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 Manager, that lets you check and research permits, and review the inspection results. If a contractor you are considering has handled a few projects within Palo Alto, then you can look up those projects by address and see how long the construction took from when the permit was obtained to the final inspection. Of course, not all delays are caused by the contractor, but at least you can get a sense on how quickly different contractors wrap up their projects.
Before you buy any appliance, hardware or fixture, measure several times and never assume that your house is “standard,” especially for “special order” items that are “non-returnable” or not returnable without some penalty. When my pre-drilled front door was installed, I had assumed that the distance between the holes were “standard.” If there isn’t a standard, there certainly should be one. Make sense, doesn’t it. But, when the lock arrived, I had the misfortune of discovering that the holes for the Baldwin Stonegate Lock are 5 1/2 inches apart, but the holes on my door were drilled 5 inches apart. That was the most painful half inch I have ever encountered.
Nothing comes cheap at Home Depot EXPO. However, EXPO does offer a broader range of selection if you are looking for more upscale hardware, plumbing and household appliances. For lock sets, I was surprised to discover that EXPO’s prices for Baldwin locks were competitive with several online no-name retailers. I was sure that EXPO would be selling at a higher price and I WAS WRONG. Now, their prices aren’t always the lowest, but it wouldn’t hurt to stop by and jot down some prices if you can find an EXPO nearby.
For locks, EXPO certainly didn’t stock every single style of Baldwin locks available. However, there was a decent selection with a variety of finishes. If one of the suits your needs, all the better. You can take advantage of their low prices and generous return policy.
Perhaps, nothing strikes more fear into me than walking into Home Depot and discovering that they don’t stock a particular product I am searching for. The latest incident was when I was looking for some #8 3-inch screws to attach a handle to some kitchen cabinets. The HD store I went to had a half aisle of screws, bolts and other fastening items, but no 3-inch #8 screws. What to do, what to do?
When back to the contractor and confessed that I could not locate the screws he requested. He returns the following day with the screws in hand from Orchard Supply Hardware. Not a small mom-and-pop hardware store, but also no Big Box when stacked up against a Home Depot or Lowe’s. That’s not the first time something like this happened where OSH stocked something that I could not locate at Home Depot, Ace Hardware and some small mom-and-pop hardware store. Even though one-stop shopping is extremely convenient, glad I have these back-up places around.
Just because Home Depot doesn’t stock an item, it doesn’t mean that the item doesn’t exist.
Despite their faults, Home Depot and Lowe’s are incredibly convenient. Most of the time, I can find what I want at either of the two stores. But what happens if Home Depot or Lowe’s doesn’t stock an item? Then, instead of heading to the one-stop shop by default, I have to do some detective work.
For example, I had a hard time tracking down all the dimmers and occupancy sensors that I needed. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s had an adequate selection of dimmers. However, if you required something different—say, a 1000 watt dimmer—then the selection was surprisingly non-existent at both stores. Same too with occupancy sensors for the bathroom. At least, ones that didn’t look too bulky and grotesque, or weren’t already obviously returned merchandise. So, I ended up heading out to Galaxy Lighting in San Jose for my dimmers and occupancy sensors. They’re in that part of West San Jose that one may mistaken for Cupertino. And, their prices were surprisingly competitive with a contractor discount. So, if you are a contractor or work with one, let them know.
Supposedly, the “great” thing about fluorescent lighting is their long life span and low energy usage. The Energy Star web site tells us that compact fluorescents use 2/3rds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, last up to 10 times longer, and save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
Well, last up to 10 times longer is not the same as last 10 times longer. For one group of lights in my kitchen, the compact fluorescent was the first to go out. I guess that one won’t be saving me $30.
After being immersed into the world of bathroom fixtures and tiles for a few weeks, I discovered that whenever I enter a bathroom, I immediately survey what sink basins, tiles and bathroom fixtures were used. So, when I recently stayed at a hotel, I was surprised that they would use a Grohe showerhead. I was right (in part) because the showerhead wasn’t a Grohe. But, it was close enough to fool me at first glance. Take a look at the Grohe Relaxa Plus Top 4 Shower Head and judge for yourself.
I can’t think of a retailer that offers a better online shopping experience than Amazon. I never have any problems finding a product on their site. However, the real key to their website is the customer reviews. While the sample size may be limited, you are getting feedback from (presumably) real life users. That’s the power of the community working for you.
Now, I won’t call them out, but I see other retailers trying this approach. However, instead of truly informative customer reviews, I see a stupid 5-star scoring system. What I really want to know isn’t whether someone rates a product as a 3 star or a 4 star, but the reason behind the scoring. Does a product work as promised? Is their technology truly revolutionary? What problems do people keep experiencing. That’s what I want. Not a meaningless 5-star scoring system with no real commentary.
If you are shopping for natural stone tile for your kitchen or bathroom, be aware that the tile you see on the showroom display may not even resemble the tile that is boxed up in the warehouse. Naturally, the tile dealer wants to put his best foot forward, so he selects the best looking tile for the showroom. What you need to figure out is whether the showroom display represents 10%, 25%, 33%, 50%, 66% or 75% of the boxed tile. Ask them to bring out a box so that you can take a look.
Here’s my wish list. When I visit a web site, I would like to see the following:
- Location. List the address of all your showrooms.
- Map. Link your address to an online mapping service, such as Google Maps. Not sure why people still link to Mapquest. Google Maps just kicks butt because I can slide the map over with my mouse. Once you’ve experienced that, clicking on the N/S/E/W arrows to page the map over one screen feels downright antiquated.
- Store Hours. Why would a store not post their hours on their web site? This one I don’t understand. Why should I call in to ask someone when your are open. I’m only griping about this one because I see it a lot. Just a few clicks of the keyboard saves me from calling you, and saves you from answering my phone call.
- Inventory. Word-of-mouth business is huge here. Most of the stores I go to were either recommended by a family member, friend or contractor. However, sometimes they can’t tell me exactly the products that you carry. So, introduce yourself. You don’t have to list every single product. Just list the product lines you carry. Better yet, just list the top five most popular items in each product category.
- Pricing. Always love to shop around.
#1–3 are essential and easy to implement. #4–5 would be great. Of course, any photos to inspire the remodeler in all our hearts would be appreciated.
