Real Estate Blog » Improvement

Home Improvement: Giving Yourself An Elegant And Charming New Kitchen

dennis — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:10:07 +0000

GIVING YOUR KITCHEN A COMPLETE MAKE OVER…AND DOING IT ON A LOW BUDGET AT THAT— DEMOLITION: PHASE ONE Um Um good, good old home made banana pudding and chocolate cake. I can almost smell it now, the aroma slowly filling the air with delicious foods and tasty treats that makes your mouth watery just to think about it. And what about all the main entrees that go along with the tasty deserts? It’s no wonder that in our house the kitchen is our favorite place for food and good conversation and I suspect that is true for most American families…and probably for families around the world as well. What better place for friends and love ones to gather than in the kitchen for good things to eat and good things to drink. With mom in the kitchen mixing a whole lot of love with everything she prepares, how can it get any better than that?

Practically every home, condominium, townhouse and apartment has a kitchen in it, however sometimes after years of much use and abuse, kitchens can become worn, outdated; no longer functional and in some cases down right depressing. Ceilings that have collected smoke, soot, dirt and even insect bile no longer make looking up a pleasant experience; not to mention drywall (sheetrock) that looks like it might fall down any given day. Walls that have accumulated layers of thick almost immovable grease and cooking oil that looks gross. And the floor looks like it has been a long, long time ago since it was new and attractive looking. You see, kitchens take more abuse and have to endure some of the most extreme conditions, unlike any other room in your home, therefore, it is only natural that over time it will need a complete upgrade and that is what this article is all about. We did a kitchen total make over for one of our clients and we are going to tell you just how we did it…and on a very meager budget as well. Perhaps, this can be some sought of informative guide that can help you with your kitchen make over—at least we hope it does. So sit back and take a ride with us as we offer pointers and tips on how you can transform your kitchen into a beautiful new and exciting place for a much lower cost than if you hired a contractor to do it. Let’s get started.

DEMOLITION: OUT WITH THE OLD

Before you can begin implementing new and exciting changes to your kitchen you must first take the time and get rid of the old. When it comes to demolition I like to begin at the top and work my with down, in other words, I like to start with the ceiling and work my way down to the floor. Your approach may be just the opposite and if that is what you’re comfortable doing than so be it. But before you begin make sure you have on all your safety gear and safety goggles on. The operative word is safety and working safely is paramount to everything else. If you need to file a permit with your local officials by all means do so. And if you feel uncomfortable doing this type of work hire a contractor. This type of work is dirty and nasty and it can be very, very dangerous; so be careful and avoid any and all accidents. We do this for a living and we abide by these same rules and safety measures that I’m giving you, so practice safety every step of the way.

Before I begin to tear out the old drywall in the ceiling, I remove the lighting fixture in the ceiling and then I cover the expose electrical wires with electrical tape or electrical twist caps. If need be, go to your breaker box and turn off the electricity that leads to the kitchen. Again, if you’re uncomfortable doing this, then be sure to contact a reputable contractor and leave all the cares and responsibilities for him to deal with. This type of work is not for everybody and everybody is not comfortable doing it. But for those who are and those who want to do it than let’s continue on. Generally speaking, when it comes to tearing out old drywall you can use any number of tools to get the job done, but I prefer to use a hammer and sometimes even a shovel. Ceilings are usually eight feet high and higher, so I use a tool that allows me to stand on the floor and reach up and tear the drywall out. If your ceilings are higher you may need the use of a stepladder or even scaffolding, it just depends on what is more comfortable for you. Most of the tools use for demolition can be rented from your local rental center, or you can buy tools and equipment from your neighborhood home improvement center—the options are open.

Once the drywall has been removed from your ceiling you will need to go on and remove the nails/screws that held the drywall in place. Simply remove the nails with a hammer and the screws with a screw gun/cordless drill. You must remove all nails and screws from the ceiling joists in order to install the new drywall.By now all the appliances, cookware, dishes and counter top items should have been removed from the room, if not, you should do it now. If you can’t remove your stove and refrigerator make sure it is covered well. It would be ideal to have everything removed from the room, however, sometimes that is not an option; so all that you cannot remove from the room just make sure it is completely covered to protect it from dirt, dust and flying debris. If your ceiling is a plaster ceiling and it is in need of repair, you might want to call a plaster contractor to take a look at it, but if it is in relatively good condition with the exception being a few hair line cracks then you should be able to do that yourself. And if you have a ceiling that is wood then by all means check to see if the wood is warped: bowed; broken; splintered or just plain old ugly; if so, it should be repaired or removed. In order to give your ceiling a fresh new attractive look you must do away with the old and start anew.

