I was called by a frantic former customer of mine about her basement. It was flooding. We had recently had a ton of rains and her sump pump had been making funny noises so she was unplugging it at night so she could sleep and letting the water back up pump take over. Not what I would have done, but that is beside the point. We were actually scheduled to come take a look at it later this week. But then the flood came.

After she contacted us, she got on the phone with her insurance company and they suggested Servpro come and do the clean up. We were ready to do whatever we had to do to clean the mess up but we are not truly equipped to do water extraction. So needless to say I was just as relieved when Servpro showed up shortly after we got there. They got right to work explaining to her what they could do and how the insurance company handled this. After all, this is what they do all the time.

There was a lot of stuff stored in this basement, so we helped our client make some room in the garage to transfer the basement contents upstairs. Then we helped her son put some flooring boards in the attic space above the garage so she wouldn’t have to take so many of her seasonal decorations back down to the basement. The garage attic was probably a better place to store all of that stuff anyhow. We also made some slight modifications to the sump system so it wouldn’t cause problems any more.

All this time, the Servpro guys were busy at work, moving things, extracting water from the carpet. They also removed the padding under the carpet. Apparently it could not be saved. Originally 2 guys showed up but within an hour they had called in reinforcements and all the stuff was moved, including the huge book shelves and couches and beds and dressers. They were amazing! The whole team worked together very well and seemed to enjoy their work.

Now any time you come into someone’s home after a disaster, it can be a bit touchy. However, the Servepro guys were very helpful and reassuring. They had to cut the carpet at the seams to get the pad out from under it, but consulted us on where we wanted it cut, since we will be the contractors in charge of relaying the carpet. They also let her know that their services could be more costly in some cases, so if something came up that Michael and I could do for less money, they would leave it for us to do. Over all they communicated very well and were willing to work with the homeowner to save her money.

I have never had the experience of working with Servpro. I always wondered what they were all about. Damage relief services are a whole different breed compared to renovators and remodelers. So over all it was an eye opening experience. I can honestly say that if all their crews work as hard and as well together as this team did, I would definitely recommend Servpro to anyone who experiences a home disaster.

It isn’t often I leave the job site with my guys or my subs working alone. I try to plan everything so I will be there all the whole time. On the rare occasion that a project has to start without me while I oversee the completion of another project, my partner Michael, takes the lead on the new job. One time, this didn’t go over well with the homeowners who expected both of us to be on the job. It wasn’t because of my amazing demolition skills or my winning personality. It was because I was a woman.

They had two younger daughters coming home from school before they would be home and they wanted me there while strange men worked in their basement. They found out I wouldn’t be on the job the first week and took turns coming home early from work while my other remodel was completed. It was the first time I ever thought seriously about some of the advantages of having a woman on the crew. My being there somehow incurred a certain level of trust from these people that probably wouldn’t have even hired us had if I had not been a part of the team. It had me thinking of what other benefits women offer in the construction industry.

Women are rarely seen in the construction field. However, there is a saying that behind every good man there is an even better woman. In my recent foray into the topic, I have discovered that this might be true. Just the other day I was reading the recommendation letters from a sister company of ours, who builds houses. While they had great things to say about the builder and his quality work and attention to detail, they had just as many good things to say about his wife, who handled the purchasing and the books. Letter after letter touted the wife, as well as the husband, in being instrumental in building them the home of their dreams. She helped them personally with their selections for their new houses and communicated every detail of the project.

Michael always says that women deal better with me. As a woman I tend to be more about the positive aspects of remodeling, and less about the facts and figures. Don’t get me wrong, I know the ins and outs of a remodel job. However, I also know that women make more of the decisions about the home environment and therefore find me easier to relate to. Instead of just saying we will do this and that, I can tell them what changes a renovation will bring to the quality of their lives. Since this is of utmost importance to women in general, they feel more at ease with me.

The same goes with our sub contractors. For some reason it is easier to hear a critique from me, versus a complaint from Michael. Being a woman, I tend to be more compassionate and empathetic. I often find myself praising a job well done. As long as I refrain from “nagging” them, they will usually deliver anything I ask for. We have a great relationship with our sub contractors. They might have felt a little reserved about working with me before, but they have generally come around.

Overall, I would say that having a woman “on the crew” has worked well for us. As more women find their way into construction, I think the field will change into one of more trust and communication between the contractor and the homeowner. I believe it will be a change for the better.

Taylor’d Home Improvement is now a Lead Certified Firm.  What does that mean?  It means we can legally work in homes built before 1978 that may or may not contain lead paint.  Make sure your contractor is certified to work in your home if you do have a home older than 1978.  This law went into affect on April 22, 2010.  All remodelers and renovators are required to be certified if they are disturbing any lead based surface in your home.  This includes anyone, from painters to carpet layers, to plumbers, to electricians.  Lead can be a very dangerous health risk.  Especially to children under 6 and pregnant women.

