Q. My family owns a business that sells kitchen and bath cabinets. Any ideas on way's to advertise and make it grow effectively? It's not that we are small, but obviously you always want more? any suggestions will me read. thanks for the help. If you are in the kitchen/bath business please let me know what did or did not work for you. Thanks for the help!

A. You are kidding right? Have ya heard? We are in the worse depression since 1928 and the economy still continues to deteriorate. I can promise you that the last thing on peoples minds now is spending a wad of money on a new kitchen. They dont know when they too will be layed off. Besides everyone knows homes are depreaciating at a rapid pace. Why dump $20 grand into an asset that is losing value faster then this country is losing jobs. Any child knows better then that. Even the wealthy stopped spending money on their homes but this is the only market worth going after because some still are spending, just being more careful. The economy is choosing what cabinet to buy, not the customer. Those who walk into my showroom make a beeline for the pretty cherry but end up buying the less costly oak. As little as 3 years ago I had 3 to 5 people per week coming in with a $25,000 kitchen budget. Today once a month some one walks in with a broken drawer box they need replaced. The best part is when they walk in with a stack of bids 5" thick and ask you for another one. New home starts across America stands just about at zero. Now to answer your question with a wish and a prayer. Advertising in newpapers or magazines is a waste of money. The consumer is numb from ads that bombard them every day. Most saying the same old crap. Lowest prices of the year. Best sale yet. Compare and save. Free installation...and on and on. Another waste of money are those contractor referral services. You pay for so called qualified leads. But only one in 100 ever call you back. Most of us honestly believe the Bob Vila and Service Master referral services have hundreds of fake phone numbers to sell leads with. Out of about 40 leads so far that we paid $25 each for, we got 2 small jobs from them. The one thing that does work is very expensive. It's called google optimization. It cost us $1500. What it does is anyone searching key words will get YOUR business web site as the very first listing on google. Google already knows where the searcher lives. If they simply type "cabinets" into the google search bar, YOUR company will come up because google knows the searcher lives in Anytown,USA so it will find Anytown Cabinet company. My friend all you can do is sit and wait. I just hope you are living off the fat from the good days. But for most of us, the fat is decomposing quickly. I been in in this biz for 29 years and I still stand. But perhaps 70% of everyone I knew in the cabinet biz has moved on to something else. It is not good out there and I see little hope of any improvement in the housing market as well as the economy for a very very long time. Of course that is not what this govt says when they try to pull the wool over we the peasants heads. They are liars, criminals and crooks. I am honest and truthful with nothing to gain by being honest and truthful. I wish you luck. I really do.

Q. I am thinking about remodeling my 2 bathrooms, both of which currently have 72"-wide double vanities. The new vanities I am thinking of buying would need some of the water lines moved a few inches. For example, I would like to install 2, 24"-wide vanities (one at each end of where the 72"-wide unit is now) and put a piece of furniture in the now-open 24" space in between. The problem is that the 24" vanity has a drawer on the bottom and when I look at the current water pipes/connections, one pipe is coming in only a few inches from the bottom of the current cabinet - right where the drawer would be on the new cabinet. In the other bath, one of the water lines is probably 27-28" in from the left end of the 72"-wide cabinet, which means it is in what would be the space BETWEEN the new 24"-wide cabinets. (I hope all this makes sense!) So my question is, how difficult a job is it to move water lines a few inches up, down, to the right, to the left? And what might be a ballpark cost of this kind of job? FYI, my house is on a concrete slab (very unusual in New Hampshire) but the pipes are coming in through the wall, and all the plumbing currently works well. Anyway I hope I don't have to give up on remodeling my bathrooms! Thanks!!

A. That's not very difficult, just remove the drywall, expose the piping, then re-cut and solder the pipe where you want it. If you had the piping entirely exposed and the water shut off and drained from the system, a plumber could do it in about an hour and charge you maybe $150, or you can DIY

Q. The current bathroom is very small and has an adjacent room that could be used. What is the best way to go about starting a home remodeling project? Who to contact, etc?

A. Designers have much more knowledge and experience in remodeling than the average person. They can introduce you to things you never though possible; as well as, ensure your vision is created. BUT...an interior designer is very expensive. I work for a cabinet company in San Diego CA: www.citycabinetcenter.com. We have many customers that were in the same position as you. Our designers have helped create many beautiful rooms for customers while saving them the cost of an interior decorator. Maybe I am biased but a trip to a cabinet company seems worth your time. Have fun!

Q. The bath room is about 6x12. There was titlng place half way up the walls(the floor was not done. The rest of the walls were painted by the contractors), a new toilet, a new bathtub with sliding glass doors, a messager head for the shower, a new cabinet with 4 lights with it, a fan in the bathroom with a way for air to ciruclate out(with a light attached to the fan, a towel rack, a metal toilet paper dispencer and a metal robe hook placed on the bathroom door. That what was done. I do realise that it is difficult to estimated when there are other factors un-answered, but please give me a ball park estimate. I believe the current contractors are charging way too much money for a relativly simple project.

A. $4-6 thousand.

Q. I'm looking for tile ideas (floor, wall, shower/tub area), countertop/sink type (granite? ceramic?), sink cabinet (wood colors and styles). Am thinking modern colors with good resale value. No doors on tub area, just shower curtain. Your input please. Not quite interested in pedestal sinks, though that's the trend these days.

