Home Improvement & Garden TipsInterior and exterior decoration

The more familiar you become with your home and the more home renovations/decorating you do, the better you’ll get at being able to decide if you need the services of handyman or a general contractor. Here are some things to consider, which will hopefully be helpful in providing some guidance in this area.

What to Consider Before Hiring a Contractor

The very first thing you should ask yourself before even considering hiring a contractor is, “Can I do this myself?” In other words, can you act as the general contractor and oversee the others doing the hands-on-work? The obvious benefit would be the money saved from not having to pay a professional. But there are other things to consider such as the many responsibilities entailed in taking charge of the role of the contractor. For instance, can you afford the time it will take away from your full time job? And if you’re fortunate enough to find subcontractors who are willing to work on evenings and weekends, it will eat into personal time and time that could be spent with loved ones.

Furthermore, to be a general contractor, you must have at least a rudimentary knowledge of construction or you won’t know if the people you’ve hired are doing a good job. Keeping all this in mind, let’s assume that you want to avoid a lot of hassle and save time by actually hiring a contractor.

Referrals are Essential

This is obvious but deserves repeating — referrals are essential. This is one obvious way to determine if the remodeling job that’s desired has a good chance to turn out the way you’d like it to. Don’t limit this to just getting a list of past satisfied customers. Make sure you visit the homes and personally see the work the contractor has done and be sure to chat with these satisfied clients. Ask if the work was done on time, on budget, and if they would hire this person again for a possible job in the future.

The General Contractor Is the Builder but Not the Creator

The general contractor and his team are skilled in building, but you have to have the vision of how you want your room to look! You must be the creator and be able to share that vision with your general contractor. There are at least two ways to go about doing this. If you have the money to spend on a designer, this person will draw up a detailed design (based on your desires and specifications of course) that will be the blueprint for the general contractor. If, however, you want to go a much simpler route, you can possibly avoid having to hire a designer by looking through magazines that specialize in featuring and contain photo spreads of renovated and decorated homes to find the layouts you want. Select the homes you like and tell your contractor you want it to look like this and if you want add some minor modifications like a different color for the cabinets. A qualified contractor should be able to emulate the photo and incorporate any or all of your changes to that picture. It’s a good idea to get final drawings of the overall design so that you know you’re both on the same page. Bear in mind that many magazines feature top of the line products in high-end homes, which may not be at your target budget.

Finances

Any properly prepared contract will include all the costs, not only for the general contractor but also for all his/her subcontractors as well. In terms of actual payment, prepare to pay in increments. You obviously wouldn’t pay all the money up front (just in case he/she absconds with the money without finishing or even beginning the job), and it’s not feasible to pay the fee all at the end, since he/she would need the money to pay the subs on a weekly basis.

Once you’ve gotten the referrals, chosen your contractor, secured the finances, and have finalized your vision, embark on a journey for a much happier home!

What Jobs Can a Handyman Do Instead of a General Contractor?

The easiest way to remember the distinction between what a contractor does and what a handyman does is “macro” and “micro”. Larger projects such as the renovation and makeover of an entire kitchen, bedroom, washroom, living room, etc. are considered macro jobs because they require a general contractor who works often times with subcontractors who specialize in different areas of renovation (examples: an electrician, a ventilation specialist, etc.) If however, you’d like a renovation done on just the door or window of one room, this would be a micro job that could be handled by one person. Smaller projects that don’t need a plumber or electrician can utilize the workmanship of a handyman, who, specializes in one or more of such micro renovation jobs.

What Kind of Prices Should I Expect to be Charged?

This really depends on many things: the scope of the job, the materials used, the time you want the job done by, and not to mention, the obvious quality of the handyman. One thing is almost certain, a general contractor will charge more than the handyman because the prior has greater expenses than the latter; namely paying the sub-contractors who work under them, whereas the handyman usually works alone. Now the best handymen, just like in any other field will probably charge more than others because better quality always requires a higher cost; most handymen charge by the hour. Keeping this in mind, it’s essential to get an idea of how long the project will take. Once you’ve both agreed on the time and budget, decide whether or not you’re willing to pay for a project if it goes over budget. Say this up front because if it’s up to the handyman, this person may assume budget is not an issue and bill you for the extra hours; a costly example of miscommunication indeed!

How Do I Find a Reputable Handyman?

The easiest way to find a handyman is to look in the Yellow pages, or do a Google search under, Home Repair, or Home Improvement. This however is not the most efficient way, unless you don’t care about the quality and cost of the work. In that case, just pick the first name on the list. But if you do care, the phone book and/or Google method can take you many hours phoning, getting cost estimates, and reference checks on all the handymen in the city. A more efficient way to go about finding a handyman is to talk to friends, family, and/or neighbors on your street, and ask them about the handymen they’ve hired for their home. If you like the work that was done, ask for the number and call to ask the handyman about other homes they’ve worked on. Just like a general contractor, a thorough check of a handyman’s past work is the best way to ensure present success in your home renovation.

Hire a Professional or DIY?

