Before Undertaking A Bathroom Remodeling Job

Things To Keep In Mind Before 
Undertaking A Bathroom Remodeling Job

In times gone by, the bathroom was little more than a closed in area to get into and out of as quickly as possible. Today, however, realtors will tell you that the bathroom, next to the kitchen, is what buyers look at the most. You can add thousands to the value of your home if you undertake 
bathroom remodeling.

Before you jump in with both feet, test the water, so to speak. You must have a budget and stick to it. If you just go shopping, you may end up spending more than you had planned. Also, decide on the space you are working in, are you going for a full bathroom remodeling or just staying with redecorating? Also, keep in mind how much stress this it going to put on your family. If you go from 2 bathrooms to 1, it may be more stress than you realize. 

One of the first places people look to when doing complete bathroom remodeling is the shower or tub. If this is the way you are looking to go, do your homework before you begin ripping out fixtures and walls. There is a large assortment of products available from cast iron to porcelain; glass doors on the shower or a curtain? Try to stay with the current plumbing set up you have. If the showerhead is in the same place in the new shower as the old, you won't have to tear out plumbing. This will save you hours and money. 

Another thing to consider in bathroom remodeling is, if you are going to replace tiles, you want to have the entire room flow together. Also, if you are looking to get a new look for your bathtub or shower, but not go through the expense of replacing it, having an acrylic molded over the existing bathtub will give you the best of both worlds. 

It is important to do your shopping before you start your bathroom remodeling project. There is such a wide variety of fixtures and materials on the market today that it may be overwhelming. There are a few things to keep in mind while you shop.

As with any major home improvement project, make sure you get the correct permits and restrictions in your area with the local government. That is important to do if you are going to do major bathroom remodeling changes including electrical or plumbing work, such as installing heated floors or moving the sink from this wall to that one. 

If you are thinking of undertaking the electric or plumbing yourself, make sure you know what you are doing and spend time doing your research. In most cases, hiring a contractor may be your best bet. They know what they are doing and will know what to do should they run into something unexpected. You should find a bathroom remodeling contractor that shares your vision of the your plan and is willing to work within your budget. Let him 'do his thing'. Then you are free to paint, wallpaper and decorate to your heart's content.

When making your plan for bathroom remodeling, here are some things that you may want to think about. 

Making sure the shower head is comfortable for everybody who uses it. Also, choose easy to clean fixtures. You want to make sure you have tempered glass for the shower door; if that is the way you are going.

Keep in mind that you want to be able to reach the soaps and shampoos, so keep them in easy to reach areas. Another thing to keep in easy reach are the towels and washcloths. Don't forget that bathrooms are high humidity areas, so be sure to have enough ventilation to keep mould at bay. 

It is very important to make sure that all outlets are grounded. This is going to help prevent eclectic shock from plugging in appliances such as hair dryers. 

To create a stylish yet functional bath room, be sure you pay attention to detail. With your time and effort it will be another part of your home, other than just another room in your house.

In times gone by, the bathroom was little more than a closed in area to get into and out of as quickly as possible. Today, however, realtors will tell you that the bathroom, next to the kitchen, is what buyers look at the most. You can add thousands to the value of your home if you undertake bathroom remodeling.

Seasonal Spackling or: My First and Only College Thanksgiving

There have been only two instances in my life when I have not been at home with my extended family for Thanksgiving. Two years ago, I made the grievous mistake of attending Thanksgiving dinner at my then-girlfriend’s stepfather’s home in Concord, New Hampshire. It was a bad drive topped by one of the more uncomfortably confrontational family dinners I’ve ever been a party to, in which a slice of pumpkin pie was, I kid you not, thrown at someone’s face. That was the last straw for several situations, including that particular relationship, but most of all, it reaffirmed that the only place I really wanted to be on Thanksgiving was upstate with my family, as much as the idea of staying home and doing some freelance NYC handyman work to make some extra dough allures me.

Indeed, the only other time I ever abstained from my annual November trip upstate was my junior year of college, which I have surpassingly fond memories of. Not of the food, mind you: the turkey came out drier than plywood, the mashed potatoes were served as a type of soup essentially, and the stuffing was like gobbling down a plate of salad croutons. The preparation for the meal is what I remember, especially since it put me in contact with a lifelong friend, currently a general contractor for a NYC handyman outfit out of Jackson Heights.

By preparation, I mean less the strewning of festive colored paper and cardboard turkey cutouts, and more the repairs to this particular apartment. See, the apartment we decided to hold it in was very tiny and we had a lot of people who were staying at college, due largely to the clash between slim college-kid budgets and somewhat unreasonable travel costs. So, we had to get a larger table into a living room about the size of a dorm bedroom, and also had to move around furniture. This may have been an easy task if the group of men responsible for this, my NYC handyman friend and myself included, weren’t stone-cold drunk at the time we performed this miraculous move around. 

