Home Decorating Guru Blog

tifying Your Basement

 by: ARA Content

Quick Tips for a Successful Basement Remodel

(ARA) - Need a place to entertain the guys and house the pool table? Want to rid the family room of toys from tots and teens? Remodeling your basement is the easiest and most affordable way to add value and additional living space to your home.

Depending on your skill level, you may need to hire a professional contractor to help out with parts of the project. However, with a little preparation and planning, refinishing your basement can be simple.

• Plumbing and Patching — If you’re planning to install a bathroom or a wet bar, plumbing needs to be the first priority since pipes may need to be installed beneath the cement floor. Once all plumbing is installed, be sure to patch all cracks in the floor and walls. Use a low-odor, polyurethane sealant, such as PL Concrete and Masonry Sealant (www.stickwithPL.com), which will produce a flexible, long-lasting seal for all cracks in the foundation.

• Block in Beauty and Security — If your basement is not already equipped with glass block windows, it may be a good idea to have them installed now. Glass block windows (www.pittsburghcorning.com) not only provide aesthetic appeal and light transmission, but also provide added security from intruders.

• Electrical — Once the plumbing system is in place, it is time for the electric. Be sure to install a sufficient number of electrical outlets and telephone lines to accommodate televisions, lamps and computer modems. And don’t forget the cable lines too!

• Walls — Drywalling is the easiest way to cover cement walls to create a smooth surface. Be sure to use a low-odor, fast-grabbing adhesive such as PL Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive (www.stickwithPL.com) to create a secure bond and to reduce the need for difficult nailing into the cement block. Once the drywall is in place, PL Premium can be used to adhere baseboards and wainscoting over the drywall. These decorative accents will not only add beauty, but also functionality to the walls by protecting the drywall from dents or scratches from flying cue balls or toy car crashes.

• Drop the Ceiling — When it comes to ceiling choices, acoustical tiles are a safe bet. Not only are these tiles aesthetically pleasing, but they will also provide easy access to utilities for the rest of the house.

• Flooring — Since the floor of the basement is in direct contact with the ground, it is most likely going to be cold! Installing a subfloor between the concrete and flooring surface will provide a warmer, dryer environment for your new basement living area. In addition, it will provide a smooth, secure surface for your carpet or other flooring choice.

About The Author

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

Source: http://www.365articles.com

Popularity: 13% [?]

Share This

nate Floors Offer Beauty, Durability

 by: ARA Content

(ARA) - You might not give your floors much thought — until it comes time to replace them. Then you realize that there are many options out there. For busy families whose floors need to stand up to kids and pets, laminate flooring is an excellent choice.

Laminate flooring has been a fashionable option in Europe for more than 20 years, and it’s rapidly gaining popularity in the United States. The most common designs have a wood grain appearance; some are made to look like stone or marble. Laminates are designed to look good for many years with a minimum amount of maintenance.

Laminate flooring consists of four main components that are bonded together. A wear resistant decorative surface made of resin-based melamine/aluminum oxide is bonded to a moisture resistant wood composition-based core. A balancing backing is bonded to the underside of the core. On the top is a clear cap sheet of aluminum oxide, which provides the protection and stain resistance. Since the resin-filled wear layer is so dense, it becomes extremely difficult to stain, scratch or burn.

Ease of installation is one factor that contributes to the popularity of laminate flooring. It uses a tongue and groove interlocking system, which can be installed over the top of an existing substrate. Plywood, concrete slab, sheet vinyl flooring, hardwood flooring or virtually any other basically flat hard surface is a suitable base for laminate.

Most brands of laminate flooring require that the joints be glued with specially formulated, water-resistant glue placed between the tongue and grooves of every plank. However, Alloc, Inc., located in Racine, Wis., has a patented glueless interlocking system that provides strong, tight joints without messy glue or special tools.

Because installation is so simple, and because you can walk on your new floor immediately (no waiting for glue to dry), beautifying your home with new laminate flooring is truly a project you can do in a weekend. “Installing a laminate floor, especially with our glueless system, is a lot easier than people think,” says company president Claes Wennerth.

No matter what your décor or your lifestyle, you can find a laminate floor to fit your needs. Alloc’s Home Flooring can be used in virtually any area of your home, such as kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms and bathrooms.

