Plumbers Jacksonville FL – Taking the Stress Out of Remodeling Your Kitchen

By Billy Aldridge

With the economy still depressed and with it the real estate market, many people are choosing to improve their existing homes instead of jumping ship.  With that in mind, one of the best ways to enhance the enjoyment of your existing home is to remodel your kitchen.  When it comes to designing a new kitchen, the project can either be a pleasure, or it can be a headache, depending on how well the makeover is planned beforehand.  So before you start pulling down cabinets and replacing appliances and flooring, you will want to lay out a plan that both improves the functionality of your kitchen, as well as working within your budget.

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Inevitably you will want to meet with a designer and installer, as well as a plumber and an electrician.  Before you do that however, you need to make some decisions on how much you have to spend on the project, as well as where your priorities lie.  Deciding on such things as appliances, fixtures, cabinets, tiles and paint used to mean multiple trips to Home Depot or Lowes, along with other big box stores. With the advent of tablet PCs and smartphones, there are now apps that not only let your fingers do the walking when it comes to selecting hardware, décor and color schemes, but there are even apps that let you move these elements around your virtual kitchen to see what the final product will look like.

Architectural Digest has a free app called Amazing Kitchens that feature a selection of stunning kitchens that is available for iPhone, iPod and iPad.  The app is also packed with useful and intuitive tools that help make kitchen design a snap.

If Android is your ios of choice, no worry, since there are plenty of apps available.  One of the best resources is Google Play, where you will find Kitchen Cabinets and Designs, a free app that provides such things as kitchen design ideas, ideas for kitchen cabinets and videos of selected kitchens.  

If you haven’t made the switch to mobile computingyet, there are plenty of software packages available for PCs and laptops. Check out  http://kitchen-design-software-review.toptenreviews.com/  which is a site that is not only dedicated to rating the best kitchen design software, but they also break down each package’s features to help you choose the package that’s right for you.

Once you have determined the layout then it’s time to start comparison shopping for major appliances and fixtures.  The Internet is a great way to accomplish this task as well.  Everything from big box stores to Amazon and Even EBay are right at your fingertips.  Consumer reports and other review sites are a great way to compare name brands and get a bead on such things as energy efficiency and reliability. 

If you are remodeling on a budget, the Internet can be your best friend.  Comparison shopping aside, there are also thousands of blogs and videos out there that show you how to save money without scrimping on quality.  Speaking of blogs, you might like to check out one of my previous blogs, http://aldridgesonsplumbing.blogspot.com/2012/07/kitchen-remodeling-jacksonville-4-tips.html which contains 4 tips that can save you money when remodeling a kitchen.

Time to Bring in the Professionals

Once you have done your homework, now it is time to bring in the pros.  Depending upon the complexity of the project, you may need to work with several, including a designer, a cabinet installer, a flooring company, a plumber, an electrician and a carpenter.  If you already have an idea of what you have in mind, this not only makes everyone’s job that much easier, but it can save you real money.  If you have no clue, this leaves it up to the designer to “suggest” a plan of action that may or may not fit your budget.  So planning is essential to staying on budget.

Speaking of planning, you will also need to plan for the fact that your kitchen could be out of commission for up to a month while the teardown and redo is accomplished. This usually entails a lot of take-out food and restaurant meals that you need to budget for as well while the work is underway.  The upside is that once the job is done, you will not only get years of enjoyment from your new kitchen, but it will also add value to your home. 

So if you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen any time in the near future, remember that the key to staying on budget and eliminating much of the stress that any renovation causes is to “Plan the work and work the plan.”

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge & Sons Plumbing, a family owned and operated commercial and residential plumbing company based in Jacksonville, FL.  See Billy’s helpful how-to videos at http://plumbers-jacksonvile-fl.com

Weed ‘Em and Reap – How to find a Plumber You Can Trust

By Billy Aldridge

Finding a competent local plumber is a lot like gardening.  You have to know how to weed out the bad from the good.   While no one wants to trust their home to an unqualified, or worse yet, unlicensed plumber, there are a few things that homeowners need to ask before they let anyone start messing around with their pipes.

1.      Nowadays, you don’t have to take any contractor’s word that they are honest, courteous and prompt.  With the availability of the Internet, researching a local business couldn't be easier.  Start by visiting a plumbers website and look for such things as how long they have been in business, if they have any testimonials, and what their hours of operation are.  You can also go to such sites as LinkedIn, Merchant Circle and Google Local to find if any positive and/or negative reviews have been posted.  Last but not least, read their blog, if they have one.  This is one of the best ways to get to know the people behind the advertisement. 

2.      Ask for their business license, contractor’s credentials, and proof of insurance.  The last thing you want is to have some damage done to your home during the repair only to find out after the fact that the contractor was either not insured, or under insured.  If you find that they are missing any of the three, keep looking. 

3.      When asking for a quote, make sure it is in writing and ascertain the approximate length of time the job is going to take, along with the materials that will b e supplied by the contractor.  The last thing you want to be hit with is a bill after the fact for materials that you assumed were to be supplied by the contractor.

4.        Also find out if any permits need to be pulled or inspections are going to be required before during or after the work is completed.   This could cost you time off from work if the job is inside and you need to be there to let the inspector into your home.  The last thing you want is to be informed of this after the fact.  Find out what time the repair crew is going to show up and how long the repair is going to take so you can plan your day.

