Remodeling

Floor Damage Creates Financial Problems For Homeowner

Laura

If you’re a homeowner who has a wood floor in their home, I’ve got a story that you definitely need to read. It’s about a family who didn’t listen to my advice and ended up with one of the largest home repair bills that I ever seen. All of this could have been avoided but it wasn’t.
It was probably around 20 years ago, when I was giving an estimate to a homeowner for room addition and I noticed that a small area of their wood floor was damaged and buckling. I told them that this was a sign of moisture and that it should be fixed as soon as possible, even before you build the room addition.
After I gave the homeowner a price for the room addition, he decided not to do it, but I reminded him about the wood floor damage and he told me that he didn’t have the money right now, but would call me when he did. I hear things like this on a regular basis and realize that some things aren’t a priority to some people. Obviously this wasn’t a priority to this man and he wasn’t planning on making any home repairs at this time.
The homeowner said that he didn’t have the money at this time, but you need to think about, what it will cost in the future. The home damage repair bill was just under $10,000 it could have been fixed for under $1000 at the time I gave him an estimate on his room addition.
This homeowner chose to wait until his daughter fell through the damaged wood floor and got stuck. The young girl was fine, but the parents weren’t. They now had medical expenses added on to their home repair bill.
Stuff like this happens every day and it happens to a lot of people every day. If you don’t want to become part of the statistics and you’re not interested in spending a lot of money, you should make any home repairs you can as soon as possible. Especially the ones that create safety problems for your family like floor damage.…

Basement Remodeling

Great Ways to Shop at a Kitchen Store

Laura

If you love your kitchen, you could probably wander through a kitchen store for days. In your mind, you’ll be trying out tile, countertops, and cabinets in your own kitchen, preparing for yet another remodel. This isn’t always a healthy or smart way to shop, though, especially if you ever want to actually get that remodel done. Before you head to the kitchen store the next time around, try one of these shopping methods to help you complete your trip more quickly and get to the remodeling part even faster.
On some trips, you really do just need to look around. This is true if you’re getting ready to do a kitchen remodel but aren’t quite sure what you want to do. In this case, take a notebook. If the store manager will let you, take a camera to snap some pictures, as well. If you’re going to paint your kitchen, grab some paint chips from the hardware store to take along, as well. On this trip, all you’re doing is gathering ideas and taking notes on the colors, textures, and particular items that you like best. Make sure you’re descriptive enough that you can actually remember what you were looking at when you wrote down your notes!
Once you know what you need, it’s time to start making lists before your next trip to the kitchen store. If you’re like a lot of people, your remodel will go in stages. You’ll probably head to the store more than a couple of times during a full remodeling session. Think through all the things you need to do and the order in which you need to do them. If, for instance, you’re painting your cabinets and replacing countertops, you’ll probably need to rip out the old countertops and then paint the cabinets before replacing the countertops again.
Either way, at this point, you should be going into the kitchen store armed with a detailed list of everything you need. Write down measurements, quantities, and as much other information as you can. This way, you get just what you need, and you don’t have to come back to the store when you aren’t ready to be back there quite yet. This will make the remodeling process work more quickly so that you can get your kitchen function and beautiful before you know it.…

Remodeling Contractors

What Type of Wood Is Best for Replacing Kitchen Cabinets?

Laura

Once you have decided to remodel your kitchen, the biggest question you are going to face is what type of new cabinets to install. Today, there are many more options available than when your old kitchen cabinets were made. There are hundreds of door styles to choose from, a myriad of stain options and finishes plus different types of wood which each have their own unique features.
There are five basic types of wood used in cabinet construction. Cherry, Oak, Soft Maple, Hard Maple and Hickory. Oak is the type of wood that you probably most associate with cabinetry, it is very durable and abundant. The grain in oak is a little more pronounced than the other woods and the color will range from a light tan to dark brown. Cherry has also been used for years in producing high end cabinets and furniture. It isn’t as hard as oak but is still strong and stiff and easy to work with. The grain in cherry wood is finer than oak and it can range in color from almost white to reddish brown.
As homeowners looked for new options to get away from Oak or Cherry, Maple and Hickory have become increasingly popular in recent years. Maple comes in two varieties soft and hard. The soft maple from the Red Maple tree or Silver Maple has the consistency and weight of cherry while hard maple from the Sugar Maple or Black Maple tree is harder and stronger like oak. Both of the maples have a very fine grain and tend to be lighter in color than oak or cherry. The hard maple will be a little bit darker than the soft maple.
Hickory is also growing in popularity in the kitchen. Cabinets made of this wood are very strong and durable. The hickory wood comes from the Shagbark and Butternut trees and provides a great deal of color options ranging from almost white to dark brown. Hickory takes to staining very well which will show off the grain patterns and texture. With Hickory you are also getting the sturdiest wood in America, the stuff that the pioneers built their wagons out of.
When choosing the type of wood for your cabinets, remember that even with each individual type there can be a great deal of variation in color and grain pattern. If you have a large kitchen, you might want to go with a darker wood or stain but if it is a small room then a lighter color of cabinets will make the area seem more open. The great thing about choosing wood cabinets is that they are very easy to maintain. Simply wipe them down occasionally with a damp cloth and dry. Do not use too much water because the moisture can damage the wood. Ask your manufacturer for an extra quart of the stain that was used on the cabinets in case you have to do some touch up work later on.…

