New Home Construction, Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling and More...: May 2016

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

What Makes Sense For You New Construction or Home Renovations

Should you renovate the current space you are living in or go out and purchase a new construction home that has everything you could want? This question doesn’t have a one size fits all answer for all homeowners. One of the most important issues that plagues many homeowners the issue of location. Do you love the neighborhood you are in? What are the other homes like? Can you create the home of your dream within the neighborhood or do you risk pricing your home out of the area? Also consider if it makes economic sense to renovate over buying new.

Four Questions To Ask Yourself Before Committing to Renovations or New Construction

Can the desired updates occur within the current home?

Home renovations using the homes original footprint can cost up to fifty percent less than renovations that require a change in the structure of the home. If you are looking to convert or add on a garage check out the neighborhood. Are you sure that this will be viewed as an improvement within the space or a detriment? Sometimes an addition to an older home makes better sense economically as renovating an older space within the home means that you will need correct problems that currently exist.

Will you and your family be able to live through a major home renovation?

Home remodeling can wreak havoc on the normalcy that your family is familiar with. Can you live through the construction of your space? There will be lots of noise, a variety of contractors and disruptions. If you are redoing your kitchen; how long can you live without a sink? These are important considerations before renovating an existing home.

Are the renovations that you hope to perform legal?

Check with the local H.O.A. and municipality to determine if the renovations you are looking to perform are legal. Are their requirements on how many stories a home can have? Do you need to be a certain number of feet from the property line? Do new renovations trigger requirements on existing elements in the home? Usually this occurs within the homes electrical systems.

Does the renovation make sense for the home’s value?

This is a major issue for many homeowners. Will you over value your home for the area you are in with the renovation you are looking to perform. Adding a custo9m kitchen in a neighborhood filled with starter homes really doesn’t make a lot of sense. The customization of a home’s kitchen can cost upwards of a hundred thousand dollars. This is not necessarily beneficial in a place where the most expensive home sells for a hundred and fifty thousand.

Aspen Construction is an innovative building leader specializing in home additions, new construction, bathroom and kitchen remodeling. For all of your home improvement needs including electrical services contact us today at http://www.aspencoinc.com/.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Tips On Hiring A Reputable Home Improvement Specialist

Home improvement projects come with some difficulties; the most common stemming from hiring an experienced, dependable contractor to execute the project. Whether you are knowing out a wall to increase the size of the kitchen or something simpler like tiling the bathroom floor it is crucial the contractor will perform at the highest performance level possible. Below are several tips to help homeowners find a reliable and steadfast home improvement specialist.

Ask friends, family and co-workers for references on work previous contractors have performed: If you know anyone that has had work done around their homes check with them to see if they would recommend the contractor that they employed. When looking for qualified individuals to work with no one is a better reference than those within your own tight knit community of friends, family and co-workers.

Narrow the selection down to three contractors before asking them to estimate your home improvement project: Interview contractors before getting bids or estimates from them. Do not allow the final selection come down to the estimate or bid amount. Find at least three contractors that offer exactly what you are looking for in a home improvement specialist. Seek estimates from all three contractors and work to negotiate the best overall value for your project.

Review the licenses, complaints and litigation history on contractors that you are interested in working with: Never waste time on a contractor without the proper licensing, bonding and insurance. Homeowners insurance does not cover many problems that can arise when hiring work to be done around the home. With the proper licenses, bonds and insurance in place a contractor is showing that they are serious in protecting project owners, their business and subcontractors from any and all losses that should arise.

Have an idea of what you want before seeking out estimates from contractors: It is important to be able to express exactly what you want in order to get to the end result you desire. Contractors cannot read minds. It is crucial to have a plan with definite ideas on what you are looking for. Do not speak to a contractor until you have a set plan. Once an idea is in place and you have a sense of what you want start seeking estimates from contractors. This is the only way that you will get a reliable estimate on labor and materials for your project from the contractors you are seeking to work with.

In our next blog installment we will continue providing tips to aid homeowners in the search to find a contractor to employee that will perform home improvement projectswithin your home.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Renovations Verse New Construction

An old age question that contractors are often asked; should we move forward with renovations on an existing home or opt for new construction? There are factors on both sides of the discussion that need to be evaluated when deciding what is right for you and your family. When considering between renovations and new construction take a look at the following five things.

Evaluate the costs associated with renovating verse the expense involved in new construction. Are the renovations that are needed structural? Structural renovations are often expensive and time consuming. It will most often be more cost effective to start from scratch over renovating when a lot of structural changes are needed. A new constructionsingle story home runs around two hundred thousand dollars and two story homes around two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

Renovations, especially those involving the structure of the home can add up due to unforeseen problems that arise along the way. This doesn’t give you complete control over the budget whereas with a new home you can get a fixed price contract.

Consider the age of your existing home. You may have purchased this specific home because of the houses character, the charm of the existing neighborhood and other aspects that are irreplaceable. If you fell in love with the old wooden floors and the existing ornamental ceilings then remodeling is obviously the only way to go. Period features in older homes cannot be replicated in new construction.

Where is the home located? Is the property one of the reasons that you initially purchased the home? Are there landscape options mature and unable to be replicated in another location? Vacant land to build on is often scarce.

Look at the homes existing floor plan; does it match your family’s lifestyle? If the homes floor plan is unworkable then it makes more sense to start from scratch over. It may be cheaper to begin with a clean slate over completely renovating the homes existing floor plan into something that can work for your family and lifestyle.

Renovations are often more difficult to budget for. New home construction allow for a few years of lower expenses because everything is new. It is easier to maintain a new home and more energy efficient appliance, windows and more have been used to create your home. Also, new construction comes along with a warranty. Renovations are an expense that is comes along with the homes current maintenance expenses. So while you may budget your finances to achieve a new addition to the existing home it doesn’t mean that the water heater on the home or the roof won’t suddenly need to be replaced.