Welcome to the Double J Construction Blog

Welcome to the Double J Construction blog where we strive to bring you useful information, links and articles regarding the construction industry and our local community.  We welcome your comments and feedback as well as questions and concerns.  Thank you for visiting!

Do you need to insulate?

Recently at an Oregon Remodelers awards luncheon, I was speaking to a colleague, Chuck Waldal from Gale Contractor Services about their insulation business.  We discussed the push at the end of 2009 when homeowners were insulating their homes to take advantage of federal tax credits.  That reminded me of the difference it made in our home when we chose to insulate.  When we purchased our home, we knew it needed insulation in the attic and crawl space, so we determined it would be one of the first projects we would accomplish.  However, other projects took priority, so we continued to put off insulation year after year other than when we removed drywall and realized our walls did not have insulation, so we chose to add some at those times.

Well, we finally determined after an audit from Energy Trust that we should move forward with the insulation installation.  The contractor informed us that any walls that needed insulation could be handled by drilling holes in the siding and blowing it in so that we did not have to remove any interior drywall.  After completing the process we noticed our furnace was running much less and watched our heating bill plummet.  We wished we had made this project a priority years prior.

If your home needs insulated, don’t put it off like we did.  There are still state and federal tax credits available and the energy savings is well worth it.  To find an insulation professional, visit the Oregon Remodelers Association web page “Find a Professional” .

Is preserving a historic building really green?

BuildingGreen.com posted an interesting article in their blog that really encourages us to stop and think about how we approach “green” building.  If a home or building is consider historic, we have typically passed legal guidelines for remodeling the structure and the land around it.  However, with the new focus being on energy conservation, one has to consider both sides of the argument in the energy it takes to remodel the project versus the energy the building may be wasting due to old technology.

Read this thought provoking article and see what you think.  Personally, I love preserving history as long as it fits with the community and it’s surroundings or has a significant benefit to all of us.

Not sure where to start?

Do you find it challenging when you want to remodel your home to picture in your mind how you want your final outcome to look?  If you’re not a visual person like myself, it can be a very time consuming process to make material selections and try to piece together a new kitchen, bathroom or even just a basic facelift for any room in your home.

To make the process easier, it is very helpful to bring in a designer on the project that can put your thoughts down on paper and create for you a visual of your ideas as well as offer you other opinions and suggestions you may not have realized were possible.  But even before you get to that point, it can be quite useful to browse showrooms and magazines to determine your likes and dislikes so you can better communicate your preferences to your contractor.

Meredith has created a magazine called Renovation Style to help consumers such as myself to become educated on popular renovation trends.  Browsing a publication such as this can be very insightful and start the creative juices flowing when you need a place to start for your next project.  Grab a magazine off the rack or view online to see what might be in your home’s future!

Have You Completed Your Taxes?

It’s hard to imagine it’s that time of year again where the IRS is knocking at our door looking for our tax filings.  The financial news has been so depressing for so long, it seems harder and harder to get motivated to do this paperwork.  Still we have no choice but to take care of these or pay the penalty.  Thank goodness for CPA’s and other tax professionals that can weed through the thousands of pages of tax code.

Due to the lack of decision making in Congress, the IRS has given us an additional three days to get the paperwork in.  Be sure and file by April 18 or apply for an extension right away.  For more information visit www.irs.gov.  Just remember the only two things on earth that are certain – death and taxes.  It’s much better to deal with the latter than the first!

Meeting was a great success!

Not only was it great to spend the evening with the designers from NKBA and NWSID as well as our fellow ORA/NARI members, but it was also great to listen to John.  He was entertaining as always, and finally had some good news to share about our economy.  Not only is the economy expected to grow 3.0 to 3.2%, but Oregon is actually moved to the #10 spot of economies experiencing growth versus the #46 spot of decline in January of 2010.  In addition, although we still have many factors that affect the remodeling industry, the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies published a report that indicates that the baby boomers will soon be selling their homes to a younger generation which are more likely to remodel.  It was a breath of fresh air to hear some solid positive news for an industry that has struggled for four years.

Of course the unrest in the Middle East and the Federal debt load could change all of that.  The tsunami is already affecting our supply of necessary items from everything from computers to cars, and the political actions in the Middle East affect our oil and fuel prices, which in turn hurt our disposable income.  Let’s pray our Federal Government can get their act together and pass a budget that gets our debt under control and prevents our bonds from being labeled as “junk”!

ORA/NARI Meeting – Economic Forecast

Tonight we have the opportunity in the Oregon Remodelers Association (ORA) to listen to well known and sought after economist, John Mitchell, Ph.D from Lake Oswego.  John is known to be very entertaining as he shares the often boring and detailed facts about the history and future of the U.S. economy and what it means for our business.  He has researched our industry and indicated he has a lot of great news to share with us.  I’m excited to hear him speak and spend the evening with fellow remodeling and design professionals.  It’s going to be a great event!

Warmer weather, a welcome site!

What a pleasure to have a mostly dry day today with temperatures that finally reached the 60′s.  I was starting to think Spring temperatures would never arrive.  Of course with the warmer temperatures comes the reality of the landscaping that is now necessary to get our home back in order.  It was strange to see Jim mowing the lawn after months of dormacy, but a welcome view of a green, nicely trimmed yard bordered by the beauty of the blooming daffodils.

Not only is it time to landscape, but it’s time to take a closer look at the exterior of your home and examine it for any damage or trouble spots the heavy rains and cold temperatures may have left behind.  The gutters should be cleaned and secured to the home attached to down spouts and rain drains to keep the water flowing away from your roof and foundation.  The roof will likely need cleaned and should be carefully checked for any leaks or shingles/tiles that need repaired or replaced.  The siding should be free from any soil or plants to keep insects and moisture away and also should be carefully examined for any potential dry rot that could lead to framing or interior damage.  Also evaluate the windows for proper seals and caulking and open any air vents that were closed during the winter months.

Minor maintenance such as this can easily prevent major repairs in the future.  If you know of areas in your home that are in need of adjustment, replacement or repair, start planning for those costs now and secure a contractor before the summer rush.  Remember, an ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure, or in this case thousands of dollars in repair.