How to Overcome Remodeling Sticker Shock

 You’ve researched pictures on houzz.com, Pininterest.com, thumbed through dozens of home magazines and have found the desired look you want for your kitchen or bath. After conveying the plan over with a contractor that includes the entire wish list (and why wouldn’t you want all the bells and whistles?), you are squirming in anticipation to get this project started. However, sometimes the wind that you thought would be sailing you along into your dream room is knocked right out from under you when you see the estimated costs. This is called Sticker Shock, a problem that occurs far too often for homeowners.

Too often homeowners attempt to estimate a project themselves by comparing what the neighbor’s did last year and/or they feel they can do it for less because they’re putting in linoleum instead of hardwoods. Or they watch Cable TV remodeling shows that quite frankly skew the real costs. It’s very easy for a person excited about remodeling to mislead themselves. Don’t assume the contractor’s bid is way too high right out of the gates, he just estimated your project from what you told him you wanted (remember the bells and whistles?). Unless you made it clear to him, he typically doesn’t know what your true budget is. Here in lies the problem; do you really know what your budget is?    

Try determining a total dollar amount or range you feel comfortable investing in your project. Prepare a general overall “wish” and a “must have” list for your project before getting an estimate. Then search for a remodeler that can offer both design and construction solutions. Many homeowners may rule these companies out as being too expensive. The truth of is if you desire to have the best end product, remember your home is your biggest investment, these companies will provide the reality check that you need. It may boil down to compromises; many costs within a project can be controlled by the amount of work to be done and materials/products used. Don’t let sticker shock halt your dream, once the reality of costs sets in, work with a professional who can help you find a resolution best suited for you and get to sailing onto your remodel.

The Possible Money Pit

Many consumers are not fully aware of the costs associated with not pulling permits (structural, electrical, plumbing). Since unlicensed contractors can't pull permits for home improvement projects, it’s important to hire a licensed contractor and get the proper permits. For many “DIY’rs”, acquiring permits with the latest regulations and codes can be intimidating or it’s just a matter of saving money and they skip it all together. But are you really saving money?  

The repercussions to the homeowner when permits aren't pulled on time or at all can be evident at time of selling the property. The house most likely won’t pass inspection. Insurance policy modifications or changing companies often require a Certificate of Occupancy. If the certificate doesn't show structural changes that have been made, the insurance company can decline coverage because it's not code compliant. Any permits pulled after work has already been completed include a fine that doubles what would have been the initial costs of pulling a permit before work was done.

On the flip side of that, many new home buyers who take the precaution trying to know what they’re getting themselves into including having a pre-inspection along with City Property Tax documentations before finalizing the paperwork may be buying into a money pit. We found that out in a 1935 home we remodeled that was sold with an existing addition with a 2^nd story that later revealed it was illegally added to the original structure. The addition was built on top of an original carport and the only thing that was holding that side of the house up was the roof connection – YIKES! We also found 60 electrical code violations in one room itself, amazing that the house never burned down. There were joists that were not connected and plumbing placed haphazardly. It was a hack job. In order to properly put the house back together we had to install micropile piers placed into the foundation and reinforce the foundation to hold the structure and basically start over. Because the previous homeowner’s had built the addition decades before the statute of limitations was expired for any legal retribution. This cost the new homeowners thousands of dollars that could have been spent elsewhere on the remodel, let alone all the headaches and delays. It’s just not fun to spend money on things hidden behind the walls and flooring. Yet, the house is now safe and structurally sound for occupancy. Lesson learned: do your due diligence and do it some more.      

Reducing Your Stress With a Bathroom Remodel

The bathroom in modern American life can be viewed as the sanctuary of the home. Nowhere else in the home can one find the privacy or solitude that the bathroom has to offer. A warm shower or bath can wash away the stress and tension that a hard day’s work can cause; leaving you feeling clean, refreshed, and, most importantly, relaxed. It is for these reasons that you should do what you can to make your bathroom a pleasant place to spend time- not a drab, dungeon-like drippy and dirty looking room.

