Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:04 Welcome to the Weekend, warriors Home Improvement Show built by Bar Lumber. When it comes to big or small projects around the home. Tony and Cory, you've got the know-how and the answers to make your life just a bit easier. Here they are, your Weekend Warriors, Tony and Corey.
Speaker 2 00:00:24 Hey, welcome to the Weekend, warriors Home Improvement Show podcast. I'm Corey Valdez. And I'm Tony Cookson. Thanks for checking us out today. We've got another great episode lined up for you. We're gonna talk today about how to save money when hiring a contractor. Near and dear to our hearts, both of ours. Well, absolutely. We work with contractors day in and day out. That's our jobs right at Par Lumber Company. And, you know, we do a lot of work ourselves, but then there's a lot of projects that we can't do ourselves. So we hire contractors when we need to. Absolutely. And we hire contractors that we have a relationship with, guys that, guys and gals that we know already, we are familiar with their work, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And we're able to talk to them on a level which allows us to ask if we can help, if we can be there.
Speaker 2 00:01:21 You know, a lot of contractors don't want the homeowner in the way a hundred percent, right? You're just, oh yeah. You're just in the way, you're, you're doing me a favor if you just let me get my thing done. I mean, classic example, there are contractors that will show up to your house, and it's both ways. You have to understand that a contractor's coming to your house, you're interviewing them, they are also interviewing you. They walk in your door, and if they immediately realize that you are a pain to deal with, right? Your price is not gonna be very good, right? I mean, that is a fact, right? If they know that they're gonna have a hard time working with you day in and day out, trying to get everything perfect on your job site, the they're gonna incorporate a cost in there that's going to cover their time.
Speaker 2 00:02:11 That's really what it's about. It's an annoyance fee. <laugh>. Well, I mean, I mean, not even necessarily annoyance. If you'll, you know, those people that want it Absolutely perfect. Well, they're not gonna rest. They will make you tear the whole thing out and rebuild it, because it's not perfect. There's also, there's also people out there that will call you all hours, right? You are there from eight to five, and then you pack up the van and you leave, and they're still calling you at home at nine o'clock, right? Because they found a deal on a dishwasher. Or they want to know if you've like blue or red, better <laugh>, you know, I mean, all of the things they wanna know if you can pick up some, uh, bio bags on your way into, you know, to the job in the morning, that those are the kinds of things they ha they will figure in extra costs based on.
Speaker 2 00:02:56 'cause they have to maintenance. That's the thing. They have to, yeah. When, when they have a, a customer, a homeowner that does these things, a contractor, the only reason their business to is to make money. And if you're wasting their time, time is money. They have to charge for that time. Absolutely. So you can be that person. You can be the person that says, I want it absolutely perfect, and I want it the way I want it, but just be prepared to pay more. Yeah. Right? I gotta tell you, I, I have to just take a moment and tell this story. My brother is a contractor, and you know this already mm-hmm. <affirmative>, of course. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so my brother is my brother, right? So we have brother time, and then we have, uh, you know, family time, and then we have contractor time.
Speaker 2 00:03:41 So I call my brother up and I'm say, Hey, I'm doing this little remodel thing and I have to frame up a couple of walls, and I was hoping you could come over and help me out, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Well, when he shows up, he, this is what he says, make sure you have all of this material, make sure it's in the room, and make sure that you have all these tools and everything's ready to go. He rolls up into the project and up to the house in, in the room where we're gonna be working. Right? And he is no longer my family brother. My tell a joke, brother, my good times brother <laugh>, he is contractor brother. And every single minute he's like, what are you doing? I need you cutting that thing. I need you shoring that up. I need you nailing that off.
Speaker 2 00:04:22 I need this work done. You know, he, he doesn't, but then when the job is done, right, instead of just rushing outta the house, he's like, go get me a coke. And then we sit down and we watch, you know, basketball or something. So it's very, it's a very real situation where contractors separate work and life, they have to, because they're, they are, um, self-employed, and every minute at the job, like you said, is money. And they can't afford to, they can't afford to waste away time where they could be at another job making money. So, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's a very, uh, it's a very real thing. Oh, I've worked with your brother. I know it's, it's not because they don't like you, or it's not because they don't wanna spend time with you. It's because they have to segregate work, work from playtime, and, um, when they're on the job site, it's time to work.
Speaker 2 00:05:13 There's no time for pleasantries. Well, that's a, think about the job that you have. Think about you, you go to work, and when it's time to go home, you wanna go home. If you're in sales, you probably really know this because you don't want your, your customers calling you after you've left for the day. Of course. And yet, yet they do. Right. You know, and those very important people that, uh, you know, that, that do that, they call you on a Saturday and you feel like you have to answer. Are those the sort of people you give the biggest discounts to <laugh>? You know what I'm saying? Right. So you have to, you have to truly think about that when hiring a contractor and trying to save money. Right. There's a line though, right? You don't wanna just say, okay, yeah, it's good enough, right?
