So, you need a handyman?  What do you do?  Where do you go to find a handyman, now if you were in the Milwaukee area I could possible help you directly?  If you have seen any of my articles I do try to help the home owner find a handyman in their area, not just a handyman in the Milwaukee area, by showing people what to look for in a good handyman company.  The hardest part is where do you go to look for a handyman?  I would have to say local newspapers is one of the largest  spots that people go too when looking for a home improvement or handyman service.  The handyman and home improvement professional have become the same now days depending on what size company or expertise the company you are dealing with has.  There is a company in the greater Milwaukee area in Wisconsin we will use as a example of a very well rounded and highly trained handyman and home improvement company.

Going with the above example Badges Properties can be found in the local newspaper under handyman, you don’t have to look under just home improvements any more to find people for all kinds of work.  Just make sure the company you hire is well rounded, if you find a specialty company you will for ever be trying to find someone for each type of work.  For example you call a company who does nothing but  gutters, because your down spout became detached and needs to be reconnected.  They come out and fix the down spout and now you remember you want a leaky pipe in the kitchen fixed also.  While you called a specialized gutter company, they are not going to come in a fix your leaky sink pipe, so again you have to find another person to fix that.  Now, lets look at a company like Badges Properties,  they could reattach the down spout and fix the leaky pipe and your done!  This is a really big tip when looking for home repairs, don’t specialize unless you have to.  Find a well balanced company that does everything you need them to do.  This sounds so simple, but people get caught up in this all the time, spending alot of time and money, when they don’t need to.  Just look into the company you want to use.

Badge Properties is home to the “Fix It Brothers” they have a shared background in general repair, full home remodeling and finished basements, home inspection, home rehab, engineering, marketing, hydroseeding”high end new lawn installations at seed/straw prices”, in short this company has the credentials and tools to do it all for you.  I know this is a unusual  situation that one company would be so well educated and suited for practically anything to do with a home.  There are companies out there like Badges Properties in your area, you just have to find them.  Badges Properties “Fix It Brothers” are the kind of people you want to have around for all of your homes needs.  The nice part about the “Fix It Brothers” is they are not trying to sell you anything, they only want to help you fix your homes problems.  Anther tip, don’t let a company tell you what you need unless you are asking for their advice.         

Another area the “Fix It Brothers” shine in is “Pre-Sale Rehab of houses.  The tough home market has made sellers to be ready when their houses hit the market.  The buyers want a house in perfect shape, even over a year ago, buyers were walking away from sellers even offering cash to fix what they wanted!  The new buyers of today are just moving on to the next house and don’t want to fix up the homes they buy, they just want to move in and thats it.  Badges Properties actually started off providing this service and now has expanded into a full service home repair company.  Here again is the same tip as above, find a good home repair service company that can full fill all of your homes needs, not just one and so forth.

Well, theres your helpful tips for finding a handyman, this is part of a on going series of articles which can be found at our tip blogs and you will want to visit www.houseitemsshop.biz for all of your homes product needs.  Please feel free to search for many more self help article in our archives.

The foreclosure market on houses is at a all time high.  The fed is lowering interest rates in hopes that this will help to get more money back in play.  The banks are holding so many properties that they don’t know what to do with all of them.  The above is some information when used all at once can help people to sell or buy in the right situation.  Many people got into loans that they just were never going to be able to handle, hence the highest foreclosures on properties people have seen.  The investor could make money when connecting the dots or the right properties and people for your money.

There will be the correct time to buy the right property.  You can say, well that is very profound, I know.  What I am trying to say is the banks are into banking not selling houses or sitting on properties.  The banks used the high home sales market to sell their foreclosures on the regular market and still come out smelling like a rose.  Those days are gone and now they are begging agents to sell their properties because they have more coming back to them then they can sell.  These houses are not usually in the best shape for starters to hit the market.  So, theres strike one!  The agent is now trying to move a product or house in this case that is like trying to sell a carton of rotten eggs, that right its going to smell.   The banks need to start looking at what we will call a total home staging company, like Badge Properties who are a business in the Greater Milwaukee area of Wisconsin, that look at the total house and what needs to be done to sell it.  The same goes for any home owner who is serious about preparing their home for sale.

