10 Questions for . . . Fernando Pagés Ruiz[SIZE=-1]
In this installment of 10 Questions for . . . , Senior Editor Daniel DiClerico speaks with Fernando Pagés Ruiz, contractor and author of Affordable Remodel: How to Get Custom Results on Any Budget. Here, Ruiz talks about the upside of the economic downturn, details common remodeling pitfalls, and offers tips for slashing winter heating bills. How has the credit crunch impacted the remodeling industry?
We had been in a kind of remodeling frenzy. People could justify the expense of remodeling with the rising value of their homes and the fact that it was relatively easy to get money through a second mortgage. Now that justification is over.
Even in good times, the best returns on remodeling investments were only around 90 percent, according to Remodeling magazine's annual "Cost vs. Value" reports. How many mutual funds do you know that advertise to customers that they'll get back 90 cents on every dollar invested? So remodeling was never an investment, and it more obviously isn't now. The motivation for remodeling should simply be that you plan to live in the house and you're spending money to make it how you want it.
Should home sellers be more motivated to make improvements?
If you're selling your house, the idea of getting it into the best selling shape makes tremendous sense, given the intense competition out there. Again, you won't necessarily get the dollars back, but you'll be able to move your house, whereas the neighbor who hasn't done any updating or maintenance may not.
Can homeowners negotiate lower costs on their projects?
It's a time to find good deals because many contractors who were used to doing a job for 40 to 60 percent over cost will now do it for 20 percent over cost. But depending on the contractor, negotiating can be a good or a bad strategy. You may end up with half a project if the contractor is in distress and looking for some cash flow and agrees to do the job for half the price of what he knows it will take. Chances are he won't be able to finish that job. So it is also a time to be careful.
So how do you protect yourself against the project-half-finished outcome?
In remodeling, the advantage always goes to the one with the most information. That's usually the contractor. And contractors know more than they let on. The only way to balance that is to become educated. I tell people it should take six to nine months to develop a plan and get to know the products. By the time you talk to your contractor, you should be able to tell if he knows his stuff or not. And you should definitely know more about your project than he does. You should be a very smart consumer by that point.
What other mistakes do homeowners make?
Starting the work all over the house. This is usually a guy thing, the do-it-yourselfer who starts jumping around doing this and doing that until he finally runs out steam and the house is a mess. You need to start with an overall plan, even if you're going to complete the work in stages. With the plan in place, you can segregate the house into sections and proceed from start and finish in an organized, logical manner.
Can you offer any rules of thumb for determining when a project goes from a DIY-friendly one to pro-required job?
Anything that has to do with safety. If you need to put in new gas lines, for example, it's a good idea to call in a plumber.
Manufacturers have made some projects easier, like tiling a laminate floor or installing a ceiling fan. But leave the skilled work to the professionals, like trim carpentry. If you want your cabinets installed correctly, there are a bunch of things a trim carpenter will know that you won't.
What are some of your favorite cost-cutting materials?
It's time to take a look at man-made materials again. I'm walking right now on a beautiful plastic-laminate plank floor and if not for my expert eye, I would not know that it's laminate. Nobody walks in here and says, "Oh, what a beautiful plastic-laminate floor you have." The old imitation-wood floors were cheesy, as were the old imitation-butcher-block countertops and imitation-brick exteriors. But not anymore. The same goes for vinyl siding, which is the least expensive siding option but comes in hundreds of colors and with different trim details that imitate the look of an old house.
Which cosmetic enhancements deliver the biggest bang for the buck?
Changing color with paint is one of the least expensive, high-impact remodels you can do. But anytime you're dealing with color, it's worth hiring someone with a good eye, like an interior designer. A lot of people think they have good taste. What they mean is they recognize good taste. I recognize a good football play and a really good symphony. Big that's a big difference between making the play and leading the orchestra.
Lighting is high on the list of affordable enhancements. If you go to a romantic restaurant, the lighting makes everyone look really good, right? Go to that restaurant during the day when they're cleaning up and it's a totally different experience. Dimmer switches are extremely helpful in achieving this effect at home. As you toggle that dimmer up and down, you're in a sense remodeling by changing the look and the feel of that room.
Accessorizing the kitchen is another quick upgrade. A lot of what we like in new kitchens are the little touches, the pullout shelves and the retractable trash bins. All that stuff can be retrofitted to existing cabinets. You can also buy new hardware for your cabinets, which can be a very inexpensive proposition compared with replacing or refacing the cabinets.
Any tips for saving money on appliances?
Don't be overly brand conscious. Buy appliances the same way you would buy a table saw or a tool of any kind. You don't walk into a carpenter's shop and see all Craftsman tools. He's got Craftsman, he's got Skil, he's got Milwaukee, he's got basically whatever is the best tool for the job. Similarly, all the appliances in your kitchen don't have to be from the same manufacturer.
Also, look around for deals on display models. When new models come out, retailers might make you a deal on last year's leftovers.
What are some simple things homeowners can do to lower their heating costs?
A tube of caulk and a can of expanding-foam sealant are two of the best materials for energy efficiency. If you can locate penetrations in the ceiling beneath the attic?light fixtures, exhaust fans, whatever?you can often seal the gaps around the cut-throughs.
Locking your windows is another simple way to lower your heating bills. Most windows don't achieve their full energy performance unless they're locked. The same goes for some front doors. Closing the damper on wood fireplace and weather stripping around windows and doors will also help.
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