House And Home Tips And Tricks

Remodeling a house could take a lot of money, tons of preparation, heaps of effort, and a great deal of smarts. You ask, I can start remodeling a house but where do I start? How? What can I do? – A lot, based solely on balancing your needs and wants.

Remodeling a house could mean the simplest things of changing your home’s design-theme, adjusting its color palette, or taking in a more updated shelving. Remodeling could involve changing a room’s entire function, expanding your floor-space, or using up standing spaces. Remodeling a house could even include addition of a totally new area, a swimming pool, spa, fitness room, a porch, breakfast nook, game room, bar, a den, a walk-way, terrace, garage, a garden or a home office. Or, remodeling a house could only be simple maintenance processes such as repainting the roof, replacing old pipes, freshening up the floors. Best and most frequent, home remodeling improvements could comprise of putting into your home those necessities you never had before: waterproof basement, bath tub, more baths, dressing room, nursery, guest room, more rooms, secured doors and windows, needed storage, fire exits, electrical floor warming system, kitchen ventilation, even fire place. As often as the seasons’ changes, your home also needs important changes to accommodate more needs, more people, more activities, more comforts, and more keeping up with the times.

Remodeling a house could set you in the best whistle-while working mood if you start with your front entry. Yes, the front entry, one of the few simple changes requiring little or no effort but making a great impact to your home. And after all, this is the space that greets family and friends when they come to visit. They might even think themselves in a totally different property once they step out of their cars. You can add a charming antique patina mailbox at the curb starting the way into the house, or have an ivy-sewn lattice. A new coat of paint could easily do wonders to your front door, plus, new hardware, chain latch, traditional doorbell, or knocker. And then a stunning matching outdoor scones or lanterns, corner displays of potted harvest flowers or herbs, and a cozy outdoor sitting area. Make visitors feel that there’s more to see inside. Remodel more parts that need an instant boost. Why not start consulting with construction firms, architects, designers. Some home construction teams can even supervise the work to be done for your home and coordinate with several other key people to add more value and homey-feel to your house.

Go ahead, if you have the power then do it – turn your average home into that charming dream house you have always wanted!

There are many things that you need to consider in deciding to remodel your home. One of the most important is the financial aspect or the cost of the renovation. Renovations can prove to be very expensive and it is important that you are able to mange the costs involved in the renovation. However, there are also major considerations that you need to look at even before you decide to renovate.

Determining cost

The first step is to determine the type of renovation that you want to have done. Internal changes are easier and less costly to do while structural changes usually take a longer time and costs more to do. To be able to assess the cost of the project, the common practice among homeowners is that they first determine the value of their homes before they decide to renovate. This step allows the homeowner to decide on how much he needs to spend on the renovation because he can decide whether it would be worthwhile to renovate or whether it would be more practical to buy a new home. The usual acceptable cost for renovations should range from twenty to thirty percent of the total value of your house, anything beyond this may be considered impractical. Doing this may require you to solicit the help of a real estate appraiser who can determine the market value of your home.

Reviewing bids

Once you have decided to renovate your home, you must then be able to review the bids and quotations that potential contractors and builders submit. The bids that are submitted to you should include the cost of construction materials, the cost of construction labor, permit fees, decorating the remodeled part, the cost of repairs due to remodeling and cleaning up after remodeling. It is important the contractors and builders submit accurate and specific figures on all costs so that you can consider all aspects of the cost.

Remodeling your home will involve various costs. Before deciding to renovate you must first decide if it would be practical to renovate your home or to just buy a new home. If you do decide to renovate, you must then be prepared to go over the bids that are submitted to you by contractors and decide which one best fits your budget and your needs.

Remodeling a house nowadays has taken much attention already. It is probably because people realize that such house remodeling is an investment—there’s a high potential return and a good improvement in the quality of life. So, what does it take to get and have the best house remodeling then? It basically boils down to quality and cost — that you paid a very good price for a very good material. After this, comes the other things that need to be noted.

