Hire a licenced professional and save yourself if disaster strikes

Chances are this guy doesn’t have insurance… probably isn’t licensed either. I see posts in community FB posts all the time advertising the services of unlicensed handymen. I have no problem with somebody trying to earn a living, but homeowners should know they can get burned using unlicensed and uninsured labor.

For one, there is the liability of a person working on your home being hurt on the job. Their insurance is there to protect YOU from paying their medical bills.

Second and less known - Your own insurance won’t cover you for damage caused by poorly done work by unlicensed labor. Not long ago, we came to a home where the owner paid an unlicensed “contractor” to fix her roof, only to have it done poorly. The rains came and the roof leaked so bad it destroyed the walls and floors of most of her home. Insurance wouldn’t cover it because it was the result of unlicensed labor.

Please don’t put yourself, your home or your finances at risk - hire liscence and insured professionals!

Resurface or refinish your deck for safety and for looks

Getting your deck resurfaced or even replaced isn’t just about looks - it’s also about safety. An old, worn out deck can be an eyesore and sure, it might lead to hosting fewer barbecues, but an old deck clan also be a liability (and I’m not just talking about splinters). One time, I had a refrigerator delivered and asked them to come through the back slider over the deck. The delivery man fell straight through the middle of the deck! Luckily he wasn’t hurt, but it could have been worse.

This homeowner didn’t have anyone fall through the deck, but they certainly made a great choice in redoing the deck! It looks great and it’s now ready for some BBQ or even trips out to that hot tub!

Custom built-in bench in new construction home

We have installed and painted this built in for an entry way in a new construction home. All that’s left is for the homeowner to select hardware. This built-in feature is great for taking your jacket off, hanging it up, then sitting down to take off your wet shoes. You can then store the shoes under the bench.

These sort of built-in features are great for existing homes too because we can build them in our warehouse, away from your home and then install them in a day - no hassle, no construction zone in your house - it’s like ordering from Amazon, but this is made in America by serious craftsmen!

New Construction Stairs in Mason!

We’ve completed the stairs in the new construction home we are working on in Mason! The stairs came out perfect. A new home is always fun, but stairs are something we can also remodel in an existing home. In many homes the stairs are right in sight of the front door and set the first impression that guests have when they come into your home. An update or remodel can not only make that impression a beautiful one, but also remove creaky stairs, make steep staircases safer, we can resurface worn stairs with great, new options … there’s so much we can do. If your stairs just don’t look right to you or if they’re worn down, give us a call and have them remodeled by a team of professional finish carpenters, trained create safe, beautiful stairs.

Another finished basement coming together!

Another finished basement is moving along. With the drywall up, you can finally see the shape of this new part of your home come to life! It’s exciting for homeowners because looking at drawings and estimates doesn’t have the same feeling as seeing the concrete and cobwebs replaced by walls! Imagine what your basement could look like.

Master Bathroom Remodel

This master bathroom in Holt has all the pace in the world to relax or get ready for work and with the toilet in a separate room, you can truly feel clean while you’re getting clean!

Custom pantry shelves to meet your needs

Pantry shelves in older homes is almost always terrible! Afterthought shelves - or worse, flimsy wire ones! You need room and support! Here’s a custom pantry we are working on now.

There’s plenty of shelf space here for everything and - look close. The supports are anchored to the framing of the home, so they don’t need to touch the floor. That leaves a ton of uninterrupted space for water jugs, dog food bags, storage totes and other odd-shaped items that we throw in our pantries.

This small update is affordable and can be made completely custom to fit your needs! Shoot us a message to get started.

A full look at our most recent finished basement

Can you believe this is a basement? Can you believe that not long ago, this was a regular, dark, cement basement? The kind you used to run out of as a kid after you turned the light off.

Finishing your basement is a great way to add space to your home, whether that be space for bedrooms, income property, a movie room, gym office or a combination of ideas. It’s almost a blank canvas that you and your contractor have use to make a space that uniquely suits the needs of your family.

This basement is just one of many we have completed. How can we work together with you to make your basement special?

Jackson Staircase: After the homeowners move in!

A staircase can be the centerpiece of some homes. You walk into the front door and there it is. How does it look? Is it a reflection of your family’s style and taste? Staircases require an experienced finish carpenter - the type of professional who can show you options you may not have known were possible with your stairs. Don’t settle for less in your home.

These stairs here were from a Lansing home we worked on just as things started to open. The entire staircase, spanning three floors, was built by our team. It’s one of our favorites and it showcases what we are capable of!

Second story decks give you views to relax to

This second story balcony style deck is looking brand new with a power wash and new stain from our crew! We fit this in for the homeowner as part of a larger project inside the home, but it’s nice to get outside, enjoy the breeze and the views, which is exactly what they will be doing on this deck now that it’s looking better than ever!

A basement living room for a student

Loving where you live is a concept many of us have gotten more familiar with in the last year. This basement went from a concrete, dark room to a beautiful space.

