Chair Rail Molding and Two Tone Paint
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to give your house a new look is to grab a paint brush and begin painting. A new coat of paint can do wonders for a drab room that needs a boost. Another great idea is to add chair rail molding. Both of these techniques use inexpensive materials to makeover a room, and don’t require an excess of effort.
Almost without exception, each homeowner that Design Build Planners meets with has either had a bad, past remodeling experience or knows someone personally that has. The seven most common remodeling project complaints that DBP hears begin with:
“The project took way too long…”This Monmouth County, New Jersey project started with tearing down the detached garage and then adding approximately 2,400 square feet including a two-car garage with a game room above, a master bedroom suite, powder room, laundry room, and mud room. The existing kitchen was completely remodeled. The exterior received a new dimensional roof. The exterior siding was redone with vinyl and stone. New steps and a portico were added to the front entryway. A second floor terrace was built that overlooks the backyard and connects the entries to the master bedroom and game room. The game room has a spiral staircase down to the mudroom. Continue reading
“Remodeling” is a very general and broad term. It can describe the replacement of a few windows to a room addition or whole-house renovation. Presently, the Design Build Planners have one project in progress that is less than $20,000 and another one that is over $1,000,000. There are many decisions that need to be considered up front by a homeowner before the remodeling work can begin. Among them is whether to tackle the entire wish list of projects as one large undertaking or divide and address smaller components one at a time. Continue reading
Homeowners and remodelers alike have found the downloadable, free e-booklet “Improving the Remodeling Estimate” quite informative and valuable. This Design Build Planners seven-page special report describes the ideal process for the initial remodeler-homeowner meeting from the perspective of each party in order to help make the experience mutually beneficial and productive. Continue reading
The staff at Design Build Planners will be hosting a free, live webinar on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. From the convenience of your own computer and internet you can view their unique “Remodeling Design and Development Process.” For scheduling convenience, there will be two separate sessions, both covering the same content. The first session will begin at 1:00 PM EDT and the second at 7:00 PM EDT. The webinar will last approximately 90 minutes, including a question and answer session at the end.
This free webinar’s objective is to illustrate the Design Build Planners approach to residential remodeling project design and development. Tips and strategies that pave the way for a pleasant remodeling experience will be offered for both homeowners and remodelers. Continue reading
Homeowners personalize their home rather than move;
Design Build Planners reveal new trend during National Home Improvement Month.
Toms River, New Jersey, May 1st, 2012—In honor of National Home Improvement Month this May, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) reveals that homeowners are personalizing their space during a remodel as the tough housing market forces more people to stay, rather than move.
According to a poll on NARI.org, 26 percent of respondents are planning to stay an additional 16 to 20 years in their homes because their home values have decreased during the recession. Twenty-three percent reported they are going to stay an additional six to 10 years in their homes. Continue reading
Perhaps the most common question for a homeowner considering a major remodeling project is,“Do we move or improve?” As design + build professionals, we start each client relationship with a question and answer session about the family and home that helps create a “project profile.”This enables the Design Build Planners to assist in planning and recommending the best course of action for a remodeling project even if our assessment is to “move instead of investing in the project.” Continue reading
The home remodeling project design and development process is define by the team at Design Build Planners. The staff has diverse experience in the industry including structural and finished carpentry, extreme remodeling on HGTV, design training from the National Association of the Kitchen and Bath industry, and Computer Aided Design drafting training. Recently, Jason Parsons, Design + Build Specialist at DBP won a “Best Design” award from software provider Chief Architect.
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Other than advice, a remodeler should never give a homeowner anything for free. Doing so potentially lessens the value of all you do and opens the door for constant negotiations, and even worse, re-negotiations of established costs.
Please do not misunderstand. This should not be confused with the concept of “under promising and over delivering.” Let’s face the facts. There is no one that works for free. Each person and trade gets compensated for their efforts. This compensation is a part of your job costing and affects a project’s gross profit if not accounted for when calculating the client’s investment amount. Continue reading