There are fewer buyers, strike 2! the houses need to be ready, even when your not talking about foreclosures.  Badges properties has different divisions that allow it to take a house from start to finish for their customers.  You see the typical house staging companies are designers and agents charging for consulting and then leave the rest up to their customers, the home owners in this case.  This still leaves the home owners to find the right people to make all the repairs or updates to make the house ready to hit the market, Strike 3!  Badges Properties has developed a full service consult and repair program that looks at the property and takes it from start to finish based on the the customers needs.  They don’t just do the consult for just under $200 and walk away leaving the customer with only a consult report,  they have the staff and crew to take the property to finished product.  Many don’t have the means or desire to do this, which makes Badges Properties of Wisconsin really stand out among the rest.

You see, having a consult and getting a report is really only the beginning to preparing a house for sale.  You as the home owner may still want to do some of the work and thats fine, but you need a professional company to organize the rehab and have the professionals on staff  to make it happen, they do this as it is their expertise.  The home owners are not house rehab professionals or home staging professionals they are home owners with other jobs.  You don’t go to your auto mechanic and ask them to do your taxes right?  Same applies here, you or the home owner is trying to sell the home, you really may not have the knowledge in engineering, repair, fixing and staging a home for sale.  There are companies like Badges Properties in the greater Milwaukee who can take a house from consult to sale, it will be very hard to find a company like this one, but they are out there if you look.  Badges Properties is a expanding company which is branching out via the Internet to help others with their home projects and sales.    This year is going to be a big year for housing and foreclosure market, people are going to need help with their properties.

Badges Properties for example has divisions which handles and have credentials in engineering, marketing, repairing and rehab of properties.  They round this out with a hydroseeding division which installs new lawns and erosion barriers for home owners and home builders.  The then complete the circle on the home division with a certification in home inspection to give more peace of mind to their customers.  So, you can see now, why there are not many companies that compare to the services of Badge Properties.   They even have a full time handyman division, so again they have the whole home covered from the roof to the basement, not forgetting the yard either.  

The houses once they are ready to hit the market will out shine the many others that are out there.  The investor that is ready to find great deals on foreclosures and dropping costs on homes will be able to buy these extreme deals and make a considerable amount on these properties.   The houses  out there will need a little help and then they will be ready.  Many houses will out sell the others as long as they are prepared to hit the market, the home owners can spend  smaller amounts to save or gain much more.  The interest rates going lower will spur new interest again in homes which will have new lower prices on them.  The well qualified buyers will be positioned to buy these houses.  There may not be the large amounts of buyers out there like years back, but they will be there and looking for the perfectly prepared house.

The 08 market will present a whole new year for the home owner who is prepared to sell.  Badges Properties is already gearing up for the spring market. Need help with your home give Badges Properties a call 414-469-7102.  They are helping people each and everyday.                

> 

We are here giving you the best ways to fix or remodel your house. Well, you need to have different items to do your remodeling or fixing of your house. We are always looking for great places to help find things easily and fast. The www.houseitemsshop.biz is the best place to look for your house items. The house items shop is the latest in a one stop shop for your homes needs. Instead of having to go to many sites to get everything for your house, you can just stay at the house items shop and it brings the products all to you. There are other shops out there, but they only carry their brands or items from one supplier or auction site. Your house items shop gets its products from many suppliers and links you directly to them.

The house items shop allows you to search from the site and find products from many different suppliers and places. You can for any item you want. You don’t find this with others. We have found the house items shop is about helping the home owner find items for their home. The shop is not about selling things to others its about finding the items the home owner needs to remodel, fix, repair or decorate their homes.

The house items shop is the one stop shop. We need to get so many things done in a 24 hour day and just don’t have the time to run place to place. The www.houseitemsshop.biz is there to help you, not sell to you. They will even be on help sites, like here or www.prepareyourhomeforsale.biz/blog which is a great site run by Badges Properties, who works to help solve your homes remodel and repair problems. Badges Properties may be located in WI, greater Milwakee area, but help people around country to fix or just aid them, even in new lawn installation via hidroseeding. The most high tech way for new lawns and even erosion barriers. The www.homeitemsshop is a must see shop.

