They might call on a handy brother-in-law or neighbor for help but, increasingly, franchised businesses are springing up around the country to rescue DIYs in deep trouble.

"The more that shows like 'This Old House' make things look simple for homeowners to do, the more it makes things great for me," says John Ogg, chief of operations for HomeFIXology, a franchise operation that gets a good proportion of its business from owners who have botched a remodeling job.

Other franchises that fill the need for handyman services include House Doctors Handyman Service, Handyman Connection, Mr. Handyman and Case Handyman System. All will clean up DIY disasters.

Americans will spend somewhere in excess of $160 billion on home remodeling projects over the next year, according to the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. But some homeowners will try to save money by taking on more of the remodeling tasks themselves than they are actually capable of.

"The TV shows jump from a guy leaning down to put in the first floor tile to a shot of the finished floor," says Ogg. "It's not that easy."

Many homeowners find themselves in the middle of a job before they realize they can't do it.

The bathroom is one place where the professionals see some of the worst do-it-yourself disasters. Tile work is one of the jobs most often botched, according to Dan Landon, a House Doctors Handyman Service franchise holder.

"Trying to get it level and straight with the right spacing for grout is hard if you don't know what you're doing," he says.

Mike Esposito, who owns a House Doctors Handyman Service in Virginia Beach, specializes in bath remodeling. He says that he gets at least a call a month from desperate housewives (and husbands) screaming for help in the middle of a job.

Esposito says the TV shows don't reveal the details of a remodeling job. They portray couples tearing out walls, putting up new sheetrock, even replacing bathroom fixtures. But his clients often get stuck after the teardown part.

"Anybody can gut a bathroom. It's putting it back together again that can be tough," he says.

One common problem betrays a real lack of forward thinking. For instance, it's not uncommon for DIYs to install the tub without hooking up the drain pipe according to Esposito.

But civilians can mess up even a very simple job, such as putting up a shelf. "The whole thing falls off because they didn't find a stud," he says.

Dale Robinson, who owns a House Doctors franchise in Austin, says he is often called in to correct wayward ceramic floor tiling projects. The problem can be that people don't realize that sub-floors have to be very, very solid before a ceramic floor can be laid on top. Otherwise, the tiles can snap as the floor buckles under the weight of traffic.

Esposito says that he doesn't even try to fix the work of DIYs most of the time --instead he just starts over from the beginning. Bathroom wall tiling, for example, often must be redone from scratch.

Often DIYs will put in a first course of tile and fail to get it perfectly level -- it may be off, say, a sixteenth of an inch. But as they go up the wall that error can multiply and stretch out to an inch or more.

"The only way to fix it is to start fresh," says Esposito.

The worst DIY problem he ever encountered involved a husband and wife team of do-it-yourselfers who redid their bathroom. Hubby messed up the wax-ring replacement, which is what sits under the toilet base, seals it and keeps gas from escaping.

The husband's blunder was bad enough, but his wife had also made a little miscue when she put up a picture on the wall behind the toilet. She drilled right through the waste pipe, which caused a slow leak. Weeks after the couple finished the job, they discovered the problem.

"We got a call that there was wet carpet on the floor," says Esposito. He found that waste water had collected in the walls and was seeping out onto the floors into other rooms.

A carpet filled with raw sewage is not a small problem.

"They had to move out of the house until it was fixed," says Esposito.

As long as there are DIYs like that couple, the handyman franchises will thrive.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Remodelers have a major sales opportunity with solar, thanks to the homeowner tax credits being offered by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These economic stimulus incentives can make solar power improvements more affordable for more of your customers than ever before.

Taxpayers can receive a 30% tax credit on the cost of qualified solar systems used to generate electricity for their primary residence. Tax credits are set to last until 2016, but are uncapped for 2009 and 2010, after which they’re slated to go to a $2,000 cap for solar investments.

“That means on a $10,000 system, you are taking the out-of-pocket cost down to $7,000,” says Joe Gordon, renewable energy specialist at Solar Service Inc. in Niles, Ill.