As you may expect, there were more than a few holes in the drywall by the time we were done wedging the long dinner table, which we had borrowed from a friend of a friend who worked as part of the janitorial staff in the compute science building. The relief that we would indeed be able to feed all 20-odd people was immediately replaced by the burden of having to convincingly repair these holes. We may have been able to wait a few days to make repairs but the girl whose apartment we were using had what might kindly be referred to as a hissy fit. To be fair, she was a few glasses of dirt-cheap white wine in as well but still, her complaints rang louder and more routinely than even those god-forsaken college fire alarms.

So, we walked across campus to my NYC handyman friend’s dorm and picked up some extra spackle he had brought home from the studio, and newspaper for the bigger holes. It turned out to be a simple fix when we returned: most of the holes needed only a little spackle, followed by some sanding a day or two later, and only one of the holes required a layer of newspaper to fill it. What I have a very vivid and happy memory of is the rest of our friends, happy enough to crack a few more beers and relax while we did the work, commentating on our job as if they were announcers for the NFL. Until you have a drunk philosophy major remark that you have “stepped up [your] spackling game since last season” and “must have really worked on [your] sanding during the off season”, you really haven’t lived.

But as much as I have fond memories of these days, this year I’m thankful to be getting home for a few days and getting a breather from city life. I imagine my short time spent at Penn Station tomorrow will be a hell not worth remembering, but it’s worth it in the long run. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.  

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Hippy Dippy or: My Trip to the Communal Boiler

The idea of communal living was always something that interested me until I saw it first hand. Coming out of high school, I found myself accepted into a Dramatic Writing conservatory at SUNY Purchase, one of the more left-leaning campuses in the SUNY system. It was there that I came face-to-face with communal living, radical politics (on both ends, oddly enough), and an invigorating culture of craftsman (some of whom eventually became NYC handymen friends of mine) and artists who believed steadfast in the do-it-yourself approach. For most, money was tight, used mainly for booze, gas, and a monthly trip into the city, but materials were plentiful and there was a spirit of invention that still attracts me to this day.

This was not the same sort of spirit I encountered when I found myself giving a ride to a NYC plumber friend early this year while her truck was in the shop.  A call had come in from a house all the way out in Bay Ridge, an area I remembered largely as a community of firemen, police officers, construction workers and other various day laborers. I had lived in an adjacent neighborhood, Sunset Park, for a few years after college and was shocked to find that there was a large house (12 bedrooms!) that served as a sort of commune for a pack of Brooklyn college graduates in the middle of the Ridge.

What was not so much of a surprise was that none of them knew anything about boilers and what exactly they do, though, to be perfectly frank, neither did I until a different NYC plumber friend of mine gave me a shot-in-the-arm tutorial about the whole shindig. We arrived at the house and my friend immediately followed the ringleader of the outfit to the basement, where their gas boiler was clearly malfunctioning. The house itself was freezing and at every corner of the house, I could see a blanket or a quilt being used as a heating alternative, either being wrapped around some being or being pinned up to cover a window. In fact, there was a young woman wrapped in a quilt, working on knitting another quilt.

My friend came up and informed me that it was a simple blown fuse and that we would be done within the hour. Seeing as it was frigid outside, I graciously took up an offer to hang out with other members of the household as my friend did her work. It turns out that most boiler problems go back to tripped circuit breakers, blown fuses, an unlit pilot light or, in rarer cases, a problem with the thermostat. A blown fuse is, in fact, something that should be left to a professional. The others are easy enough to learn, but are hugely dependent on brands and models, thus why I must sadly decline a quick tutorial.

Anyway, as I was saying, my memories of living with metal and wood workers at SUNY Purchase was not exactly matched by the group of people (most of them were about three years my junior) I came into contact with at this house. There was a silence to the house that not even the seemingly on-loop recordings of Bob Dylan and Fleet Foxes that echoed through the rooms seemed to help. I attribute this to the fact that many artists, especially writers and graphic artists, do their work online and it is not my intention to say that this band of communal believers aren’t as ambitious and unique as the people I knew, who are now, as I said, NYC handymen, plumbers, stagehands, furniture makers or old-fashioned artists. I guess I miss the sound of activity, which has been replaced with the tapping of keyboards, for better or worse. (If I’m being totally honest, it’s probably for the better.)

Soon enough, me and my friend left and I dropped her back off at her shop in Dumbo. I told my girlfriend at the time about the house and similar ideas as the ones I have expressed here and she, perhaps rightly, figured me as an “old fuddy duddy.” It’s not as if I’m expecting everyone to go out there and learn how to perfectly maintain a boiler or hot water heaters or anything else of the sort, though I hardly see the harm in that being an ambition. My business, and others, might suffer but I can hardly contain a grin when my younger cousin tells me that he learned how to relight a pilot light or reset a thermostat on his own.       

Why A Remodeling Contractor Is Important

Why A Remodeling Contractor Is Important When Planning A Renovation Of Your House

Everyone has a room in their home that they want to remodel. That one room that is an embarrassment and you close the door when you have company. If you are planning a total remodeling of a room or your entire house, you may want to consider hiring a remodeling contractor. If you try to take on a project that is too big, it will cost you a lot of time and money.

