River City Referrals Blog

Save Your Green to go ‘Green’

Jill Barber — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:53:28 +0000

When deciding to build a new home or remodel and update an existing home, more Richmonders are taking the plunge and decide to go ‘green’ in order to help the environment as well as save their own green from rising energy costs. Green home improvements and remodels almost always offer an excellent return on the investment, but thehigh cost of getting started in the world of green building can be a greater than most home owners anticipated.

Don’t despair, here are some tips that will help you go ‘green’ and save your green too.

Make routine visits to the local second hand stores like the local Richmond Habitat Store. There may be products available that are brand new, but discontinued lines or they may be previously used from somebody else’s remodel job. You can have the safety of an item checked out, such as does it contain asbestos, lead paint or other contaminants. But once they have been determined as safe, they will add character to your home at a fraction of what the new stuff will cost. * When thinking of saving water and reducing water bills, consider going without a garbage disposal. While they are a convenience most of us have gotten use to, they use a large amount of water. And all those organic materials you send down the drain (and eventually in to the water system) could be used to start a compost pile. Your food scraps can gain you rich topsoil filled with nutrients for the best garden fertilizer possible!
If you are replacing or installing appliances, or windows make sure you look for energy saving pieces. While you may pay a higher price to get the product, you are going to save anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on your energy bills. The existing tax-credits will save you even more these days if you install qualifying materials.
If you are building new, think on a smaller scale. The larger you build your home the larger the heating, cooling and utility expenses will be later down the road. So rethink all that square footage and make sure it’s going to be put to good use. Do you really use that formal living room now, or do friends and family all move to the den to socialize? Though vaulted ceilings are popular, heat rises and many homeowners find that upstairs bedrooms are cold in the winter and hot in the summer.
After your remodeling or build, go back to those second hand stores and sell the items you replace and no longer need like the leftover lumber and building materials. Your old stuff could be the finishing piece for somebody else. Keep your project from adding to our landfills.

These tips will still give your new or remodeled home the look you want at a price you can afford, and help the environment too.

Feeling Green in Richmond Today

Jill Barber — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:50:28 +0000

We did a newsletter on this topic last year, but I felt like putting out such great information again.
Green remodeling is simple, but many Richmond homeowners are not sure what it really involves. So I set out to determine what defines green, environmental, eco-friendly, energy-efficient…okay, you get the point. What I found is that there is no such thing as a right or wrong way to go “green”.
At my house, we started by simply recycling our trash. It means less in the landfills, more things reused and a $25 savings each month for us on trash pickup. Scrap wood from our recent bathroom upgrade was pulled out of the trash pile, and went into our fireplace during cold weather. Simple steps lead to big savings for our wallet, but even better is that we are doing our part for the environment as well.
Building and remodeling green is a thinking process, not a contest to see how many green things you can incorporate into your home. Doing what you can within your budget and personal motivation is plenty. Reducing is as powerful as eliminating. There are lots of things that are free. Some are more expensive in the short run and only see long term returns on the investment. Lots are energy efficient. Most look no different than traditional building or decorating.
When it comes to green remodeling, you don’t have to do everything green, but anything you do will help. How about using recycled or salvaged wood from Eco Supply Center on Roseneath Road here in Richmond? How about insulating with fabulous new cheap alternative-recycled denim? It actually holds more heat and absorbs more sound than traditional insulation. It’s available at Nature Neutral in Charlottesville. Time to repaint? Check out Sally Fretwell’s low VOC paint on Ridgefield Parkway? Don’t forget, using products that are locally or regionally produced helps support the local economy, and requires less energy and fewer resources during production and transportation. To find more great ways to reuse, reduce and recycle, check out your local online freecycle chapter where other Richmond residents pass along their unused items to others who may need them.
At River City Referrals, we are committed to providing our customers with alternative green contractors, builders and designers. Won’t you join us?