Of course, in house remodeling, not only will you have to consider the cost, the material, and the design, but also, there’s the factor of time and effort. Homeowners should estimate the approximate time frame or period that such reconstruction will need and take. Definitely, you can’t start reconstructing the kitchen or the dining room, if you expect to celebrate a big birthday party in the house in a week’s time. Just like in budgeting your funds, you must learn how to budget your time, that it shouldn’t sacrifice the work quality of the reconstruction.

There are also major things—dos and don’ts, that one has to think and note. These are: the material or product — cost, quality, health and environmental effects, maintenance, etc.; the workforce — functions, craftsmanship, skills, etc.; the location — neighborhood, property demand,, etc.; the electrical and mechanical — the wirings, fuses, etc.; and the layout or design of the whole renovation. One should know the ins-and-outs first, before one embarks on this task. This may look and sound easy, but truly it’s not. You may pay someone to oversee everything but if you’re not in the know, you may not be satisfied in the end.

Another major point is that one must always think that because this is an investment, he should recoup the expenditures spent on the remodeling. It doesn’t really mean that one should sell the house, but this is just to ensure that the house remodeling is within the context and parameters, meaning—it’s not overdone. Why should one expand his house into a 10-bedroom place, when he’s in a 2-bedroom house neighborhood? People may look up to its magnificence, but it will not be saleable, because the property demand in that area may only be 40% of the price that you may demand for your house.

House remodeling is actually fun and exciting, if the homeowners themselves really plan and talk it over. It’s not just a matter of adding one room because there’s a new baby or remodeling a room because the baby is now a teen, etc., but it’s always more than that, homeowners may have different reasons, but they should always think that there is satisfaction and contentment after. There should be value after all the costs, that’s how homeowners should regard house remodeling.

Buying a home is a wonderful experience. The sky itself seems like it’s yours when it’s framed by your own living room window. But, depending on your tastes and the area of the country that you live in, you may find that your perfect home costs more than you expected. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for in your price range.

Buying a fixer-upper is a good way to get more house for your money. A property that doesn’t ‘show well’ will command a lower price than a model home. Even in a tight real estate market, the careful buyer can find bargains. If you’re willing to put your own time and effort into the house, you’ll be rewarded for years with a home that perfectly matches your tastes. It won’t be easy and you can expect plenty of frustration along the way, but you’ll build ‘sweat equity’ and a sense of great satisfaction with every project.

Once you’ve found a home that you’re interested in, getting a professional inspection is probably the most important preliminary step you can take. A good inspector will recognize potential problems with major systems such as plumbing, electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning). He or she should also spot any trouble with the foundation, insects, the roof, and other structural elements. (If work needs to be done in any of these areas, it’s best left to professionals.) These inspections aren’t free, but they’re worth every penny. (See Selecting a Home Inspector sidebar.)

Where to Begin

Resist the temptation to jump in as soon as you move into your new home. It’s a good idea to live in the house for at least 3 months before you begin any major projects. You’ll get a feel for the place and ideas about improving it. You may find that adding a doorway to a certain wall would make the rooms more accessible. Or a particular kitchen counter takes up too much space to be useful. Make a list of projects as they occur to you and keep a scrapbook with clippings of magazine articles that describe similar projects.

You should also take this time to get familiar with basic home improvement techniques. Many trade schools and colleges offer adult education home-repair classes. Build a library of how-to manuals and read as much as you can. Talk to friends and family who have tackled projects of their own. If you have Internet access, you will find a vast array of information there. The more you learn before you begin, the better prepared you’ll be to tackle the jobs ahead.

Living in the house for a while also gives you time to adjust to your new mortgage payment. Budgeting enough money to finance a project can be tricky and it helps if you know how much disposable income you have every month. Unless you can draw from a large pool of cash, you must carefully plan your project’s expenditures. Having to stop work because you’ve run out of money is disheartening and breaks your momentum.

Before you lift a hammer, set short and long-term goals. Decide what you’d like to have done in 3-5 years and what you can reasonably expect to finish in one year. Sort your list of projects by order of importance and choose which you will tackle first. (Don’t plan on more than 2 or 3 big undertakings in a given year.)