Speaker 2 00:05:57 I mean, I get that there is a line you don't want shoddy worksmanship. So anyway, we have a, we have a whole list of items today that we're gonna be talking about that you need to think about when hiring a contractor if you want to save money. Yeah. These are some of the biggest tips, things that you could do or not do to, to get you the very best deal without ruining it. Right? So these, this is, this, the list, we're just gonna, uh, go through it and we're gonna probably have some personal opinions about some of them, but this is a really good list. We've been through it. It's good. Uh, the first one, obtain multiple quotes from different contractors. This'll give you a better understanding of the market rate and help you negotiate a better deal. If you take, if you get two and you one's the highest and one's the lowest, and you go with the lowest, just because it's the lowest, you're not doing yourself any good.
Speaker 2 00:06:56 You need to have a good selection to choose from. And look, you're not trying to be secretive secrety about it. You can tell these guys, Hey, look, I'm getting three quotes, your one, and there's two more quotes, and I'm gonna weigh, uh, competency and price and, um, and all of the things. Right? And, and then I'm gonna make a, a primary decision. Then we'll respect that for sure. Well, and when choosing a contractor, you're gonna do your due diligence. We talked on the show many times. You can go out and listen to those shows, but about how to choose a contractor. Yeah. You know, get references. Call those references, look at the workmanship. You know, ask questions about, was this contractor on time? Did they finish the project in a, in a timely manner? Did they come in on budget? You know, there's this whole list of things we've gotta show dedicated to that.
Speaker 2 00:07:46 So go find that. Yeah, absolutely. You know, we, we still are gonna say, get multiple bids and I'm also gonna say, don't get 10. Right? Right. You know, don't, don't go out and just keep getting bids until you hear what you want to hear. I know people that will say, well, that's too expensive. And then they call someone else. Well, that's too expensive. And then they call someone else and they call someone else, and they keep calling people until they get that person that says, oh yeah, I can do it for that. And they're like, perfect. Which is the very next item on the list. Yeah. Get a detailed scope of work. You want to clearly define the scope before you sign a contract. The more specific, the detailed on the contract, the less room for unexpected costs or disputes. Because I tell you what, contractors are not mind readers.
Speaker 2 00:08:39 If you hire them and you say, yeah, I want this brand new bathroom, and I got, I have this vision and I want this, and I want a niche, and I want this tile, and I want it like this. And they go, perfect. No problem. And they get it done. And you're like, and you say, this is the worst I've I've ever seen. This is nothing like what was in my head. Right. What was on, what was on your scope, right? What's in your contract? Did you pick out the tiles? Did you pick out the toilet? Did you pick out the fixtures? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So coming up with a detailed scope, you know exactly what they're doing and exactly what they're bidding. And I'm not saying contractors are out there to scam, you know, some, you know, you gotta be careful.
Speaker 2 00:09:22 Right. But some contractors like to think of the, the least expensive way to do things. You know, that's, that's just what they do. And if you're coming at them and saying, I really need this to be on this budget, they're gonna say, yeah, I can do it for that budget, even though the budget probably should be twice as much <laugh>. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. And I'm gonna throw another thing out there, right? Corey and I are not contractors. Corey and I work a lot on each other's projects. When I come over to Corey's house to help him frame something up or, or create something or whatever, repair something, um, he knows I'm expecting a meal and, um, and you know, and, and a handshake or whatever, and, and that's the way you work. But when you have a friend come to help you on your project mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:10:18 <affirmative> and that friend is a contractor, I'm telling you, you need to clearly define the scope of work that he's going to be doing for you. If you call your buddy, Hey buddy, this is what you do. Come and do it on the side. Give me a great deal. And he's like, absolutely, I'll come and help you. His opinion of how much money you've spent when he's done with eight hours of work, that is what he does for a living is going to be different than what you imagined. I'm sure. So take the time prior to starting the project and talk about this, Hey buddy, what would you charge me to do this work? Right? What would you charge me to do this work? And then have him say, have him say, I'm not gonna charge you, or you just need to cover the cost of the materials, or whatever the thing is.
Speaker 2 00:11:10 Don't just assume. Right. That's all I just need to say that it's important. Yeah. It's important. But it's also the other way around. Don't assume that your professional plumber buddy is gonna come over and do the work for free. Absolutely. Yeah. You don't assume that he, he's gonna come and do the work for free. Uh, you, you, that's why you say, how much is this going to cost me? Absolutely. And give him the opportunity to say, I can give you a deal, but it's gonna cost you this much money. A hundred percent. And remember that whatever that guy who's a friend of yours is charging you, I guarantee you it's less than you would pay somebody you don't know. Right? I mean, always <laugh>, even if you think that, usually even if you think that's high. I mean, if it's your, if he's your friend, I'm sure he is doing you right?
