500 Square Foot Oasis in a Montana Forest

The adventure writer Tim Cahill shares his 500 square foot cabin for the world to see. It's extremely modest and the decor is an afterthought but the location and simplicity are oh so appealing.

Establishing Remodel Cost: Home Remodeling Critical First Step

Nothing ruins a fantastic remodel more quickly than exceeding the project budget. Why is this phenomenon so common in residential remodeling? Simple: Many homeowners struggle to establish a detailed budget at the appropriate time in the course of the project.

Why is establishing remodel cost one of your most important remodeling tools? Determining your budget at the beginning of your project helps in the following ways:

-Prevents wasting time and money on a project that turns out too expensive for your current budget.

-Allows you to more carefully analyze bids from general contractors.

-Forces you to decide emphatically on what you want and what you can afford.

-Puts you in charge of the project costs, not the general contractor or subcontractors.

-Provide your designer (if needed) with cost parameters that help keep costs reasonable.

Quick Tip to Prevent Board Splits

In most situations a sharp nail tip is required but when driving larger nails (8d and higher) into 2x4's or other wood panels, the force and size of nail can cause the board to split.

Quick solution is to turn the nail upside down, place the head on a hard surface and give the tip of the nail a quick but firm tap to "dull" it. Then turn the nail around and drive it just as you would normally except this time you'll notice the board won't split. Good luck!

If you're into hammer tips check out our all-time favorite nail pulling tip that will keep your walls clean and help you pull ANY nail.

Las Vegas Boom Now has some Construction Workers Gone Bust

We want to highlight how the construction slowdown is effecting peoples lives especially in what used to be hot markets such as Las Vegas. No other city could match the commercial building frenzy that Las Vegas was able to sustain from the early 90's until 2007 but now that many projects are on hold or are now off the table there are thousands of skilled tradespeople who are facing the dilemma of waiting out the slow period or moving on to other markets that are also in a slow down.

The Wall Street Journal covered this subject in-depth and we found these passages the most interesting.

Boomers used to complete a job then easily move to another city or state when work became scarce. That changed as the unemployment rate for construction workers nationwide rose to 16.5% in August, double the rate a year earlier. In Las Vegas, there were 21,000 fewer construction jobs in August than there were a year earlier -- a 20% drop.

Hot Winners in the Marvin's Architect's Challenge

The six winners have been announced in the Marvin's Architect's Challenge. The winners were chosen based on the ability to demonstrate architectural variety, exceptional design and execution, and inventive use of Marvin windows and doors (it's Marvin's contest, after all). Three stunning houses, a fishing retreat and church - all beautiful but not modest.

The winners were chosen by judges David Baker, dbarchitect.com, Carson Looney, lrk.com, and Stephen Muse, Musearchitects.com.

4 Steps to Checking Contractors References

Last week we broke down in detail the 4-steps to checking your contractors references. Follow through on these suggestions and have confidence that you've done everything you can do to cover yourself, your home and your money.

Step 1. Do their Biggest Fans Love Them?

Step 2. Are Their Most Recent Clients Happy?

Step 3. Do Their Suppliers Tolerate Them?

Step 4. Are the Feds Hunting Them?

Contractors References: Are The Feds Hunting Them?

Step 4

The final reference you always check is your contractors' license and insurance status. This step could fall anywhere in the sequence, but I save it for last since it is the least likely of the four steps to rule out a contractor. A simple online search through your state's contractor licensing board confirms the legitimacy of the license and also raises potential red-flags should they exist.

Why is a contractor's license important? Certainly not because of the knowledge it tests. It's impossible for a test to gauge a contractors true abilities (this is why steps 1, 2 and 3 are so important!) The most important factor is, should a legal dispute arise, using a non-licensed contractor makes it nearly impossible to win a judgment. The law puts the onus on you to hire a licensed contractor, and if you decide not to, well, the law shows little sympathy.

Another nice element of the licensing process is most licensing boards also confirm workers comp insurance. Additionally, ask your contractor for a copy of their general liability policy, and perhaps ask to be listed as "additionally insured" on the policy. Having these documents in hand protects you and sends a message to Company X that you know how to protect yourself. Always good to have this in the back of their mind.

Contractor References: Do Their Suppliers Tolerate them?

Step 3

Request three references from long-time material suppliers. Your eventual contractor's financial solvency is important: if they don't pay their bills, you get stuck with either a lien on your property or have to pay the bill yourself. Just disputing such a scenario in court costs time and money, so avoid the situation entirely.

When speaking with a supplier, ask questions that enlighten you as to their fiscal responsibility: How long have you sold material to Company X? Does Company X pay their bills promptly? Has Company X ever been past due on a bill? How did they resolve this issue? Would you hire Company X to work on your home? You will get a great idea of these suppliers' true feelings about the contractor by just listening to tone of voice and reading between the lines.

So if their suppliers like them, what about the government...Step 4...

Contractor References: Do Their Most Recent Clients Like Them?

Step 2

Ask your potential contractor for references from their last five project owners, in chronological order. This list may or may not include names on the reference list in Step 1. Call the project owners on this list if they were not on the first list. Ask them the same series of questions presented in Step 1. Why, you ask? Because you are trying to uncover any potential issues with past projects, and who better to comment on a contractor's performance than their last five project Owners. If these new references were not completely content, perhaps your contractor's ability to satisfy recently diminished. You should consider moving on if this is the case.

Construction is very much a "what have you done for me lately" industry. Dozens of factors affect a contractors ability to perform, and assessing these factors based upon recent work is critical. One such factor is covered in Step 3...

How To Check Your Contractors References

We've got a short series this week that explores the process of checking contractor references from our newest contributor, Deren Monday, who brings with him more than 10 years in the residential and commercial construction industry and is also a graduate in construction management.

Checking References: The Most Critical Step in Contractor Selection

I find significant humor and a dash of irony in traditional reference checking, whether it be for a job application, credit application or a contractor. What is so funny, you ask? Well, 99% of the time the person (or company) providing the references stacks the list with only their favorite clients/associates/friends/family. And even funnier, 99% of the time the person (or company) checking references goes no further than the references initially provided. Low and behold, the references come out great! Wow! How unexpected, right? Wrong...

Nothing speaks more about a contractor than the satisfaction of past clients. And not just his favorite past clients, but all of them. So how do you check references in a meaningful way? How do you help avoid that horrible realization that you are paying the wrong person to do the job at hand? These four steps are guaranteed to dig up the past, good or bad: