This is the year for getting the most value out of a home remodeling project. Material and labor costs are still quite low, with many manufacturers and contractors offering discounts and incentives to get homeowners to sign on the bottom line. Look for competitive prices in granite and plumbing fixtures, and upgrade specials in cabinetry. Read More
The freebies and discounted upgrades keep coming from the cabinet manufacturers. Major players like Diamond Cabinets and Decora Cabinets have extended discounts on some of their upgrades thru February 2011. Our favorite upgrade – all plywood construction – will be available at a substantial discount for the next two months. The all plywood construction makes a great cabinet if exposure to water or heavy use is expected. If there is a kitchen or bath remodel in your future, now is a good time to cash in on the specials.
Facilities Related Demand Charges and Summertime Related Demand Charges; what are they and why are they so much? California commercial customers incur monthly demand charges on their electric bills. These charges can be over 50% of the monthly bill in the summer. If you are a GS-2 or GS-3 commercial account, you need to look at your bills.
Electrical demand is the rate (speed) at which you use the electricity, measured in kilowatts (KW). As opposed to the amount of electricity used, kilowatthours (KWh). Peaks in electrical demand are caused by the simutaneous operation of electrical equipment like air conditioners. The electrical demand (KW) is measured and recorded during the month, and the highest 15 minute average peak is billed as demand charges. Southern California Edison currently charges $31.37 per KW during the summertime. In perspective, a 5 tonne air conditioner drawing 4.5 KW incurs a demand charge of $140.27; while at $0.08/KWh it only cost $0.36 per hour to run the same air conditioner. Thus, the penalty is heavy if an air conditioner turns on at the same time as another.
All is not lost. Electrical peak demand control can minimize these charges and tame high electric bills. Power Planet offers demand controllers which can balance a building’s loads by allowing loads, such as, air conditioners and electrical heating to coordinate their on time, thus minimizing peaks in demand.
Get it under control and pay for the electricity that you use, not the way you use the electricity.
The importance of blue can not be over looked this year; it captures the country’s mood of austerity. Greens, taupe, and adobe are comforting colors – spruced up with floral color accents. The emphasis is on calm and comfortable.
Diamond Cabinets has announced 5 new finishes for 2009. The most welcomed is the neutral medium brown Havan offered on maple and cherry. Havana is destined to be a timeless color staying in fashion for many years to come. Expanding on Diamond Cabinets off-white cabinets is the warm creamy yellow of Honeysuckle on maple. And for the designer set there are Portobello, Oasis, and Tidal Mist all offered on Maple. To see all of the new finishes offered by Diamond Cabinets visit this site, or for the full spectrum of finishes available from Diamond visit this page.
Hvana on Maple
More people today plan to grow old in their own home, as opposed to an assisted living facility. And the temporary disability often times makes living alone in the home difficult. So, plan for accessibility when designing a bathroom remodel. Your design should incorporate grab bars in the shower, in the tub, and around the toilet. Fixture manufacturers like Moen have designer grab bars to match their fixtures, these look much nicer than the commercial chrome models. Plan for adequate maneuvering room for someone in a wheel chair or with a walker, i.e. space around the toilet, and a wide doorway. The shower should have a dam less roll in floor for accessability with a wheel chair, a bench seat, and a handheld showerhead. Change the lowboy toilet to a high rise model to make standing up easier.
A little forethought in the bathroom design can future proof your new bathroom for years to come. For additional remodeling tips go here.
The shaker cabinet styles are very popular this year, edging out traditional styles by a good margin. The clean understated lines of the shaker cabinet works well in most kitchen remodels or new homes. The style is well represented in the semi custom manufacturers lineups like Diamond Cabinets, Decora Cabinets, and Kraftmaid Cabinets, so there is plenty to choose from. Increasing in popularity is the shaker style with wider stiles and rails, giving a more contemporary look to a timeless classic. For a detailed discussion of cabinet styles visit our website.
Diamond Cabinets has released a new off white cabinet finish (Dover) for their maple cabinet line. The Dover finish is much warmer than a standard white finish. It is far 
easier on the eyes, more forgiving of smudges and very easy to decorate to. The off whites from Diamond Cabinets: Dover, Amaretto Crème, Toasted Almond glaze, and Pearl White should be top contenders for new kitchens for many years to come. See other finishes from Diamond Cabinets.
