Posts Tagged ‘home improvement’
Get Rid Of Air Pollution In Your Home With House Plants
Do you know that formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas can cause severe health effects to us? Sources of formaldehyde are:-
Wow! Looking at the list, there must be plenty of formaldehyde in our homes! The scary part is formaldehyde can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing when exposed at elevated levels. It has also been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; severe allergic reactions. High concentrations may trigger attacks in people with asthma.
Since research shows that people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, be sure to keep our homes well ventilated all the time. Besides that, try placing the following plants in your home:-
- Chrysanthemum
- Dracaena
- !vy
- Boston fern (Nephrolepsis Exaltata)
- Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens)
- Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)
- English Ivy (Hedera Helix)
Apparently, NASA in 1973 has made an experiment to find a solution to maintain air quality inside confined spaces and the results show that the above plants are able to remove pollutants from the air. Since different plants absorb different pollutants, it will be a good idea to mix a minimum of two plants per 100 square feet of floor space. Of course, there are no harms in having more (not in bedroom though, you will need the oxygen at night!) as long as you know where to place them.
Michele Lum (michele@ideastoenhancehome.com) is the founder and CEO of Ideas To Enhance Home, a site where you can get free tips and ideas on how to enhance your home for better life in health, business, romance, children and security just by placing interesting home decors and setting up simple systems.
Sign up for a FREE subscription to tips and ideas on how to enhance your home by visiting www.IdeasToEnhanceHome.com
Heres How To Know Which Kitchen Design Is Right For You
Kitchen design is a sea of opportunity filled with potential. Color schemes, wallpaper and other aesthetic additions will make up the design portion of your kitchen. The future is here with the introduction of kitchen design software; you no longer have to go to a showroom.
Kitchen design software has been helping people come up with great ideas on how to picture their layout before it’s complete.
Kitchen designs reflect the homeowner’s personality and style and since so much time is spent in the kitchen it should be efficient and comfortable. The design of the kitchen cabinets should be such that everything is within easy reach of someone working in the kitchen.
All good kitchens are the same. They have sensible work triangles and appropriate appliance arrangements. They’re not too big, nor too small, and they’re easy to move around in.
Great kitchens are all different–just like the families that use them. Instead of merely conforming to common design standards, great kitchens are adapted to meet the specific needs of families.
Kitchens are getting bigger. Even as family sizes decrease, the popularity of beautiful kitchens, designer cabinets, and custom appliances is on the rise.
As for style, there’s something for every taste — traditional, contemporary, or country.
About The Author
Mike Yeager, Publisher
Deck Building Basics
In my previous article, “planning for a new deck,” I outlined the steps for planning for a new deck. This article takes the process one step further. We’ll look at how to get started actually building your deck. By this time, I will assume that you have your building permit in hand, a good set of plans, and a materials list. If you don’t have a material list, simply take your plan to your nearest home center or building supply store and have them create one for you. Most lumber yards can actually arrange for delivery of all your materials at one time including all the nails and screws are you will need. This can be quite handy on large projects or if you don’t own a truck or a trailer. The lumber yard will bring all the parts and pieces you will need to build your new deck.
The first place to start, is to set some posts for your deck to rest on. Were I live in the Northeast, we have to deal with the frost and free cycle of winter. When I received my building permit, the code officer made sure to point out that all posts must be secured in country at least 36 inches below the surface of the ground. This will ensure that when the ground freezes the posts of the deck will not heave. Check with your local zoning office to find out what your specifications are for setting posts.
Renting a post hole digger makes setting the posts much easier, especially if you live in an area with a lot of playing or a lot of stone in your soil. I was able to dig a half a dozen holes in less than an hour. Digging the same number of holes my hand would’ve taken me at least half a day so the few dollars I spent on the post hole digger rental was well worth it.
