Things To Do In SW Florida

DIY Dryer Repair

IT WENT THUNK! THEN IT WENT CLUNK!

If you own a tool box and know how to use the tools inside of it, chances are you have had a friend or relative call you up and ask you to come over and fix something and upon arrival you realize they have already tried – and failed to complete the repair.  This was the case for me a few weeks ago when my mom called and invited me over for dinner.  For those of you not familiar, my mother is the queen of getting things done by other people; she can even make you happy that you “volunteered” to do whatever it was she wanted done.

I arrived promptly 15 minutes late for dinner and was surprised to find that mom had invited more guests to the table.  As I sat down, one of the guests was explaining to the rest of the table that they would have to go out tomorrow and buy a new dryer because something went terribly wrong with theirs early that day.   In an attempt to be polite, I inquired as to the fate of their dryer and was told that in an attempt to “get at” some built up lint in the back of the dryer (you could see it sticking out of those holes) they had decided to remove 3 screws located on the inside of the dryer and on the back of the rotating drum.  After the third screw was pulled out the drum “fell” and made a solid “thunk” noise when it came to rest.   Realizing something had gone wrong but not knowing exactly what they decided to remove three more screws from the inside of the dryer and on the back of the rotating drum.  Once again, after the removal of the third screw the drum fell again only this time it made a much louder “clunk” noise before coming to rest. read more

Fix Air Leaks Around Doors and Windows – Are You Cooling Your Neighbors Space?

The Case of the Door that Would Not Close

Recently, in a meeting with my web designer, she complained about the gap in her front door and the fact that it was allowing so much cold air out of her home.  After a brief inspection of the door, I concluded that my friend was doing more than her fair share to cool Mother Earth.

What was the problem you may ask? Warped door jambs?  Missing Insulation?  Threshold loose?  NOPE, none of the above.  My friend’s problem was the result of two screws that had come loose.  Not to the point where they were sticking out and noticeable but just enough to let the strike plate slide forward preventing the door from closing tightly against the weather-stripping. The result of these two loose screws could easily add up to hundreds of dollars on her electric bill over the course of a year.

As a General Contractor, I am asked into homes to look at renovation projects and often see things like the loose screws mentioned above.    I mention the various things that I see to the home owners and the responses I get typically fall into one of two categories; 1) oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to fix that, or 2) Oh man, I have never seen that before, I’ll have to look into it.  Each response, while different, are essentially saying the same thing; “thanks for pointing that out, I’m not going to do anything about it right now”.  Knowing the normal reaction, I asked my friend why she chose to fix the “minor” “maintenance” issue.  “I do not wish to pay for cooling my neighbor”.  Now here is someone that truly understands the indirect costs of home ownership. read more

Lead Generating Companies

The other day I was driving in my truck and I hear an advertisement from a well-known company offering a place for listeners to go and check up on contractors.  Not five seconds after this commercial started to play, my phone rings.  On the other end of the line was a sales person offering me the opportunity to get QUALIFIED project leads from folks right here in my work area; all for mere pennies on the dollar!  If that is not proof positive that there is a lot of money at stake in the lead generating business I don’t know what is.

We have all heard the heart-breaking story of the single parent or the elderly that gets beaten out of their hard-earned dollars by the mean old contractor.  I can already hear some of you saying to me, “Marc, we NEED companies like that because contractors are notoriously corrupt”.   If this is your thought process, believe me when I say, you are not alone, but also listen to me when I tell you this is a bunch of hogwash!

Have you ever heard the old saying, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”?  Growing up, I heard that one and many more from my grandfather.  I didn’t understand him at the time because granny made me as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as I could eat and never charged me a penny for them (well, she would steal a kiss or two).  I learned it’s meaning as I got older. read more

The Successful Marriage between Contractor and Customer

Any construction project is like a marriage; you have the bride and groom or the contractor and the customer and the ring or the project.  The bride can be the most beautiful woman of your dreams but if the groom doesn’t show up on time to the wedding there will be problems.  Likewise, the groom can be very hardworking but if the bride does not appreciate his work he will be left feeling empty and confused.  Finally, as every bride and groom knows, there is that one perfect ring out there that was made just for them!  And no other project will do.

In keeping with the marriage analogy above, I will attempt to offer some project counseling to the would-be brides and grooms of this world.

To have a successful marriage, I think you must start with three things; 1) a foundation of trust, 2) a willingness to compromise, and finally 3) open communication.

The contractor establishes trust by answering the initial phone call or returning it the same day, showing up to the initial sales call dressed professionally and arriving on time, and prepared to discuss the brides ring.   This initial trust is built on by providing a timely estimate, answering all correspondence in a timely fashion and generally showing interest in the bride. read more

People spend a lot of time in their kitchens. For the most part, a kitchen is the heart of a home. You cook there. You eat there. You prepare food there. Kids do their schoolwork there. You host parties there.

Since a lot of time is spent in this room, it makes a lot of sense for this room to look its best. You want a kitchen to reflect your needs and wants. if your kitchen is looking a little drab, outdated or doesn’t fulfill the needs of your household, it may be time for a kitchen renovation – even a small revamp can make your kitchen look and feel entirely different.

Whether you want your cabinets to be a new color, a new kitchen layout, or just a paint job, our team at Sunset Builders & Maintenance can get the job done! We can create you your dream kitchen! We will design and renovate you a kitchen that will suit your every need. We design beautiful kitchens.

From the initial planning to completion, we work with our clients every step of the way. We work with them on decisions about countertops, backsplashes, sinks, faucets, appliances, handles, cabinets, seating, doors, plumbing, lighting, flooring, colors, and more. read more