Make the most of your new deck or covered porch this season with a new landscape design that will further your enjoyment for seasons to come!

When remodeling your home, one of the first things to think about is whether or not the renovations you have planned will boost your home’s overall value. Putting your renovations to work for you—ensuring that they help make you money in the long run—can be a daunting task, especially when you’re renovating on a budget. Use the five tips listed below as a guide for smart, economical, and budget-friendly ideas when renovating your home. If you need help from an experienced custom home builder and remodeler, contact me today and let’s start a conversation.

1. HAVE A PLAN Before you start on your project, set up a plan that carefully outlines what you hope to accomplish. One way to do this along with organizing your thoughts is to cut out pictures and magazine articles relating your projects. Do some research online not only for ideas and inspiration.

2. CONSIDER SECONDHAND STORES Many towns have discount stores – such as Habitat For Humanity stores – where donated and excess job site items such as lumber, appliances, hardware, and more are sold at a relatively low rate. Saving money on items like this can lower your bottom line while still yielding a beautiful finished project that increases the value of your home.

3. CURB APPEAL MATTERS Increased curb appeal adds lasting value to any home, and can be a project that has minimal costs involved. With a little elbow grease, fresh plants and shrubbery, and new house numbers or light fixtures, your homes exterior will be brightened up and its value increased.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND Now more than ever, companies are making use of social media sites like Facebook to reach out to customers with deals and one-time offers. This can be a great way to get a discount on appliances, services such as carpet installation or roofing, and more. The more you save on the initial remodel, the more money will be in your pocket when it comes time to sell your home.

5. LOCATION IS KEY Be sure to take your location into consideration when planning renovations. If you live in a hot climate, green cooling systems are a great investment that will add huge value to your home. Likewise, if your home is in a large development, taking the time to add exterior features that will set your home apart is a great investment.

And remember, always be sure to use a licensed, insured general contractor.

The Home & Garden Show is this weekend. Visit the show to get great ideas for the spring remodeling and custom building season. The show is sponsored by LG&E and powered by The Home Builders Association of Louisville (HBAL).

Here are a couple of quick links for more information about the show:

• Ticket and pricing information
• Location and dates
• Seminars and speakers

We find that even though the show is a wonderful place to get ideas and to see the latest products and services, you as the homeowner still need a quarterback on your team. You need a custom builder and remodeler. Below is a list of things you don’t always want to leave up to a subcontractor or vendor:

• Pricing projects accurately.
• Managing the permitting and appraisal process.
• Handling financing issues.
• Delivering on time.
• Project managing all the egos, timelines and deliverables.

This is where we come in. We have 38 + years of experience that we bring to the table.

If you go to the show this weekend, write down some questions or ideas you get from the show. If you see some new products you’d like to try but don’t know where to start or how to put it all together, then contact PL Lyons today. Let’s have a no-obligation conversation about your custom remodeling or building project. If you’re looking for a Louisville builder, you can start by asking us a question about your project. No strings attached!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I tweet out a lot of industry information like housing starts, mortgage rate information, real estate statistics, and much more. Sometimes you may get a bleak outlook from those tweets. Although things aren’t exactly rosy, we do have several proverbial “irons in the fire.” We’re always looking for more though. If you’d like to build a new house, a Homearama contract, or look into a remodeling project, we’re here to help.

In the meantime, we thought we’d update you on a few of the current and future projects we have going. If nothing more, this should give you hope for a brighter day. Recently, Dave Ramsey, financial author and speaker, tweeted out that hope is the one thing no one can take away from us.

We’re currently:

• Finishing a custom basement remodel in Oldham County, which includes a bathroom, fireplace, media room, family room, laundry room
• Finishing a basement in English Station which includes a media room, hobby room, family room, and bathroom
• Working on a custom room addition in Plainview—this is an all-weather type sunroom
• Preparing to start a custom contract home we’ve signed in Shelby County on a 14 acre farm
• Finishing a custom basement with a media room, family room, and bathroom in Jtown
• Finishing a custom master bathroom remodel in Jtown
• Covered deck with enclosed custom screening in Jtown
• Beginning a commercial dental office addition and renovation—with this job we had a 13 month rezoning process
• Finishing master bathroom and bedroom remodel in Douglas Hills
• Finished a custom home in Shakes Run
• We’re bidding three custom contract homes
• We’re bidding another commercial build-out

The second video shows the deck we completed for the homeowners a while back. It’s a Trex product and nicely connects to the sun room.

We’re always excited and honored to work with repeat customers. If you have a custom building or remodeling question or are thinking about starting a project, contact us. We’d love to work with you on your next building or remodeling job.

