Found 25 results for the keyword(s) ‘Contractors’

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  Conceptual design tricks before starting your project

    For a project like building a deck, you will want to go as far as you can with realistic graphics before laying the foundation or building the structure because many people around you will certainly want changes as soon as they begin to visulize the deck itself. There are a lot of simple ...
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  The Business of Renovation Part 1 - The Industry.

  This was the first part of a special three part series designed to give you some insights to the business side of renovation because hiring a contractor and getting the job done right is a business deal. In this segment we tried to give you an idea of the advantages and disadvantages of each diff...
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  The Business of Renovation -- Part 2 -- The Contract

  Should you have a contract or not for every renovation? According to David Foster, author of the pamphlet Get It In Writing, except for the simplest of maintenance tasks, you need a contract, and for a lot of reasons that you may have never thought of. If you would like to read the other two par...
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  Hiring a Home Inspector

  Is there real value to having a generalist come in and perform a complete home inspection? Yes! I wrote this entry in 2007, and in 2016 I added this note from my Newsletter: “There is a brand new CSA standard for home inspections -- an industry that has been plagued by inconsistency and the abs...
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  OVERVIEW: Window Replacement

  When it is time to replace your windows you will hear a lot of confusing and even contradictory things from contractors, salesmen and even friends. If you just look up Windows in this database you might be overwhelmed -- so here are the links to the most useful entries specifically related to pla...
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  Overview: Finishing Hardwood Floors

  I get a lot of questions about choosing and applying a finish to a hardwood floor.First understand that there is no one right answer -- there are a lot of products that each has certain advantages over the others and you need to select the properties that are the most important to you. There are...
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  The homeowner's tasks in a renovation contract

  We like to talk a lot about the responsibilities of the contractors in a renovation project, but it can be very useful to listen to a good contractor talk about what he needs from the homeowner to help keep the renovation process running smoothly. In this episode we visited with Robert Ludvick o...
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  The PDI - Pre Delivery Inspection - before moving into a new home

  When you have a new home built for you, just before you take possession, you will spend a couple of hours walking around the house with the builder and a notebook. This is a critically important part of buying a home because this is where you check for all the errors and omissions. If you do th...
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  The importance of Home Inspections

  If you recognize the photo above as the heat exchanger in an old boiler as seen through a small mirror with a flashlight, you are probably a home inspector. More and more home owners and home buyers are seeking the services of a professional home inspector and the business of inspecting home...
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  Recycling with Habitat for Humanity

  Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds houses. In fact they are one of the largest home builders in North America if you put all their local branches together.Their houses are rather simple and ordinary, but what is not ordinary is the way the houses get built and who owns...