Home Renovation Contractors using Social Media?

We live in a time where research is as simple as “Googling.”  Quite literally, if you have a questions or you are researching a big project or investment, Google.com is your friend!  Let’s say you are in the process of a home renovation, where would you start?  I recommend you use the tools that are available and online. Why not? Do you remember the days when research started with the listings in the Yellow pages, perhaps many phone calls and definitively checking with your friends for recommendations or referrals?

Let’s look at this from the perspective of the contractor you will be hiring. According to Mobile Marketer, 68% of homeowners believe part of their house is in need of renovation. If you were a contractor, wouldn’t you want a piece of that business? If you are one of those homeowners, what is your reaction when you don’t find a contractor on Angie’s list, in the Houzz “Pro” listings or even in Google Maps? I would be concerned. If you are researching who to use for your major project or renovation, those things need to be on your checklist. As a home owner doing a renovation or a property owner who is looking to resell your upgraded location, what factors do you take into account?

Below is a recommended starter “checklist” of things to consider when researching contractors:

• Define the scope of your project and thus the specialty contractor you need (example: Kitchen renovation)
• Check with friends who have recently done a similar project
• Google the names of contractors you received
• Check Houzz “Pro” listings – find success stories
• Consult Home Advisors – does the contractor have a listing?
• Need more information – consider joining Angie’s list (there may be fees)
• In any case where Ratings & Reviews are offered, start with contractors who have the most and the highest ratings!

If I may, allow me to recommend perhaps the easiest mobile application to use – and it is free! Houzz.com, which is available online as well as a mobile app, is the quickest and easiest way to narrow down your options. With over 800K specialists in their network, they have developed some tools to help you hone in on a short list. Let’s say you are in the market for a Kitchen Renovation Contractor. Simply log into the Houzz application and go to the Pros listings. Next select your city and state as well as the distance you want to search (example: within 25 miles).Then, I recommend you select the “most reviews” option within “sort by.” The contractors meeting your criteria will naturally float to the top of your search results.  You are ready to start your research!!

Houzz.com Pro Listing – narrow by reviews

In summary, with all of the available online tools – most of which are free, why spend the time otherwise?  To me, any contractor who is not in the online game is at the risk of not being noticed. What would cause you to spend the additional time and effort to find them otherwise?

Quick update on the lake house remodel – my husband is hard at work building out the “bunk house.” My plan is to feature the progress pictures next time!  Meanwhile, many of you have asked to see pictures of the house itself. Therefore, I am including the slideshow of the house (interior and exterior) when we bought it. Enjoy the tour and let me know your thoughts and ideas about our “Fixer Upper” in the comments below! Click to see – Lake House Photos

How do you find a contractor for your home improvement project?

Google Map of Spicewood and Pedernales River.

As our renovation project continued, Central Texas got hit for the second time this year with very severe rainstorms.  Many areas including ours were under flash flood warnings for 2-3 days last week. Cities such as San Marcos made national news while flooding caused unusually heavy traffic and some major road closures.  The good news for us is that all the water caused area lakes and rivers to rise without too much disruption. Specifically, we live in Spicewood, Texas on the Pedernales River which feeds into the Colorado River. That flows into Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. (See the Google Map of the area). For those of you who are avid HGTV followers, we live approximately 128 miles southwest of Waco, Texas which is home to “Fixer Uppers” Chip & Joanna Gaines!

While weather didn’t cause any delays in our renovation projects, (see updates below) we continued planning for our next phase which will include hiring contractors. Have you ever tried to hire a home renovation contractor in your area? The task can be daunting!! Fortunately for the home improvement and renovation industry, there are many social media tools available online that provide handy assistance:

• Contractor locator & matching services
• Ratings & Reviews done by consumers
• DIY (Do it yourself) instructional videos
• Mobile apps that help you visualize paint on your walls

Online Lists – Perhaps the longest standing and most popular place to look for contractors in your area is Angie’s List. Angie Hicks was the pioneer of this service in 1995 when she had her own challenges with finding a local contractor to work on her house.  What started as a simple list of contractors along with “Ratings & Reviews” submitted by consumers of their services has grown into an enterprise of services listed as featured on their website:

• Access to great local reviews on AngiesList.com
• Live support through our call center
• Award-winning Angie’s List magazine
• Access to our Complaint Resolution Team
• Discounts from highly rated service companies

Contractor matching services – there are a variety of online “matching” services where you can enter as little information as your zip code and the type of services you need and the site does the rest. Major players in the online industry have picked up on a growing trend and are starting to offer services “for sale” much like they do products.  Amazon.com is branching into this area as Amazon Home Services where shoppers can browse by service categories or search by their specific needs.  Likewise, Google just announced (2015) Google Home Services which leverages their popular “Ad words” and “Google My Business” locator capabilities. Fundamentally, if a contractor signs up for the service and you search in the Google Search Box, the results that are specific to your location will be boosted to the top of your search results.

