GDR 2

Archive for the ‘Remodeling’ Category

Before you start, make sure you understand all of the wall’s functions and know how well they can be served when it’s gone. Check to be certain that the space the wall divides will not seem ill-proportioned without it. Note that besides serving as a partition a wall may carry pipes, wires or heat ducts. Keep in mind that although removing a wall may join two spaces together it does not actually add any more space than the few square feet in which the wall stands.

To size up the job, look the wall over. The number of outlets and switches will suggest how much wiring lies inside it. A bathroom directly above may be hooked to plumbing that goes down through the wall. From the basement you may be able to detect whether heating pipes or conductors rise within the wall.

If all you find is wiring that terminates at outlets in the wall, you can remove it when you break the wall. A hot-air duct connected to a wall register can be cut back to the floor and capped with a grid. Even if you encounter many pipes and cables, you may be able to remove the bulk of the partition and leave part of one end of the wall to carry the various conductors, which can be moved there by a plumber or an electrician.

More critically, you should be aware that the wall may bear weight from above, thus serving as a vital structural element of the house. If it does, you will have to limit the width of the opening to 14 feet, because a bigger span entails too many risks and difficulties. To replace the weight-carrying function of the wall, you will have to install a visible overhead beam, as well as end posts for this beam that may also be visible, so that instead of removing the wall without a trace you make an arch. These intrusions can be minimized by surfacing the structural members with wallboard to match the walls, or by positioning furniture, such as bookcases, to hide the posts.

The key clue to a load-bearing wall is joists crossing its top plates perpendicular to them. You may be able to see the direction of the joists from your attic; you may have to cut a peephole in the ceiling next to the wall to be removed. The basement can also yield clues. If you find a girder or a wall running under and parallel to the partition in question, you can be quite sure that the partition carries weight down to this support. If any doubt remains, assume that the wall bears weight.

As the converse of a load-bearing wall, a nonbearing wall usually runs parallel to the joists and perpendicular to the long walls of the house. Walls enclosing small spaces like closets are probably non-bearing walls – but be sure to check. Because nonbearing walls serve no structural function, they can be removed without leaving an arch.

Almost everyone I know has seen their home values fall in the last two years, many in the double digit range. However, there is a silver lining to this economic downturn for some lucky homeowners. This is an ideal time to remodel your house. (If you’re at grave risk of losing immediate household income or if you have no equity whatsoever in your home, please read no further.)

If, however, you have been wanting to remodel for a while, plan on remaining in your home for the next 10 years or longer, or want to be a more competitive seller in this buyer’s market, now can be an excellent time to begin a remodeling project.

Here’s why:

1. The best builders, contractors and trades have much greater scheduling availability right now, which gives you access to professionals you might not otherwise be able to get. As the New York Times put it, during the boom years, “Good contractors were as hard to get as celebrated doctors.” Their knowledge and skill are unchanged. It’s just that many have more down time at the moment.

2. Given the laws of supply and demand, the drop-off in work has driven down prices on some goods and services. This gives you the upper hand in negotiation. Consider, though, that the best folks are still going to cost more in labor than the less skilled ones. However, they very well may save you money — and aggravation — in the long run, as you won’t have to hire someone else to fix amateur mistakes or a lawyer to bring them to heal.

3. Many of the weaker players are being weeded out by the economy before you ever meet them. The remaining pros are better project managers with stronger referrals. This will reduce your chances of running into the kind of con artist that’s drawn to a boom and moves on during a bust.

4. New rules make it easier for senior homeowners to finance their projects through reverse mortgages. Contact one in your area to see how this can bring you a new kitchen, bath, addition, etc.

5. There are excellent, new products on the market that will help you save money on water and energy. By building them into your remodeling project, they could help pay for themselves, and make your home more appealing to future buyers. According to a recent study by McGraw Hill quoted by the Wall Street Journal, “One-third of home buyers say they are willing to pay a premium of $20,000 or more for a green home.” (Helping the environment is a plus, too.)

6. On a related note, local laws in some areas and new federal incentives may offset costs for water- and energy-saving products you can incorporate into your remodel.

7. If someone in your home has respiratory issues like asthma, changing to more indoor-air-quality-oriented products can improve their comfort and well-being. There are terrific products on the market now to assist you – and them – in that regard.

8. If an aging relative moves in with you, or you’re looking at staying in your home into your senior years, upgrading your home with aging-in-place features can improve your safety and enhance both your home’s livability and resale value. (Less than 10 percent of American homes are built with aging in place features, while millions of Americans are getting ready to retire — you do the math!)

9. Unlike the house flippers we saw remodeling in recent years to keep up with the Joneses, those of you who have been in your home for a while really know its strengths and weaknesses. You also know what truly makes sense for your lifestyle. This will yield a more successful outcome on your project, more suited to how the home can best be improved for its residents and guests.

10. If you’re spending more time in the house these days, as many folks are, improving your home will provide some anti-recessionary joy. And who couldn’t use that taste of sunshine these days?

I have found that the majority of home owners assume that for every dollar they invest in their home, they will get more than a dollar in return. Don’t shoot the messenger…….but it is not true.

