When you think about starting any home remodeling project, the first thing that might come to mind is, “How much is this going to cost me?” and “How can I pay for this?” Whether you’re replacing your entire home siding, windows, or just want to upgrade your garage floor with an industrial concrete coating, any construction or addition to your home can be a hefty investment. Just like when you buy a new car, there can be a lot of technical terms and reading the fine print that you must decipher before deciding how you will go about financing it.

If you’re thinking about painting your home’s exterior, you might be thinking, “Can I do this myself?” and “Do I really need to hire a professional for that?” Painting the exterior of your home is vastly different than painting the interior. While you can cover your interior walls with a simple primer and topcoat or two, painting the exterior requires much more preparation and skill. The outside of your home consists of layers of protection. You have your frame, substrate, siding, and paint. (Yes, even the paint acts as a layer of protection to your home.)

Are you looking for James Hardie Fiber cement siding but don't know who you should have do the work? Follow Russ on his siding replacement journey with Southwest Exteriors.

You’ve heard the phrase one too many times: “These are unprecedented times.” Whether it be leaving the office for good, learning how to be a homeschool teacher, or ordering takeout instead of eating in, it’s hard to deny the statement is true. Industries of every kind have experienced shortages. Labor and material shortages have created delays and order backups like never before. And they’re only getting worse.

Photo credit: Mike Mozart. This photo was not altered or edited in any way. License: Creative Commons Your home’s exterior undergoes a hefty amount of weathering. Constant sunlight, harsh winters, and random hail storms are just a few acts of Mother Nature that test the durability of your exterior.

You start to notice some issues on a particular part of your home that seem pretty serious. Upon further inspection, you decided you need to hire a professional contractor to get the job done. After scheduling a few consultations with ones that had the highest reviews, you’re left disappointed. They looked good on paper, but something about that consultation didn’t feel quite right. You were left with that weird feeling in your stomach that they were going to deceive you.