Depending on your budget, time constraints, and desired results, there are many factors when it comes to the options out. Many people aren’t even aware that a handyman can do much of the repair or upgrade work in the home. Celebrities like Ty Pennington may advocate DIY for most home improvement projects, but it’s good to know that when you’ve given up remodeling the bathroom yourself for an expert’s touch, there are plenty of hiring options. If you’re still unclear on what the difference is between a contractor and a handyman is, as an old colleague of mine put it, a handyman will assemble your IKEA furniture together – a contractor, won’t.
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Very often, people just start calling companies or researching online, trying to decide what insulation to use and whether or not to do it themselves.  This leaves them at the mercy of conflicting information and sales pitches.  All this confusion leads to inaction, or to making the wrong choice.  Frequently the choice comes down to the lowest price, even though people are comparing apples to oranges and oranges to bananas.

The right choice is the right tool for what YOU want.  The various types of insulation have optimum uses, depending on how YOU answer steps 1, 2, and 3 below.    You can’t weigh through the various answers you’ll receive without deciding what you want to do first.

We typically want information first, and then to make the decision with the advantage of the information they’ve gleaned.  The problem is information, experts, and companies disagree on what’s most important.  You must decide on what YOU want before you enter the marketplace looking for solutions to a problem you haven’t defined.

Step 1: Get Real When You Budget

This first step is where many homeowners go wrong.  How?  Most homeowners want to keep it as cheap as possible.  They decide to keep the project inexpensive instead of deciding to get the best solution they can afford for the job at hand.  This mistake is even easier to make because some of the most common forms of insulation are relatively affordable.

Let’s think about real world examples and the choices we make.  If you’re building your dream home, you’d think nothing of spending $7,500 on granite countertops.  Why?  Because these granite countertops are seen everyday.  Plus they add to the resale value of the house.  Of course, statistics tell us is that in 7 years, you’ll likely modernize the kitchen and put in a different countertop.

On the other hand, far less thought often goes into planning the building envelope.   That’s odd because it’s somehow expected to last a lifetime.  Plus it’s hidden away, behind walls, tucked into ceilings.  Insulation isn’t on display everyday.  It’s not a conversation starter, and most people don’t know that people are willing to pay more for a green home, thereby adding to the resale value of the house.

So, you build your house, and every month pay 40-50% more for utilities than you could.  Perhaps you have to pay for mold remediation in 5 years.  Maybe you pay to add more of the same insulation to the house, without stopping to think if it’s the right solution.

The lesson is simple.  Be realistic about what you can and cannot afford.  Choosing the cheapest option is very often not the right way to solve the specific challenges in your home.  Choosing the wrong product will not solve your problems.  Now you’ve spent money on the so-called improvement and you’ll continue to spend the same on monthly utilities.  Worse still, you haven’t added to your home’s value and you may even be lowering it with mold or moisture problems.

Step 2: Decide What You’re Trying to Do

Once you’ve owned up to what you should spend on your home, you may need to prioritize your projects.  You want the most bang for your buck, so choosing what to do first matters.

There are several steps to take with improving your building envelope.  First, you should make sure you seal out air leaks that let your conditioned air out and let unconditioned air in.  These leaks are costing you up to 40% of your bills each and every month.

Most homeowners are aware that air leaks into and out of their houses. This happens through small openings around doors and window frames, and through fireplaces and chimneys. What many don’t realize is that air also enters the living space from other unheated parts of the house. Attics, basements, or crawlspaces often contribute significantly to high energy costs.

Most types of insulation cannot stop these leaks and you won’t save as much as you expect because of the air flowing through or around the insulation.

Once you’ve sealed out the air, you’ll need to decide on how much insulation you want.  Because you’ve stopped the air leaks, you can now get the most out of your insulation.  Until you stop the air leaks, the air dramatically reduces the effectiveness of common insulation materials like fiberglass batts.

Begin by finding the R-value required for your area, and then find the cost effective way to build up to that level.  Depending on the space you have, you may find you can use lower R-value per inch materials like fiberglass or cellulose.  On the other hand, if you have 4 inches to get to R-28, you’ll need a high R-value material like spray foam insulation.

Step 3: Decide on How to Get it Done

There are a lot of ways to get your project done.  Some people want to do it themselves, often for a multitude of reasons ranging from lower costs to more control and higher satisfaction.   Others prefer to hire someone to do the project for them. There are many companies that install fiberglass, cellulose, and spray foam.  Likewise there are many people who have done their own spray foam insulation or installed their own fiberglass batts.

Once you make the decision either to do it yourself or to trust a company to do it, then go look for the best resources to do the job.

Conclusion: Getting What You Want

Those who don’t answer the 3 steps above means will have to sort through lots of conflicting information and sales pitches.  The problem is the information, experts, and companies disagree on what’s most important. If you haven’t answered these 3 steps first, you’ll probably choose the lowest price, even though it’s very likely not the right choice for what YOU want and need.  Once you know your budget, what you want to do, and whether you’re going to do it yourself, you’re much better equipped to choose solutions wisely.  By deciding on some of the things YOU want before you enter the marketplace, you’ll find the real solutions to your problem and get real satisfaction from improving your insulation.

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