Let's face it, we neophyte remodelers know so little. What kind of fasteners are compatible with synthetic roofing underlayment? Can you put tile backer board over OSB? Or is plywood better as a base? What is best window flashing? So many questions. So little innate wisdom. So what if you were a fly on the…
Whenever I’m told to test my house for lead or radon or mold or asbestos, I get a bad case of the “yeah buts . . . .” As in: Yeah, but . . . who do I call? Yeah, but . . . how do I collect samples? Yeah, but . . . what…
I think of contractors like orchestral conductors. The symphony members (subcontractors) are each experts in playing their instruments (hanging drywall, laying tile). Still, for all their talents, these musicians or subcontractors need a conductor, a leader, someone holding the baton, to coordinate the whole effort into a beautiful symphony, or into your new house or…
Speaking with a contractor or subcontractor can be difficult, especially when your remodeling project is already in progress . That's because your house is likely torn apart, and the place you go for comfort is no longer a refuge. It will be a refuge after the remodel is done, and better than before, but it…
The last thing you want is for a contractor to go out of business in the middle of your remodeling job. Imagine it: Your old kitchen has been torn out and hauled to the dump or recycled. The crews have just begun to run new plumbing lines when, one day, they stop coming. You call…
News from the California Contractors State License Board: Worst of the Worst — Avoid These Contractors In our ongoing effort to protect California consumers, the CSLB has identified the worst unlicensed violators who are known to prey on vulnerable and unsuspecting homeowners that are involved in new home or home improvement projects. Complaints against the…
Our guest blogger today is Pamela Mares, an information officer with the California Contractors State License Board. Pamela is responding to a recent post titled: When a job goes bad, is the contractor the only one at fault?). Here’s what she had to say about it: You are so right in your analogy about how…
The economy might be picking up. Folks are looking for contractors: Palm Desert/Coachella Valley Thanks for your words of caution regarding tips to research a contractor for remodeling. I am considering buying a property that was foreclosed upon while a remodel was in process. Whether it is for this house or another, I will need…
After I wrote about a green home renovation in New Orleans (see it here), I heard from contractor Tom Borland, who had made that home’s beautiful wood countertops. The counters are notable for the warm beauty that came from old, salvaged pine with super-tight grain. It turns out Tom was a SoCal builder who moved…
There’s a story being reported in newspapers and TV stations around Southern California about a solider who returned from Iraq to find his house in Highland, California, a disaster from a remodel gone bad. You can see different versions of the story on Contractor bails on soldier’s renovation on KABC-TV, Who do you trust? Not…