Bathroom Remodel – Glass is Good – Frameless Shower Doors are Big

Chuck — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:12:29 +0000

In every bathroom remodel we’ve completed in the last 12 months Frame-less Glass Shower Doors and Enclosures have been the rage. In a frame-less application there is minimal metal and maximum glass and while in the past frame-less has been used in more contemporary designs, it’s now finding it’s way into all decorating styles. Beautiful!

Slim, New Kohler Toilet with Flush Options

Chuck — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:13:06 +0000

We just delivered and installed this Kohler K-4353-96. Sleek and slender with 2 flushing options (think about it) Excited over a toilet, not normally. That’s why an exciting toilet is so exciting. Check it out!

If you can’t be with the one you love, Love the one your With! Remodel Now!!

Chuck — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:43:35 +0000

All week, on just about every talk radio station I listened to, I heard about the rebounding real estate market. Real Estate experts were reporting the dwindling inventory of available houses, price stabilization and now prices rising. It’s beyond me and I’m a builder AND a Real Estate agent! Is it possible we went from a catastrophic foreclosure/ plummeting sales/plummeting pricing environment to a low inventory, inflationary seller’s market without a plateau? Without an apparent period of transition? I don’t think so. We have a ways to go before we get to a healthy market. Banks and the Federal Government will not forget what happened, traditional sales are still not strong and financing is still a challenge. So what do you do if you can’t sell, can’t get financing to buy, but you’ve out-grown the style or size of your house? If you can’t be with the one you love, Love the one your with!! Remodel. Prices have never been better, materials more abundant and skilled craftsmen more available. Call us now for a free estimate!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightning!

Chuck — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:27:31 +0000

It’s Primal. The comfort and piece the sound and warmth of a crackling fire brings. We’ve come a long way from huddling around a small fire in the snow. Gas, remote ignited, Cantera Mantels, the options are as unlimited as your imagination! Take a look at some of our fireplaces.

It’s under 100 degrees, it’s time to think BBQ

Chuck — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:57:31 +0000

A Custom Built Gazebo with Fire

A nice, cloudy weekend. Football has begun and you know that night is coming. The night where you step into the backyard and the air smells different, the breeze actually cools and you know Fall is on it’s way. For me this is the best time of year to grill. It’s how I meditate, how I plan my next day, how I’m quite with myself and how I sort things out. Then I eat a Steak, or some Salmon or some smoked ribs. What does your patio look like? Is there a fireplace/pit? 8 Burner Turbo Grill? How about an enclosure for the “Big Green Egg”? Call us and we’ll give you a space you’ll never want to leave.

Replace that Tired Old Stucco with, well, nothing!

Chuck — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:50:42 +0000

So you have a beautiful older brick home in Central Phoenix or Arcadia. It’s either painted or stuccoed and it is downright boring. You’ve tried bold colors, muted colors, color co-ordination and you’ve even tried hiding the house behind foliage. You can only do so much with paint and Stucco is just downright dated and boring. Whats a homeowner to do? Sandblast!! Sandblasting will remove old paint and/or stucco and leave you with a clean block look. It’s gorgeous and not as expensive as you might think. Take a look at some before and after photos of a 40+ year old Apartment Complex.

Imagine what it can do for your house!

Sandblast Before

Sandblast After

Sandblasted Stucco Wall

Unique Times, Unique Opportunities

Chuck — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:41:33 +0000

We are living in Unique times, and with the Unique challenges we face, there are also Unique opportunities. While we can’t control the real estate or financial markets, we have the choice to create a beautiful and exciting home in which to weather the storm. Thinking about selling in the next few years? You’ll have stiff competition and your home will need to be the most it can be. This down time is a great time to remodel and renovate. Your dollar has never had more buying power!

Your Home Sets the Stage

Chuck — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:35:11 +0000

You mark the date on the calendar with a big Red X. It will be the party of the year, all the people you care about will be their, the food will be catered by your favorite restaurant, there may even be a band. You have the baby-sitter all set up, your clothes are back from the dry-cleaner on time, your hair turns out perfect. You get to the party and everything is just as you imagined except for one thing….you have a horrible time and you don’t know why. Has this ever happened to you? Have you dreaded an experience only to find out that it wasn’t so bad? Why do Rock stars kill themselves? Why, more often than not do lottery winners end up worse off than before they won the Megabucks? It’s about your focus, your internal dialogue, and what you decide things mean. It’s also about triggers. A color, a phrase, a taste. Especially a smell. These triggers can change your mood, your experience, your perception of what you are seeing and experiencing means. They can change your mood completely and you won’t know why. You and your family will spend more time at home than anywhere else on the planet. Whether you know it or not, your kitchen, your bedroom, your backyard can set the tempo, mood and perspective for the way you will view your day…week……year……….life.

Over the next few blogs we can explore this and try to figure out why some mornings we pull out of the garage whistling and other mornings we don’t want to get out of bed… and how our house can make all of the difference.

Interested? Leave me a Comment and let me know.

