ConstructionDeal.com Update

LOS ANGELES, CA., August 12th 2009, Construction Deal, Inc. (www.constructiondeal.com). Half way through 2009, ConstructionDeal.com surveyed approximately 5,000 project owners, primarily homeowners and discovered that nearly 40% were not planning on taking advantage of the $1,500 Tax Credit for energy efficient home improvements. 25% were completely unaware of this tax credit while 10% said they had already taken advantage of energy efficient home improvements. ConstructionDeal.com helps homeowners find contractors to complete home improvement projects and have evaluated the trends regarding awareness and usage of this stimulus plan.

ENERGY STAR has noticed an increasing trend of awareness as the popularity for their tax credit page and website has gone up since February 2009. ENERGY STAR representative Karen Schneider said, “Traffic to our tax credit page is up about 500% and overall, traffic to energystar.gov is up about 50% in the past 5 months.” ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy with the purpose to help consumers save money and protect the environment.

For large remodeling or addition projects, senior editor of Remodeling magazine, Nina Patel says “that during the project planning phase, a homeowner might ask about the tax credit and how it could affect their project. In terms of usage, I’d say that our full-service remodelers are not seeing an increase in business because of the tax credit.” Homeowners are more likely to select small home improvements that qualify.

This tax credit came into effect February 17th, 2009 when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed. The official name is “Non-business Energy Property Tax Credit” and qualified home improvements that are ready and available to use between 2009 and Dec. 31st 2010 can receive a federal tax credit for 30% of the purchase price - up to a maximum of $1,500. Improvements made during a remodel or addition also can qualify.

All the home improvement products have energy-efficiency requirements. For example, replacement windows must have a U-factor at 0.30 or below and SHGC at 0.30 or below to earn the tax credit. To learn more about various requirements, visit the ENERGY STAR website for more information.

Some of the qualified home improvements include:

• Windows
• Insulation
• Water Heaters
• Doors
• Metal & Asphalt Roofs
• Central Air Conditioners
• Heat Pumps
• Furnaces & Boilers

These improvements can only be made to the primary residence and homeowners will need to keep manufacturer efficiency certifications from products they have installed and the receipt from their contractor. The IRS tax form 5695 will be available in late 2009 or early 2010.

Popular home improvements are air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces and new windows. The tax credit will offset the cost of the energy efficient products and in the long run, result in savings through decreased energy bills.

Large green improvements or additions may be eligible for another provision – the “Residential Energy Efficient Property Tax Credit” which also is a 30% tax credit but has no dollar cap, second homes qualify and this provision is available until December 31st 2016!

The qualified improvements include:

• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Wind Turbines
• Solar Water Heating Systems
• Solar Photovoltaic Panels

About Construction Deal, Inc.

Construction Deal Inc. has been helping homeowners and business owners complete their building, remodeling, and repair work since 2004. They have a nationwide network of quality contractors and service professionals waiting to provide quotes on projects. Property owners post residential or commercial requests at no cost and are matched to local experts, usually within 24 hours. Construction Deal, Inc., a trusted member of the Better Business Bureau, is the fastest growing contractor referral service in the industry.

Contact Information:

Aaron Rose
(818) 657-8015
marketing@constructiondeal.com


About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products, new homes, and commercial and industrial buildings. Products and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR designation prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the government. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved about $19 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 29 million vehicles.

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Labels: Construction Deal, Energy Efficiency, energy star, Home Improvement

So a month long trip for five to Hawaii or Europe is out of the question this year? Too much work to take a long vacation far away or simply not in the budget?

Well here are some ideas to create that get-away feeling for a few days – in your own home!

Where to start?

First, clean your home—but let’s not go overboard, I’m not talking about spring cleaning but instead spend 10 minutes in each room clearing surfaces and picking up the floors. Take out the trash and take all dirty clothes to the laundry room. After straightening each room, start over, this time armed with the vacuum, glass cleaner and wipes and hit all surfaces for 10 minutes per room.