Remodeling Contractors

Vinyl Flooring Prices – How to Estimate Cost

Laura

When it comes to computing for vinyl flooring prices, it is important to remember that the cost of vinyl tiles or sheets is not the only thing that you need to consider. There are other costs involved in laying vinyl flooring.
For instance, you need to take into consideration labor expenses just in case you do not want to do your own vinyl floor or you need to hire someone to remove your old tiles, carpets or other flooring materials before you can start laying vinyl flooring. Read on to learn important tips on how you can estimate the costs when you change your flooring to vinyl.
The first thing that you need to consider, when thinking of the cost of your vinyl flooring is the price of tiles or sheets. The price of each tile will depend on its size as well as design and quality. Most common vinyl tiles are 18 by 18 and 12 by 12 inches. If you plan to change a huge area, you can also opt to use vinyl sheets, which can either be 12 or 6 feet wide. If you are really on a tight budget, there are $1 vinyl tiles.
However, if you want to make sure that the quality and design will last a long time, you might want to invest in vinyl sheets or tiles that cost around $2 to $5 per square foot. So, if you plan to renovate your 10-by-20-foot kitchen, for example, you will have to shell out $400 to $1,000 for vinyl tiles or sheets.
Aside from the tiles or sheets, you also need to include the cost of labor when estimating your vinyl flooring prices. For simple projects, the cost of vinyl installation can be about $1 per square foot. There are also vinyl flooring suppliers who offer free installation, so you might want to inquire about that.
However, if your sub-floor surface has problems and needs to be smoothed out before the installation of vinyl materials, you should expect higher fees. Be sure to ask several installers so you can compare their fees.
Another thing that you need to consider when computing for vinyl flooring expense is the price of vinyl adhesives.
Although there are vinyl tiles or sheets that are self-adhesive, you may still buy special vinyl adhesives to ensure that the vinyl tiles in areas that have high foot traffic will not easily peel off. The prices of vinyl adhesives can range from $9 to $30.…

Home Remodeling

Repairing Your Home and Keeping the Price Low

Laura

When it comes to home repairs keeping the price low while still achieving your goals can become very difficult. Many times it necessary to use a home repair contractor because the repair is too much or too detailed of a job for you to complete on your own. However it can be very cost efficient if you can find a way to do some of your home repairs on your own. There are many information outlets to help guide you to a successful end of your project. If you have the right tools, the time, and a general knowledge of repair it can be the difference of hundreds of dollars in expense.
There are many small home repairs that must be done every once and awhile around the house that is very beneficial to be able to fix on you own. Most sink drains especially bathroom sinks are gonna clog from time to time. With all the hair that goes down those drains and the general small size of the piping it is almost a given that it will clog up on you. While unclogging those drains may be a very dirty job it can save you a lot of money in the long run to roll up your sleeves and take the pipe apart.
Some other reoccurring home repairs that you will probably want to attempt on your own are: painting, gutter cleaning, wallpapering, tiling, repaving a driveway, and other modern inconveniences. It is very important that before you attempt your repair or remodel on your own you make sure that you have a good idea of how to get the job done. It may end up costing you more in the long run if you start a repair and have to call in outside help in the middle of the project, or if you damage something else in the home.
There might be times when the work that a job takes seems to overwhelming or you may not have the right tooling for the job. This is when you might have to think about bringing in outside help to assist you in your repair. When searching for the right home improvement contractor you are gonna want to access exactly what you want done and how much you are willing to spend on the project. Then you will have to call in different contractors to give you an estimate on the project. Most home improvement companies will give you a free estimate.
It is a very good idea to get more than one estimate to try to find the best price you can. Also if you think you might be able to attempt the project on your own you may be able to get some free tips from the contractor by asking them questions about what steps they will take if you chose them to do the job. They might give you enough information to do the job. If you do end up calling in a contractor you might …

Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen Design Tips – 5 Ideas You Can Do In A Weekend

