Secure the contents of your paint buckets during painting. Contact us at (855) 338-7715, in North Plainfield, NJ, for our premium-grade paint can liner. Jackson 8 LLC 120 Westervelt Avenue North Plainfield, NJ 07060 Phone:    8553387715 Contact Email:    sjackson8llcco@gmail.com Website: www.jackson8llc.co Keywords: paint can liner,paint buckets,north plainfield,nj ...read more

Although gardeners love the snow and rain we have received, many homeowners have reached the end of their now damp ropes.  If you are a homeowner who has sustained water damage, follow the following tips: 1.  Remove all water damaged materials as soon as possible, expecially carpeting or any soft materials and furniture.  Don't try to save them, the mold they can grow can seriously injure your health. 2.  Check with your municipality regarding removal of flood materials.  Many municipalitites are refusing to pick up flooded household debris. 3.  Review your insurance policies.  Although flooding is not usually covered, if your flood occured due to a loss of power or electricity, your insurance might cover it.  Even if not, inquire about flood insurance.  Its an inexpensive rider that you will glad to have. For more information or assistance with flood clean up and repairs, call us at (908) 380-0055. ...read more

Now that warmer weather is coming, the most popular project on every homeowner's wish list is " a new bathroom."  Here are some tips to help you get the bathroom of your dreams. 1.  When considering a new bathroom, think about what you really dislike.  The #1 issue is a dated tile design.  When thinking about new tile, consider cost-saving measures like only tiling the floor, and eliminating the half-walls that were so popular 50 years ago. 2.  On the other hand, if you prefer a "spa" type experience, consider re-installing either a half-wall or a full wall of tile.  Coupled with a glass shower door, this creates an upscale look. 3.  To conserve budget use inexpensive "field tile" on floors and invest in borders and decos.  Like any other room, a bathroom needs a focal point.  A budget saving trick is to spend on the focal point and conservce on the background. 4.  If new really isn't in the budget consider a new low-flow toilet and new faucets.  Or Maybe a new vanity.  Make the vanity a focal point.  This will give you the feeling of a full rennovation without the cost. For more ideas on bathrooms, and a free estimate, please call us at (908) 380-0055. ...read more

After a long, cold winter, many homeowners are suprised to find they need repairs.  The cold seems to stress not only our bodies but our homes as well. On the first warm day, assess your home's outer and inner structure.  Review trees and plants in your yard, your gutters, and also areas on the interior.  Spring is a key time for painting, upgrading windows and more.  Need help?  Please call us at (908) 380-0055. Bill ...read more

