Spring is Here!
We had a great Home Show! Thanks to all who stopped by The Edwards Construction booth and congratulations to Mrs. Shields, our winner of the free McAlister’s Deli lunch!
Spring officially began on March 20, but our cool days have not been very Spring-like. However, the longer daylight hours helps us all to get more accomplished. We enjoy having more time to set appointment after normal working hours and the flexibility to meet at your convenience. Soon warm weather will catch up with the longer hours of daylight and the bees as well as the construction tools will be buzzing!
Keep checking our website for updates and new photos of our work!
Come Visit us at The Fort Smith Home Show!
Spring is right around the corner and with it comes longer day light hours and a desire to ‘get a move on!’ It’s naturally a perfect time to start that building or remodeling project you’ve been thinking about all winter. The Greater Fort Smith Association of Home builders Home Show is the ideal place to set your construction ideas in motion. It’s a great place to gain inspiration and education and the peace of mind you need as you begin a new project.
Be sure to stop by the Edwards Construction booth. We will be handing out a DVD of beautiful cabinetry ideas from Wood-Mode, along with very important construction information and will even have a “lunch on us” drawing.
See you at the Home Show this weekend, Feb. 22-24 downtown at the convention center!
Home Show Hours
Friday: 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Sunday: Noon until 4 p.m.
Adult admission $5 per day, Kids free. Plenty of free parking!
To Be or Not To Be…Taken Advantage Of
Watch any tv magazine show and you’re sure to hear these two words: “Investigative Report”. That’s the hook to get you to stay tuned and watch to see who gets caught doing what. Most of these programs are consumer interest stories and give great tips on how to not be the next easy target. None of us want to get taken advantage of when we dole out our hard earned money for a repair or purchase that we must entrust to the professionals. Unfortunately, the larger the scope of work, the greater the chances are of someone trying to take advantage. Enter the shady contractor. This guy will give you a great deal on the front end. He may even have what looks like the proper paper work. There’s no mention of payment up-front…that is until the day he and his crew pull up in your driveway to start the work. Then he is sorry if there was a mis-understanding, but the materials have been ordered and ‘someone’ has to pay. You are the someone. The magazine shows give a list of safeguard to protect the consumer in cases like this, but they have left out a few you may have never thought of.
First, is the construction company local, do they have a business phone number and is the contractor accessible?
– The last thing you need is a contractor who enlists a phone service and screens his cas.
How long has the company been in business?
– You want to deal with a contractor who has built all types of houses, and this comes with years of experience.
Is the contractor a current member of the local Home Builders Association?
– This is important, because members must pay dues and adhere to a code of ethics. Skip the Better Businesses Bureau and go straight to the town’s city offices. Inquire about code violations and proper permitting. This assures you the builder does not try to cut corners. Don’t bother with his references. No one lists a reference that won’t paint a pretty picture. Go, instead to the suppliers. A good builder is a builder who stays in good standing with supply companies by paying his bills on time.
Remember that a reputable builder will never ask for money up-front.
– The budget is such that there should be a schedule of payments as work progresses. It’s your job to make sure the scheduled payment follows the scheduled completed work of each phase of construction.
A Loaded Question
At one time or another, we have all been asked a loaded question – a question that we better not answer too quickly, or it will back-fire on us. For the contractor, a loaded question comes quite frequently: How much does it cost to build a house these day? The answer, of course, is as varied as the different preferences of homeowners. Oh, sure, there’s a going rate for basic building materials, but this is not what determine the major cost of building a home. Ultimately, the price of a new home is determined by the priorities of it’s owner. Is a standard width driveway fine, or is it important to have a a big circle drive with stamped concrete at the entrance? Is the roof line a customary 10’ and 12’ pitch, or do you desire a varied roof with several cut-in hips and valleys? Inside there are more decisions that determine the cost. Ceiling heights, crown molding, additional or high end lighting, types of flooring and plumbing fixtures, all play major roles in determining the construction budget. What is fine and dandy for one homeowner may be considered sub-par for another. Of course these are the obvious, visible things. There are even more important variables that are unseen, such as foundation materials, insulation, framing materials. It’s the unseen that must be considered most importantly. So now that loaded question really becomes a boomerang question. How much does it cost to build a house these days?” “What kind of house do you want?” The best way to determine the cost of your new home is to make a list of priorities. An experienced contractor can formulate a budget to show where basic cost are and you can determine the cost from there, dependent upon your selections.
David Discusses Remodeling Options in the Southwest Times Record
Intro blurb about the article – need to add a bit more value than the article offers so you’re not just repeating it. You show that your site is more informative that way.
Click here to read the full article
Maybe end with a “Thinking of remodeling?” and a call to action like call us today for a free estimate.
Edwards Construction 