We took our training on April 19th, 2010 and were just informed that we can now work in homes older than the ‘78 cut off date.  For more information about Lead and Lead certified remodelers, you can go to the EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.

Be sure to ask to see your contractor’s lead certification.  They should be happy to show it to you.

We are receiving a ton of calls right now for work.  Remodeling as a whole is increasing.  What does that mean?  Well, now is the time to get your remodeling work going.  Call your contractor and get on his list.  Just because you have a project to do doesn’t mean your contractor has ESP and is going to save a spot for you to get your work done.  It is time to be proactive and get in touch with someone.  I guarantee that everyone is going to be busy this spring and and now is the time to call.

For more information on what we are working on this spring you can check out our website at http://thi.itgo.com.

So you want to do a home improvement project, but you have no idea where to look for a contractor?

Well, there are several options.  You can get on line and look for contractors (your city and state) in a Google search or you can type in remodeling contractors, or kitchen remodels, or whatever type of remodeling you are looking for.  You are likely to find a few things when you do this.  You will find services, such as Service Magic, that will take your project information and connect you with qualified contractors in your area.  You will also find many contractor web sites.

When looking at contractor web sites, you get a feel for what they do and who they are.  You often get to see their work and learn about their specialties.  Sometimes you get to “meet the team” in a bio section.  Our website has a very in depth section about our projects, where you can see pictures and such.

You can also check out Angie’s List and see reviews on the local contractors in your area.  They have an extensive list of contractors and real reviews from real clients.  Angie’s List is not available in all areas, but they are rapidly expanding, so it is worth checking out.

Another resource is friends and neighbors, people at your church or organization you belong to, or people you work with.  They can often give you honest opinions on what the contractor was like to work with.

Or, if all else fails, you can turn to the yellow pages.  Just remember that anyone can put an add in the yellow pages, so be selective and research the companies that provide web sites for you to view.

Good luck with your contractor search!  As always, you can drop me a line if you need advice on finding a contractor.

Right now is the perfect time to walk through a checklist of ways to save money on your home. Starting on these things as early as possible will allow you to start saving money sooner rather than later.

Here are eighteen things to check on or do immediately that will reduce the energy and maintenance costs of your home over the long haul.

1. Check the insulation in your attic - and install more if needed. If you have an unfinished attic, pop your head up there and take a look around. You should see some insulation up there, and there should be at least six inches of it everywhere (more if you live in the northern part of the United States). If there’s inadequate insulation up there - or the insulation you have appears damaged - install new insulation. Here’s a great guide from the Department of Energy on attic insulation, including specifics on how much you should have depending on where you live.

2. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius). This is the optimum temperature for your hot water heater. Most people do not utilize water that’s hotter than that, and thus energy used to keep the water that hot isn’t effective. Lower the temperature, save some on your energy bill, and you’ll never skip a beat.

3. Toss a water heater blanket over that hot water heater as well. While most modern hot water heaters are well-insulated, some are insulated better than others and many older heaters aren’t insulated well at all. A small investment in a blanket for your water heater will slowly and gradually save you money on your heating bill over time by keeping the heat in the water instead of letting it spread slowly out into your utility closet.

4. Install ceiling fans in most rooms. Ceiling fans are a low-energy way to keep air moving in your home. Because of the air circulation effect, you can get away with keeping your thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and a degree or two lower in winter, netting a rather large savings. A while back, I wrote a guide to maximizing ceiling fan use - most importantly, the air directly below the fan should be blowing down on you in the summer and should be pulled upwards away from you in the winter - you can use the reversal switch on your fan to switch between the modes.

5. Wrap exposed water pipes with insulation. Exposed hot water pipes lose heat as they move water from your heater to your faucet. Insulating them makes a two to four degree difference in the temperature of the water and also allows hot water to reach your faucet faster. Check the pipes into and out of your hot water heater first, as the first three feet out of the heater (and the last few feet of inlet water) are key. Use good quality pipe insulation for the job - it’s actually quite simple. Find out more about water pipe insulation at the EERE website.

6. Install a programmable thermostat - and learn how to use it. A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule automatic increases and decreases in your home’s temperature. This lets your house naturally warm (or cool in the winter) while you’re at work or asleep, saving quite a bit of energy use, and then when it comes time for you to actively use the house, the thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature of your home back to what you prefer. Such devices save money on cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.