This is one of the most famous sayings ever uttered by a customer.  It was comment by a very savvy client who needed to have her whole house remodeled.  Usually one would expect that this type of project would cost into the 6 figures.  And, in her case, it even included roofing, stucco siding and other big ticket items.  However, this client knew where to get the bang for her buck -- and we'll share with you.  She saved over$90,000!  Basically, she observed the 10-1 rule..  For every dollar spent, there had to be $10 worth of value. What made this renovation fly is the client knew where to DIY, where to cut corners, and where to hire a contractor.  Also, wherever possible she did her own demolition, or prep work.  When we arrived as the contractor, any work space was completely clear.  And demolition can cost as much as construction$495 per day, plus the costs of disposal. 1.  Focus on "refreshing kitchens and bathrooms":  What does that mean?  First understand what "remodel" means -- tearing out exisiting fixtures, plumbing, and electrical and beginning again.  Even a small kitchen with new cabinets can easily exceed $5-10,000.  The larger the kitchen, and the more features are built-in, the bigger the budget will be.  Which is how some kitchen remodels get into the $40-$50,000 range.  Or even higher. If you "reface," expect it to cost about 75% of the cost of new.  That's a surprise for many.  Most homeowners expect that refacing saves them big dollars, but it usually doesn't.  What it does save istime, as well as the mess and disruption of contruction.  With refacing, the exisitng kitchen does not have to be demolished, saving as much as a week or 2 on the schedule. So what is a cash-strapped homeowner to do?  For example, a new floor (vinyl, but looked like stone, purchased on sale at a home improvment store), new appliances (got a deal at a scratch and dent sale) and a new countertop (relaminated vs. new), plus some new and stylish lighting made the kitchen scream "I'm new and up to date."  In this case, the cabinets were not touched, but they could have easily been painted and had new doors and hinges added for a modest cost. Budget (including appliances):  $1500.   New doors and hinges would have added approximately $100 per door.  The trick was to negotiate on materials and purchase them herself, and to use a contractor only where absolutely necessary -- in this case, to lay the floor, and relaminate the countertops. 2.  Bathroom refresh:  New vanity and toilet in powder room.  $500.  Both purchased as returns in a specialty store.  Used professional labor to install the toilet, and vanity top, but painted the room, and the vanity case herself.  Although she preferred a new faucet, it was the one area, where she could not get a good enough deal.  So, she re-used the exisitng faucet (after running it through the dishwasher to up the shine). Hall Bathroom:  Painted vanity and installed newstone vanity topand sink.  Regrouted bathroom tiles around shower and caulked.  Even though regrouting is inexpensive -- most projects run around $200, this was another DIY project.  However, it left money available for the "Bling" of a new vanity top.  The point is that new tile in a bathroom is often the largest item in a bathroom budget.  And it isn't the tile itself, its the labor to install it.  So installing new grout made the tile look new, even though it wasn't.  Same with the vanity.  And the paint on the ceiling.  So the$250 spent on the vanity top, looked like a million.  She also checked the toilets forwax ringfailues, leaking and the insides for flushing.  This is an easy check, she simply got down on her knees with a clean towel, and pressed around the base of eachtoilet.  If the towel got wet, she knew there was a problem.  Essentially that was how she determined which toilets to replace.  And the replacement was alow-flow toiletto continue saving into the future. 3.  For decor in most of the house, the rooms were freshly decorated, but she had theceilingsrepainted.  So she got the look and feel, but not the cost of a completeinterior paint job. 4.  For a new exterior door, a dented steel door was purchased at a fraction of the cost, and fiberglass patch (available at any home improvmenet store) was used for the repair.  Then the client used spray paint to repaint the door.  Viola a$1000 exterior doorwas less than $200.  Simlarly,windowswere caulked.  In the end, only 1 window was replaced, and that was because the frame was too badly damaged to be repaired. 5.  She also wanted anattic suite.  This is one of the most popular remodels oradditions out there.  And, she was lucky to have a little-used and worn bathroom in place.  No new plumbing.  In this case, the room was sheetrocked and painted, and a new vanity and toilet were added to the bathroom -- again purchased at a cut rate.  Lastly, vinyl "wood" flooring was added to give the appearance of a new wood floor without the cost.  For example, tryTrafficMaster(at your home improvmenet stoore).  This client was able to purchase an odd-lot for just 77-cents per square foot.  Compare to $4-5 per square foot for wood flooring. The list goes on and on, because the project included roofing, anexterior paint job, and plenty more.  The trick was that she was unusual in one respect -- she was honest about what her budget was, and consulted with professionals about how to stretch her dollars efficiently. 6.  Rear steps and decks were also handled the same way.  Again, pressure treated materials were purchased at a discount at the local lumber yard for a cut rate.  The old steps and deck were demolished by the customer and the new steps and deck went in quickly. 7.  Thebasement remodel did have to be sacrified -- but again, the customer was efficient.  Knowing she wanted a finished basement but understandable lacking the budget, she have thebasement waterproofed and framed. Again, she made use of labor while it was available.  She understood that the more you have done at any one time, the less each individual project will cost.  New wiring was also not in the budget, but that was our advice, when the budget is available, have theelectrical panel upgraded, and install theelectrical outlets, and the junction boxes for thelighting.  Then the basement will mostly be sheetrock and flooring. Applying these principles to siding, roofing and landscaping, you can see how a whole house can be remodeled on a budget.  What do we do? "Everything But the Roof!"  For your next project, or other budget saving ideas, please call us at (908) 380-0055. ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from B&L; Home Improvements, LLC. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

Hopefully you had a great Thanksgiving, and are now looking forward to the next holiday season.  I take this time of year to thank our customers for their patronage, and also to remind them to check their smoke and carbon monixide detectors. As the weather gets cold, carbon monoxide becomes more and more of an issue.  Carbon monoxide is colorlesss and odorless, and it is a killer.  Basically it starves the body of oxygen, thereby suffocating its victims.  It often happens as families are sleeping, warm and toasty with their heat on.  Because there are no warning signs, people often do not even wake up.  If they do, they are disoriented, often dizzy, or perhaps with a sore throat.  They assume they are coming down with a cold, take cold medicine and go back to sleep.  Unfortunately, some never awaken. I always encourage our customers to install Carbon Monoxide detectors near the furnace, and outside every bedroom.  The same locations as smoke detectors.  Today you can even get combination units even though they can be a little more expesive, they save lives. Again, have a great holiday season, and should you have any repair or construction needs or questions, do no hesitate to call us at (908) 380-0055.  Also check out or winter specials, especially our benefit for NCCA and Heritage Music School.  Join us on December 6 for the NCCA Holiday Bazaar at 315 W 7th Street. Bill ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from B&L; Home Improvements, LLC. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more