Blog : contractor's directory | Flooring Supply Shop Blog - Part 2Flooring Supplies

Get your facts right before tiling the floor

Tiles offer durability and are a cost effective option for flooring; with minimal maintenance requirements, tiles can enhance the entire outlook of the room. In case you are planning to install floor tiles to upgrade your home, you must be aware of certain facts before you start working on it.

These are available in different shapes, sizes, colors and varieties, such as glass, terracotta, brick, cement, porcelain, terrazzo and quarry tiles. Among the various types, stone and ceramic tiles are generally preferred more for the floors. Ceramic tiles are available in glazed as well as unglazed options in different varieties of color. Further, the tiles are classified in four groups from I to IV depending upon durability. Group IV tiles are most durable, strong and sturdy withstanding more pressure and hence preferred for heavy traffic floors, such as patios and drive ways. Therefore, selecting the right kind of tile for flooring would depend upon the area such as kitchen, hallway, bathroom, basement or patio.

The most important thing you must have, before installing tiles for making the floor, is a proper layout, in order to execute the installation properly. For a correct assessment, measure the dimensions of the flooring area and divide it by coverage area of the tile; this will provide an estimate on how many tiles you would require for tiling your floor. It is advisable to re-evaluate your calculations, in order to avoid any inconvenience while doing the job.

Always get a few extra tiles to make for the loss, if any, during installation. Moreover, this also helps you in having matching tiles in case you need to replace it in future, because finding matching tile pattern can be difficult. Planning, patience and labor are the key ingredients that will help you cruise through this task effectively.

You should also be aware of the fact that installing a tile floor is a tedious process which may take days or weeks to complete the job. For a small bathroom floor, it may take two or three days, however installing tiles on the floor of your living room may stretch beyond a week. The time frame also depends upon your skill. Moreover, choosing the material, estimating the cost and finally purchasing the supplies consumes few days initially.

Before starting off with the tiling process, it is essential to lay out the sub floor. Sub flooring forms an integral part of the whole tiling process; hence make sure that you have strong sub flooring to prevent the grout from cracking. In addition, you must select the right type of grout depending upon the type of the tile. There are primarily three types of grout, namely epoxy, furan resin and Portland-cement based grouts. Among these, though epoxy is more expensive, it is highly water resistant and spreads out easily. In case of moist areas, you can use cement fiber-board for under flooring.

Once the sub floor stabilizes, it is time to lay out tiles. To hold the tiles in place make use of thinset and leave the tiles overnight. All this information will help you make all the necessary arrangements beforehand and have the perfectly tiled floor for your house.

Check out our Installation Schemes Pattern and Tile Calculator

Choosing the right home improvement contractor

Home improvement is a task that involves many technicalities. You need to analyze, decide and cross check a number of factors. So, it is very important that the person who is entrusted with these responsibilities must be capable enough to handle them. You should always keep few things in mind before you decide to choose your home improvement contractor. Let’s have a look at them in detail.

Idea Organization: This is something very important. Home improvement is a vast area of knowledge. As a house owner you should keep a track on the areas at which your home needs a makeover. Make a crystal clear vision on your ideas. This will help you zero in on the most relevant areas of improvement. Once you have an idea of the requirement, it becomes a touch easier in choosing the contractor.

Meet Contractors: Exercising the options is very important. Once you have a brief overview of the task, you can always meet a few contractors. Meeting and sharing your thoughts and getting their reviews helps in judging the experience level of the contractor. It also helps you get an idea on the current market trends and pricing of a particular project. You can always take the corporate brochures and handouts of the contractor to study the credentials of the contractor.

Decide on the Budget: Once you have met a few contractors, you get a brief idea of the market bids and pricing of home improvement projects. So, you can decide on your budget. You must review each quote and bid given by the contractor very thoroughly. Try and analyze the strengths and weak links of each quote with the price and your budget. You should make sure that the proposed quote justifies the services offered by the contractor.

Take References: Experience, exposure and performance plays a vital role in home improvement projects. When you make up your mind on a particular contractor take some client references from him. This will help you get an idea of his previous projects and client satisfactory levels of the contractor.

