Should I have gutters installed on my home?

A home without gutters is like a car without tires. Water is the single most damaging element to your home. Water left not directed away from your home will destroy your decks, patios, driveways, brickwork, landscaping, and window and door casings.  If left unchecked free flowing water will also attract a host of pests such as carpenter ants and termites.  These pests can quickly turn your home into a pile of sawdust.  Also, water build up around your foundation can seep into your basement and cause black mold to appear. Black mold is a health hazard and can become very costly to remove.

When it comes to gutter installation or replacement, it's important to use a company with the right experience and selection of products. Make sure you are installing gutters that go with the look of your home. For instance, if you live in an historic home, you may have to go with installing wood gutters on your home or maybe even copper. Typically most homes are able to have the seamless aluminum gutter installed. These gutters can last for many years and are very low maintenance. An annual cleaning can keep any gutter in tip top shape.
Some homeowners prefer to skip the step of cleaning and have a gutter guard installed. Gutter guards prevents debris from entering your gutter system and can be installed by a gutter professional. But don’t forget, if you have a property with trees that have pine needles, make sure to have the top of the guards cleaned off. Some homeowners decide that gutter guards are not necessary for this reason and prefer to have their gutters left uncovered and have a professional clean them annually. Having a professional clean your gutters takes the risk of you being a ladder away for a small price.

Living in an old home with old windows. Or maybe living in a home with windows that are not older but have some serious issues

Damaged and Broken .. Windows do not always need to be replaced. At times it is simply the weather stripping or hardware that needs to be replaced and so for that , it ends up being just a repair. However if they are unable to stay open, get stuck when you try to open them or get fogged up.. then it is time to replace them.

Energy Efficiency..  If you notice that your home windows have a cold draft, then it certainly may be time to replace them. Drafts will cause you to turn your heat up in the winter months and pour money into heating costs. In fact, it can cause your energy cost to go up by 10%-25%. If you replace your current home windows with energy efficient ones you will reduce your heating and cooling bill.

Esthetics.. Are you remodeling a home and it has functioning windows but they are just ugly. Windows can be a prominent feature on your home. If the windows look old and worn down, it will have a huge impact on your curb appeal. If you’re considering listing your home for sale, those new windows — and the resulting energy cost savings — can be a nice and big selling point.

When to be cautious. Is your home built before 1978? If you own an older home, you think it might contain lead paint and you’re considering a window replacement project, there’s an important environmental regulation you must know about.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed a rule in 2008 that requires anyone doing renovation work on residential facilities built before 1978 to take steps to reduce the dust generated when the paint is disturbed. This is because it may contain lead from the lead-based paint. The regulation, called the Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Rule, requires any renovation work — and all door and window replacements — that disturbs more than six square feet of a pre-1978 home’s interior to follow rigorous and costly work practices to protect residents from exposure to lead, which can be especially dangerous for young children. The work must be supervised by an EPA-certified renovator and performed by an EPA-certified renovation firm.


Are you thinking how much is it going to cost me to replace my windows and will I go broke doing it? Well for starters, most companies that offer window installation offer financing! If they do not offer financing, then maybe you should shop else where. Financing shows that the company was able to get approved and are not high-risk and they have sales with past customers.

Wondering what decking material to choose for your new deck or maybe a porch? You have two categories of deck materials to choose from: natural wood or man made products – but there are lots of options within each of these categories. The most popular wood products are treated lumber and cedar. You can now get a pressure treated pine that has cedar tones.  Man made deck material products include composites, PVC and vinyl from manufacturers such as Azek, Trex, Timber Tech, and Fiberon.
Most of the decks built today are made of pressure treated (PT) wood. The reason people choose wood is for the initial cost savings. The main reason people choose composite or man made deck materials is for the minimal to low maintenance required.
So what deck material is best to choose? There are a few factors to evaluate before making a decision. You’ll need to ask questions like: How will the deck be used? Is it in a shaded area or a sunny one? How long do you plan to live in your home? Do you plan on doing your own deck maintenance or hiring a company to do it for you? As you can see, the questions are endless. Like most deck builders, I can’t recommend the right deck material without talking to you and answering these questions first.

Lets compare.. Pricing is based on the same size deck for all options. 

• A Pressure treated wood deck - $6,500 
• A Cedar wood deck  $8,000
• Composite Material Deck $11,500
• PVC deck - $13,000

The same size treated lumber or cedar deck mentioned above costs $600-$800 to stain the first year. You’ll need to stain it every two years after that.  Stripping and sanding will be done every five to six years before you do the the yearly deck stain, which will cost about $1000 total.

Upfront a wood deck is less expensive. However if you plan to enjoy your deck, year after year, it will not be the less expensive option. Even with regular maintenance you are still looking at possible splintering and cracking. 

​Happy building!

Are you thinking of doing a project on your own? Are you thinking of "how to remodel your kitchen" on your own. Looking at the kitchen and thinking you can handle a kitchen renovation on your own, because you have always been and do-it-yourselfer with other tasks. One of the most important skills for any DIY person is to know when not to do the work. If you have a really big project in mind, like adding a room or a project that involves skills (and tools) outside of your knowledge, turning to professionals is a good choice. Are you looking to do a kitchen remodel maybe? Opening up a wall to give your first floor the open concept look you have been dreaming of.
Well now you are down the path of hiring a contractor and coming with that - subcontractors. Do you know what the difference is? The difference is if you hire a planner for an event are you expecting that planner to do everything for you? Is he or she going to take the pictures at the wedding? Are they going to officiate the wedding on the beach? Bake the cake? Grow the flowers?.. No. You are hiring the planner because they know the wedding/shower etc, industry better than yourself. They know where to go to get flowers at a good price, they know the DJ who does not mind being an MC, and where you can get the specific cake you need for 300+ with extras and delivered to your location. The event planner you hired is the same as the contractor you are hiring for your renovation. The people he/she knows.. electricians, plumbers, HVAC are the people they trust and have worked with many times before. They are the trusted subcontractors who are going to work with the contractor to make your dream kitchen come true.

General contractors are the visionaries. They are looking at the bigger picture. They are going to listen to your ideas and stay with you through the project until finished. The subcontractor will come and do their work, and then leave. They are there for their specialty construction role. The General Contractor is there at the beginning, during and for the finish.

Hiring a professional property maintenance services provider comes in handy. It can cut the cost of having an on-site maintenance tech and their salary. Rather than worrying about providing health insurance, 401K options and payroll taxes, you can hire a property maintenance provider and have them on-call. Property maintenance refers to the upkeep required to preserve and/or improve the condition of a property. Any property can benefit from professional property maintenance services, including commercial buildings, industrial facilities, office space, shopping centers and residential communities. Having a property maintenance crew helps to preserve and protect your real estate investment. A professional property maintenance service provider can assist in   replacing equipment and materials, repairing property damage, enhancing aesthetics. Let's not forget having this service will boost rental income. With a team of professionals by your side, you’ll spend less time stressing about the condition of your property and more time taking care of business.
In order to fully enjoy these benefits, you need to choose a reliable property maintenance service provider who can deliver on their promises and live up to your expectations. Do not let them just sell you the dream and then have things become a nightmare. Take time to review the prospective service providers. Make sure they are Property Managers or Property Management Companies - Peoples, people!