Tyler TX Facebook

Follow Donny on Twitter

Username:
Password:
  Remember Me   Forgot password?  Register
0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

Find or Refer a Contractor in Tyler

Affordable but quality craftmanship in home remodeling repairs in the Tyler TX area

January 26th, 2011


Over the last 2 years I have had several different home remodeling companies over to our Tyler TX home. During this time of being a general contractor of sorts for my own home I have seen a lot of problems that happen by not questioning contractors and getting enough bids from different companies.

I hope that this article can help you in making an informed decision when hiring a home remodeling company to fix up your Tyler Texas home.

The number one headache I have at this point is the issue I have been dealing with of a bad paint job in my sons room.

I failed to ask the painters I hired if they would be using quality paint rather than closet paint.

You see there are different qualities of paint and the lower the quality the cheaper the cost.

Although you may pay a painting company a certain price and may have even haggled them down quite a bit they can make up for it in what quality of paint they purchase.

I have even been told that cheap closet paint was used in many of the mansions built at the Cascades. I have no idea if this is true but so what, what could be the worst case scenario?

I personally have experienced what problems creep up with low quality paint. The problem I have had is that within only a few short weeks whenever my son has scraped a hotwheel car against the wall or even a book the paint would peel off.

Keep in mind the paint has had plenty of time to dry but nonetheless the paint peels off if there is even the slightest harsh brush against it.

This paint peeling problem is number one issue that occurs when a low quality paint job is done on an interior home paint job.

Be sure to ask the painters you hire exactly what type of paint they plan on purchasing for the job and why. Also ask them if the paint is considered a low quality paint or high quality.

Don’t let a painter convince you that low quality is just as good and if youwant go ahead and call Sherman Williams paint store and talk the choice of paint over with a sales man.

A Sherman Williams paint sales guy will usually no more than many grunt level painters who haven’t even picked up a single book on the subject of professional painting.

Unfortunately in many cases a general contractor must know more about each aspect of the construction of a house than the individual niche experts putting the house together.

For each new project you plan for your Tyler TX home go ahead and watch a few short youtube instructional videos and you will find you will have plenty of good interview questions to ask your local Tyler Texas home contractor.

Lowes in Lindale

April 16th, 2010


LOWES, Lindale
3200 S main Street
Lindale 75771
903 579 2470

Lowes is a huge building/garden/home improvements store. Lowes of Lindale is easily accessible to the North part of Tyler, just minutes from the I20 or from Hwy 69. Lindale Lowes carries a larger range of product lines and seems less busy than the Tyler store. Add to that a huge parking area, friendly staff and a great garden center and you’ll never want to shop at the Tyler one again!
Lowes is well laid out and clearly signed. There are wheelchair carts available for those who don’t want to walk through the store and some fun carts for kids which make them feel like they are driving a car.

You will come across different departments depending on which door you enter. To the far right is the building supplies, lumber and garden sheds, the middle door opens into the home area (lighting, décor, hardware etc.) and at the far left you will come to the garden and seasonal section. At the back of the store are the appliances, kitchen and bathroom section plus a fairly good range of carpet and rugs.

In addition to what has been listed, Lowes sells: plumbing materials, cabinetry, doors and windows, tiling and flooring, decking, roofing, paint, electrical items, window treatments, lawn furniture and mowers, tools and power equipment and lots, lots more! Lowes is always our first port of call whenever we need anything for our home.

The staff are very helpful. They have specialists in each department who are on hand to answer any questions and help you find the products you need. If you need help and can’t find someone, there is a call bell system. I would imagine that many of these people have been tradesmen in that area in earlier years but no longer want to climb roofs or fix drains in their 50s.
The customer service is excellent. My husband repeatedly buys things that he finds he doesn’t use and they give a full refund with a receipt, or a giftcard with no receipt. Occasionally we receive special offer mailing and coupons for our next project. You can get a trade account at Lowes too. There are often special offers at Lowes – you will find these in their mailings or on their website. The clearance section is also very good for bargains. My husband has had some good finds on damaged cabinets which are heavily reduced and only need a little attention.

I like the ‘how to’ and advice leaflets on display and the magazine selection which has great ideas for home improvements.

The garden center at Lowes Lindale is very good. They have all sorts of bedding plants, trees and plants plus seeds. Also lots of different soils, mulches, fertilizers and things for pest control, plus landscaping items. The garden center at Lindale Lowes is so popular that the other Lowes in the area (including Tyler and Longview) send their clearance plants here. Bargains abound!

There are a few minor negatives – firstly there is no café in store, but there is Subway, Chilis, Posados and KFC nearby, plus Walmart. The restrooms are well maintained. The second negative is that there is no equipment for hire.

A great positive for us as a family – Lowes have children’s projects twice a month where the kids get to bang nails into a precut wooden creation. We have now have Lowes cars, buses, toolboxes, mailboxes and even bird feeders! All projects and equipment is provided free of charge.

As you can see, we are great fans of Lowes Lindale!

Ace Hardware Store in Tyler Texas

January 8th, 2010

A hardware store is just a hardware store. The people at Ace Hardware would have you believe that their store is more packed full of hardware than any of the other competing businesses, or that their prices are lower, or even that their hardware is of superior quality. The truth is that you could, most likely, find all of the same equipment for the same prices at the Home Depot. This is not necessarily a negative similarity; the theme of hardware doesn’t support a lot of variety. Although in Ace’s defense they do have a formidable paint selection. Ace Hardware also has a little more open space than most hardware stores; it has a breezy expansive center isle with plenty of room to drag your new sundry items, or roller skate down.

