These days, more and more homeowners are choosing to renovate their homes. In part, they’re doing it as an investment, to add value to their property, but they’re also doing it to add comfort and convenience for themselves and their families.

If you are thinking about remodeling for the same reason, you may be wondering what renovations will add the most to your home in value and sheer pleasure. And of course, for most homeowners, cost is a concern, so you may have to pick and choose. What is going to give you the most bang for your buck? What is going to attract potential home buyers when the time comes to sell your home?

Let’s look at a few of the top renovations people are adding that won’t necessarily break the bank but will add value to your home and your everyday living:

1. Radiant Floor Heating

For bedrooms and living areas, carpets are out and hardwood floors are in. In bathrooms, old tiles from decades past are being ripped out and replaced with beautiful materials like slate and laminates made to look like expensive stones or hardwoods. Those kinds of surfaces tend to be cold, though, so more and more homeowners are installing radiant floor heating along with their new floors. Not only does it make the floor a pleasure to walk on with bare feet, radiant heating is more efficient than forced air heat, so it can save you money in the long run.

2. Luxury Showers

Big, jetted bathtubs are out; luxury showers are in. This is because homeowners are realizing they don’t take baths nearly as often as they take showers. Why not have a bit of luxury every day? People are expanding their shower cubicles and turning them into steam rooms as well as adding multiple massaging showerheads to work out their aches and pains.

3. Central Vacuum Systems

Guys, if you’re trying to sell your wives on a home remodel, this may be the addition that does it (and I’m sure there are men out there who can appreciate a system that makes cleaning easier too). Central vacuums replace portable vacuum cleaners. You install inlets around the house at convenient locations and just move the central vacuum hose from inlet to inlet. In the kitchen, you can add an automatic dustpan and simply sweep debris into a wall vent. All the dirt is sucked into the innards of the house and collected in a bin in the garage (or wherever you choose). The convenience of these systems has appeal; central vacuums can add $2,000 or more to the value of your home.

4. Home Theater

If your family enjoys watching television and movies, a projection system with comfy home theater seating replete with cup holders can give you a fun place to relax. Buyers are starting to look for home theaters when they shop for homes too. Basements are popular places to add these rooms, but if you don’t have one, you can get a projector for the living room that disappears into the ceiling when not in use.

5. Gas Fireplace

While most people like the idea of a crackling wood fire in the hearth, few of us actually bother to light one on a regular basis. Who enjoys going through the hassle of buying and dragging in wood, then starting a fire that has to be monitored until the last embers burn out? Any gas fireplace owner will tell you what a convenient luxury it is. Simply flip the switch and you get instant heat as well as the ambiance of a fire. If you live in a warm climate, where the weather is nice most of the year, try an outdoor gas fire pit–it will give your guests a cozy place to gather when you entertain outdoors.

TC Thorn is the author of many articles on home improvement, and you can find out about new trends and products by visiting Home Improvement Ideas.

I?ll admit it, I have floor envy. I was over at my sister?s house the other day, and she just had new floors installed. Her kids, much like my own, had destroyed her carpet. Now that they are over the ?spilling everything on floor? stage, she took the plunge and installed brand new bamboo flooring. I?m practically sick with envy.

My carpet is well vacuumed, but looks pretty miserable. Life with a toddler and dog can be hard on something as absorbent as carpet, and the worn walking trails don?t help. My child is definitely not out of the spilling stage. I can?t help but imagine my house with bamboo flooring now, too. Believe me, it is daydream I?m ready to actually invest in.

I?ve taken my musing so far as to actually visit a flooring store and see what options are available. As it turns out, there are many. Bamboo flooring comes in a huge number of shades and patterns with grains running both horizontally and vertically. The selection is enormous, and so very tempting for dreamers like myself.

Armed with little other than a fancy, I made further inquires. It seems bamboo flooring is not only beautiful with vast selections, but also incredibly durable and affordable. Bamboo is also a waste product of clearing farmlands for planting in Asia, so its use in flooring is considered very eco-friendly, or ‘green’. In fact, there doesn?t seem to be very much working against the bamboo flooring, at least according to the salesman.

Of course, being the resourceful consumer that I am, I didn?t take anything he said at face value. I, like any other red-blooded skeptic, rushed home to fact check everything online. As it turns out, it is all true. Bamboo is a cane that replenishes quickly, thus no harm is done to the natural world while creating the flooring. It is also incredibly resistant to wear and tear. Finally, the salesman is right, it is extremely affordable.

