Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at
11:06 pm
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Screening Plumbers before Letting Them in Your Home
Don’t wait until you need a plumber to call one. Pick up your phone directory and look under the plumbing category. Depending on the size of your region, you are likely to see a lot of names. Are you going to believe what the advertisements say? You shouldn’t.
I have been a plumbing contractor for over 30 years and worked in multiple states. There are good plumbers and bad plumbers. Some states regulate plumbers more than others do. You are at risk when you dial a plumber. Protect yourself by calling plumbers before you need them.
If you wait until you have a plumbing emergency to make first contact with a plumbing contractor, human nature is likely to drive you to accept the first plumber who is available to you. It is true that plumbers charge a lot of money, are an independent type, and are often too busy for new customers. You can overcome some of this by establishing a working relationship with a plumbing contractor before you need emergency service.
Go through the phone book and call plumbers as if you had an emergency. Yeah, you are cheating a bit, but all is fair in business wars. See who answers the phone personally, who calls you back, and how long you have to wait to have your call returned. This will eliminate a number of contractors.
When you get a contractor that you feel good about, ask some key questions. Let me give you a few flush-out questions to ask over the phone:
Don’t wear out the interrogation. You can alienate plumbers quickly if you are not careful. Remember, they are an independent bunch. Your goal is to feel out the contractor to see if it might be a suitable fit for your needs.
Whenever feasible, call a plumber with a real request. This could be to change a faucet, add a hose connection, or to clean a drain stoppage. Get to know your plumbing contractor before you have an emergency. Seriously, when your plumbing goes wrong, you will want someone you can depend on.
Do your homework. Line up three contractors who meet your criteria. It is better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Plumbers, electricians, and heating mechanics are often a homeowner’s best friend. Make nice early and enjoy the rewards when you have a real problem.
R. Dodge Woodson/ Lone Wolf Enterprises, Ltd.
www.lonewolfent.net
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at
4:36 am
One way to make your yard a fun place to be is to build an outdoor kitchen. When you have an outdoor kitchen you will no longer be stuck inside during great weather, preparing food for all your guests. Instead you will be outside visiting with your friends and enjoying the weather without having to run back and forth to serve the food. Just imagine how much fun this would be! This article will give you five things to think about when you build your outdoor kitchen.
Before you start building your outdoor kitchen you really need to sit down and think about what you want from an outdoor kitchen. This will save you a lot of money because you will know exactly what you want and this will help to keep the design from changing.
1. One of the first things you need to decide is how many months of the year you want to use your outdoor kitchen. This will probably depend on what part of country you live in. If you live in an area where it gets cold, wet, or snowy in the winter then you need to decide if you want to spend the money to have a roof and other weatherproofing for your outdoor kitchen.
2. You need to decide if you want the kitchen to be attached to your house or farther away from the house. One thing to keep in mind when you’re thinking about the location of your kitchen is that the farther you have been away from your house the more expensive plumbing and electrical installation won’t be. On the other hand if you have a large yard and you want to have the kitchen out near some beautiful part of your yard the desire to do that may far outweigh the cost of the plumbing electric. Do you want to be able to cook complete meals in your outdoor kitchen or will a charcoal or gas barbecue be sufficient for your needs?
3. If you want to have a sink in your kitchen you will need to run plumbing. So decide if you want to spend the money for extra plumbing. The best thing about a sink outside is that you won’t have to run inside to rinse things off, get a glass of water or even a wet washcloth. Is the food preparation area in your kitchen going to include a sink, because if it does you will need to run a water line to your outdoor kitchen?
4. If you want to have any other type of appliance that requires electricity such as a refrigerator or lamps you will also need to run electrical wiring. Again, this will all depend on what your budget is for your outdoor kitchen.
5. Finally you need to decide if you want to be able to your meals on charcoal or gas barbecue. With a variety of grills available today you can either purchase a grill that has burners on the side of it for cooking up your vegetables or other things that may need a pan of water.
So these are five important things you should take into consideration when designing your outdoor kitchen. And remember, planning these things now will save you money in the long run and make your outdoor kitchen more enjoyable.
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