(BPT) – There are a variety of reasons people put up a fence around their home. Often it’s to increase privacy, security, curb-appeal or property value. No matter what the reason or rationale, the long-term benefits of a fence are only as strong as the…
(BPT) – While everyone eagerly waits for spring each year and wishes summer could last a month or two longer, when it comes down to it, fall just might be America’s favorite season. It’s warm but not hot, the air has that clean crispness that’s hard to…
(BPT) – Do you shudder at the thought of shivering through another frigid winter? Now may be an opportune time to consider investing in some energy efficient winterizing projects to let your home stay comfortable throughout the colder months. By invest…
(BPT) – The garage – it’s that space where you used to just store your car, lawn mower, power tools, bikes, bats and boxes of things you wore in the 90s. But to say a garage is only for storage is like saying a truck is only for hauling dressers and box springs.
From game room to workshop, man cave to hangout – your garage has the potential to be anything you want it to be. So if you’re thinking of redecorating or remodeling your house, don’t spend all your time picking out kitchen tile and arguing over what type of counter looks best – step into your garage and let yourself dream big.
With the right materials, some creativity and a little work, you can turn your garage into the star of the house. How? TV personality and award-winning interior designer Anitra Mecadon offers the following five ideas to get you excited about all the possibilities.
Toughen up your walls
No matter what you want to do with your garage, first make sure your walls can stand up to real life. There’s probably no space in the house more susceptible to scratches, scuffs and accidental holes than the garage – so pick your walls accordingly. Look for PURPLE Hi-Impact XP made by National Gypsum for extra wear and tear to resist everything from car doors opened too close to the wall to the hockey sticks swung a little too hard. This drywall is embedded with fiberglass mesh to make it impact and penetration resistant – and like all PURPLE drywall, it resists moisture, mold and mildew.
Make your garage your hideaway
Sometimes you need to get away from it all – especially from your ‘honey do’ or project list – and the garage can be where you go, your hangout, an extension of yourself and a definite point of pride. Add a snack machine, fridge, swivel chair or two and big screen TV, and you and your friends will have it made.
Lift it up
Most people have a lot of stuff to store in the garage in addition to cars, tools and bikes. And let’s face it, the more available space you have, the more likely you’ll find stuff to fill it. That means you’ll need to get creative with storage. In addition to shelves and cabinets attached to the walls, another way to store your stuff is to use a raised lift system which retracts up into the top levels of your garage and comes down with a push of a button when you need something.
Hang it up
There are some things that just don’t belong in your house but are perfect for the garage. Just like restaurants that have walls crowded with collectibles such as old soda signs, sea anchors and license plates – garages can follow this same design concept and personalize a space even more. Walls also can serve as anchors for storage systems that hold your tools, bikes, boxes and equipment. And you can rest assured that high-performing drywall, like PURPLE Hi-Impact XP, will stand up to the wear and tear of hanging up and taking down your tools, rakes, bikes and more, day after day.
Do more with your floor
Today, garage floors can be anything you want – yellow, red, metallic, acid-washed or made out of heavy-duty vinyl or rubber. And whether you want the grey concrete vintage look of your childhood or something that reflects your more grown-up self, when it comes to garage floors, take a chance and get inventive, because your garage can be your personal and customized sanctuary.
There’s a lot you can do with a modern garage, and no matter how you decide to personalize it, the best garage remodel starts at the studs. The right drywall is as important as the right wrench in the toolbox. To learn more, visit www.askforpurple.com
(BPT) – Call this the age of personalization. You can customize practically anything these days, from the kind of information you get on your favorite news feed and the offers you receive from your bank to the icons, background and sounds on your smartphone. Personalizing something really makes it feel more ‘yours,’ so of course you want to be able to do that to your first home.
If you’re shopping for your first home, you may already know what you want to do to personalize it. However, you may not be aware that certain features can make a home easier and more affordable to customize after you’ve moved in. For example, if you think you’ll need room to expand for a growing family down the road, it will be cheaper in the long run to buy a home with an attic or basement that you can finish into living space than to try and build on an addition from scratch.
