Hire a Fence Contractor and By The way… What Are You Hiding??

September 30, 2010 By

Image Source: Fence ContractorSo your contractor grade wooden fence is starting to warp, fade and crack. Your posts are splitting and bending over like a pilates instructor and you think now is a great time to build a new fence. Sure you could do it yourself but you’ll probably end up with the same results in 2 years. My suggestion is to hire a qualified fence contractor who actually knows what they’re doing and will warranty their work for normally around 10 yrs.


But I know, you’re stubborn, you’re mr fix it, there isn’t anything you can’t build, right? WRONG. Every time I see the typical do it yourselfer attempt on a fence, I see one common problem. ITS BIG!!! I’m not talking 6 ft tall, or even 8 is bearable, but 10-12ft??? What are you hiding? What type of fortress are you trying to protect? Metal posts, electronic gates, barb wire and lasers. REALLY? Last time I checked, Coco, your 4lb Chihuahua isn’t going anywhere. And then to top it off you have to put port holes in the side of the thing just to see the outside world every couple of days. You are not holding your own Big Brother auditions so just keep it simple, classy and strong (this being the most important factor).

Quit building something that resembles border patrol or the Great Wall of China and could topple like a stack of lego’s. Just go with a nice board on board cedar fence. You’ll love it, you’re neighbors will love it and most importantly you will be able to enjoy the sun. Remember a fence is an extension of your property, sure you want to keep people out and pets in, but you don’t want to cage yourself in like prairie dog.

Hire a professional. Check out our fence builders and get a new fence that you can enjoy right away.

Yahtzee – D. Pine

Filed Under: Contractor Tips Tagged With: , ,

Pool Winterizing in Progress Come Back Next Summer!

September 27, 2010 By

Image Source: Have a professional winterize your poolI live in a place where I don’t have to worry about buying a winter pool cover or doing a pool winterizing. Not because of the weather but because I don’t have a pool to begin with! I do spend a lot of time at the lake on the water so we all share the same disappointment of having to get out of the water for the fall and winter season soon approaching.

Don’t worry I am not going to walk you step by step in this post how to winterize your pool because it’s not the easiest thing in the world and just does not look like much fun! So for those of you that have pools just hire a pool closing or winterizing pool specialist to do the job right while you sit inside your comfortable house and sip on the beverage of your choice… Now that sounds like a better time to me, don’t you agree? Say Yes out loud to yourself. OK good job.

Well then your pool winterizing is complete. That was pretty easy.

Respect – Lloyd

Filed Under: Contractor Tips Tagged With: , ,

Go ahead, build your daughter that PlayHouse!

September 25, 2010 By

Now I don’t have any kids, maybe I’m too young, or maybe women just don’t want me to be the father of their children… who knows? But I have found an amazing substitution… my brothers kids. He is the proud father of a 3 year old daughter and a 9 month old son. Last Christmas, I decided I wasn’t going to be the uncle who went to Toys R Us and bought a toy off the shelf. Nope, I was going to be the guy who took a week off work and built a magnificent playhouse for them to enjoy. Below is my story.
 


Wanting this to be a special project from my heart to their eyes, I meticulously planned out the details. After I spend a few hours mulling over the best way to build the playhouse, I went to home depot, rented a nail gun and decided to just “wing it.”

I suggest having a good idea of the height of the house and when you purchase your 2×4′s, you go ahead and have home depot pre-cut your lumber.. this will save you valuable time and allow you to not have to handle powerful saws when you get about 6 beers into this project. After your lumber is pre-cut, start assembling the walls… you’ve seen a frame of a house.. just slap some wood up and nail away. IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: Assemble the walls individually, you do not want to assemble them together or your will end up with a playhouse that is stationary where ever you built it, these things get heavy.