The plunge in the value of the stock market takes its toll on investment and retirement accounts; and we call these paper or unrealized losses. I guess that one does not realize that they lost something if they never had it to begin with. Whereas, my machinery and tools may not be worth as much as they were before, but, they are still here and real. My machines still make money for me, though again, not as much as before. Likewise my house is worth a fraction of what it was worth a year ago. Yet, I will not realize the loss until I sell it. In the meantime it is a nice place to raise a family.
This line of thinking is probably way to utilitarian for the Wall Street types. But if I can live in, or rent my house, it will always have value to me. Maybe instead of worring about my unrealized paper losses, I should work on completing some of the remodeling projects around the house.
The dreaded phone call “This is Mrs. Jones, remember me?” after ascertaining that the house has not flooded or burned down, need not be such a fearful event. Sure it is a hassle to schedule a few hours to go find out the problem and fix it, however, what better way is there to spend a couple of hours catching up with a good customer. Cheerfully address their concern and make any small adjustments and touch ups you see. While there find out if Mrs. Jones has any friends or neighbors starting to contemplate a remodeling project. Nothing is more powerful than a referral from a happy customer that knows that you stand behind your work.
Our best and brightest; ivy league MBA’s and economists, commanding multimillion dollar salaries – take a tumble. Running off to mommy they go; looking for a bailout. These high flying executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the other financial institutions rolled the dice with other peoples money. Their stupid bets crapped out, and the farm is gone.
Pocket book deep liberatarians and capitalists complain bitterly when they are on a roll about government intervention in the market place. They preach about free markets, and demand lower tax rates. However, as soon as their noses get bloodied they start crying for mommy to put their training wheels back on.
Grow up executives, take your spanking for your stupid bets, and this time learn from it.
Glass Creek Inc. has just added Top Knobs to their offerings for decorative cabinet hardware to complement their existing lines by Berenson and Hafele. Top Knobs has hundreds of styles in 19 finishes, with matching back plates, push plates and appliance pulls. Cabinet knob displays should be in place in their showroom in Fullerton, CA by the beginning September.
The Bro called Friday night. He had just spent the day fly fishing on the west fork of the San Gabriel River. (Friday – what about the job and kids, Bro?) He reported lots of damsel fly action with the typical So Cal dry fly action. He caught as many 11 inch rainbow trout as his rod arm could handle. There was some mumbling about breaking off on a monster trout that was trying to pull him in. I have learned that one brother’s monster is another brother’s typical catch. We need to get up there one evening and get independent verification of this action.
“I was scared and running for my life; tile falling off the wall displays and crashing everywhere”, said Melinda, the store manger for Tuscany tile and Stone in Brea, CA. The Chino Hills, CA 5.4 earthquake on July 29 2008 shook nearby Brea, CA, damaging homes and businesses. Though most damage was fairly minor, cracks in walls, fallen over block walls and stucco damage; some areas felt the trembler more. “It looks like a bomb exploded in our showroom”, said Terry, one of the proprietors as he surveyed the aftermath of the earthquake. The trembler devasted Tuscany Tile’s designer tile and custom stone displays.
This was a major blow to Tuscany Tile and Stone, coming in the middle of their summer tile sale. Melinda and Terry could use the communities support in recovering from this disaster; if you are shopping for tile please give them a call.
I had never received a request for glass countertops until this last spring; and within weeks I had two clients request them. They are beautiful, however, rather expensive. I believe that the market will be for higher end trendy bathrooms, the mechanics for a custom kitchen may prove to be too complicated. This is a trend worth watching in case it does develop into a mainstream product. Or, it could be just like the concrete and soap stone countertops from seasons past.
Update Sep 2010
The votes have been counted – This was just another passing fad.
This year I hit two high water marks in my fishing career. Several weeks ago, in a high mountain lake in the Eastern Sierras, I caught a 14″ Golden Trout on my House of Hardy fly rod. I did not believe that Golden Trout grew so large. Then to beat that experience of a lifetime; I had my 5 year old out on a stream in the Eastern Sierras. She was jigging a tube skirt under a tree undercut and start yelling “I caught a fish daddy, bring the net.” A six inch wild Brook Trout, hooked, fought and landed all by herself. Life just does not get any better.
An often asked question is , what size of crown moulding should I use in my living room? Our general rule of thumb on remodeling projects is:
Smaller than these guidelines and the crown moulding appears out of proportion. Where as, using crown moulding larger than these guide lines risks looking gaudy.
Read more about crown moulding
The business news keeps reporting about the large number of home foreclosures plaguing the country. Looking out from under my rock in north Orange County, CA I have only seen two. Are they all being kept low key by the banks? Clue me in, where are all of them?
