Common mistakes consumer do before and during a renovation works . Monday 9 September 2013
From ignoring prep work and safety to setting unrealistic budgets, find out how to avoid these mistakes and more when renovating.
25. Buying Cheap Materials
Don't Sweat It host Steve Watson says, "One of the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to home renovation (is that) they try to be cheap when they buy materials. The bottom line is, you're going to get what you pay for."
His carpenter Jimmy Little adds his two cents: "If you're going to do it, do it. If you can't afford to do it, wait."
24. Gutting Everything
"Make sure you have a well-set plan before you start your renovations, because you don't want to go in there and just clear everything out, when you might be able to work around some areas," warns Carey Evans of Don't Sweat It.
"I see this time and time again where people just start, and they think they're going to pull a piece of wallpaper off, and by the time the process is over, they've completely gotten themselves into a deep, dark hole that's very difficult to get out of," adds Eric Stromer of Over Your Head.
23. Excessive Use of Duct Tape
"My esteemed colleagues, duct tape is not a permanent solution. It is merely a temporary fix," says Stromer.
"People use duct tape because it's cheap and it's quick and it's easy, but it's definitely a temporary solution. Don't leave it up for more than a couple hours ... ever," Little adds.
22. Inaccurate Measurements
Nancy Soriano, editor in chief of Country Living magazine says this about this common error: "I can't emphasize enough how an inch or even sometimes a half an inch can make a difference. And if your dimensions are off and it's not equal and symmetrical, you're not going to get the full impact and effect that you want. If you're not sure about how to measure or you can't follow the directions, don't hesitate at all to call somebody, ask them to come over and to take the measurement for you."
21. Not Doing the Prep Work
"Do it the right way, right away," says Evans. "You shouldn't avoid your prep work. You want to take the time to do it right and right from the beginning."
Adding to that wisdom is contractor Jim Collins: "It's a horrible, tedious process, and nobody likes it, but it saves so much time later on down the way. And that's what you're trying to do: save yourself money and time."
20. Using the Wrong Tools
"There're really three problems with using the wrong tool: You can wreck the tool, you can wreck the project you're working on, and you can wreck yourself," notes Spike Carelsen, executive editor of Family Handyman.
19. Building a Small Bathroom
"If you need a small bathroom, pick the right fixtures," says Little. "You can buy low-profile toilets and narrower sinks. Don't try to put full-size fixtures in a tiny, tiny bathroom. It's just going to be crowded."
"I'm a real believer in using bold colors and bold prints, because boldness in small spaces actually makes it feel better," Soriano adds.
18. Ignoring Lighting
Hammer Heads carpenter Carmen De La Paz says, "Another mistake that homeowners will often make is not taking into consideration the lighting in their home. The lighting in your home can completely change the colors, the feeling, the ambiance."
Designed to Sell's Lisa LaPorta adds, "There are really three main types of lighting: general lighting, task lighting and drama or accent lighting. You need a combination to have a really good end design."
17. Going Too Trendy
"People often make the mistake of wanting to be too hip and trendy in their new home by picking the latest, hottest, coolest things," says De La Paz. "What they don't take into consideration is that trendy means that it's short term."
Jim Collins says, "You want something that's going to stand the test of time, and you want something that's going to last for years and years."
16. Building Small Doorways
Evans issues this piece of advice on the subject: "Make sure you're looking at the entire floor plan of your home when you're planning your doorways. Look for, and make sure that every room has multiple exits. Or, if those doorways are in high-traffic areas, make sure thye're wide enough to let multiple people to pass through."
15. Failure to Anticipate Chaos
"I think it's really important to anticipate the time and the pacing of your renovation," notes Soriano. "You probably want to do that up front, get it over with, and then you can slowly start to piece your life and your home back together."
14. Incorrect Storage of Materials
Marc Bartolomeo of Save My Bath says, "You should always store materials in a cool, dry place."
Watson adds, "A roll of plastic will save you a lot of time and a lot of money, when it comes to wood and concrete. When it comes to tools and stuff like that, keep them inside."
13. Not Using Green Materials
De La Paz weighs in on this one, saying, "People will often make the mistake of not going green with their home project for two reasons: (A), They don't know how to, and (B), they think that it costs more money."
Not necessarily true, emphasizes Evans, "If you're doing your renovation green, you're really ahead of the market right now. So going green is a very smart investment."