I know it is now time to put the lawn mower away a break out the snow blowers in the Great Midwest. I cannot help myself as I cannot believe how many people have not heard of a lawn installation process called hydro-seeding in the great state of Wisconsin. We are not aware of hydroseeding machines here and there uses for new lawns and erosion barriers. I know we run behind the times on fashion and other new things, but we really need to start thinking here people. People are still using a caveman way of throwing grass seed in the air and covering it with straw, you see it all the time here. I know its hard to believe. Then even using granular fertilizers that can run off and cause harm to other areas. The really bad stuff is rolled out straw blankets. The straw blankets contain a plastic mesh, not to mention we are covering the earths soil with a plastic compound that will never never dissolve. I see it here in Wisconsin all the time, is no one concerned about our wild life and environment.

The real kicker is there is a process called hydro-seeding that is 100 times better than the straw/seed and the grass / straw process uses unsafe granular fertilizers of the past. There are companies Like Badges Properties LLC in the greater Milwaukee area which has a hydroseeding machine for new lawn and erosion barrier installation. This company is willing to work with home owners, landscapers and even gives discounts to developers/builders. They can be found in the online yellow pages. Badges Properties LLC does not advertise much as their product and service is so good people hear about them word of mouth. The only problem is the builders don’t know about them and they keep using large landscaping outfits and paying twice as much by using straw and straw blankets. The home owner gets sod like quality lawns from Badges Properties LLC hydroseeding service.

The hydro-seeding lawn installation process via hydroseeding machine gives you a new sod quality lawn in 4 weeks and costs half the price. Did you get that? Sod quality like lawn in 4 weeks. The best part no harm to animals in plastic nets or old granular fertilizers in our hydro-seeding process. I could install lawns and erosion barriers with seed and plastic netting all day and make tons of money; but I won’t. The hydro-seeding process saves our environment and wildlife. That’s enough reason right there. You want more of a reason, that even some builders don’t know? It is more economical to hydro-seed then use the roll out plastic/straw blankets. That’s right even builders are not aware of the advantages of hydro-seeding. You see most of them have set up deals with landscapers who don’t use hydro-seeding machines because it would cost them to much. You see the hydroseeding machines are costly at first, but really pay for themselves in the end. Badges Properties LLC was able to find out about hydroseeding machines a couple years back and started offering hydroseeded lawns and erosion barriers to builders/developers.

There are actually landscape companies taking advantage of illegal help and paying them very low wages and getting away with it as they pay them in cash, eluding the IRS and not paying taxes. So, instead of buying the hydro-seeding machines, they exploit these poor people for their own huge money gains. The landscapers using illegal help don’t want to tell the builders they work with, that hydro-seeding is better and safer. The builders on the other hand would get a much better lawn at cheaper rate which is safe for all. You maybe asking your self how is it cheaper? You see the landscaper company owner still charges a premium rate for a low quality product. So, the only one who sees the benefits is the landscape company owner. There are many builders that just think it is the cheapest route to get their lawns and erosion barriers put in. When builders are not even aware of hydroseeding machines, how would the general home owner without being told about hydro-seeding and all of its benefits, know?

There are some high quality builders that know about it and just automatically figure since it is new and high tech figure hydroseeding lawns and erosion barriers is expensive, but it is not at all. The people in the southern parts of the country have been using hydro-seeding for many years already. The builders here in the greater Milwaukee area may have also run into high priced hydro-seeders when it first arrived here and just said it’s to expensive. This is really not the case were Badges Properties LLC is concerned, they are so economical other landscapers sub-contract them just for the lawn. The builders would also find this out if they would just take some time and read a letter or take a phone call from a quality hydro-seeding company representative, they would see that hydro-seeding is far better for new lawns and erosion control. The new home owner would be the other one to benefit highly from hydro-seeding. Besides a hydroseeded lawn being very economical for a home owner to put in, it is also less expensive to get and keep a great looking lawn. The straw/seed landscapers don’t want you to know, it costs more in fertilizer and still grows 50% weeds and then you finally get 50% grass. A straw/seed lawn takes 2 years to grow in. hydro-seeded lawns, via hydroseeding machine takes 4 weeks! You do the math on materials and time spent. It is really obvious that hydro-seeding is by far the most economical and best product.