Use the same “frame” approach to the floor, slap on some plywood siding, slap some plywood on the floor, cover plywood on floor with peel and stick tiles, cut some holes out of the side walls for the $20 windows you bought at Lowe’s, build a roof frame, slap on plywood, cover in roofing plastic, shingle the roof, paint the inside and out, install and door, weather proof, spray water from your water hose onto the roof and outside of the house, go back and fix your mistakes dude and bam!!! Playhouse and you will be the best uncle ever guaranteed.

This whole project should take you between 12 and 24 beers. Note: If you look at the house and are not pleased with the outcome, I suggest calling one of these guys: General Contractor

But look at what a good job I did!

PlayHouse

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: , , , ,

Gutter Cleaning Service

September 24, 2010 By

Well it’s about that time of year again. It’s time to find a good Gutter Cleaning Service. YAY… so much fun I know!! Even if you do not have leaf bearing trees towering over your home you still need to inspect your gutters yourself. Take me for example… I don’t have gigantic trees over my house but I sure do have a colony of birds calling my gutters home!
 

Why do we need to clean our gutters or see if they need to be cleaned? I hope this is common sense for most people however we may have a few who are new homeowners who just don’t know or veteran homeowners who are wondering why there are pockets of water around their house when it rains… or why their gutters keep falling off their house! The primary reason is due to leaf buildup from overhanging limbs and debris from strong storms and sometimes even little critters building nests (unfortunately that’s my problem right now).

The effects from not cleaning your gutters believe it or not can be costly compared to the charge for having a professional Gutter Cleaning Service come out and clean your gutters. Depending on your house (single story or multi-story, size of your house and etc…) you can expect to pay anywhere between $50 -$150 to get your gutters cleaned. Damage from gutter “loneliness” can cause your gutters to rot due to “pooled” rain water, can cause your gutters to break free from your house and fall off, cause water damage to windows and siding and if the water is not falling away from your house can even cause foundation problems… and trust me you do not want to deal with foundation problems!

In a nutshell clean your gutters and for those people who are not “Mr./Mrs. Handyman” and don’t know who to call then click here to have some Gutter Cleaning companies call you for a free estimate.

Happy Cleaning and Cheers,

Barc

I thought this was a funny commercial… might want a professional to take care of your gutters!

>

Filed Under: Home Repair Tagged With: , ,

New Home Improvement Blog

September 16, 2010 By

We have come up with a new “look” for our Home Improvement Blog. We want to know what you think so let us know. Be nice or naughty your call :)
 

Thanks – Barc and the TenList Team

Image Source: Home Improvement Blog

Filed Under: Home Improvement Tagged With: ,

Take Home Improvement Seriously People… It’s Not Worth the Risk!

September 16, 2010 By

This is a topic that really hits home with me due to the fact that I have 2 little ones at home. Their safety is our top priority and having the right home security system in place is crucial for their safety and our peace of mind as parents.
 

What type of home security system should you get and what type of company should you go with are 2 of the questions you should consider when purchasing your system. There are a few general systems you can typically choose from:

- Hardwired Home Security System… This system is great if you are building a new home because there is a lot of wiring involved and it is easier to install if your walls are exposed. Most homes have wired systems in place however your older homes typically do not. All of the window, door, glass break alarms are wired back to the central control panel and helps to eliminate false alarms.
- Wireless Home Security System… This system runs off batteries and it a lot easier to install. This can be a DIY system however we would recommend having a professional help with the installation. These systems have a frequency based designed compared to direct connect design of the hardwired systems.

There are also many components you can ad for added security such as glass break detectors, motion sensors, security cameras (for the extra cautious… this will help you identify those creepers coming around your house!), sirens and strobes and etc.

When I select a company for this kind of Home Improvement addition I believe it is best to go with a large reputable company. They are more then likely going to have the best services and monitoring. When we moved we decided to go with a “local” home security specialist and it took him nearly 6 hours to install our system and our house was already hard wired for it! Come to find out 8 months later we were NOT even being monitored by the security company. Talk about an eye opener! Now I am sure there are good local home security companies out there but I would rather know I am being set up right the first time and not find out the hard way.

