Welcome to Kip’s Blog
We’ll try to add a new blog when we can. We’ve answered so many client questions over the years, that every once in a while we were smart enough to save them, so we’ll also share those with you. We saved a few of the things I wrote in various places, and we’ll dust them off and see if any of those might still be something, you may find interesting. And of course, we’d love to answer your questions so send them to kip@Carpentersconstruction.com
Generator for Storms
Got a New Generator? You felt pretty lucky when you scored a generator prior to the storm this year. And it worked pretty well, didn’t it? You plugged in a couple of extension cords, kept the refrigerator humming and got to watch TV. Unless you are knowledgeable...
Risky Business
Risky Business - Hiring anyone to work on your place. I originally titled this Risky Business-Hiring After the Storm, and wrote it for the Tallahassee Democrat after Hurricane Hermine, in September 2016. Actually, it applies to any person you ever hire to work on your...
Painted and Stained Cabinets
Q: Is there a really good reason to pick one over the other when considering Painted or Stained Cabinets? A: Having built and remodeled a 100 kitchens or more, and visited hundreds of other existing kitchens, we’ve seen differences in colors, finishes and styles....
Top 10 Tips for Great Remodels & Not Losing Money
Hire a Remodeling Contractor The license it’s where you start looking, not where you stop. Most contractors are not Remodeling contractors. Check: their license at myflorida.com; their credit; their suppliers; their clients. Before plans. Don’t just think it, INK it....
Plans from Books
Q: We are thinking about building a new house and found plans, in a plan book, which only need a few revisions. Anything we should know before we order the plans? A: Many plans are site specific so the first question we would ask is whether you already have your...
Introduction to the Blog
In December 1999, I became President of the Tallahassee Builders Association. One of my first acts was to meet with the Tallahassee Democrat. The proposal I offered that day was to provide a column on remodeling named Ask the Remodeler The idea was to put a half page...
Whole Home Make Overs
Remodeler’s Q&A, You do the shell and let me finish it myself
Q: I would like to have a 20'x60' workshop-storage building built. I just want someone to build a concrete slab with walls and a roof and let me finish the rest myself. How do I select a builder? Do I need a set of plans before I contact a builder? Whose...
ASK THE REMODELER
President’s Jefferson and Madison Q: I was observing a house remodeling project. It’s a major overhaul of an older home, and it seems they’re recreating it or creating a new house from it. My friend said that this was a new American trend, unlike simple additions of...
My View
Who Is Important In Your Life
I was the Chairman of the Remodelers Council of the Tallahassee Builders Association in 2016. I was actually a recycled Chairman having been chairman of the group 20 years earlier. The monthly meeting is to educate, inform, inspire and train Remodeling Contractors...
A Story about Attitude
I didn’t write this, but its message is so important I had to share it: 92 year old lady, fully dressed every morning by 8 am, make up perfectly applied even though she's legally blind, has been moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years had recently died...