At first, it can be difficult to estimate how much time to allocate for a particular project. You should factor in how much help you’ll have, the amount of expertise either you or someone you know will lend, the extent of the work to be performed, and how many hours each week you can realistically commit to the project. Make your best guess at the length of the job - and then double it. Without fail, you will run into obstacles that you hadn’t planned on.

Don’t underestimate the importance of good prep work. Allow time for stripping wallpaper, patching holes, priming painted surfaces, and performing any of the mundane tasks that go along with remodeling. Pay close attention to the details in your home improvement manual in this regard. The groundwork that you perform up-front will pay big dividends as the work progresses.

Once you’ve begun a project, set a completion date and try to meet it. Stay focused and don’t get sidetracked. It’s not unusual, as you work on one project, to uncover other jobs that need to be done. Unless there’s a compelling reason to attack one of these, add them to your list and concentrate on the task at hand. You won’t become overwhelmed if you manage the job and keep it from expanding.

The debris from some remodeling projects tends to expand to fill all available space. To keep your house from becoming unlivable, try to limit the scope of the project to a single room. Hang tarp in the doorways to seal off the workspace and don’t let tools and supplies overflow into the rest of the house. Remember that the longer the job takes, the longer you will have to do without the comfort of that portion of your home. (Especially troublesome when you’re working on a bathroom.)

Getting Help

Your local home-center or hardware store can be a great source of information, tools and materials. Their people are trained to help you plan your projects and solve problems along the way. Once you’ve decided on a job, talk to their experts and let them know how you plan to attack it. Chances are, they can give you pointers and help you avoid problems that you might otherwise encounter. It’s also a good idea to open a charge account at one or two of these places. A credit card offers a convenient method of paying for supplies and tools, and makes it easy to track the expenses for a given project.

Finally, know when to call in a professional. While you should be able to do most jobs yourself, some projects may simply be too big or unmanageable. Consider using a contractor for projects that:

 

• Require expensive materials. Laying vinyl flooring, for instance, requires exact planning and cutting of the material. If you make a mistake, it could cost you more than a contractor would have in the first place.
• Entail major systems. Certain work requires the know-how and ability that can only come from years of experience. Unless you have expertise in a given area, don’t try to tackle any of the home’s major systems (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.)
• Must adhere to code specifications. Make sure you comply with local building codes which dictate what type of work must be performed by licensed professionals. Also, if your home is in an historic district, you must follow strict guidelines and get approval for virtually any project.
• Get out of hand. If you begin a project that turns out to be more than you bargained for, don’t hesitate to call in a contractor for help. You’re better off getting the job done than living with ever-present unfinished construction rubble.

Remodeling work is challenging, but immensely rewarding. Any project can seem intimidating at first, but with careful preparation and planning, you should be able to make vast improvements to all but the worst of homes. Hopefully, you won’t rule out that fixer-upper when shopping for your dream house. 

Remodeling a house is an exciting but taxing activity. There are so many things that need to be considered. There’s the house remodeling ideas and designs, renovation costs, time and effort, etc. But what is important, is that the homeowners should be satisfied of the result. As many have already believed and agreed, remodeling a house is an investment, probably one of the biggest and most important investment a person or family can have. It may be that the house will be sold in the future, or most often than not, this is where the majority of the person’s life is spent. And it wouldn’t be particularly nice if one spends the rest of his life on a house, which he doesn’t like or enjoy; or if the person decides to move or relocate, and would need to sell the house, it should be presentable and saleable enough as well. This is where the house remodeling ideas, architecture, and design come into place, as this is usually the first thing or aspect that one will look at upon entering the house or even visualizing a house.

There are so many magazines, agents, and help that one can get to assist him in the brainstorming of some house remodeling ideas. There are websites on home improvement, talented designers and architects, books and magazines on house restructuring, and most importantly, the homeowners themselves have their own likes and requirements.