We always try to add a little comedy in our posts when talking about Home Improvement however we want everyone reading this to take it seriously. It only takes one event to change your life so make sure you are well prepared for any intruder.

Best Wishes – Barc

>

Filed Under: Home Improvement Tagged With: , , ,

Get Your Contractors Hand Out of Your Cookie Jar!

September 15, 2010 By

Contractors are infamous for charging an arm and a leg on projects (Hence the title). The sad thing is that it’s not the worst of it. It’s one thing to say up front ” Well Mr. Jones this kitchen remodel is going to cost you $X” and half way through the project he mysteriously runs across more “unforeseen” problems that will cost you double the original cost! Don’t worry we have a little secret that will help make sure your contractor is on top of his or her game.


We recently did a kitchen remodeling project and everything went relatively smooth. As smooth as it can be considering you are living in a plume of smoke and debris from all of the demolition. That is a different post all in itself… title could be something like… “Why to buy a gas mask and live in your end of days shelter before you remodel your house!” Needless to say we all survived the “rain”.

However there were a few hiccups along the way. The grout lines cracked almost immediately and there was not a hole punched in the sink for the faucets?? That one was kind of weird. They came out within a couple of days and fixed everything without any harassing from our end. We simply picked the right company for the job we needed done. We did our research and made sure we received multiple bids before making our selection. Going with the cheapest bid is not always the way to go either. I hate to say it but as the saying goes “you usually get what you pay for.” If you take away anything from reading this just make sure you receive multiple quotes” and select your contractor carefully because it could be the difference between your tax refund or half your lives savings (if your 25).

Best Wishes,

Barc

P.S. When you meet your contractor for your walk through please put your cash away! By the way the couple below found $182,000 in their walls! So tear away people tear away!

Image Source: Contractors Dream

Filed Under: Home Repair Tagged With: , ,

Don’t Pick Local Contractors that Steal Your Underwear!

September 14, 2010 By

So you are working on your house DYI style (Do It Yourself for those not privy to Home Improvement terms :) )and you realize you are now way over your head and you need to find a Local Contractor and need one quick so where do you turn? To the “old” yellow book? Nowadays not so much. Most people turn to search engines and probably Google if you are in the 80% of people who search with the big “G”.



Now you are on Google and you type in what you are looking for… local contractors, heater repair, how to save my marriage because I blew the fuse box trying to do my own electrical work or whatever your home improvement project may be. There are so many contractors to wade through and how do you know what company is good and what company is not? Well ABC company says they are the best so they are the best right? Oh yea thats right and in my spare time I fly around with a red cape and save people from evil villains! Companies will do ANYTHING to get you to spend YOUR hard earned money with them.


Ok so here comes my plug… hey don’t get mad and click away… you clicked on this post remember? So gut it up and hear how we can help you find the best Local Contractors in your area. Wouldn’t it be nice to submit a form telling a Local Contractor what your project is and then have 2-3 companies calling you competing for your business? Now that is what I am talking about! You can get 3 FREE quotes from Local Contractors in your area with a few clicks of your mouse and sit back and pick the best company that fits your particular project needs. Go to TenList.com and pick your category and submit the form to get your  3 FREE project quotes today… its fast, easy and most importantly FREE!


Now you know how to get the best contractors in your area we thought it would be appropriate to show you some contractors you might want to stay away from… enjoy!


Filed Under: Contractor Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Directory of Local Contractors

September 13, 2010 By

Coming Soon you will find insights, observations and in-depth articles on how to find a local contractor in your area. The TenList.com directory of local contractors has a list of home repair and home improvement contractors across the country ready to bid on your next project. This blog is going to offer tips and recommendations for your home improvement jobs both now and in the future.


Check back often for timely and informative information that you can use when selecting a local contractor.

Filed Under: Contractor Tips Tagged With: , , , ,