A remodeling contractor is a person who has skill in both carpentry and building. He or she will take consult with you on what you want the outcome of the project to be. A remodeling contractor will also help you design what you want.



He or she has the sub-contractors that you will need to remodel you home and they are already figured into the estimate that you will receive. If you do it yourself, you will be paying huge fees to each sub-contractor. A remodeling contractor can get the job done in a shorter amount of time with fewer errors and for a lower cost then you can do yourself.

Another benefit to hiring a remodeling contractor is that they get special discounts from supply companies and pass the savings on to you. They can also buy used materials that are still in good condition to save you more money. A really good contractor may even be able to sell accessories and fixtures from your project.

The process is really very easy. A remodeling contractor will sit down with you and discuss exactly what you want to do with your project. He or she will ask you for your ideas and suggestions. He or she will ask you what your budget for the project is and advise you if what you want can be done within that budget.
A good contractor will have years of experience and will be able to add touches here and there to enhance your home.

Plans will be drawn up for your approval and estimate will be given. The contractor will also give you an estimated time of completion.

The contractor, upon your approval and acceptance will get everything in place to start your project.

If you decide to hire a contractor for remodeling your house, do not choose the first one you interview. This is a highly competitive field and you may find cheaper rates with someone else. Make sure that you have all of the paperwork and estimate when you apply for financing, your lending institution may require proof that you are remodeling.

If you have decided that remodeling is right for you, check out the services of a remodeling contractor. He or she may be able to save you thousands of dollars on materials.

The Lamp Lady or: The Virtues of CFL and LED Bulbs

Sometimes, you can’t help but be amazed by the unique idiosyncrasies of people, especially when you’re in a business that involves visiting homes often. The holidays are coming up so heating and electric bills have been on my mind these last few weeks and it led me to think about one of the better projects I came across in September, when this blog was just starting. I’m not a NYC electrician but some of my friends are and one of them asked me to be a second pair of eyes for him on a design project for an elderly woman living in Tarrytown.

When we arrived, she showed us in and I was stunned: Lamps! In the living room alone, there were eight (that I counted) lamps on various surfaces, each with a unique style; one was in the shape of a lighthouse, another one had the bulb coming out of an elephant’s trunk. It was like being in the best antique store in the world but the problem was also plainly there: We needed to consolidate her energy use. She told my NYC electrician friend that she usually had three or four of these lamps on as soon as it turned dark, as well as one or two in the dining room and an overhead light in the kitchen. What’s worse? They were all old-school, incandescent bulbs, from a stockpile she had in her basement.

Incandescent bulbs are energy killers, plain and simple, and with the energy bills rising these days, I told her that she should not only cut down on the amount of lamps but toss out most, if not all of her incandescent bulbs. It took some convincing, over two cups of the strongest Russian tea I’ve ever had in my life, but she finally agreed and me any my friend got to work. Over the next week or so, we helped design a system of recessed lights in her living room, dining room and bedroom (which had at least five lamps, including one in the bathroom) and ran new electric lines and dimmer switches in all three rooms. We also ran a line and a new dimmer switch in her kitchen.

The biggest change-up was that we installed CFL bulbs in all the fixtures, including the lamps that she decided to keep out. (It’s worth noting that she agreed to sell me one lamp I particularly liked, the base of which was a suited man who looked a lot like Peter Lorre.) CFL bulbs are commonplace for most people but I feel the need to remind people of them constantly. They are the simplest of all energy savers and most NYC electricians will be the first to sing their praises; there are also LED lamps and lights, which are essentially Christmas lights but used in new designs and compacted to boost the concentrated light emitted. In fact, the drive back to Queens consisted of a long talk about the burdens of hanging exterior Christmas lights, though ultimately, this year, I have something bigger to dread: Hauling a tree up three flights of stairs. Does Santa know a good chiropractor?     

A Brief History of Clogs: Part 1

For several reasons that I don’t care to go through right now, there is no clear history of clogs in the United States, nor in any other country. This is a problem I thought the Internet would have solved, but as it turns out, the Internet has slacked off big time. I asked a NYC plumber that I routinely work with about it and all he could give me is remembrances of jobs he went on with his father to dormitories and military bases, where clogs were a weekly ordeal. But there was no talk about what must have been epic clogs in the 19^th century—just look at the facial hair from that day and age and tell me the constant trimmings didn’t cause some doozies.

I’ve been dealing with a rash of clogs in both my bathroom and my kitchen recently, the result, I suspect, of a not all that wise attempt to grow my hair and beard out a bit.  Most of them were fixed with chemicals, but Monday night, I found myself struggling with what I would politely call a ravenous beast of a clog in my shower. I called up a NYC plumber friend (my aforementioned colleague, in fact) and he talked me through the process, beginning with a homemade version of a clog dissolvent with baking powder and white vinegar, that ended up not working.

So, taking my friends advice, I popped open the drain with a screwdriver, straightened a metal hanger and got a plunger. I plunged the drain for what had to be ten minutes (my arms still hurt!) and lo and behold, when I took the plunger off, I could clearly see the clog some three feet or so down the drain. I then made a hook with the wire hanger, snaked it down the drain and with only a little bit of maneuvering was able to get the culprit, a wet wad of mess that I will spare detailed definition of, for your benefit.

