Prepare Your House For Sale

Fix Your House

The holidays are upon us and we will be having friends and family over to the house. We get to look at our houses everyday and forget about the things that need to be repaired or fixed. We just don’t think about it. Well they don’t get fixed or repaired as we like and now here comes everyone into your home for the holidays. Yes, I know Christmas is not about the shape our homes are in. I just feel you want to put your best foot forward and really shine this time of year.

The hard part is finding the right handyman to meet your needs and budget. I have written many an article about finding the right person for the job and if you need help, please let me know. I have been provding help to people for years with great joy and pleasure recieved for my efforts. We need to help each other and for many this time of year is a giving time more than other times. If you need it fixed, repaired, remodeled, sold, staged just let me know and maybe I can help.

Please feel free to leave your house problem questions.

Remember, Safety First.

Hydroseeding Costs For Your Lawn

I know,  what in world am I doing talking about hydroseeding when snow storms are hitting everywhere?  Well,  everyone was so busy during the summer so maybe some people will like to learn about the wonderful benefits of a hydroseeded lawn.  The new lawns that’s are put in via hydroseeding start growing in the first week.  The hydroseeded lawn in the 3rd to 4th week can be cut, that’s right a full lawn in 4 weeks!  The blend of seed, fertilizer, mulch and bonding additives give a high quality blend of mixture to give a great lawn.  The only faster way to get a new lawn is to use grass sod.  The cost of a hydroseeded lawn is 8-18 cents a square foot depending on your part of the country and how big your yard is.  Contractors can even get it for less as they normally volume discounts,  I have heard as low as 5.4 CENTS a square foot.

The Midwest areas, especially in the greater Milwaukee areas of Wisconsin have not even heard of hydroseeding.  Most of the builders are still using roll out straw blankets and seed on commercial developments!  These straw blankets contain plastic mesh inside of them unless they use the environmentally safe weaved blanket,  which at $80 a roll for cost to installers then add mark up,  you can see the problem here.  The roll only covers 900 hundred square feet and the above figure does not include seed or fertilizer!  A small hydroseeding machine will cover 4000 square ft with only 1 tank full!  This only shows me that the builders are not even aware of hydroseeding otherwise they would not be paying so much money for a low quality product and still get much less.  The paper mulch type used by some hydroseeders,  is safe to all land and animals, besides providing a erosion barrier that the EPA calls for on construction sites now days,  this mulch combined with a bonding agent provide  the required  erosion protection.  The best part the paper mulch degrades and then feeds the new grass!  No, plastic mesh and safe for the environment.  This only shows me again that builders and home owners in this area are not aware of hydro-seeding.  This stuff only costs pennies,  how much more economical can you get and still be safe for the environment.  Going green cannot get any easier here!

This year I cannot even say how much of the straw roll out blankets, I saw.  It just makes me shudder at the thought of all that plastic being laid over our top soil surfaces,  never to dissolve.  The thought of that is just horrible.  The next question is why?  Why is this horrible stuff being used when a environmentally safe alternative of hydroseeding is available at such a economical price.  I could use this stuff and make lots of money, but I just cannot lower myself knowing that it is such low quality and still costs more then hydroseeding.  What are people thinking here?  I would rather only install 12,000 square ft of lawn via hydro seed a week, then put in 40,000 square feet of straw and seed and get paid 4 times as much for the straw.  I just cannot lower myself,  even when the there is such large amounts of money to be made from straw and seed applications.     The way they are using the straw/seed in Wisconsin, greater Milwaukee area you would think they were giving it to the builders for free.

The hydroseeded lawns and erosion barriers are highly economical and green to all.  The true problem is just educating people to the fact that hydroseeding opposed to straw/seed application even exists.  They say knowledge is power, so let’s try to educate people and help to move out of the dark ages and into the present.  

If you have any questions or would like to help spread the word about hydroseeding please leave a comment and I will get back to you.     There are many quality hydroseeders out there,  stick with ones in your area that are listed with professional hydroseeder associations.   These people are showing they are committed to being professional and keep the high standards.  Don’t be fooled by just being listed on a turf machine site, some list people just because they bought their equipment from them.  The actual professional association members will have a member symbol by their names.

Don’t Get Scammed

This article is in a on going series under “Save Money On Your House”  on my site “Houses To Go”.   I will jump right in here,  I was having a conversation with one of my clients, when she asked if we were bonded or not?   People see this in the telephone book all the time in ads.  These ads are just another advertising tactic by usually large contractors with big advertising budgets.   You don’t have to be bonded to show you are a quality and honest company.  Now,  I am sure all the companies selling these bond / insurance policies will have something different to say.  Many years back when people would give full payment down for materials and labor, back in the day where there were more honest then dishonest contractors a few would run off with their customers money.  These people then had to track these companies and sue to get any money back and have them arrested.  The advent of a company being bonded for construction work was invented to give the consumer piece of mind and put more money into a bonds companies pockets for premiums.  Let’s be honest,  who do you really think is paying the premium on the bond, that’s right you.