A few things that can make the bathroom a more relaxing place are the lighting, tiling, and layout. A bathroom that feels too bright or dark, ugly, or crowded is not likely to help you shed some of the day-to-day stress in your life, but possibly add to it. Chipped, dirty tiles will cheapen your sense of being, while glaring overhead lights can add to the stress headache that you may already be experiencing. Replacing these things with a more pleasant atmosphere will make you feel much better about your home, and even possibly your life in general.

At Revive Residential Remodeling, we specialize in turning your bathroom into a relaxing room that will provide you with an environment to shed your stress and make you feel like a million bucks. We can provide you with a ton of options in tiling, assist you with a more fluid layout to your bathroom, and present you with many design ideas that you may have never even dreamed existed. If you already have a good idea of what would make your bathroom more to your liking, we can assist you in making that idea become a reality.

For just a taste of some things that we can offer you, head on over to our Gallery, or better yet call Don at 971-285-0770 to schedule a free, no-hassle estimate.

Under-Cabinet Lighting For Your Kitchen Remodel

Why Under-Cabinet Lighting?

Under-cabinet lighting is added to kitchen cabinetry to provide two types of lighting; task and ambiance on the countertop area. Typically in the kitchen the underside of the wall cabinetry can be a dark shadowed area that makes working difficult, this is why the underside of cabinetry provides the ideal location for task lighting. Under-cabinet lighting will reduce these shadows by the cabinetry from the ceiling or pendent lighting. By Illuminating the backsplash this creates can help display your beautiful tile or stone and layer your lighting. The layering of lighting is a method of using all available lights in the kitchen and simply dimming them to create a layering effect for mood or ambiance. 

Under-Cabinet Lighting Types

The best lighting fixtures can be purchased at your local lighting design centers, it is recommended that you allow a licensed electrician install the lighting in your home. The lighting availability from these suppliers may use one of three types lamps: LED, incandescent, or fluorescent. These types of lamps influence the performance of the lighting fixture; including the amount of light, the lamp's color, the life of the lamp or fixture, and the lamp's energy usage. Don't know which lamp is best for you? We recommend consulting your local electrician or lighting design store.

Incandescent lamps

Incandescent lamps are the most common types of lighting in kitchens. These lamps come in a variety of selections for under-cabinet lighting; bi-pin,  festoon, and wedge. These selections are available in many different wattages and correlated color temperatures (CCT). CCT refers to the color of the light, (for example, a warm golden tone vs. a clean white tone). Halogen and xenon, are the two most popular because they have a higher CCT, keep in mind these lamps are a cleaner looking white or less golden in appearance. Incandescent lamps are readily available, inexpensive, and easy to replace when one burns out. However, these types of lights have the shortest life spans and the highest energy use of the three types of lamp available. Xenon lamps tend to have the longest life span and can cost about 60 cents more per bulb, depending on the manufacturer. 

LED       

LEDs have quickly become popular for a variety of task lighting uses because of their low energy use. these types of lights are the brightest, have the longest life span, but can cost up to three times more the incandescent lighting. Unlike incandescent and fluorescent lamps, LED lamps typically do not burn out, these lights usually have a 50,000 lamp hour rating. White LEDs can be a bluish-white in color appearance than incandescent lamps, though a warm-white LED that looks like the incandescent are becoming more common. White LEDs are generally available in the same color range as fluorescent lamps and can even be purchased in many other different colors such as; blue, red, orange, yellow and green. When selecting the lighting for your kitchen remodel, the best thing you should keep in mind is will this fit into my existing cabinetry configuration?

Fluorescent Lamps

Under-cabinet fluorescent lights are available with linear fluorescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Linear fluorescent lamps are the most popular type of fluorescent lighting for under-cabinet fixtures because they have a low profile and can allow the installer to conceal them behind the cabinet light rails (trim). Fluorescent light fixtures can be links together to create one long strain of lights or be broken into numerous single light fixtures. Newer fluorescent lamps have many improvements over older designs, including choice of light color (from warm to cool), good color rendering, these lighting fixtures run cooler and quieter than the older fixtures.

In conclusion I hope this article helped solve your decision making process when you go to make selections in your kitchen remodel. If you have any further questions please fell free to contact us at any time.

For more information on this topic, visit the source of this article at http://elementkitchen.com/remodeling-articles/145-under-cabinet-lighting-for-kitchen-remodels.html