Taking care of a laminate floor is even easier than installing it. To keep your floor looking like new and avoid scratches, simply vacuum or dust mop regularly to remove loose dirt or grit. Glides or cushioned bottom protectors under chairs and table legs also help prevent possible scratching, and floor mats at all outside doorways keep dirt from coming inside.

Alloc Home Flooring is backed by a 25-year, five star plus warranty which covers five areas: joint integrity, stain resistance, fade resistance, wear resistance and water resistance.

To find an Alloc dealer in your area, or to get more information on available patterns and installation procedures, call (877) DO-ALLOC or visit the company’s Web site, www.alloc.com.

About The Author

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

Source: http://www.365articles.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

y to Move? Consider Remodeling Instead

 by: ARA Content

(ARA) - Is your home feeling a little squeezed or out-of-date? You may want to join the millions of Americans who are turning to professional contractors instead of Realtors.

According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), home remodeling may be preferable to moving. Remodeling can be less expensive — the process of selling a home and moving can cost up to 10 percent of the value of your current home. Remodeling also enables your family to stay in a familiar neighborhood and school district. And though it can be stressful, remodeling is much easier than moving a household.

In addition, remodeling allows you to customize improvements based on your individual needs and lifestyle. There are many reasons people choose to remodel. You may wish to add more space, upgrade cabinets and countertops, or improve energy efficiency with new windows, doors and climate control systems.

Remodeling and increased home values

Remodeling can also increase the value of a home. However, a home’s value may not increase as much as you might have expected. In some cases, you may not even recover the costs of the renovation.

The Remodelers’ Council, a part of the National Home Builders’ Association, suggests remodeling projects that bring the value of your home up to the value of your neighbors’ homes. A good rule of thumb is to keep the total of the value of your home before remodeling and the value of the remodeling projects to within 10 percent to 15 percent above median sales prices for a home in your neighborhood. Avoid projects that make your home the most expensive in your neighborhood or different from the other homes, such as a large outdoor swimming pool.

Experts agree that kitchen and bath remodeling projects are the most likely to allow you to recoup their investments, possibly because homebuyers expect to spend a great deal of time in these areas of the house.

If increasing your home’s value is a key priority, keep in mind that your keenest competition at resale will be new homes. So get a sense of what these buyers want by looking at the features and amenities found in new homes, such as great rooms and high ceilings.

Financing your remodeling project: more options than ever

Once you have decided on the remodeling project, it’s time to obtain financing. With today’s low interest rates and climbing home prices, homeowners have greater opportunity to borrow against their equity. They also face more choices for accessing equity, because lenders are offering greater options than ever before.

A key decision is choosing between a home equity loan or a line of credit. Although both borrow against the equity in your home, there are differences between them. A home equity loan is given as a lump sum and under preset terms is repaid over a fixed period of time, generally 15 years.

A revolving home equity line of credit, on the other hand, provides a credit limit or line, which you can draw on as needed, making regular payments. As you make payments, you can continue to borrow against the credit line during the draw period. Many homeowners enjoy the flexibility of a line of credit. To determine which option is best for you, sit down with your lender or financial planner.

Some lenders, such as Bank of America, the largest home equity lender in the United States, are introducing features to make the process more convenient for customers.

New access options — Card access, such as the Bank of America Equity CreditLine Visa, which directly accesses a home equity line of credit, is growing in popularity. Sandra Endsley, product manager, Equity CreditLine Visa, said that individuals reported in research that they enjoy the convenience of using a card without having to then write a check to transfer the charge. Although it can be carried in a wallet, the card has a distinctive design to distinguish it from other bank cards.

Cards that access a home equity line of credit benefit from low rates, payment schedules and possible tax advantages of the home equity line. (Potential borrowers should consult with their tax advisors regarding the deductibility of interest and charges for the line.) Whether you’re accessing the account through a check or card, the account is still a home equity line of credit and subject to the same terms and conditions. In addition, the Equity CreditLine Visa offers the same security features as other Bank of America cards, including zero liability from fraudulent use when the customer notifies the bank as soon as possible after a card has been lost or stolen, and a Photo Security option.