One must also take into account, that not all of the reconstruction adds value to the house; different rooms, or projects or even small house remodeling ideas may matter—it may be a well-spent dollar or it may just be an additional expense.

House remodeling ideas may vary, depending on the homeowner’s family, house structure, neighborhood, and community. As long as they know how and what it takes to do it — what to expect in the remodeling process, like before, during, and after the reconstruction, then, they’ll appreciate and value the remodeling of the house. House remodeling ideas may come as an inspiration from an event or a seen structure, or it may come as a need because the homeowner’s family structure has changed, or it may come as an adaptation of the new houses in the neighborhood. As long as those house remodeling ideas will benefit and satisfy the homeowners, then that’s a spark of brilliance.

These house remodeling ideas are flooding the homeowners today, but not all of these designs and concepts are applicable, practical, or good for everybody’s house, as long as one knows how to scrutinize and analyze them, then it won’t go wrong. These thousands of designs are just there as a selection for people to choose which is best and most appropriate for their respective houses.

Your house is the most important investment that you will make during your lifetime. Not only is this the place that you will live and spend most of your time, but it can also turn into a huge profit opportunity. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard was to look for a mediocre house in a great neighborhood. If you can find this scenario you are almost always assured to make money on your housing investment. However you will not be able to make much money, unless you do some remodeling of your house. Remodeling a mediocre house in a great neighborhood will always bring a nice profit if done correctly. Remodeling might seem like a daunting task, but there are some things that you can do to make the job easier.

Remodel before moving in – Not everyone has the opportunity of doing their remodeling before they move in, but it will definitely make life a lot easier if you can do some or all of your remodeling before moving in. Remodeling is a very stressful proposition which can be made much less stressful if you are not leaving in your house while you are remodeling.

Stay within your means – Make sure that you do not go overboard on your remodeling efforts, because it will not be worth it if you can not make your house payment after you finish remodeling.

Pace yourself – Try to do a little remodeling at a time. Remodeling your house a small amount at a time will be less stressful, and it will also help you budget for the costs relating to the remodel.

Do it yourself – Perform as many of the remodeling operations that you can on your own. This will be a lot less expensive, plus it will mean more to you since you performed all of the work yourself.

Landscaping is important – Many people are only concerned about how the inside of their house looks, but do not forget about the landscaping. Every dollar spent on landscaping usually adds a dollar to the value of your house.

The most popular alternatives for whole house or supplemental heating are corn and wood pellet fueled stoves. These appliances are easy to operate and the initial capital outlay is significantly less than solar, wind or geothermal systems.

A vital question to ask before you start evaluating the merits of pellet vs corn stoves should be: “Which fuel, corn or wood pellets, is the most readily available in my locale and therefore the cheapest to burn?”

For instance, in Massachusetts corn for fuel is virtually non-existent. The closest Agway store I contacted (3/2/06) had only eleven, 50 pound bags in stock at a price of $9 each or $360 a ton. Over the course of a New England heating season, a stove will consume 3 tons of fuel. If you compare this to $260 a ton for wood pellets from a well stocked Connecticut supplier, the wood pellet stove becomes your only choice.

Likewise, if you lived in Iowa, why would you buy a wood pellet stove?

In some regions of the country like Wisconsin and Minnesota there is an abundance of wood pellets and corn. According to the dealers I’ve surveyed, wood pellet stoves outsell corn stoves 2 to 1.

Wood pellet and corn stoves have much in common. They are comparably priced at around $2000 for a unit large enough to heat 1200 -1500 square feet, and share an efficiency rating of approximately 80%.

Please note: Since most house layouts do not allow the free movement of air through the house, a centrally located stove will not heat the whole house. If this is the case, size the stove to heat the room where the stove is located.

Both types of stoves require electricity to run fans, controls, and the auger that feeds corn or wood pellets into the stove’s firebox. Under normal usage, they consume about 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or about $9 worth of electricity per month. Unless the stove has a back-up power supply, the loss of electric power results in no heat and possibly some smoke in the house.

In addition to weekly ash disposal, both corn fuel and wood pellet stoves need to be cleaned and inspected annually.

