Happy Holidays from Home Equity Builders, Inc.

Home Equity Builders would like to wish you and yours a blessed holiday season and peaceful New Year. We appreciate your continued loyalty.

"Cash for Caulkers"

If you have been listening to the news at all lately, you may have been hearing about President Obama talking about his Homestar program (otherwise known as "Cash for Caulkers"). For those of you who haven't heard about this, let us explain.

Mr. Obama was recently at a Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia to talk about this program. The basic idea of this program is to help you make your home energy efficient. The program's goal is to offer incentives for things like winterization to new doors and windows, and appliances including refrigerators, washers and air conditioning units. The program may offer a 50% rebate on the cost of the equipment as well as the installation, up to $12,000 per household. In addition to the rebate, installing energy efficient appliances or windows and doors could end up saving homeowners up to 20% on their energy bills.

Home Equity Builders can help you with your energy saving needs. We can install new doors and windows for you, or help you replace your old appliances with new energy saving versions. Give us a call today and start lowering your energy bills.

Remodel your home

With the current state of the housing market, many Americans are finding they must stay in their homes for longer than originally planned. Add to that the uncertain state of banks and the stock market, and what is a homeowner to do? The answer is to invest in your home to make it work for you and your family for the long term.

Chances are, barring a dramatic life change, you will be in your home for upwards of 5 or 10 years. Gone are the days of the nomadic lifestyle that many Americans have grown accustomed to. We are seeing a move back to the time when kids grew up from childhood to college in the same home. If a family needed more room, they would add onto their home rather than move into a larger house. In those days a family would rather invest in the upkeep of their home to reap the benefits later in life.

Home ownership is and will remain the best investment one can make. Improvements you do now will pay for themselves in 3 to 5 years with equity in your home. Why not invest in your home to make it everything you want for now and the future?

Home Equity Builders can update your kitchen or bathroom, or build the additional living space your growing family needs. As a charter member of NARI, you can rest assured that Home Equity Builders (www.hebinc.com) will provide you with a quality project from start to finish. HEB’s president, Jeff Rainey, is proud to use the best people and the best products to ensure your home is functional and gains value for years to come at a fair and affordable price.

Home Equity Builders' senior designer, Donna West,will work with you to design your new kitchen and bathroom to be both beautiful and functional for the way you live. Her talents are also available to help you decorate your home with new paint selections, space planning and accessory placement. It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint and rearranging furniture can do! Turn your basement into a luxury suite that you can be proud to show off. Do you have a room that just doesn’t feel right? Donna can make any space feel welcoming and balanced.

Home Equity Builders has talented staff that can provide you with:
· Interior renovations
· Additions
· Kitchen and bath remodeling
· Furniture placement
· Paint selections
· Color coordination
· Custom tile work
· New floor coverings
· Replacement windows
· Decks
· Elevators
· Mother-in-law suites
· Master suites
· Handyman services
· Handicap accessibility
· Custom and semi-custom cabinetry
· Space planning
· Interior design services

No matter the project, large or small, Home Equity Builders is the only place you need to call.

Happy Thanksgiving from Home Equity Builders

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Home Equity Builders.

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Home Equity Builders Handyman

THE HANDYMAN SERVICE

Nothern Virginia's finest remodeler is a convenient choice for all your home maintenance needs!

Welcome to Home Equity Builders' Handyman Services, your single-source solution for home maintenance from a company you trust. We are proud to provide Northern Virginia's most comprehensive and unique handyman services to our clients.

We strive to make maintaining your home simple, easy and cost effective. One phone call or email is all it takes to maintain the beauty of your greatest investment. Free up your weekend and let us get your home into showroom quality.

Regardless of the job size, HEB makes home repair simpler, more convenient and more reliable than ever before.

We offer two programs:

1. Our Traditional handyman services allows you to make one call or email for virtually all your home repair or maintenance needs. Simply call or email us to schedule to work. Work is done on an hourly basis for a pre-specified hourly rate plus materials with a two hour minimum.
   
   
2. Our ProActive handyman service allows our expert staff to manage all your home maintenance needs. First, we conduct a comprehensive inspection of your home. Then we meet with you to discuss your maintenance preferences. Next, based on this information, we prepare a customized maintenance schedule for your home. We then contact you accordingly to schedule the work based on the schedule. With the ProActive program overseeing your home preventative maintenance program, your home will receive the quality attention it needs to stay in its best condition. It will also prevent costly epairs that result from lack of care.

It’s that easy. Simply select which service fits your need and contact us. HEB’s professionalism, experience and quality staff guarantees that you’ll get reliable service, top quality work and the best people for the job - without the annoyance of endless phone calls and bid shopping.