The bonds cover things like bond for work completion,  in other words your contractor runs off half way through the job.  Again, many years back people paid in full then lost that money and then had to hire someone else.  Now days  most people only put 25-33% down and then more as the work is completed.  Hence you can see no reason if you do it this way to have someone who is bonded.   You never gave them your money so you still have it!  You would still have to find another contractor to finish your work anyway.  The bond company gives you the remaining money to complete the work, they don’t find you another contractor who won’t scam you.   So,  you can see how some one saying they are bonded is just a “warm fuzzy advertising tactic now days”  the only ones who still demand being bonded is government contracts and that everyone can see makes all the difference when we are paying $500 dollars from a shady contractor, for one toilet seat.  Well,  being bonded really made all the difference here,  NOT!

Now, the next type of bonding is for performance.  example,  shady window contractor sells you services to reduce your old window drafts,  shows up with a caulk gun and a tube of caulk and charges $15,000 and tells you that you have new windows now.   The bond is then paid out to have you find a real contractor and have real windows put in.  Here again,  only put down 33%  and then only pay at the end if you got the real replacement windows you thought installed.  Here again,  no reason to be bonded,  just use common sense.   You need to take the time to look into who you are using for your home improvement work.  I have seen people ask,  are you bonded and insured?  Reply by shady contractor is not going to be “why no, I am here to just take your money and run”.  They are going to say yes,  problem here is most people just say “ok” and never look into anyway.  The ads in the phone book can say anything the person wants it to say,  they can say their bonded and insured for 400 hundred billion dollars,  if no one checks it don’t make a difference.  Hence, it is more of a advertising tool then anything else.  

People need to use contractors that they have heard of through others and see their work.   I had a person once even say “I am going with you, because I was standing in your work”.  This person used a bathroom at a friends house that we had remodeled for them.  She was going with us because she talked too and had seen our completed work which was of the highest quality, we did not tell her this, she saw it with her own eyes.  The large contractors out there always have in their ads that they are bonded,  you see when they bid on government work,  remember they have to be anyway.   The smaller high quality contractors have their prices set so low already buying bond would cost them more money then what it is worth.  Remember,  the big contractor sales people don’t tell you that you are paying for their high priced bonding and insurance, fancy ads on TV, radio and news paper.  Think about who is here?  That’s right you again. 

People just need to use their heads when picking people to do work on their homes.  The guy with the big fancy ads and trucks is not always the best.  People just don’t seem to get this one at all.  No,  I am not saying the guy in the 1975 rust bucket truck is the answer either.  Many large contractors spend thousands and some even millions on advertising in a effort to win people over.  Remember,  the bigger they are,  the larger crews they need.  You may ask yourself so?   Big crews normally equals high turn over and unknown back grounds on many of their employees.  Remember people,  your never going to see their work crew until they are working on your house.   In the home improvement arena many people are not Harvard and Yale graduates here, your lucky if the work crew even went to college at all.   I have heard of roofing and other crew jobs especially landscaping companies using all illegal crews and you don’t want to know where they find these people and their back grounds.  I have even had our customers say that they were afraid to let some of these contractor crews in their house.   So,  bigger is definitely not always better in this case.   You have areas where you need to be more careful then others.  I have seen many roofing guys call themselves a roofing contractor because they have a truck and roofing gun.  These guys even scare me.  The higher end trades, plumbers, electricians, home inspectors all have to be certified or hold a license.  When these guys try to scam someone they know their credential’s and living is on the line.  Again, remember anyone can say they are certified, if you think they are not, just go on line, state sites list people who have been state certified or may be decertified.   

There currently are not any certification or licenses for home improvement/handy man companies in many areas.  Show me the last certified or licensed painter or landscape company you have seen or used.  There are people out there that are over kill and end up paying way more for services,  example, the person who wants a bonded, insured, licensed, certified electrician to come in an change a light bulb or light switch in their house.  Sure, the electrician will provide theses services  at $65-$150 per hour with a automatic trip minimum most of the time equal to one hour of time.  The old saying a fool and his money are soon parted.  Now, if you are replacing or updating your electrical services to 100 or 200 amp service,  yeah,  you should be looking for a good electrical contractor.   There is a time and place for everything.

I have for many years provided and performed many repairs and improvements so yes, I understand not all people know a wrench from skill saw.  Hence, why I also get hired just to consult for people and let them know what they need done.  I save people thousands this way, they already know what they need before the contractors line up ten deep at their door steps.  I also keep a small secured network of trusted individuals that have provided high quality work for reasonable prices.  When I look for contractors, I first ask around my network of trades people I use.  Now,  it’s my business to have this network of people at my disposal, but you also can check around by asking friends and family.  Also, remember these so called screening companies you see online all the time,  the contractors they use have to pay them to get them to use them.  Sure sounds like a conflict of interest to me.  Now, free sites or forums run just to help out, thats different.  You have to be careful that someone on the forum is not just a shady contractor posing as a home owner.  You still  have to use common sense.  I would not use those screening companies just has to be a conflict of interest,  if a contractor pays money to the screening company to get customers,  come on people, that should be red flags to all.  A small contractor or consultant on the other hand will only use the best people as their business depends on it,  not a paid subscriber based fees by thousands of contractors.   