Next, a port some stoning concrete makes into the holes and set the posts. My plan called for 4×4 posts. Your plans may be different. After the posts were in and let the concrete cure according to the directions on the package. I then nailed 2 x 2 joists to the side of the House and around the perimeter of the deck. I used metal choice hangers to hang all the internal joists. You can also tell nailed them but metal choice hangers are stronger and easier to use than trying to toenail large lumber.
There are lots of different types of taking you can use on top of your deck. I choose simple pressure treated lumber. To attach the deck boards to the joists you can use either nails or screws. If you use nails, make sure you use special spiral nails. These help prevent nails from popping. Deck screws are preferable as they are stronger but they are much more expensive than nails when laying out the decking, it is easier to let the deck boards run long and trim them down later once the entire deck surface is finished. When all the deck boards or laid, simply take a circular saw, and cut all the ends off the deck.
For a finished look, attach a skirt board to the exposed edges of the decking and over the rim joists. The last thing to do, if needed, would be to add railing, and or steps. However, these basics should get you started.
Dean Novosat is an avid do-it-yourselfer and remodeler. He writes for http://www.newsletterjournal.com, http://www.newsletterjournal.com, and http://www.newsletterjournal.com.
The Bathroom – The Forgotten Area Of Your Home?
The bathroom in your home is the one room that has undergone a complete transformation in the past several years. A transformation that is as far as how it is defined. Kitchens are to cook and eat in, living rooms are still for living and entertaining in and the garage still holds vehicles and junk (not to mention lot’s of tools). But the bathroom has evolved so far beyond its traditional functions that to truly reflect its current status in many homes, “spa room” or the “retreat” might be more appropriate names for it.
Too often, the bathroom comes in second to the kitchen when it comes to deciding on which home remodeling project should be done first. The kitchen has retained and even built upon its position as the focal point of the home and a center of both socialization and function. But the master bathroom is still stuck in its hygienic role and remains a private area that doesn’t get as many opportunities to impress visiting guests. Couple that with the fact that a bathroom renovation can be nearly as involved and expensive as a kitchen makeover and you have the makings for procrastination.
Today’s bathrooms, particularly those incorporated into master suites, are being designed and built to be a source of luxury and relaxation. After all, for many parents the master suite’s bath may be the only room in the home where they can truly enjoy some private time for relaxation away from the kids.
The world can be a very stressful place and having a nice, relaxing bathroom where you can de-stress can be very important.
About The Author
Mike Yeager, Publisher
How to Use Do-It-Yourself Toxic Mold Test Kits
VANCOUVER, CANADA. Many homeowners, landlords, renters, property managers, business owners, and employees want to know, and need to know, the precise identities of the various toxic mold species inhabiting their home, rental property, or place of work, according to Phillip Fry, Certified Mold Inspector and author of the mold book Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation.
To identify correctly toxic mold species, take these two steps: (1) use do-it-yourself mold test kits to collect mold samples during a thorough and complete building mold inspection and investigation; and (2) send the collected mold test samples to a mold laboratory for mold analysis and mold species identification.
Testing Visible Mold Growth
If a resident or occupant sees mold growing on a wall, ceiling, floor, heating or cooling duct register, or any other surface, he can scrape mold particles off the mold growth area onto the sticky surface of the opened mold test kit.
During such scraping of the mold growth, the tester needs to wear rubber gloves and a full-face respirator mask with organic vapor filters (such as the 3M brand from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store) to protect against toxic mold exposure.
To do the scraping, use a new or thoroughly disinfected (with ethyl or rubbing alcohol) paint scraper. Disinfect the scraper after each individual sampling to remove any possible mold contaminants, and thus avoid mold cross-contamination in the sampling process from one sample location to another.
Print clearly and neatly on a large pressure sensitive label the property owner’s name, the property address, the precise test location at that address, the testing date, and the type of sampling method (“mold test kit settling”), time duration of the test (e.g., thirty to sixty minutes) along with the tester’s name and contact information.
The label should also include each individual test number, as listed on the mold chain of custody form, available free from the mold laboratory. Attach the label to the bottom of the mold test kit that contains that respective, numbered mold sample.