Speaker 2 00:11:51 Absolutely. There's no reason not to trust your friend, your firm. Alright, what's the next one? The next one is opt for cost-Effective materials that meet your desired eth uh, aesthetic. And also quality standards are important. Your contractor can help suggest alternatives that won't compromise the overall look and feel of the project. But you don't want to buy the most expensive thing because it's the most expensive thing. But you also don't wanna buy the least expensive thing because it's the least expensive thing. Right? What you want to do is have a conversation with a contractor and say, I'm looking at these two things. They're vastly different price, but they look the same to me. What's your opinion? The really, the decisions that you come to when you work with your contractor on that are gonna be the very best decisions. There are going to be things that are more expensive than other things that are probably the good choice.
Speaker 2 00:12:40 But there's a lot of things like when you're talking about kitchen cabinets. I had several bids when I did my kitchen cabinet remodel in my kitchen and it ranged, the range of pricing was unbelievable. Like unbelievable $50,000 difference, right? Right. And a lot of it came down to box construction drawer, construction hardware, you know what I'm saying? Like, there was all of these things that big price cabinet maker just assumed because that's the way they do things. Species of wood. Right? That's just the way they do things. They, they were uncompromised on the quality in all of these things. And I, and I talked to several people and I said, do I really need plywood boxes? And they said, no, you're never gonna know the difference between plywood and particle and particle board particle in in my home. Right. So we went with particle board 'cause it saved a ton of money.
Speaker 2 00:13:39 Yeah. It wasn't particle board, it was melamine is what we ended up doing. And I'll be honest, I walked through the street of dreams a couple weeks ago. Lots and lots of melamine cabinets in those Yeah. In those houses. Yeah. So there's just things like that. Right. You know, you don't need, necessarily need the Bentley, you know, a nice Ford F one 50 would do <laugh>. Right. Um, do you need a, what? What's better? A Ziploc bag or a resealable sandwich bag. Yeah. There you go. I mean, Ziploc, right? Sometimes brand name can be where money is lost to sometimes. Absolutely. Alright. And uh, the next one on the list is to schedule your project during contractors off season. And I know sometimes this is hard to do <laugh>, but sometimes you can talk to your contractor if you're not in a rush. If you say to the contractor, I need this done by next week, they might say to you, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:14:35 Gonna cost you. Yeah. This is your price. Right. Versus you talk to contractors and say, I know you're busy right now and it's hard to do. I get it. What, you know when you have an opening, when is your next opening? Right. I'm willing to wait. Right. You know, can I get a discount if it's over the wintertime and you're slow or whatever. Sure. Sometimes it's worth asking. Right. I agree. Um, if you have multiple projects, group similar tasks together to save on labor costs and minimize the disruption of your home, also can be very difficult to do. But if you are doing an addition, for example, and you have the, if you have the framer over and the framer frames up walls, uh, there's a few things that need to be done before sheet rock. You gotta have the plumber's gotta rough in the electrician's gotta rough in.
Speaker 2 00:15:26 You know, there's certain things that can be done all at the same time or during the same time period. Prepare to get yourself to a a point where four or five things need to be done and then prepare to be there for a little while while contractors come and go and get their parts of the job done. Yeah. You're not going to be able to schedule the plumber on Monday, the electrician on Tuesday, and the sheet rocker on Wednesday and have your project done by Friday for a Saturday party. Right. That's not gonna happen. So get, and here's the thing, make sure you've done everything you can do to prepare for them to come so that when they show up they don't say, where's the shower pan and the valve <laugh> things. Those are things you were supposed to do. Yeah. Uh, you gotta make sure that you've done all of your things to prepare.
Speaker 2 00:16:13 Yeah. You know, I've talked with many times on the show about order of events. Yes. You know, sometimes you say, I wanna remodel this area right here, but it doesn't make sense because you haven't done this area over there. You know, like a classic example might be, I want to get a new patio cover and tie it into the roof, but I'll reroof the rest of the house later. Well, it's gonna cost you money, more money if you look at your house and the roofing is, you know, 30, 40 years old and you've got this patio cover that you're tying in and you need a roof to put new comp comp roofing on, you're gonna save money by doing the whole project together. Right. Versus doing that small project now and doing the rest later. Yep. Absolutely. And sometimes you can't. Right. We get it.
Speaker 2 00:17:03 Sometimes you can't come up with that other $10,000 or whatever it's gonna cost, but just be prepared. Gonna, you're just gonna cost more money by dividing it up. Right. You wanna group those together. Absolutely. Alright, the next one on the list is to ask your contractor if they have preferred suppliers that might give discounts on materials. You know, a lot of times contractors have established relationships and like, and I know this for ex for example, contractors will call me and say, Hey, my homeowner wants to build a deck for this house that I built them last year. Can you give 'em a good deal? Absolutely. I have a great relationship with this contractor. They call me, I take care of the homeowner. So it's situations like that in many, many different suppliers. You know, you might have a plumbing supplier or an electrical supplier or just whatever.
