Who can sign up for BugJim ?

Any Contractor in the New Construction, Remodeling or Home services field Is welcome to submit there ad at www.BugJim.com . We have several categories , they are as follows

General Contractor's
Excavation
Concrete/Foundations
Rough Carpentry
Roofing
HVAC
plumbing
electrical
Insulation
Siding
Drywall
Painting
Trim Carpenters
Flooring
Landscaping

New Cities

BugJim has just launched our Contractor page's in five new cities (Atlanta, Denver, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Seattle). Ads in these areas as well as our other 19 cities are free of charge for standard listing's so all contractors in those areas feel free to submit your ads for processing. Home owner's keep a look out because Jim is busy searching out the perfect contractor for your next project

If you have a city you would like to see posted please email us at our contact us tab on www.BugJim.com or just login to check out the new main page and Jim's face lift.

Choosing Exterior Siding for your home

When it comes to Home siding it is a major decision. There are various types of siding and the price range in wide. The Majority of siding will last at least 20 years so It needs to be something you can live with. Color, look, price and maintenance should all play into your decision. This Article should help

First you should determine your price range. This will better prepare you for what you can afford, that way you can decide if it is better to wait till you can afford what you will like.

3 Most Common types of Siding

Vinyl Siding - The most cost efficient of the group, Very affordable when it comes to pricing. Comes in various Color's and styles, Major Brands include(Certainteed, Crane) Vinyl Siding is Maintenance free and comes in various thickness to withstand the toughest of weather including Hail and Wind( Bad Choice for the Southwest because of extreme heat)


FiberCement Siding - Slightly more Expensive then Vinyl but is still affordable , affordable when it comes to pricing. Comes in various Color's and styles, Major Brands include(Certainteed, James Hardie) most major brands offer a pre-painted option that is baked in siding and has a great warranty, slightly more than the non painted but saves time and painting( good choice for all climates) Very durable and looks like wood siding without roting and bug infestation.



Stone/Brick - One of the most expensive types of siding Comes in various Color's and styles, ( good choice for all climates) Very durable and shows a great return on your investment. mostly Maintenance free(except mortar joints).

Stucco - Very popular in the southwest due to extreme heat and dryness. More expensive than vinyl and wood. Stucco is Very durable and in the south it helps keep home cool in summer. Very High maintenance.

Wood Siding- More expensive than Vinyl but more cost efficient than the rest. Needs to be maintained. More likely to rot than other sidings and needs to be repainted ofter. But for the natural look and feel it cant be beat.


Thank you for following our post and check back later for more info on all your home improvement needs. Check us out at www.BugJim.com

5 steps to chooseing a Contractor for your remodel

Step1

You need to know the basic design of your project (kitchen remodeling, add a master bedroom, flooring tile. etc.)

Step2

The contractor You choose needs to have a specialty in the type of work that will need to be done).

Step3

If your project consist multiple trades like a room addition, than you need to decide whether you want to manage the project yourself or to hire a general contractor or project manager to tackle the project.

Step4

You can get started and select contractors you can use at www.BugJim.com it's free.

Step5

When making a decision on the contractor you need to check all of the following items: 1. Verify that Company is Licensed/Bonded/Insured 2. Ask for Refrences(and check them) 3. Ask How many jobs like yours the contractor has done in the past year.4. Narrow list down to 2-3 individuals and interview again (make a list prior to meeting with them to ask any questions you may have forgotten the 1st time around.


Thanks for checking this out and hope it was helpful. For more Information and to check out local contractors go to www.BugJim.com

The competition ?

Why would you go to a home improvement website that sells your information to hundreds of contractors? The answer is simple, most people dont know. Web sites like Service Magic (one of the largest online contractor services) Sell leads(every time homeowners inquire about services) to contractors for on average $50 a lead. So if That company sells your inquiry to 30 contractors in your area they just made about $1500.00 off you visiting there website. Thats the reason they are one of the largest companies on the internet in the home improvement sector, thats why you see there ads all over Tv, internet and some radio. But the services are inferior to both the home owner and to the contractor. It leaves homeowners mad because long after they have selected a contractor there phone is still ringing off the hook, or
contractors not even offering the services they need calling. Contractors are sent leads from areas they dont cover, services they dont do, and jobs that are allready taken. Rarely does a contractor actually get a "good lead"

Bug Jim however is 100% free to the Contractor and the Homeowner selects who they call. Yes Contractors dont get as many calls as they could from our service, but Our service is free and the calls they do get have a better chance of turning into real work. For more on Bugjim or just to check us out go to www.BugJim.com .

who can you trust?

When It comes to the Remodeling/New Contruction of your home it all comes down to one question, Who can I trust? This is a very good question. The best answer to that question is, after talking to the person/company do you fell you can trust them. Most of the time If the person is shady you can tell by talking with them for 5/10 min. I know the news and special tv reports always say never give money upfront(its a warning sign) but thats not the case. In this economy a contractor can be taken advantage of just as quickly as a homeowner. Liens you say, Just because a company files a lien is no guarantee they will ever get there money back. I mean look at all of the contractors that lost money when Harvest Homes went under. Most had filed liens but got nothing. Why you ask? Because the laws are not contractor/homeowner friendly, Some contractors filed liens with the advise of lawyers and still got nothing because the lawyers did not know the laws and pre lien fillings. So now that I have got slightly off topic, Contractors that ask for money upfront are not all out to rob you. A good rule of thumb is never overpay your contractor. This does not include the money upfront that is to purchase matieral. If you are that worried about money for material, tell you contractor you would like to go with them to purchase and pay for this material or set up your own account at your local hardware store. An Honest Contractor will have no problem with this. So after talking with your contractors ask yourself, Can I trust them? If the answer is yes then your probally right if the answer is no or not sure keep looking at I promise you will find the right one. Also make sure you ask for samples of previous work. For an example my website gallery is where i send my customers.

Welcome to BugJim

Welcome to BugJim . I will just take a minute and expain to everyone the purpose of BugJim . BugJim was started to offer affordable advertisiting for contractors in all fields of home improvement and construction services, In doing so we hope more contractors will continue to sign up for our advertising programs and in return offer homeowners more choice when it comes to selecting the contractors to compete for there job and in return save homeowners money and time.

Unlike the competition we dont beleive in selling expensive leads to contractors, this only makes things rough on the contractor and homeowner. It stops contractors from being sold expensive leads that sometimes offer no promise of return on there time/investment. On the homeowner side it stops there phone from ringing long after they have selected a contractor and in some cases even finished the project, Homeowners call who the want to when they want to.

With that said I want to welcome you all to come check out www.BugJim.com and check back with our blog to see what we whats new a BugJim