This is all well and good, but I still have a dog and toddler to consider. How will bamboo stand up to the ultimate test ? the leaky sippy cup? As I continued my research I learned that the sealant applied to bamboo flooring is water resistant, and so long as I follow my child with a paper towel, my bamboo flooring wouldn?t warp from drips, spills, and the occasional muddy feet.

So if bamboo flooring is affordable, beautiful, environmentally friendly and resilient, why did my sister wait so long to install it? For that matter, why did I? This is a problem that just had to be solved. Hey, I gotta go, my new bamboo floor has just arrived!

You too can go ‘green’. Visit http://www.bambooflooring.biz to discover the stunning bamboo flooring options available to you.

I hate to say it, but not all contractors are honest.

We?re not all crooks. But there are people out there who will overcharge you and give you garbage. Others aren?t dishonest, just incompetent?they couldn?t build a birdhouse if you put a gun to their head, let alone a bathroom.

Wouldn?t it be great if all dishonest, incompetent contractors were terrible at selling themselves? That way, when you talked to them over the phone or had them present their project idea in your home, you could separate the good from the bad right away.

Yeah, and I?d like to win the lottery while we?re dreaming. Let?s talk practicalities.

Here are 4 of the 8 signs in my book ?Home Contractor Secrets?Revealed? that will warn you away from a crooked contractor. If you see any?or all?of these signs, you have trouble on your hands. Cut the interview short and walk away.

1)The contractor makes a cold-call to your house. A ?cold call? means he calls you out of the blue. He doesn?t know anyone you know, and no one recommended him.

If a contractor is making cold calls, it?s because none of his other clients will recommend him or give him referrals. Do not work with this kind of contractor.

There are a few exceptions to this?some good contractors are aggressive in trying to grow their businesses, but they?re rare. One situation that I can think of is if your neighbors are remodeling their home?a worker might come by and give you a flyer. In this situation you can go see the remodel for yourself. You can ask your neighbor about the quality of the work. In this situation the worker isn?t trying to sell you anything. If you like what you see, you can give the company a call.

2)The contractor tries to pressure you into making an immediate decision. An honest contractor knows you need time to think it over. Crooked contractors will tell you that their price is a discount that is good ?only if you accept it by the end of the day.?

They are trying to stop you from getting any other bids. 90% of the time, their ?discount price? is more expensive than everyone else?s regular quote. Run, do not walk, away from these ?deals.?

3)The contractor offers discounts or finder?s fees for finding other customers. Good contractors rely on referrals and word of mouth to get their business. Good contractors don?t have to bribe you to make you work with them.

4)The contractor wants you to get all the building permits. This could be a sign that the contractor is not licensed and is trying to avoid getting caught. This is not always the case, but be aware.

If remodeling is a war, then scam artists are the vultures that circle the battlefield looking for easy prey. A scam artist doesn?t want to work. He wants money for nothing. But a scam artist can?t fool you if you do your homework. If you want more information on how spot a crooked contractor before you give him any money?and learn other ways to save thousands of dollars on your remodeling project, go to www.HomeContractorSecrets.com.

20 year third generation builder and remodeler helps families save money and prosper.

When one thinks of the many factors that affect the look of a room, most people think only of the paint and furniture. In doing so, they overlook the most important factor: Lighting.

Without the proper interior lighting, most rooms will lose any ambience that the owner intended. For example, a room with too bright lights might make the room look harsh. A room with too dark lights might make a room appear gloomy.

Many new homeowner have been disappointed when their carefully contrived plans for a room just doesn?t seem to have the right touch. More often then not, improper lighting is the cause.

How to correctly use lighting in your home.

The placement of interior lighting is very important. Even though a lamp might look good in a certain corner of a room, be sure to check that it will provide enough light for the whole room. Likewise, be sure to place lights in places where they will not cause glare on a computer monitor or television screen.

It is usually better to have many small light sources rather than one large one. If a room still appears too dark, check to make sure that all the lighting sources all have the correct voltage. If one gives a room proper lighting, not only will the room look great, it will also give the room just the right touch.

