With a Lowe’ s credit card, you can save 5% on all your home improvement materials.  This is an ongoing discount and applies to homeowners with a Lowe’s credit card or for contractors that have a business Lowe’s credit card.

Learn more at www.Lowes.com

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the EPA is stepping up its enforcement of the RRP lead paint rule.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped up its enforcement of the Lead- Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP) with inspections that focus on company certification and other records required under the rule governing the renovation of older homes, according to remodelers and contractors who have been subject to the inspections.

Under the EPA’s lead paint regulation, remodelers and other contractors working in homes built before 1978 must take precautions to contain lead dust — including using lead-safe work practices, establishing dust containment areas and containing dust during the renovation, cleaning up after the project and maintaining detailed records.

See full article on the NAHB site.

Lead was used historically as paint additive up until it was banned from use in the United States in the 1970′s.  Lead poses a serious to adults and children, especially as a result of dust made during various home renovation projects.

If you own or work on a home that was built prior to 1978, please scan previous posts on RRP and lead paint hazards on this blog and also visit the EPA website for full details.

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I was interviewed and quoted in the August issue of Remodeling Magazine, an industry leading journal published by Hanley Wood.  The article highlights pro’s and con’s of accepting credit cards as a form of payment for remodelers and home improvement contractors.

Read the full article .  My quote is below.

Chuck Solomon, president of Remodel & Repair Solutions, in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., gives his customers the option to use credit cards but only via PayPal.com or Google Checkout. “I let the customer know that I add the 2.9% processing fee that I have to pay onto their bill for that convenience,” he says. “These are both very easy to set up and there is no monthly fee involved.”

Solomon points out that he only offers this as a convenience for the relatively few customers who ask to pay by credit card.

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I recently authored an article for the website eHow.com.  The article covers the steps on how to hire a home improvement handyman to work on projects on your house.  This article covers seven steps to help make the right decision and hire the best person for your home improvement project.  Only hire those with the proper skills for a particular project.  Remember that hiring an unskilled individual will end up costing more to redo or correct things done improperly.   Read the entire article at eHow.com.

Here is new service that helps organize your business receipts and other paperwork. It’s called ShoeBoxed and it is about getting all your receipts out of the proverbially shoe box and into a usable format. You can even upload your information into QuickBooks!

It is rather simple. You mail your receipts in a postage paid envelop and they scan everything for you. You can view your receipts online and import the data into QuickBooks. It takes the headache out of entering the data yourself or having to pay someone to do data entry. Click the ad below to try it FREE for 30 days.

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This week marked the start of a new resource for contractors and remodelers.    daily5remodel.com is being produced by a remodeling industry veteran, Leah Thayer.   A journalist with many years covering the remodel industry.  Subscribers to this free service receive a concise daily briefing of what is happening in the industry.

FROM the site:

Our first product, “daily5Remodel.com: industry intel from Leah Thayer,” is for remodeling professionals representing many stakeholders within the industry, including remodeling contractors, designers and architects, specialized trade contractors, real estate brokers, home builders, manufacturers, consultants, building arts educators, policymakers and more.

Register online before October 1st and become eligible for a drawing for a free Apple ipad.  Learn more at daily5remodel.com.

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Did you know a good portion of the Remodeling Show on September 14-17, 2010 is FREE to attendees.  You just need to register by August 16th.   This year’s event is being held in Baltimore, Maryland.  See Remodeling Show for details.

Admission into the Exhibit Hall, including Tool Alley, the Kitchen and Bath Showcase, on-floor education like installation clinics, deck workshops and all the presenting exhibit is FREE.

I will be attending.  Let me know if you plan on attending and we can meet-up.

See Remodeling Show for details.

Remodelers:  Sign-up for this Free Marketing Webinar April 28th at 2:00 PM eastern.

Webinar Topic:  5 Specific Strategies to Increase Your Marketing Results… Without Spending an Extra Dime!

Click here to register and learn more.

Guide to starting and growing your home improvement business.

Get this guide in its electronic Kindle version for only $9.95.  Go to Amazon to get instant access to this  guide and start building your business today.

See Amazon to purchase handyman business guide.  If you don’t own a Kindle reading device, Amazon has a FREE software that allows you download and read books on your PC Computer (a Mac version is coming soon).

Kindle version of this guide!