Well, it’s hard to write these articles, because I never know if people have followed the series of articles.  So, I have to repeat information to ensure that people still get the message.   As I have stated before, my sites are free, so you get information that in-person people have had to pay for, obviously their information is more detailed to their exact needs.  These articles have to cover a large general area. 

Have a home question, just ask.

Remember Safety first.

Cost Of A New Seeded Lawn

I  know it is now time to put the lawn mower away a break out the snow blowers in the Great Midwest.  I cannot help myself as I cannot believe how many people have not heard of a lawn installation process called hydro-seeding in the great state of Wisconsin.   I know we run behind the times on fashion and other new things,  but we really need to start thinking here people.  People are still using a caveman way of throwing grass seed in the air and covering it with straw,  you see it all the time here.  I know its heard to believe.  Then even using granular fertilizers that can run off and cause harm to other areas.  The really bad stuff is rolled out straw blankets.  These blankets are held together by a plastic mesh which animals can become entangled in and die.  Not to mention we are covering the earths soil with a plastic compound that will never never dissolve.   I see it here in Wisconsin all the time,  is no one concerned about our wild life and environment.

The real kicker is there is a process called hydro-seeding that is 100 times better than the straw/seed and the grass / straw process uses unsafe granular fertilizers of the past.   The hydro-seeding lawn installation process gives you a new sod quality lawn in 4 weeks and costs half the price.  Did you get that?  Sod quality like lawn in 4 weeks.  The best part no animals dying in plastic nets or old granular fertilizers in our hydro-seeding process.   I could install lawns and erosion barriers with seed and plastic netting all day and make tons of money; but I won’t.  The hydro-seeding process saves our environment and wildlife.  That’s enough reason right there.  You want more of a reason,  that even some builders don’t know?  It is more economical to hydro-seed then use the roll out plastic/straw blankets.   That’s right even builders are not aware of the advantages of hydro-seeding.  You see most of them have set up deals with landscapers who don’t use hydro-seeding machines because it would cost them to much.  You see the machines are costly at first, but really pay for themselves in the end.

Their is another very sad factor of this whole thing,  it is illegal help in our great country that is one of the causes for all this damage.  The landscape companies take advantage of these poor people by paying them very low wages and getting away with it as these people are not even suppose to be here as they are illegal.  So,  instead of buying the hydro-seeding machines, they exploit these poor people for their own huge money gains.   The landscapers using illegal help don’t want to tell the builders they work with, that hydro-seeding is better and safer as it was cost them more money.  The builders on the other hand would get a much better lawn at cheaper rate which is safe for all.   You maybe asking your self how is it cheaper?  You see the landscaper company owner still charges a premium rate for a low quality product.  So, the only one who sees the benefits is the landscape company owner.   There are many builders that just think it is the cheapest route to get their lawns and erosion barriers put in.  Builders making millions and millions and they don’t even know.  So,  without general home owner being told about hydro-seeding and all of its benefits,  how would they know?

There are some high quality builders that know about it and just automatically figure since it is new and high tech that it is expensive, but it is not at all.   The people in the southern parts of the country have been using hydro-seeding for many years already.  The builders here may have also run into high priced hydro-seeders when it first arrived here and just said it’s to expensive.  This is not the case anymore if they would just take 1 second and read a letter or take a phone call from a quality hydro-seeding company representative they would see that hydro-seeding is far better for new lawns and erosion control.   The new home owner  would be the other one to benefit highly from hydro-seeding.  Besides a hydroseeded lawn being very economical for a home owner to put in, it is also less expensive to get and keep a great looking lawn.   The straw/seed landscapers don’t want you to know,  it costs more in fertilizer and still grows 50% weeds and then you finally get 50% grass.  A straw/seed lawn takes 2 years to grow in.  hydro-seeded lawns take 4 weeks!  You do the math on materials and time spent.   It is really obvious that hydro-seeding is by far the most economical and best product.

The International Association of Hydroseeding Professionals maintains a list of professional hydro-seeders for the whole country (www.hydroseeding.org.)  It is a great source to help find out about hydro-seeding and professional,  look for the contractors that have the I.A.H.P. symbol by their company name as these are members the others are just known contractors in that area,  stick with the members.  The Wisconsin listings has members right at the top of their list of contractors.  Many contractors can have large areas that they will service,  so just call and ask. 

I really wish some people who would be interested in helping the environment would help spread the word about hydro-seeding.  If you want more info, please leave a comment or e-mail and we can talk about hydro-seeding and it’s benefits to all.  People building a house need to ask their builder if they know of a quality hydro-seeder in the area.  If they don’t just check the site above.  I don’t like to give free advertising to a site, but I feel it is a worthy cause.  I even encourage all builders to look into and just because one hydro-seeder is a little high, does not mean all are.  I have heard of hydro-seeders going as low as 6.5 cents per square foot for large builders.   Think of what you can buy for 6.5 cents.   This shows you how cost effective hydro-seeding.  Most home owners are looking at about 8-16 cents depending on what part of the country you live.

