Comments for RERA http://rera.com Redwood Empire Remodelers Assoc. Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:38:23 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on How to Compare Bids for Remodeling by Pam Miller http://rera.com/archives/1434#comment-473 Pam Miller Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:38:23 +0000 http://rera.com/?p=1434#comment-473 While I think it's important to be cautious when considering hiring a stranger to work on your house, I disagree with a few points in this article. First off, the old "get three bids" routine is dated and somewhat ineffective. When you're out getting your three bids, the contractors know you're shopping them around, and bidding on your job might be considered a waste of their time to them (you're expecting them to do all of the research on products, materials amounts and costs, labor costs, and write up a proposal for free, right?). An accurate, complete, and detailed estimate takes a lot of time to pull together. How much time do you think will really be spent on accuracy if it has to be done for free? Consider paying the expert for their time. If you don't want to pay for an estimate, consider doing it yourself... It's cheaper to pay for it, in more ways than one. Secondly, I don't expect my past clients to indefinitely provide an open house to my potential clients. In fact, I don't allow it. I provide photos, and letters of recommendation tied to the photos. Once I'm done with a job, I think it's unreasonable to expect that a client would want to have more total strangers walking through their space so I can possibly land another job for someone else. The Home Improvement business is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the state of California- There are very clear guidelines that we must adhere to, and the homeowner would do well to go to the CSLB website to educate themselves as to what these guidelines and laws are. And, check up on the contractor while they're on that site! -My two cents... While I think it’s important to be cautious when considering hiring a stranger to work on your house, I disagree with a few points in this article.

First off, the old “get three bids” routine is dated and somewhat ineffective. When you’re out getting your three bids, the contractors know you’re shopping them around, and bidding on your job might be considered a waste of their time to them (you’re expecting them to do all of the research on products, materials amounts and costs, labor costs, and write up a proposal for free, right?). An accurate, complete, and detailed estimate takes a lot of time to pull together. How much time do you think will really be spent on accuracy if it has to be done for free? Consider paying the expert for their time. If you don’t want to pay for an estimate, consider doing it yourself… It’s cheaper to pay for it, in more ways than one.

Secondly, I don’t expect my past clients to indefinitely provide an open house to my potential clients. In fact, I don’t allow it. I provide photos, and letters of recommendation tied to the photos. Once I’m done with a job, I think it’s unreasonable to expect that a client would want to have more total strangers walking through their space so I can possibly land another job for someone else.

The Home Improvement business is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the state of California- There are very clear guidelines that we must adhere to, and the homeowner would do well to go to the CSLB website to educate themselves as to what these guidelines and laws are. And, check up on the contractor while they’re on that site! -My two cents…

]]> Comment on Accidentally Breaking a CFL – Is It Mayhem? by Brad Buscher http://rera.com/archives/1211#comment-468 Brad Buscher Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:16:43 +0000 http://rera.com/?p=1211#comment-468 As this article states, CFLs do contain small amounts of mercury. While it may not be high in quantity, it is still important for consumers to realize that they require special handling. The mercury vapor can be detrimental to handlers' health—from those involved with handling new bulbs to people involved with storing, packaging and shipping used lamps. Mercury vapor, which can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, can cause neurological damage, and when it gets into water, it can enter the food chain through fish. Read more about the dangers of mercury exposure here: http://vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/preventing-health-and-safety-hazards.html. If a bulb is broken or burns out, it should be properly cleaned up and recycled—it should not be disposed of in landfills. To reduce the risk for mercury vapor exposure, CFLs and fluorescent lamps should be safely handled, stored and transported to recycling facilities in a package that is proven to effectively contain hazardous mercury vapor. Find out more about how to minimize environmental risks and safely package CFLs here: vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/layers-of-protection-packaging-used.html If a bulb breaks, consumers can learn more about clean-up procedures here: www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup-detailed.html As this article states, CFLs do contain small amounts of mercury. While it may not be high in quantity, it is still important for consumers to realize that they require special handling. The mercury vapor can be detrimental to handlers’ health—from those involved with handling new bulbs to people involved with storing, packaging and shipping used lamps. Mercury vapor, which can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, can cause neurological damage, and when it gets into water, it can enter the food chain through fish. Read more about the dangers of mercury exposure here: http://vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/preventing-health-and-safety-hazards.html.

If a bulb is broken or burns out, it should be properly cleaned up and recycled—it should not be disposed of in landfills. To reduce the risk for mercury vapor exposure, CFLs and fluorescent lamps should be safely handled, stored and transported to recycling facilities in a package that is proven to effectively contain hazardous mercury vapor. Find out more about how to minimize environmental risks and safely package CFLs here: vaporlok.blogspot.com/2010/05/layers-of-protection-packaging-used.html
If a bulb breaks, consumers can learn more about clean-up procedures here: http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup-detailed.html

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