This was the end of my nightmare but my friend was quick to point out that this is a 50/50 fix, meaning that the other half the time you will have to hire an actual NYC plumber and get a professional snaking job done, or at least get them to inspect the clog firsthand. But there is an easy fix: A simple two-dollar strainer that can be picked up at any hardware store and often cuts most clogs in half. Still, it’s a relief to have these moments when you can just ask a friend for some advice and put your own elbow into it. That’s old news but the feeling rarely feels old or tired. 

Critical Tips For Installing Gutters

Installing Gutters: Critical Tips

If you have decided to replace your gutters, your next decision is whether to do it yourself or pay for professional installation. If you decide on installing gutters yourself, there are a few things you should consider before installing them. Decide exactly where the gutters will go before installing them. Many people place gutters in the front and back of their homes. Depending on how much rain an area receives, a person might only have to install gutters on the back of the house. 

You most certainly will want to consider the look of the gutters on your house. You may want simple replacement but gutters can also be a decorative accent on your home. Measure carefully how long the back and front of the house is before buying gutters. Installing gutters can be frustrating if the wrong amount and the wrong size is purchased. They will need to be custom cut to fit any poor measurements which can take up valuable time and waste your energy. 

There are many different styles of gutters. Be sure to choose the appropriate style for the specific area of the house. If the house is surrounded by trees, then installing gutters that will not trap debris as easily is a smart decision. If the house is not surrounded by trees, then choose gutters that can handle the amount of rainfall an area typically receives. Some gutters are deeper and wider than others. Be sure to purchase gutters that will be able to hold the right amount of water that typically falls in your geographical area. Installing gutters should be done every few years depending on the gutters condition. 

When installing gutters, take the time and effort to make sure you do it properly. If a gutter is not attached securely, it may fall off during a heavy rainstorm. Wind and other weather could also cause the gutter to become loose. This could cause water to build-up and create puddles. A gutter that is attached securely will not be damaged by heavy rain. Gutters should also be attached correctly and should not bend or be attached at an angle. This will not allow the water to flow freely through the gutter. If a person is not able to install gutters themselves, there are many companies that can. These gutters should come with a guarantee. This will help if the gutters are damaged during a heavy rainstorm. If you have any doubts about installation and your skills please hire a qualified tradesmen.

If leaves are clogging your downspouts, rain will collect, build up and freeze causing gutters to tear away from roofs can cause costly damage. Installing gutter protection can protect your home’s gutters from winter damage. Gutter guards are installed over you're existing gutters to prevent gutters from filling with leaves that can clog downspouts.

The number one enemy of your house is water, and 

gutters are a first line of defence.

My Hallway Dilemma

I’ve been writing a lot about the importance of organization on here, especially when it comes to saving space and attaining some semblance of a clean, clear aesthetic in your space. Well, the chicken came home to roost for me a few weekends ago when a friend of mine, a NYC handyman who works around Dumbo, pointed out that my hallway closet was literally bulging due to overstuffing.

 The hallway closet has been, for all intents and purposes, the junk drawer of my home, where I cram sleeping bags, summer/winter clothes, plastic bins for moving, blankets…the list goes on. And for awhile, I was gleefully unaware that it looked like it was going to burst forth, unleashing an avalanche of clothing and trinkets that would likely put me out for good. My NYC handyman friend urged me to take care of this mess sooner than later.

We began by tossing a great deal of the plastic bins. Most of them ended up at my mother’s house, whose junk drawer has spread to include an entire garage at this point. The rest of them went to my downstairs neighbor and the local recycling center. When I inevitably move, I will likely partake in those super-cheap fold-up boxes that most movers offer. We then inventoried what I needed to put in the closet and what I could store elsewhere. We decided to put shelves in and make it something like a linen closet for all manner of useful things.

There was already a top shelf build into the closet and that’s where I put my luggage: Gym bags, duffel bags, suitcases, backpacks, messenger bags and roller cases. We measured each following shelf two feet from the previous, giving space to fold things and store blankets, jackets and clothing easily. As it turned out, my NYC handyman friend was also a laundry expert and he instructed me the proper way to fold jackets for storage; I have, after many years of struggle, learned how to fold a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

At the end of the day, I had two entire shelves left empty. (I have since used them to store old video game consoles and piles of old New Yorkers and Film Comments that I don’t have the heart to toss quite yet.) This was a marginally simple project to handle with my friend, and most NYC handymen can do this for relatively cheap. It’s something worth looking into, lest you enjoy looking like you’re trying to store an entire department store in your hallway closet.     

Best Basement Remodeling Tips

Tips for Refinishing Your Basement

Is your basement being put to good use? While you may be storing furniture, canned goods, or tools downstairs, why not refurbish your home's lowest level and add living space to your family home? It really isn't terribly difficult or expensive if you start with basic changes that will let you enjoy this extra space.