Mold Testing of the Indoor Air
Use a separate mold test kit to collect a mold sample from the air of each of these areas—
1. Heating/cooling duct register. Expose the sticky side of an open mold test kit (one for each duct register) to the outward airflow from each separate heating/cooling duct register. Tape the open test kit to the duct grill so that the airflow directly hits the sticky surface.
Run the heating/cooling system on fan ventilation for 10 minutes prior to removing the mold test kit from each tested duct register. Then close, seal, and label each mold test kit.
2. Room Air by the Settling Method. Mold test the air of each room, attic, basement, crawl space, and the garage by first running a cleaned fan to stir up each room or area’s air all around for about 15 minutes.
Thoroughly clean the fan blades and fan guard with rubbing alcohol or ethyl alcohol after the fan’s use in each separate testing location.
Then shut off the fan, open up a mold test kit, place it open side upwards in the middle of the room [on the floor, or upon a table or chair] for thirty minutes to one hour to allow airborne mold spores to settle down onto the sticky surface of the mold test kit.
Be sure to use the same time for all air test locations for the standardization of the mold test results. Then close, seal, and label the mold test kits.
3. Outdoor Mold Control Test. The mold lab results of the indoor mold tests have the most significance when the results of each indoor location’s testing can be compared with the results of the outdoor mold control test.
The control test should be a mold test kit left open on the ground outside the building and at least five feet beyond the drip edge of the room. Use the same time (thirty minutes to one hour) that was utilized in the indoor air tests for the settling method tests. There should be no rain or snow falling.
Self-Interpretation of Mold Test Kit Results
The tester can then either watch the test kits himself for mold growth, with self-interpretation of the mold test kit results, over a seven day time period, or send the mold test kit to the mold lab immediately, or after the self-observation growth period.
Here is how to self-interpret the visible mold growth in the mold test kits after seven days of mold growth—
1. If the tester observes and count a greater number of mold colonies of any particular mold colony type (possessing the same or similar color, shape and/or structural pattern) growing in one indoor mold test kit than in the outdoor control mold test kit, then the tester can reasonably decide that there is a possible indoor-generated mold infestation in the area/location involved in that particular mold test.
2. If the tester observes a particular mold colony type growing in a particular indoor mold test sample that is NOT present in the outdoor control mold test, then the tester can reasonably conclude that there is a possible indoor-generated mold infestation in the area/location in which he conducted that particular mold test.
3. If the tester observes three or more of the same mold colony type growing in one mold test kit, then the tester can reasonably conclude that there is a possible mold infestation in the area/location in which he conducted that particular mold test, regardless of the number of similar mold colonies present in the outdoor control test.
Why is that conclusion possible? Consider this rat analogy: if there are only three rats living inside a particular area of one’s home or building, is there no indoor rat problem just because there are more rats living immediately outside of the home or building?
It is the time-cumulative exposure and body intake of even modest numbers of indoor airborne mold spores that makes residents or occupants sick from mold exposure. Because residents or occupants spend many hours per day indoors in a home or workplace, they are continually inhaling or ingesting mold spores.
When the mold spores enter into the residents’ eyes, nasal/sinus areas, lungs, stomach (eating and drinking food and beverages upon which airborne mold spores have landed), or open body sores, the mold-spores, once inside the body, can begin dangerous mold growth inside the body because of the abundance of body moisture and food to eat (people’s bodies)!
4. If the tester observes three or more of the same mold colony types in several or many mold tests taken from different areas of the home or building, the tester can reasonably conclude that the mold species is possibly widespread in its contamination of the tested home or building.
The most dangerous mold species to residents and occupants are the molds that are omni-present through out the home or building, thus causing widespread, cumulative mold exposure and body intake.
For more information about the use of mold test kits, mold laboratory analysis, and mold species identification, please visit:
http://www.newsletterjournal.com
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http://www.newsletterjournal.com
Mr. Phillip Fry, a Certified Mold Inspector and a Certified Mold Remediator is also the author the widely read mold advice ebook “Do-It-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing and Remediation” and “Mold Health Guide.” He also co-authored “Mold Legal Guide.”
