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RE-decorating
What happens when the Jones' are on television? How can I possibly keep up with the steady flow of notions that my wife gets from watching HGTV?
There is absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that the act of remodeling your humble abode is due in large part to the camera access to those houses that are far from your street and certainly do not resemble anything my neighbors have done. I should take that back. My neighbors have added a grand kitchen that is both the envy of my wife and something I would love to flex my culinary muscles in. But this couple does very little cooking.
HGTV has allowed us to look into the homes of many people whose fortunes are certainly in their decor. This type of programing has been the backbone of the refinance craze and according to figures published by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, accounts for 2% of the nations economy. How did this happen? How did we go from a nation of post war cookie cutter homes to attempting to emulate homeowners from other far more affluent neighborhoods?
We are a nation of homeowners with roughly 67% of the population nestled into their own piece of the American dream. Of that figure, over 25 million people have more than remodeling on their minds, they actually have done something about it. The current trend towards changing the old nest around was enabled by the low mortgage rates of recent years. The Home Depots of the world told us that we could do this sort of work ourselves. A.O. Scott, film critic for the New York times referred to each room in his home as a three dimensional to-do-list. And my wife agrees.
I, on the other hand have come to know my limits. When we were much poorer, starting out in an oversized home big enough to house three, soon to be four kids, I never considered my talents as a remodeler. I hadn't even considered my talent at using a hammer. The extent of my mechanical know-how was righty-tighty, lefty loosey. This was further validated when, during a massive roofing, repainting and general repair done about five years ago, my wife was approached by two of the contractors hired to do all of the minor repairs that had gotten away from me. This involved railings and gates and such. They asked if I owned a hammer. Of course my wife replied. They suggested that she remove the handle.
So if one in ten people are spending an average of $5,000 on remodeling projects, who is doing the work.
"Recent homebuyers are an active spending group within the remodeling industry, accounting for more than 25% of the total dollars spent on remodeling in the U.S. in 2001."
~ Kevin McNulty, NARI suggests that if the project is big, the planning stages are the most crucial time. There group offers some guidelines for how to not only pick a remodeler, but a code of ethics that is practiced by their members.
Before you even begin, think the plan through from beginning to end. To often, thoughts aren't given to how the project will effect the other living spaces, and the logistics for living while the remodel takes place.
A good remodeler should have lots of references to chose from and these references should be checked. Whoever gets the contract will become someone that you will need to trust to make good decisions, be courteous and thoughtful about your inconveniences, and attempt to stay on schedule. In every one of the remodels that were done at our house over the last twenty years, I have proved to be the impractical one. My wife on the other hand, worked as site forewoman making sure that whatever subcontractor showed up acted in the same manner as the contractor we hired. Materials needed to be checked and double checked.
When you become the employer, you expect work that was promised. If not, be prepared to follow through on your complaint. Keeping every bit of correspondence, taking pictures as the work progresses are not only good for those cute before and after collages, but work equally as well if you should find yourself making a complaint against a contractor at your state's board. On a side note, I chased a roofing contractor down after they failed to replace the gutters they removed. As I got bids on replacing the gutters, each subsequent contractor asked if I had done the roof. This was not a good sign. there estimates and comments built a rather successful case against the business forcing a full refund.
NARI has a good list of things you should look for before you begin a remodel of your home.
As we watch our last kid enter high school, we have shelved some of our more grandiose plans at changing the home. No longer do we want to make the 1100 square foot third floor a lavish master suite, unless of course we can afford to put an elevator in.
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