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One of the important goals of any home improvement project should always be to increase the value of your home. A few years ago, the National Association of Realtors did a 2005 cost vs. value report. Here’s what they discovered: “The average “upscale kitchen” remodel with a cost of $81,552 and had a payback of 84.8 percent. The average midrange “major kitchen” remodel with a cost of $43,862 and had a payback of 91 percent. The average “minor kitchen” remodel with a cost $14,913 and had a payback of 98.5 percent.” Add it up and it’s clear that the investment you make in a kitchen or bathroom remodel is going to be a big asset to your home. It makes sense then that you need to spend your money wisely. Keep that in mind when your budget goes over and the job takes longer than you think it will!
You can come up with some basic ideas of a remodel by a visit to a Home Depot or search through the Internet for inspiration. Once you’ve got a sense of what you want to accomplish you’ll need to find a contractor especially if your remodel is going to involve any type of plumbing or electrical upgrades. You should get bids from several contractors. Part of your contractor “shopping” should be proof of current licenses and insurance policies that cover property damage and workers comp. A list of a contractor’s suppliers should be followed up to find out if they pay their bills on time. You don’t want to have a work crew sitting around waiting for construction material. You should also follow up with past customers. Even though they should be sending you happy customers, you can still ask a few pointed questions about their work which should give you a complete portrait of how they work.
When you get a bid from a contractor it should be an itemized list of what you can expect to pay. One of the items on that list should be “demolition and removal of preexisting cabinetry.” This is where a contractor might try to pad the budget a bit. However, you could probably handle this job on your own with a decent hammer, screwdriver and Junk King Charlotte.
Once you take down the cabinets a Junk King crew can be standing by to haul them away and make sure they are properly disposed of. As for pricing, Junk King will only charge you by the amount of space that your debris will take up in their truck. That means no labor costs or dumping fees. You’re not going to get a great deal like that with a contractor! Let Junk King Charlotte help you start your remodeling project off right.
Like most other businesses, the carpet industry is extremely competitive and carpet salespersons are eager (desperate?) to get your business. This is why you need to take charge when you go out shopping for carpet. Just like with buying a car, the greatest power you have as a customer is the ability to walk away. It amazing how much of a better deal you’ll get when the carpet salesperson knows that. Your best approach for buying new carpet would be to visit at least five different retail showrooms. This will give you a strong sense of what is “out there.” Before going, you’ll want to measure the space you’ll be carpeting because that’s the first question you’ll be asked: “What’s the square footage of the room?” When you’ve narrowed down the two or three choices of carpet ask to take a small sample home and live with it for a day. If the carpet store won’t part with a sample they are not someone you should be doing business with.
It’s never too late to fire up a New Year’s resolution. Even as we head into the winter we can still make many improvements in our lives by setting a goal and sticking to it. Most of the typical New Year’s resolutions involve self-improvement projects like joining a gym, taking up yoga or spending more time pampering yourself. One area that could benefit from a decent New Year’s resolution is your home. What improvements can you make around your home that will improve the quality of life?
Most everyone is familiar with the word “recycle” but not everyone might understand what that process is all about. The best way to increase recycling levels is to inform the public about how that process works from start to finish. That’s the goal of ReCommunity, a Charlotte based company that is dedicated to informing the public through an interactive website that is all about recycling.
According to the city of Charlotte, a bulk item (as it applies to trash) is described as “household furnishings, appliances, mattresses, box springs, lawn equipment and similar items too large to be placed in the garbage rollout cart and not eligible for recycling or yard waste collection are considered bulky items.” That’s easy enough to determine. The big question is what do you do with those kinds of items when you want to get rid of them? You could try to get through the municipal services and arrange for a pickup but there are some rules to follow. The biggest of which is you’ve got to get that item out to the curb. Here’s what else you have to do:
It’s really creepy how an illegal dumpsite can grow. One dumped mattress is followed by a couple of tires. Before you know it people think this is the place to throw any of their garbage. These are the most dangerous types of dump sites because there is no control or anyone checking to make sure hazardous materials stay out of the area.
One of the newest trends in gym is the so-called “anytime” gym. Much like 7-11, these gyms are open around the clock. It might seem odd to get in a workout at 3:00 a.m. but surprisingly enough there are plenty of folks who are working odd shifts and their three in the morning is like high noon for the rest of us. The 24 hour gym concept developed out of a need to provide flexibility for members.
According to the folks who watch the weather, this past summer was one of the hottest on record. When was the previous record set? That would be last summer! Fall has arrived and the air conditioners are being switched off all around Charlotte but you might want to think about keeping those ACs off permanently. While it is true that you get a kind of instant rush from the heat outdoors by stepping into an AC cooled room, long time exposure to the kind of closed environments created by an AC controlled room could be bad for your health.
Recently a local Charlotte business has found a novel way to deal with their landscaping clean-up: hire a goat. The Charlotte Cemetery Commission is now using sheep and goats to keep the lawns trim. Actually, this is not a new concept. Out in California, a trendy Malibu community rents goats to clear fields about their homes of brush. This actually helps prevent dangerous fires from creeping down to their properties. Renting goats and sheep is a truly eco-friendly way of mowing the lawn.