvement project gets the necessary approvals before progressing. Being forced to rip out a job that violates local building codes is a costly and frustrating endeavor.

Using The Existing Heating And Cooling System

If your home’s current HVAC system is large enough, a home improvement contractor may be able to extend the current heating and cooling system to cover the basement. This is a much less costly house remodeling project then having a separate HVAC system installed.

If your home doesn’t already have central air conditioning, then cooling the basement will require a separate system or an upgrade of your home’s current HVAC unit. Then again if you live in an area where heat waves are not a regular occurrence, you may find installing a separate system not cost effective. A good alternative would be to consider purchasing a portable air conditioner, one with enough BTUs to cool the entire living area.

Enjoyment And Value

Finally, when considering any home improvement project ask yourself two questions: Will it bring enjoyment to you? Does it add to your home’s value? You certainly want the benefit of an enjoyable living area, but having that area add value to your home in the event you should one day sell it is worth keeping in mind.