Experts In Your Home Blog

If you’re familiar with the show Fixer Upper, then you’ve probably heard of shiplap. Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of Fixer Upper, have become household names and Joanna’s love of decorating with shiplap has made the material skyrocket in popularity.

Discover what shiplap is, if it’s a good upgrade, and whether or not it would fit the style of your home.

With real estate in the greater Chico and surrounding areas in limited supply, you may be finding that you’ve outgrown your home – but you can’t find an available or affordable home to upgrade to. This is a common scenario for many due to certain factors affecting the local real estate market, particularly an already tight supply along with higher demand after the tragic Camp Fire.

You could certainly stay in the real estate market and hope for the ideal house to come along (at a reasonable price) or maybe wait a year or two and see how things look. Another option is to consider adding onto your existing home.

It’s been a busy year at Experts In Your Home, and it’s hard to believe that 2019 is just around the corner. We offer tips regularly to help you as a homeowner, knowing that these tips may come in handy when you read them or in the future.

We’ve compiled a list of some of our most widely read blog posts throughout the past year, and we hope this helps you keep your home well maintained no matter the season. When it comes to home maintenance, Experts In Your Home knows we’re all better off when we pay attention and keep a close eye on things.

Here are some of our most widely read blog posts over the last year…

Two of the most popular locations to remodel in a home are the kitchen and bathroom. This is no surprise, since the kitchen is often the gathering place for friends and family and the bathroom is one of the most used rooms in the house. If you are considering remodeling to get your dream kitchen or bathroom, you'll want to read on!

Many Chico area residents have heard of the Grinch who stole Christmas. What they don't know is the identity of the Grinch who “stole” the tax credits on insulation, windows, doors, skylights and roofs.

Experts in Your Home doesn't know, either, though it's obviously someone affiliated with a high-level federal agency. We do know that this is one of those times where looking at the proverbial glass as half-full helps since 2017 tax credits are still available on some solar projects.

It's difficult to argue that saving some money is better than saving none at all. So allow the Experts to explain how the IRS-U.S. Department of Energy program works.

Maybe you've noticed this phenomenon in your home: each new maintenance or home improvement task triggers a mad dash to your favorite home improvement store.

Need to plug some cracks around the windows? Better buy some caulk and a gun. Want to wrap that leaky pipe? Now you need duct tape. Want to hang pictures? Now you have to buy hooks and picture wire.

Some of these mad dashes cannot be avoided. No homeowner can be expected to have every tool within arm's reach, and many people build a tool collection over time. But if you're planning ahead and want to fortify your collection while you're at the store anyway, Experts in your Home recommends that you put these 20 must-have tools on your shopping list:

You'll look in your closets and your basement, if you have one. You'll look in that spare room that already holds so much of that household category known as Stuff. But it just could be that the obvious place you're overlooking is your garage.

When you need room for storage, your garage may seem like an improbable place. After all, you barely have room to park a car or two in there.

But the next time you pull a car into your garage, stop and look through the windshield, over the hood and up to the walls. Now you'll see a prime opportunity for storage on those vast, open walls.

Some homeowners who undertake their first home remodeling project register the news better than others: Before work can begin, Experts in Your Home must secure a building permit on their behalf.

After months of planning, these homeowners are understandably eager for work to begin and view the permit process as an unnecessary delay – and sometimes even a form of governmental intrusion.

We have capably navigated the permit process hundreds of times in many different communities. So let us explain why a building permit is necessary, as well as when you might need one and when you might not. Once you're informed and know what to expect, you're bound to face your home remodeling project with greater confidence.

The last 30 days of the year seem to sneak up on most everyone, especially if they're trying to squeeze in a home remodeling project before the holidays – and maybe guests – arrive.

Make your New Year's resolution early this year by resolving to get a jump start on a project that is sure to imbue your home with added holiday spirit. Just as there are 12 days of Christmas, there are 12 projects in particular that Experts in Your Home knows can wrap up a home for the holidays better than a festive red bow and ribbon. By category, they include:

The neighbors knew something was up; they just didn't know why so many contractors were visiting Nancy and Jim's home and spending so much time surveying the backyard.

In this close-knit (some would say nosy) community, the neighbors wasted no time finding out: Nancy and Jim were interested in building a full-glass sunroom addition on the rear of their traditional saltbox colonial, complete with a six-seat hot tub.

The neighbors – on either side and to the rear of Nancy and Jim's house – were quick to render their opinion: Nancy and Jim would only waste their hard-earned money on such an extravagance. But with every well-intentioned objection Nancy and Jim heard, they became more convinced than ever that the many benefits outweighed the one issue they hadn't yet reconciled: the cost of the project.

If you're considering building a sunroom – either to your current home or as part of a new construction project – it might help to understand how Nancy and Jim weighed the benefits: