Remodel

Should You Install a Shower Stall?

July 26, 2022 Comments Off

Most homes in America have a bathtub that doubles as a shower. Not that many homes have a separate shower stall and a separate bathtub. You may be remodeling your bathroom and feel that it would be a nice option to have a separate shower stall rather than a combined shower/bath.
Your first consideration when thinking of installing a separate shower stall in addition to your bathtub is whether you have enough room. If you are doing a major bathroom remodel then you can plan it down on paper, all the measurements of the various items like the shower, bath, toilet and cabinets so that you can fit these items in your bathroom.
If you’re not doing a major bathroom remodel, you’ll have to evaluate any spare space you have in the bathroom, measure it up, and do some research to find a shower stall with those dimensions that will fit easily into the bathroom.
Once you have your measurements for your new shower stall it’s time to go shopping. You can find complete shower stalls at most home improvement stores. These usually come with a molded shower floor and walls and the shower door. These all in one shower stalls are quite easy to install as everything you need is built into it.
However you may want to make use of the tiles you’ve already got laid on your bathroom floor and use those as the shower floor. You’d obviously have to put in a drain and build up the sides of the area to create the base of the shower, and then buy some sliding doors to finish it off.
This entails a lot more work than just buying the all in one shower stall, so it comes down to weighing up the amount of money you have to spend versus the amount of time you have to build a shower from the ground up yourself, or have it done for the professionally.…

Custom Kitchen Remodeling – 3 Reasons You May Want to Custom Kitchen Remodel

June 27, 2022 Comments Off

Why might you want to custom kitchen remodel? There’s lots of valid motives for doing so. The reason that most people do not seriously consider it is usually inertia. Scarcity of good info is sometimes the reason. At other times fear of the unknown is the cause. Sometimes it comes down to not knowing how. Still other times it may be just being unaware of the possibility of doing it or of the potential benefits.
The key here is knowing enough about it. Let’s get some more info. Let’s look at the three most important reasons that influenced others to custom kitchen remodel.
Reason Number 1, you have full control over your remodeling. You make a valid point when you point out that this takes more time and energy. I concede your point, but the ability to control everything will mean that you should like your new kitchen a lot more than you would if you hired someone to remodel it for you.
Second, you can choose energy efficient appliances. Plus, you get to choose appliances with all the functions you want. And this should pay for itself in the long run with the amount of energy you will be saving.
Third and last, you will get the most bang for your buck. This will most likely mean that you will shop around looking for the best prices so you should be able to shave off a lot of the costs involved in remodeling a kitchen. And again, you will get everything that you wanted at a much more reasonable price!
Consider those three reasons, evaluate them, think about them. When you think about it, you can see that there are compelling reasons to consider trying to custom kitchen remodel. Do they really apply to you also?
Seriously now, just think about it for a moment. Don’t those reasons apply to you? Perhaps you really should custom kitchen remodel.…

Don’t Let These Happen to Your Bathroom Remodel Project

June 3, 2022 Comments Off

Designing a bathroom can be a fun enterprise. People have so much fun putting the major pieces together that they often forget about the little things. These can fall by the wayside and make a bathroom really difficult to enjoy once it’s done. Whatever you do, you need to make sure that you never make these mistakes in your own bathroom remodel.
When you build your shower stall, you need to make sure that the contractor builds the floor in such a way that it slopes towards the drain, wherever that might be. As difficult as it is to believe, the person who plans for where the drain should be isn’t the same person who plans the floor. When these two don’t talk to each other, the floor in the shower stall can end up sloping away from the drain, and you can end up standing in your own dirty water when you take a shower. You need to make sure that everyone talks to one other so that this doesn’t happen.
It’s easy to plan for where the sink should go, where the toilet should go and where the shower stall should go. Who is it again that’s responsible for where the power outlets go? You’ll need to think carefully about where everyone will want to use appliances in the bathroom – shavers, hair dryers, even bathroom entertainment units and “massage devices” need to be plugged in somewhere. Even if you don’t plan on all of this going on in your bathroom, someone who wants to buy your home one day may. It can be a very unpleasant inconvenience to put up all the tiles and the stone on the wall and then to realize that there isn’t a power outlet where you need one. Make sure that no one ever comes to curse the bathroom remodel designers for not thinking ahead.
Bathrooms are places with complicated plumbing. One time or another, something or the other is bound to go wrong. When that happens, nothing will seem as important as an easy way to access the plumbing, on demand. Every bathroom remodel should have access panels to all working parts of the shower, the hot tub or anything else. Anything that needs to be maintained with periodic cleaning, needs to have its access panel within easy reach.
In the end, make sure that your bathroom has enough lighting, everywhere that people will stand or sit. Having a single light at one point spreading its light all over the place just won’t do. Not in a bathroom for today.…