TIPS FOR HIRING RELIABLE HOME IMPROVEMENT PROFESSIONALS

Jill Barber — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:57:24 +0000

Here is an excerpt from an article I’d like to pass along to my fellow residents of Richmond. It was written by my good friend, Debra Cohen who is founder and President of Home Remedies of NY, Inc.—a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) business. This article highlighted the best tips for finding the right contractor to handle your home improvement project based on Debra’s 9 years of experience in the homeowner referral network business.
“Where to find them?
When looking for a contractor, many homeowners ask their friends and family for recommendations but in my experience, getting a contractor referral from another tradesperson is far more reliable. While your friend may have been satisfied with a contractor he/she used once or twice, their project may be very different from yours. Trades people (i.e. contractors, painters, plumbers) deal with other contractors repeatedly, over a long period of time and in a variety of projects. In my opinion they are therefore in a better position to offer a contractor referral. And, if a recommended contractor tells you that he’s too busy to take your job, ask him to refer you to one of his colleagues who may be suitable.
How to screen them?
Once you’ve found a potential contractor for your job, ask the contractor for the names and phone numbers of three to five customers for whom he has completed a similar project in the past two years. This will make it more difficult for a contractor to “hand pick” only his best references. Call each reference and ask the homeowner what they liked and didn’t like about the contractor. Ask him if the final cost of the job exceeded his estimate and if he completed the work in a neat and timely fashion. Most importantly, ask them if they would hire the contractor again for another home improvement project.
How to check their credentials?
Before checking to see if the contractor you’d like to hire is adequately insured and licensed, you’ll need to contact your county offices to research what credentials are required for home improvement contractors in your state and in your county. I also recommend that the contractor you hire have a minimum of $1 million in general liability insurance. Be sure to get a copy of his license and insurance for your records.
How do your personalities mix?
Are you the type of person who likes to be involved in every decision or do you prefer to “leave your job to the experts”? Believe it or not, your contractor’s personality can make or break the success of your project. I have contractors in my network who prefer not to be micromanaged and others who want the homeowner’s input on every aspect of the job. The best way to find out if you and your contractor’s personalities are a good fit is to be upfront about how involved you’d like to be on your renovation. And, ask your contractors to tell you how comfortable they are with customer involvement. If your approaches aren’t compatible, it’s a good sign that he might not be the right person for the job.
Did you get it in writing?
If your contractor is hesitant to put the details of your job in writing, I
would be concerned. Also, in addition to getting a written cost estimate for the job, ask the contractor to document details about the type of materials he plans to use, his anticipated start date, project schedule and completion date.”
We hope this helps you navigate the hiring process if you choose to hire a contractor for your next home improvement project. The process above can be time-consuming, and River City Referrals handles all aspects of this for the homeowners. And best of all, it’s free of charge to the homeowners.

Should I File Alone or Leave It to the Pros-Pressed Wood Siding

Jill Barber — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:03:23 +0000

In our last post we went over how to go about filing a pressed wood siding claim. On average, the claim period can take between 3- 6 months. Then, of course, there is the possibility of appeals. Between the collection of records, samples and getting through the paperwork, filing a pressed wood siding claim yourself may not be the best job for you and you may decide to hire a professional to do the shuffle work for you.

Whether you are going to file the claim on your own or hire a pro, read through our list of important questions (and answers) to make sure you are up for the challenge of filing a pressed wood siding claim.

Can you afford to wait 6 months for the claim process, and 4 additional months if there is a 2nd inspection or appeal?
How much of your siding qualifies as “damaged”? (It’s up to the inspector)
Can I reject an offer and appeal it if I don’t think it’s fair? (Yes)
How do I know if my siding qualifies? (Sample and Inspection)
How much are typical damage awards? ($4/square foot on average)
My damage award seems small, why is that? (Various reasons)
What are the claim filing deadlines for the various manufacturers? (Too many to list)
Is this a siding recall or an actual damage award? (Cash damage award)
How much will this cost me? (Free if you do it yourself, percentage to hire a service)
Can I do this without removing a sample from my house? (Maybe)
What if I already replaced/painted or repaired my siding? (See next question)
Can I file again if I’ve replaced or repaired some of my siding? (Yes)
How long must I wait before I repair or replace my siding once the claim is filed? (An average of 60-90 days).

Hopefully, you can make a better decision on whether you’d like to file a claim. If you are interested in talking with a certified inspector, please don’t hesitate to call River City Referrals. We work with the best inspectors in Richmond. They’re skilled, responsive and can save you the hassle.

Pressed Wood Siding Claims

Jill Barber — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:01:49 +0000

We get asked a lot of questions about pressed wood siding and this will probably only be one of several posts about the product. Let me just start by saying that if you have hardboard, also called Masonite, or pressed wood siding on your home that is not holding up like it should, a little investigation just might pay off.

Many Richmond neighborhoods have houses with hardboard siding. Did you know that if you own a condominium, a house or a town home with this type of siding installed in the mid 1980’s, you may be part of a class action lawsuit? Keep reading if you would like to do something about getting the cash to replace or repair faulty siding.

Most people wonder if they can file their pressed wood siding claim on their own and the answer is yes, you can. If anyone tells you differently, they’re wrong. Granted, the process of filing the claim can be time-consuming and sometimes complicated but, hey, it’s the government and big business—what did you expect?

Technically it is a basic three-step process:

Identification. Does my house/siding qualify for the claim?
Evaluation. An on-site inspection of your property is done (by you, a technician working on your behalf, or the manufacturers’ representative).
Recovery: settlement funds are sent.

However, things are rarely this easy. There are other determining factors that will affect your claim that include the amount of damage to the home, the siding manufacturer and the year that the siding was installed. Hopefully, you kept good records in the 80’s because you are going to need to provide proof and include a 6” x 6” sample from your house. The paperwork can be daunting as well, but it is all totally doable and well worth the effort to improve your home’s appearance. Watch for our next post with a list of questions to help you decide if you want to file your own pressed wood siding claim or hire a professional to do the dirty work for you.

Finding the Right Paint for Your Richmond Home

Jill Barber — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:19:36 +0000

If you live in the Richmond area and want to increase the value of your home or simply improve the appearance of your home with a great paint job, consider these factors to ensure your paint lasts 8-12 years. Remember from our previous post that even though many exterior paints claim to have a lifetime guarantee, it is likely they will only last between 8 and 12 years, but that is much better than lasting only 3.