DEMOLITION: PHASE TWO

With the ceiling completely removed and the ceiling joists cleaned of old nails/screws we can proceed to remove the walls. This can be difficult to do if some of your large appliances are still in place. Getting behind the refrigerator and stove will be hard to do with them still in place, but if you are doing a complete make over to your kitchen then nothing should be left in place. You really have to find a place to store your large appliances as well as the smaller ones. If you are going to replace them then you should be able to get the company that’s delivering your new appliances to carry them off for you, if not, then you might have to arrange to have an independent trash hauler pick them up for you at an additional charge, I’m just not sure how that works in your area. But if you plan to reuse them as part of your new kitchen decor then make sure they are well covered and protected. Plastic covering should suffice, but be sure to use multiple layers of plastic for added protection. Make sure the dishwasher has been disconnected and moved out of the room and remember to turn off the water supply line so that you will not flood your home and possibly your neighbors as well. This part can get really serious so you might need to consult with a plumber to assist you and removing faucets and so forth. Remember, if you’re unfamiliar with this aspect of demolition don’t hesitate to call in a professional plumber that is reputable in your area. You could be in for a very large lawsuit(s) if you make a mistake in this area, so tread these waters with the utmost of care.

TEARING OUT THE CABINETS AND WALLS

Somehow old kitchen cabinets really get a bad rap, although for years when they were in their prime they were the darling of the kitchen, they were loved and adored, but now that many moons have come and gone and they have lost their luster and charm, they have become the scorn of many a housewife. So now is the time to say good riddance to them—both top and bottom set. They are no longer needed or wanted and the time has come for their demise. Say goodbye to your old friends and let the demolition commence. And now that they have been completely removed somehow your kitchen look miraculously larger…and much more roomier. This can only start your imagination to begin running non stop at all the possibilities for your new kitchen make over, but wait a minute there we have more work to do…much more work to do.

Before you begin taking out the old walls in your kitchen, first check to see if there is any baseboards, trim or even shoe moulding that needs to be removed before you proceed. If indeed it is then by all means remove it before you attempt to tear out the walls; it will make it much more easier to do then to leave the trim and baseboards in place. This is also a good time to remove all doors and door casing too. You really don’t want any hindrance when it comes to tearing out your walls. Again, a good hammer will suffice when it comes to tearing out your walls, but you may prefer a sledge hammer or a short handle shovel, or a crow bar; whatever feel comfortable and workable for you—use that. Make sure the electricity is still off because you don’t won’t to be electrocuted due to negligence on your part, so be ever watchful and stay alert. Like the ceiling, you must remove all the old drywall that’s covering your studs in order to facilitate a complete kitchen make over. So get rid of all that old drywall and start fresh. If there are some pieces and panels of drywall that looks good, then by all means allow it to remain, but in my opinion it would just be best to remove the remaining pieces/panels and go with all new drywall.

REMOVING THE FLOORING

With everything practically cleaned out of the kitchen there should be only one thing left—the floor. Whatever it is; vinyl, linoleum, ceramic tile, natural stone, or whatever, it must be removed in order to make way for the new flooring. If you choose to keep it; that might be a viable option if it is stable and in good condition, that is good enough condition to apply a new floor on top of it without causing a problem or premature floor failure. I personally like to remove all existing flooring to avoid any possible problems down the road and not only that but I am just as concern with the subflooring that lies underneath the finish floor. And my concerns don’t stop there because the foundation is the key to a successful flooring project. It doesn’t matter what type of flooring you choose to install, one thing is for sure, if your foundation is bad your flooring project will subsequently end in failure…and that’s a written guarantee you can bank on. Make sure your foundation is solid and level and ready to receive a finish floor on top of it. If you need to call out a foundation contractor don’t neglect to do it.Assuming that you have chosen to remove your old finish flooring, make sure you have done it thoroughly.

