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The Art Of Bedroom Remodeling

July 26th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you are not entirely satisfied with the atmosphere of your master bedroom, remodeling it could be the way to go. Today, the bedroom has become more than just a place where you sleep at night. It can be your quiet retreat, where you can read a book, listen to some music or just relax and spend some time without having anyone else around.

When remodeling your bedroom, you should start with the color of the walls. If sensuality is what you are after, painting them red, rouge or pink could be the right choice. Using a combination of candlelight and mirrors can also contribute greatly to the positive atmosphere of your master bedroom.

Obviously the room lighting is important as it shouldn’t be too bright but at the same time not to dim either, so plenty of soft lighting is the best compromise, especially when reading is concerned. You could try using energy saving led lamps, as they provide a soft and warm light.

Traditionally to achieve the relaxing atmosphere, as far as colors are concerned, you should look towards the softer shades of ivory, amber and slate blue. When you are remodeling you master bedroom to create a room which is more like a retreat, then beautiful throws, cushions (or pillows) and mirrors will achieve the desired look.

To complete the changes in your bedroom, hang a couple of pictures or family photos on the walls. To increase the functionality of the room, think of adding a standing lamp and a comfortable armchair.

Placing a compact tv set in the bedroom is almost always a good idea, as most people enjoy watching their favorite show or film before they go to sleep. You could also think about having a small built-in fridge in the room, as this can be a very nice feature if you often get up at night to get yourself something to drink.

If you lead a busy life, or perhaps have a busy home, having a bedroom you can retreat to can be a true blessing. Keep this in mind the next time you decide to have it remodeled.

Things To Focus On To Get The Best Results In A Renovation

July 25th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

The task of selling or renting out a property is never an easy one. You should make such dealings cautiously so that you can turn the tide in your favour and prevent any kind of losses.

There are some things that you have to keep in mind before putting a house in the market. One of the most important factors is whether the property has been preserved and renovated properly to give it a fresh look, as then there is every chance that a possible buyer or tenant will lap it up. How much a house is worth monetarily to potential buyers and tenants mostly depends on how properly it has been refurbished and how attractive its interior design is. The money you put in can easily be got back by earning a premium on the price of the property, which in all likelihood must be much higher than what has been put into renovating it.

Interior design of a house can be creatively demanding even if you engage a professional and thus it presents an excellent chance for you to discover your own artistic side. Once you have your creative juices flowing in renovation work, you will feel thrilled, and the hope of making good profits out of the deal will propel you further.

Before getting started on the renovation and interior design process, you must think of the kind of tenants or buyers that you are likely to get. For example, a modern and smart design would be greatly liked by a newly wed couple, on the other hand a design with a touch of class and comfort is something an elderly couple would surely like.

The first thing that a buyer will see in the house is the drawing room. It is a place where people like to sit with their family and friends in a relaxed manner and it is a smart decision to have it painted in bright colours. Wooden furnishings of the room can look brand new if repairs are done and the wood is repainted. You can also opt for some inexpensive art work to enhance the whole ambience of the room.

It is usually accepted that the wife, who will manage the house, is going to take maximum notice of what makes an ideal house and what doesn’t. Hence the kitchen should be renovated with extra care. The most important thing in a kitchen is utility, which must be highlighted by giving the appliances a new look and getting minor snags repaired.

After the interiors have been thoroughly refurbished, the exteriors need to be renovated as well. Getting the exteriors refurbished with a fresh coat of paint and taking care of the lawn would bring you much nearer to a profitable deal.

Tips for installing Hardwood Floors

July 24th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you’re looking for durability and natural beauty, hardwood is probably top choice when it comes to flooring material. Whether it’s in the dining room, the living room, the family room or any other place, wood flooring is a practical, attractive choice that will add value to your home. It moves with the temperature and moisture in the air, but can rot or warp if it’s left wet. Because of this, hardwood flooring isn’t usually used in the bathroom or the kitchen. However, when maintained with care and with a sturdy finish, it can work even in these less than suitable environments.