I will try to help spread the word, but I cannot do it alone.  I could use any help I could get.

Remember Always Safety First.

The New Lawn Game

The new lawn game.  The great lakes area is the area where no one seems to know how much money they can save by putting their new lawn in via hydro-seeding.  So much so, the landscapers in the area don’t even know about hydro-seeding.  They still do it the cave man way via straw/seed.  Yes, very hard to believe.  People even insist in some cases that the straw/seed way be used or nothing.   This is like someone stating they will only use a corded phone in their house that is screwed into wall and use a cell phone, well you get the idea.  The state of Wisconsin is really hit hard in this area.   Very few if any know what hydro-seeding is or that it exists at all.  Even the builders use straw and seed and don’t really know what hydro-seeding is.  The high end builders who keep up with the standards and look to give their customers a premium lawn know what hydro-seeding is.  The rest that don’t care about their customers or who just look to save a buck use the straw/seed method and again many don’t even know about hydro-seeding, building the home is their part not the lawn.

The real kicker is hydro-seeded lawns far out perform a straw/seed lawn.   The real deal is that even with hydro-seeding being so much better people don’t know about it and even pay more for a lesser quality product.  Even the builders are paying more for lesser quality lawns and don’t even know it.  You would think a builder would keep up on these types of things.  Some even get letters from hydro-seeding companies and their secretaries just throw them away not even realizing they could save the company alot of money and get a high quality product.  See,  they just keep using the same guy over and over not knowing any better.  Again their are some quality builders that do get the value and high quality value of a hydro-seeded lawn on their construction site.   What is really shocking is the commercial construction companies are paying these straw/seed guys way more and getting a lesser product by far.  Hydro-seeding is one of the best erosion barriers that is safe for the environment also.  That’s right go green with green.  The commercial sites have been using a seed/straw blankets for grass and erosion control.  I don’t know why no one has said anything about the plastic netting that never dissolves is being allowed to be used at all.  Wild life can become stuck in the netting and it never will  dissolve and it is covering large amounts the earths dirt surface.  We have learned how bad plastics are for our environment and still it is being used even encouraged in some cases to cover our soil or ground surfaces with it.

Their are new EPA laws in some areas that mandate run off or water retention ponds be built by builders.  When they build these ponds the sides need to have a ground erosion barriers applied, grass.  But they use these straw blankets with the plastic netting inside to hold the seed and straw in place.  Creating huge land masses covered in plastic netting.  These ponds weree built to help the environment and water run off systems in our communities and now some one has found a new way to make a buck and destroy out environment out of what was meant to save it.   The local agencies are telling the builders they have to put down a erosion barrier so they hire what they think is the cheapest lawn  or erosion barrier installation company.  Little do most of them know,  they could spend less money and still help the environment if they would just hydro-seed instead of straw/seed applications.  That’s right costs a builder less money and still be good for all.  Remember,  the whole letter and secretary garbage thing?  Hydro-seeding is so new in the Midwest areas they just throw it out and it never reaches the building companies management to even see the huge cost savings they would get by hydro-seeding, not to mention saving the earth.

There are a few quality builders that know about hydro-seeding.  The problem is most don’t and some when they look into it, ask the guy who is currently doing their lawns and barriers, well that guy is clueless and he knows he would not get his big bucks for his straw/seed application with the plastic netting inside.   So, its not to say that they are not a quality home builder they just don’t know.  The general public needs to be informed about hydro-seeding and all the cost savings and how it is green to all.   The hydro-seeded lawn is so cost effective especially for new construction home owners and builders.    The Midwest is growing colder this time of year and grass is not a big deal,  what is a big deal is our environment and saving it.    Educating people about hydro-seeding and saving the environment is a everyday and season job.   The sad part is, hydro-seeding is cheaper than the seed/straw blanket barriers and still people go with the lower quality and higher price of the straw blanket with the plastic in it.  I could understand a builder saying that it costs them so much more to hydro-seed,  but it does not and is cheaper material cost wise.   We can only hope the high quality builders tell other builders that hydro-seeding is more cost effective than straw and seed, not to mention a far higher quality product.  Hopefully the builders in Wisconsin will start talking to each other more to find out how much time and money hydro-seeding would save them and their customers.  

The applications for hydro-seeding don’t stop at nice green lawns.  There are wild flower seed blends that can be sprayed and erosion sprays also.  The benefits of hydro-seeding just go on and on.  You can even spray prairie grass for pastures that have been used for farm animals.  

Please feel free to ask about hydro-seeding a lawn and all of its cost savings and benefits.   I encourage all new construction home owners and builders please inquire about pricing and quality of hydro-seeded lawns and erosion barriers.  Ask your builder for a local company who hydro-seeds or if they don’t know just do a search on line for hydro-seeding contractors in your area.  To give it more credibility there is the International Association Of Hydroseeding professionals which can help you find a quality hydro-seeding company in your area. 

