Here are some tips to get that 5-star ambiance you want without paying an arm and a leg for it.

Affordable Kitchen Fittings

(1) Granite countertops: Granite, marble and other natural stone looks classy as a covering for your kitchen counter, and it’s very durable too. Big, solid slabs of stone are very expensive, however.

Money-saving trick: You can have the same look at a bargain price if you go for pieces of stone instead. The stone squares or rectangles are laid on a wood or plywood board like tiles and fixed in place with grout. Another advantage is that a stone section can be replaced easily if it gets damaged. Alternatively, you could place thinner stone pieces directly on top of the existing countertop.

(2) Stone backsplash: Whichever stone you choose for your natural stone countertop, you’ll want to complete the look with a backsplash made of stone tiles. Again, though, you’ll have to spend a lot of cash.

Money-saving trick: Instead of making a normal horizontal backsplash, try placing the stone tiles sideways so the points are top and bottom like a diamond. This way you won’t need so many tiles, and you’ll have a unique look to boot.

(3) Custom-built cabinets: If you have your kitchen cabinets build to order, they will fit perfectly, and you’ll have an endless choice of trims, finishes and colors. You can create a one-of-a-kind room and personalize it just how you want it.

Money-saving trick: Save a big chunk of your hard-earned cash by opting for semi-custom cabinets instead. They come in many different heights, depths and widths, so you can still get a good fit. Try mixing a range of cabinet heights for an even more customized look.

(4) Wooden floors: Any home will look fabulous with wood flooring, but it might be out of your price range.

Money-saving trick: There are some nice laminates around these days. It’s a very economical alternative that’s available in many different wood grain patterns. Most people won’t be able to tell the difference anyway.

(5) Crown molding: A room with fancy crown molding instantly holds a lot more fascination that one without. The more ornate the molding is, the more you’ll have to pay for it, though.

Money-saving trick: Economize by buying several smaller pieces of molding and stacking them together to make a larger arrangement.

Affordable Bathroom Fittings

(6) Brass or nickel fixtures: These are the most luxurious materials for bathroom fixtures and fittings such as faucets, mixers and towel hooks, but they’re also the priciest.

Money-saving trick: Pick fixtures that combine brass or nickel with chrome for a two-tone look that’s both fashionable and economical.

(7) Jetted tub: Transform your bathroom into a retreat from the busy world with a jetted, or whirlpool, tub or a Jacuzzi.

Money-saving trick: Instead of the usual two-person whirlpool tub, think about putting in a one-person model. It’s a lot cheaper, and it’s also a similar size to a normal bathtub so you won’t need to spend money on rearranging or enlarging your bathroom to make room for it.

(8) Underfloor heating: On a winter morning, a warm bathroom floor is a Godsend. Install radiant floor heating under your bathroom tiles and you’ll start the day with a smile on your face.

Money-saving trick: For a warm, comfortable bathroom that costs a lot less to achieve, place infrared heat lamps around the walls.

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Get several estimates, and speak to previous customers of each firm you’re looking at. You’d be astonished to learn how few people actually follow these simple guidelines, however. No wonder there are so many consumer complaints lodged with the Better Business Bureau, the Bureau of Consumer Protection and other agencies, against contractors.

Hiring the best contractor is certainly not that easy: there’s a whole raft of other mistakes you can make during the searching, vetting, selection and hiring process.

We’ve gathered a list of common pitfalls to avoid, to help you increase your chances of making a successful choice.

1. Poor communication

It’s important to communicate clearly and frequently with your remodeling contractor. Assuming that the people are honest, you’ll go a long way towards having the job done well if you ask straightforward questions and give them clear information about what you expect your home improvement project to achieve. Then you must put your verbal communications in writing so that you’re protected if anything should go wrong.

2. Not getting a contractor in time

We’re all guilty of it at some time or another – waiting until things stop working or fall apart before calling in the experts. Ignoring signs of trouble with your roof, your air conditioning or heating system, or your plumbing can make your repairs a lot more costly when you finally get hold of someone who can fix things. In some cases, if the situation is really bad, you might have to pay several hundred dollars to have, say, your heating system repaired to last you the week or two it takes to order a whole new system, which will set you back several thousand more. In the middle of winter you might not have much choice, but if you’d had your aging heating setup inspected in the summer you could simply have had it replaced and avoided the extra outlay and the hassle.

