Craig Russell, founder and CEO of The English Contractor, is a custom builder and bespoke remodeler. But he’s known to dole out one piece of financial advice from time to time. He’s no E.F. Hutton, but when Craig speaks, but sure to listen. Beyond the charming accent, he has some good advice to share. Namely, your home is likely your biggest financial investment. Not only because of that mortgage payment, but also because of the continued investment you might be making in your home with remodels, renovations, and repairs. Keeping up with home maintenance helps protect both your investment and the people who live inside it.

To make it easier for our followers, Craig’s compiled a checklist of seasonal maintenance items. This week, we’ll take you through spring time maintenance tips on the inside of your home.

“You don’t need to have an official day set aside for a home inspection,” Craig says. “This list can be a good reminder, though, as you walk around your house, of items that need your attention,” he explains.

Basement

It helps to think of your home in segments so it doesn’t feel too overwhelming. Starting in the basement, you’ll want to:

• Schedule maintenance for your HVAC systems before you make the switch over to air conditioning. Now is a good time to replace or clean your filters.

• Check on your sump pump and consider adding a battery back up.

• Check for insects, mice and other pests. Schedule an exterminator if necessary.

• Look for problem areas, particularly moisture or water.

Bedrooms/Living Areas

Next, it is time to tackle the bedrooms and main living areas of your home. If you didn’t manage a good purge and deep clean during quarantine, spring is the perfect time to get that done. In addition to a more meticulous clean, now is a great time to also:

• Dust and reverse your ceiling fans.

• Schedule a deep cleaning of your carpeting and/or area rugs.

• Check under your sinks for cracks or leaks. Check your washing machine tubings, too.

• Clean out your dryer vents.

Whole Home

Other items to check on during your spring interior walk through include:

• Windows and doors. Are you noticing drafts or moisture? It’s time to add caulk or weatherstripping. Or it may be time to replace them.

• Safety precautions. Are your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in good working order? If they are not hardwired, it is time to replace batteries. Don’t forget to have a fire extinguisher on hand as well.

• The attic. Check for ventilation and, like the basement, for pests.

Tackling a major remodel requires a fair amount of juggling, especially one like we managed for the HGTV Urban Oasis in Cincinnati, Ohio.. There’s a linear nature to a project like this, one foot in front of the other. There’s an order in which projects have to be completed. It can be a challenge, even for the best of us. And that’s the beauty of being a custom builder. We understand the order, how to manage it, and, more importantly, how to juggle it when things don’t go quite as planned. But add a television camera and a celebrity’s schedule to the mix and you have one heck of a project. It was a balancing act, to say the least, but we couldn’t be prouder of the outcome.

We’re proud to say that we completed the remodel, including the two-story addition, in 6 months and three days. For a house that was stripped down to the studs, this is quite an accomplishment. But for a house that was stripped down to the studs, rebuilt, and given a two store addition, along with a complicated TV production schedule. . . our timeframe is nothing short of a miracle. 

For as many exciting parts of a total home renovation that you may witness on your favorite HGTV or DIY Network show—like demo days and big reveals—there are a lot of little details that aren’t so exciting. Like watching paint dry. It’s all part of the process, it has to be accounted for in the timeline, but drying paint does not make for good television. It was sometimes a bit of a balancing act in getting work completed and making sure we hit certain milestones at specific times in order to align with camera crews and celebrity schedules. 

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A construction zone is a noisy place. And the noise is often, ahem, colorful. But when filming a family show, we had to hammer quietly. And speak politely. 

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Since our goal was to remodel a home AND have it done as part of an hour-long television show, we had to do our job perfectly and in a way that was entertaining. Usually, on the job site, The English Contractor founder and namesake, Craig Russell is our fearless leader. However, for the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 home in Cincinnati, the producer was in charge. That meant redoing a project or two, once or twice (or maybe it was 10 times! We’ll never tell!) just to make sure that the camera got the best shot possible. And we still got it all done in 6 months and 3 days!