7. Hang a clothes rack in your laundry room (or, better yet, an outdoor clothesline). A clothes dryer can really eat up your energy costs, but it’s convenient for many people. Battle that convenience (and save money) by hanging a clothes rack from the wall in the laundry room and use it for some items - t-shirts and underwear dry great on clothes racks. If you can hang up 20% of the clothes in a load on this rack, you can get away with running the dryer 20% less than before, saving you cash. Even better: if you can, install a clothes line outside where the wind can catch it and hang most of your clothes outside.

8. Check all toilets and under-sink plumbing for leaks or constant running - and check faucets, too. Do a survey of the plumbing in your home before you settle in. If you find a toilet is running constantly, it’s going to cost you money - here’s how to easily fix that constantly-running toilet. You should also peek under the basin of all sinks in your home, just to make sure there aren’t any leaks. Got a leaky faucet? You should repair or replace any of those, because the drip-drip-drip of water is also a drip-drip-drip of money.

9. Replace your air handling filter. When you first move in, you almost always need to replace the air handling filter (don’t worry, it’s easy to do - it takes about ten seconds). Go down to your air handling unit, find where the filter is (it’s almost always a large rectangle), and mark down the measurements (printed around the edges). Then, go to the hardware store and pick up a few of these, then go home and install one of them, replacing the old one. An outdated filter not only doesn’t filter as well, it also has a negative impact on air flow, meaning your air handling system has to work harder to pump out lower quality air.

10. Make sure the vents in all rooms are clear of dust and obstructions. None of the vents in your home should be covered or blocked by anything - doing that makes your heating and cooling work overtime. You should also peek into all of your vents and make sure they’re as dust-free as possible, and brush them out if you see any dust bunnies. This improves air flow into the room, reducing the amount of blowing that needs to happen.

11. Mark any cracks in the basement with dated masking tape. Many homes have a few small cracks in their basement walls from the settling of the foundation and the weight of the house. In a stable home, the small cracks aren’t growing at all - they’re safe. If they’re growing, however, you’ll save a ton of money by getting the problem addressed now rather than later. Take some masking tape and cover up the end of any cracks you notice inside or outside, and write today’s date on the tape. Then, in a few months, check the tape - if you see a crack growing out of the end of the tape, you might have a problem and should call a specialist now before the problem gets out of hand.

12. Install CFL and LED light bulbs in some locations. CFL and LED bulbs can save you a lot of money on energy use over the long haul, plus they have much longer lives than normal incandescent bulbs. Consider installing some in various places - we usually use CFLs for hall lighting and LED bulbs for closet lighting (though LED bulbs are improving all the time…).

13. Choose energy efficient appliances, even if you have to pay more up front. Unless you were lucky enough to buy a fully-furnished home, you’ll likely have to do some appliance shopping. Focus on reliability and energy efficiency above all, even if that seriously increases the cost you have to pay up front. A refrigerator that uses little energy and lasts twenty years is far, far cheaper over the long run than a fridge that runs for seven years and guzzles electricity. (If you’re worried about the up-front cost, check out tip #17.)

14. Set up your home electronics with a SmartStrip or two. Looking forward to getting your television, cable box, DVD player, sound system, and video game console set up? When you do it, set things up with proper surge protection (to protect your equipment). You might also want to consider a SmartStrip, which allows the on-off status of one device (say, the television) to control whether or not there’s power flowing to other devices (say, the DVD player or the video game console). Having the power cut automatically from such auxiliary devices can save a lot of money over time, especially since many such devices eat quite a bit of power as they sit there in standby mode, constantly draining your money.

15. Air-seal your home. Look for any places where air may be leaking directly into or out of your home. These aren’t just air leaks - they’re money leaks. Thankfully, fixing small air leaks is pretty easy - here’s a great Department of Energy guide to caulking and weatherstripping, which will keep such air leaks from costing you.

16. Plant shade trees near your house. Shade trees naturally cool your home during those warm summer months, reducing the amount of direct rays that hit your house. Lowering the external temperature of your home saves significantly on your cooling bills during the summer, plus it increases your property value. Plant them now, so they’ll grow and shade your house sooner.

17. Take advantage of tax benefits for any improvements you make. For starters, there’s the first time home buyer tax credit, which is essentially an interest-free $7,500 loan from the federal government for new homeowners. This is perfect money to help you with fixes you may need to make when you move in, like buying good appliances or putting in shade trees. Similarly, if you make energy-based improvements to your home in 2009, you can receive up to $500 in tax credit for that purchase, essentially making things like insulation tax free. Your state may have even more benefits, so be aware of all of these when you invest money improving the efficiency of your home.

