That’s right – FREE COFFEE.

We’re on a mission to get 500 Facebook likes, and anyone that helps us get there will be entered to win FREE COFFEE.

Simply head to our Facebook page and hit “Like.” Anyone that Likes us on Facebook is AUTOMATICALLY entered into a drawing to win a $25 Starbucks Gift Card. How easy is that?

Tell your friends and family so that they’ll have a chance to win too. Once we hit 500 Facebook likes, we’ll randomly pick one of our Fans to receive the FREE $25 Starbucks Gift Card.

Hurry up and head over to our Facebook Page to Like us!

Lifestyle essentials – Research Your Daily Needs

What do you do in your space? How does it help you complete daily tasks? Is that basement space perfect for the kids, or maybe it will be an adult retreat?  Does your kitchen need a breakfast space for you and your family? For example, let’s say you have a love for baking.  Your kitchen should be a reflection of this passion. Marble slabs to prep tasty treats, ample oven space to bake all your delectable desserts, and counter space aplenty to cool cookies. These are all essential design elements in creating a space tailored to a life full of sweet creations.  So, get started by taking mental notes of your daily rituals and needs within your project space.  Keep in mind contractors/designers do not know your personal needs.   A clear understanding of how you live in your space allows you to pass along this knowledge to your remodeling team.

 Aesthetic Desire – Find Your Style

How do you want your new space to look and feel? Cozy and warm? Rusty and rural? Clean and modern?  Sleek and urban? Find terms that express your style and taste. To provide yourself and your contractor/designer with a clear definition of the stylistic direction of your project, create a small collection of images representing your desired taste, color palate, and atmosphere. To get started, check out the website HOUZZ.  The site provides a tool to surf their vast database of remodels and collect your favorite images to create a virtual idea bank.

Resale Value- Make It Timeless

Always consider the permanence of your decisions. Keep all investments such as cabinetry, tile work, countertops, and technology neutral.  And let’s get one thing clear… beige isn’t the only neutral, so don’t fear.  You still have many options!  Going neutral doesn’t mean you should avoid color or eclectic elements, but always incorporate your personal touches and vibrant accents to applications easily swapped out. This will allow your tastes and your space to evolve together and become a reflection of you. If in the future you decide to sell, neutral spaces become an asset to your home’s market appeal.

Bring this approach into all remodeling projects as a guide in your decision making process.  The end result will be a successful space that fulfills your needs and your dreams. Speak up about your needs. Speak up about your style. And be smart about your investments. Contractors/ designers can’t read your mind, so tell us what you want. Insist on what you need. Get started!

Be sure to contact the dRemodeling team if you have questions or ideas about your next remodeling project. 

Remember, if you’re ready to give your bathroom a facelift, contact dRemodeling for all of your Philadelphia bathroom remodeling needs. 

Does your kitchen need an update? View these top 10 reasons you should remodel your kitchen to see if it’s time to remodel!

 1.    Your Kitchen Is Too Small. Need more storage space? Hate the cramped layout of your kitchen? Remodeling is a great way to update your kitchen and create more space. An experienced contractor can expand your kitchen to give you the look and the square footage you want.

2.    More Products Than Ever. With interior design and home remodeling at the forefront of many company’s minds, there are more kitchen products than ever to choose from. Get a custom island, new cabinetry, the latest backsplashes, modern countertops and beautiful appliances in your kitchen with a great remodel.

3.    Your Kitchen Is Outdated. If your kitchen is stuck in the 1960’s, it can really make your whole house look outdated. Updating your kitchen to a new design and layout will bring your home into 2012.

 4.    Huge Return on Kitchen Remodels. Kitchens are one of the few places you can see a huge return on investment with a remodel. Time and time again, a little spending in the kitchen can up the resale value of your home.

5.    Improve Your Cooking. If you love being in your kitchen, you’ll most likely cook more often and enjoy the space much more. Improve your cooking, and your quality of life, by making a few adjustments to your kitchen with a quality remodel.