The International Association of Hydroseeding Professionals maintains a list of professional hydro-seeders for the whole country (www.hydroseeding.org.) It is a great source to help find out about hydro-seeding and professional hydroseeders, look for the contractors that have the I.A.H.P. symbol by their company name as these are members the others are just known contractors in that area, stick with the members. In fact there is a company called G&G hydroseeding that is on this list and offers hydroseeding services, who are a professional member. G&G hydroseeding is owned by Badges Properties LLC, so you can reach them both for hydroseeding services. The Wisconsin listings has members right at the top of their list of contractors. Many contractors can have large areas that they will service, so just call and ask.

I really wish some people who would be interested in helping the environment would help spread the word about hydro-seeding, via hydroseeding machine. If you want more info, please leave a comment or e-mail and we can talk about hydro-seeding and it’s benefits to all. People building a house need to ask their builder if they know of a quality hydro-seeder in their area. If the builder is not aware, just check the site above. I even encourage all builders to look into hydroseeding and just because one hydro-seeder is a little high, does not mean all are. I have heard of hydro-seeders going as low as 6.5 cents per square foot for large builders. Think of what you can buy for 6.5 cents. This shows you how cost effective hydro-seeding is. Most home owners are looking at about 8-16 cents depending on what part of the country you live.

I will try to help spread the word, but I cannot do it alone. I could use any help I could get.

Remember Always Safety First.

Well, here it is winter and lots of snow in the Midwest. The ice damming is now becoming a big problem as roofs are covered in heavy blankets of snow. Some would say, this is just a picture perfect look for the Christmas holidays upon us, even the pretty icicles that are hanging down. Looks nice, but highly dangerous and destructive for you and your house. When to much snow is on the roof it becomes very heavy. This may be too heavy for the roof supports and cause possible breaking of these supports.

Now, ice damming can lead to water damage on the inside and outside walls of a house. When the outside temperatures rise the snow melts and goes towards the gutters and mounds the ice and starts creeping up the roof. Many houses through the years have put in ice and dam shields to protect their homes from ice damming. Those that do not have this can still have this ice melt and get into their homes walls. When the water gets into the walls it leads to damp dry wall or the break down the dry wall all together. This then can lead to excessive moisture in the walls and structure from the ice damming. We now know how destructive ice damming can be.

The ice damming comes from air flow in the attic areas of a home. Many times not enough insulation in the attic area allows heat to escape into this area and warms the roof causing the snow above to melt when it shouldn’t. You will see that many roofing professionals will tell you this a leading cause of ice damming. One way to help eliminate and control ice damming is to make sure you add a needed layer of insulation. You will see how this will help and also help your heating costs in the long run. The added insulation does not allow large amounts of heat to escape, therefore not heating the roof causes the snow to melt at a much slower rate. You might think, well is it not good to get the heavy snow off the roof by melting it faster? No, as the water hits the gutter area it cools and then becomes ice. The ice can then mound and creek up the roof line getting under the roof covering and then into the attic and walls.

The pitch of a roof can slow the ice damming also by not allowing the snow to stay on the roof. Even houses with low roofs can have less snow on it, but this is where people need to help their house and the ice damming. People need to hire people to remove the snow or buy roof rakes, which are a modified snow shovel for your roof and do it yourself. You need to get the snow 2-4 feet up from the gutter. This process will help to slow or eliminate the ice damming.

Some houses that have done the above and have a low pitch roof, may add roof and gutter heaters. These systems don’t allow the water to freeze again and then it runs off the way it should. This way not allowing the water to refreeze causing an ice dam.

These tips should get you and you ice damming in the right direction. If you are in the Midwest, greater Milwaukee area, drop me an e-mail and maybe I can help you with your individual problems on your house. Even if your not in this area, feel free to leave me an e-mail and I will try to help you also.

Remember, Safety First

We have all tried to find a handyman to fix our homes. You struggle with finding a honest and fair handyman to handle those repairs, this is the hard part. A handyman does not have to be a person who lacks knowledge and or insurance. Years back a handyman was generally an older man who just had experience in many areas of house repair from his own personal experience. Now days you have highly skilled handyman/contractors that can cover from your smallest to largest projects, that is if your lucky enough to find this type of company.

