Home improvement is typically maintenance items such as painting, replacing cabinet pulls, replacing worn out or outdated flooring.

Home remodeling is finishing off an unfinished basement, changing the structure of the room by removing or installing walls, replacing cabinets or your vanity, converting your tub into a walk-in shower, and replacing or building structures.

A home renovation is typically cheaper than a home remodel job.

If you’re on a tight budget you can still get your small approx 5×8 bathroom renovated for about $5,000.

You won’t be able to do a full remodel like taking down walls to expand, or moving fixtures like your shower or vanity.

What you can do to keep the costs low is to paint not only walls but your outdated vanity.

Benjamin Moore offers a special durable paint for cabinets.

You can install new flooring, replace sink and tub faucets. When it comes to faucets try to stick with good name brands like Moen, or Delta so you don’t have problems in a year or two.

The trick is to shop the clearance sections for materials, architectural salvage yards for antique flooring or doors or faucets, or even going to used sites like Facebook Marketplace or Ebay.

You can renovate a small bathroom for only $5,000 if you like looking for materials on sale.

If you want to handle your own demo you can save a lot of money there too. Just order a dumpster delivery, fill it, and they haul it off for a few hundred dollars, size depending.

A smaller job such as countertop replacement, or cabinet painting can usually be completed in a couple days, depending on how long it takes to get the necessary materials.

Larger projects can take weeks or months depending on the scope of the job and the avilability of materials.

When we work in your home we make it as painless as possible by installing tarps to keep the dust in the room we are servicing, clean each day to keep your home usable and dust free, and we stack materials out of the way as much as possible to be as less obtrusive as we can be.

We are qualified to handle small jobs from flooring installation to larger jobs such as remodelling an entire basement, bathroom, or kitchen. Please see our work by viewing our blog.

We can install a deck or patio from scratch, replace countertops or resurface cabinets, or paint interiors and exteriors.

Kitchens and bathrooms tend to be the most difficult rooms to renovate.

Buyers prioritize modern upgrades in kitchens and bathrooms more than anything other than “back of house” work such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and structural changes.

Well-designed kitchens and bathrooms boost your home value, and make sellers more interested in your home. This makes renovating your kitchen or bathroom a smart investment.

A general rule to keeping your home in good condition is to set aside between 1%-2% of your home’s purchase price for maintenance and repairs.

If you are struggling to set aside that much money, consider starting small and working your way up with each raise you receive from your job.

If you are looking to purchase a new home with the FHA 203(k) construction loan, your minimum credit score must be at least a 620.

A bedroom, living room, or office is generally cheaper to remodel than a kitchen or bathroom.

This is because rooms without a lot of fixtures is cheaper to fix up with paint, carpet, or other flooring, and installing crown molding or a new light fixture.

Materials for kitchens and bathrooms are typically more expensive.

If you current wall has oil based paint, and your new paint is water-based, then you need to either remove the old paint first, or scrape and sand, apply a primer, and then apply the new paint.

If you are painting over old paint that is peeling, or has cracks or blistered, you must scrape the old paint off first.

Then you sand, apply a primer, and then you can paint.

Paint jobs are priced not only by the square foot, but also by the condition of the area being painted.

This is especialy true for older homes that have been negleted.

The prep work can take as long, or longer than actually painting when dealing with a deferred maintenance home.

Yes, you can!

Staying in your home during renovations saves you a lot of money.

We will mange your renovations in sections while you live elsewhere in your home.

This means hanging tarps, cleaning each evening before leaving, and staying out of your way as much as possible while we work on your home.

The common delays in renovations can be very frustrating for home owners who just want their house completed.

These are the most common delays:

Rain or snow interruptions
Permit delays
Shipping delays for materials
Scheduling conflicts for specialists such as electricians or plumbers

Some delays like the weather or permits are unavoidable.

But, others can be managed through good planning in the beginning, and working with a company who can put all the puzzle pieces together for you.

We pride ourselves on communicating with our customers, and making sure they understand the scope and length of time for the job they hired us to do.

We come in at budget, and on time by understanding the typical amount of time jobs take to complete.

Yes, we are fully insured to ensure peace of mind and professional-quality work on every project..

What devalues your home the most?

Maintenance neglect - home buyers don’t want to handle the maintenance the seller should have been doing to maintain their home in good shape.
Personal design choices - The seller loves deep purple so he or she painted her living room a deep purple, then installed light purple carpet to match. If you over personalize your home when it is time to sell it will devalue your sales price.
Ignoring curb appeal - When a buyer pulls up to your front door they need to see trimmed bushes, sidewalks that are not broken, a properly mowed lawn, a clean exterior with gutters clear of debris, no peeling paint on any trim, and no half dead trees in the yard.
Unresolved zoning issues - If you convert a porch to a kitchen without permits and the work isn’t done right, this will devalue your home.
Location - if your home is on a busy street with tons of noise, this can devalue your home.