The Debt Free Lifestyle
Many people have been taught that you cannot get ahead without debt. We are also inundated with advertising telling us we can have anything we want. All we need to do is put it on our credit card.
We have become an impatient society, we want it right now. We have lost the ethic of working for what we want.
It is not how much money you make; it is what you do with it. By living without debt you can actually have a higher income since you are not paying out interest, you are actually getting paid interest on invested money.
All debt is not created equal. We will classify them as good debt and bad debt.
To simplify the classification we will say that good debt is a loan for something that you could sell at any time and repay the debt. This narrows down good debt to a home loan and possibly a home equity loan.
A bad debt, of course, is a loan on anything that will lose value.
Let’s take a look at some debts that we would consider bad debt.
Home equity loans are in the gray area. They could be considered good debt if they are used to repair or improve your home, but you would be a lot better off to just save up the money for the project. Home equity loans become bad debt when used for purposes other than home improvement or maintenance. In other words a bad home equity loan is for anything that does not add to the value of your house. Do not jeopardize your home by taking out a home equity loan on unnecessary items.
One possible good use for a home equity loan is when the interest rates are low. You can use a home equity loan to refinance your mortgage. Home equity loans generally have lower costs than conventional home loans.
We consider school loans bad debt. If you finish school, get a good high paying job and then attack the loan like mad, a school loan may work out. The problem is that there are too many things that can go wrong. At best, even if you do graduate and get a good job there are always a lot of other expenses at this time in ones life. You are really behind financially when you start your working life in debt.
Auto loans are bad loans that have become common practice to us. We pay interest on a vehicle that will only be worth one half of its original purchase price in five years. Lately it has also been common for us to borrow more than a vehicle is worth. We can trade a car in that we still owe on, and roll that owed amount over into another vehicle. This gives us a loan amount that is higher than the value of the car that we drive away. We have lost our capacity to say NO.
Co-signing is a bad debt that usually and unfortunately involves family. If someone cannot qualify for a loan at a regular lending institution, they should not get a loan. The fact that they can’t qualify for a loan elsewhere should tell you that they are a huge risk. Use this opportunity to teach them how they can get what they want by working harder for it and delaying the purchase.
If you want to get off of the debt treadmill, you must run as far away from debt as you can. You cannot use debt to get out of debt. Even if you do, you have not changed your habits; you must change your lifestyle.
John Cook is family oriented and likes to help people get off and stay off the debt treadmill and secure the financial future of their family. You can read more about securing your families finances at his website http://www.financeforfamilies.com.
Remodeling Online
Remodeling Plans
Making remodeling plans for a house helps you to ensure that your home meets all your needs. It also adds value to your home in the long term. After all, you will spend at least half your working life paying off the first mortgage on your house-by making remodeling plans, you ensure that your home evolves with the changes in your lifestyle and add value to the property.
When you want to improve or remodel your home, you cannot afford to proceed in a haphazard manner-you need to make a plan and adhere to it. For instance, you might find it troublesome to get your house painted every few years. Maybe you should get information on and try out Total Remodeling’s System 2000 and Elite siding systems, which include energy-saving options. You can consult with our designers at Total Remodeling to select the best color combinations in sidings and trims.
What if you find that the windows and doors in your home need to be changed? You need to create a remodeling plan with our experts at Total Remodeling and select doors and windows to maximize security and energy savings. Suppose you have a large basement, which needs to be waterproofed. You could create a remodeling plan with our experts at Total Remodeling to not only waterproof the basement, but also install an electric floor warming system and create a home entertainment center.
Within 10 or 15 years of purchasing your house, you may find that the wiring and pipes need to be replaced. Our designers and contractors at Total Remodeling can help you get new pipes and wires installed.
