Monthly Archives: February 2017

Using a Great Quality Home Repair Business

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During the recent global recession the number of homeowners that have been selling their existing home, in order to upgrade to larger ones, has been on the decline. This has been as a result of increase in the volatility in the housing market. America continues to be affected a lot by this.

Even though housing industry has been slow, this has not stopped people planning to improve their homes. People who own a Home repair business have therefore been doing well. Lots of people are already opting to renovate, and remodel their existing residence, rather than move. This has been perfect for the housing reparation industry.

Having renovation work carried out on your own home not merely improves the standard on living that you can enjoy, additionally, it may add value to your home. This is only the case if the work is performed to a high standard, and if you attain the work for a reasonable price. Making use of a bathroom contractor or a kitchen contractor, can be some of the best ways to improve the value of the house.

The kitchen as well as the bathroom are the two rooms in the house that will add by far the most value; however, they are the two rooms which can be the most expensive to remodel. This is because of the fixtures and fittings that you will need to have put into them. It is therefore extremely important not to just get a price from a single home repair business. Attain as numerous different quotes as possible. This makes sure that the one which you decide on is the best possible deal. This also maximizes your odds of increasing how much equity that you hold in your home. The position that you’ll then be in when you go to sell will be a much stronger one.

It is not just purely remodeling that will add value to your house. Having home plumbing repair carried out, or maybe just hot water heater repair can assist you to sell your home in the future. These factors just leave fewer jobs for future buyers to handle, and therefore help your house be substantially more attractive to purchasers. All of these points are paramount to homeowners. It’s not always necessary to spend a large amount of income with a home repair business in order to add value to your house either. If you plan it correctly, it is possible with minimal outlay.

For more information check out the following resources on home repair business and bathroom contractor.

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How to Keep Your Wood Floors Looking Like New

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Right after a flooring Ottawa company comes out and installs your new floors, they are sure to look absolutely amazing. Few people plan on letting their wood floors become scuffed up and unattractive; unfortunately, that usually happens through carelessness and due to poor maintenance and upkeep. If you think that caring for wood floors is cumbersome or time consuming, though, think again. The reality is that small, simple steps can be used to keep hardwood flooring in Ottawa looking like new. The following basic tips can help you keep your hardwood floors looking great, year after year.

Sweep Daily

Invest in a decent broom and use it regularly on your flooring. Ottawa retailers sell a wide array of great brooms that are designed specifically for hardwood floors. Whisk brooms are the most efficient tools for sweeping wood floors; however, you should buy whisk brooms with rubber fibers to avoid inadvertently causing scratches.

In addition to using a traditional whisk broom, you should keep a microfiber broom at the ready, too. These brooms have soft cloth-like material that pulls microscopic dust and other debris up off of the floor. Because the material is so soft, you never have to worry about scuffing up your wood floor. Ottawa is awash in stores that sell microfiber brooms, so you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking them down.

Vacuum Weekly

Even the best microfiber brooms in the world can’t remove all of the dust from hardwood flooring. Ottawa homeowners should run their vacuum cleaners over their hardwood floors on at least a weekly basis. Most vacuum cleaners have “bare floor” settings that work specifically on wood floors. If you don’t already have a vacuum cleaner with such a setting, investing in one is well worth it. A high quality vacuum cleaner will suck invisible dust and debris from wood floors; it will also remove dust from the microscopic cracks between planks.

Clean Spills Quickly

Standing water is the mortal enemy of a hardwood floor. The minute a spill happens, make sure to sop it right up. Use a paper towel, a soft sponge or a cloth to do so; never use a scratchy sponge, as it could scuff up the wood. If water is allowed to stay on wood flooring in Ottawa homes, it can cause permanent damage. If you’d rather not replace your hardwood floors, make sure to take care of spills promptly.

Use the Right Cleaning Products

You can’t use the products that you use to clean tile or linoleum floors on hardwood flooring. Ottawa stores sell plenty of cleaning products that are designed for use with wood floors; invest in a selection of them so that you always have a decent product to use. Some cleaning products are designed to clean and disinfect wood floors; others are meant to give them shine and luster. Alternate between these two types of cleaning products to keep your floors clean and glowing.

Beware of Direct Sunlight

Many people don’t realize it, but direct sunlight can wreak serious havoc on wood floors. In order to keep the wood floor in your Ottawa home as like-new as possible, make sure that it’s not exposed to direct sunlight for too many hours per day. If it is, invest in shades or blinds to soften the impact. Otherwise, you will need to have your floors treated with special finishings that are designed to protect against UV sunlight damage. Of course, that’s a small price to pay for avoiding faded, unappealing flooring.

Enjoy High-Quality Wood Flooring for Years

You may wonder – is it possible to enjoy a wood floor for many years? Absolutely. The trick is to keep the preceding tips and pointers in mind. Regular cleaning, basic upkeep and a little bit of common sense all go a long way toward keeping the wood floors in your home in like-new condition.

Find out more about flooring Ottawa. Get more information on hardwood flooring Ottawa and wood floor Ottawa.