Mockingbird Home Remodel

Chuck — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:03:27 +0000

Mockingbird is an Authentic Adobe House. The original owners had authentic Adobe bricks made of mud and straw brought up from Mexico on flat bed trucks. The huge beams were hand-carved onsite. A water-line burst and a flooded first floor means a kitchen and tile floor. We are giving the house a new chiseled edge Travertine set in the Versailles Pattern, but first we have to fill in the 2 inch gap left by the removal of the old flagstone. Quite a task.

After the damaged Flagstone Removal

Creating a concrete cell for the new floor

Building a cell for the new concrete. The new Concrete base goes in.

We fill in each cell with Deck Mud and let it dry. The Chiseled Edge Travertine in the Versailles Pattern Goes in.

The floor goes in. Almost Done setting.

Almost Done. Check out our next post for pics of the completed floor!

Sandra’s Story

Chuck — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:02:07 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, an excited and enthusiastic art teacher named Sandra viewed a house in Tempe that she was very interested in buying. It was in the mature neighborhood she always wanted, it was the right size, and one of the bedrooms had a wall of windows with the perfect exposure. It would give her the light she needed to paint her still-life’s. On the down side, the property was older. The A/C and bathrooms were new, but the kitchen would need a complete overhaul including new cabinets, counters, plumbing and appliances. The house was priced lower than many others in the area of the same age and square footage, but did that mean it was a good deal? Sandra worked with her Realtor and tried to put together a good offer, but realized she couldn’t do that without knowing what the true cost of the completed house would be. What would a new kitchen cost? How long would it take? She called a few contractors but they couldn’t really help her. They would need to come out to the house and take measurements, Sandra had to decide what the materials would be, and the price would only be good for 30 days. Sandra’s agent told her that her sister had just remodeled her Kitchen and she spent $46000, and that the work took 4 months to complete. Since this new kitchen would be much smaller and the price point of the house was much lower, Sandra could probably get away with spending $28000, and it would probably take 3 months. Sandra’s Realtor, trying to be helpful, made her best guess. The problem was that at an additional $28000, and 3 months without a kitchen, the house wasn’t such a good deal anymore. The perfect natural light in that bedroom began to fade. Sandra made a few more half-hearted attempts to make the numbers work, but that $28000 had spoiled the energy in the deal. Sandra decided to stay put in her condo.

This type of scenario plays out often these days, and it’s a shame all the way around. It was a shame for Sandra, who missed out on what could have been her perfect house. It was a shame for the seller, who was struggling to make their mortgage payments, and for Sandra’s Realtor also, who lost the opportunity to serve her client at the highest level. The worst part of this story is that the decision that caused Sandra to walk away was based on bad information!! An appropriate kitchen, a kitchen that Sandra would have loved could have been delivered and installed in about 6 weeks and for $9000. How do I know this? I know this because I’m doing the same size kitchen in a similar house for $9000. Real world numbers, real time, real deal. No speculation required. Had Sandra known the real number, she might be painting in that sunny bedroom today. The only thing missing from a successful deal was accurate information. That is the real job of a good realtor, to provide accurate and timely information.

For Buyers: There are a lot of fantastic deals out there, but only if you know the true costs, and that means the cost of a house at it’s best potential for it’s location, price point and use. What if the house you love needs a new roof? What if all that’s standing between an o.k. house and a magnificent house is new 18 x 18 Travertine and a full paint? Granite Counters? A Forged Iron Front Door? What materials are appropriate for this level of house, in this neighborhood? Can you recoup your investment?

What should you look out for if you’ve selected a new home? These are vital questions that require experience along with a current working knowledge of construction materials, contractors and costs. Doesn’t it make sense to have a Realtor at your side that can provide you with this information, this power, this edge, at no additional cost to you?

For Sellers: Buyers have a lot to choose from. You can’t change the location of your house, and you may not want to put money into renovating and updating a house that might not sell. All that most Sellers have to offer is a price reduction. In this buyers market it takes a lot of Yes’s to close a house, but only one No, (or I don’t know) to blow the deal. As your listing agent, I will offer buyers more than just a walk-through and another price reduction. I will show Buyers the true value and potential of your home, not just what it is, but what it can be, and just as importantly, real world numbers and a detailed path and timeline to get them there. All of the information they need to say Yes! to your home. Think about how much easier it will be to for a buyer to choose your house versus your neighbors.

What if your house needs no renovation? Great! We will provide your buyers with the numbers that show the true value of a move in ready property.

My name is Charles Fratantoni. I am an Agent with Keller Williams Arizona Realty, and I own Unique Custom Builders / Freddie Incorporated. I am contacting you today to introduce you to my, “Information is Power!” program. I have built, remodeled and sold homes from the $175,000 Territorial in Buckeye, to the $2.4 million Old World Estate in Paradise Valley. I’ve met and walked homes with the Cowboy and the C.E.O., the Retiree and the Newlyweds. Weather you’re buying or selling, I can help. Together we can develop a plan that will maximize what your property has to offer, amplify your buying power and give you the ability to negotiate from a knowledgeable position, which is a position of power.

Call me personally for an appointment. I’d love the opportunity to discuss your goals and develop a plan and package to get you there. My cell number is 602-799-5133, and my email is charfra@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Chuck Fratantoni