Execute a written contract: Most often, the Contractor will provide their own Contract for you to sign. Be sure to read it carefully and do not hesitate to ask any questions for language that may need explanation or clarification. Ask the Contractor how the payment schedule will be put together. Never give a Contractor more than 50% of the contract amount up front. If the Contractor has to purchase a large amount of materials prior to starting work, a payment or draw for the materials is understandable. You should always check out for certain things that must be mentioned in the contract. Clauses like scope of work, Design selection, net and gross fees, construction schedule, detailed Explanation of the Contractor’s Warranty should be clearly stated in the contract.

Level of automation: This is again a very important point. The level of automation is a great indicator of the experience of the home improvement expert. You should always check the amount of automation a contractor can bring to your home. A good automation system may include Pro melt snow mats, floor heating systems etc. These automation systems help you lead a comfortable life by bringing down manual labor to some extent.

Quality of Material: Last but not the least is the quality a contractor brings to your home, and as they say “Quality speaks volumes without saying a word”. You should always keep a track on the quality that your contractor will offer. In order to check the details of material, it is important you do a bit of research. Browsing the internet is a good idea. You can always read some books and study materials on home improvement. This will help you keep up to date with the modern trends in home improvement.

I hope if you keep the above mentioned points in mind you will be able to strike a perfect deal.

Rise of DIY due to economic slump

One of the most exciting, yet challenging aspects of owning a house is taking care of the related home renovation and repair jobs. Some homeowners hire professional contractors for their home renovation job, while there are others who prefer to complete the job themselves. The latter, known as Do-It-Yourself (DIY) enthusiasts, usually take up DIY projects as a challenge and try to complete them in the most effective way possible. However, a number of individuals refrain from undertaking DIY home renovation projects due to the concern that they would not be able to complete the job effectively.

Now, with the economic slowdown and the credit crunch in the markets people are on the lookout for ways to curb their extra expenditure. It is for this particular reason that the current economic slowdown has fueled the growth of DIY projects across the globe. One of the main benefits of completing a home renovation project yourself is that it will let you save on the cost that you would have been incurred in hiring a professional. Another benefit of completing a DIY project is that it gives you a sense of accomplishment.

There are a number of projects, such as building a patio, repainting the walls and re-grouting, which can be easily completed without professional help. All that is required to complete a DIY project is basic knowledge about the job at hand and the proper tools. Considering the current economic slowdown and the increasing popularity of DIY projects a number of DIY tools have been introduced in the market. These tools, along with a basic knowledge can ensure that you complete the job at hand in the most effective way possible.

Although this trend of DIY projects is extremely popular during the current economic slump, there are indications that this trend will continue even after the economic scenario improves. It is during the current scenario that a number of people have learns the basics of various home renovation jobs such as tiling, grouting, carpentering and flooring. Now that people have experienced the benefits that a DIY project offers there is a good possibility that even when the economic scenario improves they will continue with this trend. Further, the tools and resources purchased by people can be used by them in the future as well, thereby providing added incentive to complete a home renovation job themselves as competed to hiring a professional contractor for it.

It is quite evident that the current outlook is that of uncertainty and financial instability; therefore every opportunity to save on extra expenditure will be appreciated by people. Since home improvement and home renovation jobs can involve significant expenditure, DIY projects are a logical step ahead for a number of people. However, there are still a number of jobs that should be handled by an expert only due to the dangers involved. For example, a home renovation job involving changing the electrical wiring should be completed by a professional electrician only. For other simpler projects, such as tiling and grouting, you are free to trust your skills and complete the job at hand yourself.

DIY only if you have the skill and patience

It is always advisable to think about the pros & cons before taking up responsibility. Performing a task may not be as easy as it may appear to be. One should take up a job only if capable enough of finishing it with perfection.

It is never advised to undertake a job unless you are not sure of completing it. When it comes to individually finishing a task to perfection, patience is the most important virtue required to do it. If you do not possess the necessary skills required to execute the job you are bound to make severe mistakes. It is therefore advisable to get professional help if you are not sure of accomplishing the task on your own.

