Basement Renovations | Castlerock CO & Parker CO

Happy New Year from BIC, the experts in Basement Finishing in Castlerock CO!

You know what I love about starting a new year? Resolutions. I love to challenge myself. I really call resolutions “goals”. I know in all likelihood, I’m probably not going to 100% complete all of them. But, I stick to them and if I mess up once, I don’t just give up, I keep going. It’s like dieting. If you mess up one day, do you completely give up on the diet altogether? No way! Just call it a cheat day and continue the diet the next day.

One of my favorite goals to set is to get organized. Yes, I am a little OCD. Everything has a place. And yes, I find joy in organizing things. What better way to start the new year than to get your office space organized and functional as part of your basement finishing project?!

Here are some of my necessities to having a good, functional basement office space:

Natural Light

I like a lot of natural light everywhere in my home. Although I know that is not always possible (especially in basements), I recommend trying to place your office in a room with at least 1 window (a big one if you can!).

A Bookshelf

No only can you store books on this, but also decorations! Put up your trophies and awards, pictures of friends and family, little nic-nacs. Whatever helps motivate you to work, or makes you happy, put it up!

Clean Desk

Don’t clutter your desk. Just put the essentials on it- computer, lamp, 1 picture, pencil holder. Everything else can go in the drawers/cabinets. If your desk is just a table, make sure to get a bookshelf or chest of drawers that will match nicely, and keep it close by. You can always put a shelf behind your desk that can hold file folders if you need those.

Big, Comfy Chair

Sometimes you just need to take a break and relax. 10 minutes to chill, close your eyes, and breathe, and then you’ll be ready to get back to work. Just don’t give in to the urge to never leave the chair.

Filing System

Not only does your work stuff need to be organized, but so does your personal life. Maybe your office is simply to keep track of your personal life. My favorite system for filing all of our important information can be found by clicking here. 

Remember, it’s going to take time to get organized. It doesn’t just happen overnight. Be ready to dedicate several hours, maybe even a weekend (or two or three!) to getting your life organized. Don’t be discouraged by all of the work to do, be encouraged by the progress you’re making, and what it’s going to look like when it’s complete! Pinterest is full of decorating, organizing, and do it yourself ideas. I highly recommend checking it out and seeing what you can do with your office space. Our office Pinterest page has some great ideas as well for you to check out, just click here!

Good luck getting organized this year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out our website and blog. We just wanted to inform everyone that BIC Construction will be shutting down operations Monday, December 22nd through Friday January 2nd. This is to allow for our team members to spend some quality time with their families. We will be up and running Monday, January 5th and will respond to emails and messages as quickly as possible.

Have a very happy, and safe, holiday season!

BIC Construction, LLC

It is officially time for the holidays. Thanksgiving is in one week and Christmas is quickly approaching. When did it become this time of year? I’m not ready for it! Once Christmas passes, we’re getting into 2015, and that’s right, tax season. Have you considered what you’re going to do with your tax return yet? Family vacation? Shopping spree? New furniture? Fix up the house? What about finishing your basement!?

Picture starting off your new year with an addition to your home! A new place for family night to happen. Bed rooms for guests to stay in (instead of on your couch, or your 5 year old’s twin size bed). A place to put that pool table you’ve always wanted. A theater to watch movies and football games. A place to entertain!

 Why not get a free design and bid? Just look into it! This is the perfect time to start budgeting and planning for the future growth of your home. Maybe having everyone over for the holidays will prove that it’s time to expand and finish your basement.

Give us a call today to schedule your free basement design and bid!  

CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR

When deciding to have any major work done on your home, you either do it yourself, or hire a contractor. I like to think I’m pretty handy, but there are just some things I wouldn’t even dare attempt.

Here is some advice on choosing a contractor:

1) Lowest cost is not always your best option.

Think about it, the cost is low for some reason or another. Quick, sloppy work? Cheap materials? Maybe further down the road they will tell you that it’s going to cost more than they thought. If the cost is several thousand dollars cheaper than your other bids, I would get rid of it.

You be the judge on this one.

2) Immediate availability…red flag!

Yes, you want to get your basement finished ASAP. If a company is offering you a near immediate start date, red flags should start going up. Why is an immediate start date open? A good company is going to be booked out, and you’re going to be looking at starting in two to three months. Now, there are always exceptions. Maybe someone decided not to have work done and a spot opened up- yes, grab that spot! Or maybe it’s around the holidays…who really wants to have work going on in their home during the holidays? That’s when you want it to be finished, so you can show it off to all of your family and friends. That’s definitely a rough booking time for a lot of construction companies. So you want immediate availability, try around the holidays!

3) Check them out on Better Business Bureau.

Go see what the Better Business Bureau has to say. You can see BIC Construction on there by clicking here. You definitely want to see if there are any complaints filed against a contractor you are considering using before you sign a contract with them.

4) Do you feel comfortable around them?

If you feel uneasy about a person, why would you let them into your home? I sure wouldn’t. In our business, we will be in your home for 4-6 weeks. Choose someone you feel understands your desires for the project, you can trust, you’re comfortable with how they go about getting their work done, and communicates well. If you can’t understand what they’re saying, who’s to say they’re not going to take advantage of that? A big thing for me is that while I don’t know construction terminology (I’m the office manager, I know office lingo), I don’t feel belittled and I feel like the contractor is willing to take the time to explain things to me until I understand what he is saying.

Scott will break everything down for you. We want you to feel valued and make sure that you understand every little aspect of your basement finish. Speaking of that…

 

5) Get a bid and then sign a contract.  

 

You want to make sure that everything is included. Get a breakdown of costs. Get a payment schedule so you know how much is due and when. Don’t pay it all up front! (The payment plan we offer is basically “pay as it gets completed”.) And don’t pay the final payment until you are completely satisfied with how it looks. Holding that final payment is what is going to get the contractor moving to finish everything to your satisfaction.