Speaker 2 00:17:54 So it's a good idea to ask your contractor about those upfront. I agree with that. Ne this is a very important one. Negotiate a payment schedule that aligns with the project milestones rather than a lump sum upfront payment. This helps ensure the work progresses as expected before making large payments. If, if there's going to be money that is allocated, uh, after this part of the project, after this part of the project and after this part of the project and it's understood upfront, then everybody's working towards the same goal. They know that when they get this part of the project done, there's going to be a paycheck and then they will work towards that next project. There won't be people asking for money in between time. Right. They can just say, you know, that when we get here, when we get here, when we get here and when we get here, those milestones of the project are times when payment will be made once those projects are complete.
Speaker 2 00:18:49 I think that's a great idea. Yeah. A hundred percent. Alright, next one on the list is probably suited, uh, really well for our good friend Shannon Quimbee. Oh yeah. To find creative ways to reuse or repurpose existing materials or furniture. If you've got something that's still usable and you can reuse it in your remodel, you're saving yourself money. Same goes with Habitat for Humanities Restore. Yeah. That's a really cool store. That is a really cool store. If you've never been in one. The thing about the Habitat for Humanity Restore is you go in there, once you look around, you might find some cool stuff. You go in there next week and you're probably gonna find more cool stuff. Yeah. Because it turns over so much. They get donations, they put it out on the floor and it gets sold. You know what I mean? It's just this constant, they definitely turn, turn over product there.
Speaker 2 00:19:37 Ah, I'll tell you. They get a lot of great stuff and they turn it over for very inexpensive. Absolutely. Alright, next one on the list is to, uh, if you're gonna hire a contractor, make sure you get a good one. You want to talk about, you wanna find out someone with a good reputation, make sure they have positive reviews. It's definitely gonna reduce your chances of delays. Shoddy, workmanship. You know, that may end up costing you more in the long run. If you're paying a contractor that you don't know any good or any any better about, you don't know anything about and they do a terrible job. You might, you might have to pay someone else to come out and tear it out and fix it. Let's just throw this out. I've been in that. Let's just throw this out right now. If you don't have the 4 1 1 on the contractor that you're hiring, you are already setting yourself up to fail.
Speaker 2 00:20:27 Find out. You should be choosing someone who has given you a good review. You should be choosing someone who has been given a good review. Yeah. Am I yelling into the mic? No, not at all. Okay. <laugh>, you should, you should definitely have the information before you choose to go with a contractor. Bottom line. That's it. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Yeah. Yeah. You don't go blind into a relationship with a contractor ever. Yeah. And if you don't have anyone that's ever used them, like he said, like, like we've said before, get those references, call the references. The contractor will give you references and if they don't give you references, red flag, it's gimme a red flag. Yep. For sure. You know. Uh, okay, what's the next one, Tony? Make sure all necessary permits are obtained and inspections are carried out.
Speaker 2 00:21:11 Fines for not having proper permits can be expensive and can delay your project. Nobody wants to deal with permits, but it is the way that it's supposed to be done. And remember, they can hold you accountable when it comes time to sell your home if you haven't obtained proper permits when work was done. So don't set your up for fail. Don't set yourself up for failure later because you don't want to deal with permits. The permit process today. Absolutely. Alright, next one on the list is to, uh, think about energy efficiency. You know, if you want to incorporate energy efficient materials and systems into your remodel, sometimes it costs a little more on the front side, but in the long run it will save you money. Higher insulation, better H V A C system. Mini splits. You know, there's lots of different things that you can consider.
Speaker 2 00:21:57 Talk to your contractor about it. You know, if they're inexperienced in those things, talk to another contractor about it. Yeah. You know, you wanna make sure you're choosing the right contractor for your project. And if you say, I want, you know, I really want to be energy efficient here, and your contractor says, nah, you don't need that, maybe choose a D one. Sure. Sure. Um, here's a good one. If you are organized and you have the time, you might consider taking on some project management tasks yourself. Effective project management can help keep the project on track and avoid unnecessary expenses. You don't wanna step on the contractor's toes, however. So ask the contractor how you can help, what parts of the project you can take on, what parts of the project management you can take on. Right? 'cause most of the time when you're hiring a contractor for a project, you're hiring a general contractor.
Speaker 2 00:22:48 Right? You're, you're not hiring the person that's swinging the hammer. You're not hiring the person that's, that's in, you know, doing your plumbing or electrical or you're sheet rock. All of those trades, you're hiring a general contractor and they're hiring all of their people to come in and do the work. Right Now, that person is charging you money and making money on all of the trades that hire. They're hiring. That's just the how it works. You're hiring a, a project manager. Now, like Tony said, you could do your own a you need to be organized, like you said, but you also have to know a little bit about what you're doing. You don't wanna go into it blind People that do project management for the first time and are homeowners typically gonna make a lot of mistakes. It might cost you more money up front.