About The Author

Mike Yeager, Publisher

http://www.a1-lighting-4u.com/

mjy610@hotmail.com

Everyone has a home project haunting them from their past. The objective was to upgrade their existing home, but it just didn?t turn out the way they originally envisioned. When this happens, what do you do now? I always smile and say ?Punt!? In the real world we can?t punt, but we do have choices. One solution is to make it a work of modern art or the more common decision is to fix the problem and finish as planned.

Let?s assume you have all the correct tools and are skilled on how to use them. If you are having problems using your tools, you might want to find a contractor to fix your project. So what was the original problem that caused your project to fail? I can answer that in a few short words for a large majority of failed projects, lack of correct pre-planning. The really comical thought is that to discover the problem on your failed project is the same process as doing a proper pre-plan.

The purpose of this article is to explain a concept so we will use an extremely simple problem, however the process will work on all types and sizes of projects. You just installed a new sink in your master bathroom. The color and texture and size are all correct but for some reason it just doesn?t line up with the existing countertop and wobbles from end to end. Along the way you must have forgotten a step or took a shortcut to have caused this. The way to fix this problem is obviously to pull the sink out and figure out how to install it correctly. Before you do this, do a work breakdown structure (WBS). This is a common pre-plan task all good managers working on high dollar projects use. This is a practice that also applies to home projects and is a useful way to find your fix. A WBS is exactly as it states, your work broken down and itemized creating a structure and path to follow.

Start at the top of your paper pad and state your objective. In our example we will use ?Install a new sink.? Then we divide that objective into deliverables. In the sink example I write; purchase the sink, remove the old sink, prepare countertop, and prepare plumbing. Next we have to further divide these again into assignments. Assignments are action items or tasks. The following is how I would write this using our example of the new sink.

Install The New Sink

• Lay the sink in the cutout
• Anchor the sink
• Hook up plumbing

Purchase the sink

• Gather existing sink dimensions
• Window shop stores for new sinks
• Decide on new sink that fits dimensions
• Shop for best price
• Purchase sink

Remove Old Sink

• Turn off the water source
• Unhook all plumbing
• Release sink anchors attached to countertop
• Remove sink

Prepare Countertop

• Make sure the countertop will support the new sink
• If necessary install additional support
• Make sure cutout will accept new sink
• Adjust cutout if necessary
• Make a clean surface on which to rest the new sink on

Prepare Plumbing

• Measure the sink drain and faucet connections
• Record existing plumbing dimensions
• Prepare plumbing to accept new sink connections
• Proper length of pipe
• Have Teflon tape available for plumbing re-install

Now we have our tasks. Reading through our example, I see that I did not measure the proper length of the plumbing drain pipe causing the sink to wobble and not fit securely. This is a very simple example but it illustrates the concept that a proper pre-plan and diagnosis will allow you to accomplish a correct fix instead of a fix that just hides the actual problem. Applying this concept to your more difficult projects around the house will help identify the possible problems and solutions before you even start.

If you find this information useful you should visit the site http://www.homedesignfloorplans.com where you will find lots of interesting articles related to this topic provided by Robert Kempe.

Robert Kempe has 15 years in industrial construction and industrial engineered manufacturing as a project manager and a part time home inspector. Through his experience he has been able to simplify and make sense of home building and designing in what looks to be a complete chaotic project and decision making process. His articles will guide you through the most difficult decisions and make it a positive uplifting experience.

Kitchens are one of the most popular rooms in the home and probably the number one room where remodeling can add tremendous value to your property. House flippers will focus a large portion of their budget on the kitchen as it is the biggest draw for house shoppers. What if your kitchen is in need of a face lift but you don?t have the major budget of a seasoned house flipper? You can benefit from a strong first impression by simply refacing your kitchen cabinets.

Essentially this requires a redo of the front faces of the cabinets and the hardware. This includes the doors, drawer fronts, cabinet handles and the cabinet body fronts.

One of the most common methods (and probably the cheapest) is to repaint all cabinet surfaces and doors. This doesn?t have to be a time consuming process, usually you can accomplish the entire job in 2 or 3 days. It does make a bit of a mess so it?s advised that you do all the door and drawer painting outside or in a well ventilated area of your home. For the cabinet body fronts you?ll paint them where they stand so put up plastic sheeting over the doorways to prevent excess paint and fumes from leaking into other rooms of your house.