Laura

Looking for kitchen design tips that will add character and charm, but won’t break the bank? The secret to innovative yet inexpensive kitchen renovation ideas is in the finishing touches. Try these 5 kitchen design tips and see what a lift attention to small details can bring.
1. Open your uppers – Remove the doors on your upper cabinets to give a more contemporary and a more spacious and sand down holes left from the hinge paint or finish natural.
Paint or finish the interiors to match the lower , paint the cabinet interiors an accent color for some extra flair.
2. Splashy Seconds – Transform the look of your kitchen with a new full height tile back-splash. By full height, I mean the space between the top of your lower cabinets to the bottom of your uppers–usually about 18 inches (45 – 46 cm).
Because the area is relatively small, material costs for your back-splash will normally be , you can really cash in on some high-end savings by buying seconds. These are tiles with imperfections–most of them barely noticeable, if at all. I have found great deals on some of the more expensive tiles. Many outfits sell these tiles by the pound…usually 50% to 80% off.
Some clients even request seconds because they feel the flaws and blemishes bring character.
3. Vintage-look Flooring – Add some pizazz with a new floor made of old-school material: linoleum.
Linoleum tiles are easy to to , naturally anti-microbial.
Take a look at what Marmoleum has to offer. Their tiles come in a ton of different shades – including brights like greens, reds and blues. They average about $4.99 US per square foot. Also check out tiles by Mannington and TrafficMaster.
4. Hardware Heaven – Update your cabinets by changing out the knobs or pulls as we call them.
If your cabinets have a natural wood finish, you’ll probably want to find new hardware with the same “footprint” as your old stuff, so that the new pulls cover the old screw holes. If your cabinets are painted, you can fill and touch up any old holes or marks. If there are no pulls currently on your cabinets then the world’s your oyster.
You’ll be amazed at how this simple kitchen design idea can update things. It’s like putting on the right jewelry. Check out your local Home Improvement Center, most have good try an online store like Restoration Hardware for a truly impressive selection of cabinet pulls.
5. Rack Em Up – Install a pot rack and save on valuable cabinet space.
This design idea takes a couple hours. It adds a touch of class to any , I love them because I can always find the pot I’m looking for instantly. Also at Restoration Hardware and available too through Crate and Barrel where they start at $120.00 US.
I hope these kitchen design tips inspire you. I want you all to realize that you can work on your own spaces even …

Bathroom Remodel

Two Reasons to Buy Brazilian Hardwood Flooring – Beauty and Durability

Laura

Anyone who wants to install beautiful hardwood floors in their home needs to take a look at exotic Brazilian Cherry flooring materials. Not only does this wood have beautiful graining and natural color, but it also is one of the most durable woods available. It is especially desirable, because even though it doesn’t dent easily, if a time comes when you want or need to refinish it, it sands easily and takes stain well. These are all characteristics that make Brazilian cherry hardwood one of the most recommended solid wood floors on the market.
Everyone who installs hardwood floors wants them to be durable. You may have seen floors in some homes that are scratched and pitted and thought you’d never want to trade in your carpets for wood. Some woods using for flooring are soft, though, and become damaged much easier than others do. Brazilian cherry is the ideal material to use, because it is so hard. On the Janka Hardwood Hardness Scale, it has a rating of 2820 out of a possible 4000 which makes it one of the hardest woods around. In fact, you really wouldn’t want anything much harder, because even this hard cherry requires some extra effort in cutting and nailing.
Problems with cutting and nailing are obstacles that aren’t difficult to get around, though, so don’t worry. Special saw blades and pre-drilling of nail holes will help your cherry floors become a reality. Although this will create a bit more work in laying the floor, the beauty and durability of the finished product will make the extra effort well worth your while. After all, what’s the point of laying a floor that’s going to start looking tacky after a few months of family use?
Brazilian cherry flooring is available either pre-finished or unfinished. The wood itself can range from a dark orange to a reddish-brown in its natural state. When choosing a floor, you need to realize that the color will probably darken over time. In addition, exposure to direct sunlight can lighten it. Prefinished floors are finished with multiple coats of scratch resistant polyurethane varnish to increase the floor’s durability. After all, any floor will only be as tough as the top surface. Inferior varnishes will become badly scratched making your floor look dull, so make sure that your flooring has the best possible varnish, whether you purchase it prefinished or do the job yourself.…