According to the National Association of Realtors web site, the following is the average return on investment for the most common remodeling projects:

Deck addition — 76.8%

Major kitchen remodel — 80.4%

Bathroom remodel — 84.9%

New roof — 73.9%

Family room addition — 71.5%

Master suite addition — 72.6%

REMODELING FOR RESALE:

To obtain a high rate of return on your remodeling project should not be the goal. Making your home more marketable in order to obtain a sale should be the goal of your remodeling project.

Buyers typically are not going to pay much over market value in a given neighborhood. In contrast, buyers would rather spend the extra money for a nice home than pay below market value for a home they will have to fix up(unless they are specifically looking for a “fixer upper”). This means you will want your home to have similar features with similar quality as the homes your are competing against.

If you do remodel, make sure you do enough, but don’t go overboard. For example, if the homes you are competing with have oak cabinets and tile floors in the kitchen, then it wouldn’t be smart to install painted pine cabinets and linoleum in your kitchen. You will not be competitive. Buyers shop in a certain price range and they expect to get certain amenities that are appropriate for that price range. Nor would it be smart to install Brazilian hard wood cabinets and natural stone floors. The chances that you will recoup even the national average of 80.4% of your remodeling investment are not good. This is due to the fact that you will have to list your home above neighborhood market value. And as stated, buyers typically do not like to pay much over market value.

WHAT ARE THE BEST REMODELING PROJECTS?

As the statistics above indicate, kitchen and baths have the greatest return on investment. That is because just about anybody can paint a room or throw up some drapes or order some carpet once they purchase a new home. But remodeling a kitchen or bathroom is a different animal. Both the kitchen and bathroom require skill and know how to properly remodel them and most consumers know it.

The easiest projects that can make a big difference are painting, landscaping and cleaning. A clean yard, mulch and some flowers will enhance the curb appeal. Paint helps to make interiors and exteriors look new. Clean the carpets as well. Having things crisp and clean will immediately catch the eye of a potential buyer.

Before remodeling for the purpose of increasing the marketability of your home, consult with two or three realtors that do business in your neighborhood. A good realtor is invaluable when deciding how much you should do to get your house ready for sale. They can save you thousands of dollars and help you increase your profit margin.

Good luck!

When it comes to getting your home remodeling completed their are usually some more popular choices. These 3 types of projects, including kitchen and bathroom jobs, are some of the main ones jobs which homeowners make plans for because they can add value to their house immediately.

1. Bathroom remodeling is probably the most popular type of home project ever completed. The comfort of having enough storage space, new fixtures like toilets and sinks, and also new flooring can help make your bath area more appealing while adding some exciting resell value to your home.

2. Kitchen remodeling is another great idea for any home because the kitchen is one of the most used areas in any house. Getting modernized appliances like dishwashers, sinks, garbage disposals, and ovens can add a lot of convenience to the cooking and cleaning aspects of life. Consider remodeled kitchens another instant way to improve the value of your home too.

3. Home or just regular room additions are an awesome way to change the dynamics of a homes overall feel and look. Adding space to a bedroom can make a room for a larger closet and make it feel much more comfortable and warming. How about a sun room or a deck area? Grilling during the warm seasons is a great American past time and what better way to enjoy it with all the amenities a newly designed and completed deck can bring!

From the kitchen area all the way to getting some more space in the house these 3 remodeling projects can always give some more value to a house and make a homeowner more proud of their dwelling. If you are wanting one of these jobs completed get in touch with a local remodeling company in your area.

There are a number of different methods you can use to remodel your kitchen cabinets, the method you choose will ultimately depend on how much money you have available to spend on this project. It will also depend on what you intend to achieve. If you are on a small budget then you can refinish existing cabinets in order to give them an updated look, if you have more money then you could consider replacing the cabinets with new ones. When you are considering remodeling kitchen cabinets you should also consider the rest of the room.

You can make your existing cabinets look like new by refinishing them. First you have to sand them down, and then painting them in your chosen color. In order to make this project easier you should remove all the handles and door pulls so you can get the whole surface evenly painted. It’s important to make sure the surface is prepared properly otherwise the paint may start to flake off. If it is necessary you can use solvent based solutions in order to remove old paint work.

While you are preparing the surfaces you should also make sure the woodwork is cleaned and sanded to an even level. This is important so that when the job is completed there won’t be any imperfections, and all the doors will match. When you have finished sanding make sure you remove all of the dust before painting or staining. You should treat the doors the same so that they all look the same.

Create a Display Case

You can use glass doors in your kitchen cabinets to create a beautiful display case for your glass ware, or fancy china. If you have an L shaped cabinet and want to turn it into a display case then you could consider using sliding glass doors. By using glass doors in your kitchen cabinets you can make your kitchen appear much bigger.

While you are remodeling your kitchen cabinets it is important to realize that you may have to loosen your work surfaces slightly so that you can repaint the visible faces of the carcasses. If you’re going to do a job then you should do it properly! There’s nothing worse than a horrible streak of different colored paint work running along the top of your cabinets. This is also a great opportunity to clean any of the crumbs and dirt that has accumulated in these crevices over the years.

If your kitchen cabinets are in very poor condition then you may need to remove them from the wall in order to carry out all this work. If you remove the cabinets and sit them on the floor you will often find the project is much quicker. It is a slight nuisance to remove everything from your cabinets and then take them down, but personally I think it’s worth it!