Get Home Projects Started Now

By Mary Lou Aguirre
The Fresno Bee

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The gloomy sky outside tells us that it's still winter, but Tom and Linda Green are thinking ahead — way ahead — to summer. Rather than wait for spring, the time of year when many homeowners begin hiring contractors for home improvement projects, the couple began construction on their new in-ground swimming pool this month.

That's good news for Linda Green, who grew up spending summers in Monterey and considers "69 degrees with a breeze" the perfect temperature.

"For once, I'll be looking forward to summer," she says. "With the pool ready, we'll be set."

The off-season months of January, February and early March are suitable to begin home-improvement projects such as pools, flooring, kitchen face-lifts or interior painting. In this economy, consumers will find contractors eager for work. Most have plenty of manpower handy and even offer winter discounts as incentives. In addition, you won't be jockeying for appointments with other homeowners come spring.

"Most contractors are a lot slower now than in spring and summer," says Exeter's Sean Packard, a franchise owner of CertaPro Painters, which has crews painting homes from Visalia to Clovis.

"Interior work can be done year-round. The best opportunity is at the end of December, January and most of February. Contractors might pass on a job in the spring. During these months, they'll take it."

Packard's crew painted six homes this month. In the summer, the number averages about 10. Homeowners are getting a 15 percent discount on their painting projects.

"You get more bang for your buck," he says.

Of course, exterior painting during winter months is tricky.

"Water is the enemy in painting," Packard says. "I don't work when it's overcast."

But what about having to keep windows open while painting inside during cold weather?

"Today's paint doesn't stink like it used to," Packard says. "They make (environmentally friendly) paint, and that's an option. It's a little more expensive, at about $5 or $10 more per gallon. It's an option if there are elderly residents or little children in the home."

Mother Nature also affects swimming-pool projects. Jeff and Jack Smart, co-owners of Holiday Pools, keep their eye on winter weather.

"In winter, you may have some delays," Jeff Smart says. "Most pools take four to six weeks to complete. Right now, we have three or four pools under construction, which began in December."

Deals are available, he says.

"Companies (that make materials used in pool construction) are raising their prices for the new year," Jeff Smart says. "By March, those prices are in effect. You can save a little bit before then."

Holiday Pools, which built the Greens' first pool 18 years ago at their former Fresno home, is creating the new custom pool. Linda Green noticed the lower pool price right away.

"I know we got a deal," she says. "When we moved into our house in the summer of 2001, it was going to cost $50,000 to $60,000. This pool is a little bit over $30,000."

Beginning in March, Holiday Pools will offer a new Smart line of pools that range in price between $17,000 and $20,000. Consumers can select from several standard designs.

"It's definitely better to start a project in the winter when we're a little more flexible," Jeff Smart says. "The more elaborate the pool, the more time it's going to take. When it's 100 degrees, people get anxious."

Homeowners seeking a new look inside their homes might opt to update their kitchen. Lori and Bruce Bentley of Bentley Design and Remodeling in Hanford once erected a large tent at a work site in order to pour a foundation.