There are several different types of hardwood floors. Traditional flooring comes in strips or planks, which is fastened to sub flooring. Then, the floor is sanded and finished with a durable substance - varnish, polyurethane, or wax. There are newer hardwood floor types that come prefinished. They’re fastened in much the same way, but no work is required after they’re installed.

For those who want to install their own hardwood floors, this can be a real blessing, since finishing and sanding are difficult jobs best left to a professional. Of course, you get much less choice in these floors - wood types and colors come in a relatively small range. For the best quality floors, see a professional installer. Composite and veneer wood floors are also available, but these are not true hardwood, and will last a much shorter time. They are less expensive, however.

Remember to make sure that your flooring is being laid on a base that’s clean, level and smooth, as well as being capable of holding up your floor in the long run. Stack flooring indoors for a few days so it’ll adjust to the climate of your home, and make sure you install it at a right angle to the joists in the floor. Mark their positions on the wall before you start, as well as the room’s center line. Many people cover the sub flooring with asphalt felt to minimize squeaking and provide moisture protection, but this isn’t strictly necessary.

If you find that your room is very out of square (common in older homes) make sure you position the tongue of the first row of flooring parallel to the center line, ripping the groove side parallel to the wall. Boards can be cut with a power miter saw or a radial arm saw. The first row should be made up of the longest boards or widest planks. Face-nail these boards through the sub flooring to the joists when you get near the wall. This area will later be covered by a base shoe.

For every row after the first, move a short piece of flooring along the edge of the row, rapping it with a mallet. This tightens the new row against the one before it before you nail, and makes sure that your rows will be installed evenly. Never line a joint up with a joint in the sub floor, and when using plants, make sure that you leave a crack wide enough to slip a putty knife into between each plank. This allows for expansion.

You may want to lay out several rows of boards while you’re installing the flooring. Just make sure that no end joint gets closer than six inches to any end joint nearby. Pieces next to the wall should be at least eight inches long, and installed with a half inch gap at the wall itself. When blind nailing, never drive nails flush. You’ll see indentations from the hammer on the board. Leave every nail projecting up about an eight of an inch. Then, use a nail set to drive with home and recess the nail without leaving marks in the floor. Flooring nailers can be used after you’ve put the first three rows in.

Once you reach the final row, a pry bar and block will be needed to get the last boards into position. Drill holes and face nail these boards where the baseboard molding will cover, as you did with the first row, and set nail heads below the surface with a hammer and nail set. When the flooring will cause a level change between this room and an adjoining one or hallway, don’t forget to install a reducer strip with a rounded edge. This keeps you from having a sudden transition between the two areas.

How To Get The Best Tiles For Your Bathroom

July 22nd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

It would be almost impossible to quantify the huge variety of colors, shapes, sizes and textures that bathroom tiles come in It is important to select the right tiles for your room as they affect the overall design and style and form the basis of many modern day bathroom and shower room designs.

The majority of tiles you find are manufactured out of ceramic because it is a very durable, cheap material which is resistant to damp. They are also very quick to clean and are usually quite safe when walking on a wet floor. Selecting non slip tiles for the bathroom can also increase safety which is important if you have a young family.

It is possible to buy unglazed tiles but I would not recommend these as they are difficult to clean and stain easily due to their porous surface. Many different and quite stunning tiling patterns can be achieved due to the fact that tiles also come in a wide variety of shapes such as diamond and hexagonal.

Stunning designs can be achieved by mixing different color combinations of tiles. It is important that this is done correctly and that the colors complement each other. if you want to take this further you could also produce a mosaic effect. One of my favorite styles which is simple yet distinctive is to use the same tiles for the floor and the walls and to lay them diagonally. You can also find grout in many different colors to further enhance your design.

A more contemporary appearance can be had by using bold colors schemes, graphics and different combinations of shapes. Using these combinations with some of the more contemporary style fixtures and fittings will give you the most elegant and modern look to your room.

If you are looking for a more Victorian or romantic look then using floral soft colored tiles, particularly with flower graphics is a good way to start. To really set the style off a hand painted ceramic sink is a good idea. For a more mediterranean look you cannot beat mixing in some terracotta, preferably hand made, tiles into the design.