All in all, we’re thrilled with the final HGTV Urban Oasis project—the house itself and the episode. We loved working hand in hand with our HGTV friends Egypt Sherrod, Brian Patrick Flynn and Dan Faires, watching them do what they do best while we did what we do best. We couldn’t imagine a better partnership. We’d watch paint dry with that crew any day!

A major home renovation project is often the result of an amazing partnership, a combination of craftsmanship and art, a shared vision, and a well-honed relationship between contractor, architect and designer. Although there are many types of projects of different scope and scale that The English Contractor can act as your full-service provider, there are certain projects that depend on this beautiful partnership. But how do you know what professionals to call in for your home renovation project? First, it is important to understand which role that each professional will play in the process. It’s so much more than a business transaction—it’s an ongoing partnership!

Architect

For large scale home renovations, additions or completely new builds, we recommend that you start with an architect. They’ll listen to you for an understanding of what you hope to accomplish for your new space, as well as your budget, so they can help put together a plan to make it all happen. Additionally, you can hire an architect to manage your project from start to finish, making sure that your initial vision remains in the forefront throughout the process.

Designer

A designer can take your architectural plans to the next level by adding beauty and style to form and function. A designer can help you finalize and customize your floor plan with the addition of details like built-ins or cupboards. What’s more, a designer can often help with color and material ideas—including furnishing the finished product.

Contractor

The job of the contractor is to bring all of these plans to life. Once they have the architectural and designer plans in hand, they can help you nail down the final cost of the project, including labor and materials. They will manage the nuts and bolts of the project, bringing in the right people at the right time, like carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. A contractor will oversee the project from beginning to end, at times working with the architect and designer to tweak final designs. Your contractor is on the front lines of the project, bringing it to completion and tackling hurdles along the way. That’s why we think it’s important for a contractor to have an eye for detail and a bit of creativity, in addition to skilled craftsmanship.

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Of course, there are plenty of home projects that don’t require a complete team. Are you wondering what types of projects are best for the architect/designer/contractor triumvirate and which ones a builder like The English Contractor can handle on our own? If you’re ready to start planning your Cincinnati-area home renovation or new build, give us a call!

Hollywood’s got nothing on Cincinnati! And while building a new home or undertaking a huge renovation is not all fun and games, we sure had a great time working with the team at HGTV on this year’s Urban Oasis.

In many ways, the HGTV Urban Oasis home began like any other project: with a phone call. And that’s how it usually begins for us. With a phone call, an email or a message on Facebook. Because as we all know, there is a huge vetting process with hiring a contractor. You want to know if they have handled similar projects before. You want to know what problems they have encountered and how they’ve addressed them. Do they stick to their budget? Do they reasonably mange timelines? But of course, in this case, our mysterious client wanted to know if we could manage all of the above, while completing the project in complete secrecy.

The HGTV Urban Oasis home is a show stopper and its Cincinnati red curb appeal makes it a traffic stopper too.

Working in secrecy has its challenges.

When we manage a large project, the project is given a name—usually the client’s name—to help us manage our queue. We need the last name to help with our deliveries—things like building materials, or, ahem, an outdoor loo. As a nod to our English heritage, this project was nicknamed Windsor. Could be a common last name, could be royalty? Who knew? Although we know that some of our vendors, suppliers and neighbors were suspicious, we tried to explain everything away. You saw a camera? We’re filming a commercial. An HGTV celebrity sighting? Surely it must be a Cincinnati doppelganger. You must be seeing things! Although we typically take before and after photos, our crew was under strict orders not to breathe a word of it or take one picture. We stuck to the letter of the law. We know it can be difficult to keep a big secret under wraps, especially in a small city like Cincinnati. But if the secret got out early, we can guarantee, it wasn’t from one of our crew.

Of course, now the word is out. The show has aired! We’ve given televised tours of the home. And the home is frequently in the background of many an Instagram selfie. Have you been following the star of Cincinnati’s latest reality show? The HGTV Urban Oasis home is a show stopper and its Cincinnati red curb appeal makes it a traffic stopper too.  Post your picture and tag us on Instagram @theenglishcontractor.