Start by taking an inventory of the usable space in your basement. How many rooms could be converted to accommodate daily activities, and which ones would better serve occasional events, like holiday celebrations or kids' parties? If you are storing things in the basement, can these be moved to another area, or will they need to be kept downstairs but perhaps in one of the rooms rather than all? You also will need to work around heating and cooling appliances like the furnace, air conditioner, and hot water tank, as well as laundry equipment if you have it. When you have an idea of how much area you can afford to remake, you can start to shuffle storage and appliances to make room for you're remodeling plans.

Then decide which improvements you would like most to have. If you can't afford them all at once, you can do the repairs in stages. Do a survey of the basement to list every needed repair, update, or improvement, including the simplest as well as the most demanding. Work out a budget to see which ones you can afford to start with. You may have to contact local home improvement materials suppliers for the cost of supplies needed for the repairs. If you need to hire the work done rather than do it yourself, calculate this cost as well, estimating on the high rather than the low side.

Begin with the most pressing needs. For example, water damage or leaks, mold, cracked windows, and radon or carbon monoxide testing should be done to eliminate safety hazards and problems that will only get worse with time. You may need to have your appliances inspected, repaired, or replaced.

When these have been addressed, the next step will be to take care of structural damage. Plaster holes, cracked concrete floors, electrical updates, and plumbing overhauls should be the next set of repairs. These will bring your basement up to code and prepare it for the aesthetic level of improvements that go hand-in-hand with home decorating.

If your budget holds out, you may next want to look at adding air vents, replacing window frames or the windows themselves with glass block, and installing floor tiles, rather than carpet, since they are easier to clean and maintain. You can even put up wallboard or panel siding to make the rooms more homey and inviting. Lighting fixtures or track lighting can brighten dark or dim areas of your basement.

From there it is just a matter of adding furnishings to complete your renovation project. To cut costs, you can buy these second-hand at garage sales or thrift stores, or buy seconds at furniture stores, since these items won't be used everyday.

Follow these tips and you'll be enjoying a new space in your home and added value.

A Eulogy for Beanie

It brings me no pleasure to tell you that my beanbag chair, which I had nicknamed Beanie for many years, was tossed in the trash this past weekend. Beanie had been residing in a particularly mildew-caked and dusty corner of my mother’s humungous garage, having suffered several tears and rips with no hope of repair; there are some wounds even duct tape can’t heal. So, there Beanie sat for years, surviving winters, floods and numerous visits from NYC handymen brought in to fix-up the garage in the two decades since my mother moved into her house.

My mother is an odd duck and so it came as no surprise when she announced to me that she had cleaned out the garage now, in the middle of November, some six months before most homeowners start their annual clear out. What did come as a surprise is when she uttered these words: “Oh, and I tossed out that smelly old beanbag sack.”  I stalled for a moment and let out a chuckle, unable to understand what “sack” she was speaking of. And then it hit me, and for just the smallest fraction of a second, I felt grief for an inanimate object. These are things I will not be sharing with any of my prospective progeny or grandchildren, for that matter.

There are three distinct memories I have of Beanie that came rushing to me when I pieced together what my mother had done:

1.     December, 1996: Sitting on Beanie with a small glass of beer my father had snuck me, playing a Star Wars video game and blaring a mix of Grateful Dead songs a friend had given me.

2.     Summer, 1999: My first kinda-girlfriend and me, attempting to position ourselves comfortable on top of Beanie before watching Caddyshack for approximately the 77^th time in my life.

3.     August, 2001: Deciding to not bring Beanie with me to college, seeing as there was about as much personal space in my freshman-year dormroom as there were in those sweatboxes in Cool Hand Luke. Spend the night watching movies with my dog, Bishop, on Beanie, after saying goodbye to local friends.

Bean bag chairs came into prominence some time in the late 1960s and were favorites of hippies and quasi-informed philosophy students around those times, and I certainly wanted to connect to that generation and those people. I remember seeing a character in Richar Linklater’s Dazed and Confused sitting on one and immediately wanting to be that character. The bean bag chair started its slow crawl out somewhere in the mid-to-late 1980s and it essentially shrunk, becoming the much-loved and much-maligned hacky sack in the 1990s, seen on college campuses and high school soccer fields nationwide.

Still, there was a comfort that Beanie gave me that my beat-up futon doesn’t offer. Maybe it was the fragility of it, the fact that it was so prone to dilapidating injuries; the fleetingness of its lifespan. I always thought it was a comfort issue but frankly, my recliner is far more comfortable and I was never nuts about being that low to the ground. So, it remains a bit of mystery why I give half-a-care about Beanie, but I do, whether it is just plain old nostalgia or my intermittent ability to become a complete doodle-brain. 

5 Remodeling Mistakes - avoid them at all cost

5 Home Remodeling Mistakes

Lucky are those who already have their own homes because they can consider them as investments. No matter how old the home is, there is always an option and an opportunity to make the home as good as new. This can be done by introducing changes in the home design or in the home facade or color.

Some people renovate their homes because they have lived there for several years already and they have gone tired of the look of their homes. Of course, there are people who renovate their homes with the view of reselling them at higher prices.