No matter your ideal vacation setting, first things first – improve your bedroom.

The bedroom is a key room to find peacefulness and true rest. Even after this mini-vaca, your bedroom should continue to be your sanctuary. Here are some quick checks to make sure you are on your way:

1. Your bedroom is not your children’s playroom nor the laundry room nor the office and therefore de-clutter accordingly. If you truly have no other options for the location of the computer, then turn it away from your pillows so it’s not the first and last thing you see in the morning and evening.
2. Decorating should be minimal compared to the rest of the home.
3. Q: What instantly feels like you’re in a 5 Star resort hotel?
   A: Soft, luxurious bed linens! With 6 to 8 hours a day contact, what better way to provide ultimate relaxation? (The higher the thread count the better!) If price is an issue, monitor department store sales and go early as soon as they are on sale. The linens should also be restful to the eye, so pick a color or pattern you love!
4. Finally, rearrange your bed and bedroom furniture. Make it feel like a completely new room.

Consider what scent you want for you vacation. If you're going for an oasis - essential oils such as lavender and chamomile are great aromas to providing a calming atmosphere. You can even put some drops behind your pillow to help improve your sleep. If you want a more invigorating experience then citrus and mint are for you.

Now survey your home and think about your families preferences. Are you looking for a spa-like-getaway in the mountains or a warm beach atmosphere with plenty to do? Keep this in mind as it’s time to get the supplies (view this as traveling to the destination!) Go find your scents! Don’t forget to stop at the grocery store: make sure you have plenty of water, pineapple juice for the children, lots of fresh fruit, fresh flowers, the family’s favorite foods and fun drinks for the adults.

One last room changing idea before you enjoy all your hard work. Find a spare room, den, or any easy-to-segment space and put soft blankets and large pillows all over the floor to create a comfortable and relaxing room for napping or story telling time. Make it inviting for the whole family (don’t forget your pet’s bed!) to come together or individually enjoy this new space.

Now it’s time to go on a home vacation!

Rule Number 1: No Electronics!
Although sometime it is impossible to resist the quiet created from the kids playing their Gameboys – so do what’s best for your serenity.

Some Activity Ideas: Board games, painting, put on a play, choreograph a dance routine, or go on a treasure hunt. And of course there is always pitching a tent and camping in the backyard – don’t forget the flashlight!

For those who want a more long term investment, add a stone pizza oven so you can have delivery at home! Or better yet – go for the old and build an outdoor kitchen for long hot summer nights. Adding a sauna or hot tub is always great for the cooler nights and an amazing way to release tension.

Enjoy your stay-cation!

Labels: bedroom cleaning, Construction Deal, ideas to enjoy your home, make home oasis, quick home cleaning, stay home this summer, stay-cation

Before you start, you might want to read this story. One of our customer service team members at ConstructionDeal.com, has a “how–not–to–paint” story that will make you cringe.

A few summers ago, Robert and his brother, Carlos, were repairing a property they rent after a tenet vacated. This family had been living on the property for five long years, painting over walls at whim and letting their children have complete creative control with their crayons and makers on the walls. The result was a mess. The walls had been painted over at least 8 times at various points without any scraping of old paint resulting in thick layers caked on the walls.

Over the course of three rainy, humid summer days, Robert and his brother stripped paint to the drywall. In addition to the muggy weather they had one other problem – because the tenet was gone, the electricity had been turned off, so all work was occurring in two bedrooms with no air flow. Robert sums up the experience as painful and it hadn’t even begun.

After stripping, it was time to prime and paint. This took two days. Their father had 7 cans of paint laid out and being in a rush to finish the job and with the muggy, non fresh air – they didn’t realize that 4 of those cans were for furniture. They were colored varnish, the kind containing O-I-L. As luck would have it, those were the cans they decided to start with.

They applied the oil-based varnish on the walls with very thick with rollers and by the time they were about to start on the last wall, their father walked in to check their progress. To say he was unhappy taps the surface. What could they do but wait for the paint to dry so they could re-strip it and start again?

