Some of the most costly home repairs can be avoided by developing a list of items to check and putting them on a calendar to remind you to inspect them before damage occurs. Some items need to be checked on a more frequent basis such as gutters and down spouts where as your roof might only need to be checked once a year. Most home maintenance can be done with a ladder, some basic tools and a caulk gun, but there are items better left to a professional. Identifying them and taking care of them before they become a costly repair is the goal of Home Maintenance.

A roof inspection to check the condition of the structure or shingles might be better left to a professional but checking step flashing around a chimney or pipe collars for your plumbing vents are items that can be on your list to inspect once a year. A visual inspection for cracks in the caulk can be an easy repair to avoid water damage to your ceiling and walls from a heavy rain. Gutters and down spouts should be checked on a more regular basis especially in the spring and fall. A clogged gutter can over flow causing erosion or flooding your basement. A gutter that has been installed incorrectly or has sagged over time can cause it to drain poorly and overflow quickly. Installation of a gutter guard might be a better solution to minimize the need to clean out your gutters.

Painting trim around your soffits, windows and doors will keep them from rotting and needing to be replaced. Inspecting the caulking around the doors and windows and repairing problem areas will avoid water getting into your home and causing expensive repairs to drywall. Water can cause some of the most costly repairs to your home. Maintaining caulk in bathrooms is also an important item. If the caulk around your vanity, toilet, shower or tub is cracked or discolored remove it and replace it before water damages the wall and floor underneath. Wall tile and floor tile will not keep water where it is supposed to be without caulk and can result in the most expensive items in a bathroom repair or remodel.

These are just a few examples of common areas of your home that need to be maintained. The purpose of home maintenance is to avoid the higher cost to repair neglected items. Foster Remodeling can help you identify potential problem areas, perform simple maintenance, make the necessary repairs and put a plan together to help protect the comfort and value of your home.

Written by: Rich Caswell – Home Maintenance Consultant

Spring is here!  That means baseball games, flowers blooming and… spring cleaning?  Yes, with longer daylight hours and open windows, we all start seeing (and feeling) the dust that has accumulated over the past winter months.  Spring is the time for replenishing, repairing, and revamping, so why not some remodeling?  Whether it’s just painting a room or finishing an entire basement, Foster Remodeling Solutions wants to refresh your home.

The Little Things

Having a hard time getting the grout clean in your bathroom or kitchen?  Let our handyman come and re-grout and re-caulk your space for a fresh new look.  Replacing the light fixtures and light bulbs (fluorescent of course) can restore the ambiance to any room in your home.  With just a little paint, all your walls, trim, and moldings will look like new.  Adding crown molding or a chair rail will rekindle the love you once had for your home.

Get Outside

Bring the outdoors in by cleaning or replacing your windows, doors and screens.  This will also help keep the cool air inside during the hot summer months while replenishing your bank account.  Decks and patios are great for outdoor entertaining.  This spring, make sure yours is up to code and repair any damages.  No deck?  Foster Remodeling Solutions can build one for you to relax and recharge at after a long day at work.

Organize

Spring cleaning is not only about dusting and disinfecting, it’s also about getting organized.    Make your life simpler with custom cabinets.  Everything in your kitchen, bath, or closet will have a place making things easier to find and keeping clutter off the floor.

Go Green

Clean your newly remodeled home with natural and non-toxic products keeping your family and home healthy.

Enjoy

Want other ideas to help you rejuvenate your home and lifestyle?  Contact us for a free initial consultation.  Let Foster Remodeling Solutions do the repairing and the renovating while you enjoy your life!

written by: Carin Demmon, Design Consultant

Home renovation looks so easy on TV.   A complete kitchen or bath remodel move quickly and smoothly from start to finish, and the results are always beautiful. But somewhere between “before” and “after” there are always at least a few speed humps and lots of “I wish I had known that’s.  Budgets skyrocket, tempers flare, deadlines are pushed back, everything in a sense ‘comes crashing down’.  This is what happens when you do not have a sound and proven process in place.

Who doesn’t love to watch home repair shows and do-it-yourself projects?  They give you endless ideas on how to ‘jazz’ up any room or take a sub-par room and make it grand.  And to make it even better, they do it in 2 days!  Can you imagine who wouldn’t want to redesign a room or their whole home if it only took a weekend or a week?  Sound familiar?  Let’s debug some of these reality shows and understand exactly what is going on….

Cost:

Take a simple room re-design show, we have 2 days and a $2500 budget.  BY the end of the weekend we don’t recognize the room, it is painted beautifully, furniture built or purchased (usually from a 2^nd hand store and then refinished), artwork and window treatments purchased and hung.  Now I hate to be a picker but let’s pick this apart.  Unless you have 10 men ready to invest their time in your project for free this just isn’t a reality.  Hiring a painter costs money and time.  One coat is doable in a day, but what about 3?  How many days and men will it take to paint your room to perfection?  You need shoppers, refinishers, painters, builders and someone to put it all together.  Does anyone sleep on this show?  Is everything donated to get their brand name out there?

What about the shows that not only build a new home but also have time to tear it down in a week?  Endless dumpsters, machines and trucks are needed for this.  What about building permits or Electrical or Plumbing Permits?  Those are never mentioned.  How about home inspections and approvals along the way?  Has anyone ever gone to the town zoning board and spoken to a planner?  What about asbestos and lead paint?  But who wants those on a show, booooring.  Have you ever notice most of the homes ‘constructed in a week’ are modular and we never get zoom ins or details views of the final project (roofing, cabinet, painting or tile)?