As you’re shopping for your first home, keep in mind these elements that will help make it easier and financially feasible for you to make your new home truly your own:
Architectural bones that are right for you
What’s your personal style? Do you favor a mid-century modern look? Art-deco? Craftsman? Colonial? It’s important to choose a home in a basic architectural style you love, because while you can affordably change the color and landscaping, it’s much harder to create a whole new look. Look for exterior features that play up the home’s architectural style, and then think of ways to customize them down the road. For example, simply painting the gingerbread trim on your Victorian style home in a different color can celebrate the look you love while making it your own.
Energy efficient lifestyle features
Green considerations and energy efficiency are top priorities for many of today’s first-time homebuyers, so it’s important to look for a home that has conservation-minded features like a high-efficiency water heater or low-flow showerheads. The best eco-conscious home features, however, will also enhance your lifestyle. Upgrades like Energy Star-qualified, solar-powered, fresh-air skylights like those from Velux America provide natural light plus passive ventilation, helping to cut energy costs while reducing dependency on artificial light and ventilation sources.
If you buy a home that already has skylights, you can personalize them by adding energy efficient blinds in designer colors and patterns.
And if you add solar powered skylights to the home, it’s easy and cost-effective since there is no cost for electrical work to operate the units. Solar skylights, blinds and installation costs are eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit. A programmable touchpad remote allows you to adjust the amount of light entering through the venting skylights and also to adjust the blinds with the touch of button. The skylights close automatically in case of rain.
You can also easily and affordably add more natural light to interior spaces like hallways and closets with Sun Tunnel tubular skylights, which can be installed by a handy DIYer in a few hours. Visit www.whyskylights.com to learn more.
Room to grow
More Americans are living in multi-generational homes. Whether you plan to grow your family by having kids, moving your aging parents in with you, or adopting as many pets as you can fit in your house, you may find you’ll need more space in your new home before you’re ready to move out of it. Homes that have unfinished basements and/or attics will be easier to customize for your growing space needs. Converting an attic or basement into living space can cost much less than having an addition built on your home and attics are perfect spaces to easily add light and fresh air with skylights or roof windows.
A price that lets you add value
Popular renovation and fixer-upper shows make it easy to understand the idea of finding a home at a price that will allow you to add value. A home that needs some renovation and upgrading will likely cost less than a comparable new home, but it also affords you the opportunity to extensively personalize your space. If you buy a home that needs work for a price well under your budget limit, you can use the extra money to invest in renovations that put your personal stamp on your home. In addition to customization for additional enjoyment, those upgrades will also allow you to instantly add value to your home.
(BPT) – NOAA predicts a 70 percent likelihood of 10 to 16 named storms in 2016 with four to eight potentially becoming hurricanes. However, while weather experts monitor storm patterns, homeowners don’t have to sit idly by and wait for disaster to stri…
(BPT) – As recent wildfires in California and other parts of the U.S. have shown, nature’s wrath is a good reminder to evaluate your own home’s safety. If you live in a wildfire-prone area, it’s essential to stave off potential damage long before flame…
(BPT) – Apparently, Texas isn’t the only place where things are bigger when it comes to tile. During the past decade, homeowners across the country have installed larger and larger tile onto floors throughout their homes. In fact, the majority of tile installed today is considered large format, which is defined as tile with at least one side 15 inches or longer. This popular contemporary design trend is pushing the boundaries of tile installation with increased importance on crack prevention. The beauty and elegance of a wood plank tile or the very popular 12-inch by 24-inch floor tile can easily become a disappointing disaster in short order if the subfloor is not prepared correctly during the installation process.
