Like you, I’m always looking for a way to save money on updating and maintaining my home, while protecting my investment. My wife and I own a wonderful adobe on the east side of Santa Fe which we bought in 2000. The house was actually built in 1980, so when we moved in it was already 20 years old. Like so many of you, I’ve had my share of repairs and headaches. Recently thinking about our own home maintenance, brought me to the conclusion that we would have been wise to create a timeline for maintenance and repairs when we moved in, rather than now fifteen more years down the road. By keeping good records of my repairs, it may help when you have a nice notebook of your improvements with names of contacts when it comes time to sell. Perhaps sharing this exercise will give you a head start on your own home maintenance timeline and allow me to pass along some great recommendations to you. Many of the vendors I’ve used on my own home are the same companies I have passed along when you asked for referrals.
Our first project was landscaping. We really wanted a water feature in our front patio. So we found the perfect rock at Santa Fe Stone Co. (santafestone.com). Picking the right stone was the easy part. Getting it delivered was the trick.
Pueblo style homes come with flat roofs and they all eventually leak. When ours did, we decided to use BAC roofing(bacenterprises.com). They are more expensive, but you only have to do it once. This past summer we have continued replacing windows. Originally our home had wooden (inside and out) Andersen windows; in the end, we used Renewal by Andersen(renewalbyandersen.com). So far we have replaced 30 windows with another 17 to go. Please keep sending me those referrals so I can finish the job! This spring we have our eye on new stucco outside and I am presently interviewing plasterers. Our ultimate goal is redoing the kitchen. We have a couple of resources in the mix right now and I am looking forward to sitting back when it is complete. Well, at least until the next project appears. We have learned about and updated everything from interior plaster and paint to instant hot water heating to refinishing brick floors to hanging flat screen TV’s on adobe walls. When you take pride in the home you own there are always improvements to be made. Check out my webpage for more home improvement resources (www.truheo.com/vendor.htm).
And as always, you can give me a call and we can have cup on it.