DEMOLITION:CONCLUSION

In your quest to remodel/renovate your kitchen it is imperative that you remove the old in order to make room for the new. Personally, I really do enjoy doing demolition work. Although it is hot and sweaty work (doesn’t matter what season of the year), I truly enjoy removing the old and making way for the new. But in caution just let me say this: demolition is not a time for indiscriminate destruction, instead, it is a time for careful planning and even more carefulness when it comes to executing your plans. Demolition can be a real opportunity for irreversible destruction cause by a careless worker that’s working in a mindless way. Instead of using this as an opportunity to get familiar with the anatomy of your kitchen, a foolish person will use this as an opportunity to vent rage or worst to have fun. Both attitudes or inappropriate for this type of work and both attitudes are responsible for countless injuries and many deaths that have occurred while doing demolition work. So be smart and stay safe.

Disclaimer: This author assumes no responsibility for any injuries or deaths that might occur base on the content of this article. This article is written for the sole purpose of informing and entertaining. Please be advise to call a reputable contractor in your area. Thank you.

About the Author

Donald Thomas is owner and CEO of AMERICAN PAINTING AND PRESSURE CLEANING,INC.He has been in the home improvement business since 1984. Please feel free to visit our website for more full length feature articles and a whole lot of neat tools and equipment. http://www.americanpaintingandpressurecleaninginc.com

A Garden Office is the Ideal Homeworking or Home Improvement Product

dennis — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:07:37 +0000

A recent survey shows that an increasing number of professionals are using home based offices. This is because a home based office not only allows one to save time in commuting but at the same time enables one to reduce work hours as well; thus getting to spend more time with the family. However, home based offices come with some innate problems like lack of living space as well as privacy. For professionals facing such a dilemma, therefore a garden office is the best solution.

In recent times, many employers too prefer professionals who work from home as they not only show improved productivity but at the same time allow the company to save on the cost of infrastructure. However, what worries the employer is the lack of peaceful ambience in an employee’s home that would let him complete his work peacefully. Garden lodges products are designed mainly to be used as garden offices and are the best solution in such a case. After conducting a careful detailed site survey of your garden, you can choose a garden office that will best suit your needs. When you are working from home there are many options. You can work from anywhere – right from your kitchen table to the loft. Whatever be the option for a home based office, a garden office still remains the best solution as it offers you an independent working space separate from your home. Most importantly you can have the much-needed privacy that a garden studio offers for carrying out your work more effectively and efficiently.

The best thing about a garden studio is that it combines functionality with aesthetics. If you do design your garden appropriately you can create an office that not only has convenient electrics and lighting but will also provide you with a professional environment. Being a separate construction that has been designed specifically for office work, it will provide the right ambience for your work all the year round in comfort and security.

Gardenlodges.co.uk will provide you with the best solution to your home working dilemma. The traditional garden lodges are priced at around £12,995 and use modern construction techniques that result in an elegant blending of functionality with aesthetics. The garden offices provided by gardenlodges.co.uk complement any property. What sets the company apart from its competitors is that it allows you to personalize your garden office and create your own unique design best suited for your exact requirements.

Active Solar Energy System

Evans D. Smith — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:20:50 +0000

An active solar electricity system is one in which to tap the power from the sun use is made from an active or mechanical or maybe electronic system. As of now, the numbers of technologies available that deal with active solar electricity systems have gone up and in the midst they’ve been consistently providing more efficient way of drumming the energy of the sun. What’s more, all of these new technologies are helping to provide power that lets you do a selection of things including for heating and generating electricity.

Major Benefit

The major advantage that people get by opting for an active solar electricity system is that these systems help to provide more solar electricity saving and definitely much more than is the case with passive solar electricity systems. Naturally, to use an active solar power system you want to get a system that incorporates special technologies of which solar-thermal collectors and fans and pumps are good examples. These collectors can simply be mounted on fixed platforms to enable them to efficiently and correctly assign the energy which has been caught from the sun.

You can also derive many benefits from using an active solar energy system including those of being able to heat spaces and to heat water. Before buying an active solar energy system you must first do a feasibility study to see whether this is the best option for your needs and for the location where you plan to install such a system. You need to therefore conduct life-cycle costing analysis which will allow you to determine the upfront costs as well as operational costs of running such a system. Furthermore, such analysis also lets you know how much energy savings you will be able to affect when compared to using conventional systems.