Home Maintenance – Extend The Life Of Your Siding

May 13, 2022 Comments Off

All to often vegetation too close to the home is the reason for dry rot and siding damage. The sad part is this is totally avoidable and almost always happens due to either neglect, misinformation or the belief that your landscaper is taking care of it. In homes with wood siding, trim, or overhangs, this always turns up on home inspection reports.
So where do I start?
Start Simple: check to make sure that all sprinkler heads are at least 18″ from the structure and that the sprayers are pointed away from the home. Make sure that all plants are at least 6″ away from wood siding. Remember moisture is woods worst enemy and the more your siding can breath the dryer it will stay. Make sure that all of your gutters & down spouts are working correctly, effective rain water directing can make a huge difference in only a 10 year period.
Go a Step Farther: Check to see that any brick veneer has all edges caulked so no water can get behind. IVY IS BAD. if you have ivy growing on your home and it is a wood frame structure, you need to cut it down. The feelers from the ivy break through the cracks in the weak mortar of brick veneer and delivers moisture to the wood framing year round. Ivy follows the sun upwards and works its way into roof sheathing and eventually roof composition. If you have an entire brick or stone building ivy can not hurt you until it reaches the roof line, the ivy should always be kept off of the overhang.
Keep It Off The Ground! Wood siding and mudsills need to be a minimum of 6″ above grade when dirt and 2″ above grade when concrete. If you do not have this clearance then you need to dig down the soil grade to achieve this. After lowering the grade it needs to have a grade away from the home of 2″ down for 18″ out. if you don’t have this clearance on concrete, your options may be limited. the first step is to locate the hight of the mudsill. if the mudsill is 3″ off grade or more, then you can just cut the siding 2″ off the concrete and still maintain a good siding overlap. if the mud sill is lower than 3″ then the best bet is to cut the siding up 1/4″- 3/8″ off of the concrete grade with an undercut saw. clean out new gap at bottom of siding and fill with Sikaflex premium waterproof caulking.
Keep It Painted! A good coat of primer and paint every few years isn’t just to keep up with the jones’, it’s also to keep up to date the proper protections against sun and rain.…

Things to Consider in Your Bathroom Designs

May 4, 2022 Comments Off

It is important that you should consider the right bathroom designs. Your room design will assist you in creating an ideal interior appearance of your bathroom. It will make the room amazingly attractive and lovely.

Here are the vital parts of the bathroom that you should greatly consider when creating it or making some necessary improvements. Use these guidelines in making a new look for it.

Consider the shower curtain. The curtain is one of the most important parts of your bathroom. Take into account the curtain’s design, color and material used. This will all contribute to the total ambience of the room.

It is significant that you should only use the curtain that blends to the appearance of your bathroom designs. It must fit to the theme of the room as well as to other fixtures.

Consider the bathtub. The bathtub provides a great impression to the room design. It can tell whether the designer is a traditional type or a modern type. This can be based on its design such as the normal rectangular tub or new tub with different sizes and shapes.

In addition, it is best to choose the tub that will make you comfortable in using.

Consider the bathroom flooring. The flooring provides a great impact to the mood of the room. It creates an addition appeal to the user. It is important that you should take into account the material used for the flooring.

The material used creates a significant difference to the room. This refers to average flooring and stunning flooring.

Consider the pedestal sinks. This also adds to the ambience of the room. Choosing the best pedestal sinks can make your bathroom impressive. They come in decorative forms and style. Choose only the best that could fit your taste.

