What No One Ever Tells You about Renovating Your Home : Real-Life Advice for Hassle-Free, Cost-Effective Remodeling

by Heavens, Alan J.

• ISBN13: 9781419501579
• ISBN10: 1419501577
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-01
• Publisher: Kaplan

Summary

What No One Ever Tells You About Home Renovation tackles what homeowners need to know before they sketch out an idea for a remodeling project or start calling contractors. Readers get the straight scoop on planning for a renovation, finding the right contractor, and staying in control throughout the home renovation process, from America's poster boy of home renovation, weekly columnist Al Heavens whose writing on home renovation is syndicated to nearly 400 newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
PART 1 RIGHT FROM THE START	1	(50)
Is This Trip Really Necessary?	3	(3)
To Move or Not to Move	6	(4)
Make Haste Slowly	10	(3)
Maybe If You Cleaned Up a Little	13	(4)
None but the Brave	17	(5)
Just Because It's New	22	(4)
How Much Should You Do?	26	(5)
It's Never as Easy as It Looks	31	(4)
It Never Ends . . . Well, Almost Never	35	(3)
Bigger Isn't Always Better	38	(3)
Mind the Neighbors	41	(3)
Don't Renovate to Sell	44	(7)
PART 2 ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES	51	(60)
The Perfect Match	53	(4)
It's All in the Plan	57	(2)
Your House, Not the Poor House	59	(5)
Point, Click, Answer	64	(4)
No Job Too Small	68	(3)
That's No Lady, That's Your Paycheck	71	(4)
Word of Mouth	75	(4)
Keep It Legal	79	(5)
A Handshake Is Never Enough	84	(2)
What's Your Name Again?	86	(3)
No Deposit? The Contractor Will Return	89	(4)
Don't Take No for an Answer	93	(3)
Materials Matter	96	(4)
Nothing Lasts Forever	100	(3)
Homeowners, Sweet Homeowners	103	(8)
PART 3 STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN	111	(42)
Danger, Will Robinson!	115	(4)
Up on the Roof	119	(3)
A Moldy Oldie	122	(4)
The Air That We Breathe	126	(4)
A Flicker of Hope	130	(4)
Closing the Gaps	134	(4)
Plumbing the Depths	138	(4)
Running Hot and Cold	142	(3)
What's Bugging You?	145	(8)
PART 4 THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY	153	(56)
You Can Live Here Almost Forever	155	(4)
All Work and No Play	159	(4)
How Low Can You Flow?	163	(4)
All Hands on Deck	167	(6)
A Tankless Job	173	(3)
Don't Feel Insecure	176	(2)
Will It Wash?	178	(3)
Oh, Dry Up!	181	(3)
An Idea That Doesn't Always Hold Water	184	(3)
Not Just a Hole in the Wall	187	(3)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	190	(4)
Move Along, Old Paint!	194	(4)
Park It There, Pal!	198	(4)
How Does Your Garden Grow?	202	(7)
Internet Resource Guide	209	(6)
Index	215