As soon as things start to go wrong, get a tradesman to come and check it out. Don’t turn a blind eye to a wet patch on the ceiling. Switch your heating and air conditioning units on for an hour or two even when you don’t need them. When everything is operating properly, your household will cost less to run.

3. Trying to do it yourself

We all know someone who has embarked on a home improvement project they weren’t capable of carrying through. This often ends badly and expensively, with the hapless DIYer having to engage a professional to sort out the mess and get the job done properly. While there are people who are quite able to build their own deck or fence, paint the exterior of the whole house or do their own drywall repair, most of us should just place these jobs in the capable hands of a good contractor.

4. Hiring someone because he came to your front door

This is a no-brainer: never engage a person who just shows up on your doorstep and says he can fix your roof, trim your trees, or whatever. Just don’t! Beware of falling for pitches, gimmicks and fast-talk about having leftover materials, doing a free inspection, or offering a special price for seniors. If you think the person might just be genuine, by all means ask for a business card and look up the company. If not, alert your neighbors and your local Better Business Bureau to his suspicious behavior.

5. Having something fixed without getting a true diagnosis

This happens quite frequently with drywall and roofing problems, although it can occur with any repair job. If you have a leak or hole, don’t just ask someone to repair it. You must also make sure they find the source of the pre-existing water damage that can spread and undo the repairs, and even cause further serious problems.

On the other side of the coin you have contractors who claim the problem is bigger than it really is. This is especially worrisome where you can’t see the problem area so easily – in the roof for example. If you’re not confident that the tradesman is being totally honest, find an independent inspector who can make sure that everything that needs to be fixed is fixed, and that things that don’t require any work don’t get it. You must beware of ignoring sound advice from a contractor who says something does need attention, though, even if you have to dig deep into your pocket.

6. Judging the contractor solely by his bid

Estimates that are a lot higher or lower than most others can be puzzling. You should always ask why the contractor’s bid is so different from the others, in addition to checking that each one includes the same jobs and installations. In many instances but not always, a low bid means a low standard of service. However, high bids often don’t mean better work but are merely attempts to make a higher profit. You might also get a high quote from a renovation contractor who is booked up and will only take on work if he can get an extra high fee.

7. Not shopping around

Wherever you live, you’re bound to find several different building contractors. Try looking a bit further afield if you can’t find what you’re looking for in your immediate area. Many home improvement professionals are willing to travel to get good projects, particularly if you offer a lot of work. If you need someone on a regular basis for a job such as cleaning windows or landscaping, speak to your neighbors and see if you can get a person who will take on several clients in the same neighborhood.

Running a household is a bit like running a company. You’re the boss and the house is your factory. When something goes wrong in the family, or with the house itself, you’re the one who has to make decisions and solve problems.

You’re probably also the hiring manager, so when you need to find someone who can handle repairs or renovations, it’s your job to get the right contractor.

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Most of us would probably prefer to stay in our own homes rather than move to a seniors’ living facility when we reach old age. Of course there’s no harm in planning ahead and bringing in changes designed to make your home safer and easier to get around, long before you actually need them. Then you’ll be all set to carry on enjoying your house when the time comes that you require a bit of extra help to remain independent.

Early Planning

You’ll also find it makes financial sense to start early and think long term. Each time you need to replace, upgrade or repair something in the house, consider ways to make the change suit your future life as a less mobile person.

For instance, if you need to repave the walkway to your front door, think about how you can take the project one step further. Maybe the path from your driveway to the front porch ends in a few awkward steps. You could ask the contractor if it’s possible to grade the walkway, making it slope gently upwards all along its length, so that you can get rid of the steps.

If you have to call in a contractor anyway to fix the path, you might only need to spend a little bit of additional cash, or it could even work out at the same cost. On top of that, your new sloping walk will look like it belongs there, and not like an afterthought. If you don’t plan ahead in this way, you might end up having to put in an ugly wheelchair ramp instead.

If there are steps or stairs, make sure you have proper railings. Many homes have railings that appear to be just for decoration. So if you’re planning to have your railings repaired or updated, make sure you get something that’s easy to grab hold of and sturdy enough to support your weight. It also has to be long enough that you can get a good grip on it before stepping up or down. A lot of railings just aren’t up to scratch, and could be dangerous if you were to lose your hold and fall. So if yours is less than adequate, you should really replace it now, no matter how easy it is for you to get around.

