Home Improvement

Useful Cost information. Here are some sites for seeing the typical costs and average costs for various home improvement projects :

Do It Yourself Information:

We tend to use the Black & Decker Photo Guides to Home Improvement. We have several of their books.
I think it's a little odd, but we actually use the Home Depot website for how-to information, as well.

Retailers:

We bought most of our stuff at Home Depot, and they definitely have the lowest prices we've seen. We've heard good things about Lowe's, but the closest one is in Fremont, and we've never bothered to make that long drive.
I wish I had more favorable things to say about Orchard Supply Hardware, because they are a local business (founded in San Jose!), and, although they are a chain, they don't seem to be a monster chain like Home Depot. Unfortunately, I haven't had much better experiences at OSH than at Home Depot. OSH's prices aren't lower, and they have far less selection. OSH's commercials advertise their homespun, neighborly helpfulness, but I haven't found the folks at Orchard Supply to be any more helpful than those at Home Depot. The only pluses for OSH: their proximity (there's one nearby), their competitive prices, and their decorations (i.e., holiday decorations) are usually decent and fun.

Projects:

Cindy and I used Brothers Home Improvement for our windows. Even though Brother's offers their own line of windows, we opted for Simonton windows. However, because we didn't use the Brothers line, the window warranty now is through Simonton, not Brothers (though Brothers covers the installation). We've been very happy with the improved look of our home and the sound and heat insulation (and we probably would've wilted during the heat wave without the new windows!). On the negative side, one of the edges of the vinyl trim has come loose, so one of the windows doesn't close correctly. We plan to call Brothers to repair that, and, based on our experience with them, we don't expect any problems.