A. All I know is electric, put a big enough fan in to move air quietly, separate switch, good lighting separate switch, don't buy a fixture light from a box that has been opened before u got there u don't know whats missing and it could cost u more to replace what is missing, consider in floor heat under the tile with a thermostat and or a timer so it dosn'tstay on longer than it needs tobe. And look at al the types of switches, maybe decora type (rockerstyle), and dont forget outlets if u have two (2) sinks you need one adjacent each sink not 1 in the middle. And if u can help it dont put a light in the shower I have seen last long there, usually a good bare type lite over the sink throws alot of light to get into the shower area good luck

Q. We are remodelling my Grandparents bathroom. Their house was built in 1961. Our problem is finding a vanity top The vanity top measures 36" x 20". It has to be a precise fit. Where in the world do you find one this size without blowing the budget? We are looking at the cultured.

A. I depends on the type of top you want...e.g. laminate, cultured marble, granite... You can checkout places like Home Depot, or Lowe's and see what you can find, or look in the yellow pages for custom cabinet shops. A simple vanity top shouldn't be a budget buster. Hope this helps.

Q. Speed bumps, and I need some advice. Here's the short of it: I hired a company to do my remodel job, siding, windows, new roof, new heat and air unit, remodel kitchen, bath, refinish hardwood floors, and lay new tile throughout. I do not have to sign anything or pay anything until all work is complete. The hardwood floors looked like kids finger painted them, literally, and the kitchen cabinets looked almost as bad. The only thing I was happy with was the siding, windows, roof, and the central h/a unit. So, they agreed to redo the floors, and said the kitchen cabinets would have to be painted instead of stained and varnished for some reason. I really didn't want to paint the cabinets but finally agreed, and picked a color. I had already chosen my tile floors, and couldn't change that, my walls were already painted and didn't want to change that, and the new countertops were in place and I was happy with them. So I was just hoping the color I chose for the cabinets would blend. Luckily, it did, but they hung some of the cabinet doors wrong, to open the wrong way, and a corner door especially won't open because of the handle on it. It should open from the other side. When they were redoing the wood floors, the sander was parked in a corner and must have been hot because in the night, a fire started and burnt through the wood floor. Now, the floor had to be replaced. The wood floors look beautiful this time around. They had to hire another crew to redo them. The tile floors look great. But, they still have so much to do. A few kitchen cabinets are missing. Pulls on some of them are missing. Some are still hung crooked. They need to finish placing the sinks and toilet in the bath. The kitchen sink is yet to be installed. They haven't even wiped the walls down from the soot from the fire, and the walls that the sander was parked by when it burned need to be sanded and repainted. The contractor is pushing me to sign and saying, "These are minor details, and we can finish them after you move in." On top of all this, I was told we would be in the house by Dec 1, and told it was safe to give my notice at my apartment. I gave a tentative notice, which my apt. mgr. interpreted as a final notice. The fire happened on Nov. 28, and when I went to tell them I needed to stay at least another month, I was told I had two days to move. So my kids and I moved our belongings into a rental storage and moved into a motel. The remodel company is paying for this. My legal question is: If I move into the house unfinished, am I in a way saying I accept it as it is? and if they do not finish it, can I do anything? OR Should I refuse to move in until it is complete, and demand that they continue to pay for our present accomodations, which are really pathetic, considering it is Christmas? Should I contact my attorney, and let them know we will do what we have to do to get the job done? We are having to eat out every meal, and the room is getting smaller every day!! HELP! What should I do?!

(No Chosen Answer)

Q. Guy from reputable company came over and gave me an estimate for remodeling my bathroom which is about 5' x 8'. Estimated cost is around $9500 which seems a bit high to me, thoughts? From the contract: We would begin with the complete removal of the bathtub and the surrounding tile and walls, reinsulating the exterior wall. All of the walls will get new drywall and/or tile backer board. A new white 5 foot Americast bathtub will be installed with a new tub/shower diverter with a combined allowance of $650.00. New tile will be installed up to 6 foot off of the floor in the area surrounding the bathtub. Repainting the bathroom walls, ceiling, and trim surfaces will be included in the total price and will not include any wallpaper. The price for this option is $6800.00. Other bathroom items are itemized as follows: Toilet-$250.00 Sink/vanity-$200.00 Medicine cabinet-$85.00 Sink Faucet-$75.00 Floor tile-$1875.00 ( Labor and Material) Light -$35 Towel bar(2), toilet paper holder--$100 I asked him why the tiles seemed a bit high--1875 + whatever he's charging for the bathtub tiling. His response: The $1875.00 covers material and labor. I will go in to more detail on the tile installation to help clear things up. We will remove the existing tile and install a concrete based backer board as a sub-floor for the tile. This will minimize any cracking in the furure. We will then install the tile and grout all of the joints. You will find other companies that will lay tile right over the existing plywood floor but you will have problems in the future. We have to warranty what we install and we will not cut corners. Contractor said that they would take care of removing everything and cleaning up. Told me that I would need to go to Home Depot and pick out stuff that I liked, write down the item numbers, and give it to him so he could send his boys over to grab the stuff right before they needed it. I'm not sure that trying to supply parts myself is the best thing to do--I've very limited space in my condo, and would rather not have bathtub/sink/toilet etc taking up half of my bedroom.

A. Everything sounds a bit too high for what you are getting. You can buy a toilet for less than one hundred dollars. The labor and material is ridiculously high. I think that you should have a couple more remodelers com in and give you an estimate.