It took four days for the paint to dry. And by dry, that meant it had become a gummy substance. The combination of the weather and the oil resulted in thick drops running down the wall – disaster.

After additional days to strip and paint but the result was successful - two beautifully painted bedrooms, finally!

In total, it took eleven days to strip the old paint, prime, paint, dry, then re-strip and repaint. I hated to remind him, but with a quality painting contractor, this process would take about three days. If you have painting plans this summer, make sure not to use oil-based paints in humid weather and always double check your supplies!

Labels: Construction Deal, Interior Painting, oil based paints, painting disaster

Here are a few ways to protect your home while you're out of town.

Whether you're away on business or on a family vacation, it's important to give the impression someone is in your house. Anyone can tell you to stop your mail and newspaper delivery, but ConstructionDeal.com has a few tips you might not have considered:

1. It is important to stop mail and newspaper delivery, but stock up on a few lighting timers. Don't just set one timer to turn a light on and off. Buy two or three to turn several lights on. One in the living room, family room/den, and in a bedroom should do it. Set them to go off at different times.

2. Leave a radio on in one or two rooms. Tune to a talk radio station so you have the sound of voices filling your house. It can deter a thief if they hear the sounds of voices talking (but music may not be as effective.)

3. Even if you normally park your cars in a garage, make sure you leave one vehicle in the driveway while you're gone. Opportunistic criminals will avoid a home with lights on and a car in the drive. If you're taking your only car, or cars, then ask a neighbor if they wouldn't mind parking at your house while you're gone.

4. Leave your air conditioning on. Turn it down, so it's not cooling an empty house, but it's obvious no one is home on a hot summer day when the a/c is not running.

5. Even if you normally keep blinds and curtains closed, open things up while you're gone. Your lights and radio noises will help and it won’t seem like the house is closed up because you're out of town.

6. It's not recommended to leave on the exterior lights when you leave. During the day, when most break-ins occur, it’s fairly obvious no one is home when the outside lights are on. Add a photo electric cell, which screws into the socket and the light bulb goes into that, because it will automatically turn on the lights when it gets dark. The light turns off when the sun comes up.

It should go without saying, but make sure all your doors and windows are locked when you leave. If you have an alarm system, arm it before you go. Finally, tell a trusted neighbor to help out and let them know you’ll return the favor. Have them look for package deliveries, mow the lawn if needed, and give them your contact information of where you’ll be.

Taking these precautions will not only make your home safe while you’re gone, it will help you relax knowing you did everything you could.

Labels: Construction Deal, keep home safe, safe while on vacation, security tips

Have a swamp for a pool?

Watch this video and turn that pool blue!


Make sure to watch Part 2 as well.

Labels: cleaning pool tips, Construction Deal, green pool, video

It's official.

We have a winner in our $200 gift card contest from Home Depot Rental Center.

Cindy Choyke of Warren, Michigan, is our winner!

Cindy and her fiance are working on finishing their basement.

She submitted a few photos of their basement as it stands. She also described her plans:

"We would like to finish our basement by adding drywall because the basement walls look bad, add drop ceilings and paint the basement floor with basement paint. We also want to put moldings around the whole basement after we paint the drywall. My fiance' will be using all his Dewalt tools to complete this project. We are hoping to have this project completed sometime this summer but with our upcoming wedding, money will be tight so it might have to put off until the fall."

We can't help her complete everything, but we have FedEx'd her gift card out to her. $200 can help with tool rental and supplies so they can complete their basement renovation!

Congratulations, Cindy! Send us your "after" pictures of your basement remodeling project and we'll show them here!

If you need tool rental for your DIY project, go to Home Depot and check out their tool rental services. Got a project that's too big for you to handle? Why not submit your details to ConstructionDeal.com. We'll match you with local service pros and contractors in your area. You'll get multiple quotes, which will help save you money. And contractors call you, which will save you time.

Keep an eye on our blog for more giveaways and contests! Thanks to all who participated!

Labels: Win a Renovation Contest