Category Archives: remodeling

What your living room says about you

Posted on March 4, 2016 | Leave a comment

living room

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to read any “home beautiful” type books from the 1950s, you’ll notice they all share one thing in common: they’re obsessed with living rooms.

The living room, after all, is where you can install your modernist fireplace or sunken “conversation pit”, not to mention the perfect backdrop upon which to display your televisions and radiograms (gotta love that post-war glow of capitalism).

Whether or not the living room is still the most important room in the house is anyone’s guess, there’s still a lot you can tell about a person (or a household) by investigating this key living space. With that in mind, here’s our highly scientific guide to what your living room says about you.

Clean Lines, Neutral Colours

That low-backed lounge suite in cream nubuck leather? You bought it outright. That one incredibly stylish pendant light? The artist hand-delivered it to you. Someone once spilled a cup of Blend 43 on your carpet and you had them “taken care of”. You’re followed by a chorus of polite, slightly nervous laughter wherever you go.

Remodeling? Cost vs Value. Study reports biggest return

Posted on March 3, 2016 | 1 comment

Insulation Tops the List

The average 64.2% cost-recouped percentage for all 30 projects in all 100 markets hides vast variations between projects and between markets. This year’s highest return came from one of two newcomers to the report—an attic insulation project.

Make sure you have a qualified appraiser. Lenders randomly assign an appraiser to determine the appraised value of a home.
However, solar/energy efficient homes are not a typical home – it is a high performance building with unique features. Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac and FHA guidelines require appraisers to be competent in the property type they are appraising. Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com they are Appraisal Institute Certified Green Appraisers.

As insulation jobs go, this task is fairly simple: Blow loosefill fiberglass insulation into a 35×30 attic space until you get an R-30 insulation value. Our cost consultant concluded that such a project would cost an average of $1,268 nationwide. Real estate pros, meanwhile, estimated the project would increase a home’s retail value by an average of $1,482. That’s a $116.90 return for every $100 invested, making attic insulation the only project out of the 30 that averaged out nationally with greater than a 100% return. On a market-by-market basis, installing insulation more than paid for itself in 60 of the 100 markets.

Last year’s No. 2 bang-for-the-buck project, manufactured stone veneer, again came in second with a 92.9% return. It was followed by the midscale garage door replacement at 91.5%, a steel entry door replacement (last year’s No. 1) at 91.1%, and the upscale garage door replacement at 90.1%.

read more at: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2016/trends

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

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Posted in remodeling

Tagged bang for buck, cost to value, house remodel, remodeling

6 Questions to Ask Before You Add SQ. FT to your home

Posted on February 11, 2016 | Leave a comment

1.Should you build an extension or move to a bigger house?

“People tend to go for extensions because they like where they live, they like the neighbours, the kids have grown up in the area and selling and moving has its own costs with stamp duties, buying and selling and relocation costs,” Robert Drechsel, director of Sherbrooke Design and Construction in Melbourne, says. “You can spend $150,000 before you even get something. That’s a good foot in the door to getting what you want in an extension,” Drechsel adds.

2. What is your budget? Continue reading →