12. Using the Wrong Paint
"People often make the mistake of picking the wrong paint for whatever particular project they may be working on," says De La Paz. "You don't realize that there is paint for just about every surface."
"Flat is basically for your ceilings and sometimes for your walls," adds carpenter Jeff Devlin of Spice Up My Kitchen. "Whereas your semigloss would basically be for trim in a bathroom or in maybe a dining room. The glossy will give it a more upscale look."
11. Building Narrow Halls and Staircases
"When you're renovating, bigger is always better when it comes to hallways and stairs," Collins says.
10. Choosing the Wrong Windows
Little says, "Windows are really expensive, and a lot of people try to (save) money on them, but that's not where you want to save your money."
Soriano adds, "You can always put more emphasis on the windows in the front of the house that face the street. That's one way to save on money, but do not skimp on quality."
9. Forgetting About Safety
"The most important things you can have on a job site for your own personal safety are goggles to protect your eyes; ear protection to protect your hearing; and gloves to protect your hands from splinters, nails and such," says Collins. "(Also) a good set of boots because there are nails and sharp objects everywhere. The last thing is, you must have a first-aid kit."
8. Not Doing Your Homework
"You have to know what you're getting into," says Evans. "Even if you're not doing the work yourself, know what to look for, what your contractor is doing. That way you can keep a close eye on the project and know when something's getting out of hand."
Soriano adds, "I think it's really important to do at least some preliminary work. You want to be able to have enough information to know what questions to ask."
7. Forgetting to Update the Electrical System
"I think people sometimes forget about electric when they've been renovating because it's expensive, it's costly and it's hidden," Soriano says. "You want to walk through the house with the electrician before you start to talk about outlets, where they are, where you want new outlets, three-prong outlets. You want to make sure everything's up to code."
6. Ignoring Your Home's Style
"You bought that Spanish home or that Craftsman home for a reason, because you liked that style. So keep your new design, your new build projects in that style," Watson insists.
5. Avoiding Permits
The bottom line is "if you do perform work without a permit and something serious happens, your homeowner's insurance will not cover it," says Bartolomeo.
4. Setting an Unrealistic Budget
"I think that people often underestimate what it's going to cost to do a big renovation, and part of that is because they don't realize the biggest cost in a renovation usually is, the labor," Soriano says.
Devlin adds, "You never know what's going to happen once you start the demolition process. As soon as you open up a wall, you never know what you're going to find behind that wall, so you need to pad your budget, and you need to be realistic."
3. Hiring the Wrong Contractor
"You need to make sure that the contractor is right for you, because he's going to be in your home, and you want to make sure it's the right contractor," Devlin says.
Stephen Drucker, editor in chief of House Beautiful adds, "When you interview contractors and you check references, the thing you want to find out is, how fast do they return phone calls? A contractor who returns phone calls fast has nothing to hide, and it's going to reduce your anxiety level."
2. Taking On More Than You Can Handle
"When people make the mistake of not knowing their limitations, they often take shortcuts," says De La Paz.
Stromer explains, "You really do have to know up front where you're going, and you can't jump into things without having a plan."
1. Overbuilding for Your Neighborhood
"The biggest mistake people make when they're trying to figure what the payback is going to be is they overbuild for their neighborhood," says Little. "They have a $100,000 house and they put a $100,000 addition on it, so now they have a $200,000 house in a $100,000 neighborhood."
Taking on Giants Monday 29 July 2013
What does an upstart need to take on a giant and win? Nothing but bravery, good people and a great idea. If you have a brilliant team around you, are determined to make it work and develop a concept that will genuinely have a positive impact upon people’s lives, then nothing can stop you.
Whatever the sector, there are opportunities just waiting to be seized. The established giants can’t stop you – in fact, the only one who can hold you back is yourself.
Shine Bright Like A Diamond Saturday 27 July 2013
As glamorous as diamonds are, the truth a diamond is a chunk of coal
that is made good under pressure. Diamonds start out as something far less
beautiful than what you see. They are formed when extreme heat (found 200 miles
into earth’s ground) and extreme pressure leading to crystallization of carbon
atom which then creates diamond. Just as lowly coal can become a lovely
diamond, any small or new businesses has the potential to become something
great.
Indeed, the rough diamond must be well polished for the true luster of
the stone to ever appear. The process is definitely not easy. Just like a
business, you must experience hardship before resurgence of drive that moves
the business for a greater start.