Use the highest quality paint you can afford. Waiting for a sale on high quality paint pays dividends over buying cheap paint if the budget is tight.
Your house is constantly moving around and breathing. This happens because temperatures here rise and fall quite often. Wood is warping, splitting and moving. Add to that the unpredictable weather we get from hurricanes, severe heat and humidity, snow and wind . . . and your house needs to be protected by a high quality paint that seals and protects your woods.
Unless you have metal capped trim on your home’s exterior, you will need to touch up your windows, doors and trim more frequently—possibly every 2 or 3 years. These items are used frequently and are in motion. This means the paint will peel before the siding.
Prices range from $8-$50/gallon for paint in the Richmond area. Better quality paints generally contain a higher percentage of quality ingredients such as mildewcide, UV inhibitors and resins that make paint and paint color last longer.

If you have further questions about exterior paint or home repairs, we’re happy to talk with you or respond to your comments. Of course, if you don’t want to bother painting your house yourself, River City Referrals can help you find the best painting contractors in Richmond to do it for you.

Exterior Painting Project-River City Referrals Customer Experience

Jill Barber — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:15:37 +0000

The exterior of your home is the first impression you give the rest of the world, and a good paint job is critical to giving your home a pleasing and inviting appearance. For some people, the work of painting your own home’s exterior is too much and they hire a handyman or painting contractor to handle the job. For others, although it may take four or five weekends to complete the job, it is totally worth the effort.

Choosing the right paint is a very important process when it comes to completing an exterior painting project. Whether or not your paint weathers the storm is largely up to you and the quality of paint you choose and don’t be fooled; even though most exterior paints have a lifetime guarantee, they will probably last between 8 and 12 years.

River City Referrals customers Ken and Sarah Roland shared an experience they had with exterior painting and I thought it only appropriate to share it with you. “We chose to paint our house ourselves, and got a great deal on a paint closeout. We needed about 20 gallons but in order to get the great deal in the same color we ended up purchasing 10 gallons of “ordinary” latex paint and the other 10 in “high quality” latex paint. We thought we’d just paint the back of our house with the ordinary latex paint, and the front with the high quality latex paint.”

This is not an unusual story and here is what Ken and Sarah observed during their home improvement project. First thing to catch their eye was that the high quality latex paint was much easier to apply and went on more smoothly. Since they were going over a slightly darker color, the high quality paint required only 1 coat while the ordinary latex paint required 2 coats and didn’t hide flaws as well. What they learned in years to come was that the back of the house, where the inferior quality paint was used, was already fading and showing wear.

In the short run, they saved $200 on paint. In the long run, they spent more money and time by having to repaint the back of the house much earlier than planned. What is the lesson here? NEVER buy cheap paint. In the long run it costs you more. Watch for our next post to find out the best paint to purchase in Richmond, VA.

Seeing Is Believing, Virtual Design Options

Jill Barber — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:56:05 +0000

Do you spend hours imagining your new room? The perfect paint. The most beautiful lawn, deck or kitchen? Can you imagine it but have a hard time putting it on paper? Several clients have asked me recently, if I know of any design software or web-sites that allow you to design a room, a yard or an exterior. There are in fact several. I’d like to share them with you. They come in various styles and all but a few are free. Some require you to remove your pop-up blocker or install Active X controls. I’ve tried most of them and enjoy using them (though you can lose hours if you’re right brained like me!). Keep in mind they are promoting their products, so the flooring sites, for example, have large expanses of floor. The painting sites show large expanses of wall, and the tile sites have tile on everything but the fixtures. But I digress…Check them out for yourselves and let me know which your favorites are!

Swatchbox.com. The Granddaddy of them all. This site compiles many virtual design web-sites including: cabinets, carpet, tile, countertops, flooring, garage doors, and painting.

Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer. Use sample images, or import your own house to sample BM brand paint colors on house exteriors and inside rooms. Download or available on CD. A neat feature is that you can apply a specialty finish once done, such as sponging, ragging, etc.
Dal-Tile’s Design a Room. Allows you to play with tile patterns and grout colors. Can change walls and trim as well.

National Wood Flooring Association’s Design A Room. Another basic site where you can change wall and floor colors, print, save or compare room projects.

Mannington Floors My Virtual Decorator. You can download your photos or use theirs, then save the samples you create. It even gives you a shopping list when you’re done.

Bali Virtual Decorator. At this site, you can change the style and color of the shades, the color of chairs, sofas, trim and walls, by simply clicking on it in the photo.

BHG.com. A wide array of coloring rooms, exteriors, closets, gardens, decks and arranging rooms. You can designate the size of your room and then click and drop furniture, windows, etc.

Showoff.com. A fun interactive web-site and home makeover web-site for Landscape and Outdoor living products.

Isn’t technology wonderful? After you’ve created your masterpiece, if you need additional help or advice, River City Referrals, LLC. can put you in touch with top notch professionals to bring your vision to life. If doing it yourself is not your cup of tea, we can also refer you to some of the best landscape, interior and kitchen and bath designers in the area.