Speaker 2 00:23:34 So I would recommend waiting maybe ha going through a project or two before taking one on yourself so you fully understand the whole, you know, gambit. Yeah. The whole thing. You gotta understand the whole process. The whole nine yards. Absolutely. The whole shooting match. <laugh>, the whole bag of potatoes, the whole bag of potatoes. Is that even a saying, I don't know, offered, but you can offer to contribute your labor to certain tasks under the guidance of the contractor. This can reduce labor costs, but make sure you have the necessary skills to avoid costing mistakes. If you are costing yourself money <laugh>, you're not gonna be able to forgive yourself later probably. So not always. Make sure you're not the res, the one responsible for costing yourself money. Well, and that's the thing Tony, like Tony and I, we, we call ourselves weakened warriors. It's just because we've, we've done it, you know, we've, we've gone in, we've done projects ourselves, we've screwed it up big time.
Speaker 2 00:24:30 We've cost ourselves more money. But we've learned, you know, we've, we've just done it. So if that's what you want to do, then do it. We should jump in and do it. We should talk about a list of the types of things that people could potentially take on tasks that they could take on during a remodel type project. Absolutely. First one on the list demo. Everybody loves demo demo day. But there's also cleanup. Yeah. You've got demo and you've got cleanup. If you've got a contractor coming in and they're doing all the work you can offer to that contractor. Say, Hey, what if I take down those cabinets? What if I take up all this old flooring? What if I clean up every night because contractors in, in there making a mess. It's, they're gonna pay somebody hours of time to clean up. They have to.
Speaker 2 00:25:18 It's just part of the process. Absolutely. So if you say, I will do it, what will that save me? Right. Smart. It's very smart. That's something you're capable of doing. Uh, heads up, if you are doing demolition and you're gonna be hauling, um, materials out of the house just right now, get a dumpster <laugh>. Just order it. Order it. Right. Don't even think about what it's gonna cost. You just order it because the last thing you want is to say, oh, I'll burn it later. No, my goodness. Or I'll recycle it later. You're just gonna end up with piles of stuff around the house, which, uh, pets can get hurt on or kids can get hurt on, or, um, you know, or will still be there in 10 years when you're putting your house up for sale. Yeah. You could always reuse that toilet out front with, make it as a potter plant yout.
Speaker 2 00:26:03 Wanna do plant planter? Just order a dumpster right now. It'll cost you, I don't know, 300 bucks, 400 bucks maybe. And the grand eight in the grand scope of your project. It's, uh, it's not going to be more than you need to spend. In my experience, dumpsters like a 40 yarder are usually between six and 800 bucks. Well, in my experience, I, I, I spent just under 400 bucks the last on my kitchen room. Was it a 40 yarder? It was a 40 yarder. Wow. And I did not even come close to filling it up. Nice. But anyways, that's where you start telling all your neighbors if you got anything. Yeah. If you're hauling anything in your garage, you can throw it in. If you're hauling a trailer to the dump every time that you fill it up, I mean, you're probably looking at a hundred bucks a trip.
Speaker 2 00:26:44 Easily, easily. A hundred bucks, a hundred bucks a trip every time. And by the time you've made four trips, which is not anywhere near a 40 yarder, um, you're out, your, your money is already spent. So just do it. Just do it. Take our advice, order an dumpster, have it delivered. They'll pick it up. I agree. You'll be glad you did. What, what's the next one Now? Painting. Painting is a great one. Of course. Painting walls, ceilings, trim. It can be a very cost effective way to contribute to your remodel. Ensure you properly prep the surfaces, use quality paint, you know, apply even coats for a professional finish because you are the one who has to look at this when it's done. Right. Right. You know, the, the thing about painting is brush. Some people brush strokes, some people hate it. Some people love it.
Speaker 2 00:27:25 Yeah. I really enjoy painting. Uh, not necessarily. I don't just love it. You know, I don't say, ah, I want to paint my whole house. I don't. But when it comes down to it, that's like my favorite part of the project. 'cause that's like, that's it. That's the final coat. You know, you're putting on the paint and the project is done. And I'm, I consider myself a good painter. I'm good at cutting in. I'm good at spraying, you know, spraying, choosing colors, you know, so we like to, we like to put it on in paint ourselves. 'cause that is a huge, absolutely huge expense. Hey, what are you doing in November? <laugh>? I'm painting your <laugh> your house. Is that? Well, we, I got a little remodel going in the master, uh, bedroom, bathroom and closet. Uhhuh, <affirmative>. And I know you got a really nice, um, sprayer.
Speaker 2 00:28:15 Sprayer. Yeah. I might like to see how that works. Maybe you can give me a lesson. I'm in. I love it. We'll do it. Okay. How about, this is perfect. This one is right up your alley. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, you know, simple carpentry, you know, installing, molding, trim building shelves, you know, whatever. If you're hiring, you know, people to put furniture together, you can do that yourself. Oh, absolutely. You can put furniture together. You know, you know, even if you go to a really nice furniture store and you buy a piece of furniture, it's still in a box. Most places are buying it overseas. They're shipping it in. They have to put it together. Yep. So some assembly required. Yeah. You know, so sometimes they'll charge you 2, 3, 400 bucks to put it together and bring it to your house. Sure. So you can save the money by taking the box, building it, putting it together, putting the legs on whatever it takes.