Owning a property or a home can be very useful not only as a dwelling place for the owner and his family. Some people who have extra money invest in foreclosed homes and either live in them or remodel them for a higher resale price. Buying and remodeling homes is starting to become a very good business provided the investor has a keen eye for good locations or areas.

Some people who have owned their homes for several years already get tired of the design and the aesthetics of their homes that they resort to remodeling their homes. In most cases, the homeowner who sets out to remodel his own is always on a tight budget.

Remodeling a home is not an easy task and it is very demanding. Remodeling a home is just like constructing your home all over again but this time, it can prove more difficult because there is already an existing structure. Building a new home is said to be easier since it is like drawing on a blank canvas and any idea is possible. Remodeling an already existing home can be more challenging because the designer has to contend with an existing structure.

While home remodeling can add up to the resale value of a home, it can also lower the price and sometimes lessen the chances of the home being resold. This happens when remodeling mistakes are committed, destroying the aesthetic and functional aspects of the home.

Any homeowner planning to remodel his home should watch out for these 5 remodeling mistakes that have been committed by other people over and over again. These may be simple mistakes but they can ruin the home value so it is recommended that every homeowner be aware of these mistakes.

1. Starting a home remodeling project without considering and estimating the costs involved

- Every homeowner who is planning to remodel his home should first take into consideration his financial capacity. Home remodeling can cost more considering the high prices of construction materials today. Prices of cement, paint, and other materials to be used in the home remodeling should be checked first before touching or destroying any part of the home. The homeowner should be prepared to invest money in home remodeling and finish the remodeling project. Or else, he can end up with a debased or devalued home instead of having its price or value improved.

2. Implementing remodeling projects without creating a remodeling plan

- This is one of the most common mistakes committed by most homeowners. There are times when a homeowner notices the faded paint of a room, or the damaged blocks in a certain part of a home. Then and there, he decides to have the room or that part destroyed as he wants to convert it into open concept. He contacts a builder to destroy the room and when the job is finished, he finds out that turning the room or area into open concept can cause problems in the overall structure of the house. 

By failing to create a remodeling plan, the homeowner has just destroyed a still-useful room and expended money in the process. He now has to spend more 

3. Selecting a contractor and starting the remodeling project without researching on the reputation of such contractor 
- Any homeowner who hires a contractor should make sure he gets referrals for the contractor. If not, he should check on the background and work ethics of the contractor to make sure that he gets his remodeling project done quickly and efficiently. There are homeowners who are so excited about their home remodeling project that they commit the mistake of hiring a contractor without knowing his background. This can cost the homeowner a lot in terms of time and money especially if the contractor produces inferior work or leaves the work without finishing the remodeling project.

4. Embarking on a very expensive and impractical remodeling project making it impossible to resell the house at a profit

- Some homeowners become overzealous when starting a home remodeling project that they commit the mistake of spending more on the remodeling project than what is reasonable. Sometimes the expenses for the remodeling project becomes too much that the owner can no longer resell at a price within the range of the real estate rates in the community. Of course, if the home is an inherited home and the homeowner intends to preserve the home to his family for a long time, then such expenses may be justified. 

5. Veering away from classic design and turning to color and design trends when remodeling a home

- It is always good to keep up with the times especially when remodeling a home but following the trend too much can cost the homeowner in the end. Classic home designs are still the ideal for home remodeling projects because such designs never go out of style. Following a certain color trend or design that will last only for one or two years will require another home renovation project when the trend has passed.

The goal of home remodeling will always be to improve the value of the home for whatever purpose. To achieve this goal, homeowners should consider the 5 common home remodeling mistakes and avoid them at all cost.

What's Consider To Be A Home Improvement Project?

What Do You Consider To Be A Home 

Improvement Project

Home Improvement is a popular tem these days but what is it really? What does a project have to include to be termed a home improvement project? Home improvement can be anything from just repainting or wallpapering a bathroom or kitchen to a total home remodel and makeover. Any home improvement project can be shared with everyone in the home taking on some responsibility in the event.

There is no reason to pay contractors the outrageous rates they charge when you have able bodied people in the house to help out. I know what you are going to say, "I can't even get my teenager to take out the trash!", but when you give them the choice of helping or selling everything in their room to help pay for a contractor they will change their tune! You will find that family and friends may be willing to help as well, kind of like people used to pitch in back in the day.

Whenever you are thinking about starting a home improvement project you should talk to everyone in the house about it because the turmoil and disruption concerns everyone. Some projects like painting are easy enough that anyone can do them. All you have to do is protect against spills and make sure you don't get paint on items you don't want painted. Often you can repaint and entire home in just a few days. A fresh new color can go a long way to changing the look of a house.

If you are planning a large project that requires carpentry skills and renovation of rooms then you may have no choice but to hire a contractor unless you are skilled in that area, try The Trades Network for any tradesperson. Another consideration is money, do you have enough money to pay cash for the project or will it require financing?

If you are seeking out help from friends and relatives for your home improvement project don't even bother calling up those that don't take care of their own house. If they don't care about their stuff they surely won't care about yours and all they will do is sit around and drink beer giving arm chair advice and criticism. You should schedule a home improvement project so that you can complete it during a short vacation or long weekend.