Before installing the active solar electricity system you have to be certain that the climate around your city is conducive to using such systems. The more solar energy that hits your active solar power system’s solar cells the more probable it is that you are going to be able get more than satisfactory power for your house.

At the least, by installing an active solar electricity system you get to offset heating power from standard systems for the whole life of your building and / or the life of your active solar electricity system. Additionally, you’ll get to save on costs of heating water that may be much less expensive for you when you use an active solar power system. Best of all, such a system guarantees that you and the world become less contingent on carbon-based fuels.

For those who want to know more about Residential Solar Energy Systems, you had better visit Best DIY Solar Power House Guide.

Solar Geothermal Energy

Evans D. Smith — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:19:33 +0000

The most effective way to extract solar geothermal energy is to dig terribly deep holes into the crust of the earth and to then pump cold water from one end and permit this water to come out of another end. When this water rises back up to ground level it is going to be very hot and this is how solar geothermal energy can offer a number of uses. For instance, the steam from this heated water can be employed to turn a turbine and this can then drive generators and in the act will create power.

Best Natural Energy Form

There no doubts the fact that solar geothermal energy is the best form of natural energy that needs to be tapped into at the earliest. The first main advantage to using solar geothermal energy is that you can use the geothermal heat to provide energy to a power station that can then produce electricity at cheaper rates and without in any way polluting the earth or its fragile environment. Of course, once in a while there is bound to be some gaseous release from the depths of the earth that can cause some harm but this is not serious and it can easily be controlled.

When it comes to taking land for solar geothermal energy the expenses are also actually quite cheap and actually far less expensive in comparison to when land is purchased for oil or gas or perhaps coal exploration. Because a geothermal energy plant doesn’t take up lots of land it gets less difficult to buy land at lower costs. Similarly , because use of solar geothermal energy is being inspired by regimes around the planet, when you are counting on using solar geothermal energy you’ll receive tax cuts and there are many other advantages to be enjoyed as well including lack of any environment bills and you also do not have to go along with carbon emission norms.

It definitely pays to go for solar geothermal energy as it offers a clean source of power and it is easy to use and inexpensive as well as represents clean living.

When it comes to identifying the advantages of solar thermal energy there are a few very important advantages that need to be understood before proceeding further. For one, this form of energy preserves the environment, and it also encourages you to teach your children about the benefits of alternative energy and of course it also means paying less for your energy needs.

What you just learned about How To Build Solar Panels is just the beginning. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at Best DIY Solar Power House Guide.

Marie’s Home Improvement Guide

dennis — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:26:59 +0000

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How Can Solar Thermal Electric Energy Be Used?

Evans D. Smith — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:07:21 +0000

Today, people that need to cool or heat their homes normally end up paying a whopping electricity bill that leaves them with a big hole in their pockets. And, when it concerns heating there is more to it than simply keeping the home at a comfortably warm temperature because there is also need to heat water and water heaters too consume a fair amount of electricity that then adds to the monthly bills. Solar thermal electric energy may not be a very well known option but it does help to provide you with the right kind of heating and cooling solutions and at more reasonable costs and of course it also ensures that no damage will be done to the environment.

Not Aware

The gloomy part about using solar thermal electrical energy is that most people aren’t even conscious of what it is and how it may be employed and also what are its benefits. Solar thermal electrical energy may be employed by incorporating a state-of-the-art technology in which the power from the sun and more especially the heat from the sun is caught and then put to helpful purposes like naturally generating electricity.

Solar thermal electrical energy is dissimilar to other types of solar electricity produced electricity in that in the previous case photovoltaic cells aren’t used to capture power from the sun. Instead, solar collectors are used that may, with the correct components, even guarantee storing the captured heat for satisfactorily long amounts of time that will then make sure that there’s sufficient energy available that will then be used at a later time to supply solar thermal electrical energy when it could be needed even if there’s no sunlight available.

Solar thermal electrical energy is now being considered a realistic alternative solution and it can definitely provide enough power to meet our energy desires and in reality, today it’s also not as phenomenally pricey as it was when solar thermal energy was first discovered and used.

To get solar thermal electrical energy it’s required the heat from the sun be caught and stored and also be used to warm up a liquid which is then circulated in the home. This liquid may also be used to heat water and make your house hotter as well as cooler.