Speaker 2 00:29:05 Yep. And doing it yourself. Well, it's a great d i y project. Here's some more. If you are replacing a light or a fan or a towel rack or a curtain rod, these are also things that, um, a weekend warrior or a di wire can do confidently that is taking away from the time that the contractor has to spend at the job. So if, if you tell the contractor you wanna do some of these finished things, some of these, uh, small installations of outlets and switches and that kind of thing, he, he will likely gladly let you handle that part of the process and probably give you a discount on what he was gonna charge you. Yeah. Always ask he or she negotiated. Yeah. Contractor don't assume. Right. <laugh>. Because if you hire a contractor to do something and you're in there fiddling and doing stuff while that contractor's not there.
Speaker 2 00:29:57 Right. That could bite you. Communication is key. Big, big tile. You got, you have to communicate. Yeah. You know, same thing goes for tile. You know, in my kitchen I did all my own tile. So doing back splashes or small bathroom areas, things that you can do, you can take your time, you know, attention to detail. Not all contractors are, how do I say this? Not all contractors are professionals, honestly. They're not, they're, they're all not artisans. Okay. All contractors are not perfectionists. Correct. I think all, most contractors with a C C B R professionals. Yeah. They're just not, maybe they're not perfectionists then. Yeah. That's what I meant to say. Yeah. They might not do quality of work that's up to your standards. Absolutely. For sure. And if you feel like you can do it and it's just gonna take you more time, but it's also gonna save you money.
Speaker 2 00:30:54 Absolutely. So that's a, that's a, that is a great conversation to have with your contractor. For sure. Yeah. We actually had a YouTube comment just the other day about somebody who was wanting to become a, a DIY mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, a weekend warrior. And that was one of my comments back to them was, you know, not, not all projects are, are worth a contractor's time. They might come in you and charge you a bunch of money and you might be left with something that you're like, eh, it's okay. I could have done better. Well then do it Right. You know? Absolutely. Watch some videos, watch some YouTube channel, watch the weekend, warriors Home Improvement Show Video channel. Yeah. And uh, learn how to do it. Try it, learn it. You might make some mistakes, but if you're taking the time and the effort, it's probably gonna turn out pretty good.
Speaker 2 00:31:42 Yeah, I agree. I absolutely agree. Um, here's another one. If your remodel includes outdoor spaces, you can save by doing some of your own landscaping, like planting shrubs or building simple garden structures like a trellis or a raised garden bed. Yeah. You've built tons of raised gardens bed. Absolutely. I certainly have. Yeah. That's a simple one. You know, digging a hole, throwing a plant in it, covering it up, watering it, <laugh> I mean, if you are happy with the result, then you didn't need more than that. Yeah. Um, so if, if that's part of the project and you tell the contractor upfront, Hey, I'm gonna do this part of the thing, contractor's probably gonna say more power to you. Yeah. Here's where hiring a professional landscaper will help you is if you don't know what plants to put there. If you don't know, you know, or if you don't have the capability to dig a lot of, do a lot of hard work.
Speaker 2 00:32:36 Sure. I mean, landscaping is hard. Yeah. You know, so if you're not up to the task, maybe you do hire somebody, but Yeah, no question. That is, that is one of those things. There's also a creative element to that. If you are looking at a blank canvas because you have, you're wanting to scrap the entire backyard the way it is. Oh, I did it till it, I know you did till it up. And then be staring at a blank canvas. What to put there is not necessarily just gonna jump out at you. You know, some creative element there, uh, may be what you need to help you do what you actually want. Absolutely. Uh, going along the same lines, you know, hiring a plumber. Yeah. Sometimes replacing faucets, shower heads, fixing minor leaks can be well within your capabilities. So just make sure you have the right tools.
Speaker 2 00:33:27 And the biggest thing, turn off the water. <laugh>. Absolutely. Turn off the water. What is, what is one of those um, uh, water wrench? What do you call one of this t handled water wrench? You've, you, uh, I can't think of what that's called. I think that's called a t handle water wrench. They sell this tool that's long, like 36 inches or maybe 48 inches long. It's uh, in the shape of a t and it's got a, it's a water shutoff wrench. <laugh> a water shutoff wrench. Yeah. It's got a closed sort of boxed end, um, at the bottom. Anyways, if you are reaching down into the city water supply with a pair of pliers and, and you are trying to turn on or off the water, I'm telling you that can be an extremely difficult job. Well, little holes, they put 'em in those little things.
