After working on an upcoming article about remodeling trends in 2011, it became obvious to me that it was a good time to recommend Sarah Susanka's books again.

Sarah is an architect and a best selling author for the " Not So Big" books. She has led the movement away from over sized homes and remodels for years.

Both of these books are excellent sources of inspiration for your future remodeling or building desires.

Sarah's viewpoint is in perfect alignment with the perspective that works for today's homeowner needs and budget. Homeowners that we have worked with that have embraced this idea of building better rather than bigger have continued to enjoy success in their remodeling efforts.

If you are planning a remodel, you have no doubt heard horror stories, and endless advice on how to proceed with your project. Many of the horror stories start with do it yourself remodeling projects, unfortunately many more of the disasters started with poor advice on how to pick a remodeler.

All it takes for some people to call themselves a remodeler is a truck and a few tools in metro Phoenix and it's surrounding communities of Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Glendale and Mesa. In today's economy many people who have had their previous trade or profession fail them have moved into remodeling. Due to their shortage of work many skilled craftsmen who would normally specialize in one trade such as tile work plumbing, carpentry or painting are enlarging their scope of work to include many skills that they have only marginal talents. Many talented craftsmen who are no longer employed are venturing out looking for work with no business or estimating skills at all.

All of these things are making the usual hard job of deciding who to use on your remodel project so much harder.

Most homeowners have limited experience with construction and remodeling. They start out looking for  information on how to be successful avoiding the usual pitfalls of home remodeling.  Unfortunately many of the most common bits of advice sound reasonable as they lead you to the most common mistakes. You can be sure that most of the homeowners with horror stories followed the same well meaning misconceptions that you may have heard.

Most of these homeowners may have invited the perfect remodeling contractor into their home to discuss their project, only to reject them because of of one of these urban myth misconceptions.

I hope the following links to information that more accurately describes how to recognize the best remodeler for your upcoming project. If you have any questions fee free to contact me.

“You should always get three bids and examine the price of every line item.”

“Going with a low price saves you money!”

“If the Better Business Bureau (BBB) doesn’t have any complaints against the contractor, they are probably a safe bet.”

“I should buy the materials myself to save money.”

“If a contractor has years of experience, he or she must be good!”

“The term “fully-insured” must mean that the contractor carries all of the necessary insurance to provide me with adequate protection.”