Handyman services include, but are not limited to:

• Carpentry
• Doors
• Drywall repair
• Chair rails
• Closet Systems
• Electrical
• Exterior trim
• Faucets
• Home inspections
• Lighting
• Lock sets
• Mantels
• Moldings
• Painting
• Patios
• Plumbing
• Tile work
• Vent & chimney cleaning
• Windows
• Wallpapering
• And much more!

What is KMCA?

The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) is an organization for kitchen, bath and other residential cabinet manufacturers. Founded in 1955, as a voluntary, non-profit trade association, KCMA was created to set the standard for cabinet manufacturers and their products.

KCMA (www.kcma.org) states this about their certification program. "The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association Certification Program assures the specifier or user of kitchen cabinets and bath vanities that the cabinet bearing the blue and white seal complies with the rigorous standards set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and sponsored by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA)."

Cabinets go through rigorous testing before meeting receiving the KCMA's certification. These are just some of their requirements.

• All floor cabinets must have a recessed toe space of at least two inches deep and three inches high.
• Face frames must provide rigid construction.
• All wood parts must have 10 percent or less moisture content at time of fabrication.
• All materials must be constructed of materials suitable for a kitchen and bathroom environment.

The KCMA also performs five structural tests to verify the cabinets structural integrity. The also test doors and drawers for functionality, as well as the finish durability. For peace of mind, when buying a cabinet you want to look for this seal:

The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association created the Environmental Stewardship Program. Their site says this about the program: " In 2006, the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) created the Environmental Stewardship Program to help cabinet manufacturers demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability and help consumers easily identify environmentally-friendly products. After meeting certification requirements in areas of air quality, product and process resource management, environmental stewardship, and community relations, cabinet manufacturers can display the ESP seal on their products. The ESP seal helps you identify cabinets and cabinet manufacturers who are committed to protecting the environment." Bertch Cabinetry, offered by Home Equity Builders, is one of those manufacturers. To read more about Bertch and their commitment to the environment, click here.

Bertch Cabinetry

Home Equity Builders is a distributor of Bertch Cabinetry. Bertch offers a wide variety of cabinetry including semi-custom and custom cabinets for kitchens, bathrooms, and offices and so much more.

About the company

Bertch Cabinetry has been building cabinets since 1977. In addition to all of the options this

company offers to customers, Bertch is committed to the environment. Their finishing procedures ensure minimal emissions. They also use the sawdust from their manufacturing processes; these are used to produce heat and energy.

Products

Bertch offers a wide variety of products to suit all projects. They offer:

Custom Cabinetry

Semi-Custom Cabinetry

Stock Cabinetry

Bath Cabinetry

Vanity Countertops

Interior Doors

So the next time you are in the need for cabinets or interior doors, give us a call at Home Equity Builders. We will help you design the room of your dreams.

Welcome

Welcome. This is the official blog of Home Equity Builders, Inc. We are an award winning design/build firm, specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, renovations and additions. We combine years of experience with our expert staff to create the perfect room for you.

We will be bringing you articles on latest design trends and products. We will feature completed projects as well as informative articles on the whole design process.

What is NARI?

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry is the only independent not-for-profit association solely serving the remodeling industry. NARI’s history dates back to 1935 with President Roosevelt’s National Recovery Act establishing the NERSICA which eventually became obsolete and was restructured into the NRA (National Remodelers Association) in 1956. In 1983, the NRA joined with the NHIC (National Home Improvement Council) to become NARI as it is known today.

According to www.NARI.org , NARI’s core purpose is to “advance and promote the remodeling industry’s professionalism, product and vital public purpose.” NARI guides the remodeling industry through its code of ethics and standards of practice. NARI insists its members engage in fair business practices and conform to the regulations of the member’s locality. Home Equity Builders prides itself for being a long standing active member of NARI in the Northern Virginia area. Jeff Rainey, the president of HEB, has achieved NARI’s Certified Remodeler (CR) designation. Pat Mullen, HEB’s superintendant, has achieved both the Certified Lead Carpenter (CLC) and Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler (CKBR) designations.

Through NARI’s certification program, home owners can be assured Home Equity Builders (www.HEBinc.com) has the knowledge and experience to handle the unique situations that can arise during a remodeling project. Unfortunately, the remodeling industry has a black cloud hanging overhead because of “contractors” that are often not licensed or insured and will take excessive time to complete a project, if finish it at all. Home Equity Builders strives to provide a quality project in a reasonable timeframe at a fair price. You also know that if a situation does arise, HEB will properly handle the difficulty in a safe and timely manner according to the regulations set forth by Fairfax and Loudon counties.

For more information on how you, as a homeowner, are protected with NARI’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, visit their website at www.NARI.com .