The Smart Approach to Home Renovation

This book is wonderful. The pictures are beautiful and the content is very usefull. I loved the tips for renovations, what to look out for and the step by step process to follow in a renovation.

I like the opening sentence of this book, 'Before you take a single step toward fulfilling your remodeling dreams, do a thorough reality check.' Having been through a serious remodel (after a fire) I can assure you that the advice she gives is well founded. Her ideas on working with contractors are very good, but I'd add one more thing to check - contractors are bonded. Find out how big the bond is. If it's say $20,000 and he defaults on four projects, you're only covered to $5,000, max. Kitchens, this book, and most other books on remodeling show kitchens that have commercial grade gas stovetops. They're really neat, but wait until you see the price of new ones. However, restaurants go out of business and the stoves last forever, you might get a really good price on a used unit. Or in my kitchen I got one that had been used by the restaurant supply company at a trade show. It wasn't new, but the price was less than half. Tile floor in the kitchen? It looks great. Don't drop anything. A jar of mayo that falls on a carpet is usually OK. On tile, it's a mess. All in all, lots of good words here that if heeded can save you a bundle of money, of aggravation.