Fall 2016 Home Improvement Magazine

Coping with home improvement nightmares

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[September 28, 2016]  A money pit almost seems like a living creature with an adverse will, trying to swallow you up mentally, emotionally and economically.

It usually starts out innocently enough. You naively begin what seems like a simple enough project, and soon discover that this single endeavor leads to another, and another and another until, at least emotionally, it seems like you would be better off tearing the whole house down and starting all over again.

The money pit conquers you mentally because you run out of ideas of how to stay ahead of the problems. It conquers you emotionally because it zaps you and steals all of your positive emotional energy. And of course, it conquers you economically when it takes more money to remediate each and every issue than you desire, and maybe more money than the house may be worth.

Money pits should be avoided. But if you are already swallowed up and entrapped in a money pit, you need some sound advice of how to stop the avalanche of problems and regain control of your house and your life.

In this issue of Home Improvement, we attempt to give you back control of the home improvement process with some sound advice from excellent sources. We present information on some materials which might be best; how to deal with contractors; how to do it yourself; how to avoid problems with the law while working on your house; and even expert information on how to keep your relationship together while doing home improvement projects.

The story of success with a money pit comes when you find yourself at the bottom of the pit in despair, and all of a sudden a friend jumps in and now there are two of you down there in the dark. When you ask the friend why he did such a stupid thing, he replies, “Well, I’ve been down here before and I know the way out. Follow me!”

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Read all the articles in our new
Fall 2016 Home Improvement Magazine

Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES
Page
Coping with home improvement nightmares 4
Renovations:  Communications with your contractor 5
Keeping the project within the budget 7
Renovating the master bathroom 10
10 DIY Projects to tame the money-pit
By Mr. Know It All
13
Is the internet really a good resource for home fist-it information? 18
Stayin' out of trouble with the law! 21
Horror stories from the building inspector 24
Metal roofing:  Are there benefits? 26
How to stay married while doing a major renovation 30

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