Talk to home addition contractors about keeping pets safe.

Keeping Your Pets Protected While Your Home Improvement Contractors in MA Work

August 25, 20160

When you are about to embark on a home improvement project and your immediate family includes furry friends, you need to plan ahead to keep them safe. Home remodels are noisy and usually necessitate scores of people coming into and going out of your house for days, weeks and sometimes months. Unfortunately, you can’t explain to your pets what’s happening as you can with your children. Instead, you have to take concrete steps to ensure they don’t run away or become injured or sick during the controlled chaos of your home improvement project. Here are five steps to safeguard your pets before you embark on a room addition in Westwood and the surrounding areas.

Create and Secure a “Safe Zone” for Pets

A home addition is a multi-step project. At the beginning of each day, ask your contractor for a scope of work. You’ll be able to identify what portion of the house workers will be active in. Choose a room in another part of the house as the “pet zone.” Outfit it with food, water, litter box, toys, etc. and secure your pets in this room. Post a large Keep Out! sign on the door(s) of the room with a brief explanation that your pets are inside. Better yet, lock the door if you are able. If workers will primarily be inside the house, secure dogs in the backyard if weather allows and padlock gates and exterior doors so dogs aren’t accidentally let out.

Conduct a Safety Walk Through at the End of Each Day

When your home addition contractors in MA leave for the day, walk through the rooms they’ve worked in. Construction debris, including nails, razor blades, hazardous chemicals, tacks, jagged objects, electrical wires and sometimes even discarded lunch leftovers, can harm your pet. Remove anything a dog or cat might be tempted to explore with its mouth.

Home additions require you to keep your pets safe.

Make Sure Workers Know to Keep Doors and Windows Closed

If you have pets in the house or have pets locked in a room, make sure workers know to close all doors and windows when they leave. Dealing with a renovation isn’t just stressful for pets. It’s stressful for you! Enlist your contractors’ help in keeping your pets safe because you’re not perfect!

Secure Stacks and Piles

Regardless of the specifics of your project, home additions in MA will likely require your contractors to bring in stacks of wood, sheetrock, tile and other materials. Pets love to rub up against objects to scratch themselves. Should your pet rub up against a loose stack of anything, it could come tumbling down. Not only could this damage your building materials, but it could seriously injure your pet.

Spring for Doggie (or Kitty) Day Care

If you can afford to have your pets boarded during your remodeling project or can find a friend or relative to take them in temporarily, that may be the safest option. As careful as you are, accidents may happen. Your pets are part of your family, and your new and improved home won’t be as happy without them!

If you’re looking for a reliable and responsible contractor, contact us at Colony Home Improvement. We go above and beyond, and that’s why we have a reputation as one of the top home improvement contractors in Westwood, MA.

Upgrades to Consider When Building Your Custom Home in Westwood, MA

January 7, 20160

Find out how to protect your home from contractors for room additions.

Contractors for room additions can protect your home.

With a few upgrades to your custom built home plans in eastern MA, you can easily take that new home to the next level of style while making it simpler to maintain. Ease of maintenance will save you time and money over the long-term. Experienced contractors for room additions in Westwood and the surrounding areas can offer smart design tips that can help preserve the beauty of your home for years to come.

Style and Ease

Upgrading kitchen countertops is a common custom home improvement. The added durability of using granite over lesser materials can keep a well-used kitchen from showing signs of wear for longer. Since cooking can get messy, upgrading your kitchen to include high-quality, easy-to-clean backsplashes just makes sense. In addition to protecting the wall behind working and cooking areas, a custom backsplash design can serve as a gorgeous style accent to the overall look of your kitchen.

Adding wainscoting to kitchen and dining areas is another way to beautify and protect your walls. Bathrooms and living rooms can also be well served by adding this feature. This design style works well with wallpaper and paint, complementing the look of a room while preserving areas vulnerable to wear and tear. That’s always a consideration when raising children, when grandchildren are frequent visitors and in homes with pets.

Relax and Enjoy

When making custom built home plans in eastern MA, consider upgrading to enhance your outdoor living space with gorgeous, sweeping porches and wide decks. Custom designed to complement and accentuate the style of your home while expanding your living area, these outdoor spaces can be ideal for summer entertaining. There’s a lot to be said for having plenty of room to relax outside and enjoy a summer supper dining on a screened-in deck or tea on the porch on a colorful autumn afternoon.

Include unique touches with custom built home plans.

Custom built home plans should include unique touches.

Plan to Protect

Custom built home plans in eastern MA should always take into account the wet springs and the snow characteristic of the climate in this region. A mudroom is a practical addition that can help prevent mud and snow from being tracked into the house. Plan that messy weather buffer zone for ease of use and with winter gear in mind.

You’ll want a comfortable place to sit down to take boots and shoes on and off. You’ll also want a place for damp hats, coats and gloves, as well as closet space for storing those things when not in use. Consider a passive solar design when planning window size and placement to take advantage of the heat of the sun during the seasons you’ll need it.

Whether you are planning a big project like a custom home or talking to a contractors for room additions in Westwood and the surrounding areas, think about your high-risk zones and how to protect them. Stylish upgrades with an eye toward preserving and protecting the look and function of your home can yield higher home value and save on long-term maintenance costs.

Contact us to learn more about custom home upgrades that offer lasting style and function. With 40 years of experience designing and building homes in this region, we can serve a valuable role in your custom home planning process. Ask about our 3D custom plans that allow you to fully visualize how your dream home will look.

How to Organize and Prepare for Your Southeastern MA Kitchen Remodel

December 22, 20150

Realize your dream kitchen with contractors for room additions.

Contractors for room additions can help you realize your dream.

A kitchen remodel can be an exciting project, but you also want to make sure you’re fully prepared for what lies ahead. After all, when beginning a room addition in Westwood and the surrounding areas, it’s likely you will be displaced from your usual activities and your daily routine will be a bit disrupted. Here are some suggestions to help make sure you are set for the day construction begins.

Setting Your Expectations

No matter what the scope of your kitchen remodel, ongoing communication between you and your builder or contractor is critical to the overall success of your project. Contractors for room additions in Westwood, MA, suggest you have a thorough understanding of the following points before construction begins:

Construction start and projected end date, the sequence of tasks and schedule of daily activities, as well as what time workmen will arrive and finish at the end of the day.

How to prepare the work site and how to protect other rooms and household items. How will the construction area be cordoned off and the dust contained?

How you should prepare for each phase of the project (will the power or water need to be turned off and for how long)?

Who will be the project lead to answer your questions and how often can you expect project updates? Ask for contact and after hours/emergency numbers.

Designate a folder to contain all the necessary documentation from the project, such as lien releases, marked-up plans, copies of inspection reports, operating manuals and information on how to care for new surfaces, materials and equipment.

A Little Pre-Planning

Armed with the above information, you can begin to reorder your daily activities and plan for the least amount of disruption to your life. How long will the project take? If your builder estimates one week, plan for two. Most contractors for room additions in Westwood and the surrounding area will tell you it is far better to have a backup plan in place than to be caught off guard.

How will your pets be affected? Move your pets, along with their food and water bowls, into a safe area of the house a couple of days before construction begins. If keeping your pets offsite would be best, you will need to schedule this time at a boarding facility, a friend or relative’s house.

Note any previously scheduled activities on your calendar and arrange for them to be relocated or rescheduled. It’s best not to plan your remodel before a holiday or other important events because you could be setting yourself up for stress and frustration. Keep in mind delayed arrival of materials and equipment happens frequently during remodels and may throw the entire schedule off.

Eating out, getting take-out or having meals delivered are all good options while your kitchen is out of order. You may also want to cook ahead and freeze items that can be heated up in a microwave.

Pack carefully before your kitchen remodel.

Learn to pack for your kitchen remodel.

You’ll Need a Make-Shift Kitchen

Have you ever gone camping? Preparing for a southeastern MA kitchen remodel is a little like going on a camping trip as far as food preparation is concerned. If you have a spare bedroom or other available space in your house, turn it into a temporary kitchen with the following items:

4 x 8 foot folding table for your prep area
Small microwave oven and other small appliances (coffee maker, toaster oven, etc.)
Coolers for storing orange juice, milk and other drinks
Containers to hold non-perishable food items (peanut butter, crackers, cereal)
Disposable plates, cups and utensils
Paper towels and dish rags for wiping hands

Packing

After setting up your temporary kitchen, you will want to remove everything else from the area. Pack up all items and label the boxes as you would before moving. Then store them away from the construction area.

With a little planning and preparation, your southeastern MA kitchen remodel can be a relatively painless process. Keep your eye on the prize and don’t sweat the small stuff!

If you’re still looking for the right builder for your kitchen remodel, contact us at Colony Home Improvement. We have more than 40 years of experience with room additions in Westwood and the surrounding areas.

Avoid These Design Mistakes by Hiring an Experienced Contractor for Your Bathroom Addition

July 21, 20150

Get the job done right with a contractor for home additions.

A contractor for home additions will get the job done right.

When starting a bathroom remodeling project, there are many minute details to consider. It can be easy to overlook what seems like an insignificant point and end up with a design disaster. Because of this, it’s important to cover every detail in the planning stages so you don’t end up with a major problem later on. Even though the bathroom is typically a smaller room, it can take a lot more effort when it comes to designing. Hiring a home improvement contractor can help you avoid these common design mistakes.

Include an Outside View

One of the most common mistakes is forgetting to include a window on an outside wall. Providing natural light helps people relax in the space. It can also be a source of fresh air, which can help prevent the growth of mold and mildew. If it isn’t possible to include a window in the bathroom, make plans for a skylight or solar tube to allow natural light.

Line of Sight

When possible, avoid placing a bathroom where it is in the direct line of sight to other rooms like a kitchen, living or dining room. Sometimes there is no way to avoid the bathroom being right off one of these rooms. In these cases, use a small alcove, partition or passage to mask the room so the toilet is not seen from an outside room. No one wants to see into the bathroom from the dining room table so plan ahead.

Doorway Disaster

Planning bathroom space can be tricky, but the proper design can help you avoid a doorway disaster. The door should not knock into a toilet, tub or vanity when it is opened. People should not have to squeeze in or out of a bathroom. Be sure to allow adequate space for a door and ease of passage. A Westwood contractor for home additions can take the proper measurements and help you avoid this mistake. They can also offer alternative solutions, such as a sliding pocket door, which takes up less space than a traditional door.

Create the ideal bathroom with the help of a home improvement contractor.

A home improvement contractor knows how to create a great bathroom.

Center Stage

Try to place the toilet so it isn’t the first thing you see when you walk in. The toilet and the shower should be out of direct sight. If possible, place the sink or vanity between the toilet and the rest of the room. If the bathroom is smaller, use design strategies so anything but the toilet is the first thing you see when you enter the room.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

The bathroom design should be a priority over the size of the fixtures and features. The bathroom should be designed to be functional, rather than trying to squeeze fixtures into a small space. The most important feature is functionality.

When you are ready to discuss your options for a room addition in Westwood and the surrounding areas, contact us. We can help you avoid design disasters.

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