If you’re looking for somthing fun for the kids to do this week or this weekend, Bass Pro Shops/Outdoor World at Concord Mills has just the thing. They have a series of free activities from noon to 6pm ranging from pet safety to fishing and shooting basics to camping and hiking basics. Each activity lasts about 20 minutes and each child gets a free pin for every workshop they complete. They are running the workshops on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and just to make sure I mention it again, it’s free.

The different activities are fun as well as educational. The kids can learn about different outdoor activites and maybe find something new that they will love to continue learning about and experiencing. The day concludes with a making s’mores workshop, and what a great way to end a fun-filled experience learning about some great outdoor adventure activities.

You can check out the schedule and more details at the Bass Pro website:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=86326&template=workshops.cfm

Mike Summers – contractor and outdoorsman

There is a little known problem that can occur at your home that no one thinks about unless you know someone who has personally experienced it. Just another day, beautiful weather, and you’re cleaning or getting ready for a party or just relaxing at home. You walk into a room or hallway and notice water actively dripping from the  ceiling. There’s no bathoom or plumbing above, just the attic. It’s not raining outside so what could it be?

It’s the HVAC condensate line. Every HVAC unit has a drip pan beneath it to catch condensation, and there is a drain line that carries that water outside of the house. Well, unfortunately, when my house was built and/or the HVAC unit was placed in the attic, I did not live there. So I couldn’t check to make sure it was installed properly. Now, not every homeowner will be able to tell if it’s correct or not, but you should have a knowledgeable professional who you can trust to look out for your future interests. When I got into my attic to check things out, I found a pan that was sloped in the wrong direction from the drain line and a drain line that was not only clogged but wasn’t properly connected, so any overflow went straight down into the ceiling of the rooms below.

This can cause major damage and is considered an emergency by HVAC companies, contractors AND homeowners. Needless to say I had to do something fast. Since it was 11:45 on a hot Saturday in June and we had about 15 kids aged 4-11 and about 12 adults coming at noon for our son’s 8th birthday party, I couldn’t wait for an HVAC tech. A good friend and I braved the sweltering heat of the attic and cleaned the line, and made the necessary adjustments to keep the condensation problem at bay. Of course, not before it ruined the paint and sheetrock in areas of 3 different rooms of my house.

Please don’t let this happen to your home. We include checking the condensate line and drip pan for proper draininage in our home maintenance program. We can set up a custom plan for your home based on your house and your needs. We will come out on a regular schedule, set by you, to prevent major issues and costly repairs to your home.

Call A Dependable to get a free estimate for your home maintenance program today. 704-451-4492

Mike Summers – experienced contractor and homeowner.

A knowledgeable and experienced contractor is an absolute necessity when it comes to remodeling a bathroom. There are so many design decisions, material options, product selections and fixture choices for the contractor to work through with the homeowner, and not every contractor is up to the task. After all, your bathroom is the most personal room in your home and is the second most value adding home improvement you can have done. Don’t you want to put your bathroom remodeling project in the hands of an expert?

The first thing to decide about your bathroom remodel is the design, layout and extent of change you want. A designer can help put your ideas into drawings and the contractor can tell you what’s feasible and how much work is involved with each possibility. You may want to simply create better flow and function in the existing space or maybe you are looking to create a whole new bathroom with luxury and elegance or a spa-like atmosphere. There are many things to consider depending on the layout you desire. Will walls be removed or relocated and are they load bearing walls? Will plumbing need to be relocated? Will electrical wiring need to be added or moved? Are there windows that will be closed up, moved or created? Where will the entry door or doors be located? How will the changes affect the flow of the rest of the house? You have to be able to trust that your contractor knows the answers to all these questions.

Next comes the material options and product selections. Your contractor should be able to go over the different choices and options of all the various materials that you can have installed in your remodeled bathroom. You will, of course, have to take into consideration the factors of price and budget as well as style, color, availability and quality. A reliable and legitimate contractor can assist you in finding the items you want and need for your bathroom, whether they go shopping with you at the local home improvement stores or refer you to some of the suppliers in their network. The same is true for the fixtures needed for your bathroom. Experienced contractors have a network of suppliers or preferred stores where they can take you or send you to find the fixtures you desire.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to the materials, products and fixtures, you may want to do some window shopping and/or research ahead of time so that you have some ideas of what you would like or dislike in your bathroom. You may like the look of a standard tub with a solid shower surround or maybe you want a big soaking tub with a tile tub deck and tile surround. If you are  enlarging the shower, you could install a simple showerhead or several showerheads or a multiple head body spray. You can have large tile on the floor and mosaic tile in the shower. Perhaps you want some elegant pendant lights over the vanity and recessed lights in the rest of the bathroom or basic modern sconces at the vanity and nice but low-budget overhead fixtures in the other areas. You can choose to have custom built cabinets, semi-custom cabinets or choose to buy pre-made cabinets that you find that are just the right size for your needs. A high-end laminate counter top can be installed or any of the various solid surface counters are options as well. If you want granite counter tops, you may like a light color better than a dark one, or maybe you like quartz better than granite. You might want to think about the paint color you would like before choosing the other products and fixtures so that you can coordinate the look of the bathroom just the way you want it.

