Diamond Certified Blog

A quality paint job always starts with a thorough prep job. Recently I had 5 rooms in a small cottage painted and it took the painter more than 2 weeks of prep work before he even applied the primer! Greg Kuzmicki, owner of Solidarity Painting, Waterproofing & Restoration says too many painters cut corners by not prepping thoroughly and rushing through the job.

Mr. Kuzmicki thinks homeowners should be on the lookout for dry rot in particular. He says, “Most painters paint over dry rot because they just don’t notice it, but more often they just want to finish the job, get paid for it, and move on to the next job. This can be very costly to the homeowners in the future.” To be on top of things for your next painting project, Read more

With today’s advancements in wood flooring stains and finishes, cleaning wood floors has become much less of an arduous process. Regular maintenance requires little more than sweeping with a soft bristle broom and vacuuming with a soft floor attachment (if the floor has a beveled edge that could collect debris). To minimize maintenance and maintain the beauty of your wood floors, consider the following preventive maintenance tips:

• Don’t use sheet vinyl or tile floor care products on wood floors. Self-polishing acrylic waxes can cause wood to become slippery and appear dull.
• Use throw rugs inside and outside doorways to help prevent grit, dirt and other debris from being tracked onto your wood floors.

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Once it starts raining, roofers get calls from people who say their roof is leaking. But many times, it’s simply clogged up gutters causing the problem, according to David Imhof, Manager of Bay 101 Roofing, a Diamond Certified company. Everything from baseballs, lemons, pet toys, pine needles, and leaves can cause a blockage. Squirrels scurry around your roof, dropping nuts and twigs that float down into your gutters. So get out your garden hose now. Test by squirting water up into the gutter to check for flow. If it’s just a trickle, then take a closer look for drips and leaks at the seams. After you clear the gutters, consider installing gutter guards, which will keep out most debris. Read more

People have many reasons for switching to solar power, from rising electricity consumption and energy costs to growing concerns about the environment. Regardless of why you want to install a solar system on your residential or commercial property, there are numerous factors to consider before making a final decision. To ensure you’re as knowledgeable as possible when going through the process, consider the following tips and information:

Make sure you understand your utility company’s rates. In many areas, there are different “tiers” of usage and each has a different formula to calculate cost. Higher energy usage tiers have higher rates. In these schemes, you pay more as your energy demands increase. In the Bay Area, Read more

When a check engine light goes on, and won’t turn off after re-starting the engine, you know it’s time to have your mechanic check out the car. You can’t get any real useful advice over the phone. I was dealing with a problem like this and called a number of shops to find out what it would cost me for a diagnosis. Some wouldn’t give a price, another quoted a flat fee of $100, and finally a Diamond Certified shop said to bring it right in for a free evaluation. They ran a computer check on the car that lasted only a few minutes and said they couldn’t find anything serious wrong with the car. Read more

When done correctly, a high-quality paint job can tie together an entire room, add mood and interest to a space, and even add value to your home. When you’re in the market for new interior paint, consider the following tips for selecting the perfect color.

• Paint is the easiest décor element to change and one of the least expensive ways to give a room a facelift. For that reason, it’s wise to choose a paint that compliments or sets off the color scheme already present in your room. Consider the furniture, flooring, window treatments, tile, brick and fabrics in the room you want to repaint. Or, if you’re redecorating, make painting the final step in your project so you’re sure to choose a hue that compliments your new furnishings and accessories.

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The biggest mistake people make when complaining is that they don’t ask for what they want. Joe Ridout, Consumer Services Manager for Consumer Action, says you should be specific if you want your complaint resolved to your satisfaction as quickly as possible. Do you want a refund, a replacement, a discount, or an apology?

When talking to a customer service representative, a supervisor, or one of the super-supervisors (also called executive customer relations or retention specialists), Mr. Ridout advises that you stay away from making legal arguments. “If you appeal on the basis of fairness, that’s usually going to be more persuasive. Also some customer service reps are trained transfer complaints to the legal department once a consumer alleges the company is involved in illegal conduct, Read more

Most tires are designed to provide similar performance throughout their entire lives, but at some point they start to lose their traction and braking abilities. Understanding when a tire needs to be replaced is important to maintaining the overall performance and longevity of your car, but it’s also important to make sure replacement is the only option you have left. Before making a final decision, consider the following tips:

Look at the tread pattern. All tires sold in the United States have “tread wear bars,” which are small bridges that form between the treads. Look at the tread pattern and you’ll see the beginnings of these bars start to form. As the tires wear, Read more

A credit score is a number that shows the amount of risk you are to a lender. It can range from 350 to 850—the higher the better. The easiest way to boost your credit score is to pay your bills on time. Jeannine Moore, Marketing Director for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco, says the second most important thing you can do to improve the score is manage your credit balances in relation to your limits. About one-third of your score is based on what you currently owe lenders in relation to what you could possibly owe. Ms. Moore said she used to recommend not exceeding one-half of the available limit, but now things are tightening up even more and you should not exceed one-third of the limit. Read more

You can have an ant problem all year round in the Bay Area, if you don’t take some precautions. Richard Estrada, owner of ATCO Pest Control, a Diamond Certified company, says the first step is “getting rid of fruit, garbage, sodas and other food items that attract them. They love the same things we do!” Mr. Estrada doesn’t recommend spraying store-bought repellents because that just scatters the ants. What you want to do is apply bait primarily to the areas where the ants originate in order to get things under control.

Inspecting the outside of your home is also a good idea. Mr. Estrada says maybe a bush or tree touching the house is infested with ants. Read more