Wednesday, August 26, 2009

 

As Credit Dries Up, Homeowners Tackle Smaller Home Improvement Projects

Home Depot in Brooklyn (image by Jim in Times Square)


The New York Times wrote a piece this week about how homeowners, unable to run up credit or uncomfortable with beginning large scale renovations, are instead tackling the smaller projects that help them maintain their homes.

Here at cityhammer, we've heard just about the same type of story anecdotally, from both users of the site and from remodeling companies in the New York area.

From the New York Times:

In prerecession days, home improvement projects were usually grand, expensive overhauls of kitchens and bathrooms.

In this economy, home improvement projects consist of painting the walls and replacing the jiggly toilet handle.

It's nice that Wall Street seems to be turning around, but Main Street is still very much concerned about when the jobs may come back and this caution is manifesting itself in the types of home improvement projects that homeowners are choosing to initiate.

Another facet of this trend is the urge to do-it-yourself, as Home Depot and Lowes stock up their hardware and paint departments for those who want to save money by handling handyman tasks and painting projects on their own.

Lowe’s has added more staff to popular do-it-yourself departments, like paint and hardware. Home Depot also beefed up its paint department, adding new products like an all-in-one paint and primer, and a Rust-Oleum paint variety that promises to cover more surface area for the money.


Home improvement companies, however, are also offering specials, so before you bite off a project that may be more than you chew, be sure to visit cityhammer.com and consult a few of New York's top remodeling pro's.

Sources:

Home Improvement Chains Adjust (NYT)

Labels: , , ,


# posted by the master of ceremonies @ 6:57 AM 0 Comments

Monday, September 22, 2008

 

Tips for Hiring a Handyman in New York

Anyone remember Dwayne F. Schneider, TV's Favorite Handyman?

Let's keep it real...some of the smallest household improvement tasks can be the most difficult to find the right person for. In a metropolitan area the size of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, surely there must be thousands of handymen, right? Unfortunately, with that many possible candidates, you also increase the odds of coming across someone who is sloppy, too expensive, or even downright negligent.

This is one of the key reasons we developed cityhammer.com, New York's #1 Remodeling Directory to begin with!

Tips for Hiring a New York Handyman

Staff Writer Mitch Mayer has just posted the quintessential guide to finding, researching and hiring a handyman in the New York area in the Tips Section of cityhammer.com and it features answers to some of the most important questions you should ask before the work begins, including:

This is a great time of year to get those creaks, cracks and wobbles repaired, as you will be spending more and more time at home as the weather turns cold. Before you go looking for help around the house, make sure you bring yourself up to speed and, of course, check cityhammer.com for a highly rated handyman in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester, Jersey or Connecticut.

Find a Handyman in New York

I Want to Hire a New York Handyman...Now What?


Labels: , , ,


# posted by the master of ceremonies @ 6:56 AM 0 Comments

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]