Guthmann Construction - Residential Design-Build Remodeling and Construction Company in Charlotte, N.C.

News: Gas Logs

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:02:19 +0000

Before you turn on those Gas Logs, be sure to do these things!

1. Remove the Logs for a good bath (OUTSIDE) Use a strong but non-abrasive household soap to remove the soot build-up. It might take a couple of good scrubs to get it all off.

2. While the Firebox is empty, check your starter switch and any wires for a loose connection.

3. If you have ever turned the switch on and there was a delayed start, noticed a gas smell or had a loss of fire power while you were enjoying a fire….you should call the gas company or an electrician.

4. Plug in your Carbon Monixide Detector close to your fireplace and make sure it is in good working order with a new battery.

5. If you use a propane tank for your gas supply, Do NOT allow yourself to run out of LP gas….that is very dangerous! If the flame stops while in another room, the line is still open and a residual leak could occur. OR WORSE, if you didn’t notice or recall that the logs were ON…you could possibly forget that there was a fire previously and then be at risk for a leak, fire, or Explosion when the tank is refilled and turned back on.

6. If your pilot light repeatedly goes out—or is very difficult to light–that is a signal that your appliance is not working correctly. Call a qualified Service Technician to evaluate the appliance.

7. Never light a Pilot Light if you smell gas! Remember Natural and LP gas HAS a gas smell. It is Carbon Monoxide that is odorless, so stay plugged in!

8. Re-Read your Log paperwork each year before you turn your gas logs back on. It is good information, and worth reviewing. But especially helpful, if you can’t remember how to restack those new clean logs.

Boomers Rethinking “Fixing to Stay”

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:19:19 +0000

Many people equate Universal Design with “Aging in Place”, mistakenly known “living in your home forever”. Nice if you can, but it is much more than that. The term has evolved to include simply making life easier, no matter our age! Life is a changing picture, and while we may try to plan for our future, honestly, we cannot control our lives or the lives of others.
Think of Universal Design Planning and Remodeling just as you would “good portfolio planning”. It increases the value of your home (for you and resale), and adds quality to your life. It provides more safety, no matter our age.
Making gradual Ergonomical changes all along the way is much easier than you think. For example, when replacing your kitchen appliances, why not opt for sliding shelves for the refrigerator. Dishwasher drawers will save your back. How about a platform raised front-loading washer/dryer set instead of digging into that deep-tub? Needing to replace the tile or grout in your shower? It is perfect time to add a grab bar, if you don’t have one. Ever had a torn meniscus? You would wish you had new high-rise toilet every time you tried to bend your knee.
These are just a few ergonomical ideas to consider for safely enjoying your home longer than you imagined and they don’t even involve big renovation changes. For more ideas and information go to http://www.aoa.gov/ and type in Home Modifications. You will get more ideas and information than you thought the government had in their heads put together.

Hail Storms Bring Storm Chasers to Charlotte

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:00:43 +0000

Did you know that Charlotte has recently been the target of many out-of-state Storm Chasers who are looking to make profit on Hail Damaged Roofs. They follow the weather reports and quickly show up in neighborhoods to give you a Free Quote on your roof replacement. They might even suggest you submit their paperwork to your insurance company for reimbursement. Their promise is for swift service at a great price. Sounds good when every house in your neighborhood may have sustained damage. That could take a long time to process. BUT their Promises are Illegal because Public Adjusting is Illegal in NC. You MUST go thru your Homeowner’s Insurance company to verify the damage. Your HO Insurance Adjuster MUST decide the need, in order to get a free or pro-rated roof job!

If your roof damage is severe enough and is verified by your Ins. Adjuster, perhaps your Homeowners Ins. will reimburse you if you have hastily signed on a dotted line. But don’t count on it. In fact, it can get worse, according to our good friends at H&S Roofing in Charlotte. Often these storm chasers ask for a down payment and never come back. Or perhaps they may start a job and/ or even complete it. But there is certainly no warranty that you will ever see them again, if you needed warranty work. The other possibility is that these storm chasers are hungry entreprenuers (of sorts) and may actually contract the work to a local or out-of-state roofers….but no guarantee!
OUR SUGGESTION:
Be Patient for your Insurance Adjustor to come out. That may take as long as 6-8 weeks, because of overload right now. But they will actually go up on your roof to verify the damage. Then, you should select a reputable local Roofing contractor with a good history and insurance. That’s a combination worth waiting for.

Strong Wind Damage is probably more common than Hail Damage. Many homeowners think because the damage is in just an area, that Insurance won’t cover the cost. Not so! Call your Insurance Company and let them decide
Hail damaged roof show Pits Sometimes you can see the damage from the yard. But to verify the % of damage, your HO Insurance Adjuster must go to the top.

Excellence in Remodeling Award 2011

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:38:25 +0000

Guthmann Construction received the SILVER AWARD for an Interior Renovation > $60K in the EXCELLENCE IN REMODELING CONTEST at the annual Home Builders of Charlotte annual event. The award winning project was executed by our Project Manager Daniel Arrowood ( his 3rd Award project in 3 years) The scope of the renovation included a new, expanded Kitchen, upgraded laundry room, and a Butler’s Pantry to include a Wine Vault, and much more. The New Cabinetry was every Organized Woman’s Dream Kitchen, a place for everything with a bit of Bling!

Congratulations to all who had a part in /or worked on this very organized project!

5 Tips to Protect your Home from Spring Rains

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:47:35 +0000

April Showers Can Bring more than May Flowers….
Read on to know how to protect your home from Moisture Problems….

Below are a few things you can and should do around your home right now to protect its integrity, maintain its beauty, and keep things working well. Spring is the time to do a little walk-around your home and check off this list. Remember, “ An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”….or in other words,“Pay now or Pay more later.”

1. Check your gutters for debris, holes, or dislodging. With sever winter weather we had this winter, make sure things are still in place for good water flow. Wet, trapped debris can deteriorate your soffit areas quickly.

2. While you are checking on your gutters, don’t forget to examine the Down Spouts. Loose or disconnected spouts mean water is not going to move in the direction it should…“down and away from your home”. A slightly loosened downspout can also allow water to sieve out and flow down the side of your house, causing wood rot to corner boards.

3. Check your Crawlspace for moisture. Is your Termite Inspection contract up-to-date. Open your foundation vents for the coming spring rains. Open or closed vents…. that is the question with each season. The answer is not just about season or temperature. Consider the surrounding environment of your home also. How does the sun moves around your home? What is your yard- scape like? Is there a lot of shade which would inhibit evaporation of moisture in your crawlspace? You may find one side of your home should have closed vents, while the other side may need more air flow in certain seasons.

4. Carefully examine your sprinkler system and all sprinkler heads to make sure they are pointing exactly where you intended and not spraying the house, window sills, etc.

5. Check all windowsills and soffit areas for rotten wood. Replace this ASAP, it won’t improve with age! In fact, the deeper the rot, the deeper the repair. And paint never repairs rotted wood!

To learn more about keeping your Home in Tip-Top Shape this Spring,
We invite you to read more on our Blog.

5 More tips for your home this Spring

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:53:35 +0000

Now that you have examined your home for any water problems, (most important), lets take care of some other general, seasonal check points around your home. Inside and out!

1. If you tested your gutters by running the garden hose down the spout…Great!
But if not, don’t forget to check the garden hoses for cracks, and broken fittings. Is it time to buy a new sturdy “Rubber garden hose”?

2. Are you considering painting, power-washing, or maybe just window washing this spring. Always try to clip the shrubs first…for ease of getting closer to the house.

3. Check carefully the mortar on your steps at all entrances. Winter weather can cause mortar to shrink, or separate, causing the bricks to dislodge from the cement. This may prove dangerous to you or a guest. Get that repaired quickly.

4. Missing any shingles from a blustery storm? Don’t wait for those Heavy downpours before you call someone to repair that. Waiting will then mean a repair inside and out!

5. With Daylight Savings time just springing forward>>>> don’t forget to move all of your clocks ahead 1 hour. With that said, now go and change the important back up batteries in your home: in your thermostat, your smoke detector, and don’t forget your emergency weather radio.

With Energy Prices on the Rise, Let’s try to Understand the Cost better

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:28:49 +0000

Although, it feels like Winter’s Blast is almost history, and I so long for Spring, like a good friend who is coming to visit, …my smarter side tells me that any season is the right time for a little tutorial on SAVING on Energy costs. Personally, I don’t like to be too cold or too hot. We try to keep our thermostat at a pretty consistent temperature all seasons but sometimes the weather likes to play with us. And suddenly our electric bill is doubled.

