Ask Tile Excellence!: kitchen

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Tile Excellence offers DIY hints and how-to's. We thought sharing some other professional home makers and designers would be a nice addition. Here the author has collected what she felt was the TOP TEN useful websites for homeowners, much like the links we have on our LINKS page to help consumers with the tough stuff, like how to clean cat urine out of grout lines! Hey, it's life. Hope you enjoy. Let us know! Diana Smith, AskTileExcellence

1. Home Fair -www.homefair.com

Home Fair provides city reports, school reports, salary calculator, cost of living standards, and a multitude of other useful tools and information for a new homeowner, or any person looking for more information tailored to a specific location.

2.How to Clean Anything Clean Anything www.howtocleanaything.com

The name says it all. When you own a house, you have multiple rooms, and possibly a yard, to keep clean and up to sanitary code. This site gives great, specific tips on all kinds of cleaning tasks.

3,. Etsy.com, an Independent Marketplace - www.etsy.com

Sure, there are countless other stores to find home goods and appliances, but if you're looking to add a handmade or vintage touch to your home, check out Etsy.com, an online marketplace where you can shop for all things vintage and handmade, from artwork, pottery, clothing, furniture, gifts, and more,

4. FreeCycle - www.freecycle.com

Freecycle is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Search for where you can donate those clothes you don't need and those old pieces of furniture you don't have room for, to someone else who can use them.

5. AC Doctor's Energy Calculator -http://www.acdoctor.com/cooling_calculator.php

Ever wonder exactly how much energy you are using (and paying for)? AC Doctor's online Energy Calculators help you determine what effects high-efficiency cooling and heating solutions can have on your finances and your environmental footprint.

6. Heating Oil Shopper - www.heatingoilshopper.com

If you're like a vast majority of homeowners, you're probably not only looking for ways to save money on home energy spending but also how to do so with the least harmful impact on the earth. Home heating oil is both a cost-effective and eco-friendly home energy option, and Heating Oil Shopper makes it easy to find how to upgrade your home to heating oil.

7. Insurance Finder - www.insurancefinder.com

Owning a home is a large, and expensive, undertaking so it would be crazy not to ensure your home and any other valuable items that you own. www.Insurancefinder.com makes finding and comparing insurance options as easy as pie.

8. Epicurious - www.epicurious.com

One great perk of owning a home, rather than perhaps a small apartment, is having a full kitchen where you can cook up a storm. Epicurious is one of the best resources for delicious meals you can make in your new kitchen.

9. Stepcase Lifehack - www.lifehack.org

Stepcase Lifehack is a great website covering technology, workplace productivity, home productivity, habit-forming, and other tips for a more efficient lifestyle. This is a must-see for new homeowners embarking on the new and exciting (and daunting) world of home-ownership.

10. House Directory - www.thehousedirectory.com

If an empty house could talk, what would it say? "Decorate me!": that's what we think. House Directory searches more than 3500 sources for home furnishings for your home, and it is conveniently categorized into appropriate and easy-to-navigate topics, such as Kitchen's & Tableware, Bathrooms, Artwork, Lighting, Fabrics, and more.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Tile Installation- Time Vs. Price

Hello,

First of all, let me apologize. I'm new to all this technology stuff, but I guess my "Welcome to Our Blog" post was supposed to come before I shared stories. However, I thought the following information might be helpful, and save some people some money, so it took priority. I'll try and post the first entry, but we'll see. Hang in there with me folks!

So, onto the information I wanted to share. I wanted to share some insight with people out there that need tile work done. Unfortunately, many people within the industry are out to get as much as they can for installation jobs. One of the most common ways to increase the charges for the installation is to drag the job out. Here's a good example I recently came across.

I recently installed a kitchen backsplash where the customer had gotten several estimates and done his research. Quotes were anywhere from $500-$750.00. Time frames varied from 2-4 days. As soon as I talked to him on the phone, I knew this was an installation that would take me a matter of hours. So, I priced the installation accordingly, which happened to be considerably lower than the above mentioned estimates because I knew through my 30+ years experience, that the job would take only half a day-and it would be flawless.

After our phone conversation, the potential customer checked out pictures of my work and references on my website, http://www.tileexcellence.com/ and quickly scheduled the job. The bottom line here is, there are installers out there who will drag out the job to justify the price or are too inexperienced to do the job in a reasonable time frame, thus charging more. To save yourself from this situation, be sure to get three or more quotes for any installation and get references. Check out their work if you can.

Tile Excellence, Inc. did the job in about 1/2 a day, and it costs the customer only $350.00 in labor. To see this project, before and after, and/or to see what Scott from Wakefield had to say about his new backsplash and the quality of the work, click here to visit our customer testimonial page.

Next blog post, I'll talk about hardyboard vs. durock. Stay tuned, and send me your questions or share your experience. Thanks.

-Chris
Owner, Operator
Tile Excellence, Inc.
Gloucester, MA
http://www.tileexcellence.com/
tile_excellence@yahoo.com
(978) 471-9127