Home Renovation

Find Ideas in Kitchen Showrooms

Laura

Kitchen showrooms are really fun places for creative home remodelers to be. They’re like an artists’ colony for a budding artist, a film festival for a new director, or a gourmet restaurant for a chef. They are the place where ideas are born, transformed, and turned into something wholly unique. If you’re in the process of remodeling, it’s essential that you head to a showroom to get the latest ideas for your kitchen. It might seem like a silly thing to do, especially if you already have a ton of ideas, but it can actually help you out in a lot of ways.
For one thing, in a showroom, things are already put together for you. This gives you a chance to juxtapose certain popular new items. Maybe you really love dark cabinets, and you really love a particular type of backsplash tile. You might find in a the showroom that those two things are never paired for good reason, or you might see them in kitchen showrooms together and decide that they’re exactly what you want for your remodel. Either way, being able to see things in one place can really help you get your ideas hashed out so that you know what you want in your kitchen.
Plus, kitchen showrooms will have lots of different combination available, so there might be options around that you never thought of before. Many designers, whether first-time homeowners or old-time designers, are stuck in mental ruts. They assume that x and y go together without even considering throwing a or b in the equation. Instead of just assuming that a traditional kitchen must have all traditional elements or a modern kitchen must have all modern elements, creative showrooms can help designers break out of their ruts and into new ideas and unique pairings.
Kitchen showrooms are also great places to check out the absolute latest styles in kitchens. Like other things, kitchens change styles from time to time. For the most part, the basic concept of the kitchen has been the same for a long, long time. The elements that go into a kitchen, though, change dramatically from one year to the next. Colors, textures, and appliances come in and go out of style just like clothes. If you’re determined to have a totally up-to-date kitchen, you should definitely check out some show rooms to see what is in the other “latest” kitchens.…

Kitchen Renovation

Kitchen Renovations – The Pro’s and Cons

Laura

For a lot of people just starting out, whether it be with the brand new house, moving into an older house, or perhaps just living in the same residence the many many years – it is always going to cross your mind…should we renovate the kitchen?
We may as well jump in then and look at some of the cons for kitchen renovations.
Price – a lot of people will not have the money up front to pay for a kitchen renovation. There are some builders and contractors out there who will put you on a repayment plan if available, otherwise the easiest option is to take out financing of some form from a lending institution.
Interruptions – Do many houses these days have 2 kitchens? No. The simple fact is that most families will be at a disadvantage for a week or two while the hub of the house is being torn apart and rebuilt.
Finding the right design and builder – This alone can stump a lot of people if they are quite particular in their choices or they are trying to push into a budget that is outside what they can reasonably afford. One recommendation I can make is to focus on what you really need upgraded, that way you receive the best bang for your buck up front. Surprisingly its the smaller touches that always rack up the costs in any renovation project.
While there are some cons that people deal with, the pro’s far outweigh them in almost every instance.
Refreshed – When the job is done, your kitchen will look simply amazing. It will be like walking into a new house again. The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house and as such, any changes (large or small) will soon reflect on the rest of the house as well.
Usability – With a new layout, new tools, cabinets or just a bit of added vibrancy and oomph, cooking in the kitchen will again be fun for all parties involved. Perhaps if you upgraded the stove top and added a cooking grill, then the husband no longer need to spend time outdoors flaming up the barbeque and can enjoy his time indoors a little more!
Show it off! Heck, be proud of what your new kitchen looks like. After all, a new kitchen renovation is probably what you’ve been waiting for, for a long, long time!…

Home Renovation

Why Cutting Electricity Costs Is A Crucial Consideration For You

Laura

By now, we all realize that we are mired in a period of stagnant growth. The economy is not going to bounce back as it almost always does after recessions and it seems as if it may take four or five years before we finally start to see some real daylight. This is why we have to make sure that we are as frugal as we can be and cutting electricity costs is crucial.
Few of us like to think that we waste any money at all and carefully balance the books each month. We might think that we’re doing everything that we can and the prospect of cutting electricity costs even more leaves us wondering what we can do. Many people are in the same boat as you and are not sure how they can make a difference.
Looking for information and doing your research is a great place to start. This is why, after all, you probably found this article. Make a short list of the steps that have already taken in your efforts when cutting electricity costs and compare your efforts to research. You’re almost guaranteed to find additional ways to move forward.
In your house, you typically use a very large number of light bulbs. You may find that many of these are still of the incandescent type rather than the new, compact fluorescent versions. They may be more costly to purchase, but they are very efficient and will last a long time.
Did you know that you can sign up for your local utility company’s energy-saving program? During peak hours when demand is at its highest, the utility company will shut down a particular appliance for short bursts of time. You probably won’t notice the difference, but your power bill probably will.
Landscaping can make a lot of difference as it tends to cut out some of the powerful effects of the sun during those summer afternoons. This is why you should have a good look at your shrubbery and put in place bushes and trees that will help.
Even though you may live in a new home, you will find that settlement has led to cracks appearing in various places. Often, you can find these around doors and windows and they can be the source of significant drafts. Not only that, but your costly air-conditioned air is frittering away. Now it’s time to put in place some of those special draft protector products to eliminate the source of wastage.
It’s all very well cutting electricity costs, but you don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of money on their remedies either. This is why flexible draft protectors are so good, as they are very efficient but truly cost effective.…