Established companies will have got used to succeeding without
reinventing or innovating. However, if a company fails to reinvent itself from
time to time, it won’t be able to adapt to changing conditions. It and its
products will eventually end up obsolete. The advantage of being a newcomer in
an industry is that you can separate yourself from the best companies and
embrace the necessity of change and find ways to profit from it. As long as you
keep reinvent yourself, your business will shine and last for a longer
lifespan.
When Tezza Kitchen was first established, no one knew who we were. Soon
when the established guys wonders how a small company like us captures bigger
clients compared to them, they then see us shine. Whichever industry you are
in, if you stay focus with your team, there will be opportunities waiting to be
seized. No one can stop you. The only one who holds you
back is yourself.
You can have all the money in the world and you can have all the
brilliant ideas but if you don’t have the people, forget it. – Tony Fernandez
Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the
rough. – Mary McLeod Bethune
The Core Seed of Business. Monday 22 July 2013
this plant and bought it for one of my outlet. From a distance the plant may looked normal enough….but it became apparent where it actually gave me a sign of hope. Seeing the plant itself left me relates with my business and life.
Business is like growing plants. If you don’t plant, you won’t reap. And if you don’t tend to be
responsible for it, they may fade on you. Some businesses are harder than others and even among the
same varieties there will be differences. Part of their success depends where and how they are planted. In that way, growing plant is a lot like raising the business. There is a lot of work and effort involved and frustration with how business progress.
Many may think business is like coordinating a six figure launch or undertaking a massive advertising campaign. In fact, a most stable business requires growing one small seed at a time. For instance,
One prospective customer follow up at a time, one extraordinary presentation to a small crowd at a
time, one remarkable customer service at a time and many more. If you focus on planting small seeds
at the right place day by day to cultivate new relationships and opportunities, you will definitely see
sustainable business growth.
Just like a tree, business is only as sturdy as its roots. In order to build a strong foundation, the tree
needs to be deeply rooted with a solid core.
The roots - symbolizes the strategic focus and future direction the business is designed to grow
The trunk – symbolizes the overall knowledge a business retains
The branches – represents different department within a business
The twigs – stands for the suppliers
The leaves – represents the employees
With proper nourishment, the tree will accomplish a healthy growth by building strong roots with dense trunk, creating reformative and growing branches, twigs and leaves. Business that ‘plan to grow and grow by the plan’ will develop an optimal, steady and profitable business. Just as all healthy trees grow, all healthy businesses will expand. Vice versa, when the tree is neglected, it will never reach its potential,
-and will eventually decease.
A tree you pass by every day is just a tree. If you are to closely examine what a tree has and the life a tree
has, even the smallest thing can withstand a curiosity, and you can examine the whole world.
– William Shatner
Yellow is the new Pink! Sunday 6 January 2013
Design Days Dubai 2012 first introduced us to a renowned trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort for a talk about trends for interiors, fashion, graphics, automobiles and even cosmetics. for 2013 and 2014.Mind you Lidewij is a fantastic resource for designers in creating products and interiors forecasts ahead by at least 2 years. I figured i should at least share with you the emerging trends that showcased in the iSaloni, kitchen and bath show in France, Paris
2013 interior decorating trends now mainly focus on long term value and warmth. Home owners now will want top value for their hard earned money and will be less likely to settlewith less than ideal interiors. Interior decorating is shifting from a “which part can i save money in” into a more “what will i love in this area” mentality .This means for increased expectations with real long term value and quality, 2013 for the franchise Tezza is looking bright.
Yellow is the new pink As stated in my headlines yellow will dominate with the interior trend in 2013 for its lively and vibrant outlook. This colour can blend into colour palettes, fabrics and interior fittings. With such staying power, The question now is which shade explains the colour of your life…
Touch, 2013 we will be focusing all about experiencing and engaging in your home furnishing apart from just aesthetic viewings.The sense of touch, is in fact is the biggest sense to focus on during our set up decoration period. Fabrics, kitchen cabinets and wall should all be touchable with textures full of warmth and depth having the users to engage the space with their flesh. Exteriors of sand and stone will be the best starting point. Grainy kitchen doors, the colour of natural neutrals, the softness of suede fabrics and the warmth washed stones on your garden walkway will bring you one step closer to the dream.
The beauty of the un-done: unfinished trimwork and detailing with a homemade and adaptable feel bring warmth and creativity to the home.
Kenneth Lim,
Founder of Tezza
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