5.       Talk to the contractor to find out if their crew is going to clean up after the repair is complete, or if they plan on leaving that detail up to you.  Ask for and check out their references. Specifically ask the people who have had first hand experience with a contractor what their impressions were of the people assigned to perform the repair.  Don’t assume that the well-dressed, soft spoken young man who comes to give you a quote is going to be the same person that is going to do the work.  You could be in for a rude awakening, literally.

6.       Once you decide to work with a contractor, you then need to see a contract that defines the job in its entirety.   If there is anything in the contract that makes you feel ill at ease, do not sign it until you have complete confidence in the people with whom you are dealing.

When it comes to plumbing repair, the last thing you want to do is repair the repair, or worse ye, have your home damaged by an unskilled or unlicensed plumber.  As in the garden, if you always take the time to make sure you are working with good seeds, then you won't be forced to spend your time pulling weeds.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge & Sons Plumbing, a family owned and operated commercial and residential plumbing contractor based in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit their http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com website for more blogs and helpful how-to videos that are designed to save you money and help your plumbing last longer.

Plumbers Jacksonville FL: Could your plumbing be hiding a disaster movie looking for a place to happen?

By Billy Aldridge

What do the words Plumbing Disaster bring to mind?  Water shooting twenty feet high in the front yard from a broken pipe?  Opening the front door only to have a foot of water come rolling out onto your shoes?  The bathroom toilet working in reverse to transport raw sewage into your house instead of taking it out?  All these crisis and more happen every day to good people from coast to coast.  I know this due to the fact that I am the guy hired to slay the beast. While hidden flaws and sudden plumbing failures can occur, more often than not the vast majority of impending disasters can be prevented by installing and maintaining quality plumbing fixtures, as well as heeding the subtle signs that a disaster is imminent.  So before your life turns into a disaster movie, here are some things you need to be made aware.

1.      Old pipes, leaking pipes or water stains where the source can’t be readily identified.

If your house is more than thirty years old, chances are that some of the pipes behind the walls and in the ground are beginning to be effected by hard water common to big cities.  The minerals in the water can cause the pipes to both corrode and/or clog.  Scale is the term for concretions that hamper the smooth working of plumbing fixtures and appliances.  Scale not only reduces water flow, but it can also cause back pressure to build up.  This back pressure can work away at any weakness in the pipes and eventually lead to sudden failure.  If you ever notice a water stain that can’t easily be tracked to its source, this is the time to call in a plumber before the drip, drip, drip turns into a torrent that will cost you far more than having a few pipes replaced.

2.      Unpleasant odors that Fabreeze can’t cover.

      Bad smells can be another telltale symptom of a hidden leak or backup.  Now I’m not talking about an odor that emanates from the garbage disposal.  The remedy for this problem can be found on the video below.  What I’m talking about is the “My God, what is that smell?” that suddenly infiltrates its way into your kitchen or bathroom when no one is using the facilities.  Many times hidden leaks can cause mold to take hold in the walls, or raw sewage from a cracked pipe can find its way into the crevices behind the sheet rock.  Either of these can create an unpleasant odor that while disconcerting, is no cause to panic.  Most experienced plumbers will be able to quickly and efficiently solve the mystery and fix the problem before the leak causes more serious damage.

3.      Low pressure when you turn on the tap.

Low pressure isn’t always a warning sign.  Some neighborhoods simply have persistently low pressure.  This can be solved with the addition of a booster pump.  However, if your water pressure over the past few weeks or months has suddenly dropped without rhyme or reason, this could be a horse of a different color altogether.

Low pressure can be caused by a number of reasons: the age of your system, the difference in elevation between your fixtures and the water main, the diameter of your pipes (if too small, the demand of water cannot be met by the size of your pipes), or scale deposits inside your pipes.  Or it can be caused by a hidden leak.

4.      Odd noises behind the wall that occur when a toilet is flushed or a faucet is run.

That "blub blub" or "glug glug" noise you hear from a drain might mean that there is a problem with the drain system itself, such as a partial drain blockage, a drain venting problem, or even a failing septic system.  If a gurgling sound is heard at a sink or shower drain only when a nearby toilet is flushed, or at a sink or shower when a nearby tub is draining, we'd suspect that the building drain-vent system is inadequate. Plumbing fixtures originally installed with no vent connection to which a local plumbing vent was later installed to permit air to enter the plumbing line as needed, can stick causing a gurgling noise.  A plumbing drain line can become partially blocked causing both a noise as well as being slow to drain.  Any sound out of the ordinary from your plumbing or behind the wall could well be an omen of worst to come should you neglect to locate and correct the problem.

5.      A soft spot on the lawn that comes and goes.

Leaking septic systems, seeping drain pipes, cracked water mains and buried plumbing can manifest themselves by unexplained soft or wet spots in the yard or adjacent to sidewalks or driveways.  While subtle at first, and only intermittent at times, these are the early warning signs of a real disaster, the kind that can cause water to shoot two stories high and require a front end loader to dig up your yard to correct. 

While all of the above mentioned dilemmas can easily be rectified before they cause serious damage, the most important thing is early detection.  I can’t tell you how many times I have taken the time to speak with a homeowner after repairing serious damage to their home caused by a leak of epic proportions, only to find out that they had ignored the warning signs of impending disaster.  I usually tell them right then and there that the next time they either see or hear anything out of the ordinary with their plumbing, they need to call us right away.   The best cure for disaster is to avoid one whenever possible.

Billy Aldridge is one of the doctors of plumbology at Aldridge & Sons Plumbing, a family owned and operated commercial and residential plumber located in Jacksonville, Florida.  Visit their website for more helpful hints and how-to videos at http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com