I talked with my brother for the second day in a row, he was out on the Upper Owens River today and reported another good evening bite. This time nymphs were the hot ticket. He was making some noise about high winds and hooking trout too big to land with his net. Count me in on this pity party bro!
I tried to advise him against a 7 foot 3 weight fly rod on the Owens River; the wind blows too much and the trout grow too big for such a pee shooter. However, what do I know, he is the one out catching fish, while I am at home writing about it. There better be some unscarred fish left for us working blokes.
Another Friday and my wayward brother is thinking fish - fly fishing. Not content with the local fly fishing anymore he is up on Lower Rock Creek in the Eastern Sierra, on a Friday, when the rest of us are at work. Four and a half months into his new addiction and he is throwing dry flies to wary trout in the Sierras. And the worst part is that he reported a good evening bite. Tomorrow he is on his way to Hot Creek, considered the preeminent fly fishing destination in California. What kind on fishing demon has this mild mannered engineer become?
We exhibited in a local home show over the weekend; and the attendance and homeowner interest was a surprise. Attendance was off a little from previous years, and some people could not get past our remodeling booth fast enough. However, about 25% of those which we had discussions with were interested in kitchen remodels. Our expectations were for nothing but small face lift and maintenance projects, apparently some homeowners are not restrained by the softening housing market.
The big hits for the show were convenience hardware and premade kitchen cabinets by Diamond Cabinets. The new turquoise rust finish from Decora Cabinets received a lot of interest; and to our amazement there was still a lot of interest in white cabinets. And the winner in the countertop area were quartz stones like Cambria.
The soft touch on cabinet drawers and doors has become the dominant hardware choice for homeowners. The hardware has matured to the point that it functions reliably and can be installed with confidence. Blum offers a very nice soft closing under mount drawer glide which is a must have for a new kitchen. The second generation of Blum Door closers has a very pleasing motion and should be considered for all kitchen cabinet doors. If you have already remodeled your kitchen, all is not lost, Blum offers a unit which will retrofit onto most of their European style hinges. Call your local cabinet shop and get retrofits for your doors.
For a new kitchen remodel the soft close hardware is available on custom cabinets and premanufactured cabinet lines like Diamond Cabinets Decora Cabinets, and Kraftmaid Cabinets.
Before running out and blowing your tax rebate check on the first big screen tv you see at Wallmart, let us consider how that money can feather your nest and also help your local economy. Spending the money on a big screen tv is almost like direct deposit into a foreign bank account; a small percentage will stay with the local retailer, and a smaller percentage will stay with the trucking company, but the majority of the money is going straight to a foreign manufacturer. Instead consider spending the money on locally manufactured goods and services with a large labor component. Buy a piece of art from a local artist, or a product made at a local manufacturer. Crown moulding in the living room will make a nice job for a local carpenter and painter while sprucing up the home. Or, the unemployed carpenter down the street could use a couple of days pay doing maintenance projects around your home. Money spent on local labor will circulate at least once locally before heading offshore to a foreign bank account.
The local businesses which are going to be the main benefactors of such spending need to do their part also. Invest the windfall profits on tools and equipment, software, and employee training; which will enhance your capabilities or increase efficiency. That way you will be in better shape to weather a recession. In addition, the money will circulate a second time through the economy and have a multiplying effect.
We all watch too much tv anyway!
The customer freeze during the first quarter is finally thawing out, and remodeling projects are starting to hit the drafting table. For those that survived the worst quarter in recent memory there is a glimmer of hope. We are projecting remodeling activity at 80% of the level of one year ago, not ideal, but acceptable. Gone are the home equity line remodel projects which were so popular for the past several years. Now projects will be either maintenance driven remodels, or for customers who are immune from recession. This will actually be good for the industry, the home equity remodels always seemed to have the budget raided for a new car or a big screen tv. Remodeling projects now should be of better quality with more stable budgets, and more committed customers. Thus, these projects should be more profitable, and well established contractors will survive.
This is how the scenario plays out. Obama is elected president with Clinton as vice president. A Rush Limbaugh dildo head shoots Obama in the head, then a jealous girlfriend shoots Clinton. Pelosi then becomes president, and we all shoot ourselves in the head because we should be voting Libertarian.
Spare me the hate mail; this was just a weird dream that I had.
