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Thinking About a Home Remodel? Here’s Where to Start

Thinking About a Home Remodel? Here’s Where to Start

Begin by carefully considering what you think you want and how you can get it. Weigh your wish list against what you’ll probably pay to fulfill it.

Planning a Home Remodel

Planning a Home Remodel

If you’re adding new rooms, making substantial changes to the existing floor plan, or dealing with complex structural or functional questions, you’ll need to hire professional design help. There are several design options and combinations of options.

How to Check Out Contractors

How to Check Out Contractors

Some homeowners leave contractor vetting and selection to their architects or house designers, but most make the call themselves, and rightly so: It’s the most important step.

Tips for Planning Furniture Purchases

Tips for Planning Furniture Purchases

Start by plotting out various furnishing arrangements. Consider your budget, how you will use the furniture, and how long you expect to keep it.

Where to Buy Furniture

Where to Buy Furniture

At some furniture stores, well-informed helpful staffers make shopping pleasant and guide you to good choices. They quote accurate delivery time frames, and your stuff arrives as promised and as expected. But subscribers send us many, many complaints about abysmal furniture-shopping experiences. Fortunately, you can avoid common pitfalls.

How to Get the Best Furniture Deals

How to Get the Best Furniture Deals

Price comparisons are extraordinarily difficult for furniture. Many products are sold exclusively by a single chain or by only one or a few stores per region. But there are some strategies you can use to save on furniture purchases.

How to Find a Reliable Roofer

How to Find a Reliable Roofer

Roofing work is expensive, and, if you hire the wrong contractor, you can spend thousands of dollars too much and still get terrible work.

Avoiding a Shakedown for Roofing Costs

Avoiding a Shakedown for Roofing Costs

When hiring a roofer, quality of work should be your primary consideration. Once you have identified roofers that measure up on quality, get several fixed-price bids for the work. You’ll find big roofer-to-roofer price differences for the same job.

How to Tell It’s Time for a New Roof

How to Tell It’s Time for a New Roof

Different types of roofs have different lifespans. Your inspections will reveal whether the entire roof is due for replacement.

How to Find a Good Plumber

How to Find a Good Plumber

Plumbing is seldom exciting. It works fine for years, faithfully filling, flowing, and flushing. But when a pipe leaks water through your kitchen ceiling, the excitement may become more than you can stand.

How to Deal with Your Plumber

How to Deal with Your Plumber

With any company you choose, dealing wisely with the plumber nets better work and saves you money. Whether you need a remodeling job or repairs, if possible, get a written price quote before work begins.

Plumbing Dos and Don’ts

Plumbing Dos and Don’ts

Following these rules will help reduce the seriousness and frequency of plumbing problems.