Designing Homes for Seniors

Here are some common questions and answers about how you can upgrade the access in and around your home:

Q: If nobody in the family uses a wheelchair, is there any point in making your house wheelchair accessible?

A: By getting rid of steps you make it easier for everyone to get around, not just those in wheelchairs. Now you can wheel your suitcases all the way from the car into your bedroom. When the grandchildren come to visit, you can take the stroller straight from the front porch, down the ramp or path and out onto the street. And you can save yourself a lot of time and bother – not to mention the health benefits – if you unload your shopping bags from the car onto a small cart and then wheel them directly into the house. Anything with wheels on it can go from indoors to outdoors without a problem!

Q: What can you do if your house has a lot of steps? You can’t really pull the whole place down and start over, so what’s the solution?

A: A lot of people live in two-storey homes, and then they start finding it hard to negotiate the stairs as they get older. If possible, try to rearrange the rooms so you can live on just one floor, even if it’s just a temporary measure while you recover from an illness or fall, for example. Perhaps this will entail moving the laundry from the basement to an alcove or closet close to the kitchen. If the kids have left home you might be able to downsize to a compact washer and dryer to save space. If your bedroom is upstairs, see if you can relocate it to the dining room or other room on the ground floor.

One way to create extra space while ensuring privacy if you end up sleeping in a downstairs room such as a partitioned-off section of the living room, is to install pocket doors. These are doors that open by sliding into a recessed space in the wall, and can give you an additional 10 square feet of usable floor space. If you only have a half bath downstairs, maybe it’s big enough to add a shower so you don’t have to go upstairs every day. A shower occupies much less square footage than a bathtub, and is easier to get in and out of. This is something you can do a long time in advance of your “old age”, so that it’s ready when you need it.

Q: If you live in a single-level house with no steps even at the front, what measures can you take to make it easier to stay there well into your twilight years?

A: Take a look at your hallways and floor coverings – these are other common obstacles for people with decreased mobility. It’s common for older houses to have narrow halls, and for many people they’re cluttered with furniture and other stuff they’ve collected over the years. A crowded hall is always a challenge if you use a walker or wheelchair, or you need someone to lean on to get around. You also need to watch where you walk, or specifically, what you walk on.

Deep carpeting is hard to cross and can trip you up if you’re not too steady on your feet. Slippery floors are a definite no-no, especially when they’re topped by throw rugs that slip and slide. Many people, and not just the elderly, injure themselves by tripping and falling, so make sure your floors are safe.

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When money is tight, the saying “If it aint broke, don’t fix it” rings truer than ever. Actually, though, “If it’s slightly broken, fix it now” could be more appropriate when it comes to home improvements.

“If it’s working fine, but it’s costing you plenty to operate, get a better model” might apply in many cases too. Although you always run the risk of going over budget when remodeling, some measures will undoubtedly increase the attractiveness of your house, in addition to cutting its running costs in the long term.

In today’s difficult economy, you might feel cautious about spending money on big projects when you don’t know what your financial situation will look like next year or even next month. Your home still needs regular maintenance, however, especially if you’re putting it on the market.

Here are five renovation projects that do pay off, in addition to making your home more livable:

1. Siding updates

One of the best ways to invest in the condition of your home is to upgrade the siding. Even when the economy is struggling, you should try to keep the exterior or your home in good condition. This not only makes it look more attractive, but also protects the materials behind it. If you buy good quality siding, your building materials will last longer, and you’ll save money in the long run.

Remodeling Magazine’s 2007 Cost vs. Value report showed that you can get more than 88% of your outlay back when you sell your home if you opt for fiber-cement siding. In other words, if you upgrade your siding from aluminum or vinyl to fiber-cement, you can greatly improve the resale value of your home, and get most of your investment back when you sell.

2. Bathroom renovations

Even though it’s usually the smallest room in the house, it’s important to have a practical and pleasant bathroom. If you’re trying to sell your home, the condition of your bathrooms can determine whether it’s a quick sale or sits on your realtor’s books for many months or even years.

A recent survey found that most people spend less than $10,000 on remodeling a bathroom. Of the 3,000 homeowners surveyed, 9 out of 10 were so happy with their bathroom renovations that they would advise others to have their bathrooms remodeled too. Once your “smallest room” is updated, you won’t have to waste money on leaking pipes and faucets, ancient toilets or clogged shower heads. You’ll also be able to enjoy hot water whenever you want it, excellent water pressure and mirrors that don’t steam up. No wonder a new bathroom brings joy to so many people!

