Καθημερινές άκρες εγχώριας ανακαίνισης

I believe that a successful home renovation or remodeling effort comes from making the right decisions and being informed. We came across a wonderful site recently containing feedback from actual consumers on the contractors, retailers and materials they actually used in their renovations. This site should be marked as a favorite and referred to often by anyone before, during and after their own home renovation efforts.

The site is HomeStars.com.

HomeStars.com provides ratings and reviews of renovators, retailers and repairman on all areas of a home. It was co-founded by Nancy Peterson and Andrew E. Goodman based out of Nancy’s need to track down and find reliable contractors for her own home’s renovation project. The key to Nancy was that the information be trustworthy.

The About page of HomeStars.com indicates a review process ‘ensuring that reviews are real.’ I like that.

The number of categories within HomeStars.com is extensive; from Alarm Systems and Architects through to Windows and Doors. With, as of the writing of this article, over 130 different categories, it is likely that any home owner and renovator can find ratings and reviews on many topics of interest to them.

However, one category which they did not have as of this writing  was Solar Blinds. Since I am currently investigating two different types of solar blinds in our own home, one an interior reflector and passive heat collector with the other an exterior reflector, I’ll be sure to write some product reviews of my own and ask them to add this category of energy conservation group of products. 

The other aspect to this site which I see as very useful is that they are currently expanding to have, for selected cities throughout North America, city specific reviews for resident renovators and repairmen. While product reviews tend to be more global in nature (with the Internet and courier delivery of products, it truly is a global village), service providers can be international, national or city specific. this feature for the cities to which HomeStars.com is adding coverage should be very useful indeed.

How long does it take to actually record a review? Well, I completed reviews on three companies who provided us services during our home renovation to date. All three took 5 minutes in total. You grade the company you are reviewing on tow scales and then enter comments about them. It’s that easy.

But, do not be mislead. Your reviews will themselves be reviewed according to the multi-item review guidelines to ensure that your reviews can be relied upon by others. And, the reviews themselves can be voted on by others as far as the review being helpful.

Lastly, the content of the site would not be where it is without the direct contributions of ordinary folks like you and me. So, not only is this a great resource with expanding city specific coverage but also is a place to tell others of your opinions and experiences with renovating professionals, repairman and home building products and supplies.

Like any research, do not limit yourself to just one reference source for home renovation knowledge; not HomeStars.com and not even Daily Home Renovation Tips. However, spending some time with HomeStars.com could be very useful for your own home renovation activities indeed.