Choosing to renovate your dwelling with synthetic stucco can be an adventure - you're investing thousands of dollars in fixing up your residential home in the hope of experiencing increased resale value, lowered energy bills and being able to design your residence as you see fit. Once financing has been set up, the prevalent issue most home owners face is finding the right EIFS installer. How do you check references? How can you tell if they're telling the truth? How can you be sure that all the proper layers are included to make sure that your gorgeous new wall lasts as long as physically possible? Here are 3 critical mistakes to keep away from, that most owners make. 1. Not acquiring enough quotations There should be plenty of stucco applicators to contact in each city, and getting a quotation typically costs nothing. Getting various quotes helps to ensure that you see a wide range of skilled tradesmen and that you get to talk to several installers. Ask questions such as "Which EIFS manufacturer do you use?" "Will you be applying materials per the manufacturer's detailed instructions and only using their materials?" "What kind of warranty do you offer?" "Can I get the location of previous projects and the owner's phone number?". It's important to qualify the contractor and not just award the contract to the first contractor who pressures you into signing. Make them aware when you first call them that you will be soliciting multiple quotes and tell them at the start of your first encounter that you will not be awarding the contract right now - but have a date set by which you will. 2. Not doing your own homework You are (hopefully) hiring a expert to do an renovation on your property (your most valuable asset) - but don't rely on them to make all the choices for you and accept them blindly. They will never be as interested in the permanent sustainability of your property as you are, and several will make short-sighted choices that will impact you financially over the longterm. Whenever you run across items which pique your curiosity, or you think you may need to find more facts about, go looking online, seek a 3rd party, or contact whichever provider your contractor will getting his materials from. The suppliers are just as concerned as you are about having a correct job carried out, so that their materials aren't the culprit when/if something goes bad. 3. Negotiating the quote down too low Receiving multiple quotes puts you in the power seat in terms of negotiation, but as a great (albeit fictional) man once said - "with great power comes great responsibility". And now, the responsibility is for yourself. Applicators are so used to dealing with household owners who push the price too low - to the point that their competition will start replacing materials or leaving off portions of the work, without telling the house owners. They realize that they are competing against other contractors who are cutting corners, and they will start to cut corners themselves. EIFS is a sophisticated wall cladding, with much of it hidden beneath the last coating. By leaving off crucial elements just like the weather barrier, or using anchoring screws on the foam instead of cement adhesive, the applicator can reduce his costs, passing the cost savings along to you and still paying himself the exact same. He will walk away with a clean conscience at the end of the day because the system he installed has been installed for decades, albeit with unfortunate results. What many of these installers countinue to install (and will substitute without your knowing when the price is negotiated too low) has caused moisture to become caught and mould issues for decades, caused thousands of law suits and millions of dollars of damage - as such it (the screw-fasteners) is no longer suggested on homes. Modern synthetic stucco is installed with a trowel-applied weather barrier over substrates like plyboard (that are susceptible to mold), and adhesive applied in vertical channels, allowing for the escape of any moisture that gets behind the system. In the end, you will be better off if you get 3-4 prices from multiple applicators, do plenty of research into subjects you may have concerns about, and not try to pay the absolute lowest price. Like contrasting 2 used cars of the same year/make/model and different prices, the lower price you pay for one has an associated lower value and probable issues to it, whether you are aware that they are there or not.
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Certain problems seem to creep up with every home owner who solicits quotes for a stucco contractor. Find out how to avoid their problems and make your home renovation a success.
Jay Ditrich works for TorontoStucco.com to get multiple quotes from stucco contractors for property owners looking to have their home renovated with Exterior Insulated Finish Systems.
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