My brother finally called. He had been out flyfishing on the San Gabriel on a Friday again; and he starts to relate the story about how many fish he caught on his new 3 weight rod. “I was standing on this big boulder when I hooked the monster, and the next thing I knew, it had pulled me in. A swan dive into the river!” I was surprised that he would admit that to even his own brother; so after a good belly laugh he continues. “But I still landed the fish!”
Face first into ice water and he still brings the fish to the net. I would have never thought that my baby brother would grow up to be such a fishing maniac.
Just got reports of some serious action on the lower Owens River over the weekend (up to 3lbs.). Sadly, the report was also of a very large area below the campground burned.
Warmth and comfort from the familiar is being evoked in the latest trends for metal finishes. The aged and weathered look of rusted iron, and tarnished copper, are great finishes for hardware around the home. Natural oxidation comes from exposure to the elements over time and evokes longevity in our rapidly changing lives.
In times of economic uncertainty it is comforting to surround oneself with warm familiar furnishing. And nothing does it better than the aged natural look of metal.
Read more – Hot Remodeling Tips
The other night, late, a customer called in a panic. Immediately thoughts race to what was done wrong with the new light fixtures which would have caused the house to burn down. “Help, the toilet is overflowing!” says the panic stricken homeowner. Thinking quickly; “Lady, we changed the light fixtures in the bathroom, not the toilet”. “Yes, but you were the last ones to do work in my house”.
Where does it end? If you do any work in someone’s house, are you liable for everything? This is a far too common of an occurrence.
The only protection is – If it is not in your contract, do not touch it.
This was then followed up by another customer with a burned out light bulb, then still another with a tripped GFCI. What a week!
Because of my child’s allergies I upgraded my home air filters six months ago; and there has been a noticeable improvement. I installed pleated air filters in the central HVAC system and purchased two Honeywell room air filters. The pleated filters in the central HVAC system catch alot of the airborne particulates in the house because of the high flow rate in the main system. These filters will have to be changed about every 4-6 weeks depending on usage. There cost is about $5-$15 each depending on the model.
The room air filters move about 200 cfm which is adequate for a living room or family room. The units which I purchased do make a noticeable amount of noise, so we run them during the day when we are out. They are also rather large, about 18-20 inches in diameter, so it is difficult to fit them in with anything but eclectic decor. Though it is doubtful that smaller “personal size” air filters would have much of an effect.
So, after six months there is a noticeable decrease in airborne particulates, and the amount of dusting required around the house. I strongly recommend upgrading to the pleated filters and adding separate room air filters in the more often used spaces in the home.
Update 23 Nov 2008
The room air filters in our house were life savers during the fires in Yorba Linda and Brea last week. The air filters did a great job keeping the level of smoke in the house to a tolerable level.
I feel pretty good about my obsessions now, after listening to the interview on NPR, about the folks in the upper Midwest ice spearing for sturgeon. Casting a tuft of fur to a rising trout – or, staring down a hole in the ice, waiting to harpoon a passing fish. To each his own I guess.
I do not get phone calls from my brother anymore. He is either out fly fishing or getting his gear ready to go - or, occasionally trying to salvage his fading career. I do get an occassional e-mail from him, penned late at night or during a storm shower. The last e-mail which I recieved was a lengthy 3 pager itemizing all of his latest acquisitions from Cabela’s.
A new 3 wt. medium fast action 7 foot rod, reel with extra spool, floating and sinking tip lines, waders, etc. Good job jump starting the economy brother. I will hire some additional help in anticipation of the trickle down effect.
Every weekend brother dearest is out fly fishing, by mid week the only thing on his mind is going fishing again. His yard is over grown, the dog is starving, his life is in shambles, and he tweaks when he talks. Next year for Christmas I think that I will just get him a good book.
(Ed. This is an update on “Another Life Ruined by Fly fishing”)
When it comes time to make major purchases there still is nothing like touching and feeling in a brick and mortar store. As convenient as the internet is; customers still visit showrooms to purchase kitchen remodeling products and services. When we opened our kitchen showroom it was a major boost for business for several reasons. Firstly, it gives you a comfortable place to entertain clients, with all of your samples at hand. Secondly, it shows that you are a bonified player in the game. The obvious investment in time and money separates you from all of the other ‘home office’ interior designers and ‘pickup truck office’ contractors.
In Orange County, CA these are some of our favorite showrooms:
Glass Creek Inc. in Fullerton – A full service Kitchen remodeling showroom with cabinet and countertop displays. Featuring Diamond Cabinets and Decora Cabinets.
