Meet the Info Crowd

June 29th, 2008

Tips for Home Remodeling

Posted in Best Home Improvement

Are there things you need to know when it comes to home remodeling? Home improvement is big business today. Many of us look at our homes and consider ways we can improve on the look and feel of it. There are obviously pros and cons to performing a home remodel, but is there a direction I should take in the home remodeling process?

Like many projects you may take on with your house, home remodeling is often times a do it yourselfer. Most of the time that is due in no small part to budget. Like with anything you do yourself, home remodeling success is has a lot to do with the time you spend on it before you ever start.

You get into your newly purchased home. You are happy, but you notice that there are things that just don’t quite work the way you had hoped. You don’t want to move since you just bought the home, but you feel like something should be done. You finally decide to consider home remodeling to help your situation.

One thing to consider in all stages of a home remodeling project is cost. Start off by hiring a designer who will only charge you hourly and not a bunch of flat fees and excess charges. The architectural plans will likely cost you a lot of money. That is money you don’t want to spend until you know for sure what you are doing, so have your design consultation before you go forth with anything like that.

Next, check out whether or not your home will be able to be modified to create what you want. You will also want to contact the building department in your area. Often times there is paper work or permits that must be filed before doing any large home remodeling projects. If you make sure everything is on the up and up from the start, you can avoid expensive fines and problems down the road in your project.

There is one other person you should consider consulting before you take on a home remodeling project: your real estate agent. The agent can find out whether or not the improvements you are making will be met with a reasonable increase in your home’s value. He or she knows the real estate market in your area and how adding or changing your home may effect you financially when it comes time to sell your home. Take him or her out to dinner or lunch and talk about the pros and cons of what you are thinking of doing. Once you have done that, the final decision is yours based on all of your research.

Your home is a big investment and probably the largest purchase you have ever made. So you may become attached to it and when it doesn’t quite fit with what you want anymore, rather than moving you can consider a home remodeling project. Before getting started, though, make sure you do a lot of research. Talk with designers, architects, your local building department, and even your real estate agent. Once you have all of your homework out of the way, though, you will have the knowledge to put together a functional, affordable, and reasonable home remodeling project.

If you would like to view more of my personal articles on home remodeling, please visit my remodeling project site.

April 30th, 2008

Ten Convenience Built-Ins That’ll Save Your Busy Household Hundreds Of Hours Each Year

Posted in Best Home Improvement

Planning to remodel, repair or build a new home? Looking for
some terrific features to include that can save you tons of time
in shortcuts, efficiencies and saved steps? We can help! We
started collecting over 1,000 uncommon, affordable convenience
built-ins in 1998, when we first began writing books and
consulting to help people have truly extraordinary — but
affordable — homes. Here are some of our favorite ideas that’ll
change your life via the time they save you. Add any of these to
your next project, and you’ll be on your way toward creating a
home that’s truly beyond the ordinary!

* A shallow closet or weatherproof cabinet at every outdoor hose
faucet, for storing a hose at an easy-to-reach height where it
will stay relatively clean, out of sight and out of the way. No
more risk of tripping over a hose left in a heap on the ground!
(And even recoiling and flat hoses can be awkward and dirty to
move from faucet to faucet, especially if they’re stored
outdoors.) This makes gardening a snap, as well as hosing down
the deck, patio or outdoor furniture, or washing windows. You’ll
also want flooring inside that prevents the unavoidable drips
from encouraging mold.

* A non-porous, nonskid, self-leveling garage floor coating, so
that soil and oil can easily be hosed away. (If you have a drain
in the floor and flooring that slopes toward it, use a similar
coating that’s not self-leveling.)

* A sewing machine permanently plugged in and set up on a desk
or inside a well-lit closet or alcove. Be sure there’s space
behind the machine for the fabric from large projects to
accumulate.

* Remote-controlled window shades, especially on hard-to-reach
windows or skylights. Choose among remote controls that can be
operated manually; via a timer or photocell; or through any
on-site or off-site computer, personal digital assistant or cell
phone. Besides being safer than attempting to reach
out-of-the-way shades by hand, easy-to-maneuver shades help
control light and heat in a room, minimize fading of a room’s or
closet’s contents, and the automatic or off-site controls can
make an empty house appear occupied.

* Dedicated space for wrapping gifts that’s near where you store
your wrapping supplies and tools. No more hauling stuff around!

* A doorbell intercom outside the door that can be answered from
every telephone in the house (also via your cell phone while
you’re out). No more dropping everything to run to answer the
door!