Where Ace really stands out is its service, the sales peoples really know how to simply make sure your needs are taken care of. After all basic service is much more than you can ask from Lowe’s or Home Depot’s customer assistance placebo buttons. I have not yet been able to test the employee’s hardware expertise, but they did clear my lawn furniture obstacle course in very good time.

Ace Ritter in Tyler Texas will unfortunately be closing down this year as Lowe’s and Home Depot have proven to be too much competitin for them. I would run by there and see if their smokers are on sale. Ace Ritter has some remarkable meat smokers that are electric and burn small wood pellets. The meat never burns and the amount of electricity needed to ignite the wood pellets is minimal. These smokers are one of the best niche items Ace Ritter sales and since they are going out of business I would look for these to be marked down. Don’s TV and Appliances also sells this brand of meat smoker so if you wanted to price shop you could check out the two stores.

If you enjoy shopping at Ace Hardware you can still find one in the Flint Gresham area at Kirkpatricks Ace Hardware.

Kirkpatrick Hardware in Tyler Texas

January 7th, 2010

kirkpatrickThere aren’t many specialty hardware stores left in the Tyler Texas area. Lowes and Home Depot ran Ace Ritter out of town and they are a big one. There is however still a market for certain specialty do it yourself hardware stores and Kirkpatrick Hardware is a perfect example. Kirkpatrick hardware is located at the 4 way stop area in Flint/Gresham off of Old Jacksonville Highway.

I have been going to Kirkpatrick’s for years and have mainly used them to tune my chainsaw, sharpen my chainsaw chain or simply replace the chainsaw chain. Speaking of that I have my chainsaw with them now getting a tune up and chain sharpening. The weather is about to go down to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and I want to have it to cut some firewood.

Kirkpatrick’s doesn’t just service chainsaws but any number of small engines. If you have a faulty lawn mower you should bring it in and have them see what they can do. They have a quick turn around and they educate you on what they do to fix it. Beyond these services Kirkpatrick’s also does some of the following:

  • Small Engine Repair – pickup and delivery available
  • U-Haul Truck and Trailer Rentals – Phone: 903-534-8114
  • UPS Shipping
  • Dry Cleaning – Drop Off and Pick-Up
  • Key Cutting
  • Paint Mixing
  • Screen Repair
  • Mini Storage Rentals

When your at Kirkpatrick’s you will find many choices of small motor engine machines like their large selection of Stihl chainsaws. They sell Snapper and Toro lawnmowers. Kirkpatrick’s conveniently offers a Uhaul rental area in the back where you can quickly rent a trailer or truck for moving things around.

Beyond your chainsaws and lawnmowers Kirkpatrick’s offers a full line of hardware items for the do it yourselfers. You will find some specialty items here that your not going to find at Lowes or Home Depot. Beyond shopping here for specialty hardware items we recommend that you shop here to support local ownership in Tyler Texas.

Lowes and Home Depot have there purpose but they just aren’t the same to truly friendly customer focused local people in Flint/Gresham. This Tyler Texas area hardware store will always be a local business favorite of mine and the chainsaw service people always treat me right.

Address and Location Information

Kirkpatrick Hardware

16885 FM 2493

Tyler, Texas 75703

Phone: 903-561-1020

Fax : 903-561-9597

U-Haul: 903-534-8114

Email: support@kirkpatrickhardware.com

Maddox Air Conditioning

December 30th, 2009

Maddox air conditioning and heating has been serving east texas proudly since 1937. I’ve dealt with this family owned business before and found that not only did they have the expertise and professional know how that comes from a big name company but the customer service and southern manners that puts me at ease when I’m dealing with them. Maddox has reasonable prices and detailed professional advice to help anyone make the right choices for their home.

Although Maddox air conditioning and heating has been around for over 70 years, they service all the latest and greatest systems from Lennox, American Standard, Carrier and everything in between. Maddox has been constantly educating their employees to ensure that they are up to date on all systems and have recently added digital control systems to their list of expertise.

The thing that has impressed me most about Maddox is their customer service, with a 24 hour 365 day a year emergency care systems, Maddox will ensure that you are never left out in the cold. They are quick to respond, and will give you a detailed analysis of the problems with your systems and the best way to fix or upgrade your system. Instead of pressuring you to buy a brand new system they will work with you on whatever you decide.

Maddox covers both residential and commercial giving you the same quality care no matter the size of your project. With their main office on Bonner street downtown it is easy to find and allows them to respond to an emergency quickly.

When your electric bills start adding up larger than they were it might be time to call Maddox and see about updating your system to a better more proficient system. they will give you knowledgable advice on other energy saving methods such as new windows or better insulation. In addition to their services with cooling and heating systems they also do sheet metal fabrcation.
Their online systems are a little outdated but with easy to reach customer service it doesn’t cause that large of a problem, however, it would be nice to see helpful energy saving tips and the differences in certain heating and cooling systems without venturing outside of their professional suggestions.

Since Maddox has been working in east texas so long they know the stresses that the texas heat can have, not only on your systems but also on your wallet. Maddox’s trusted service will ensure that you are cared for and give you the peace of mind knowing that you are not overpaying for substandard service.