The other most popular method is to simply replace all the doors, drawers and hardware while leaving the cabinet bodies in place and either painting or refinishing those. This method allows you the fun and freedom of shopping for new cabinet doors but also saving hundreds or thousands of dollars over the price of entirely new cabinets.

Cabinet refacing also allows you a lot of creative freedom. Crafty individuals will often cut out the middle section of cabinet doors and replace them with all sorts of materials including punched copper, shiny objects between panes of glass, or even dried food materials in colorful arrangements. Simply using glass insets will provide a more open space visually, but be sure you?re on the neat side as visitors will see the entire contents of your cabinets!

Before starting your cabinet refacing project check out various kitchen remodeling photos on the internet and in your local home improvement stores. They will have hundreds of great ideas to suit any budget. Most of all, have fun and enjoy the pick-me-up!

Visit DIY Home Remodeling to learn more about kitchen cabinet refacing and painting kitchen cabinets.

People purchase houses for many different reasons. Some people buy houses to improve on the property, and get a good return on investment from it. Other people buy property to sell on. For whatever reason they buy a house or property, they would like to see their home improvement value.

Estimating your home improvement value is fairly easy. Raising that value is just as easy if you know what to do, and how to do it. The basic rule of thumb is that the more money you put into your house, the more you can expect to get out of it. It doesn’t matter how big the house is, where it is located, or what condition it is in, there are always ways to increase your home improvement value.

It doesn’t have to be grueling work to increase your home improvement value. All that is needed is a little bit of planning, time, and money. To figure out where your house can improve you can sit down with a pen and a piece of paper. On one side of the piece of paper you can write what your house has, and then on the other side you can write down what your house doesn’t have. For example, on the ?house has? side of the paper, you can write: Two Bedrooms, One Bath, and Basement. You can fill in what your house doesn’t have, and what you would like your house to have in the ?house doesn’t have? side. Realistically, you will not be able to complete all of the things on your list.

In today’s society people expect a certain level of living. Some people won’t even consider looking at a house if it didn’t meet their standards. Things you can add that will increase your home improvement value are things like en suite bathrooms and extra bathrooms, or half baths. Making an en suite bathroom can be as simple as adding a door between the bathroom and the room. Just adding a door can increase your property value by a lot.

Adding another bathroom can be just as easy, and you don’t have to take a mortgage to get it done. If you have a cupboard or pantry that is big enough to hold a toilet and sink, then you can continue from there. This is just another simple way to increase your property value.

Adding an extra bed room, or garage can also increase your home value unbelievably. But if this all seems a little out of price range, a new coat of paint, new flooring, or new cabinets can also increase your home improvement value. If you stick to white with your bathrooms and kitchen it will keep things feeling fresh and bigger. Also, white is a contemporary color and will appeal to most buyers.

If you remember the basic rule that investing a small amount into your home now could increase your home improvement value by a considerable amount in the future, you are sure to do just fine. Keep things contemporary and fresh. Remember your dream home and try to achieve it as much as you can, and watch your home improvement value climb!

Home Improvement and Repair Information, Advice and Articles at http://homeimprovement.atmyhouse.net/

There are many rooms in the average home, but few provide the warmth and inviting spirit of the kitchen. The perfect kitchen can set the tone for the entire home, and remodeling the kitchen has proven itself to be one of the most valuable of all home improvement projects.

When planning for a kitchen remodeling job, it is important to take stock of the existing kitchen, determine what changes need to be made, and plan for the future.

The Cooking Appliances

The centerpieces of any kitchen, of course, are the many cooking appliances. It is important for the homeowner to take stock of what appliances he or she has, and which ones he or she wishes to add to the new kitchen.

For instance, take a look at where the microwave oven is. Is it conveniently located or would it be better off in another location? It may be a good idea to incorporate an under the counter or above the range design into the new kitchen.

It is also important to look at the existing oven and determine if it will be replaced. Do you want a new stainless steel convection oven or a double oven? Do you prefer the greater control of a gas cook top or the convenience of an electric stove?

The ventilation is important as well. It is important to ensure that there will be proper ventilation, both for removing cooking odors and smoke and to minimize the grease that can build up on the surfaces around the kitchen.