As your family grows, you will need to add more rooms, and as each child leaves home, you will need to change the use of various spaces in your home. You will need to make remodeling plans with our experts at Total Remodeling to build more rooms in your home and change the use of existing spaces. At Total Remodeling, we can supervise the work to be done for your home and co-ordinate with several contractors and designers.
You can add more value to your home by converting the master bathroom into a health spa and by changing the tiling, cabinetry, and sinks in the bathrooms and kitchen. You can also make your bathrooms and kitchen more comfortable in the winters by installing an electrical floor warming system, controlled with a thermostat.
Dan Noyes
Marketing Head
Planning Permission Tips UK – Loft Conversions in UK Properties – Do They Add Value?
We get a great many requests to view the potential of Loft conversions. This type of extension has remained fairly popular since I first started designing property & is perhaps even more in demand now than ever before – especially in dense urban areas where the alternative choices for that fourth bedroom are somewhat limited.
Now, the popular press would have you believe that they do not add value or have limited appeal. However, that blanket broad brush, slightly disrespectful opinion does not ring true for most of our clients. So what is going on? As always, the devil is in the detail – the detail in this respect is mainly focussed on two primary areas:
1. DESIGN and 2. DESIGN.
It’s just like the location, location location slogan for house values & desirability. Fortunately, the planners have got to grips with a lot of loft conversions these days & they now have a great more control of schemes that a few years ago could have been built under Permitted Development. This means that they have encompassed ‘good design guides’ in an attempt to stamp out the ugly full width box dormer that turned a beautiful victorian semi into a something that looks like a car sized packing crate trying to escape from a neighbours roof.
Conversely, many people have argued that the ‘chocolate box’ cottage type pointy roofed dormers (as suggested by the planners) are quite simply impractical & do not provide enough space for a fully functional room which in many cases is a very valid & true point. HOWEVER, life is all about compromises & choices have to be made. Fortunately, most members of the public are now becoming far more ‘design aware’ than they ever used to be & slowly by slowly they are beginning to accept that the formation of more space must not be at the expense of a poor external visual impact that simply jars with the whole look of the locality. This type of poor dormer design can not only decrease the value of your own home but that of the neighbours as well.
But yet again there are exceptions. Some suburbs of London for example have a plethora of these types of loft extensions & the ones that have not yet been converted look out of place. These types of areas pay more attention to the internal design of the living space than the grotty externals – goes with the environment I suppose. Also, some areas are 70’s & 80’s built estates where the whole so called ‘architect design’ was for this style of flat roofed box dormer which is a commonly accepted fact for the area & enjoyed by many.
So, back to my original question – Does a loft conversion or extension add value? In my opinion YES in practically all cases baring a few exceptions. Should it be my first choice of residential development if my site has surrounding ground that allows alternative solutions? Well no in my opinion unless your property is a bungalow. A loft conversion for the standard 2 storey dwelling house (detached, semi or terrace) should perhaps be on the ‘last option’ list rather than your first choice – more to do with peoples perceptions rather than anything scientific I could quote.
When we assess a loft conversions viability we run through a sort of assessment check list before we advise our clients & we always steer them towards nice looking, well balanced, recessed type of pitched roof dormers at the sacrifice of some space rather than the ‘ugly duckling’ alternative. However, like all services, many clients do not value the external look as much & they insist on the largest dormer possible especially if it can be constructed under the sites Permitted Development allowances (no planning permission necessary) – Do we still take the job? – yes of course we do its our living but our sign board never goes up during the construction works.
Some people subscribing to our news letter may value our ‘design lead’ approach so we schedule below some of our assessment criteria relating to loft conversions that you may find useful:-
1. Does it need Planning Permission – If so utilising the councils design guides is a must. Some front or side facing dormers may still be resisted even if they are small. Velux windows often overcome these objections. In most cases, big bulky box dormers will not be allowed.
2. What area of new space does the client require – Many clients have overambitious floor space targets & visualise 3 bedrooms for example (all with ensuite of course). They fail to appreciate the loss of floor space caused by the extensive sloping soffits, & the new stairs.