It doesn’t matter if your bathroom remodeling project is big or small, low-budget or high-end, the right contractor should be willing and able to assist you through the process of decisions and choices to create the bathroom you want and need.

A Dependable is willing and able to help you navigate through your bathroom
remodeling project in the Charlotte, NC area from beginning to end, design to
finish. Call us today for a free estimate and free initial consultation with a
designer. 704-451-4492

Mike Summers

Something that many homeowners don’t know about or think about when looking at having a room addition built is the setbacks for their property. Every city, county, town or municipality has ordinances that specifiy exactly how close your home can be to your property line. The ordinances are developed, set and enforced by the zoning department of your local government. The setbacks are laid out at certain distances based on the zoning designation for your neighborhood or property and may vary depending on the type of addition you are planning on having built.

Knowing your setbacks prior to starting the process of building a room addition will prevent you from wasting your time and energy if the proposed addition encroaches on your property setbacks. If you don’t have the time, energy and patience to navigate the zoning ordinances or to deal with having your phone call transferred  to any number of government workers who can’t assist you, then an informed, well prepared contractor should be able to tell you what the setbacks are. At A Dependable, we check the setbacks for the property of any room addition projects before our first meeting with the homeowner. No homeowner wants to meet with contractors about a room addition, get all their designs, estimates and chose a contractor to start the process, only to find out that their dreams cannot be fullfilled.

If during our initial meeting with a homeowner, we find that the project that they desire won’t fit within the property setbacks then we try to find an alternative solution. Sometimes the homeowner comes up with a creative idea to get the room addition they want. We recently went out to do an estimate on a garage addition and the setbacks prevented the homeowner from having the third garage they badly wanted. In trying to discover a satisfactory alternative, the homeowner asked if it would be feasible to change the corner bedroom into the extra garage and add a bedroom onto the rear of the house. Property setback problem solved.

Again, every city, county or town may have different reuirements, different government processes, and various ways to find out what your setbacks are. Finding the setbacks in the Charlotte – Mecklenburg area or Union County, NC can be simple enough if you know where to look, who to call, and have the time, but if you have trouble contact a licensed general contractor to help.

If there’s anything that A Dependable can do to help get your room addition project through the initial planning stage, call today for your free estimate and free initial consultation with our designer. 704-451-4492.

Mike Summers

Sometimes when people decide to remodel their home, they have the contractor convert their ideas, their wants and their needs from thoughts into a written proposal or contract. This can work. There are other people who put those visions onto paper, or even napkins, using crude drawings or sketches to help get their wishes conveyed to the contractor. This works as well. BUT, having a professional designer from inception of the project through final inspection, is not only smart and savvy, but can be key to having a great remodeling experience. Here’s the who, what, where, why and when for getting a professional designer for your remodel project.

Who: Obviously, this is the professional designer. Many contractors, including A Dependable, offer in-house design services, or they should be able to refer you to a designer or two. We actually offer a free initial consultation and can have the designer with us at the first meeting, if the homeowner chooses. The designer can create basic sketches at this meeting, which gives the homeowner and contractor something concrete to work with.

What: This, of course, is the actual sketches, designs, plans, drawings or blueprints that convey almost all aspects of your project in picture form with written notes on certain details. The various levels of detail and medium used are based on the type and stage of the project.

Where: Almost always, unless the homeowner chooses otherwise, the where is the home that is to be remodeled. The designer may do the sketches or basic drawings at your home, but then produces the complete plans or designs at their office, home, etc.

Why and When: This is one of the most important aspects in defining designs for a remodel project, other than the actual designs themselves. Getting a designer involved at the beginning of your project has several positive outcomes. One result is that it helps to achieve optimal clarity for all parties involved, from homeowner, contractor and sub-contractors to inspectors, zoning and code enforcement officials. Having professional drawings also assists in making the project flow as smoothly as possible, in that the details, measurements and dimensions are spelled out to varying degrees within the plans. But most significantly, getting a designer to create plans for your project early on is beneficial as preparation for adherence to local code enforcement requirements in the Charlotte area. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Code Enforcement requires that for certain residential projects, drawings must be submitted and go through a plan review process. You can find more information about these requirements at www.meckpermit.com

So if you are thinking about having a remodel project or room addition completed at your home, please consider having a designer included in the planning stages. I promise that it will help you have an easier, smoother and more rounded remodel experience.

If we can help you have that wonderful remodel experience in the Charlotte area, please call us for your free initial design consultation and free estimate. 704-451-4492.

Mike Summers

A Dependable Home Repair & Construction Service, Inc.