Measure twice, cut once

Here is great advice for everyone - whether you are an experienced professional, a do-it-yourselfer, or a complete novice. When working around the home, always, always, always double-check so you don't make a mistake. This proverb, obviously applies to carpentry when cutting a piece of wood - if you measure wrong, you are going to have to cut it again. In fact, even experienced professionals can and do make mistakes. I recently looked at a project (in East Hanover) for one of our commercial customers - they wanted to build a wall to separate a large office into two offices. I went and measured the distance between the walls, but I was in a hurry to get to the next appointment and I neglected to actually measure the ceiling height, assuming it was a standard 8 feet. Well after the materials were delivered (from Morristown) and the craftsman arrived to complete the project, he realized that the ceilings were more than 8 feet and we needed to exchange the materials - an unnecessary waste of time and money that could have been avoided quite simply!

So, that is the moral of the story - if you follow the simple rule of measure twice, cut once, you can save yourself a lot of time and money. And, it applies to pretty much any home improvement project you may undertake. In terms of overall home improvement projects, measuring twice means making sure that you have done proper planning before you take action and spend money, hire help (handymen, carpenters, general contractors, painters), or purchase materials.

When taking care of your handyman projects (honey-do list, to-do list, small jobs), make a list and include important details (like what materials you may need). Whether you are hiring a professional handyman service or tackling it yourself, it is more effective to know exactly what needs to be done and what is needed to do it. Having a list will save you money in multiple visits from your handyman service and will save you time in trips to the home improvement store if you are doing the work yourself.

If you are considering a larger remodel project (bathroom remodel, kitchen remodel, basement remodel), have a plan. Research what similar remodels cost in your area and know what you can afford to spend, think about how you want the space to look when it is completed, look around for products that you might use in your remodel, write down what is important to you from your contractor, identify the problems that are already in place (e.g. bathroom tiles are falling off the wall) and those that might come up with your remodel (e.g. there is damage to the studs behind the walls).

Hopefully, I've given you a lot to think about as your undertake your home repairs and improvement projects. But, as I learned the hard way this week, don't forget to follow the literal advice - really measure twice so you only have to cut once!