6.    It’s a Quick Project. Hiring quality contractors that have experience with kitchen remodels means that your kitchen renovation will get done quickly and affordably. An average kitchen remodel takes just a few weeks at most.

7.    You Can Save on Energy Costs. When you decide to upgrade, go with appliances and lighting fixtures that will cut down on your energy costs throughout the year.

8.    You Just Want a Change. There is nothing wrong with deciding that the countertops you once loved just aren’t your style anymore. Make some quick adjustments to things like counters, backsplashes, flooring or cabinetry to instantly change the look of your kitchen.

9.    You Want a Gourmet Kitchen. Have you gotten really interested in cooking? Do you have a lot of guests over and entertain in the kitchen? It may be time to upgrade your standard kitchen to a gourmet kitchen. Remodeling your current kitchen into your luxury dream kitchen will make you feel like a master chef.

10.  Additions Are Necessary. If you once had no need for an eat-in kitchen, but now have a need for this extra dining space, you may want to remodel and make some additions to your kitchen. Other additions could include an island, a pantry, a wet bar and much more.

Remember, if you’re ready to give your kitchen a facelift, contact dRemodeling for all of your Philadelphia kitchen remodeling needs. 

A small bathroom is a great place to make a statement. Making sure the space is cohesive in terms of color palette and materials used, you can really push the limits in terms of color and textures. Often times, homeowners will feel more comfortable experimenting on a small room than a larger room. So now is your chance to mix it up with a great remodel!

If you’re working with a full bath, opt for an updated shower stall with glass enclosures to open up the space and make it feel bigger than it is. Pedestal sinks and wall mounted sinks will also give the illusion of more space by freeing up a bit of the floor that a larger vanity would occupy. If you do want a vanity with storage space, check out some floating vanities that offer a modern look without hogging floor space.

Light fixtures are another way that you can update a small bathroom without spending much money. Size-proportionate sconces and light fixtures should be used so that the lighting doesn’t overwhelm the space. Also be conscious of size when choosing mirrors and other bathroom hardware.

When it comes time to decide what to do with the walls, this is your chance to really push the boundaries and work with bold, warm colors or fun patterns. Play with wallpapers, or opt for a tiled accent wall. Glass mosaic tile on one wall, or a section of the bathroom, will instantly brighten the room.

Use these tips when updating your small bathroom to get the most out of the space. Remember that sticking to scale and playing with colors, materials and textures are all great ways to totally revamp and remodel the room.

For more design ideas, tips and information about bathroom remodeling, check out the dRemodeling Philadelphia Bathroom Remodeling section of our blog. 

There has been a significant and noticeable shift in preferences with regard to new-home purchases from late 2011 and into the fresh beginnings of 2012. This purchasing impact is a result of the struggling economy, still-shrinking construction market, and the need and desire for smaller homes.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, builders and contractors expect newly built homes in 2012 to average between 2,000 and 2,150 square feet by 2015. That is over 10% smaller than previously estimated desired home sizes.

To maintain the consistency of simplicity and small-size, luxuries will likely fade out in home remodeling and practicality will move in. Formal living rooms are going by the wayside, making room for much smarter and multi-functional home layouts.

In 2012, you can expect to see a lot more of those once-forgotten small spaces: eat in kitchens, and large social areas that can double as office space and entertainment rooms. There’s going to be a decrease in the interest for remodeling or even building dining rooms and great rooms; these simply will become unnecessary.

“Keep the following tips in mind if you’re thinking of investing in an addition or a significant remodel:

* Select a professional contractor with experience, knowledge of local codes and a good reputation for quality work.

* Before you finalize your remodel decisions, research the improvements that will likely bring you the highest return on your investment. A minor kitchen remodel should return more than 70 percent of its cost at resale, according to the 2010-2011 Remodeling Magazine Cost vs. Value Report. Adding a bathroom pays back more than 53 percent.

* During the latest housing boom, remodels were all about big and bold. Now there is less emphasis on luxury and more on practicality. Take advantage of that trend, and you’ll make your home more competitive at resale, and your dollars will stretch a lot further.”

There are benefits to heated floors other than keeping your feet warm after you get out of the shower. Compared to the usual forced air heating such as central air, radiant floor heating throughout your house can help you save on your monthly heating expenses. With floor heating you are able to heat only the rooms you are using with timers and to your desired temperature with giving you the option to make each room a different temperature. Also air quantity is much better than your typical forced air system because you’re not recalculating dust and spores. It’s more cost effective if the floor has a significant thermal mass such as a concrete slab.

There are two main types of radiant floor heating :

The most energy efficient and most popular of the three is the hydronic radiant floor system. This system pumps heated water through a boiler through heated tubes laid in a pattern within the floor. In this system you are able to control the flow of heated water with zoning values or pumps with a thermostat.

• Electric radiant floors are made with electric cables or even electrically conductive plastic within a mat. These mats are mounted to the subfloor and below the floor covering. Electricity can be costly so to save on energy you should choose a floor covering with a significant about of mass to store the heat such as concrete or heavy tiles. You can also “charge” your floors during off-peak hours (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and if your thermal mass is enough it will keep your home comfortable for around 8 hours. Electric floor heating is a great option for additions onto homes where it might just be too pricy to extend your current system into the addition.

There are so many products out there and contractors that offer this service. I chose one product for each type of floor heating but just so you know there may be better prices out there, so do your research before making your final decision.

Warmzone.com has a hydronic system that uses the PEX radiant tubing which is installed inside a gypsum concrete or as they call it “Gypcrete”. They also have a system where the PEX radiant tubing is laid within pre-cut wood panels which make the product more inexpensive and lighter but work as well without the mass. The InfloorBoard which they use in their system is a green product, also light weight. These systems can range anywhere from a little below $3,000 to above $4,000 and this all depends on the square footage.

Warmzone also offers a comfort tile mat which is an electric heated mat with adhesive backing for easy installation. It has built in ground-fault protection as well as a dual conductor heating cable which allows for only one cold lead connection. They are also very thin at only a thickness of 3mm. These are bought by the area and 100 square feet is a little over $800. You can put any flooring on top of the product.

Installation – ? will vary with your location , complexity or square footage – expect to pay anything from 1,000 for a small bathroom to 5,000 for a more complex bigger area.

Each system has it benefits but the hydronic system by far is the best thing you can get for your money. Even though it’s more money to put up front you save a lot more in energy costs.

Kitchen and bathroom remodeling is my passion and business. Thus, as a through professional, I value my time. However, last week, it seems I got stood up 3 times in a row when I visited the client’s destination for an assessment of the place. Even though I understand that emergencies happen, the least they can do is give me a call from wherever they are. I mean, it is actually not asking for too much, isn’t it?

Though it is not that I have never missed an appointment, it does happen sometimes, but I ensure that I call up and apologize. Though this is extremely rare, I must admit that it happens. However, when I miss an appointment, customers post negative reviews, which even though cannot be completely justified. But what do I do?

I talked it over with my friends and other business owners and some of them had a simple solution- charge the customer. They said I need to mention it over the phone conversation to ensure that the customer knows that they need to be there at the given time. I usually drive for over an hour to reach a destination and nobody’s home…isn’t that a sheer waste of my time?

I know what my friend suggested was a good idea but I’ll need to think it over. Another suggestion that can save me valuable time is to hire a reminder service. Some of these services charge to remind the customers of their appointment with the company. A day or two before the scheduled appointment, the live attendants give a call to the customer to remind them of the appointment, so that when I reach there, they are home.

Another friend suggested that I call before I leave home so that at least I do not waste me time travelling up and down without doing any business. Customer satisfaction is my priority but I need to ensure that the potential clients understand that as a business owner my time is equally precious.

However, I think giving a new customer a benefit of doubt is essential as I have a service business but just like, Dave, another business owner said, “Dan, if that happens a second time over, just drop the client because they are not serious about the remodeling so no point putting in more time.”

It is natural that some people have hectic schedules and so the mess-up happens, but for some people, it is sheer inattention to details. These are just my thoughts on the subject, what do you think works the best?