The new breed of handyman company is coming about out of need. Many people are now staying in their homes so they need them fixed or repaired. The down side of all this is the popping up of all the screening services and handyman franchises that charge an arm and a leg to cover their high over heads and and advertising. You see these large franchise companies just let anyone buy in as long as they have the money to buy their franchise. You often don’t get a true skilled handyman/contractor. You get a person who was hired by the new franchise owner/operator. So, you get the under skilled and possible under paid laborer of the handyman franchise owner.

They will typically have many ads and fancy trucks and great looking color matching uniforms for their under paid help. This will get them noticed/seen so many will hire them just due to their huge advertising budgets, not high quality work and reasonable pricing. So, you say, yeah your right. What do I do, to find what I think is a good handyman/contractor? I just don’t want people getting sucked into the “all that glitters is not gold” problem. People think just because a company has big fancy ads and highly decal-ed trucks, they have to be good. Many people fall for this everyday.

How to find a good handyman is not that hard, just see beyond all the glitter. A good handyman/contractor can be found from friends and family. Ask others who they have used and don’t be afraid to ask what kind of jobs these other handyman did and for how much. Did they show up on time? Did they finish in a reasonable time? Where did they find them? These questions will be very helpful to you. When people give a response of “ok or they did the job” in short or brief answers odds are they were not that pleased. Some people even get upset because they had such a bad experience with a handyman/contractor they will not say much about it at all.

Look for handyman/contractors with good word or mouth advertising. The small handyman companies will typically have nice small adds in business directories in some major papers and even your small community newspaper. The ads that are big and have pictures costs the company a lot of money, guess who really pays for that ad, you! It may have got your attention, but you will pay more. A short and to the point ad will be where you want to look. Then just call a few and see if they can help you with your needs. If you are lucky enough to find a good small handyman company where the owner still answers the phone, you know that you are on the right track.

Now, if you have the owner ask them a few questions. Look for people who are rooted to the community and have been part of your community for many years, even a life time. These are very important questions. How many years in business and what back ground or certifications, do they have? If you are in the greater Milwaukee area or surrounding areas please, give me an e-mail and maybe I can help you with your handyman/contractor needs. Please also go to my free sites and there are many free articles to help with your homes needs. You can also leave a question or comment there. I try to get back to people ASAP. Many people and many home repairs and home problems.

Remember Safety First.

We can use a little Christmas help.  This is the time of year when we join with family and friends.  We even try to join with our co-workers in an effort to spread the Christmas spirit.  When we invite people into our homes for the holidays we invite them with open arms.  It all starts at the front door or maybe even the edge of your drive way.  Just because it is the holidays does not mean that you will not be able to find a good handyman to help you with your needs.  This is when you need the most help.  The Christmas spirit is in the air and we want it all to be just perfect.  No, you don’t have to remodel your whole bathroom; but maybe some new towel bars would be a nice touch.  We just installed a new rail/wall system in our entryway of our home.  I am hoping that it will be done before Christmas eve.

This is still a little bigger project than towel bars;  but will get noticed by everyone who enters.  When people come to your home you want your home to feel warm and inviting.  Fixing small things around your home helps give this feel.  A broken bathroom door knob which allows the door to swing open when someone is on the thrown is not going to give people a warm and inviting feel,  maybe screaming and shock!  I know family and friends are coming to see you and not your house; but your house is you.  Take a strong hold of pride of ownership.  When your front door light is burnt out and is only hanging by one screw, its time to fix it.  The are so many little things around the house that you can use a good handyman company for.  You don’t always need a general contractor who charges  a $100 dollars per hour just to talk to him or her.  The large property management and complex associations fall into the contractor pit alot.  They could get a good small contractor or handyman company that could cover all their needs and spend 25-50% less just because they did a little searching.  You can do the same.  You still need to be careful and research the background of the people you want in your home to do your work.

I can’t but think the bigger the company you go with the less you will know about the people you are letting into your house.  You see lets just look at one of these so called online screening sites for contractors and handyman work.  Take note,  your not paying the screening company for them to find you a honest and true craftsman.  So,  who is paying the screening company?  That’s right the same contractors and handyman company that they told you about.  Really seems like a conflict of interest to me.  These screening sites are popping up like crazy so someone must be paying their bills.  The other thing out there is the big flashy ads and hounding sales people.  The large replacement window companies are great for that.  I will stop there, what I am trying to say is the large places are not paying large money to the people they are sending you and that leads to high turn over.   A smaller company will know its people and you might even have the company owner working on your house.

