1. Building Permits. When it comes to building permits some contractors will ask or require you to secure the permit for smaller jobs and some contractors will take care of all the necessary paperwork and fees associated with the permit. So, be sure to ask the contractor who is securing the permit and it is even necessary for your project.
2. Price Differences. As you start to secure bids for your project keep a detail account of what each bidder is offering. If not you will find yourself falling for the cheapest price. I generally believe the cheapest is never the best. Remember, the price is based on quality of labor, quality of product, a company’s experience and reliability, and their overhead.
3. Negotiate. Sometimes this is a necessary evil. But, don’t be afraid to as for more services or a better price… they can only tell you No. And the last time I checked No doesn’t cause any bumps or bruises.
4. Decisions. Be prepared to make decisions. In order for most contractors to really help, you need to be able to make decisions about colors, styles, quality, and some will ask you for your business.
5. Mistakes. Mistakes are apart of any home improvement project. Be prepared to deal with mistakes and keep an open mind to keep your project moving smoothly. If they continue, consider whether you and your contractor are mis-communicating or if the contractor is not paying attention to detail.
6. High Expectations. Remember you are probably be talking to a salesperson about your project and you must be realistic about their goals and confidence about your project. A little disappointment can be drastic if your expectations are too high and your contractor is not managing your expectations properly.
7. Be Open Minded. You must be open minded, because usually you will judge that contractor by your last experience with a contractor. If you had a bad experience, you maybe more skeptical of the next one. If you had a great last experience stay on your toes with the next one.
8. In Writing. Everything must be in writing. Don’t take someone’s word. Legally what’s in writing is what counts.
9. Price Changes. Ask the contractor for their policy on price changes. You don’t want surprises nor do you deserve them. If you or your contractor changes something, it should be in writing and you should associate a price change or not with that change.
10. Delays. Delays can occur because of the weather, change orders, improper planning or may other occurrences. Be sure your contractor is concentrating on your job and not juggling several. Again, be open minded to explainable delays.
11. Insurance. Be prepare to the possibility of having to increase your homeowners insurance. Depending on the size of your project you may need to increase your insurance or a least get a homeowner’s insurance review.
12. Communication. Just like any relationship, communications is key. Keep the lines of communication open!
13. Problems. Ask your contractor how they deal with problems that come up on the job. Is he personally responsible or does he have someone else in charge.
14. Organizational skills. Not everyone is as organized or schedule oriented as you may be, so keep that in mind. You should get a sense of that on your first meeting.
15. Licensed and Insured. Please make sure your contractor is properly licensed and insured. Your homeowners insurance in most cases doesn’t cover you when a contractor is involved and you have a written agreement for the project. Accidents, injuries, and damage will fall back on you personally. Needless to say that can be devastating.
16. Your Expectations. Make sure the contractor is Clear on your expectations. Express what your expectations of the project are and make sure they feel they can meet those expectations.
17. Pre-Payment. Don’t prepay for a job. A small deposit maybe required or necessary in some cases, but don’t prepay.
18. Subcontractors. Be prepared to work with subs. Depending on the type and size of the project may require subcontractors to assist on certain parts of your project. Make sure you have a clear understanding if your contractor will involve subs.
19. References. Ask for reference and be sure to check them. Depending on your project, you may want to go look at some of their work.
20. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!

There are some other issues buyers need to understand. First of all, who is actually responsible for the coverage of your warranty? For example, when you invest in windows provided by XYZ Home Improvement Company and XYZ buys the window from Telstar Manufacture; guess who is responsible for your warranty claims? If you say Telstar Manufacture then you are correct! Although you bought your windows from XYZ Home Improvement, they did not make the window. They only sell, furnish, and install the windows. Even though, XYZ may service the warranty issues for Telstar, Telstar is ultimately responsible. So, point being when you invest in windows or any product not only do you need to investigate the home improvement company, but you need to know the history of the manufacture making the products. For another example, if you buy a TV from Sears with a warranty and it stops working; you would take it back to Sears. However, Sears will send the TV to the actual manufacture.

I want to bring up one final point that many people have not thought of or even talked about. Concerning window warranties, you should be very careful buying these cheap windows being advertised. What you, the consumer, don’t realize is many home improvement companies selling these cheap windows are constantly changing manufactures with the hopes of finding a cheaper window to sell. Therefore, there may be additional cost for warranty claims, because the home improvement company doesn’t have a relationship with the manufacture anymore. On the flip side many of these low end manufactures don’t stay in business long. So, there goes your warranty. In closing, look at the warranty keeping these tips in mind and you will find yourself covered and satisfied with your purchase.

The Home Exterior Guru

I’m here to tell you differently. You need gutter guards and you don’t even realize it. Let me tell you this story and maybe this will at least change your thoughts. I was called out to a lady’s home recently, because her gutters had fallen down due to a hurricane that had blown through Richmond, Virginia. When I arrived, there was a lot more going on other than fallen gutters. Her fascia board, trusses, roof decking, and soffit boards were all rotten across the entire back of her home?! I thought, wow. How could this have happened? There were no trees around her home that could have caused her gutters to become clogged. You see once your gutters become clogged and undetected, water will back up into the fascia and soffit boards of your home and will eventually rot everything. Can you imagine your gutters falling off one day and you discover over $15,000.00 in damages as oppose to $300 for new gutters?

Here is the culprit. Upon further inspection of her gutters I noticed two things. First, there was a lot of roof grit all over her deck. Roof grit is the small roofing granules that will wash off your roof over time and they settle in your gutters. They are usually too heavy to wash down into your downspouts and they tend to dam up in your gutters. This damming prevents water from flowing to your downspouts. Now this does depend on the age of your roof. The older your roof the more granules you can expect to be washing off. The second culprit was a Bird’s Nest! Yeah, a bird’s nest made right in the gutter above the hole for the downspout. I thought wow. Roof granules and a bird nest caused all of this water damage to a home when the homeowner had no idea this was happening.

This brings me to my final point. When choosing a gutter guard system, I found it very important to use a Micro Mesh style of gutter guards. Micro mesh gutter protection does not allow anything but water to get into your gutters unlike 99% of gutter guards on the market. For more information about recommended gutter guards read the gutter guards section in this blog or contact me directly at bill@kempwindows.com.