3. Where can the new stair set go – Many clients fail to realise that their preferred location for the stairs does not achieve the required head room within the new floor for example. In most cases some existing floor space of the bedrooms for example will need to be sacrificed.
4. It is better to achieve one or two good sized functional rooms to compensate for the lack of head room in some areas of the new rooms rather than trying to cram in the bedroom numbers for the sake of it where the new rooms can become nothing more than single bed sleeping podules with very little inbuilt amenity value.
5. If flat roofed dormers can only be achieved due to the low ridge height then split the dormers into 2 or three smaller ones with no more than 1200mm (4′) wide windows to break up its bulk. Always, always always recess the dormer into the roof slope to reduce the dormers bulk – DO NOT BUILD THE EXTERNAL FACE OF THE DORMER WALL OFF THE EXISTING EXTERNAL WALL OF THE HOUSE.
6. If a client wants a conversion with only Velux type roof lights then all well & good (much cheaper as well). However an exercise should be completed to explore the possibilities of a strategically located dormer or two that often frees up an extra 30% floor area that the client may not have realised for very little extra money.
7. Dormers are not the only design solution to more light & space – consideration could also be given to a hip to gable conversion of the side roof for example that wont look out of keeping (unless your a semi of course).
8. As a rule of thumb to the practicality of your new room in the roof – if you can already touch the ridge board when standing in the loft (about 2.3M or less), then its normally too small to form useful functioning bedrooms unless a bulky box dormer is constructed (which is what we are trying to avoid) If it is an area just for a play room or a study then all well & good but beware, many people have embarked on tight loft conversions only to realise too late that that they have no where to place the bed or locate a wardrobe.
There are a great many other issues to consider as well when completing loft conversions such as overheating, fire regs, weather protection during the works etc. & these are major discussion topics in themselves that I will leave for another day. However, the points listed above are the main ones relative to the external design & appearance of loft conversions.
Our ‘Maximum Build Planning Guide’ explains further the tactics involved when developing a site with a loft conversion or extension & how to give yourself the best chance of being granted a planning permission or planning approval.
Log Homes – Is a Log Home In Your Future?
Many people dream about a log home in their future but never get around to making their dream come true. Here’s how to get past the hurdles and start living your dream.
Finances are one of the most common reasons many people never live their log home dreams. The reasons may only be perceived or they may be real. But even if real, it may be possible to overcome the obstacles.
First, you’ll have to decide on a basic floorplan and house size. Selecting one of the standard plans from a log home company’s portfolio simplifies this process. The company can tell you the price of the log “kit” and may be able to give you a “turn-key” estimate for the finished house. If not, you can make a very rough estimate by assuming that the final turn-key cost will be between two and three times the cost of the kit. This estimate does not account for the cost of land.
Understand that this is simply a crude way of approximating the cost of the home of your dreams. The objective is to determine if you are even in the ballpark of a cost that you can afford.
Consider the home that you now live in and what price it might bring if you sell. Subtract the amount you still owe on your mortgage plus real estate commissions to determine your equity. This equity can be applied to the purchase of your log home as a down payment, or used to purchase land. Also consider any savings, investments, or inheritance funds you have that might be applied.
Use an online calculator or visit a bank to determine how much you might be able to borrow. This will depend on your current income and debt load. Most lenders use a formula that limits your future mortgage payment, plus taxes and insurance, plus your existing debt load (credit cards, car payments, etc.) to 36% of your gross income. This determines your maximum mortgage amount. Add your down payment and you’ll get the amount you can afford to spend on your dream home.
If you find that your dream home is affordable, great. If not, you might be able to scale back on your home plans or find additional funds, or both. Sometimes, simply waiting a few years solves the problem. Often, when you have a dream and are committed to it, you will be able to find solutions through sheer determination.
Al Hearn is owner and operator of Log Home Advisor (http://www.newsletterjournal.com) where log home enthusiasts can find helpful information, advice, cost calculators, and affordability calculators.
