Majors Home Improvement Makes Remodeling’s Top 550 Contractors List

National Industry Publication Recognizes Local Contractor

In its annual compilation, the Remodeling 550, Remodeling magazine honors Majors Home Improvement as one of the largest remodeling companies in the United States. Majors Home Improvement makes the replacement contractors list at 147th place.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, there are approximately 530,200 Contractors within the United States who provide remodeling services. The Joint Center divides that number into 320,100 specialty trade firms and 210,100 general contractors.

“It’s a real honor to be distinguished as one of the best in your industry,” said Mike Majors, owner of Majors Home Improvement. “However, the true measure still remains with our loyal customers. We would like to say ‘Thank You’ for making us the premier remodeling company on the Gulf Coast over the past 12 years, and we look forward to serving you again in the near future.”

The Remodeling 550 is a list of the largest remodeling and home improvement companies based on residential remodeling revenue. The list groups remodeling companies into 4 major categories: full-service, replacement or specialty, insurance restoration, and franchise. Data for the 550 is based on a survey jointly developed by Remodeling, its sister publication Replacement Contractor, and Specpan, a consultancy and business data collection provider. Additional information was obtained through survey mailings, phone calls, and public information sources.

WEAR-TV 3: Energy Savings Makeover

WEAR ABC 3 :: Energy Savings Makeover

PENSACOLA - For six months we have been following a local Gulf Power customer in her quest to lower her power bill and make her home more energy-efficient.

Now, the results are in. How much difference does it make when you have consistent energy habits and the proper equipment to support them?

Channel Three's Kathryn Daniel finds out.

Sarah Riley and Pete Bailey set a goal this past May: to lower her energy use by 40 percent. That's when Bailey did an energy checkup. At the time, her power bill was high and her house was very inefficient, but since then, she's had a complete energy makeover and the first month of data is in.

Pete Bailey/Gulf Power: "Mrs. Riley had a sixty three and a half percent reduction in her daily usage."

Sixty three and a half percent cut in her daily use of power translates to a savings of 88 bucks a month for Bailey.

In August, a team of local businesses donated and installed a slew of energy-saving elements to Riley's home: Gator Insulation put in new material in her attic over a previously uninsulated room; Majors Home Improvement put in the most efficient windows on the market, along with making her hurricane shutters; and Associated Equipment upgraded her heat and A/C unit. Will Clause of Southern Breeze One Hour Air installed it for Riley.

Pete Bailey: "The biggest driver of your energy bill is your heating and cooling costs."

Bailey says all of the upgrades were necessary for such a reduction, and the new A/C unit is the most crucial one for savings.

Pete Bailey: "Absolutely, compared to what she had before, this system is 40 to 45 percent more efficient in terms of heating and cooling the building."

With our current cold snap, Bailey says customers are now concerned about how to manage their heating units. He says set your thermostat at 68 degrees, and lower than that if you're going to be out for much of the day.

Pete Bailey: "If the house is going to be unoccupied for four hours or more and you decrease the temperature three to five degrees, the amount of energy it takes to bring your temperature back to 68 is less than it would've took to maintain that 68-degree temperature during that four-hour time period."

Bailey says Riley was already practicing good energy habits, and now has the efficient house to accompany them. Before the makeover, her house scored a D-minus. Now, it's an A-plus, and a project the Gulf Power crew has enjoyed.

Pete Bailey: "It really is, it is really wonderful to see when people come together and make a difference in the community and help someone who is really in need, it was a good deal."

Kathryn Daniel, Channel Three News.

For more energy and money saving tips, click on "Energy Savings Makeover" on our website.

Ten ways to add value to your home

Simonton Windows

Whether you’re interested in making a resale investment or just want to enhance your living space, industry experts agree there are a number of easy ways you can add value to your home.

“Home improvement projects always equate to increasing the value of your house,” says Don Zeman, host of the home improvement radio show, Homefront with Don Zeman. “Whether you’re replacing an old dishwasher with a newer, energy-efficient model or simply adding crown moulding to a bedroom, every activity you do means you’re investing in the future of your home.”

A contractor and builder for 25 years before starting his nationally syndicated radio show, Zeman knows the best ways to add value to a house. “Research shows that major remodeling projects like adding a bathroom or renovating a basement definitely pay off when it comes time to selling your home,” says Zeman. “Those are big projects. Homeowners need to understand that smaller and medium-sized projects can also have huge benefits.”

According to Zeman, there are 10 extremely positive home improvement projects that can make life in your current home more enjoyable in the short-term and pay big dividends when selling the home in the future.

Project #1 – Create a designated home office space. Whether it’s just part of a room partitioned off with an obscure acrylic block wall to create a private nook or an entire room, home offices are essential parts of today’s living. The multi-functional space can be used for children to study, paying bills, writing or for a home business.

Project #2 – Treat your ceilings as the fifth wall in a room. Accent and embellish them with beaded plywood, paints or decorative finishes. Consider adding a lightweight urethane ceiling medallion from Fypon® around ceiling lights and fans. Two-piece medallions snap into place in less than five minutes to add more ambiance to a room.

Project #3 – Invest in your lawn. Nothing puts forth a better first impression than a well-manicured lawn and continuously-maintained shrubs and flower beds. If you’re selling your home, a buyer immediately forms his opinion of how well you have taken care of the interior by the look of the exterior.

Project #4 – Replace old, leaky windows with energy efficient vinyl windows. ENERGY STAR™ compliant windows help save on heating and cooling bills all year long. And, for added safety and security, consider Simonton StormBreaker™ Plus impact-resistant windows. Much like a car windshield, when broken the glass in these windows adheres to a heavy invisible plastic interlayer, thus reducing the damage inside the home from storms or crime attempts.

Project #5 – Expand living space by adding a deck or sunroom. Increasing the amount of usable space in a home always equates to adding more value. Whether it’s placing an awning over a patio area, converting a screened-in porch to a sunroom or adding a deck, the creation of more living space makes life more enjoyable for you now and adds an appealing selling feature for the future.

Project #6 – Remove mildew from your home’s exterior and prevent it from coming back. Start by killing any mildew by using a garden sprayer and JOMAX®, which contains an EPA-registered mildecide that kills mildew without harming your siding, shrubs or grass. After killing the mildew, prevent it from coming back by using PERMA-WHITE® Mold and Mildew-Proof Exterior Paint.

Project #7 – Trim out exterior windows and doors. If you have old, rotting wood around windows (or no trim at all) install all-weather millwork. Fypon cellular PVC trim resists insects, rot and termites, making it an ideal low-maintenance product.

Project #8 –Upgrade the master bathroom with a tub window. Made of durable acrylic blocks, Hy-Lite’s fix and operable windows provide privacy in the bathroom while allowing light into the room. A decorative bathroom window over the tub serves as a focal point in the room.

Project #9 – Replace rotted columns and porch posts with fiberglass columns. When you start spending several weekends each year repairing and repainting exterior rail systems and columns, it’s time to invest in low-maintenance fiberglass columns. Structural load-bearing columns from Dixie-Pacific are an affordable investment. Options include columns with lifetime finishes to eliminate painting and a variety of styles to complement any home design.

Project #10 – Bump out to a bay or bow window. Along with adding extra living space, bay and bow windows add instant visual interior and exterior appeal to homes. People value the extended space that can highlight a holiday tree, a window seat or simply adds more light to the home.

For more tips and ideas on adding value to your home, along with information on products discussed here, visit www.homefront.com.