Good luck as you search for the perfect contractor to assess your project requirements and provide you with an estimate for your job! Meanwhile, let’s check in on our home renovation project – the lake house! My husband is proud to say the first room is complete! In his words, if he could talk to Chip  & Joanna himself he would say “you make it look so easy!”  His first room took a little under four weeks.  I say “job well done” as he not only designed the space but built it himself!  I helped pick out the materials. Check out the photos below.  Feel free to give us your feedback or tell us about your home renovation project in the comments box.

One of the key decisions to be made was “where to get the reclaimed wood?” We will be incorporating this into various rooms in the house. We decided to use the weathered fence from our backyard, which in turn is being replaced with new slats, one at a time as we use the old ones.

Old weathered fence in our backyard.

Next we determined what kind of look we wanted. We experimented with several versions of “whitewashing” and ultimately decided we liked the natural look of the wood “as-is!”

Various “whitewashing” options.

The final product! A laundry room with tile back splash, corrugated metal and reclaimed wood walls and faux wood tile floors.

Finished Laundry Room

Social Media Tools for organizing your home renovation ideas

During a recent purchase of a “fixer upper,” we quickly found ourselves flooded with excitement and ideas about what we wanted to plan for our first home renovation project. While friends viewed photos of our new lake house and exclaimed “that house doesn’t need renovation,” we were formulating our plans. Due to the plethora of online tools, we were able to quickly put some strategies in place for finding, organizing, sharing and collaborating on ideas that support our joint vision. We found two social media tools that matched our needs and helped us organize our home renovation ideas. If you are embarking on a similar journey, start by exploring Pinterest and Houzz both which are described in further detail below.

Pinterest – this handy online tool offers anyone who is in creation mode to find, view and “pin” photos to various boards that carry the user’s personal titles and descriptions.  A variety of categories are available to change the view while browsing the photo library. Photos and pins are readily grouped under headings like:

• Popular
• Everything
• Animals and pets
• DIY and crafts
• Home Decor

Pinterest viewed on iPad Mini. User has searched on terms “lakehouse decor.”

This tool is readily available on desktop as well as mobile devices. Regardless of how you access it, this tool continues to evolve and offer you the ability to search on your own terms. In the example where we typed in “lakehouse decor”  you can see that a variety of related search term buttons appear below the search bar, allowing the user to further refine their search to narrow results. Additionally, Pinterest has incorporated “buyable pins” which can also be seen in the example screen shot. These pins, available to iPhone and iPad users, are set up so purchases can happen directly from Pinterest without having to leave the application!

Houzz – Also available as a desktop or mobile version, this organization tool caters specifically to the home owner who is gathering ideas around new home decor or renovation projects. Categories group photos and pins under topics like:

• Kitchen
• Bath
• Outdoor
• Lighting
• Decor

Houzz viewed on iPad Mini. User has selected the category “Kitchen.”

Any home owner who is embarking on a renovation project can find this organization tool handy for idea formulation, sharing and various additional features.  Houzz also offers the user the ability to shop for featured products, search for a professional in their area using location information, share personal stories about their projects, and ask for advice by posting questions.  All of these time saving features support the user within the application itself, offering an additional layer of organization that has a “one stop shop” look and feel.

Regardless of how you  classify your  project – new home, renovation, “fixer upper,” DIY (do it yourself), both of these tools offer what you will need to organize your vision and allow you to share it with others. While there are some overlapping features in the “photo” libraries, each offers unique content and convenient ways to browse and find what you need to visualize your final goal.  We highly recommend downloading both of the mobile apps today and test drive for yourself. They are both available as FREE downloads in the mobile stores. Let us know what you discover in the comments below and feel free to share our blog with others!