Tuscany Tile in Brea, CA – A stylish tile showroom which carries more upscale tiles.
Central Plumbing in La Habra, CA – A plumbing fixtures showroom.
To find these remodeling showrooms in Google maps or , please follow this link: Remodeling Showrooms Placemarks.
Again I was reminded of the importance of saying “no”. Few times have I said no to a project and regretted it. No matter how difficult it is, or how hungry you are, sometimes you have to say no; and stick to your guns when the customer appeals your decision. I follow the following rules for accepting a project. If is smells bad – it is, trust your gut instincts, you probably subconsciously detected something. If you do not hit it off with the customer – walk away, the relationship will not get better with the stress of the job. If the customer’s expectations and schedule are not realistic – find another customer. If you are already overextended – do not make it worse by taking on more commitments.
There have not been many times when I have said no to a project and later proved to have been wrong. Learn to say no when you have to. And stick to it when the customer comes back 3 or 4 times. There is nothing worse than getting involved in a bad remodeling project.
“My fly rod lost its virginity yesterday”, is how the conversation with my brother started the otherday. “I caught six trout in an hour on the San Gabriel River.”
In a twisted act of brotherly love I gave my brother a fly rod for Christmas this year. He was already an accomplished spinning rod angler, actually quite dangerous with his G. Loomis ultra light. I thought that a little fly fishing frustration might add nicely to his losing battle to balance a job and kids.
His second day on the water with his fly rod and he was already into six trout. What a Stud! And on a dry fly. He probaly can not focus his thoughts on anything else besides fishing. The long slide down the slope has begun. Stay tuned for future updates as another life is ruined by fly fishing.
Styling and warmth on the outside; convenience and function on the inside. Soft closing door and drawer hardware is a must for any new kitchen, ending door slams and utensil crashes. Pullouts and rollouts are a great way to store and access those larger pots and pans. To accommodate the bulky Costco items there is nothing better than a pullout pantry, or a pantry loaded with rollouts. And drawers still rein king for ergonomic access instead of large door cabinets. Then of course, there is the required deep lazy susan in the blind corner and the recycling trash pullouts.
Hot door styles are the wide stile and rail shaker look; or a classical raised panel profile for timeless elegance. Bucking the popular trend with the rustic look, stay away from the heavily grained and charactered species, such as, hickory, alder, birch, pine, and oak. Unless it is a vacation home, then definitely use the local wood species. The beautiful grain of cherry or clear maple underneath a semi transparent stain can not be beat. Medium light to medium brown stain colors (shifting more green than red with just a touch of black pigment) is a good choice. The slight grey cast from the black pigment yields the coffee, espresso or mink looks. A burnt umber or raw sienna glaze can give credit to detailed door styles while adding some warmth. Black and chocolate should be used sparingly as accents. If it has to be white, a cream or amaretto with a glaze can not be beat. Decora Cabinets new Honeycomb on maple would be wonderful in a sunlight starved kitchen or bath.
Read the full article.
I am collecting ten bids, do you want to come take a look? Yeah, Mrs. Jones – I’ll be right there! It takes a great deal of time and energy to accurately bid a job, so, most reputable remodeling contractors are not going to be very interested. I am not suggesting not getting multiple bids, however, apples to apples bidding needs to be done with your short list of contractors, from a common set of plans. All too often the same project with the same materials is not being bid. Are you getting what you think you are from the low bidder, and is there a perfectly good reason the other guy is higher?
My preferred approach is:
1- An initial discussion with the remodeling contractor to see if things click (Remember, you are going to be dealing with this individual on a very personal basis for potentially a long time.)
2- Discuss the project, is this the right company for your project.
3- Discuss the budget. Most remodeling contractors can give you a reasonable assessment of what can be done with the available budget.
4- Draw up plans. This part is going to start to cost. So engage a third party for your design work which can be used for your bid request to your short list of contractors. Or,
5- Go with the contractor that you liked, whom seemed reasonable during the budget discussion. Engage them to draw up a design and submit a bid. If it is close to your budget discussions you there.
Most remodeling contractors are going to cluster pretty close on price for the exact same project. Rarely is a reputable remodeling contractor in business long charging an unfairly high price for his services. So, the low guy missed something in the bid to become the low bidder, which means that they will be trying to make up lost money on your project.