Speaker 2 00:34:15 I mean they're tiny and the hole sometimes is not directly over the center of the water shut off. And so you're reaching back and, and the pliers are not at the right angle. I mean it's not an easy thing to do with this tool right here. It's very, very easy. Yeah. You slap it on top. What can this possibly cost? 20 bucks. 20 bucks? I mean, I'm here to tell you right now, if you don't have a water shutoff wrench, water meter shutoff wrench, get one. Um, because so mine last time I had to turn my water off. I actually don't own one of these. It's kind of dumb. I know, but mine is only about six inches from the surface. I've seen them at my old house. Actually it was about 24 inches down. So you had to reach way down into this hole.
Speaker 2 00:35:02 Yeah. It's full of spiders. Oh yeah. Full of earwigs. Well bugs. So anyway, I turned, I had one at my last house. I left it, I turned off my water recently and my meter is only four inches down. Yeah. Same as from the surface. Yeah. But I grabbed a hold of that thing with a pair of plumbers pliers. I'm telling you. Big offset pliers. Man, that thing did not want, I couldn't get the right angle and you couldn't squeeze the pliers. 'cause the meter head and everything is all right there in the way. Yeah. And you can't reach on the other side 'cause the box is not big enough. <laugh>. It was very difficult to do, uh, with those pliers. I did eventually get it done, but it took me 45 minutes longer than I wanted it to <laugh>. If I'd have had, if I'd have had one of those, what our shutoff wrenches, man, I would've been a lot happier.
Speaker 2 00:35:47 Yeah. It's worth it. It's worth it. 2030 bucks, go buy one. Absolutely. Uh, what about window treatments? You know, hanging curtains, blinds, shades. I've actually had professionals come out and give me quotes on doing blinds in my home, you know, and you get the price for just the product and then they give you a price for installation that's separate. And installation is always like unbelievable. Like I don't, like I don't get it so much money. So much money. Yeah. When really it's, a lot of times it's two brackets. You screw two brackets to the thing and you pop the thing on there and then a balance and it's so easy. Yeah. It's very easy. Um, and also, you know, you don't have to go to a window covering supply place. There are a lot of places where you can go and they'll, you choose it, they have it in stock in a box, they'll take it out and cut it to size for you.
Speaker 2 00:36:39 Yeah. And you can take it home and install it. There is something to be said about having a professional designer. 'cause there are like, we had a fabric one made for our kitchen and there this gal brought in, I don't know, 20 books with thousands and thousands and thousands of samples and she was able to sit with us for 30 minutes and whittled it down to one. Wow. It was incredible. Wow. So I'm not trying to undermine these window tree. We probably have some window treatment people out there that are ready to murder us. Yeah. <laugh>. Well, I'm not, I'm not trying to undermine that because there is a place. But if you're just putting up blinds, you know, buy 'em from the company, but installing it yourself can be a D I y. Yeah. That's what I'm trying to say. I agree. Uh, installing click together, laminate flooring or vinyl planks in smaller rooms is definitely a D I Y project.
Speaker 2 00:37:29 You just need to follow the manufacturer's directions carefully. And here's the thing, you only have to read it one time and you'll see how easy it is to do and then you just go for it. It is a very, very, very, very simple project. Yeah. You've done it. I've done it. Absolutely. I remember, I've done, I've done both. I've done nail down sand in place, you know, l v t vinyl. Yeah. I've done it all. Yeah. Pre-finished, pre-finished bamboo. Yeah. Yeah. I did that. Yeah. We, um, yeah, I labored over it days before starting the project and then five minutes in I was like, this is the easiest thing I ever did. Um, it's very forgiving, you know, because after it goes down base goes all the way around. Uh, it was, it was great. It was an absolutely easy project and I'm so glad that I took it on myself.
Speaker 2 00:38:12 The biggest thing you wanna do when you're installing like L V T or L V P depends on what they want to call it. Luxury vinyl, tyner tile or luxury vinyl plank. It's like a really thick vinyl snap together. Like what you used. Yeah. The biggest thing is you wanna let it acclimate in the room. Absolutely. You wanna bring it into your room and leave it, read the instructions. A lot of times it'll say, you know, maybe a day or two days. Sometimes it'll say a week. Up to a week. Yeah. You just gotta leave it there. Yeah. And there's a reason for that is because the whole temperature needs to be the temperature at which you install it and the humidity. Right. Not from the warehouse that it just sat in for six months. Right. So it needs to sit in there because if you don't, you'll get, you'll get pieces that have shrunk or expanded at different rates and then when you get it all done, you're gonna get buckling.
Speaker 2 00:39:00 Yeah. Potentially bad. You don't like that. I had, I had somebody that had to tear. They did a whole thing, they got it installed or they got it delivered. They installed it right away and the whole floor buckled. They had to take the whole thing apart. Oh man. And then reinstall it. Terrible disaster. So take your time, read the instructions. Uh, next one on the list is to do minor repairs. You got a little hole in the drywall, you know, fixing minor electrical issues like you said earlier, Tony, replacing outlets or switches, patching minor damage. You know, as long as you've got the right tools. You've watched a couple of YouTube videos. Make sure the power is off. Yeah. You could do those yourself. Make sure the water is off. Make sure the power is off. Those are big ones. You hire a contractor to come over and change a light switch.
