CONFIDENT HOME REMODELERS is a New Jersey-based home remodeling company focussing on interior and exterior renovations, including additions, kitchens, bathrooms, hardwood floors, windows and doors, etc.  Our NJ Division of Consumer Affairs License # is 13VH04601200.  We are a member of the New Jersey Better Business Bureau, and we have no complaints registered.  We have lots of referrals from satisfied customers.

We are fully insured as a General Contractor with a General Aggregate of $2,000,000.  We accept most major credit cards, as well as debit cards.  Most of my business comes through referrals, repeat customers, and inquiries to the BBB.  I have used a few internet-based lead services for some projects.  I have done several fire rehab and insurance claim jobs, and at present I am expanding this aspect of my business.

I have the Service-Magic Seal of Approval.

Confident Home Remodelers relocated to Wayne, NJ (Passaic County) in October 2008.  I maintain a centrally location in Newark (Essex County) for storage of materials, etc.  A 30 - 40 minute drive from my storage site covers everything from Bergen County to Middlesex County, and from the Jersey City waterfront to Bridgewater, Morristown, and Kinnelon. It makes sense, for storage and logistics purposes, to be smack in the middle of the seven counties where you do business.

We continue to serve all of Central and Northern New Jersey. I've been involved in the sales and construction since 2003. I have a staff carpenter for all framing, molding, and cabinetry projects.  Together, our team has over 50 years total experience in the industry. Our skill and integrity has earned us a reputation as one of the state's pre-eminent home remodeling companies.

Our business plan is to provide absolute high-quality workmanship at very reasonable pricing.  We can do this by having very little overhead, and by supervising the jobsites myself instead of hiring someone for that.

"Attention To Detail" is our entire focus.  Photos are taken and printed to create a "specifications book" that stays on the jobsite. Every detail will be noted on the contract and photo-notes. 

INTERIOR REHAB and ADDITIONS:
Over the past several years, we've been focussing more and more of our business on interior rehab.  This category is now the majority of our sales.  These services include:

- Carpentry & framing, including whole additions
- Kitchens, including Cabinetry
- sheetrock, painting, and trim molding
- Bathrooms
- Tile work
- Hardwood flooring
- Laminate flooring, and more.  

Many customers have been prioritizing interior projects in our economic times.  My crew is experienced in all phases of interior work.  Kitchens and bathrooms remain popular projects.  As a General Contractor (GC), I have licensed electricians and plumbers that I use as needed.

- We use tarps to protect the portions of the house not being worked on is important.

- We work consecutive days until the project is done.  Nobody want a 1-month project to go on for 6-months.

- We involve the customer in selection of materials. Most customers want quality work, and having the contractor choose the cheapest option on materials isn't always the best plan.  This is especially true with tiles

- I have relationships with low-cost granite installers.  Granite countertops have to be specially cut and polished by very expensive machinery at the granite warehouse/factory. The installer will come to the house, make a template of the exact size, and then come back to install the finished and polished slab.  There is no such things as a General Contractor that does this himself because none of us have this machinery, this is something that is always subcontracted out. The informed homeowner will WANT this to be subcontrated out, including the sink basin installation

- Installing cabinets is an art. Every one has to be perfectly leveled and shimmed and screwed together with each other.  It doesn't take "only 4 hours" to throw cabinets into a kitchen. If someone says they can do a whole kitchen in 4 hours, look for another Contractor.  It takes longer to do it right.

- Sheetrock is also an art, and there are building codes to be followed.  5/8" for all exterior walls, and 1/2" for all interior walls and ceilings. The green sheetrock goes in basements. If you use 3/8" on a stud-framed wall, you'll have problems hanging pictures and you'll be plagued with cracks and holes.  3/8" sheetrock is used ONLY to go over old plaster and lathe, and even in this case, 1/2" is better. The Roto-zip is a miracle tool when it comes to sheetrocking where there are outlets and light switches.

- Anyone can paint, but most people don't know how to do it.  Sanding and spackling must be done before the painting, and this takes more time than the painting.  Budget rollers and brushes waste more time and cause more problems.  Don't use them. 
 
SIDING:
For  me, every house is a "show house". The finished product will stand out, and command notice from the neighborhood.  I will provide perfect workmanship, both to satisfy the customer and for my own business purposes.  Passers-by and neighbors will see the quality of the work, and how fast it was installed. I'll get more business. That is key to my business plan.

I prefer Alside due to its superior fade resistance on all its lines and the strength of the warranty .  We can install any brand of siding available, including Royal, Certainteed, and more.  Siding manufacturers recognize that customers has different price points and design consideration. Therefore, each has high-end, mid-end, and lower-end products. We encourage energy-efficient options such as the full-back insulation that form-fits the siding.  We also encourage customers to go with some of the ornamental extra's, including mantles and fluted pilasters which surround entry doors, vinyl shake, vinyl scallop, jumbo corner posts, shutters, extra wide trim around the windows, and more.  Most customers come to me with strong design ideas, but for those that need suggestions, I can coordinate trim and siding color packages that will be outstanding.

