A bathroom remodel involves many tasks, from removing fixtures that are being replacing to installing new fixtures and minor repairs. Once you set your budget and before you buy any materials, you need to decide who will do the work. Depending on how much you want to do, you can save money by contributing “sweat equity.”

Once you know how much work you’ll be doing yourself, you can start building your budget. Each item on your prioritized list includes both labor and material costs, although so for those tasks you plan to do, your cost in dollars will be zero.

You can use the table below to create a rough estimate for the items you want to include in your bathroom model. When you have determined how many items on your list fit within your budget, you’re ready to meet with one/more remodeling professionals to get proposals. READ MORE

Interior trim can add spice to every room from the ceiling down to the floor. Trim is functional in that it covers the gaps where different building materials meet, i.e. where the ceiling meets the walls or the walls meet the floor. Trim provides a decorating tool where you can dress up some of the simple features in a room like windows and doorways.

For the interior designer or Do-It-Yourself homeowner, finding the perfect “spice” for a room you already love isn’t always easy. Having chosen furniture, window treatments, throw rugs, and furniture layout, the room may still lack the sizzle you want to create that perfect look. Interior trim is the perfect way to accent your room to put more focus on it’s best features. READ MORE

Paint colors are personal and sometimes we have to try out several colors until we find one that is just right for the room, the lighting and compliments how the room’s furnishings. Many people think that once they’ve selected their paint colors, they’re done and it’s time to buy the paint. Wait a minute, you’re not quite done …

There is a second, very important decision that needs to be made. You have to decide based on the room or trim you’re painting, what type of paint finish you want. This choice isn’t easy as you have to make trade-offs between the look of the finish and how easy it is to care for, i.e. children’s rooms, hallways and bathrooms get a lot more activity so you need to take this into consideration. READ MORE

Buying paint is easy but you’ve got to figure out how much paint to buy. You have to know the condition of the walls, ceiling or trim you’ll be painting and you want to include enough paint for touch up later on. This is true whether you’re hiring a professional painter or plan to do-it-yourself.

This article begins with the preparation every painting project needs in order to be sure you’re happy with the results. The best results come from good prep, good paint and a good paint brush.

We’ve created a worksheet to help you calculate how much paint to buy before you begin your project. It can be very frustrating to run out of paint and have to go back to the store. You also don’t want to buy too much as disposing of paint may not be easy depending on your town’s regulations. READ MORE

Brick walls can present many challenges, especially in older buildings. While we like preserving the old brick walls and leaving them exposed, it’s important to understand brick wall construction and maintenance in order to minimize problems.

A customer called my handyman business. She had purchased a condo in an old brick building and her unit was on the 3rd and 4th floors. The top floor “loft” includes a bedroom and bathroom. The young woman was dealing with several different problems after her first winter in her new home. We did a lot of research to make sure we considered all aspects of her space, to find a solution that would address her problem with creating other problems. READ MORE

Bathrooms are small rooms so they must be easier to remodel  than larger rooms? No! Remodeling a bathroom can be extremely challenging as there are more features tucked into a bathroom than any other room besides the kitchen.

A simple remodel where you replace just 1 or 2 features like the vanity, counter top and sink won’t be too difficult unless the new vanity requires moving plumbing as often happens when you pick a vanity with drawers.

This series on bathroom remodeling helps you sort through and prioritize your choices, to help you stick to your budget. We’ll point out up front which changes cost the most like a tile floor and replacing a bathtub or shower. READ MORE

When customers shop around for the lowest price, they think they’re saving money and sometimes that is true. It’s also true that you get what you pay for and quality work with good customer service seldom comes at the lowest price.

Small businesses focus on great customer service, especially when the owner is involved in the business. It is one of the ways in which small businesses can compete against large companies and corporations.

Last week was Thanksgiving (see July 4th emergency) but emergencies aren’t scheduled. Let me share with you … READ MORE

Water damage can continue for many years before a customer realizes there’s a problem. Many of the jobs my handyman company handles start out repairing a “small” water problem, and it quickly turns into a much bigger job. Siding replacement may be one the top of the remodeling projects (highest payback when selling a house), but often home owners are replacing siding because they have to, not because they want to.

Customers have a tough decision to make when we find wood rot. After we’ve reviewed the situation with them, they must decide if they want to replace the siding on their entire home or make repairs until they can fit new siding into their budget. A handyman company can handle repair of all structural damage, replace siding as needed while a company that specializes in replacement siding is more practical when residing your home. READ MORE

Flashing is the term applied to materials used to seal seams where building materials meet, and where water has the potential to get into your home and cause damage. It is a key concept as most water damage remains invisible for years and the cost of repairs increases as the scope of the damage gets larger. You always want to repair water damage as soon as it’s found to keep repair costs to a minimum and avoid health issues due to mold.

The biggest challenge is knowing where flashing should be installed, and that it was installed properly which takes skill to determine. Here are the most common places for flashing, and don’t get flustered when your contractor uses a different term, i.e. the flashing under the edge of a roof is called drip edge … but it’s still flashing. READ MORE

By making energy efficient upgrades at home you can save energy and money. Energy is used to sustain the quality of life from heating and cooling, to lighting, cooking, water use and entertainment. Unfortunately much of this energy is wasted because our cars, our appliances and our homes were not built to be energy efficient.

DID YOU KNOW? If all U.S. households installed efficient hot water heaters, we could save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year! READ MORE