Homeowners can avoid the headache and expense of repairing or replacing damaged tile by making sure the proper steps to surface preparation are taken. While it’s impossible to completely avoid cracks in every situation, in the majority of situations they can be controlled by applying products that mitigate the effects of movement and other stressful factors. Custom Building Products, the leading provider of flooring preparation products and tile and stone installation systems, recommends the following for surface preparation before installing tile on any project. Homeowners working with an installation contractor for their tile should always discuss crack prevention with their tile pro during the bidding phase.
* Tiling over a wood subfloor: The two most common solutions are the use of cementitious backerboards or a lighter weight alternative such as RedGard Uncoupling Mat. A combination crack isolation, waterproofing and vapor management membrane, RedGard Uncoupling Mat bonds with the surface while allowing the tile assembly to safely adjust and shift in response to movement. In addition, tile isn’t designed to flex so any “bounciness” in the floor should be fixed prior to tile installation.
* Tiling over concrete on grade: Use a liquid-applied membrane like RedGard Crack Prevention and Waterproofing Membrane to mitigate small cracks in the subfloor. Installed using a paint roller or trowel, RedGard Crack Prevention and Waterproofing Membrane is a seamless heavy-duty material designed for interior and exterior areas.
* Protect corners, expansion joints, changes in plane and other areas in tile installations susceptible to cracking by applying Commercial 100% Silicone Sealant. A permanently flexible material ideal for floors where they meet walls and doors as well as for tubs, showers, sinks, pools, and other wet or submerged applications, Commercial 100% Silicone Sealant is offered in 40 colors to coordinate with tile and grout.
More information on tile crack prevention products, best-practices and tips is available from Custom Building Products through www.custombuildingproducts.com, Facebook and mobile app.
(BPT) – The most important factor that garage door buyers consider is not the price! That was the surprising result of a 2016 national survey completed in February. According to that study, the buyers’ most important consideration is appearance/curb ap…
(BPT) – Upgrading an outdoor living area with a fireplace continues to grow in popularity at homes across the country according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. In fact, the latest Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey by the organization identified fireplaces and fire pits as the top outdoor design elements for 2016. Long recognized as an indoor focal point for family gatherings and entertaining friends, the addition of a fireplace can easily extend that same inviting atmosphere outdoors, especially on evenings when a little light and warmth can enhance the ambiance.
The first instinct of most people when considering the prospect of building a substantial outdoor fireplace is to hire a professional. However, constructing a beautiful, grand outdoor fireplace is a realistic DIY weekend project with the assistance of a few friends, a little sweat equity and a foolproof project kit like RumbleStone from Pavestone. The kit replaces the challenge of gathering an assortment of random landscape blocks, stones or pavers with a pre-determined package of three different sized blocks. The blocks fit perfectly together to erect an outdoor fireplace. The kit, which is available in three colors, creates a finished outdoor fireplace that is 38 inches deep by 84 inches wide by 94 inches high and includes a heavy steel firebox insert. The following are directions for successfully building your own outdoor fireplace.
Note – wearing gloves and eye protection is recommended.
Steps for building an outdoor fireplace:
* Outline the size and shape of the outdoor fireplace on the ground with spray paint.
* Dig a hole for a concrete footer and compact paver base rock in the bottom following local frost line guidelines.
* Mix QUIKRETE 5000 Concrete based on instructions on the bag and pour a footer that meets local building codes.
* Assemble the first four rows of block following the kit instructions to construct the foundation; check each layer for level and use a rubber mallet to make any necessary adjustments.
* Assemble the middle section to include the firebox insert following the kit instructions; check each layer for level and use a rubber mallet to make any necessary adjustments.
* Assemble the top section to include the chimney following the kit instructions; check each layer for level and use a rubber mallet to make any necessary adjustments.
QUIKRETE polyurethane construction adhesive should be placed between each layer of block to strengthen the fireplace. The project may also require some shimming and/or grinding of blocks. For more tips, direction and information on building an outdoor fireplace or other home improvement projects with pavers or stone, visit the Pavestone website and Facebook.