It is also important for the kitchen remodeler to pay attention to the little details as well as the big ones. For instance, is there enough room near the stove for all those cookbooks. It is important to provide enough shelf space for cooking utensils, cookbooks and other small items, and to incorporate those items into the design of the new kitchen.

It is also important, of course, to pay attention to the cabinets in the new kitchen. A kitchen remodeling job is a great time to take stock of the kitchen cabinets and to see where they can be improved. The kitchen cabinets are one of the most important, and most often used, features of any kitchen, and it is important that they be well made and easy to use.

Safety is another important consideration when designing a kitchen. It is important to include a fire extinguisher in the design, and to hang it in a convenient location that will be easy to reach in an emergency.

What about cleanup?

Any cook will tell you that cleanup is an important part of any kitchen design. After all, it is not enough for the next kitchen to be beautiful to look at when it is new. It is important that the new kitchen be easy to cleanup, and that it is easy to keep it looking new. It is a good idea to choose materials that are easy to clean, like tile and Formica, and to choose kitchen appliances that are easy to clean and designed to repel fingerprints and other common stains.

Brooke Sikula is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA and writes on a wide range of topics from home improvement to credit repair and everything in between. She is a regular contributor to http://www.get-home-improvement.com and http://www.home-remodeling4u.com

For more information and advice on home improvement projects, check out http://www.home-improvement4u.com

Marble is any limestone or dolomite that can take a high polish and still be usable. Marble is generally formed from limestone undergoing metamorphism. When exposed to extremes of pressure or heat limestone turns into calcite or dolomite crystals, which are the primary materials in marble.

Marble has a famous history. The ancient Greeks built their architecture, cities, and sculptures often from Pentelic and Parian Marbles, quarried in Greece. The romans later used marble in their buildings as well, quarrying in the Greek spots and finding roman marble quarries of their own. Marble is, in a lot of ways, what the classical and Hellenistic age was built from.

It is still used heavily today in construction, and can be quarried all over the world. The uses for this stone are almost endless. It?s used in flooring, counter tops, pillars, stair cases, colonnades, paneling, and facing stone in architectural structures. It can?t however be used outdoors, since water would corrode its crystalline structure. It is also very smooth and therefore tends to be slippery, which makes it unfavorable to use in high traffic areas.

Marble is one of the most beautiful stones, with a highly polished smooth face and a wide variety of colors. These various colors are due to impurities, such as iron or carbon, getting caught in the marbles structure during formation. They often appear in stripes which makes the marble, especially when cut, very beautiful.

It?s these properties that make marble suited to some of the more delicate arts. It can be crafted into beautiful home furnishings, and it has been the material used in many of the worlds most beautiful sculptures. It is one of the most beautiful, elegant, historically prevalent stones that can be used.

About The Author

Joey lewitin is an author and designer. His website http://pebblez.com is where he hosts his unique home decor items

info@pebblez.com

The main factor for the canvas for your awning, it’s to choose to do in PVC, because will be light and malleable.

Between their advantages we have the following ones:

• It’s resistant to the UV rays

• Allows any color

• They possess some protection coatings, as the following:

  • Not to allow the fire propagation

  • With blockade against UV rays (with great resistance against the effects of the ultraviolet rays that discolour along the time)

  • Fungicides (addictive that avoid the formation of mould and stains)

  • Non oxidizer, to avoid the appearance of iron stains

  • Addictive to avoid negative effects to the aesthetics and the brightness, that could damage the coating and to reduce the useful life of the canvas)

  • A varnish layer or lacquer in the coating (the varnish is not only designated for protection of the canvas from the UV rays, but also improves the self-cleaning characteristics; one of the used material for that is the Tedlar).

If you choose the canvas of your awning taking the above suggestions, certainly you will have an awning with excellent useful life, allowing the change of the canvas to be in a much larger period than the standard one.

To improve the useful life of the canvas of your awning, we suggested that the canvas cleaning to be in every 3 or 4 weeks and using a neutral detergent.

Those two decisions

• A good choice of the canvas type

• Cleaning of the awning at each 3 or 4 weeks

will give you a very larger useful life for your awning.

Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your website or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Carlos Mello is the Director of Arquitetoldos, an awnings manufacturing company. See the sites http://www.amx.com.br/toldos and http://toldos-toldo-coberturas-aluguel-dias-rio-de-janeiro-recreio.us.

awningstoldos@yahoo.com