Another thing to consider is storage. If you are remodeling your home and need to empty a room, where are you going to put everything? If you are like me, your garage is already full. You should consider getting a temporary storage container. If you think that you could possible reorganize the garage you may want to buy some garage storage containers to help you with the organization and make room for the items you need to remove in the house.

Couch Surfing USA!

Whether you live in New York City or not, the couch is still the central part of the living room. The design and flow of your living room or den is largely decided by the placement, size and color of your couch, not to mention the fact that the couch tends to be where most family members cool out after their workday. Okay, so the function of the couch as nap headquarters, make-out central and the place where your status as King/Queen Couch Potato is solidified is a bit more easy to figure than the design and flow (a term I still grapple with) of your living room but for the more in-the-know home owner, this is a large facet of how your home will look to visiting friends and family. Here are some things to look out for when choosing your next couch.

What Do You Do There? – For many, this is a given. The couch is largely a utility for relaxing and watching your DVR. There are others, however, who think of it like a nook, a small place to read a book with some sunlight; some people don’t even want a TV in their living room. Any NYC handyman will tell you that your television can be positioned nearly anywhere in the living room, so think more about light in this case. If you use it more for naps, try to get it away from the light; if you have kids, keep it away from the center of the room and allow them some room to roll around and play. Also, be aware, most NYC electricians can help you with your lighting to ensure that your space looks exactly how you’d like. 

What Look Are You Going For? – The regular three-cushion look is the most popular and its classic for a good reason. It optimizes your space and is the perfect size for couples with or without kids. There’s also the L-shape one (see below) which makes a cozy piece for the corner of the room and may be a better choice for bigger families and those who entertain more often. Configurations matter a lot here, so take measurements and consider the size of the area before deciding on what you want to pay for.

What’s The Mood of Your Room? – It pains me to write that rooms do indeed have moods. If your walls are a lighter (yellow or white), you’ll want to look for more pronounced, bold colors like reds and greens. If you have darker walls, you can either go darker with a dark brown/chestnut look or perhaps a nice, dark blue. You could also go for something lighter, even white, though I am hesitant to suggest such things as this can be a problem if you eat on your couch often and stains are a real possibility.

What Makes You Comfortable? – When you’re younger, you suffer with futons, allowing a perfect crash location for your drunk friends or visitors. As you get older, your tastes change (maybe) and you start thinking more about sitting down for a meal with a significant other, a beloved pet, your child or your closest friends. Do you like to sink into your couch or do you like a firm seat? Test out different fillings and see what suits you. Equally important is the choice of fabric. If you like a smoother surface, leather might be the best choice, though then its fickle to weather and makes odd noises. So then, maybe something more textured would be a better fit for you. Talk to your local furniture store salesman and they’ll help you with this as well.

In this particular fashion, I am deeply old-fashioned. Give me a comfortable couch that I can sink into and watch an old movie on TCM with, and it could be a polka dot couch for all I care. That being said, walking into a beautifully laid out living room, as my girlfriend and I did a few weeks ago while visiting relatives, creates its own comfort and atmosphere off the bat. This is all to say, once again, the importance of the stuff above is subjective to your needs as a homeowner. Act accordingly.  

NYC Apartments: Cleaning Out the Clutter

Eliminating clutter in a New York City apartment has always been a matter of organization and preparation, with a handful of perceivably hard decisions that turn out to be simple once you really think about it.  It’s easy to say “I’ll clean it up later” and chill out with some television and a cocktail instead of taking five minutes to put things where they belong. But then a few weeks go by, your office looks like the remnants of a ticker-tape parade, you’d have to put on hiking boots to reach the top of the mountains of dirty clothes, the leftovers from Gino’s gains a pulse and you have to whack at things with a machete to get more than a foot into your closet.

Okay, so maybe I’m employing hyperbole but organization of time, amongst other things, is crucial to having a clear, uncluttered NYC apartment that you can look forward to showing off. Not only does the organization of an apartment create a clean aesthetic for you to live in, but it has also been proven to help one’s psychological outlook and confidence.  Here are some easy tips to keep your apartment clean, neat and well managed.

·          Paper & Bills: In the age of the green movement, this is less of a problem, or at least that’s what you’d hope. The fact of the matter is that a lot of people still receive huge amounts of their mail and bills in physical form on paper. This can lead to a lot of clutter but can be avoided easily with a set of magazine holders, an in & out rack for your desk and a small filing cabinet for copies, forms and other loose papers. Make it a routine of separating your stuff out and filing it away when you get home.

·         Junk & Trinkets: Junk drawers beget apartments full of junk; it’s an attitude that everything will eventually have a use or holds some indeterminable sentimental value. Having a few nostalgic but ostensibly useless trinkets is fine but if you start collecting every little scrap, things could get messy quick. Set a Sunday aside to look through your drawers three or four times a year, to make sure nothing gets out of control.