Always choose the best fixtures that you will include in your bathroom designs. This will help you enjoy a great bathroom experience.…

Summer Home Maintenance Checklist

April 17, 2022 Comments Off

Here’s a home maintenance schedule to help you and your home get through the summer no matter the climate where you live. Check off our summer home maintenance checklist to keep track…

Keeping cool will entail some work – stay indoors with this summer home maintenance schedule:

Inspect ceiling fans making sure the blades are well balanced and rotating in the right direction for proper cool air dispersal.

Repair stuck or sticking windows and doors.

Spray lubricant or silicone to sliding window tracks to withstand the constant opening and shutting. But first apply a good degreasing cleaner to the track, let it soak awhile and scrub the track with a screwdriver wrapped in a rag.

Replace washing machine hoses if they’re cracked, bulging or a few years old. Ditto for the drier.

Change the air conditioning system filter monthly.

Have chimneys cleaned through and through.

If necessary, spray for insects in gaps and around ducts and outlets.

Lubricate locks, hinges, and latches. Test the alarm system.

Lubricate garage door rolls and guides; ventilate the garage well – you don’t want to melt equipment that can’t handle the heat.

Don’t let the heat distract you – stay on task with this outdoor summer home maintenance checklist

Repair cracks in gutters and downspouts after clearing out all debris.

Mend fissures in the exterior house siding; look for holes that pests might use to get inside.

Touch up paint or stain on the house, any fencing or other woodwork.

Check the driveway – does it require repairs or resealing?

Examine and repair caulking in windows.

Trim trees and shrubs away from home and roof.

Look closely for carpenter ant and termite infestation. Survey trees for insect holes. Treat fire ant mounds with grits or borax.

Repair or replace rotten or peeling patio and deck floorboards – don’t forget to reseal them. Smooth out sharp corners too.

Clean the barbecue and grill; ensure that valves/connections/hoses are working and in good condition.

Inspect outdoor furniture for mildew; wipe it down before entertaining.

Inspect children’s outdoor play equipment. Tighten loose bolts and cover them with plastic protectors.

Eradicate garbage can odor – spray well with water and follow up with disinfectant. Rinse well after 10 minutes and flip over to dry.

Mow the lawn weekly, but not golf-course short – the grass retains water better and soil quality is healthier.

Sadly for summer lovers it’s also time to think ahead to fall. Beat the autumn home maintenance schedule and cleaning rush: find price breaks from carpet cleaners, gutter installers, window washers and heating specialists with , your community connection!…

Ideas For Your Bathroom Remodel

April 9, 2022 Comments Off

When you go to sell your home, you will find that potential sellers are very interested in your bathrooms and kitchen. This is because the kitchen is a central meeting and gathering place in any house and a fair amount of time is spent in the bathrooms as well. Additionally, the guest bathroom needs to look nice as all your guests will use it and it is a reflection of you.
Bathroom design is big business and you will need no more evidence of that than a trip to your local home improvement store. It used to be that about all you could do to liven up your bathroom was to buy a new shower curtain but now you can easily spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars making improvements. You can buy designer faucets, mirrors, bathtubs, sinks and all sorts of other bathroom accessories. The things you can do to improve the look of your bathrooms is almost limitless.
Anytime you set out to do a bathroom remodel, you should remember that the cabinets are one of the most important parts you need to get right. When a person enters your bathroom, the first things they see are your shower curtain (assuming it is pulled closed) and the cabinets. You need to have cabinets that are proportionally the right size for the bathroom and are the right color as well. You can always buy custom made cabinets if you don’t like the ones for sale in your local stores.
Bathroom mirrors and proper lighting is also an important aspect of a nice bathroom that you should not overlook. People use the mirror in bathrooms for grooming and you need to make sure they are large enough and well lit. Bathroom mirrors now can be bought in all sorts of sizes and shapes to fit well with all sorts of decors but you always need to make sure they function well first as a mirror. A mirror that is fancy or small may look good but it may not be functional which is not good.
Finally, make sure the colors in your bathroom all work well together. Nothing makes a bathroom look sillier than the wrong colors that don’t look right. While the colors in your bathroom don’t necessarily have to match those of the rest of the house, they should look appropriate for the setting. Dark shades of colors might not be the best choice because they will make the room look darker and people need to be able to see what they are doing in the bathroom. The colors you choose will set the tone for the room so choose them carefully.…

CASTLEMANAGER

Because Care begins at Home