How to Prep Your House for Winter.

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winterize your home

winterize your home

Its fall and while it is still balmy here in MS we know it won’t last much longer.  Fall is a good time to give your house the once over and take care of any maintenance that needs to be done before winter exploits your weak links.

Check the seals on all your windows.  If you are unsure about your sills poke a finger straight down on the wood if your finger goes through that is dry rot and it will get worse unless it is cut out.  Dry rot is usually caused by fresh water and it is a bacteria that grows in the wood so the affected wood has to be cut our beyond the damaged area and replaced with fresh wood.

In some cases it is cheaper to replace old windows rather than try to get ahead of the rot.  this is one technology that has really improved in recent years and we have some vinyl coated windows that will be truly maintenance free for the rest of the time your own your house.  Some of these windows qualify for tax advantages too and you will definitely make your money back on a house that is better insulated.  Here in the south it counts as much in the summer as it does in the winter.  It can help cut down on costs all year long.

Make sure your doors weather stripping is up to snuff and think about whether you want to add any insulation to the attic.

Give Gordon and the guys a call for a walk through to see what he would recommend.  We well help you have a safe and happy holiday season and even help recommend the changes and updates that will wind up putting a little more green in your pocket for the holiday season.

How To Tell if Your House Needs a New Roof

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missing shingles pictured on roof

Yep, You Better Call Gordon

One of the most important systems in your house beside your foundation is your roof. Catching things quickly makes the repairs more economical and keeps one thing from leading to another.  There are a few things to keep in mind when looking at your roof to see if it is in need of repairs or ready to make it through another winter.

  • Loose Shingles:  Whether your are looking from the ground or on the roof itself take a look around and see if you see missing shingles.  3 tab shingles are well known for blowing off in high wind storms.  Take a look around and make sure all rows are straight and true and nothing is obviously missing.
  • Holes or Hail Damage:  Here in the South we get a lot of hail storms and tornado activity.  After a large storm it is important to take a look at your roof and make sure there are no holes in your topmost layer of protection.  These are the little things that lead to bigger problems
  • Sagging Decking:  have you ever seen a house where the roof line cups between the rafters?  That is a sure sign water has gotten to the plywood beneath the shingles and the decking is rotting.  Don’t step foot on this roof, this will be the one your foot sinks through to the attic.  Time to rip it all off and replace down to the plywood, if the decking is dry rotted from exposure to fresh water, dry rot is a fungus that can grow on to any wood it touches so be sure to catch it before it gets on the rafters or your will have to pretty much tear the house down and start from scratch.
These are a few things to keep in mind when looking at a house you plan to buy as well.  If you see something that concerns you don’t hesitate to call a professional and if you are in the Jackson MS are please call us.  We would be happy to help.

How to talk with your Home Remodeling Contractor

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talking to your home remodeling contractor

A picture is worth a thousand words

The only way to make home remodeling simple is to find a contractor you can communicate with.  If you need a home remodelling contractor in the Jackson Ms area are just call us.  If you are elsewhere you are going to have to interview a few contractors and see who you can communicate well with.  There are a few things I would recommend before you meet with your local contractors.  Trust me, it is not a simple thing to find good local contractors to build a building is serious work.

  1. Have a written plan of what you want done.  –  This doesn’t have to be a full scale architectural plan although with some of the software on the market you can do beautiful top views that you and the contractor can mark up with notes while you talk.  Home remodeling is visual work.
  2. Cut up some magazines.  –  Even if you are replacing windows or doing something not very design inspiring.  Men are visual and most contractors have great spacial relationship skills, They are quite often good at looking at a picture and working out the scale and proportion of the materials needed to get the job done in the home build.  Often while you are showing them things you love in the photo they will notice other little details that escaped you but they can later work things in to the project because they know your style.
  3. Have a contingency fund  —  When you plan a renovation plan on spending 10% more than you planed, because once you open up an old house you never know what you are going to find. Building remodeling can be way to exciting some days.  Dry rot, Electrical problems things not up to code.  The list goes on and on and it is not your contractors fault that you called him to take down a wall and it turned in to an electrical problem that had to be handled or the house might burn down.  Things happen in remodels just take it with a grain of salt and plan a  little slosh into the fund and if you don’t need it buy a case of beer for your guys at the end of the job.  You can all celebrate.

Most of all bring a sense of humor and little bit of patience.  Your house is usually the biggest investment you will ever make and it is well worth maintaining and getting it to a point where you are delighted to go home every night.

How to Find a Good Local Contractor

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For someone considering an addition or a remodel to their home or even someone considering a new project how to find good local contractors is the vital question isn’t it.  Well it seems like ever since Katrina I have been on a never ending remodeling and renovation merry go round, and I have had to find a contractor or two, so let me give you a little free advice.  Picking a good contractor is no easy matter but I have some sneaky advice for you on how to audition a building contractor and how to talk to them once they are on the job.  My advice is start small and watch their character.  Character counts if you want find a contractor you can count on, especially when you can’t be on the job everyday and there are little things that will show his or her character much better than a slick marketing campaign will and who knows about those references unless they are unsolicited.

If I were planning a large remodel on my house I might start small.  Call them for a small handy man project or if you are thinking of an addition start with a bathroom remodel and check out their work habits.  Do they show up first thing in the morning or do they finally hit the job at ten and leave for lunch at 12?  Now cut them a little slack on the first day because they may need to make a materials run but Home Depot opens at 6 am.

That is why you can’t get any help in H. D. after 2 pm. They have made their money for the day on the early morning regulars and Home Depot could really care less about your piddly little project.  It’s true what they say the early bird catches the worm and any shot of assistance at the big box stores in the AM.  (Pardon me that is whole other rant.)

white-trash-repairs-this-construction-crew-isnt-inspiring-confidence

This is not what you want to see at the end of the day

Back to the work habits, do they unload their tools quickly and does the truck seem somewhat organized?  Extension cords are a dead give away to organized building contractors.  If they take care of their own things well they will probably pay attention to detail and take care of your things too.  If it is a multi-day job do they straighten their workspace and leave it semi livable for you?  On some large jobs they may leave large things like table saws that have been set up or compressors but never hand tools, measuring tapes or levels.   I promise you if you are trying to live through a renovation this will be the thing that makes or breaks your sanity.  The little things add up on a big job.

Most contractors are glorified tradesmen, so while they may be good with their hands not all of them are good at paperwork.  We have worked with contractors both ways and since I am good at paperwork I usually negotiate a materials plus labor deal where I pay for receipts handed to me and they charge for the labor they expended on the job.  That way I can itemize it on my taxes.

One thing to keep in mind when you find contractors is that when you pay X for the job X is what they make regardless of how long they spend doing it.   When I have worked with contractors under these conditions I have usually wound up kicking them out of my house and my life and and telling them I don’t care where they go now, but they can’t stay here. And I am not alone, 63% of all court cases include a scenario related to this.  If you have paid for a job and kicked a contractor out in the middle of it because you can’t stand his slothful messiness anymore you may or may not have your project completed. (Then you are looking a lawyers fees and a court case to get straight.)  If you are paying labor each week and you have paid for the materials, its very simple; they leave the materials, you settle for the time spent and if you want to have another crew on the job tomorrow you can pick up the phone and negotiate it with no fear of a future law suit or hard feelings.

Part of finding a good contractor is being a good client and communicating the end result of what you want and letting the expert provide his best example of a solution to the problem you are trying to solve.  Paying for what you receive and providing good feedback as you go along is part of the process.  It can be a wonderful thing and if you need anything in the Jackson MS area be sure to give gordon and the boys a call.  If you are working with anyone but them, do your homework.