This year it is all about green and blue. The Marie Antoinette rich jewel colors of the last several years are over. The slow down in the economy is promoting feelings of austerity, and a need for comfort and security in the home. Thus, look to the earth tones, greens, and blues for common areas in the home, such as, the kitchen and living room. The young children’s rooms still need to be fun with the popsicle and candy colors. Sunny yellows and comfortable sage are still good choices for the master suite. And for goodness sakes stop using Swiss coffee.
Read the complete article.
I met with two contractors the other day; one said that he was having his worst month ever, the other claimed to be having his best. The worst ever contractor I can relate with, and his sentiments are being echoed by most of my other colleagues. However, the contractor claiming his best month ever captured my attention. Naturally the question – How did you do it? – was raised. The contractor stated that most of his business was coming from the yellow pages. Oh, the online directories directing customers to your website? No, he replied, the printed yellow pages.
My embrace of new technologies, and my Chinese internet directory listing are not going to be my savoir? My fellow contractor explained that customers surf the internet for information and ideas; yet still turn to the printed yellow pages to buy.
This shook me down to my typing calloused fingertips. Is reliance upon the “new media” going to be the final nail?
Diamond Cabinets has announced 3 new finishes and new cabinet types for 2008. The Palomino Glaze is a light brown with an espresso glaze, creating a warm comfortable feel. There are also new offerings for the home office in the Diamond Cabinets line. Check out the details at Glass Creek’s website:
The knee jerk reaction from the subprime debacle is in full swing; putting homeowners in a wait and see mode. As such, there are not many larger projects entering the pipeline. This is going to make for a slow first quarter. As homeowners start to settle down about the beginning of the second quarter, and realize that they still have a lot of equity in their homes, interest in remodeling should pickup. Unfortunatel, with the long lead times to get remodeling projects off the ground, there will not be a substantial pickup in work until the start of the third quarter.
In the interim, homeowners afraid to enter the housing market, still have a strong interest in sprucing up their homes. As a result there should be a shift from large remodels to more modest face lift type projects and maintenance driven projects. In contractor terms – here come the powder room remodels.
The Writer’s Guild of America strike has been a major boost for blogging. With nothing but reruns to watch on late night tv; what else does a body have to do but blog.
Homeowners – Are you looking for a reputable remodeling contractor?
Glass Creek Inc. – remodeling contractors.
We will work with you to design your project using state of the art computer design software, then build it to meet your expectations. Kitchen and bath remodeling is our specialty. We can supply manufactured cabinets by Diamond or Decora, or build custom cabinets to your specifications. Check out Glass Creek’s website at www.glasscreek.com.
Lately in southern California there has been a slow down in the housing market. One might even argue, a necessary slow down in an over heated market. What has this done to the remodeling market? Not much; homeowners are still remodeling. Though the dollar value per project has decreased, homeowners still want to fluff the feathers in the nest.
So why are remodeling contractors starting to cry about the lack of business. Well, it is the competition; competition from the “new home builders” entering the market. Their market has all but dried up, and I guess that even “trackies” have to eat. So, they migrate to where the work is. And swinging a hammer is swinging a hammer. Except, remodeling is a different business from ground up construction; there is usually a family living in the house, customers have different expectations, and there is a different set of pitfalls.
Customers and contractors be aware. Would you go to an optometrist to get your teeth cleaned? Contractors – let us not add to our already dismal reputation.
So, you want to be a contractor. What else do you do when the economy is tough and nobody wants to pay for your talents? All that it takes is a cell phone, business cards, a pickup truck, and two hammers. As I reflect back upon this never ending adventure; what did it take to get started? Well, guys here it is:
Get a license; you ain’t no contractor without a license. A license is like a college degree, it does not mean that you can do anything, it only means that you have done something. It is that pseudo credential which you need for that all important credibility factor.
Get insurance, not a lot, just enough to cover yourself. Accidents do happen. And a large loss is a rough way to start a business. At the minimum get some liability and workman’s comp ( I hate to even type that word, it will be a good future rant.) Savvy customers actually ask for insurance certificates, and as of late, it is becoming more common. Another plus for the credibility factor.
Next, get a job. I have not tried standing out in front of Home Depot yet, although I have given it serious consideration. And if this current trend continues I just may be doing it by years end. Seriously, I would start with the friends and family circuit, it can give you good exposure to the neighbors for your next job. However, wean yourself off of them as soon as you can. Though easy to get they are tough and unprofitable.
A lot of wasted years later, several trucks, and more tools than a man should have; I can not remember all of the happy customers, employees, or subcontractors. However, I remember that one customer which I managed to piss off.
I also still carry those first two hammers.