* Shallow shelves with only one row deep of canned or dry goods,
medicines, supplies, tools or equipment, for instant
identification of and access to whatever’s stored. These can
often be tucked into a space that’s otherwise unused.

* At least one full bathroom on every level of the house.

* A laundry chute from closets, cabinets or bathrooms to a
laundry room on a lower level. No more hauling dirty laundry
down stairs when gravity will do the job! And no more dropping
items on the way to the laundry room that you might trip over!

* A pot-filler faucet attached to a wall near your cooking
burners, that swivels into various positions as well as out of
the way. No more moving heavy pots of water from the sink to the
stove!

Like this article? Then you’ll love our books chock-full of
uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins that increase your
quality of life and your home’s resale value! We also offer a
free e-book at www.extraordinaryhomes.com: The 34 ExtraOrdinary
Home Principles: Over 70 Fabulous, Affordable, Innovative Ideas
That’ll Improve Your Life and WOW You!

Carol Abrahamson consults, writes and makes presentations about
more than 1,000 of these fabulous features that can improve your
life, add value to your home and make you the talk of the town.
She spent years researching them via thousands of sources just
so you can quickly and easily use them to create your
affordable, extraordinary Home of Your Dreams. Learn more about
her work via www.extraordinaryhomes.com or
carol@extraordinaryhomes.com.

© Copyright 2005 by Carol Abrahamson/ExtraOrdinary Homes. All
rights reserved.

April 27th, 2008

Differing Ways Of Use Of Aluminum Railings

Posted in Best Home Improvement

Aluminum is being used since a long time as a lightweight
material for all construction and building works. Aluminum
alloys are being used in every industry from Aviation industry
to zip making. The strength to weight ratio is higher in case of
aluminum to steel. The long life comes from the higher corrosion
resistance of aluminum.

The Lightweight Solution - Aluminum Railings

Aluminum rails can be used in different ways. These ways
that increase the life of aluminum are,

Anodizing of aluminum: The corrosion resistance of
aluminum is further increased by a thin coating on aluminum. The
anodized surface of aluminum prevents further oxidation of the
corrosion of the aluminum.

Strengthen with wooden inserts: Wooden blocks inserted in
the cavity of aluminum forms give added strength to aluminum and
thus lighter sections can be used for the same work, further
reducing the weight of structure.

Powder coating of aluminum: New painting techniques such
as the powder coating add to the visual appeal of the railings.
The overall effect of created by riot of color combination that
are available is just amazing.

PVC coating: Aluminum can be coated after complete
fabrication with PVC by various methods. This further increases
the life of the aluminum products. It also gives a beauty
treatment to the aluminum.

Ease of installation with Aluminum

Many manufacturers are coming up with solution in use of
aluminum in railings. The use of the bottom posts in which the
aluminum verticals can be fixe, speed up the erection process.
The DIY enthusiasts find such solutions very useful since it
reduces the time required doing for such work. These posts are
made out of P
VC, CPVC or such manmade materials.

Aluminum alloys also find increased use in the manufacture of
railings and this gives an extended life to railings. The
alloying with other metals increases further the already high
strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance.

April 20th, 2008

“Green Living” For An Allegy and Asthma-Friendly Environment

Posted in Best Home Improvement

What’s good for the environment is good for you.

Green Living minimizes air pollution inside and outside your home.

It’s about making the right choices:

- Choices such as using sustainable and contaminant-free materials that are used for building houses and home furnishings.

- Using energy efficient appliances, lighting and heating and cooling systems.

-Making our homes so they use less energy by properly insulating them.

-You and I can have an impact on air pollution and global warming that affects us all.

20 million asthma and allergy sufferers, their family and friends “doing their part’ can make a difference.

The time is now.

Contrary to some beliefs, going green doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice comfort and convenience.

My company designed and installed the heating, cooling, ventilation and air purification system in a certified “Green Label” house that was also
certified as an American Lung Association “Health House” as well as “Energy Star” rated.

These three certifications go hand in hand.

When someone goes for just one of the certifications, it doesn’t take much more effort to get the other ratings.

But back to my point of sacrificing comfort and convenience.

This house sold for $1 miilion dollars!

No, you don’t have to spend a million dollars to have a green, healthy, energy-efficient house.

I just want you to do away with the notion that a green house doesn’t mean it’s made out of straw.

Other ways you can contribute:

- Look at your mode of transportation.

- Do you have a gas guzzler?

For those of you who have a car that uses diesel fuel, Biodiesel, a mixture of diesel fuel and vegetable oil is now available in some locations.

These fuel types burn much cleaner. Good for your car and the environment.

Electrical utilities are now offering the alternative to buy electricity that is generated from renewable sources such as solar, windmills and hydro-power plants.