Your home is your most important asset. When it comes to renovating your house or performing repairs you must do it yourself only if you know how to do it. People of late are becoming conscious about the kind of flooring they have in their houses. A lot of people are resorting to changing their flooring and go for more eco-friendly options. However, when it comes to changing or renovating the floors it is highly essential that unless you possess the necessary expertise, you should hire professional help.

Though DIY is a better option since it is the cheapest option as you do not have to pay anyone for getting the job done. However, make sure that you can skillfully complete the job because a single mistake on your part can incur more expenses to fix the problem. Moreover, insurance policies generally do not cover accidents caused while performing a DIY job. Hence, before you plan to start a DIY construction or renovation work at your place, contact your insurance company and make sure that you and associated perils are covered by your insurance plan.

In case you are planning to renovate your home on your own, you must understand that it will take time, skill and patience. Moreover, before you start any job, make your plan of action, and according to the layout, ascertain that you have all the requisite tools. Apart from this you must also know about the legal restrictions and get a building consent from your local council, if the law requires. You must carry your work in a systematic manner so that the job is manageable and can be completed on time. Further, it is advisable that you start with simpler task and then move on to difficult jobs.

For instance, if you are planning to tile your bathroom floor you must ensure, that you have a proper layout and accordingly priorities your time. In case you can only work on weekends, then you must be prepared to bear with half-done bathroom for at least a couple of weeks. Apart from this, the drying time will take a couple of more days. Before starting the job, make sure you have all the tools and a plan of action in place. The biggest consideration is that you must have patience, skill and will to complete the task. Moreover, if someone among your friends or family has completed similar work, take their help as they will be able to guide you better and give tips to successfully complete the work. Once you successfully completed simpler tasks, you can move on to tedious job as you would have acquired the necessary skill by then.

Hence, judge yourself and decide whether you have the skill and patience to undertake a DIY work. If not, contact a professional contractor.

Select the right contractor for your home improvement project

If you are planning to make renovations to your house, you need to be careful while selecting the contractor for the job. A hasty decision in such a situation can lead to extra repair or maintenance expenses.

Although there is no dearth of contractors, you need to select the one who can fulfill your specific requirements, just the way you desire. Before finalizing a contractor you need to take into consideration some important factors.

Though you may find numerous listings of contractors in the yellow pages or on the internet, it would be advisable to do some reference checks by consulting your friends or relatives who may have got their homes renovated. If you are unable to find any recommendations from your family or friends you can resort to any of the contractor referral service websites on the internet. Selecting the right contractor is highly crucial, since only a well experienced contractor will be able to execute your home renovation project with perfection.

Once you have shortlisted the contractors, it is advisable to do some reference checks from their previous clients; getting a background on the kind of work they have done will give you a clear insight on the quality & skill of their work. You will also be able to assess whether the contractor understands your requirements or not.

Checking the credentials of the contractor is an important step and should not be overlooked. You can contact your state’s licensing agency to determine the validation of the certificates and licenses held by the contractor. Another important aspect that you should look for is the liability insurance coverage held by the contractor. Carrying adequate general Liability Insurance and Worker’s Compensation Insurance is essential to avoid unnecessary claims of negligence arising against you.

Get estimates and compare contractors on the basis of what they are charging for your particular project. However, one word of caution to people who want to select contractors solely on the basis of their price; a low priced estimate could be due to the fact that the contractor uses low quality material to complete a job. Although such a deal will cost you less it is generally not recommended to opt for it.

Finally, after you have shortlisted and finalized a contractor you should get all the agreements in writing. Carefully review this written document and sign the contract only if everything is satisfactory. A contract should contain various details such as the starting and completion date of the project, the payment terms, detailed job specifications as well as a ‘right to cancel’ clause that would allow you to cancel the contract within a specified period of time in case you are not satisfied.

Although the task of short listing and selecting a contractor for your home renovation project can be quite complex, by following the above mentioned points you will definitely be able to select a contractor who will execute your home improvement project as per your requirements for the best price.

Find a Contractor in your area

Contractors submit your listing to our Contractor Directory

Tag: contractor’s directory

Get your facts right before tiling the floor

Choosing the right home improvement contractor

Rise of DIY due to economic slump

DIY only if you have the skill and patience

Select the right contractor for your home improvement project

About Us

Contact Us

Quick Links

Newsletter Subscription