A recent Johns Manville-sponsored survey of 784 U.S. homeowners said that 68% are aware of the energy-efficiency tax credits, and 46% of those homeowners intend to take advantage of them. Only 8% of those intending to take the credit say that they will use it for solar energy. Remodeling professionals who have a firm grasp of the tax credits and rebates available to homeowners will have an easier time help prospective clients see the benefits of going solar.

There are two common ways to collect energy from the sun. One is to use a thermal solar collector to gather the sun's heat and the other is to use a photovoltaic (PV) array, which converts the sun's energy to electricity. Solar thermal technology, which provides heat and hot water for the home usually cost around $24,000 in Chicago before state and federal incentives, Gordon says. Photovoltaic systems average $8,000 to $10,000 per kilowatt of PV installed (before incentives). Although installing renewable energy products requires a significant upfront investment from the homeowner, it can save them money in the long run.

“Solar heat and hot water systems can typically offset 30% to 40% of the homeowner’s total gas bill, depending on use, the size of the home, and of course, the weather,” Gordon says. “The money you invest in solar now displaces the monthly payments you would pay month-to-month to the utility company. Once the solar system is paid for, all that energy is free for the life of the solar system, which is many decades.”

To qualify for the tax credit, consumers must use solar panels with a UL or OSHA certification. The best panels available currently have about 15% efficiency. Contractors should provide their customers with a copy of a manufacturer’s certification, and homeowners will need to fill out IRS form 5695 when filing their taxes. The tax credit allowed will be based on actual consumer costs, which include site preparation, assembly, installation, wiring and labor for systems placed into service before January 1, 2017.

In addition to federal tax credits, many utilities, state and local governments offer additional rebates for solar installations. To see which areas provide rebates, check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency at www.dsireusa.org.

A rebate received by a homeowner usually does not have to be reported as income when the rebate is received from the local utility, according to the Solar Energies Industries Association. A homeowner who does not report the rebate as income takes a “tax basis” in solar equipment equal to the net amount he paid. In other words, if the solar equipment has a gross cost of $20,000, but a rebate from the local utility pays $2,000, then his tax basis in the equipment for purposes of calculating the residential tax credit is $18,000. In any case, contractors should always encourage their customers to check with their tax professionals about both tax credits and rebates.

Contributed by NARI

North Carolina received $8.8 million in federal funds to help homeowners purchase energy-efficient appliances, while helping to stimulate the economy and cut energy use.

The North Carolina Energy Star-Appliance Replacement and Rebate Program will begin Earth Day weekend (April 22-April 25), and will offer rebates of 15 percent on Energy Star-rated appliances such as clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers.

The rebates offered will be in addition to any store or manufacturer discounts.

According to Nancy Abasiekong, with the N.C. Cooperative Extension, most major retail chains and independent appliance dealers will participate in the program.

''Every state has its own program," said Abaseikong. "North Carolina is keying in on the Energy Star initiative."

The $8.8 million recovery funds, which are primarily going to work for stimulating the economy, will also be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing older, less environmentally friendly appliances with newer, "greener" appliances that save on energy. For example, buying a new Energy Star-rated refrigerator uses half the electricity that a same sized refrigerator built before 1995 uses.

Depending on the success of the rebates offered during Earth Day weekend, there may be another round of rebates offered soon after. "They have to do a second round if it is successful and if there are funds available," said Abasiekong. "The second round will be offered in June, depending on the funds available."

Eric Hendricks, of Hendricks Appliance, says that he expects to see an increase in customers from this program. "I expect to see a few more sales from it," says Hendricks. "Saving money is what it's all about."

The funds sent out are a part of almost $300 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being distributed around the country by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rebates will be offered over a four-day period during Earth Day weekend--Thursday, April 22 through Sunday, April 25.

North Carolina residents who are replacing older clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers are eligible for the rebates on Energy Star-rated appliances. The program is only available to those replacing appliances. Those purchasing multiple appliances or appliances for commercial properties are not eligible

The North Carolina Energy Office is working with the N.C. Retail Association and expects major retail chains and most independent appliance dealers to participate in the rebate program.

You can receive rebates on more than one appliance, but it must be for different appliances. Example, you may receive rebates on a refrigerator and clothes washing machine, but not two refrigerators.

The program does not offer rebates for items purchased before April 22, 2010

By Kory McNair
The Shelby Star