I have tried to write a couple articles on consumer protection and scams.  I write this article now as I know people want to have things just perfect for friends and family.  The haste to get things done can lead people to the wrong person to do their work.  The Christmas time of year is a special time of year that can really be destroyed; because the guy the big name company with all the flashy ads and hype sent out,  came back and did his own house call and your gifts and belongings in your home was his fee.   There are many good people out there doing high quality work for reasonable rates.  They are sometimes a little harder to find because they don’t have big flashy ads in the phone book or full page ads in your local newspaper.     In the end you will be happy that you spent a little time to find the right handyman for you.  Try to find someone that friends or family have used or just find out what you can about a company before you just hire them because they had the biggest ad or listed first on a big name online search engine.

There can be hazards of hiring a small company as they may not have the tools or knowledge you thought they had.  These smaller guys don’t last very long and makes the percentage of them finding you small.  The true small company knows how to treat people as their business depends on it.  If you have to dial a toll free number to find your handyman odds are this is not a direct line to the business owner.   You hear it all the time,  what happened to customer service?  The person answering that same toll free handyman number,  has no idea who is going to show up at your house!  Everybody likes to make fun of small cities or towns where there’s one or two plumbers or handyman,  but you never hear those people say, “yeah, Fred the plumber took my TV and all my Christmas gifts” or “Yeah, I just got ripped off again by Joe the handyman.   These people know each other and live in the same communities who have pride and respect for one another.  It also helps you know exactly where Joe lives if he would rip you off,  but Joe’s not going to do that because he wasn’t sent to you from some screening service.   Heck, you might have even went to school with Joe and now your kids go to school with Joe’s kids.

Look for companies with good names,  Badges Properties LLC and Home Improvements.  This name makes a statement.  Not a flashy franchise name and look at our big flashy ads and toll free number.  The company with a good name or family name is the one that will stand behind there badge and name to give you the service you need and want.

Remember, Always Safety First.

The holidays are upon us and we will be having friends and family over to the house. We get to look at our houses everyday and forget about the things that need to be repaired or fixed. We just don’t think about it. Well they don’t get fixed or repaired as we like and now here comes everyone into your home for the holidays. Yes, I know Christmas is not about the shape our homes are in. I just feel you want to put your best foot forward and really shine this time of year.

The hard part is finding the right handyman to meet your needs and budget. I have written many an article about finding the right person for the job and if you need help, please let me know. I have been provding help to people for years with great joy and pleasure recieved for my efforts. We need to help each other and for many this time of year is a giving time more than other times. If you need it fixed, repaired, remodeled, sold, staged just let me know and maybe I can help.

Please feel free to leave your house problem questions.

Remember, Safety First.

I know,  what in world am I doing talking about hydroseeding when snow storms are hitting everywhere?  Well,  everyone was so busy during the summer so maybe some people will like to learn about the wonderful benefits of a hydroseeded lawn.  The new lawns that’s are put in via hydroseeding start growing in the first week.  The hydroseeded lawn in the 3rd to 4th week can be cut, that’s right a full lawn in 4 weeks!  The blend of seed, fertilizer, mulch and bonding additives give a high quality blend of mixture to give a great lawn.  The only faster way to get a new lawn is to use grass sod.  The cost of a hydroseeded lawn is 8-18 cents a square foot depending on your part of the country and how big your yard is.  Contractors can even get it for less as they normally volume discounts,  I have heard as low as 5.4 CENTS a square foot.