The storage of corn, as opposed to wood pellets, can be problematic. Owners of corn burning systems who store corn inside their homes need to use tight storage containers, clean up corn spills immediately, and avoid storing corn for long periods of time to prevent problems with rodents and stored grain insects.

A third option to consider is the multi-fuel stove. Typically they are advertised as corn stoves that also burn wood pellets or vice versa.

The #1 stove with consumers that burns corn as well as wood pellets, is the Dansons Group Cheap Charlie Model HCCC2GD corn burning stove.

I recently updated my fuel cost comparison chart and the results were surprising. As of 3/20/06 it was actually cheaper in Metro Boston to heat with natural gas than with wood pellets!

During these times of fuel price volatility, it’s important to keep a close eye on the relationship between fuel prices. Any homeowner who uses a wood pellet stove to supplement a gas furnace could be losing money by continuing to burn wood pellets when the price of gas is falling.

If you can use a calculator, you’re only minutes away from figuring out which fuel is the cheapest to burn at any given time.

When you compare fuel heating costs make sure it’s apples to apples. The standard quantity used for comparing residential fuel costs is 1,000,000 BTUs of fuel heat content.

Cost To Burn Wood Pellets

Since a wood pellet stove needs only 125 lbs (1/16 of a ton) of pellets to generate 1,000,000 BTUs, divide the cost per ton by 16. At $198 a ton for wood pellets it costs $12.38 to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

Cost To Burn Natural Gas

The price per therm (look at your gas bill) of natural gas in Boston is $1.1813. When you multiply that by 10.30 (10.30 cubic feet) it costs $12.17 to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

It’s easy to see that natural gas heat now costs about $0.21 less per 1,000,000 BTUs than wood pellets.

Here are the quick fuel cost comparison formulas for wood pellets and natural gas:

Price per ton of wood pellets divided by 16 = Cost to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

Price per therm of natural gas x 10.30 = Cost to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

The quick formulas are useful only for comparing natural gas to wood pellets since their fuel efficiencies are similar.

If you are comparing fuels with different efficiencies, all you have to do is find the coefficient of the fuel efficiency percentage rating. Please don’t run screaming out the door because I said coefficient. Just divide 1 by the percentage’s decimal equivalent to obtain the coefficient.

For example: The fuel efficiency rating for natural gas and wood pellets is 85%. If you divide 1 by .85 you get a coefficient of 1.18. Now plug this into the quick formula to obtain the effective, or true cost, of the fuel you are burning.

Wood Pellets: $198 divided by 16 x 1.18 = $14.60

Natural Gas: $1.1813 x 10.30 x 1.18 = $14.36

By expanding the quick formula to include the effective cost calculation, the spread between the two fuels has now widened to $0.24.

Assuming fuel prices don’t go crazy, you could save as much as $75 during the remainder of this heating season by switching from wood pellets back to natural gas.

When prices do change, you have armed yourself with two simple, yet powerful tools to help you quickly and confidently determine when one fuel is more cost effective than the other.

Here are the formulas to help you determine the true cost to produce 1mil BTUs of heat content for six more fuels:

Electricity: Price per kilowatt hour x 293 x 1 =

Corn Pellets: Price per ton divided by 16 x 1.18 =

Fuel Oil: Price per gallon x 7.1 x 1.25 =

LP Gas: Price per gallon x 11 x 1.25 =

Wood: Price per cord x .0607 x 1.67 =

Kerosene: Price per gallon x 7.41 x 1.25 =

The first step to buying a pellet stove online is to research which corn, wood or wood pellet stove is appropriate for your home heating needs. Take into account the size of your home, its floor plan (is it open or divided?) and the existing heating system.

A rule of thumb for sizing a wood or pellet stove is 30 Btus per square foot. So a 350 square foot room would require a 10,000 Btu stove. (350×30=10,500)

Now go online and type in “buy wood pellet stove” or “buy corn stove”.