18. Develop a home maintenance checklist - and run through it for the first time. One final tip - create a home maintenance checklist. This list should include regular home maintenance tasks that you’d want to do on a monthly or quarterly or annual basis. Then, make it a habit to run through the items on this list each month. Doing so will extend the life of almost everything in your home, saving you buckets of money over time.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/10/17/18-things-a-new-homeowner-should-do-immediately-to-save-money/

These tips were brought to you from The simple dollar at  http://www.thesimpledollar.com.

One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make in today’s market is assuming that the bank will loan them they money to remodel their home.  Many banks have tightened their policies on lending and getting financing can often take months longer than expected.

Get a feel for what you can afford and what banks will loan to you.  Many banks will give you a pre-approval letter for a certain dollar amount so you can be more confident with your budget.  Also, ask your bank how long it will be before funds come through so you can be assured you are ready when the time comes for your next major remodeling project.

If you don’t feel entirely comfortable, don’t move forward. Period.

Comfort and trust are extremely important factors in your hiring decisions.  In fact, next to credentials, there is nothing more important.

The remodeler you choose will be coming into your home daily, working around your family, taking apart your walls and spending your money to put them back up.  Now you tell us: Do you think you should feel the utmost comfort with them, or not?

A little research to find looks and materials you like before hiring a remodeling contractor will help you along the way.  There is no needs to know the ins and outs of what materials you want to use before talking with a remodeler or architect, but visiting some home improvement stores or showrooms and getting an idea of price ranges for various materials can really help you define your budget and develop a baseline you are willing to work with.

Knowing what you are able to spend on materials and what you might get for the money will allow you to focus on other and more important aspects of hiring a remodeler.  Planning is a very important part of starting any project.  And while potential remodelers will have lots of input, it is a great idea to start a compilation of what you like and have some ideas to show the home improvement professional when you are first interviewing them.

If you are buying a home it is definitely a good idea to have it professionally inspected.  This can save you a lot of headaches later as well as help you negotiate a fair price with fewer surprises.  However, if you are really interested in a home and want to know how much repairs and remodels would cost, it is time to consider a “contractor inspection”.

A contractor inspection is done by a remodeler or a general contractor of your choice.  It is usually free because contractors generally give free estimates.  The professional will walk through your home and look at anything you might think is an issue or want to change and draw you up an estimate for the repairs or remodeling you want done.  It is a good idea to have the initial home inspection done and have a copy of this inspection with you.  Then you and the contractor can discuss any issues that you may have concern with.

Since home inspectors can only speculate on how much potential problems cost to repair, a contractor inspection can educate you on the actual cost of a fix and how long it will take.  He or she will also let you know how involved the work is, so you can decide whether you want the work done before you move in.  Having a contractor look over your possible home purchase also acts as a second set of eyes for problems.

There is another advantage to having a contractor come to call on your future home purchase.  If you want to change something with the home, such as a kitchen or bath, it is a good idea to know what your plans will cost.  Many times there are one or two things that you want to change, even with the home of your dreams.  It could be as simple as taking down wall paper or de-popcorning the ceilings (which is way easier to do before you move your furniture in).  It could be an addition you want to add in the future or a major kitchen overhaul.  Wouldn’t you like to know a general figure on how much this will cost you?  It might be more than you think and that could influence your decision to buy.

What should you ask for when requesting a “contractor inspection”?  Be upfront with the remodeler or general contractor about the fact that you have not yet purchased the home.  Ask them if they feel comfortable inspecting and giving an accurate estimate for repairs and remodels.  Some companies do not always guarantee solid bids, and you want one that will put some time into your figures so that you have a realistic dollar amount for the work.  Ask them if they will give you a written report with the estimate.  If a contractor has never done a contractor inspection before, let them know that you want a detailed statement on what work will be necessary to complete any repairs or renovations.  Most contractors will be able to accomplish this if they are any type of reputable company at all.  If they can not, they may not be a company you want to deal with.

When we do a “contractor inspection” we generally look over the home inspectors report first.  Then, when we visit the home with the Realtor and the client, we address those issues from the report as well as look over the mechanical and electrical systems.  We inspect the structure, roof, windows and doors.  After that we look over the future homeowner’s “dream list” of possible renovations.  If they mention to me that they may want to remodel the kitchen, we bring our kitchen design books so we can get an idea of what the customer likes in cabinets or countertops.  After that, we head back to the office and estimate any repairs and remodels and write a full report on the scope of the work and the cost.  We submit this report with an accurate estimate on everything to the customer.  It is then up to the customer to use this information however they wish to.

If you are interested in knowing more about a contractor inspection, you can contact us via e-mail at taylordhome@yahoo.com or give us a call at (217) 637-7321 for complete details.