The Midwest areas, especially in the greater Milwaukee areas of Wisconsin have not even heard of hydroseeding.  Most of the builders are still using roll out straw blankets and seed on commercial developments!  These straw blankets contain plastic mesh inside of them unless they use the environmentally safe weaved blanket,  which at $80 a roll for cost to installers then add mark up,  you can see the problem here.  The roll only covers 900 hundred square feet and the above figure does not include seed or fertilizer!  A small hydroseeding machine will cover 4000 square ft with only 1 tank full!  This only shows me that the builders are not even aware of hydroseeding otherwise they would not be paying so much money for a low quality product and still get much less.  The paper mulch type used by some hydroseeders,  is safe to all land and animals, besides providing a erosion barrier that the EPA calls for on construction sites now days,  this mulch combined with a bonding agent provide  the required  erosion protection.  The best part the paper mulch degrades and then feeds the new grass!  No, plastic mesh and safe for the environment.  This only shows me again that builders and home owners in this area are not aware of hydro-seeding.  This stuff only costs pennies,  how much more economical can you get and still be safe for the environment.  Going green cannot get any easier here!

This year I cannot even say how much of the straw roll out blankets, I saw.  It just makes me shudder at the thought of all that plastic being laid over our top soil surfaces,  never to dissolve.  The thought of that is just horrible.  The next question is why?  Why is this horrible stuff being used when a environmentally safe alternative of hydroseeding is available at such a economical price.  I could use this stuff and make lots of money, but I just cannot lower myself knowing that it is such low quality and still costs more then hydroseeding.  What are people thinking here?  I would rather only install 12,000 square ft of lawn via hydro seed a week, then put in 40,000 square feet of straw and seed and get paid 4 times as much for the straw.  I just cannot lower myself,  even when the there is such large amounts of money to be made from straw and seed applications.     The way they are using the straw/seed in Wisconsin, greater Milwaukee area you would think they were giving it to the builders for free.

The hydroseeded lawns and erosion barriers are highly economical and green to all.  The true problem is just educating people to the fact that hydroseeding opposed to straw/seed application even exists.  They say knowledge is power, so let’s try to educate people and help to move out of the dark ages and into the present.  

If you have any questions or would like to help spread the word about hydroseeding please leave a comment and I will get back to you.     There are many quality hydroseeders out there,  stick with ones in your area that are listed with professional hydroseeder associations.   These people are showing they are committed to being professional and keep the high standards.  Don’t be fooled by just being listed on a turf machine site, some list people just because they bought their equipment from them.  The actual professional association members will have a member symbol by their names.

This article is in a on going series under “Save Money On Your House”  on my site “Houses To Go”.   I will jump right in here,  I was having a conversation with one of my clients, when she asked if we were bonded or not?   People see this in the telephone book all the time in ads.  These ads are just another advertising tactic by usually large contractors with big advertising budgets.   You don’t have to be bonded to show you are a quality and honest company.  Now,  I am sure all the companies selling these bond / insurance policies will have something different to say.  Many years back when people would give full payment down for materials and labor, back in the day where there were more honest then dishonest contractors a few would run off with their customers money.  These people then had to track these companies and sue to get any money back and have them arrested.  The advent of a company being bonded for construction work was invented to give the consumer piece of mind and put more money into a bonds companies pockets for premiums.  Let’s be honest,  who do you really think is paying the premium on the bond, that’s right you.

The bonds cover things like bond for work completion,  in other words your contractor runs off half way through the job.  Again, many years back people paid in full then lost that money and then had to hire someone else.  Now days  most people only put 25-33% down and then more as the work is completed.  Hence you can see no reason if you do it this way to have someone who is bonded.   You never gave them your money so you still have it!  You would still have to find another contractor to finish your work anyway.  The bond company gives you the remaining money to complete the work, they don’t find you another contractor who won’t scam you.   So,  you can see how some one saying they are bonded is just a “warm fuzzy advertising tactic now days”  the only ones who still demand being bonded is government contracts and that everyone can see makes all the difference when we are paying $500 dollars from a shady contractor, for one toilet seat.  Well,  being bonded really made all the difference here,  NOT!

Now, the next type of bonding is for performance.  example,  shady window contractor sells you services to reduce your old window drafts,  shows up with a caulk gun and a tube of caulk and charges $15,000 and tells you that you have new windows now.   The bond is then paid out to have you find a real contractor and have real windows put in.  Here again,  only put down 33%  and then only pay at the end if you got the real replacement windows you thought installed.  Here again,  no reason to be bonded,  just use common sense.   You need to take the time to look into who you are using for your home improvement work.  I have seen people ask,  are you bonded and insured?  Reply by shady contractor is not going to be “why no, I am here to just take your money and run”.  They are going to say yes,  problem here is most people just say “ok” and never look into anyway.  The ads in the phone book can say anything the person wants it to say,  they can say their bonded and insured for 400 hundred billion dollars,  if no one checks it don’t make a difference.  Hence, it is more of a advertising tool then anything else.  

