Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction
Home Improvement Ideas

Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction

- by Christian Harris

As a real estate professional, I can remember the time when at the top of a homeowner’s wish list were things like a master bedroom suite or a gourmet kitchen, but times have changed, and so has the buyers wish list.

While buyers still have these wonderful amenities on the list, they are asking for energy-saving options as their must have items on their list.

Here is a list of options that are affordable and provide immediate savings. Some of these items are: 2×6 walls, house wrap, energy-efficient windows and energy-efficient appliances.

Construction:

Make sure the walls of the home are framed with 2×6 lumber. Using 2×6 lumber for framing allows extra room for more insulation, which will keep the home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

House wrap:

It is installed right after framing, and it literally “wraps” the entire house to create a thermal barrier that keeps the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The wrap also acts as a vapor barrier between exterior materials and the framing lumber.

Windows:

More home buyers today love windows, as they bring in more natural light, open up rooms and provide a connection to the outside. But there is thermal transfer with windows. A quality builder will know how to balance the homeowner’s desire for “walls of windows” while still meeting the new more stringent code requirements.

Appliances:

Appliances account for for a sizeable percentage of electric usage in a home, especially the refrigerator, …

Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction Read More
Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms
Home Decorating Ideas

Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms

- by Christian Harris

No matter how you furnish your home styles are constantly changing so it is no surprise when you take a critical at your home and realise that it is looking very dated.

Kitchens and bathrooms seem to take the brunt more that any other rooms in the house, this would not matter so much but both the kitchen and bathroom cost a fortune to renovate.

Designers seem to constantly come up with new ideas on how your kitchen or bathroom should look and when you thought you had a really up to date bathroom or kitchen after spending a fortune a couple of years ago, they are egging you on to change it to keep up with the new styles and designs.

Think back to when the new coloured bathroom suites came out, everyone had to have one. But the bathroom designers were not content with that, every twelve months or so they brought out a new colour and it felt like your lovely new bathroom was already going out of fashion.

When all the colours were exhausted they decided that white was back in fashion and your coloured bathroom suite stood out like a sore thumb, and to make it worse you had got rid of a white bathroom suite to install the coloured one in.

Next on the agenda the old fashioned look was back, those old fashioned cast iron bathtubs that we got rid of years ago are now the in thing and they do not come …

Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms Read More
Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms
Best Interior Design Ideas

Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms

- by Christian Harris

A designer friend of mine lives by the motto, “White is not a colour, it is a canvas waiting to be explored,” if you saw her home you would agree without hesitation. It is a plethora of rich colours and styles integrating and working off one another to create a beautiful living space. Her rooms breathe panache thanks to imported furniture, tasteful accessories and a keen sense of who she is.

Sadly, not everyone can do what she does without turning their home into a visual assault on the eyes. Her look is successful due in part to her refusal to live by seasonal trends or dare I say, by what the “experts” say we should be doing. You know those words and phrases we kind of understand but still need to Google? Flow. Pop. Accent. Inspiration. Focal point. Statement. Room palette. The list is endless and quite frankly at the end of the day, utterly useless. Why? Because if you do not know your personal style, there is no way you will be able to give your home a personal look and feel.

So what to do about those of us who are somewhat design-challenged? Most would say, “hire an interior designer,” and some do, but that would only be living in someone’s version of what they think your home should look like. Rest assured there is a happy medium; it’s called listening to that little voice inside your head that goes off whenever you see something that catches …

Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms Read More
DIY Fireplaces - How to Choose Your Own Stone
Office Interior Design

DIY Fireplaces – How to Choose Your Own Stone

- by Christian Harris

There are many choices for stone material that you can use for DIY fireplaces. Depending on the design of the stone fireplace, the homeowner must decide whether it is appropriate to use natural stone or fake stones. Of course, your final choice must be based on the style, aesthetic value, and maintenance requirements of your stone fireplace design options.

Even though there are other pressing issues that you have to overcome during your home construction or home improvement project, it is very important that you carefully weigh your choices and choices when it comes to the stone fireplace for your home.

Determine the Best Stone for Your DIY Fireplace

So how can you make sure you have chosen the right stone for your fireplace? There are several variables that you need to include in the equation, and before you head to the home improvement showroom, it would be better if you carefully go through these important decision parameters.

Carefully assess your choices when it comes to stone for your fireplace. Common choices include man-made marble, stone coatings, limestone, marble, slate and granite. These stone materials have different properties and give a different look to your fireplace. Make sure you set priorities and things that you want to achieve before you decide on certain stone materials for your fireplace.

Discuss your goals and expectations with a fireplace contractor. It is important that you get the full advantages and disadvantages of each of your choices. For example, you must remember that slate …

DIY Fireplaces – How to Choose Your Own Stone Read More
Different Ways in Which PVC Panels Can Be Used in Home Improvement - Other Building Materials
Home Kitchen Design

Different Ways in Which PVC Panels Can Be Used in Home Improvement – Other Building Materials

- by Christian Harris

Most building materials and techniques have come a long way in the last decades, so it is safe to assume that more and more people are trying to learn and to apply certain information regarding some of the best, cost-effective home improvement solutions. It has never been easier to get great quality at an acceptable price, thus making it possible for everybody to have their dream house.

One of the most common materials you can come across is PVC (short for Polyvinyl Chloride), which is generally used in construction due to its cost effective and highly durable characteristics. Even if used for everything from construction to clothing, PVC is still a rather controversial material due to the chemicals used in manufacturing it (even though non-toxic chemicals are used for drinking water PVC pipes etc.) but the most relevant health disadvantage is that PVC liberates a lot of toxins when incinerated.

This material can be found in the form of pipes, isolation for electrical wires and very often as PVC panels (used for commercial signs or ceiling tiles) which, depending on their intended use, are treated with additives such as UV stabilizers, lubricants, plasticizers, processing aids, impact modifiers, thermal modifiers, fillers, flame retardants, biocides, blowing agents and smoke suppressors, and pigments. As can easily be seen from the large variety of chemicals used, PVC panels (or any kind of PVC product) can be adapted for different specifications but they are also quite dangerous for the environment (mostly due to the fact …

Different Ways in Which PVC Panels Can Be Used in Home Improvement – Other Building Materials Read More