One vital point to bear in mind is that it is very important to use the perfect combination of colored tiles in your bathroom to match the walls and other accessories. Colors can affect your mood a lot and at the same time make you feel calm. So start looking at designing your bathroom by picking the right combination of tiles and colors to give it a more cozier, warm feeling. In many cases it may be worth going to a color consultant to get ideas about matching colors, what works and what does not. This can save you a lot of money in the longer term and help you achieve that special distinctive look you want.

As you can see, when designing a bathroom or remodeling your old bathroom then choosing the right tiles and the right colors is extremely important. There are so many available that it can be confusing but make sure they match your overall color scheme and match the bathroom furniture such as the vanities and faucets. You will then be happy and proud of your new room for years to come.

Thanks To Ceramic Floors

July 21st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Renovating the floor is one of the effective ways to create a major change in a living space. Renovation however, doesn’t have to be a major work of taking out the old flooring and installing a new one. A simple work of doing something about the floor’s exterior can do a lot of good. No carpentry, installation or poking here and there needed. Sure, cleaning does wonders too but complementing the flooring with the room’s color, decors and/or fixtures gives a room an appealing interior.

If you have ceramic flooring, half of the load is already done for you. In times of furniture replacements, moving the fixtures around won’t be a backbreaking work. The surface is smooth enough for furniture to be moved effortlessly. Underfloor heating also functions best with ceramics, which makes for a warm room literally. And with the complements of rich shades, figuratively.

Choosing for ceramics is an enjoyable thing. There are different shapes, sizes and designs. It’s nothing like a boring task related to flooring, but more of a fun decorating adventure. The use of contrast is applicable with ceramics. The dark color of terracotta as mentioned looks more vivid with light-colored walls. On the other hand, white tiles will look more luminous with dark walls or furnishings. Geometric design is another floor design that will no doubt get as much attention.

Decorating the floor can simply be accomplished with the use of area rugs. Rugs are the most useful for spacious rooms or spaces that don’t have much adornment, color or design. The area rug’s color, design, shape or pattern can be a moving contrast from the room’s walls or furnishings, or a seamless match to the rest of the room. Decorating is always enhanced with the use of area rugs.

Whether you want a clean, sleek floor or one that is embellished and colorful, the bottom line is that no decorating project will ever be a success without including the floors to the equation. If you want a complete makeover, don’t ever forget your floor!

Roof Repair for Storms. How to Prepare for the Worst

July 20th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Orange Park and every other part of Northeast Florida are all susceptible to roof storm damage. Do not let anybody tell you different. I do roof repair and installation and I see the same mistakes over and over when people prepare for storms. Here’s some pointers on how to minimize the damage to your roof and house.

Take all the old shingles off before re-shingling. One of the big problems I see is trying to put new shingles over the old ones. This does not make sense because if there are underlying problems then all you have done is cover them up. Make sure you do not ever try to put new shingles over the older layer.

Take a hard look over all the sheathing. If you see any holes, wear, or other damage get rid of it and put some new sheathing on.

Now, you might think that this next step is a little overkill but, believe me, if you do it then it will save your roof when the strong winds blow. You have got to re-fasten the sheathing by doubling up on the fasteners that are already there. That means putting another fastener between the existing ones. Some contractors have skipped this step and their customers have paid for it later.

Water leaks are caused by not attending to the details. Put some more flashing or roofing tape on the spaces between the sheathing pieces and around the chimney. Don’t forget to seal up the fasteners that penetrate the roof deck.

Next comes the ASTM D 226 Type I (15#). That is the minimum standard and make sure that it is asphalt impregnated. Your profile caps or tins should be at least an inch. Put them at 6 inch intervals on the seams and 12 inches on the field.

Though most contractors say you should use hot dipped galvanized fasteners only if you live near salt water, I think using them no matter where you live is the best practice.

Even though there is a lot of different makes and types of shingles out there I’m going to recommend that you use those that are approved for Dade County, Florida because you will not go wrong with that strict standard - even in Jacksonville. They each take six nails or whatever the manufacturer says.

Well, that is how roofs are done and re-done. Good, careful workmanship and high quality materials will make sure you will not unduly risk your home to wind and water damage when a storm hits.

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