Home Improvement » Hardwood Flooring

Types Of Home Improvement

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:41:32 +0000

While it most often refers to building projects that alter the structure of an existing home, home renovation can include improvements to lawns and gardens and outbuildings like gazebos and garages.

Home improvement projects generally have one or more of the following goals:

Beautification and added features

* Wallpapering and painting walls or installing wood paneling.

* Adding new flooring such as carpets, tiling, linoleum, wood flooring, or solid hardwood flooring.

* Upgrading cabinets, fixtures, and sinks in the kitchen and bathroom.

* Replacing siding and windows

* Improving the backyard with sliding doors, wooden patio decks, patio gardens, jacuzzis, swimming pools, and fencing.

Comfort

* Upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC)

* Increasing the capacity of plumbing and electrical systems.

* Waterproofing basements.

* Soundproofing rooms, especially bedrooms and baths.

Maintenance and repair

Maintenance projects can include:

* Roof tear-off and replacement.

* Concrete and masonry repairs to the foundation and chimney.

* Repairing plumbing and electrical systems.

Additional space

Additional living space may be added by:

* Turning marginal areas into livable spaces such as turning basements into recrooms or attics into spare bedrooms.

* Extending one’s house with rooms added to the side of one’s home or, sometimes, extra levels to the original roof.

A residential area is a type of land use where the predominant use is housing. In areas that are zoned residential, buildings may include single family housing, multiple family housing such as (apartments, duplexes, townhomes (or similar configurations), condominiums) or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit some services or work opportunities or may totally exclude business and industry.

It may permit high density land use or only permit low density uses. Residential zoning usually includes a smaller FAR (floor to area ratio) than business, commercial or industrial/manufacturing zoning.

In certain places there is a lot of partying situations residential areas may consist of quite large tracts of land which have no services whatsoever requiring a trip to town in order to fulfill basic needs. Because of the large distances involved most of these numerous trips involve using a motor vehicle.

In the case of a land development the pattern of development is usually set forth in the restrictive covenants contained in the deeds to the properties in the development, but may also result from or be reinforced by zoning. Restrictive covenants are not easily changed as the agreement of all property owners (many of whom may not live in the area) may need to be obtained to effect a change

By: Virgilio Vallecera

How Should I Spend My Home Improvement Budget

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:23:20 +0000

How should I spend my home-improvement budget? – It seems now days everyone has an interest in home improvement, just flip through cable TV channels and you will probably find a home improvement show to watch. It is not hard to understand why home owners are interested in home improvement, the right improvements can increase a homes value tremendously and give the home more enjoyability to the home owners. The question that always seems to pop up is “how do i spend my home improvement budget?”

The average American will move every 4-6 years so always take resale value and home appeal into account when planning any home improvement project. People all have varying tastes so avoid doing anything to extreme that may hurt resale value and is to difficult to undo, but it is your home so express yourself just keep it within reason.

No matter where you live a kitchen or bathroom remodel will add the most value and appeal to your home. These are expensive projects to undertake and many bathroom and kitchen remodels will cost over $10,000. Although small cosmetic improvements like faucet upgrades and new cabinet hardware can increase the appeal of a kitchen and bathroom for little money.

New flooring is also a nice home improvement that adds value, however new carpet will not add as much as value and appeal as adding hardwood floors will. Many of todays laminate hardwood floors can be installed DIY by the homeowner relatively easily. If you are unsure how to install hardwood flooring check with your local home improvement store, many offer classes on hardwood floor installation.

Not all home improvement projects have to be expensive or large to make a difference. Some smaller projects can include improving or adding landscaping, interior and exterior painting, resealing a driveway and upgrading lighting fixtures. These are small projects that can be done in a weekend or a few hours. These home improvements all will add curb appeal and increase the value of your home at the same time.

The things you will want to avoid are adding items that require maintenance and ongoing expense such as hot tubs, saunas and swimming pools. While one of these items may appeal to you they may not appeal to a large percentage of buyers and will not increase your homes value by much, in fact they may cause your home to sit on the market longer if you ever decide to sell A swimming pool is a good example of a negative home improvement , swimming pools require additional homeowners insurance due to liability for injury/death, they are expensive and complicated to maintain and can be dangerous to small children and some pets.

With the proper planning and research spending your home improvement budget correctly is an easy task to accomplish. By using the Internet, television shows and your local home improvement stores as references and you are almost guaranteed to choose the right improvement for your home.

By: Darin Sewell

Home Improvements – Plan in Advance

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:41:00 +0000

The materials that you will need to take on a home improvement project depends the task at hand. With any home improvement or repair job, you will need many types of tools and materials. Many materials can be bought at a fairly low rate, while some equipment will be costly, but can be used for multiple jobs.

One thing that will be required before you begin any home improvement job is a building permit. If you don’t acquire one, you will be subject to steep penalties and fines. Check with codes enforcement before starting any sizable home improvement project.

For jobs that require you to work on sub-flooring, you will likely require some kind of bonding agent, screws, a level, plywood, lumber, and nails. If you are installing new hardwood flooring you will probably need sandpaper, clean cloths, paste wax, wood restorer, oxalic acid, cleaning tools, rubber gloves, vinegar, wood patches, nails, a putty knife, a floor buffer, a hammer, and a vacuum to complete the job properly.

Not having the right materials for any home improvement job can lead to extra cost and any number of problems. Research what you need, and but the best materials that you can afford. For example, paneling the walls will require a variety of tools and materials, including a putty knife, a nail set, a caulk gun, a flat pry bar, a square, a mallet, a hammer, a carpentry knife, and a wall board knife. You will also have to buy the paneling, wood filler, putty stick, finishing nails, adhesive, and shims to finish the job right.

A common outside project is building a pond, which will require you to have a hose, hammer, spade, some pond liner, level, sand, decorative stones, and mortar. You might also want to consider landscape materials, such as plants or flowers. Plumbing jobs can be challenging, but can be done yourself. For example, repairing a shower can often be done by purchasing a repair kit. The kit might include flooring, walls, or doors. It might also consist of shower heads and facet.

Since kits don’t usually come with tools, you should have a basic stock of them. For plumbing, you might need PVC Pipe, primer, CPVC Cement, screwdriver, a pipe wrench, tubing cutter, liquid nails, and Silicon Sealant. To repair or replace drywall, you only need to follow a few simple steps. The job will require a putty trial, tray, sandpaper, joint putty, and a scraper.

Tile repair can be challenging if you don’t have the right tools for the job. You will need adhesive, scraper, a chisel, a hammer, and caulk.

For woodworking jobs, you will need to buy particular tools for the project. You will need some type of ear protection and eye protection. You will need a floor sander and belt sander, which can be rented by the hour. You will also need a dust mask, a sanding block and different grains of sandpaper, a paintbrush, and cross peen hammer. Other woodworking tools you might want to invest in include a plane and a shave hook. It is important to stay on task when working on home improvement projects, and to get the right tools for the job. This will prevent confusion and mistakes, will could cost more time and money.

By: Scotie Keithlow