WINDOWS:
Windows are definately not a do-it-yourself project. Homeowners can easily make mistakes as follows:

- measuring the windows
- shimming and leveling them.  A window has to be level in 3 dimensions.  A large window often needs an additional screw in the middle of each side (despite what the manufacturer says), and it must be shimmed prior to screwing. Otherwise the sashes will be drafty and wobbly
- Properly insulating around the windows
- Properly caulking them.  Missing or failed caulking causing drafts, water infiltration, and the infiltration of flies, insects and spiders and all sorts of creepy crawly things.  Water infiltration will rot your sills and eventually the framing of the house or cause water damage on your walls.  Some interior caulks and silicones can't be painted.

Customers (and even most contractors) can't distinguish between all the caulks, silicones, and adhesives out there.  There is ONE brand that is far superior to all the others for exterior applications, and it is not GE.  It's a trade secret not to be revealed online.

I provide windows from several window manufacturers, depending on the quality of windows desired by the customer.  I provide both wood and vinyl windows.  Since the passage of the Economic Recovery Act of 2009, almost every window I've sold are the energy-efficient Alside Excalibur that qualify for a 30% tax credit at tax time.  Every customer gets a certificate to show your tax preparer.  The Alside Excalibur warranty is 2nd to none, and it covers vinyl cracking, warping, and chipping, mechanical problems, seal failure/fog between the panes, etc.  This manufacturer is in business over 60 years, and has hundreds of distribution centers nationwide.  They do not sell to homeowners, only to Contractors.

As a Contractor, I have access to every brand of window out there, including Andersen, Pella, Marvin, and all the various vinyl windows.  My strong preference is to directly install every window we sell, that way I can control the quality of installation. This is what we do. Even the best brands out there will have mechanical problems if not properly installed.  

On occasion, there are customers who insist that the manufacturer directly installs the window. Most manufacturers don't install, but I have a relationship with one who does. In this situation, I will sell the Duragard or Weatherweld window and hire the manufacturer to do the installation.

The budget-level window that I sell is called the Weatherweld.  Why do I ever sell a budget window ? Mostly it is selected by landlords who want the cheapest window possible.  To be honest, there are other brands that would cost me about $15 less per window, but most of the budget windows out there are really terrible. There are vinyl windows that might only last a few years before developing serious mechanical problems, and are totally shot in 10 years. Typically the urban landlord / real estate window will remove 85 year old wood windows that functioned well for 50 of those years and put in vinyl windows with zero energy efficiency that last less than 10 years. It's hard to convince them to spend the extra $15 to put in a vinyl window that will last tremendously longer, and typically they will choose another contractor to save $15 x 20 windows = $300.  And then either replace them all again in less than 10 years, or let the next owner worry about it.  This is why so many buyers of recently rehab'd houses in urban areas have terrible windows.

Watch out for windows made by small independant window fabricators in urban locations. Only a few of them make quality products.  A window fabricator buys all the parts, and assembles the windows.   Most are struggling to keep from going out of business, which of course would make their warranty useless. Or the owner is emerging from bankruptcy with a new company name, and no responsibility for the old company. Folks, it's simply not worth saving that $15 per window.  I simply won't put a junk window in any house. I don't want complaints and callbacks in the future.  And in 3 to 5 years, the tenants will be complaining about windows that slide open or won't stay up, that don't close properly, or have broken hardware, cracked glass panes, or seal failure (foggy between the double-pane glass), etc.  After 10 years, they can finally bite bullet, replace them all, and say "Well, you have to replace windows every 10 years anyway".  Not true.  A good vinyl window will last 30 - 50 years.

Note that the Economic Recovery Act doesn't cover landlords who want windows for the tenants, and landlords still have no economic incentive to pay more for the energy-efficient window.

It's best to choose a window manufacturers that has been around for decades. They aren't going to disappear tomorrow, so the warranty means something.  From the customer standpoint of achieving peace of mind, you can't do better.  These manufacturers do no advertising or marketing of their own, they don't install windows themselves, and they sell only to Contractors. It's more cost-effective for them to have a qualified and experienced Contractor who provides the customers than to hire, train, and pay salespersons, and then advertise for leads.  Most consumers still won't be familiar with these company names.

PAVING, SIDEWALKS, & FENCING:
Customers can even save money by selecting Confident Home Remodelers for their asphalt and concrete paving work.  You can always call these companies directly, but they sell to homeowners at "consumer pricing".  They provide services to me at "subcontractor pricing".  The difference is very substantial.  I can provide these services for customers, make a small profit, and still come in less than if you signed a contract directly with the same company. 

Confident Home Remodelers is known for:

• On schedule completion.
• Return on investment (Based on market trends).
• Final product exceeding expectations.
• Honesty, integrity, and great value.

Please note that this website is a work in progress.  Much more information will be posted here, in time.