3. Inspections

Although a home inspection isn’t really a renovation, it is an excellent investment, particularly when the economy is down. An inspection can save you a lot of cash – and hassle – by identifying a potentially bad situation before it gets out of hand. If you get your chimney inspected and cleaned, for example, you’ll pay between $100 and $200, whereas a chimney fire would set you back thousands in damage to your home and possessions. You can have any part of your house (roof, foundation, electrical system, plumbing etc.) inspected. Depending on the outcome, you can then get the necessary repairs done, or rest assured that your house is in good condition.

4. Flooring upgrades

An attractive floor can give a room a whole new lease on life. A floor makeover is also a great investment in your home. If you switch to a longer-lasting flooring material, you can get a lot of value for your dollars. Did you know that while carpeting is a cheap floor covering, it only lasts for 8-10 years with normal wear and tear and maintenance? In contrast, a hardwood floor has a life expectancy of at least 100 years, although it is admittedly more expensive to install. Even so, the extra upfront cost more than makes up for the fact that your wood floor will be around a lot longer than you will!

5. Minor kitchen renovations

Just as it almost always pays to get your bathroom fixed up, you usually come out on top with small-scale kitchen improvements as well. A lot of people spend far more than they had planned when undertaking a complete revamp of their kitchens. It’s better, and cheaper, to tackle specific kitchen areas that need attention, and leave other parts alone. According to Remodeling Magazine, people spend an average of $55,503 redoing the whole of their kitchens, but only $21,185 on “minor” kitchen remodeling projects. What’s more, a smaller kitchen renovation should allow you to recoup 5% more of the building costs than a major renovation would.

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You can often save a good deal of money if you time the work carefully. The spring and summer months might be the most popular ones for renovations, but the best time for you is when you can do it with the least bother and expense.

Here are 3 tips to note when you’re thinking about when to renovate your home:

1. Keep an eye on supply and demand

As you would expect, supply and demand has a noticeable effect on the price of building materials like wood, paint and cement. Throughout the year, prices go up and down in line with consumer demand, the general economy, the season and other factors. It might not suit you to renovate when prices are lowest, but by planning ahead you can buy materials at this time and store them until you’re ready to start. The availability of contractors and tradesmen also varies from one season to another, which means that you might be able to negotiate a better rate at a less busy time.

2. Avoid the rush

If you go to a restaurant during the lunch or dinner rush, you might not get the best service, and your food might be less than perfect. We all know how snarled up traffic gets on busy roads in the rush hour. The same applies to building contractors: when they’re really busy with many big jobs, it’s hard to find one that will take on your project. And if they do, they honestly might not do as good a job as usual, because they’re juggling several different projects and trying to get everything done on time. Also, when lots of contractors are ordering similar materials at the same time, the orders are more likely to be late or wrong, creating even more headaches for everyone involved.

Depending on where you live, it might be rather impractical to remodel during the off-season. Trying to put a swimming pool in the frozen ground in the middle of a Midwest winter is not recommended, for instance. If you plan ahead, though, you should be able to get your work started during the slow period, which should reduce the overall time it takes to get it finished as your contractor won’t be sidetracked by a lot of other assignments. By keeping the building contractor busy when there’s little other work around, you’re likely to get great service, and you hopefully won’t have to deal with a lot of mistakes and do-overs.

3. Seasonal tips for remodeling

The best time for your particular home improvement project depends, of course, on the job that needs to be done. As a general rule, it’s good to schedule it for a month or two before or after everybody else is having that job performed. Most people forget all about their furnaces in the summer, so that’s a good time to have yours serviced. Similarly, a lot of windows get replaced in the summer, so why not call in your contractor in the spring before other people get around to it. Don’t wait until the early summer to have your air conditioners cleaned and checked – you’ll get speedy service in the late autumn when it’s quiet. The winter is a good time to plan a new deck, so go ahead and find a designer who can do it in the off-season. Then you can get it built in the spring when the weather warms up.

We can’t give you a complete list of all the projects you can do when things are quiet, but this gives you an idea of how it works.

Just keep in mind that proper planning is even more important than the weather when it comes to getting your renovations done efficiently. The more planning you do, the better the result.

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