This is just the beginning of the possibilties.

“Doing your part” is better for your health and the environment.

Why not start today!

A pioneer in residential contracting, Ed is a thirty-year industry veteran trained in the “House Is A System” approach to HVAC design. He was formerly a building analyst instructor, providing certification training for New York’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program.
For air quality info visit http://www.expert-air-purifier-reviews.com or
Visit my blog
April 9th, 2008

Home Alarm Systems are changing

Posted in Best Home Improvement, School of Security

Home alarms systems are getting big these days and the main reason for this is the fact that this industry has now become almost completely computerized, the high tech has taken over the once blacksmith handy work trade.With growing demands for better home security appliances and Home Alarm Systems that are in sync with the modern way of life, in a multitude of price range and installation form, the home alarm system now offers video surveillance equipment to homes in affordable prices, electronic keys and touch pads to replace the old fashion key set, and sophisticated alarm systems that are heat or motion activated. The markets are responding with keen interest and the average user now has a huge selection of appliances he or she can choose from to protect his property, and his family. The locksmiths have also gone through a massive change, from being men of force and power they are now increasingly interested in engineering and computing, to keep up with the rapid advancements in their field, it is estimated that in the city of New York alone there are thousands of locksmiths, with the average New York locksmith spending 25 days a year on seminars and conferences on new technology on the field of home alarm systems.

April 5th, 2008

How to Hire an Asphalt Driveway Paving Contractor

Posted in Best Home Improvement

Asphalt paved driveways are extremely popular and the most cost effective to install over most other driveway options. Hiring the right asphalt paving contractor however can sometimes be a challenge. If the paving contractor installs the asphalt driveway correctly the driveway should last 25-30 years with only minor maintenance.

Unlike concrete, an asphalt paved driveway is both strong and flexible and is ideal for colder temperature zones where constant freezing and thawing occur.

Asphalt paving, also known as Hot Mix Asphalt paving, consists of an aggregate of stone and sand mixed with liquid asphalt cement. The aggregate is carefully mixed and heated prior to being mixed with liquid asphalt. The mixture needs to be delivered to the job site hot else your newly paved driveway will not cure properly.

In order to ensure a quality paved driveway it is critical that the paving contractor first properly prepare the driveway for the Hot Mix Asphalt. Preparation includes removing topsoil or clay type soil and replacing it with a sub-base layer of crushed stone and gravel.

A typical asphalt paving job consists of the application of two layers of Hot Mix Asphalt over the sub-base layer. In some cases a paving contractor may suggest a full-depth asphalt application. This type of application is best if very heavy vehicles will be regularly parked on the driveway. With a full-depth asphalt application the entire driveway, including the gravel sub-base layer, is constructed using liquid asphalt cement. By additionally binding the sub-base gravel layer with the liquid asphalt cement a much stronger paved driveway is created.

When hiring any contractor you should plan on getting 3-4 quotes to get the best comparison of workmanship and price. Talk with friends and family members, as well as search the yellow pages or the internet to find local paving contractors in your area.

With any contractor you hire, make sure they are insured and bonded to protect you from any liability as well as to protect you from any sub-par performance on the contractor’s behalf.

Lead times for paving a driveway can be up to several weeks, so plan appropriately when talking with your prospective paving contractors.

In order to obtain accurate quotes from the asphalt driveway paving contractors it is best to have a sketch of the home and the desired driveway footprint. You should also walk the site with the paving contractor and have him or you stake or paint lines where the paved driveway is to lay.

When talking to the prospective paving contractors make sure the subject of installing proper slopes and drainage is discussed. Otherwise you may wind up with water pooling on the finished driveway, or even worse, draining into your garage or home.

It is also critical that during the installation of all the various layers to the driveway that they are each compacted prior to the installation of the next layer of material. Quoted depths should be after compaction, not before.

Also, if there are any municipal pipes that need to be raised to the finished height of the driveway, find out if the paving contractors’ quotes include performing this task.

In addition, confirm that the contractor will remove and reinstall any type of gate or door to the new finished level of the paved driveway.

With these few basic tips you are on your way to hiring the right paving contractor for your driveway.

For more help on how to hire an Asphalt Driveway Paving Contractor, see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Asphalt Driveway Paving Bid sheet. The Asphalt Driveway Paving Bid Sheet will help ensure that your hire the right contractor so that your driveway is paved correctly and you get the finished driveway you are looking for. In addition, it will help to ensure that installation of your driveway will be accomplished on time and on budget.

Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more home improvement information visit http://www.homeadditionplus.com and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com