Tips

Create a new tip

Energy Saving Tips

2011-08-13 | Edit | Delete

  1. Outside laundry dryers
  2. Weather sealing (never ending maintenance)
  3. Window upgrades
  4. Raised vegetable beds
  5. Light cans sealed (for hot & cold)
  6. Tree delimbing/removal - especially south side or storm damaged trees
  7. Draft control
  8. Anybody interested in how-to-workshops?

Tips

2011-07-26 | Edit | Delete

Over the years I have learned much about what can make a successful project. I still have much to learn. Here are some tips you may not have thought about to aid you in your next project.

  1. People

    Be sure you have a good repour with the contractor you select. A technical expert in construction can still mean an unpleasant experience if you don't see eye to eye on things such as: ' who is the customer here?', simple listening skills, trustworthiness and many other character qualities, music tastes, punctuality and so on. Decide how you want the project organized. Some contractors sub out most of the work categories and just manage the project. The bigger and complicated the project the more appropriate this may be. I prefer to do as much of the work myself as possible. This helps keep existing skills honed while adding new ones (such as the three level spiral staircase we did last summer or the wine makers vat hoist). Having one "go to" guy for project questions, updates, or follow-up shifts stress from customers to contractor. A hands on contractor usually takes a high level of ownership and thus responsibility in quality of work being done. Don't be afraid to ask for references.

  2. Timing

    You can't start too early in planning your next building project. Life is complicated and increasingly so and many things can delay forward progress like permits, engineering, unique hard to find materials, intricacy, indecisiveness, lack of communication or plans. Add to this list unforeseen weather, accidents, payment delays, etc. etc. Your contractor needs to have an eye on the big picture and the details so that delays are minimized.

  3. Cost

    Lease Total Cost is often overlooked. Does your contractor understand you want a turn key project - leaving nothing for you to complete? Or do you want everything just roughed in so you can finish up at your leisure? Too often I have seen inferior materials used as a pretense of saving money only to see the homeowner spend more than expected later on in order to compensate for developing problems. Sometimes cost is no object and this allows lots of options. Does your contractor come prepared or are 5 trips to the lumberyard needed for a simple task? Does the right guy who charges 1/2 of the first choice take more than twice as long to complete things? Ask your prospective contractor details on how they do business including are they fiscally responsible. Do you want a permanent solution or just a quick temporary "fix".

  4. Age

    One reason people move into a brand new house is to avoid hassles of maintenance and repair. Like the car that is going to need a new transmission soon or an oil leak fixed. I have found that new houses do not equate to perfect houses. In fact, I've seen too many houses built during good times that are now suffering from poor workmanship or inferior materials. Age of structure may be irrelevant. A lot of older home were beautifully created by master craftsmen and utilized old growth fir of a very high quality. And so forth. Little functional details not visible to the untrained eye can start off as a problem and grow over time. Like it or not, everything in this world decays over time. Protect your investment with prevention and post operative care.

More tips next time....

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict Valid CSS!