Things to Consider When Hiring a Seattle Contractor
By · CommentsWith all the money you’re going to pay your new contractor, shouldn’t you make sure he’s going to be worth it? Blindly choosing a contractor threatens your home, your safety, and your wallet. While online reviews and flashy websites lead you in one direction, they don’t tell you who the best Seattle general contractor is.
Here are some things to consider when hiring a general contractor in Seattle.
Don’t be afraid to get multiple quotes. You may not realize how overpriced one contractor is unless you get a comparison quote. It’s like getting a second opinion before surgery. If you wouldn’t blindly trust a surgeon to cut you open, how can you blindly trust a contractor to cut your house open?
Perhaps you’re thinking everything will turn out okay as long as you have a thick contract. If something goes wrong, your State Contractor Licensing Board will set it right free of charge, right? Wrong.
Don’t feel pressured to make any decision. Salespeople who work for your contractor can be pushy. Contractors themselves may want you to make a decision immediately. Your job is to hire the best contractor you can find – focus on that only.
Don’t hire a contractor based on his promises. Just like anyone trying to gain your favor, exaggeration is plausible.
Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to problems because you chose the wrong contractor. Take your time, do the research, and find a Seattle contractor who will make your home beautiful.
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Winterproofing Your Seattle Home
By · CommentsWinterproofing your Seattle home is a big project. When it comes to winter months, it’s easy to turn up the heat and throw on an extra layer. But is that method of problem solving really cost efficient? Is it safe for your house?
If you’ve got an older home, it might be about time you considered home repair. As the winter months get closer in Seattle, so does the need for proper insulation, airtight doors and windows, leak-free roofs, and good wiring. Minor home repairs today means avoiding major home repairs in the future.
Renting a Seattle apartment means the state of your home is not your problem. It does not mean you won’t be paying for it. Try taking a tour of your house, noting any areas that could cause a problem in winter months. Let your landlord know if air gets through the windows or doors. Do you see any leaky pipes? Is your foundation structurally sound? Check for wet cement in the basement whenever it gets really damp outside. Clean or replace your furnace filter on a regualr basis. (A dirty filter can damage the heating unit and pollute your indoor air.) Each of these problems can be fixed for a cheaper cost today, or a more expensive cost in the future. Chances are your landlord will be appreciative that you’ve been keeping an eye on things. Also, it’s usually the tenant who pays the higher heating bills when insulation is poor.
If you’re not comfortable with performing any of these tasks yourself, call a general contractor or electrician. Professionals will be able to locate the problems in your home and fix them in a more timely fashion. A general contractor might also find issues you never would have thought of.
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Acquiring NARI (National Association of Remodeling Industry) certification is a difficult process, requiring extensive free time, strict regulations, and sometimes additional costly materials. Homeowners have found that many contractors are considered the best in the business without this extra certification. Whether or not your contractor is certified by NARI, there are some things that are important to know about the National Association of Remodeling Industry.
NARI also holds restrictions on all of their certified contractors. First, all contractors must be full time. That means no side projects, no additional jobs. Contract work can’t be “just a passion”; it has to be a “job”. In addition, NARI certified contractors can fall into only one of six specific categories. If you’re looking for someone who qualifies and excels in multiple groups, you won’t find him or her through NARI.
Did you study mathematics in college? Well, your contractors had better studied it (and passed) if they want to be certified by NARI. A comprehensive written exam is giving to all aspiring NARI contractors, including sections on math and law.
NARI’s focus is on conduct, continuing education, and ethical treatment in the remodeling industry. NARI does not search for the most talented or most cost-efficient contractors. Instead, NARI gives homeowners the peace of mind that their contractor is a good person (as opposed to a great contractor). For NARI, it’s all about the Code of Ethics.
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Rebuilding Tips: Get Quotes in Writing
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If you’re rebuilding or remodeling, you’re probably getting numerous quotes from various Seattle contractors, electricians, specialists, etc. Take your time contacting competitors in order to get the lowest price and/or the best Seattle contractor.
Keep these quotes organized so you can compare them properly.
Be sure you get all quotes in writing. This will help prevent any future price spikes that may come in later. A final bill might come months or even years after the original price was discussed. What if the price of raw materials changes during that time? Will you have to pay a higher price that you planned for? Will that totally destroy your budget?
Remodeling and rebuilding work is 99% planning. Don’t forget that taking the time to do things right in the beginning will save you money and time in the end. Planning properly will also help reveal to you exactly what you want in the finished product.
The more exact your plans are, the more exact the changes will look when compared to what you want.
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Keeping Within Your Budget When Remodeling
By · CommentsWhen remodeling, it’s important to know your budget and take proper precautions to stick to it. This means a lot of thought ahead of time.
When finding a professional contractor, be sure that he or she knows the building codes in your Seattle neighborhood. Wasting time and money with home improvements that aren’t up-to-code can be disasterous for your remodeling project. Updating work that isn’t up-to-code means paying for the same contracting work twice.
Pay close attention to the contract drawn up by your Seattle remodeling expert. Is it a well-written contract? Is it a detailed contract? Careful pre-planning will go a long way when remodeling a home.
As the remodeling work goes on, you will find more unanticipated products that need to be bought and changes that need to be made. Set some of your budgeted money aside for unexpected contracting problems.
Have a local utility locator service mark the positions of underground utilities before any plumber or contractor goes digging. Cutting and harming your underground utilities will be costly in repair bills. Remember, it won’t be up to the contractor to pay for those accidental fees.
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More Kitchen Remodeling Tips
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We got a lot of positive response for the last blog post regarding kitchen remodeling tips, so here are a few more!