I am not saying that a handy person could not lay their own tile or wood floor, design their own backsplash and set it, or pick their own paint colors and paint.  In fact, to save on money those are great ideas.  Time wise, you will take longer than the pros – I mean they do this for a living you know.

The reality of reality TV shows it that they are great for DIY simple projects.  They help awaken the creative juices.  Heck, if you want to do a remodeling job, they provide great starting ideas for materials, color schemes, themes and fixture types.  But what they don’t show you is what is underneath the walls you want to change.

Under every painting/poster/wall covering is paint, under every painted wall is drywall, under every drywall is framing and what is inside the framing is your best guess and mine… until that is we take a peek inside.  Water damage, termite damage, missing insulation, missing water/vapor barriers, missing structure and lead paint are just a few of the things on and in your walls that could cause potential renovation problems and cost you more money – but that is the reality and the reality is not pretty for TV.

If you are desperately seeking a design show you can tune in to and see the reality of the remodel, renovation and addition industry tune in to Holmes on Homes.  No he is not paying us to write this.  Plain and simple the disasters and realities he faces on each show are very realistic.  I had to take this excerpt from his show description because I just loved it:

“It’s “buyer beware” when a homeowner contracts a home repair or renovation. The world is full of shady contractors who take shortcuts, use shoddy building practices or employ a band-aid approach to repair work, often leaving homeowners in dangerous situations or out a ton of money. Renovation expert Mike Holmes believes in doing a job right the first time and is making it his mission to expose poor, substandard workmanship in the building industry with his internationally successful show Holmes on Homes. In each episode, Mike rescues homeowners from repair and renovation disasters. Uncovering problems from plumbing and electrical to carpentry and roofing, he shows how the botched job should have been completed, fixing each project properly and helping homeowners make more informed decisions in the future.”

Foster Remodeling can show you before and after pictures and give you endless ideas and options, but if you walk in with the mindset that reality is what you see on TV, your project will never be completed.  With our process we can ensure you the ease you see on TV can be your reality, it just won’t take 2 days and $2500 to get there.  There is a showroom at our office as well, which means you can come ‘shop’ for your favorite materials, cabinets and stone – all just by signing a design agreement.  There is a licensed interior design at your fingertips too.  You can get the remodel of your dreams just by ‘signing on the dotted line’.

We have 27 years of proven experience and over 100 references for you to call.  Those 100 are individual customers and 28 of those customers have come back for more than one project.  Is there anywhere else that gives you that many people to call?  Looks like everyone can do their homework before we begin a project – we do preliminary budgets and designs while you make calls to ensure your comfort and that we are exactly who we claim to be.  All employees are background checked and drug tested, which means the lead assigned to your job that will be in your home managing the project from 2weeks-4 months is a trustworthy individual and you can be comfortable.  We give you a set start date and end date- yes there is a light at the end of the ‘construction’ tunnel.  And to top it off, we give you a 5 year written warranty on all of our workmanship!

Most people say “It was easier than I thought it would be” – now isn’t that music to your ears?  Have you ever heard that phrase on reality TV?

article by Jessica Henderson – Design Consultant

Organization

Organization. Clutter affects our emotional sense of well-being. Decide how you live and work to determine storage needs based on lifestyle, hobbies and needs before considering changes to the room or furniture. Eliminating clutter removes a major obstacle standing in the way of good room design.

 Furniture. Group sofas and chairs into conversation areas using the room’s entire space, not just areas against the walls. Remember, it’s OK if things don’t match. Furniture color and furniture style are key for blending pieces from different collections. 

Painting

Painting.   Painting can be the least expensive, highest impact change in a room. If painting the whole room a bold color seems daunting, paint one wall and make it the focal point. Hang interesting art on that wall and move a nice piece of furniture there to create a unique vignette.

Plants. Plants always add a breath of fresh air to a room. Those born without green thumbs can try silk plants and trees. These days, the quality of these items makes it difficult to distinguish them from the real thing. 

Area Rugs

Area Rugs. An area rug is a wonderful way of defining a conversation area. Lay it at an angle beneath a coffee table or try a runner along a hallway to add color and warmth! This is true even over wall-to-wall carpet. 

Hang pictures or mirrors. Hang pieces reflecting your personality, family, interests or travels. A mirror will both brighten a room and make it seem bigger. Position mirrors to capture nice views or interesting architectural elements. 

Collectibles

Group collectibles. Dust off those knick-knacks. Create a display area and group related objects together, in sets of three or five in varying shape. Rotate pieces from season to season to keep it fresh!

 Decorative pillows. This is a no-hassle way to add color, texture and pattern to a room.

Lighting. Illumination makes the biggest difference in our décor. Insufficient lighting means that nice fabric and furnishings won’t be seen to their best advantage. Lamps and fixtures can “age” quickly, but these can be updated to create a bold new look in your home. 

Window Treatments

Window Treatments. Window treatments can “make” a room. It’s a place to let imagination take flight — the finishing touch that completes a whole look. If done correctly in harmony with the rest of the room, any fabric from silks and trims to a simple, ribbon-tied sheer drape accentuates your room.