It is April. The weather is starting to get warmer. People are getting out of the house and looking at their house, yard and driveway. This is the time of the year homeowners start to plan home improvements.
I have not seen any home improvement project not stay within budget. Well, unless the original budget was 3 to 4 times initial estimates. In my opinion this is unreasonable. The average person in today’s economy does not have that kind of money to through around.
There is usually three basic reason why anyone would do a home improvement. The first would be to reduce energy consumption to keep the house warm or cold in the future. The second would be to repair parts of the house that are wearing out with age. The third would be increase the value of the home and/or property.
Over the years I have worked in the construction industry. This means I can do most home improvement projects. It is the major ones I would get help, maybe even hire a professional contractor to do the work.
I know this one home owner who decided to enlarge a downstairs bathroom from a half bath to a full bath with a shower. To save money he did the carpentry work himself and hired a plumber out of the classified ads of the local newspaper.
Before the finial payment to the plumber was made test showed the shower worked and the drain took the water into the sewer. However, when the first family member stepped out the shower all the shower water had flood that bathroom and adjacent rooms.
The plumber was not licensed, nor bonded. He did not have many resources, to recovery for the cost of repair and fix the bad plumbing job. The home owner was not only out the what he originally the supposed plumber, but he had to pay for that job torn out and done right. The downstairs bathroom remodel costs him over 3 times what he had originally planned.
Professional Help – If need to professional help for you home improvement project. Research the background of who you are going to let in your home and do work on it. Get references and check them out. A quick call to the Better Business Bureau can save you hundreds of dollars.
Get Estimates - When talking to contractors about what you want done. Have it written down, have drawings made. Make sure the contractor puts in his or her estimate you plans. This will avoid miss understanding as to what you want done.
Know What Materials You Want – I have seen some home owner leave it to the contract to choose the type of material that are going to be used. I recommended that you do some research and have the contract state in his or her estimate what material are going to be used. This is a sure way to control the quality of the job.
The use of reclaimed building materials is a good way to save money. Over the past few years sever places have popped up that take building, plumbing, and electrical material that could be reused and sell them. Here is a great place to save money and improve the quality if the materials used on you home improvemet project.
Invest in Energy Efficiency - You can never go wrong by adding insulation, weather stripping, and more energy efficient windows. These are good ways to add low cost ways to make you heating bill dollar go further.
Bottom-line: Prepare, Research, and Look at the options you have. You do have options. There are so many great products and ways to use those products to repair, improve and make better. Leisurely strolls through Home Depot and Lowes is the best way to get idea and explore some of those options on your next home improvement project.