Kitchen Remodeling Tips
Don’t be overly trendy
Everyone wants their kitchen to look like it could be displayed in the latest Architectural Digest, but is that really practical? Trends change frequently and you don’t want to be stuck with bright red and yellow cupboards long after the “bold colors” trend has passed.
Make sure you have enough counter space
Oftentimes homeowners get so carried away with fancy new kitchen appliances and creating an abundance of cabinet space that they overlook a pretty big necessity in any kitchen: counter space.
Having a good amount of counter space is not only important to your comfort while using your kitchen; it’s also a good re-sell feature. Don’t forget to work this into your design.
Plan for trash
Lastly, we come to the one thing that no one wants to think about when undergoing a complete kitchen remodel: trash. Just because you’ve remodeled your kitchen doesn’t mean you’re going to stop producing garbage. So rather than ending up with a clunky trash can in the corner of your perfect new kitchen (along with several other receptacles for recyclables!) make sure to plan “hidden” space for your throw-aways.
Keever & Associates Seattle Remodeling Contractors have been remodeling Seattle area homes since 1977. We are happy to assist clients with their Residential Contractor needs in Seattle, WA and throughout King County.
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Is Your Home or Business Ready for Winter in Seattle?
By · CommentsAs the cooler months of the year are approaching, it’s time to consider whether your Seattle home and/or business is ready for the colder weather? New windows, programmable thermostats and home installation are just a couple of ways to winterize your home and prepare you and your family for Seattle’s winter. Keep you and your family warm in the heart of the winter without worrying about your utility bills skyrocketing.
Heavy duty windows or storm windows offer great insulation during winter months. Sealing loose windows all over the house can also prevent heat from escaping. Weather stripping is often a method of choice for those looking to save some money in home repairs.
If you’re interested in other ideas for how to winter-proof your home, contact Keever and Associates today and find out how we can get you prepared for the winter months and help lower your gas and electric costs.
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Kitchen Remodeling Tips
By · CommentsTips from the Expert!
Taking on a kitchen remodeling project is a big job that
requires as much patience as it does time. There are people to hire, designs to
consider, features to decide on, and it can all be a little overwhelming if you
aren’t prepared. So before you start your kitchen remodeling project,
consider the tips below.
Spend time hiring the right contractor
Your Remodeling Contractor is going to be in your house a
lot (along with his or her team) so it’s important to choose the right one. Make
sure your Remodeling Contractor is someone you can communicate
with and always call references.
(Keever & Associates Seattle Remodeling Contractors: Choosing the right
General Residential Contractor).
Don’t automatically choose the lowest bid
It may be tempting to choose the
cheapest Remodeling Contractor you speak with, but this isn’t
always the best move as cheap can result in low-quality work. It can also mean
that your contractor did not know how to price the job properly
because they didn’t fully understand the level of work involved.
(Keever & Associates Seattle Remodeling Contractors: Why Hiring a Seattle
Remodeling Contractor is Beneficial).
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How To Check If Your Contractor Is Licensed
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Checking to make sure your contractor is licensed is actually easier than you might think. You don’t have to go downtown or spend the afternoon in a city building somewhere; you only have to go online.
Start your search at http://contractors-license.org/.
On this page you’ll see a map of the U.S. Click the state you live in (let’s say Washington in this case since we are Seattle Contractors), and the next page will provide a link to the government website that houses the information.
For Washington this site would be https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/.
Next you will be asked to enter a name, city, license number or UBI number. Of course you probably don’t have those last two because you’re just checking in on your contractor, so you’ll have to go with name and/or city (Keever & Associates Seattle Contractors).
However, searching by name will be just fine. (We checked out our own and it led us to a page that showed that our license is indeed active).
From there you have the option to look even further into the contractor and will be able to see how long the business has been licensed, how much insurance it carries, and so on.
Making sure your contractor is licensed is important. And, as you can see, it’s also easy.
Keever & Associates Seattle Contractors have been providing licensed Seattle Contracting Services since 1977.
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Seattle Remodeling Jobs That Don’t Require a Permit
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While it’s always important to hire a licensed Seattle Contractor, some Seattle Remodeling jobs don’t necessarily require a permit in order to complete the work.
Minor repairs or alterations, for instance, typically don’t require a permit. These repairs, however, must cost the owner $4,000 or less in any 6 month period. A permit is required though if the Seattle Remodeling job includes the removal, alteration, or relocation of any loadbearing support, or if ventilation or fire resistance will be reduced.
Some other jobs that don’t require a permit include:
• Minor work on patios and concrete slabs on grade, installing kitchen cabinets, paneling or other surface finishes to existing walls and ceilings, and the painting or cleaning of a building as long as none of these works make changes to the building envelope.
• Detached accessory buildings that are used for greenhouses, playhouses or storage and tool sheds. These buildings must be one-story and the roof area cannot exceed 120 square feet. The building also cannot be set on a concrete foundation other than a slab on grade.
• Walkways and driveways that are not more than 18 inches above grade and are not over any basement or story below.
• Fences that aren’t over 8 feet high and don’t have a concrete or masonry element over 6 feet.
In other words, you can feel free to have a tree house built in the backyard for your child. You can remodel your kitchen to include new cabinets and wall surfaces, fence in your yard, or add a tool shed to your property — all without a permit.
Just make sure to enlist the help of a licensed Seattle Remodeling Contractor who knows exactly when a permit is required and when it is not.
Keever & Associates Seattle Remodeling and General Contractors have been assisting residential and commercial customers with their contracting needs since 1977. We can be reached at 206-200-5582 or via the form on this website.
Image: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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