How Much Can a Contractor Ask for Up Front in California?
Direct Answer: On a California home improvement contract, the down payment is capped at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Everything after that is paid as work gets finished. The hardest moment in any home project is not picking the color. It is writing the first check to someone you […]
Staying in the House While the Interior Gets Painted: Dust, Fumes, Pets
Direct Answer: Yes, most households can stay put during an interior repaint. It works when the crew paints room by room, seals off work areas, and leaves you a place to sleep, cook, and work each night. Almost nobody asks me this question straight out, but I can hear it underneath a lot of walkthroughs. […]
Chipped Cabinet Veneer: Can It Be Repaired Before a Refinish?
Direct Answer: Usually, yes. Lifted veneer can often be re-bonded and clamped flat, and missing chips can be patched with matching stock. Only widespread bubbling or swollen core material forces replacing a door. You open a cabinet door, run your thumb down the edge, and feel a thin strip of wood lifting away from the […]
New Cabinet Pulls on Refinished Wood: Can the Old Holes Be Hidden?
Direct Answer: Under paint, a filled pull hole disappears. Under a clear coat on natural wood, it almost never does, because filler takes finish differently than wood. Match the old hole spacing instead. Most of the cabinet calls I get on the Monterey Peninsula start the same way. The wood is still good, the kitchen […]
Refinishing Cabinets and Replacing Countertops: Which Goes First?
Direct Answer: Countertops come off first. Repair and refinish the cabinet boxes while the tops are off, then the new slab gets templated and installed, and finished doors go back on last. A homeowner in Carmel Valley wrote in last summer with a scope I wish more people sent. He wanted to keep his cherry […]
Unpaid State Sales Tax Can Suspend a Contractor License Starting January 2027
Direct Answer: Starting January 1, 2027, SB 1165 lets the CSLB registrar refuse, suspend, or deny renewal of a contractor license over unresolved state tax debt. Check any contractor’s license status at cslb.ca.gov before signing. The worry I hear most from homeowners around Monterey County has nothing to do with paint colors. It is some […]
Is a Garage Floor Coating Safe for Dogs? What Off-Gassing Comes Down To
Direct Answer: A cured garage coating is hard and inert, so a dog walks on it like sealed concrete. The fume concern belongs to the wet install window, not the finished floor. If you have dogs and you are thinking about coating your garage floor, you have probably read something online about epoxy fumes and […]
Picking an Exterior Color That Still Looks Right in Monterey Fog
Direct Answer: Test large painted sample boards on every side of your house, checking them in morning fog, midday sun, and late afternoon. Fog light mutes warm tones, so colors read cooler and flatter than they will by noon. You have three swatches taped up near the front door and you have been circling them […]
ADU Impact Fees Shrink January 1 for Units Over 750 Square Feet
Direct Answer: Starting January 1, 2027, SB 1117 requires local impact fees on an ADU larger than 750 square feet to be charged only on the square footage above 750, for up to two ADUs per lot. If you have been pricing out a backyard unit in Salinas or a larger addition in Seaside, you […]
Water Under the Garage Door: Can a Damp Slab Hold a Coating This Winter?
Direct Answer: A damp slab will push a coating off from below. Test moisture first with a taped plastic sheet at home, or an ASTM F2170 probe test, before any product goes down. You pull into the garage after a storm, and the slab is dark and damp in the middle of the floor. Or […]
