Home Improvement Actors

HomeAdditionPlus.com introduces its Basement Remodeling Bid Sheet. The Basement Remodeling Bid Sheet prepares homeowners with the necessary information to complete a basement remodeling project. Most importantly, it provides them with the appropriate set of questions to ask prospective general contractors for their basement remodeling project. The bid sheet also includes a separate spreadsheet that homeowners can use to enter expected and actual costs for every aspect of the basement remodeling project.

The Basement Remodeling Bid Sheet from HomeAdditionPlus.com (http://www.homeadditionplus.com) is perfect for homeowners who are contemplating or planning to finish their basement. The Bid Sheet is specifically designed to help homeowners in the soliciting of bid proposals from general contractors on the remodeling of a basement.

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For the Tenazas family, it all started with the hot tub.

They had a hot tub installed on the deck of their Upper Saddle River, N.J., home about three years ago. But when the weather turned cold, they found themselves dreading the thought of making the dash from the hot tub to the house.

“We were thinking that in the winter time, it’s too cold to get out there,” said Mary Lou Tenazas.

So they decided to turn part of the deck into more usable space by installing a three-season sunroom, at a cost of about $25,000. Now they’re able to use the hot tub through more of the year, and enjoy the sunroom.

Decks are not the only place homeowners target when they want to transform little-used space into increased living areas. Basements, attics, closets, garages, even the dead space under the stairs: All can become additional living space with imagination and some remodeling.

And in the weak real estate market, remodeling underused space is a way to “trade up” without selling and moving, or even expanding beyond the footprint of the house.

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August is not only a hot month temperature wise, it’s a hot month for homeowners and home buyers. Why? It’s time for the annual West Florida Home & Product Expo at the Pensacola Civic Center.

“The expo will feature more than 20,000 square feet of building, remodeling, products and services on display from more than 90 local and regional businesses,” said David Peaden, executive director of the Home Builders Association of West Florida.

“If you’re looking to remodel, or if you’re thinking about building a new home, then this is the show for you,” said Ron Castner of Castner Construction, chairperson of the Home & Product Expo. “In addition, attendees can learn a lot about new products and services from knowledgeable exhibitors that will enable them to make wise decisions when it comes to building a new home or making home improvements.”

A good example will be the Gene’s Floor Covering booth, featuring “Green’’ products.

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I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with hiring Home Depot contractors and subcontractors for remodeling work. But plenty of homeowners have indicated this. Their experiences and comments are documented in a five-part investigation by KNBC-TV Channel 4. After asking viewers to send in their complaints, reporter Joel Grover presented Home Depot with those cases, based on work done by national subcontractor U.S. Home Services, and asked them to respond. Here’s what the series’ website says:

Home Depot is the biggest name in home improvement, and that’s why thousands of people hire them to do major remodeling projects. But an NBC4 undercover investigation explores the costly nightmares many customers say they experience when they contract with Home Depot to remodel their kitchens, get new roofs, and do other home remodeling. Insiders tell NBC4 about what they call questionable sales tactics. Plus, you won’t believe what NBC4’s hidden cameras caught on tape.

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Artist, finance consultant selling London house to finance their next dream across the pond.

Jane Prophet and David Richardson must be addicted to renovation.

The couple — she is an artist and he, a finance consultant — are selling the north London home they gutted just a few years ago to move to New England to create a rural retreat for artists and scientists.

Their four-bedroom, 21/2-bath semi-detached house in the Crouch End neighborhood of London was their second complete overhaul. In 2001, they remodeled what had been a government-subsidized apartment in nearby Finsbury Park, but it lacked a garden. Shortly after finishing the project, they began looking for a new home.

After viewing about 70 properties — “We’re really fussy,” Prophet said — in 2003, they found a dilapidated but promising three-story, 2,100-square-foot house at the top of a steep hill with a view of the rooftops of Crouch End and Hornsey, and the Victorian-era Alexandra Palace.

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