I hope that you know that “Saving on your Household Energy is not just a winter sport.” Anytime is a good time to start cutting energy costs, (especially since this morning’s news was that “Gas prices may reach $5.00/gal. by summer”) Let’s start by trying to better understand our Energy Bill (Gas or Electric). Kilowatt hours? Delivery charges? Meter reading? Do you understand it well enough to tell someone else what it means? No? Well, read on…..

The national average for a monthly energy bill is $130, but that number jumps up in places like New York City, where the average hits $145. Your bill likely includes electricity and gas, but in some states consumers receive separate bills for the generation and delivery of that same electricity.

Definitions You Should Know

Delivery services : These charges cover the cost of getting the energy from the supplier to your home, including the maintenance of power lines and sub-stations. This also includes a demand charge, which covers the costs of maintaining energy during high demand, like in the middle of a heat wave.

Supplier services :These charges cover the cost of generating the electricity. These charges are also where companies begin to get competitive with rates.

Kilowatt hours and therms : Kilowatt hours (kWh) are a way to quantify electricity use, and therms are a way to quantify gas use. “Kilowatt hours” refers to how many kilowatts the appliance uses when it runs for one hour.

Energy rates : This is the rate you’ve been charged for your energy usage. Rates vary, and trying to predict what they’ll be for the next month is as unreliable as predicting how much it will cost you for a full tank of gas. ( don’t get me started on the gas pump thing t

The chart to the left shows how many minutes one kwh can buy you for each appliance: Unfortunately, we can’t control our energy rates, but we can control our energy usage. The Chart below, has ranked our home’s cost centers from most to least expensive.

Pretty Interesting, wouldn’t you say?

I think I will turn off my oven tonight and go out for dinner.

Real Estate UPDATE

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:11:35 +0000

Update from National Association of REALTORS 50% of homes purchased from June of 2009 – June 2010 were 1^st time Homebuyers. Compare that to about 10% “over the last decade! Yes, that is over the past 10 YEARS! Although the median income of homebuyers decreased, more people were able to afford homes due to low mortgage rates, affordable home prices, and the homebuyer tax credit. Existing home sales continue to stay at an all time low.

Then, there is the problem of how to attract attention to your home in this crazy market. Our office continues to get calls from folks wanting to know what and how much they should do to enhance their home to lure a serious buyer. We know someone whose realtor gave them a long list of “to do” projects to move the house quickly. Of course! NINE months later, they were interviewing another realtor who “promised a sell within 3 months, “or else they were going to chew their fingers off….” no not really that bad, but the promise was something about as crazy. Only problem to signing with them, they were advised to undo some of the very things that the previous realtor suggested. So the big question remains: What should one do to attract serious buyers?

Business News to Track

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:37:11 +0000

Just because the Big Energy Tax Credits are past …. there are still many deals out there to take advantage of in 2011. However, the Credit Limit is now reduced to $500. If you need or do make a Home Renovation purchase which qualifies, check it all out very carefully. We discovered last year, sometimes the Best deals are just as Green & efficient and may be less expensive also. (Good for your greens!)

So stay the course, homeowner. Keep re-investing in your life, your home, & your environment. The Rewards are Out of this World!

What We Discovered about Lead Testing in 2010

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:50:38 +0000

In 2010, Guthmann Construction worked on 9 Pre -1978 Homes which required that we do a test for the presence of LEAD prior to any kind of demolition. Below are the results of those 9 jobs..

How many tested positive for Lead? 6 positive /3 negative

Where was the Lead discovered? Counter-tops, window sills, porcelain and ceramic tile in bath area.

Can homeowners opt out for testing with no liability for the contractor? Not an option, in fact, if a later homeowner found presence of lead in the home, that renovating contractor would be liable of severe penalty.

What should homeowners look for themselves? Old paint that is peeling or flakes of dust on the sill when opening windows /doors.

Biggest Surprise we discovered: In testing Bathrooms, we found lead in Ceramic & Porcelain Tiles in showers, tub surrounds, and backsplashes…. BUT NO LEAD IN THE PAINTS IN THESE ROOM S, which is what you are most often told about.

Doing our own test & a little investigation, we found that those “Do-IT-YOURSELF Test Kits from Lowe’s, & Home Depot are very unreliable, often giving False Positives in places that could not even have lead in them. We have also received notice from some Industry Watch Dogs that this is their findings also.

But like it or not, Lead testing is here to stay.