Remember safety always first. 

Save Money On Your House 2nd Edition

Alright we talked about how fire fighters and police officers who run home improvement companies are a great source for doing work to your house yesterday.  We were saying that these types of people can be a great value to you.  They are rooted to your communtiy as where these traveling con-people have no ties to your community and and are gone by the next day after they have taken your down payment for work and materials to do the work on your house.

They have done TV shows on the scams that these traveling home improvement companies have run across the country.  They are know alot for the roofing and siding scams as these don’t require really large money down, but enough for a traveling group of con-people.  Don’t be followed if females are doing the contracts or sweet talking you into signing, as these cons are run by a man or a woman.   Con-people don’t descriminate by any race or gender, they will con you all the same.

These traveling home improvement companies are good at giving the appearance that they are a legitimate company and will have everything to make them look real to you.  They have slowed through the years now after being exposed on TV and papers as traveling home improvement con people.  They don’t drive around in trucks that say, “We Con You And How” plastered all over the side of their vehicles.  Please, also remember con-people can be local also and just very good at covering their tracks or walking a fine line between a con job or poor,  over priced jobs on your house.

There are many out there and they all look different.  There are again no race or gender fine lines when it comes to con-people.  They come in all shapes,sizes and every other catagory.  The do have one thing in common,  the better they are, the more honest they will appear when selling you on the services for your house.  They have fine tuned their sales tactics and have it down.    

Look for people that can show you that they have been in your community in business for awhile.  Then check to see if they have done work in the area recently and if you can see it or talk to the people they did the work for.  Get more than one to make sure it is not just, a really good con.  They can hire people to tell you anything they want.  This is why if the business has not been, what about the person you are dealing with.

The person you are dealing with could have ties and lived there, their entire life.  This can be found out just by talking to the person who is giving you an estimate.  Ask, them where they are from?  How long they have been in the area?  Now, I know these questions are not as good if you have not lived in the area that long.  The saying,  its a small world,  can apply even in large cities.  Most people know someone or have had someone who has done work on their house.

The large phone book ad which I covered in the first edition is not the answer either.  Really sometimes, I think they are worse for 2 reasons.  First,  I cannot say it enough, who do you think is paying for that big fancy,expensive ad?  Second,  large outfits run large crews.  They need crews to do the work right?  Well, how well do these large outfits know who is working for them.  Could be a con-person who just came into town and just so happens to know how-to work with wood.  Don’t think the large company when you ask them is going to say,  yeah, we hire and fire our crews everyday, because we catch them stealing from our customer and their house.  You can try to see indirectly how long someone has been working for them when they show up to do the work.  This  again can be figured out by more conversions about the area and people they have worked for.  Most people in the trades will be more than willing to say what they have worked on and where.  It is not different than an artist talking about where their paintings are at and how many they have done.

Many true craftsman take great pride in the work they do on someones house.  They will be more than happy to share with you.  Now, I am not saying sit and talk for hours on end, because this person is there to work on your house and you want them to get the work done.  You can learn many things just by talking to people.  You just need to be given the advice, like here, on how to go about it.  Please remember as I said before, these con-people and poor business people don’t run around with red flashing signs on their foreheads!  These people are very good at what they do,  that is scamming you and your house out of money.  Not, every con person is fly by night either.  Some are even known in areas as large contractors who do alot of work in the area.

You see the really big contractors with those large crews of unknown people working for them,  stay in business by those big fancy  ads which get them lots of leads for work.  The larger your area,  the more likely you will find a large contractor company like this.  I have one in my area, I can ask many people if they have heard of this company and they will say yes.  The funny thing is, when asked what do they think or have they heard, it is either bad or just Ok.  The next is they did the work but they were really high priced.

Well, theres the 2nd edition with more to come.

Remember safety first when working on your house.

Save Money On Your House

I have also saved money on my house.  I knew what to look at and what to do to fix it or save money. Saving money on your house can be as easy as knowing who to call when you need your house fixed.  Thats right,  something as simple as knowing who to call to fix your house problems can save you thousands of dollars each and every year.

The hard part, finding who that person is, thats out there that can save you that kind of money.  How to find a person to work on your house.  This is going to sound funny, but there are a lot of fire fighters and police officers who do side jobs in the trades as a way to relax and enjoy themselves.  I told you it would sound funny.  These people give you a certain sense of security also, no pun, there when dealing with police officers.  What I mean is you normally don’t have worry about them running off with your down payment for work and materials.

They have more to lose by scamming you.  You see, most of the time they are going to be local right?  They hold jobs within our communities right?  They are normally held to a much higher standard, we trust these types of people to protect and serve us.  Most people will go along with this idea, at least I find most law bidding citizens do.  There can be a few bad fire fighters or police just like theres bad types in all walks and backgrounds.