Renovating Your Home the Environmentally Friendly Way

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If you’re interested in “greening up” your home renovation, here are some tips that can give you ideas. Environmentally friendly options are making it easy to improve your property without taking a heavy toll from the environment. Not only will you benefit your natural environment, you’ll also benefit your community.

If you’re selling your home and want an interesting way to attract buyers, promoting your home as environmentally friendly can help bring in offers. People are more environmentally aware these days, and anything that is seen as a “better choice” is popular. It stands to reason that if you go the ecological route, you might snag more offers.

– Shop Local for Tools and Supplies

Buy from local stores. If you can, patronize local manufacturers of furniture and other household items. Why pay for something that took a lot of fuel to transport when you can buy it locally? You’ll contribute to your community and help sustain the businesses of local people.

– Repair Instead of Replacement

Repairing and repainting will waste less material than buying a completely new item in many cases. Replace if you have to, but look at repair first. Most of the time, it’s cheaper, too.

– Buy Energy-Efficient Replacements

If you have to replace anything in your renovations, go for Energy Star qualified products. The website energystar.gov will show you a large number of appliances and equipment that are energy-efficient.

– Buy Recycled and Low-VOC Paint

If you’re repainting, check out the many options in environmentally-friendly and recycled paint available today. It used to be that paint was only available new, but now there are companies recycling unused paint and cans. Look for low amounts of Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in your paint, primer, adhesive,

– Lay Sustainable Floors

Putting down new flooring? Consider bamboo or another sustainable material. Be aware that not all homes are suitable for all types of materials and choose your floor accordingly. Make sure that any prospective buyers are aware of any special care the floor needs. Reclaimed wood is another option.

– Erect Sustainable Fencing

Bamboo fences can last up to 20 years and have an attractive look to them. Willow fencing lasts about 10 years and can be purchased in rolls that accommodate curves in a yard easily. Reclaimed wood is another option that will provide you with attractive fencing that lasts for years. There are also new options in recycled fencing available.

– Clean Green

Use “green” cleaning supplies. Many of them, like orange oil cleaners, leave a pleasant scent in the home. Baking soda is a great scrubbing powder that doesn’t give off noxious fumes. Don’t use room sprays; they don’t smell as great as the companies that make them tell you they do. Bake bread or burn a SMALL amount of essential oil to infuse the air with a pleasing smell.

– Think light

Install energy efficient lights and consider solar panels and strategically placed windows that allow you to make the most of the sun’s natural light.

These are just a few ideas to help get you started. Visit your local green store or environmental action group to get more ideas for your green home renovation.

For great information on the Atlanta real estate market and for incredible Avondale Estates Atlanta homes for sale, and to browse homes and properties for sale, visit RealSourceBrokers.com. This site is easily the most developed and useful Intown Atlanta real estate resource online.

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Measuring the Success of a DIY Home Improvement Project

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Gauging your success

How does one gauge the success of a do it yourself home improvement project? What level of expectations should we have upon their completion?

For a good many people, evaluation of a DIY home improvement project is out of the question. There is a general misconception that once a DIY project is done, it’s done. No need to further evaluate whether the project was really a success or not. The need to evaluate the success of a DIY project has two main goals:

* Establish whether the project had been executed according to plan.

* Establish whether you’re improving as compared to previous different projects that you have done before.

The criteria

1. Cost- how does one evaluate the true cost of a DIY project? Start with the basic raw materials. A central blueprint for any DIY project should have a list of the materials for the completion of a project. If the cost of the finished product and the projected cost of the project do not match, then this should be avoided in the future. A disparity of 25% from the actual cost can be acceptable.

The point of a DIY home improvement project is to basically save money. Saving money entails sticking to a budget- which has already been computed to be cheaper than actually hiring or buying finished goods.

In some rare instances, central plans have wrong computations- this is fine, as long as effort is given to remedy this problem in the future.

2. Finished product- whether you’re replacing floor boards or making a rocking chair, one particular consideration would be the finished product itself. Simply put, does it look good?

Of course, do not expect that a hand-made cabinet made with spare wood found in the garage can look as attractive as the ones you buy from a furniture store or a factory outlet. But at least, the finished product should look decent, in combination with other pieces of furniture in your home.

This criterion is especially important when you plan to make large-scale DIY home improvement projects, such as replacing walls or parts of the roof. Once you’re done, indeed, you’re done.

3. Timeframe- one thing should be made clear when we talk about DIY home improvement project timeframe: time does count. This issu can be discounted if you have a lot of free time in your hand: for instance, summer vacation or the like. But if you’re doing the DIY project on weekends, you have to make sure that you’re completing the phases of the project on time.

The reason for this criterion is that time is money when you think about it. If you spend three months creating a cabinet no bigger than a child’s table, then there is definitely something wrong with the project. Laziness should be eliminated in the picture- you can’t simply reason that you’ve been lazy. What would be the function of timeframe then?

Timeframe can vary from project to project. Try your best by sticking to a limited timeframe; indeed this will have its reward in later DIY projects. You can call it GOAL Setting.

The author of this article was Benedict Yossarian. For home improvements Benedict recommends Dekorbeton Decorative Concrete as a cheap alternative to expensive bricks and Roof Bond Spray Foam Roof Insulation to reduce your heating costs.