·         Clothing: I’m expecting some sort of hate mail for this but most people have a good portion of clothes that they never really use, the storage of which takes up a lot of room at times. Take a day by yourself or with your partner to go through your wardrobe and pick out stuff that you simply don’t wear anymore. Get a friend to help: they’ll be able to tell you if you wear certain outfits regularly, if you don’t remember. This will clear out your closets and allow you to get a good sense of how you want to store articles of clothing.

·        Storage: I can’t stress enough how important and beneficial solid system of organized storage is to having a tidy home. Look for furniture that offers storage (coffee tables with drawers, beds with space underneath etc.) and consider getting some shelves put in your living room, bedroom, bathroom and, especially, the kitchen. Use labels, if it helps, but know where things belong and try to find places for loose items. This will all make it easier to attain a sense of open space, something that always garners compliments and fosters a healthy outlook.

As you might have guessed, storage is one of my more passionate issues when it comes to design and organization in the home. I’ll be talking more about how to use storage in a NYC apartment in the future, talking about things you can undertake with one of your local New York City handymen for advance apartment options. All this being said, it’s important to also give yourself time to do all of these things, to have some sort of schedule or routine in each case, which is something many people find rigid and bothersome. Maybe it is, but doing something that you may not find incredibly enthralling is part of owning your own space and being in charge of your adult life. Also, eat your vegetables and call your mother, she worries.  

Furnace Tips You Should Know About In Canada

What You Ought To Know About Furnaces In Canada
 by: Addison Colb

Natural or gas from an outdoors source is piped towards the furnace where it's burned to create warmth. Often a fan-driven forced-air distribution system blows the warmed air through ductwork that vent in to the various rooms of the home. Older gas furnaces make use of a standing-pilot ignition. Maintenance involves turning from the pilot each spring and relighting it each fall. More recent, more effective gas furnaces make use of an electric spark to light the gas as necessary. 

So What Can Fail? 

Most gas furnaces are very reliable. Do you know the signs and symptoms of problems? The furnace might not produce warmth or might not produce enough warmth. The pilot light might go out frequently or won't light. The thermocouple might be faulty. The pilot may sensational looking not ignite the burners. The furnace might be noisy. You will find some maintenance along with a couple of minor repairs that you could make. However, major service ought to be left to some trained specialist. 

Fix-It Tips

To reduce issues with your gas furnace, take some time every month to determine the air conditioning filter and clean or change it if required (make sure your filter is the right size for the furnace). Annually, clean the blower rotor blades, lubricate the blower motor, and inspect the belt. 

How Do I Identify the issue? 


If there's no heat, look into the electrical service panel for any burned fuse or tripped breaker. Relight the pilot light. 

If there's insufficient warmth, adjust the burners air shutter (see below) and clean the burners ports (see below). 

When the pilot light doesn't light or doesn't stay lit, clean the pilot hole carefully having a toothpick, test the thermocouple and change it if it's faulty.

When the flame flickers, adjust the pilot (see below). 

If there's an overflowing seem once the burners ignites, adjust the pilot to some greater setting and clean the pilot hole and also the burners ports. 

When the burners takes greater than a couple of seconds to ignite, clean the pilot hole and adjust the pilot light. 

When the burners flame is uneven, clean the burners ports. When the burners flame is extremely yellow, clean the burners open vents within the furnace room to supply more air adjust the burners air shutter. 

When the air is simply too dry, clean or replace the evaporator pad for those who have a humidifier test the humidistat and adjust water-level float to boost water level. 

If some rooms are extremely cold yet others too warm, the distribution system may need balancing. 

This maybe the time to call an expert heating and mechanical contractor. 


Find one now at www.TheTradesNetwork.com

Getting the Best Deal on Your Home Improvements

By Craig R Cole

There aren't many families out their at the moment that have a great deal of disposable cash floating about. The global recession has meant that everyone is watching their money more closely than ever.

Some jobs just can't be put off however. If for example you need to fit a new door to your property, then it is not the kind of project you can put on the back burner - if it needs replacing then that's all there is to it. As any homeowner knows, it's worth paying for a good company to carry out work on your property, but that does not mean you need to pay over the odds. By shopping around and asking for quotes from a number of companies, you greatly increase your chances of getting the best deal that is available.

At one time, the only way to find building companies in your area was to pick up the yellow pages, circle a few local firms and start making calls. Not only is this time consuming but you really limit yourself by only making contact with a fraction of the companies that are out there that are qualified to carry out work on your home.

Thankfully, the internet has changed the way we find workmen forever. Many businesses now have their own website, but even this way of contacting firms can take time. That's where online price comparison sites come into their own. There's also internet companies that are dedicated to finding the best Tradesmen and contractors for your improvement project, just post your job and get matched at TheTradesNetwork.

You don't need to go near a phone, in fact all you need to do is fill out a quote form and your requirements will be automatically forwarded to a list of approved suppliers in your area who will be happy to provide you with quotes. Stress free and easy, using a price comparison can certainly save you an enormous amount of time and will most likely leave more money in your pocket.

When the time comes around to carry out improvements to your property, then make sure you don't pay over the odds. Log onto the internet and search for The Trades Network.