This type of person is not doing it to pay all of their bills either.  This normally turns into a cost savings to the customers.  The normal contractor is going to have high over heads which he or she must cover. That over head gets paid for by the customer, lets just be honest here.  So, right from the start there is a cost savings to be had.  What I hear about this from contractors is they try to say the work will take longer because they are not doing the work full time.  This is not correct.  In fact I have seen large contractors take twice as long because they over book and try to run multiple jobs at the same time.

Just because someone does not swing a hammer full time, does not mean they are not as good if not better then the other guy.  This is the other thing that full time contractors try to say,  that they are better because they do it as their main living.  I think sometimes the level of passion someone has for their work is what sets them apart from others,  just like at bigblogmonkey site,  there are others who make their real money in other fields and do this for fun or very little money at start up.  The person who runs this site and others that help are dedicated to running the site and want to help others.  This in turn helps them also, but we work together and accomplish so much more.  By helping me to line up my blogs, help them to get more traffic to their site also, but in return I get the help I need to create and run my own blogs.

Helping others first will come back and help you more, then if you just try to help yourself.  Don’t look for the money, look to help first.  The money will come next.  I know this is hard as my wife keeps saying, your helping people all the time so when does the money come.  I have a very loving wife that understands my business is my passion and is not about the money.  Like I said above, if you can find a person who works on houses because they like to and it is their passion, you will save thousands of dollars.  I spend days on end just working on business stuff.  Again,  I am lucky because my wife is understanding of this and every once in a while I do make a couple of pennies.  She is reward then for her understanding.

Your house is just like your job, depending on the complexity of your work.  You don’t go into work as a car designer and make a car in one day.  It is the same with your house, you need to find the right person for you and your house.  You won’t normally find this person in one day either.  You may even need a couple good people to get all the things done to your house.  What I am trying to say, just like the way I write, break everything down into smaller articles for me, individual house projects for you. 

I wish I had more time as I could write entire book on how to save money on your house.  As you see here in this article it is only a small piece that I have covered.  One that most don’t think about.  This was also not what you thought this article was going to be about either.  You probably thought I was going to tell you to put more insulation in your attic to save on heating and cooling bills.  This is a cost savings but from a different angle.

You and your house can save so much money in so many different ways.  You just needed to be guided in the right direction.  Again,  try to find people and their passion as they will help you greatly and not steal your purse from you at the same time.  You in turn some day may be able to help someone  with your passion and what you love to do. 

I just want to take this chance to say thanks to Al, for his help in blogging.  I bought a book from what is called a Internet marketer and thought this would help me.  It did in its own way.  It helped me to find Al.  You see Al was wondering why my affiliate ads were not getting any hits and was assigned to help me.  After he helped me he kept on helping even in areas that were not directly related to him.  Sure he is making money, but by each of us helping each other we both get are own rewards.  We indirectly support each others passions for what we do.

Ohh, by the way Al, I am still having problems, so e-mail me when you get the chance.

I will keep on writing to save you money on your house.  Maybe if I write enough, indirectly I will write the book I always thought I would never have time.  Follow your passions and save money.
If I was a highly publicized writer and consultant this article would be on every site and show across the nation, but for now I just write for you.  If I can help just one person its enough for me.

Remember always safety first.

You And Your House Second Edition

I left off with this window contractor turning up the high pressure window sales tactics in a effort to get me to by his windows. I could not believe it when this guy tells me $1000 dollars per window, remember these are just the average size slide by window you see on a ton of houses all around. In fact, I was going to leave this till the end but, I measured up my own windows and went to a window and door place. I ordered my own window for $250.00 for all the required parts and supplies to put in a new window. You must also remember I did get the huge volume discounts that these window contractors get, so you can only imagine how cheap they are getting them. Now back to the story at hand. Then this guy states “well I know others that work with you so I will take off $200.00 from the $1000.” “So, now that’s a great price.” I tell him again it is just to high. I won’t bore you with the rest, but this goes on for another 30 minutes until he reaches $650 per window.I tell him that we must think about. Then he moves in for the line I hate from these guys the most. “Well if you don’t sign today its going to cost you more.” That’s it, game was over for me. I cannot stand this tactic that scammers use all the time. They use this junk on the elderly customers and con them on this most of the time. They scare them and they think that they better sign right there or they won’t get a good price. The scammer contractors just love to use that one. It makes them a ton of money by scamming people on the spot and then laughing all the way to the bank, taking this elderly persons life savings with them. I don’t see how these guys sleep at night.Now, I ask him to leave and walk him to the door. He does not stop here, we get to his brand new Cadillac Escalade EXT in my drive. What kinda of guy comes to sell windows in a $60,0000 plus vehicle? Can you say CON MAN! I tell him nice truck, just to see what he says. Yes it is, and begins to brag about it. So, as he is bragging about his new car he chimes in with, “ok $600 per window and thats it.” I said your right thats it, we are not buying windows today, I tell him again. Then the kiss of death for him was his final statement, “if I have to come back again you will have to pay $650 per window. I have had it by now. I say, you don,t have to worry about coming back.

