The question I get most from readers is: "Can you recommend a contractor?" I’ve got something better than that: A list of general contractors whose projects have been featured in my "Pardon Our Dust" series in the Los Angeles Times. I can’t really recommend a contractor, but the homeowners who hired these companies were so…
I know that June 8, 1997, was a Sunday. That’s because it was the launch date of my Pardon Our Dust series in the Real Estate section of the Los Angeles Times, my childhood newspaper, the newspaper I loved and cherished (and still do). Yes, I was stoked. The article that appeared that day, on…
Forget the granite or tile conundrum. The big remodeling question is this: “Where do you get the money?” Here are some of the remodel finance strategies I’ve seen over the years: — Sale of stocks — Cash inheritance from family — Cash-out refinance — Sale of elderly parent’s home to pay for remodel, which included…
I’ve been blogging nearly a month for the Los Angeles Times and I must say: It is a pleasure. I get to blog about the topic I’ve been studying for almost 20 years — remodeling — and I get to blog often! These little posts are perfect for an ADD type, don’t you think? Happily,…
If you’re building a house or planning a good-sized remodel, you should read “House” by Tracy Kidder. It’s one of the top 10 books I’ve ever read. Kidder, who won a Pulitzer Prize for a previous book on the birth of personal computers, “Soul of a New Machine,” hangs out for a year with Apple…
Appliances, fixtures: $8,900 Travertine floor: $1,700 Granite counter tops: $3,300 Electrical: $900 Replace window: $300 Painting, misc. hardware: $900 Total: $16,000 When Reese Lackey remodeled the kitchen in his 1927 Hollywood Hills house, he wasn’t worried about his tastes as he planned to flip the newly purchased house for a profit. His main goal was…
. . . that wouldn’t fit in the previous post. The reddish granite has a nice glow, and you can see the DCS range. That one lone upper cabinet could look goofy hanging there all by itself, but taking off the door and making it more of a display area was very effective. If the…
I honestly don’t know about fake grass. In person, it looks terrific. But chewed up tires? Yuck! Here’s how Flower to the People‘s Pamela Berstler, designer of the cool little SoCal yard you see here, explains it: There are a lot of eco-pros and cons to using synthetic turf. In this particular situation, where the…
OK, so the headline above is provocative and false. My bad. But there are solar panel detractors in such tony enclaves as Santa Barbara (according to an architect I spoke with there) whose argument in front of government design boards has gone like this: 1. Solar panels on roofs are ugly. 2. If the buildings…
Pardon Our Dust Alumni: Designers and Architects Pardon Our Dust Alumni: General Contractors County and City Building Departments Remodeling Industry Associations
Charles Chang struggled with opposing desires when he set out to become a first-time homeowner: to save money by buying a fixer-upper and maintain his tranquil lifestyle. “I’m in sales, so I’m always looking for a deal,” said Chang, 30, a district manager for a computer company. On the other hand, he said: “I’m a…
After reading your article, I would like to see a follow up piece on exactly where every dollar was spent. My wife and I are planning an inexpensive remodel of 2 bathrooms and a kitchen and we’re at around $20,000. I know that the person listed in the story choose cost effective solutions, but my…