Just Completed a Home Improvement (with pic)

I’ve always been interested in home improvement projects that add value to my home.  Upgrading kitchens and  bathrooms are high on the list of projects that can really help increase your home’s value.  We haven’t done any of these major projects in our current house, mostly because the house is pretty new and the kitchen and bathrooms are pretty current.  We have done painting and a few things like that, mostly to just make the house the way we’d like it.  When choosing colors, we tend not to go radical.  I like to use more neutral colors that are easy on the eyes and wouldn’t cause someone to stop and say, “Holy moly.   That’s a nice bright color”.  Of course, painting is easy enough to change so it’s not really a big deal to go with something more bold that you like because you can always change it later.

The latest project that we have just completed is a new patio in our backyard.  We chose to go with an exposed aggregate patio instead of building a deck for a couple reasons.  First of all, I wanted a low maintenance solution that would last a LONG time.  Wood decks tend to need sanding, pressure washing and staining every year or two, while concrete just needs a good pressure washing each year.  Secondly, the area that we poured the patio is at a great level to step right out on.  If we’d built a deck, I think it would have been a step UP.  Now that all the work is done, we are very happy with it.  We did all the ground preparations (we had to cut down an 8 foot tree and dig out the stump and then remove about 30 wheelbarrows full of dirt.  Not all that fun).  We paid to have the patio poured though.  This crew came in and set up forms, did a little more ground prep, and then wheelbarrowed the concrete from the front of the house to the back and finished it.  It took 3 people to do the work and they spent the better part of a day here.  Total cost: $1800.

It’s probably worth noting that I got multiple bids for this job.  I wanted to know that the people I chose to do the job were both competitive and had done a lot of other work.  I got a total of 3 bids and picked the middle price.  I didn’t choose the cheapest price because the guy seemed a bit shady and took weeks to call me back.  The most expensive company gave me a bid of over $2300.  He made the comment that he doesn’t do a job for any less than that, so I told him that I don’t hire a job for that much.  He talked about all his overhead etc.  I’m not sure if I was supposed to feel sorry for him and hire him simply because he hasn’t been able to keep his price competitive, or just send him on his way.  I chose to just send him on his way.

Anyway, it’s all done.  Here’s a pic!