This week, we’ve posted about the other rooms, but today, we are checking out the main room. This main room has a place for cold drinks, counter space and a ton of room for a young student to live at home or really anything these homeowners can imagine. From the lights to the carpeting and the walls, all the work was done by our team, who have now finished over a dozen basements in the last year and a half.

Please check out our other posts this week for the bedroom and study from this basement project. We are really proud of the work our team is done and would love to inspire new basement projects!

A basement office for an Okemos home

Love finished basements? So do we! This office nook is a custom feature, designed to meet the needs and specifications of our homeowner. This could be a place for a college student to do their homework in a “home-not-so-far-away-from-home” or it could be a private suite for remote work. If you can imagine it, we can build it.

Everything from floor to ceiling (minus furniture) was done by our team. Our project manager, GT, worked with the homeowners to select flooring, colors and features. This basement has gone from a concrete storage bin to a place you’d love to spend time in!

We will be featuring different rooms from this basement all week, so check back with us for more of this great home or check out our recent posts!

A beautiful basement bedroom

We just finished a basement in Okemos. This basement has now become a beautiful, private part of the home with its own living room, office, bathroom and the bedroom featured in this post!

Everything from floor to ceiling (minus furniture) was done by our team. Our project manager, GT, worked with the homeowners to select flooring, colors and features. It all came together so well.

We will be featuring different rooms from this basement all week, so check back with us for more of this great home!

Two New Deck for One Great Weekend!

We finished these decks in Mason just in time for the weekend!

There’s still some time left in our schedule, so give us a call if you want to grill on a new deck in 2021!

Continuing the Scouting Tradition!

This year’s Junior Girl Scout Bronze Award project at Camp Wacousta is finished! The Scouts have built a rock garden this year where Scouts can leave decorated rocks with their names on them.

Their names will have a place with their sisters - present and future - alongside the daisy of the Junior Girl Scouts’ laws and promise!

We were glad we could help in sponsoring the wood for this project. Scouting is how many of us were introduced to the trades and to the principles that guide our business. This is one of the ways we give back.

Save yourself money and satisfy your insurance with a professional tarp-off

Hiring a licensed and insured contractor isn’t just a line to get you to hire us, it can save you a lot of money in insurance. Let’s take a look at a situation we’ve dealt with in the past.

A family had a relative who was a “handyman” come out and do their roof. He couldn’t finish it all at once, so he covered the unfinished part with a tarp - weighed down with bricks. Heavy rains came through. The bricks didn’t hold the tarp down and water came through - in a major way! The roof was damaged and the ceilings inside collapsed! The home was flooded. There was catastrophic damage to the home and their belongings.

The family called their insurance and the first question they asked was if the contractor was licensed and insured. It turned out that he wasn’t because was was just a handy relative. Insurance will not cover the damage!

Now - if this was done by a licensed and insured professional, their liability insurance would have to cover the damage - not yours.

On top of that, a professional will not use bricks to tarp off your roof. They will use industry standard techniques, proven to protect your roof in bad weather! It’s likely that this entire situation would have been avoided.

The last thing I want to say is that it’s understandable to want to save money and it seems easy if you know somebody who is “handy,” but I will tell you it’s a risk that isn’t worth taking with your home and your money.

Saving some money today might cost you everything - your home or your savings or both.

I’m not asking you to only consider hiring Zischke Builders, please, no matter what, hire a licensed and insured professional and ask to see that it’s up to date. Protect what you’ve earned!

We love when we are called back!

We had a former client call us back to do more work in their Okemos home. This time we added a room’s worth of finished basement to their property! Adding space is a very popular choice right now and I think this will help you not only add value, but also add to your quality of life in the home.

Lansing Three Season Room

We just finished a beautiful three season room in Lansing! Just in time for the homeowner to enjoy it this weekend.

Three season rooms are great places to hang out and read a book while the kids play out back, share a drink, or just to take a nap in peace.

Do you have a three season room? How do you use yours?

Customs Stairs and Balusters with Storage

Custom balusters like these can add a unique element to your home. It’s a small expression, but a noticeable one for friends and family who visit. Custom work like this is done by a finish carpenter.

As the name implies, finish carpentry is the final step in the remodeling process. It involves the installation of finish woods and trim. A finish carpenter installs features like crown molding, baseboards, windows, stairs, and other design elements. Focus and detail are important skills a finish carpenter needs. Other tasks that you might hire a finish carpenter to do would be to build and install custom cabinets, stairs, and decking.

While Zischke Builders is a general contractor, the heart of our business, for years, has been finish work. With a couple of experts on staff, we are often sought out by customers and other contractors for our finish work and have been recognized as the best in the Lansing area.

A Call Back From A Former Customer For A Basement Room

We had a former client call us back to do more work in their Okemos home. This time we added a room’s worth of finished basement to their property! Adding space is a very popular choice right now and I think this will help you not only add value, but also add to your quality of life in the home.