Although it’s felt like summer in Louisville for a couple of months now, we can officially say that summer is here! It’s been a busy one for us already so we thought this would be a good time update everyone on the projects we have going on.

We have a lot of current jobs in progress, several bids out, and several more projects that we’ve recently completed.

First up, here’s a list of current jobs that are keeping us busy. Hopefully it will give you an idea of the wide variety of jobs we do. Although we’re a custom home builder in Louisville, we also do small and large remodeling jobs on both residential and commercial properties.

• Basement finish—J-town area
• Screen porch—J-town area
• Sunporch and deck—Middletown/Pee Wee Valley
• Remodeling and repairs—Lake Forest
• Master bedroom remodel—Douglas Hills
• Early stages of a custom home contract—Shakes Run in Eastwood

Current bids out:

• Sun porch—Plainview
• Porch—Middletown
• Basement finish—Crestwood
• Deck—Prospect
• Custom Home on large acre tract—Shelbyville
• Custom Home on a large acre tract—Shepherdsville
• Kitchen remodel—Douglas Hills

Here are a few projects we recently completed:

• Commercial warehouse project
• Water damage repair in basement—Winchester Acres
• Window replacement/remodel—Douglas Hills

If you’re thinking about building, updating, or remodeling, I urge you to contact me to discuss how working with a registered builder and remodelor can improve your experience. You can get in touch with me here.

When a builder gets a complete set of building plans, the builder is expected to give the client a cost estimate or quote as it is commonly referred to.

When I started in the building business, the standard way of estimating a house was to take the lot cost and the cost of “lumber” which at that time encompassed windows, doors, roofing products and other related items, average these costs, use a multiplier, and cost the house. That method outgrew itself in the late 1970s.

I was fortunate to have worked for an engineer from a commercial construction background who taught me to estimate “from the ground up.” His theory was that any size project should be estimated the same way, no matter how large or small. He taught me the necessity of a solid sound estimating system. I still use the same basic format today, except the computer has quickened our methods.

Today there are so many products and choices available to the builder and buyer. It is ever the more important for a detailed estimate and a detailed scope of work or specifications. It establishes a budget that will be used throughout the building of your house or project. If a haphazard or incomplete cost estimate establishes the budget, someone will suffer financially.

I personally feel that every builder should use a detailed take-off system to cost the project. When relying on salespersons and subcontractor take offs, they are subject to that person’s interpretations of items and practices used by that person. Without a detailed take off or your own, you have no way of knowing whether that person is correct or not. When it is time to finalize your project, the salesperson may say, “You asked me to do more than I quoted. Get the quote and see what I estimated as compared to what I put in the house.” It is always the other person’s fault. A good take off of your own could have prevented this, as it would have red-flagged the difference in your estimate and theirs.

We all are much happier in the end when we have established a sound estimate. If you, our client is satisfied, we get to build that second or third house. And that keeps us in business.

We haven’t even officially reached summer and already we’re seeing temperatures in the 90s. Louisville is known for its hot, humid, and dry summers, which in turn can lead to high-cost energy bills. As a custom home builder and remodelor for more than 30 years, I’ve experienced a lot of hot Louisville summers, but have also helped many home owners save money on their energy bills. Here are some steps you can take to make sure your home is running as efficiently as possible.

• If you live in an older home, you could have leaky windows and doors which literally allow hot air in and makes it hard to keep rooms cool. Sealing or caulking around windows or doors could be an easy fix to ensure no air gets in or out. If you’re ready for a more expensive investment, consider replacing your windows altogether. If you’re thinking about remodeling your house or are in the middle of a remodel, don’t forget about upgrading your windows.
• For newer homes, a less extreme fix is to simply keep your blinds and curtains closed during the day when your home is in direct sunlight. Also, keep ceiling fans running when you’re at home so cooler air is circulating.
• Grill out and avoid using the oven when weather is extreme. This will keep your kitchen cool and prevent the furnace from running on overdrive.

Remember, with the furnace running as much as it does, don’t forget to replace your air filter every month! If you would like to speak to me about a remodel or other creative ways to save money on energy bills, contact me today.

If you need some remodeling work done inside your house or out, we can help. Just contact us to get the process stared.

P.L. Lyons does commercial new construction and commercial remodeling in and around Louisville, KY. Although our mainstay is residential custom building and remodeling, we know our way around a commercial code book, too. If you have a commercial or residential project you’d like to talk to us about, we encourage you to contact us through our website or give us a call at 502.244.0114.