Remodel Kitchen

When I shop at Costco, I expect to receive a quality product at a competitive price. Usually, I am extremely happy with my purchases, but that garage door I purchased from them has turned out to be quite a doozy. Mind you, the garage door itself is fine. The problem is with everything else attached [...]

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Three years ago, I had purchased a new garage door and opener through Costco. A local contractor handled the installation. Other than the light bulb repeatedly getting loose, the door and opener worked flawlessly. I really like the new steel sectional garage door for two reasons: I didn’t have to worry if I parked too [...]

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Seth Godin complained about Verizon’s customer service in his blog. The funny thing is that I can relate even though I have never used Verizon in my entire life. Just substitute the name of your local phone company; i.e., SBC, AT&T or whatever it’s called these days. I’m not sure why the telecom industry insists [...]

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In California, the Contractors State License Board regulates the state’s construction industry. Their website lists the various licensing classifications, as well as allows consumers to verify whether a contractor possesses a valid California contractor license. I recently reviewed a bid that included a license number. Since the license number was much lower than that on [...]

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If you are building a new house or extensively remodeling an existing house, your number one question for your contract will be “when can I move in?” To get a sense of the timeline, you should see whether your city offers online inspection histories. For example, the City of Palo Alto has an online Permit [...]

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If you are planning to remodel a kitchen or bath, or build a new house, you should read the 2005 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards: during the design stage when you are working with an architect, and again during the construction stage before you head out to the lighting store to pick your lighting fixtures. [...]

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