Speaker 2 00:39:43 Holy cow. Yeah. Make sure you know how to use your tools. Make sure your buddies know how to use your tools. <laugh>. Make sure you know how to use your buddy's tools. Yeah. You know, that's real quick. I think you've probably heard this story from us many times. We recorded a video in my bonus room a couple years ago and we were showing how to replace an outlet. An outlet. That's very simple. Yeah. It's a simple tab. We got a video, go watch it. Yeah. Just know that I was injured <laugh> in the making of that video, <laugh>. So I hand, I said, okay, we gotta make sure the power's out. So I'm down at the electrical panel and Tony's on the smart end, I've got a tester pin, A tester pin, and he is holding it up to the thing. And I'm flipping the breakers downstairs and he's yelling down, it's off.
Speaker 2 00:40:25 Right? So he puts the pin on there and I'm like, is it off? He says it's off. So I come up, we go to do the thing. We're shooting video. We're shooting video. Put my finger, I I'm holding my screwdriver, but it's, I'm a little close to the metal part and it zaps the living crap outta me. <laugh>. It was like <laugh>. I was like, dude, I thought the power was off. And so I put the thing on there and I hold it up there and it's like, you know, yep. It's going off. It's it's going off. It's on, it's on, it's on. And he was like, oh, you have to push the button. <laugh>. Oh my God. I, you know, in my defense I have an electrical tester, a current tester that does not require a button to be pushed. It just reads it automatically.
Speaker 2 00:41:04 <laugh>, I assumed his tester worked the same way. I was wrong. And I put my best buddy in the whole wide world at danger. And I apologize for that. If you've ever been a million times shocked by, you know, 1 10, 110 volts, yeah. It hurts. It wakes you right up. It makes you wanna punch your buddy Sir <laugh>. Um, you can save money on interior design fees by researching and planning the layout, the color schemes, and the decor yourself. You know, it doesn't make you a designer to make the design choices yourself, but if you are, if you are inclined to such a thing, if you are in tune to these types of things, then you are likely to be able to do something that's amazing. I think the key is not rushing it. Um, and, and maybe, maybe everything that you buy doesn't have to be on sale.
Speaker 2 00:41:58 I'm not saying that you can't be a thrift shopper, I'm just saying sometimes it helps if you spend a decent amount of money on one element and then get less expensive elements to go around that. But you have to consider too, you know, there are benefits to hiring a professional designer. Absolutely no question. That will come in and just do everything for you. Right. You know, give you one or two things. They're like this one or this one, and you say that one. And then they go, okay, okay. This one or this one. And that's what that, when I was talking earlier about the window shade, window treatment gal, she came in and she says, what are you looking for? Narrowed it down to from 20 books to five. She's like, okay, are you looking for this or looking for that? Narrowed it down to two, you know, and then she grabbed what she thought was maybe the top 50 and then she would hold 'em up, this one or this one and we would go left one.
Speaker 2 00:42:47 And then she would, you know, put 'em in a pile and narrowed it down to 25. And then she would say, this one or this one, or she would hold it. We'd go, no, yes, no. Yes. Narrowed it down to, and man, I'm not kidding you, she called it speed dating. Wow. And it took 30 minutes and narrowed it down from probably 10,000 samples to one. And we love it. And people compliment all the time they walk into our kitchen. Go, that, that, where'd you get that? That's beautiful. So we've given that lady's name out a bunch. Nice. So there is something to be said there. So I'm not trying to discount that at all. No, absolutely. You wouldn't, you wouldn't. I mean, these people have degrees and they, um, they surround themselves with these types of projects and this type of work and these products that are available all the time.
Speaker 2 00:43:28 So naturally they're going to be familiar with them. They're gonna know who likes what the most and what's the most popular. And that's most often they're gonna have something that appeals to you. So Absolutely. Don't dis I don't, we're not, we're not trying to discount a professional, but there is an opportunity there. Yes. Depending on your project. Well there's so many resources available too. You know, hows and Pinterest. Oh yeah. You can find something you like and emulate it. Absolutely. So, alright, well that's it, that's all we got. Hopefully, uh, you guys can save some money when next time you hire a contractor, you can negotiate some good deals and do some of the work yourself. Figure out some really good ways to D I y a project. Yeah. This, these are tips right. Straight from Corey and i's, you know, experiences. A hundred percent. We've been through these things. These are, these are things that we know to be true or not true. And, uh, we're just trying to share with you what we've already experienced. And hopefully your project turns out amazing. I think it will. I do too. All right. That's it, man. We'll, uh, we'll catch you guys later. Thanks so much for listening. We'll see you next time. Have a great week.