Solar thermal energy is a new kind of technology that is used in which solar energy is first harnessed and then used for certain practical applications. One such application is solar thermal energy generation which is achieved through the conversion of solar energy into heat. Solar thermal energy is cost-effective and when used in a home will certainly bring down the utility costs by a significant amount.

If you want to get more information about DIY Solar Panels, check us out at Best DIY Solar Power House Guide.

Understanding The Benefits Of Installing A Residential Solar Energy System

Evans D. Smith — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:05:27 +0000

In case you’ve been questioning exactly how effective a solution a home solar electricity system is then you can take heart from the fact such systems are indeed advantageous in a variety of ways. For one they get their energy straight from the sun that naturally can supply limitless amounts of such energy and the utilization of that may not cost even a single penny. Second , a home solar power system helps make sure that your electricity bills come down significantly and at the same time such systems won’t do any damage to the environment.

Initial Costs

The only reason why residential solar energy systems are not found in each home is because the initial costs of installing such a system continue to remain prohibitively high and this fact generally turns off many would-be buyers. However, the current costs of installing a residential solar energy system are not as high as was the case a few years back and along with incentives to install such systems, the overall installation cost has certainly come down considerably.

In case you are motivated by the thought of going green and you want to conserve energy then installing a residential solar energy system can certainly prove to be best for you. A typical residential solar energy system installation begins with installing the solar panels on the roof of a building and in addition you must also have an inverter that will convert direct current to alternating current.

Without any doubt, installing a home solar electricity system represents a big decision and so it should be given lots of forethought. You want to think about a number of factors including the placement of your house, the dimensions of your house and also the scale of refund that’s offered to install a home solar power system. If all of these factors point to the viability of installing a home solar power system then you need to go ahead.

It only takes between six and twelve years to recover the costs of installing a residential solar energy system which makes this kind of system a truly viable proposition. In countries such as Australia where there is plentiful sunshine the residential solar energy system has certainly become a more popular option. In the near future if the costs of installing such systems are brought down it is reasonable to expect that almost every home will be powered by solar energy.

The world today is concentrating on preserving energy and with plethora of replenish-able energy sources such as the sun to tap into it definitely does appear sensible to find out more about solar electricity system designs. This data will help you to understand how installing a solar system benefits you and the environment and how it could also help in controlling the prevailing energy crisis that has an effect on the whole planet.

Lowest prices ever on Home Made Energy Review, grab yours now while they last at Best DIY Solar Power House Guide. Better hurry because supplies are limited.

Marie’s Home Improvement Guide

dennis — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:33:48 +0000

The Cost of Solar Energy

Evans D. Smith — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:22:22 +0000

When it comes to the subject of something similar to solar power cost, there are such a lot of different things that have to be debated and considered here. There remain a lot of people out there who aren’t even sure what the approximate cost of solar power is or what solar power is in any way. Well to those people, now could be the time to study the solar electricity cost and what solar electricity can do for you.

What it is

Solar energy is energy that’s harnessed from the sun and which then can be changed into thermal or electric energy. Just about anything that you can do with steady energy, you can do with solar power, so long as you change it, and there are some great advantages , for example the solar power cost.

The price of solar electricity is just about as low as it is going. After you are done paying the 1st cost for the kit and the setting up stage, you aren’t going to be forced to pay for electricity again, but for the appliances and devices that you’re still counting on regular electricity for naturally. That’s because you do it the natural way so you are using the energy of the sun, a replaceable resource, and getting your energy this way.

How it is affecting Us

Besides the inexpensive solar electricity cost, there are a large amount of other crucial advantages to solar electricity that you are going to need to be conscious of too. For example, do you know that the explanation why we are working with global temperature rises and other major environmental problems is, in part, due to all of the electricity that we are using?

This electricity, the regular kind, is producing greenhouse gases which are having an extreme and negative effect on the ozone layer and the rest of the earth, and as a result of this, we have global warming and other monumental issues to deal with. Solar energy on the other hand, besides having a great solar energy cost, does not pollute as it is all natural and comes from a renewable source, so you know when you are using solar energy that you are doing your part for the environment.

There are lots more people who would adore to use the solar electricity cost but who are just not certain how to go about it, and in this example they should learn more and see what they are missing.

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Time-Life Books Complete Home Improvement and Renovation Manual

dennis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:24:40 +0000

Product Description
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Real Estate Blog » Improvement

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