Line of credit lock-in options - While a home equity loan is commonly available at a fixed rate, lines of credit typically are offered at variable rates tied to the prime rate. Variable rates have been popular recently because of low interest rates. However, as rates climb, the interest rate on a variable loan will increase.

Because many customers prefer the predictability of a fixed rate, many lenders now offer a lock-in option for already-advanced portions of home equity lines of credit.

Primary mortgage tie-in options — Many new homeowners want to make improvements or enhancements to their homes right away. Lenders such as Bank of America often offer qualified customers the opportunity to secure a home equity line of credit when they close on a primary mortgage.

Technology process improvements — Because of breakthroughs in technology, many lenders can offer decisions nearly instantly. These advancements, which include electronic appraisal and online title verification, continue to decrease the time between approval and closing.

Properly planned, remodeling can transform the space in your home to meet your needs. In addition, today’s financing options make the process more convenient and flexible than ever before. So whether you choose to hire the experts or do it yourself, now is a great time to get started.

About The Author

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information, contact Julie Davis, Bank of America, (404) 607-5228, julie.davis@bankofamerica.

Source: http://www.365articles.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

ng Your Kitchen Work for You

 by: Barbara Schmidt (ARA Content)

(ARA) - The kitchen often becomes a family hub, the heart of the home for daily activity and entertaining. For this reason, the design of a kitchen space should address how the room is used on a daily basis. Identifying how you like to cook, eat and entertain are important steps in creating an efficient kitchen space.

Whether you are building from the floor plan up or simply reorganizing, kitchen tools and space planning have the most powerful impact on a kitchen’s effectiveness.

The Kitchen Pro

Ask any chef and they’ll tell you that cooking with the right equipment makes all the difference in the world. While a full kitchen overhaul can be costly, here are a few innovative ideas that blend functionality and fashion.

• Mix and match. It is perfectly acceptable to equip your kitchen with appliances you like, one by one. Most culinary experts do not choose an entire matching set of appliances from one manufacturer. Instead look at individual appliance features and stick to easy-to-match finishes like black, white and stainless.

• Stainless steel fixtures and appliances are in vogue for good reason — they work with any color palette and many are built for standard sizes so they are easily retrofitted to your space.

• Streamline food preparation and cleanup with specialized fixtures. American Standard’s new Culinaire Collection offers coordinating kitchen sinks, faucets and accessories that work extra hard. For example, the remote access drain feature allows you to drain the basin without sticking your hand into dirty dishwater. The line also features nonslip cutting boards and metal dish racks sized to fit snugly over the sink surface.

• If frozen dinners come flying out of the freezer door every time you open it, consider adding refrigeration or freezer drawers in your kitchen work island. These products are specifically designed to keep certain items, such as produce, at the exact temperature and humidity to stay their freshest. These compact units can add as much as 30 to 40 percent more refrigeration and freezer space to a kitchen.

Conquering Space

Gadgets and small appliances can be very handy but tend to gobble up space. Consider these tips to manage clutter so that nothing interferes with your culinary projects.

• What’s good for your wardrobe is good for your kitchen — donate items that you have duplicates of or that you no longer use and replace them with sleek versions of must-have kitchen elements. Sinks with integrated accessories, like the Culinaire sink and its integrated drainboard and colander, are more efficient, stylish and eliminate kitchen clutter.

• Create more counter space by adding a small center island or rolling cart. Look for a cart that is decorative but also offers storage space below the work surface.

• Trade in your kitchen table for a bar-style counter and stools. Not only will this free up floor space to add more cabinets or extend counters, it will also prompt you to use your formal dining room more often for family meals.

• Annex space from another room to create a walk-in pantry. This is one of the most popular features for homebuyers. It allows for storage of bulk food items and large appliances like chafing dishes that are used infrequently.

• Get creative to better utilize deep cupboards and organize drawers. Lazy Susan rotating trays and stackable spice racks are just the tip of the iceberg — install shelves that pull out for easy access items in the back. Also, fit a horizontal knife block next to your flatware caddy to protect your fingers and the life of the blades.

About The Author

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

Source: http://www.365articles.com

Popularity: 28% [?]

Share This