I finally think I got to him on that statement as he jumped in his $60,000 plus vehicle and I never heard from him again. Do you know how many people this man has scammed through years? Enough to open up a second location to just show window displays and show room tactics. You see, I knew he was a scammer contractor shortly after he entered my house. The sad thing is many other people never see that and get scammed, so much so they even tell their friends and family what a great job. This is how good the scammers are. Take a good look around theres not a ton of window replacement companies out there because they are not making any money. Many of them were doing other scams and found out how much people will pay for replacement windows. It really is a shame.

So, this edition deals with just window contractors. You need to ask questions. What the costs are to them? How many windows have they put in. This is were their volume discounts come in. Remember, I only told how they scam you on prices. Some scam you all the way around with service and poor installation practices. You need to find a middle of the road type contractor. Don’t always go with the guy who has all the big ads and promotions as this will probably be your highest quote with the charming sales person who never wants to leave until you sign. This person is just that, a sales person. He or she is only making money or looking good to the company owner if they are selling windows!

I have seen very sharp dressed sales people and company owners do the contracts and house calls. Only to have shady looking crews show up to do the work and you don’t even want them to get out of their truck, because you fear for the safety of your family and property. You see this a lot when you deal with really large companies that have more sales then crews to install and will hire anything and everything that has a pulse, with no concern for their customers. Remember the contract and money is already been paid. This again is one of the biggest complaints I hear from people about other large contractors they have used. Watch out for small companies too! Sorry, it really is hard now days to find someone to work on your house.

So hard to find someone in fact, these prescreened companies as they call themselves are popping up all over. I really have to laugh at that. Most of these places charge the contractor for any leads or jobs that they get for them, see this is how the screening companies make their money. Take a look around you see these contractor screening companies all over on the internet running ads like wild fire. They are trying to make money off the fears of people who had a bad experience with a contractor, that is all this is. Remember, the contractor has to pay them to get your name,address and phone number. Still the best way is to ask around and see pictures and other dollar amounts they charged for similar jobs. Again, I know it is hard to find someone just don’t fall for all this high pro go TV and newspaper ads costing $1000s.

Now, again I will state it so the scammers don’t scream foul on my part, I never stated my company name or even what part of the country or what country I am in! So, I think this shows on my part that I am just trying to help people to walk through a land mine field of bad contractors and scammers. If people want to find out about who I am and what company it is, they will have to ask or look for it. I will keep my honor and integrity intact.

Remember Always Safety First When Working On Your House.

You And Your House

I will keep writing about you and your house and someone is going to find out that this site really has alot info. that will save you lots of money on your house. I have offered to you here, help for free in any area of your house for you. This costs you nothing and saves you $1000s. I know I have seen what people have been charging for years. I can’t believe the prices people pay to have consulting or repairs/remodeling done to their house. I can help in all areas of your house. What do you want to know? Just ask about your house and you will receive. This site is about helping each other out. I own a company which I have yet to tell anyone, what the name of that company is. I do give examples to show what I know about and how I can help you and your house. I cannot say it enough, just ask a question. I know people are coming to the site. Please let me know if you have tried to leave a question or comment and I did not see it.There are so many people out there that need help. I know if I ran an ad that said “remodel your house for free” my phone would never stop ringing! This is kinda like that, I am offering consulting or how-to guides for your house with not a single cost to you. This site is already just filled with free how-to articles and they have high viewings on other sites so I know people find them a value. Some, I have even been paid to write. Take advantage of this.

I have started this site because of the need to help people from getting ripped off by many bad contractors out there. You think of your house as your safe zone, so when someone cons or scams you on work done or repairs it has a long lasting affect on you and your house. Every person with a pick up truck or van and a hammer is not a home improvement contractor! Many are con people trying to make a easy buck at your expense. What I really hate is when I see good contractors not get a job and then see a large contractor get it, because they used price slashing tactics to squeeze out the small guy.

People are playing a dangerous game of who can give me the cheapest price for my house repairs. There is also the opposite that happens, happens mostly with the really big name companies with all the ads and promotional items to win over business for their company. people fall for all this high sales pressure and fancy truck and uniform stuff and pay way more because of it. Who do you think pays for all those hig priced ads, trucks and more, thats right you and your house!

I had a individual come to my house many years back to price out replacement windows. I knew I would be doing it myself if I could find the time to squeeze my own work in. I will not mention the name of the window company who is a large company with the fancy tv,radio and newspaper ads like crazy. Side note, who do you think really pays for those big fancy ads, you got it you! So, he comes in and sits down at my kitchen table with my wife and I. We asked when we booked the estimate about the $189.00 installed window. This is what happened next. “yes thats the ad we are running right now What size windows do you need again? I state slide by style you see on the house right now. He then say ohh, those are not covered in that promotion. I asked you that when I booked you! Well yes we have them, but they won’t work for what you want.

