Green Real Estate Appraiser

Dream bathroom features that won’t break the bank

Posted on June 3, 2016 | Leave a comment

With $20,000 in your budget, you can easily turn a run-of-the-mill bathroom into the stellar space you’ve always dreamed it could be. By adding a key feature – from a sunken bath to a floor-to-ceiling glass wall – your bathroom can become your home’s most popular room.

Will a remodeled bath add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value questions.

Some features and fittings in the collection of ideas listed below, like the encaustic tiles and marble floors, are easily accessible but are of a high quality. Others are features that have been created structurally, and therefore need to be considered at the start of your new build or renovation process. Pick up on one structural idea as the focal point of your bathroom, or select two or three other options, so your design ideas will still fit into your $20,000 bathroom budget

WALLS

Tiles
Let your tiles do the talking in your bathroom, but in an understated and elegant fashion. Encaustic cement tiles, where the pattern is made with the use of different coloured cements rather than a glaze, are perfect for a sophisticated look that will display an appreciation for craftsmanship. With the matt finish and slight imperfections of each handmade tile, a feature wall like this becomes an individual work of art. This can be the focal point of the bathroom, with your other surfaces remaining neutral and uncluttered for an exotic yet elegant space.

DESIGN TIP: Give your bathroom the Marrakesh touch with a range of designs in the same colour, or a range of colours with the same design to create an eclectic and stylish look that is still cohesive.

COST: Expect to pay between $165 and $240 per square metre for a range of vintage, Tuscan, Spanish or Moroccan-inspired designs.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

A new way to light and save electricity

Posted on June 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

It’s taken nine years of work, but it turns out it can be done. Scientist Jose Carlos Rubio, of Mexico’s University of San Nicolas de Hidalgo, has just patented his glow-in-the-dark cement.

And what are its applications, other than looking very cool? Dr Rubio believes it could be a new way to light cities, streets and buildings without using electricity: the only thing emitted during its production is water vapour.

It was a long process. Part of the challenge was cement’s opacity: the trick, he discovered, was to remove the crystal flakes that occur as a byproduct in one production method, which is done by changing the microstructure of the cement.

Home Insurance Deductibles – New Twists

Posted on May 31, 2016 | Leave a comment

The definition of deductible used to be simple: It was the dollar amount, stated in your homeowners insurance policy, that you would pay to repair property damage before your insurance coverage would start to kick in.

Do you know the value of your home? Do you have enough insurance? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value questions.

In other words, if you had a $1,000 deductible and a fire caused $5,000 worth of damage to your kitchen, you’d pay the first $1,000 to fix it, and your insurance company would pay the remaining $4,000.

But insurers recently have started offering different types of deductibles as a way to keep premiums lower. So an element of homeowners insurance that was relatively straightforward has grown increasingly complicated.

How are deductibles changing?

Three major trends affect deductibles right now. They are:

Higher deductibles. The amount for “flat dollar-value” deductibles has been creeping up in the past few years; where a $250 amount used to be relatively common, many insurance companies now encourage their customers to take on $1,000 or more worth of risk. In fact, some insurers don’t even offer the lower deductibles anymore. They aren’t the only ones driving this trend: During the recession of 2007–2009 and the subsequent recovery period, many homeowners chose higher deductibles to keep their monthly insurance payments down. Those people often found they were comfortable with the higher risk and kept the higher deductible even after their financial situation improved.

Split deductibles. Insurance companies offer this type of deductible for people who want to take on higher risk for certain types of damage and maintain a lower risk level for others. For example, in some regions of the country, insurers will allow you to have one deductible for wind and hail damage, and another for everything else.

Percentage deductibles. Rather than being set at a flat dollar value, the deductible is stated as a percentage, typically 1 or 2 percent of your “dwelling coverage,” or the amount your policy states you’d need to completely rebuild your house (not including replacing the contents). In other words, if your dwelling coverage is $300,000 and your deductible is 1 percent, you’d pay the first $3,000 of any repair. Percentage deductibles are often higher than flat dollar-value deductibles, but they also typically come with a lower premium.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Dream bathroom features that won’t break the bank

A new way to light and save electricity

Home Insurance Deductibles – New Twists

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