You’ll get 344,000 pages of results from Google. You only need 2 pages worth. Basically there are only three online sellers of corn and wood pellet stoves: Homeclick, MoreHome and NorthernTool.

Check out the over all reputation of the online store you’re considering for your purchase. I like BizRate shopping search for this.

Once you’ve decided which stove to buy, and from whom, there are a few more factors to consider:

Discounts and Credit Sales
10% discounts are frequently available to online wood or pellet stove buyers. Most online stores offer free shipping, zero down and/or extended payments. Some will offer all of the above.

Sales tax
With the exception of a few states, buying online will save you sales tax of 5% or more. For the most part, only online stores with a physical presence in the state where you reside, like Wally Mart, are obligated to collect sales tax.

Delivery
Many stoves bought online include free shipping. However; due to its weight, your stove will be delivered by truck. Don’t count on the truck driver for any help offloading. So unless you have forklift in your garage, you’ll have to recruit some help.

Hopefully, the trucking company will be able to accommodate your schedule. Also, online stove retailers will not deliver to a Post Office box or APO address.

Installation
Don’t bother ordering vent pipes, elbows, etc. from the online store where you purchased your stove. Let your installer order the parts that conform to local building codes. Estimated installation costs will run $400 - $700+. If you don’t know an approved installer, companies such as Service Magic can help you locate one in your area.

Support
Online support can be trying at times. No matter how knowledgeable the person on the other end of your emails is, the information you get is only as good as the information you give.

Substantial savings can be had by buying a wood pellet or corn stove online. It also requires substantial planning, preparation and patience.

Wood stoves are still the rage despite the recent boom in sales of wood pellet and corn stoves.

Wood stoves have a fuel efficiency rating of 63%. This is 20% less efficient than wood pellet or corn stoves. However, catalytic wood stoves have advertised efficiencies of 70%-80%. The catalytic in a catalytic stove is the honeycomb shaped, palladium coated, catalytic combustor. Here’s how it works:

Gases given off by the wood will burn if the fire is 1,000 degrees F or higher. If the fire is turned down and the gases inside the firebox are less than 1,000 degrees F, they won’t burn. However, when the gases pass through a catalytic combustor, the palladium metal acts as a catalyst and causes the gases to burn at temperatures as low as 500 degrees F. This allows the stove to produce long lasting, even heat while extending the burn time of each load of wood.

Catalytic wood stoves are also known as EPA certified wood stoves because they comply with the particulate emission limit of 4.1 grams per hour initiated by the EPA in 1988.

If you have an older wood-burning appliance, consider upgrading to one of the newer catalytic wood burning stoves certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).High-efficiency appliances not only have lower emissions but they are also often safer, since complete combustion helps to prevent a buildup of flammable chimney deposits called creosote.

If you want to retrofit an existing non-catalytic wood-burning appliance with a catalytic combustor, you can buy a catalytic damper. These are available as kits and are usually installed in the flue collar. To monitor the stove temperature after adding a catalytic combustor, you should also install at least one heat sensor on the stove body or stove pipe.

Several manufacturers sell retrofit kits, and they may be available from wood stove retailers. They are not appropriate for all types of stoves. Again, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s installation and operating instructions.

A quality wood stove can be purchased for as little as $300. Compare this to $850 for a catalytic stove, or $2000 for a wood pellet stove.

Choosing the correct size wood stove for your home is important, and easy to figure out. By multiplying the number of square feet you want to heat by 35 BTU, you will get the approximate BTU size stove to fit your needs. For instance, a 1,000 square foot home would require a 35,000 BTU stove.

Proper venting is critical to reducing pollution and maintaining high efficiency. Before having your stove installed, be sure to check with local authorities regarding building codes and permits, and notify your fire insurance company.

Additionally, consult a certified installer about the need for a flue liner in your masonry chimney. This liner can help maintain proper draft and prevent icing, which can block your chimney. Use the manufacturer’s recommended flue diameter. An improperly sized flue won’t provide the draft needed to operate the stove.

If you live near a source of cheap, or free firewood, there’s no more cost effective or popular heating appliance than the wood burning stove.