Well to say the least I was done right there. I knew I had invited a con man into my house. I still wanted to see what he would charge for my windows, slide by, lowE, gas filled, double pane, vinyl frame and wood look interior. Well the numbers started flying. He was adding and adding and adding. Well, he says, “we have a great deal for you as these are slide by and lowE that window in our replacement style window will cost you $1,000 dollars per window installed. I say what did you say. It is a 3′ x 5′ window so you know it is not a great big picture window. I then said, thanks but that to high. Well, how much did you think it will cost. I said around $450.00 which was still a high profit level for him, he did not know I knew this. I tried to stop the deal 5-6 times before he would finally leave. It did not even stop there, he just turned up the high pressure sales tactics from there.

You really most hear the rest of this, which I will provide to you in a series on you and your house improvements as this is number one in the series.

Remember Always Safety First.

How To Get A Great Lawn Installed Second Edition

The on going problems for home owners in the Midwest will not end until people are educated on what hydro-seeding is. The Hydro-seeding process is the mixture of a high blend of grass seed shade/sun mix for starters. This is a very important part of your new lawn even when not using the hydro-seeding process. People think that their grass is just all the same. It is not. The landscapers don’t tell you that their grades of grass cost different prices for them. The straw/seed scammer use a low quality seed as they just don’t care how it grows to begin with. See they don’t bother telling their customers about the seed because the straw/seed lawn application is so cheap they figure the customer will never ask about the quality seed, which most of the time they are right. They don’t want there customers to know the grades of seed will make the grow in rate faster and give a much higher quality lawn. The cheap seed does not come in and allows for more weeds to grow and take over the lawn. You see many also offer fertilizer services and will tell you this normal and with lots of applications of their high priced fertilizer service you will have a great lawn in two years! They will tell you this is the only way and there is nothing they can do about it.

The hydro-seeding lawn application will not grow the weeds or require the fertilizer to get the same lawn that costs the home $1,000s more to get the same end results. You see the home owner never finds this out until it is way to late. Some of the home owners never figure this out as they keep using the same landscaper they trusted to give them their services and advice on their lawn, so the scammer just keep laughing all the way to the bank on the same customers for many years to come. The new lawn straw/seed installation process is the scammer landscapers best money pit they could ever as for. They know if they can get that straw/seed lawn job they will have continued source of money for years to come just due to the low quality lawn they have installed.

The seeds that are general or low quality cost the scammer landscapers next to nothing per bag. In fact they don’t even get the blend sometimes. This is how cheap this process is. It is not cheap to the home owner who choose the straw/seed lawn installation over the quality process of hydro-seeding lawn installation. Not to says a hydro-seeder can’t use cheap seed, but even if they did the straw being eliminated in itself makes it 10x better then the straw/seed new lawn installation. This article is dealing with just seed side of things as far as new lawn installation is concerned.

You see the blends and quality level can make the difference of grass or no grass. You see shade seed can grow in direct sun, but sun seed will not grow in highly shaded areas. The scammer landscaper is not going to tell you this. They will tell you it was your fault for not giving your new lawn proper care. They will be more than happy to charge you again and give you another lawn application at their full installation rates. They really rip off and scam they customers in this situation as you can see. They will just keep telling you it is not their and there is nothing they can do about. You hear about this kinda of thing all the time when people get scammed into the using straw and seed type grass installation. The problem in the end is the customer has no idea that they have been scammed to begin with. It really is a shame.

What really is a shame is in the great-lakes area people are brain washed that straw and seed is the only way to install a new lawn besides sod. They can’t even get close to worrying about the quality of their grass seed as the whole process of straw and seed is so out dated but, these poor people don’t even know the high quality hydro-seeding new lawn installation process is available to them. I know how can a large group of people be taken advantage of so much! The problem is the scammer landscape company owner are not about to tell them about it! How you could think that a 1800s process of installing a new lawn is still the only process is beyond me. It is not the home owners fault, it is the under handed people not informing them of the fact there are much higher quality ways to get a lawn installed besides using the low quality straw and seed application process. Even they scammer cannot defend the straw and seed application and say it grows in fast with limited weeds. because it won’t do it and it can’t do it.

If you still choose to use the straw and seed application make sure they at least use the highest quality seed possible with out charging you any more then what they were going to begin with. Now, really there is no reason to use the straw and seed process unless you are going to install your lawn yourself. Don’t hire someone to do this process and charge you $1,000 when it costs them pennies. Any one can take hand fulls of grass seed and straw and throw it up in the air and then call it a new lawn. So, if your going to use this process of straw and seed just make sure you ask for high quality grass seed and lots of fertilizer. You will at least save the scammer landscaper fees this way, again anyone can jump around throwing seed and straw.

The worst part of all, if the home owner just added up the time and money spent they could have got a yard hydro-seeded for the same cost range when taking into consideration the time and money spent on fertilizer applications.

This addition just deals with the seed and the quality levels and types to allow home owners to make a educated decision. To many home owners have been treated like mushrooms for far to long, that is, kept in the dark and fed alot of cow poo.

Please remember safety first in all home projects.