People need to use contractors that they have heard of through others and see their work.   I had a person once even say “I am going with you, because I was standing in your work”.  This person used a bathroom at a friends house that we had remodeled for them.  She was going with us because she talked too and had seen our completed work which was of the highest quality, we did not tell her this, she saw it with her own eyes.  The large contractors out there always have in their ads that they are bonded,  you see when they bid on government work,  remember they have to be anyway.   The smaller high quality contractors have their prices set so low already buying bond would cost them more money then what it is worth.  Remember,  the big contractor sales people don’t tell you that you are paying for their high priced bonding and insurance, fancy ads on TV, radio and news paper.  Think about who is here?  That’s right you again. 

People just need to use their heads when picking people to do work on their homes.  The guy with the big fancy ads and trucks is not always the best.  People just don’t seem to get this one at all.  No,  I am not saying the guy in the 1975 rust bucket truck is the answer either.  Many large contractors spend thousands and some even millions on advertising in a effort to win people over.  Remember,  the bigger they are,  the larger crews they need.  You may ask yourself so?   Big crews normally equals high turn over and unknown back grounds on many of their employees.  Remember people,  your never going to see their work crew until they are working on your house.   In the home improvement arena many people are not Harvard and Yale graduates here, your lucky if the work crew even went to college at all.   I have heard of roofing and other crew jobs especially landscaping companies using all illegal crews and you don’t want to know where they find these people and their back grounds.  I have even had our customers say that they were afraid to let some of these contractor crews in their house.   So,  bigger is definitely not always better in this case.   You have areas where you need to be more careful then others.  I have seen many roofing guys call themselves a roofing contractor because they have a truck and roofing gun.  These guys even scare me.  The higher end trades, plumbers, electricians, home inspectors all have to be certified or hold a license.  When these guys try to scam someone they know their credential’s and living is on the line.  Again, remember anyone can say they are certified, if you think they are not, just go on line, state sites list people who have been state certified or may be decertified.   

There currently are not any certification or licenses for home improvement/handy man companies in many areas.  Show me the last certified or licensed painter or landscape company you have seen or used.  There are people out there that are over kill and end up paying way more for services,  example, the person who wants a bonded, insured, licensed, certified electrician to come in an change a light bulb or light switch in their house.  Sure, the electrician will provide theses services  at $65-$150 per hour with a automatic trip minimum most of the time equal to one hour of time.  The old saying a fool and his money are soon parted.  Now, if you are replacing or updating your electrical services to 100 or 200 amp service,  yeah,  you should be looking for a good electrical contractor.   There is a time and place for everything.

I have for many years provided and performed many repairs and improvements so yes, I understand not all people know a wrench from skill saw.  Hence, why I also get hired just to consult for people and let them know what they need done.  I save people thousands this way, they already know what they need before the contractors line up ten deep at their door steps.  I also keep a small secured network of trusted individuals that have provided high quality work for reasonable prices.  When I look for contractors, I first ask around my network of trades people I use.  Now,  it’s my business to have this network of people at my disposal, but you also can check around by asking friends and family.  Also, remember these so called screening companies you see online all the time,  the contractors they use have to pay them to get them to use them.  Sure sounds like a conflict of interest to me.  Now, free sites or forums run just to help out, thats different.  You have to be careful that someone on the forum is not just a shady contractor posing as a home owner.  You still  have to use common sense.  I would not use those screening companies just has to be a conflict of interest,  if a contractor pays money to the screening company to get customers,  come on people, that should be red flags to all.  A small contractor or consultant on the other hand will only use the best people as their business depends on it,  not a paid subscriber based fees by thousands of contractors.   

Well, it’s hard to write these articles, because I never know if people have followed the series of articles.  So, I have to repeat information to ensure that people still get the message.   As I have stated before, my sites are free, so you get information that in-person people have had to pay for, obviously their information is more detailed to their exact needs.  These articles have to cover a large general area. 

Have a home question, just ask.

Remember Safety first.