FALL Home Improvement

Kitchen And Bath Transformations

Making the right choices for your home

Water quenches and cleans. Just as it takes care of us, we take care of it. In looking for ways to make your house more livable and sellable, go straight to the water sources: sinks and showers. Before making kitchen and sink updates, first look within.

“Think about how your kitchen functions, how you work in the space and what works for you, but what doesn’t work is important, too,” says Kim Armstrong, local lead designer and owner of Kim Armstrong Interior Design. “Start pulling visuals of the kitchens that appeal to you.”

A professional can then help you find patterns, she says. Consider your preferences before renovation, like double ovens or an extra sink, and ways in which you function, such as cooking habits and the number of family members.

“A deep sink can hide the coffee pot in the morning that doesn’t quite make it into the dishwasher,” says Armstrong. “If there are existing countertops, you need to make sure the sink fits the space. You want a good, functioning faucet, one that’s not going to drip over time. Invest more money in the faucet than in the sink.”

One option is a motion sensor faucet, which can save money and help your house be more resourceful. Sharon Flatley, owner of Flatley & Associates, says this is great for “people with limited mobility or people who are cooking and maybe their hands are covered in flour.” They can usually be found at home improvement stores, she says.

In choosing sinks, double-bowls used to be more popular but Flatley says they might not be as relevant today. Whatever you choose, it should be right for you. “If you have a great kitchen, it makes you happy,” says Flatley.

Like kitchens, bathrooms are more than just a key area to reselling; they are a part of daily life. One way to make your bathroom seem larger and showcase the tile work is to add glass shower doors.

“You’re in your shower once or twice a day,” says Jason Gantenbein, owner of Shower Doors of Dallas. “Older framed showers can break down, they’re difficult to clean and they can be outdated. With a frameless shower you still have to maintain the glass, but if you do, the shower is going to last a lifetime.”

Depending on the shower, bathroom walls or tile might need to be renovated before one can be installed. In hiring someone to renovate or install, Gantenbein advises finding out whether the company personally hires, background-checks and trains the employees. “It’s uncomfortable to let people inside your home, so it’s important that the company you are working with is actually performing the install,” says Gantenbein.

There are many “ingredients” in thinking about changes, Gantenbein says. “Look at the drainage and basic layout. When thinking about purchasing a frameless shower, it is important to have a professional look at the opening, tile and wall conditions to ensure proper fit and stability of the glass enclosure.

In regards to choosing a shower door style, glass options include frosted, embossed, clear, tinted and etched. Almost any design can be etched into the glass but remember this might be a lifelong decision.

“For resale value of the home, stay elegant and simple,” says Gantenbein. “If you ever decide to sell the home, it will be more appealing to people who might want to buy the home. To keep things simple, many people stick to the basic clear frameless shower.”

After The Storm

Helping your home recover from hail damage

If you drove around town the day after Dallas’ June 13 hailstorm, you might have seen shattered windows, pockmarked roofs and destroyed gardens. For many residents, the storm literally hit close to home, damaging an estimated 35,000 houses according to Mark Hanna, spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Texas. Dallas is still riding in its wake. Whether your home was damaged or whether you are looking to make changes, there are smart ways you can repair and make the most of what was for many people a painful situation.

Hail larger than an inch is a cause for concern, though older roofs are more susceptible to smaller-sized hail. So how do you know if your roof has been damaged?

You don’t have to crawl onto your roof to find out. Instead, take a look at your wood fences, windowpanes, gutters and window screens, which can all show signs of hail. If you are still in doubt, call Bert Roofing with your address and they can tell you how much hail damage your area received. Their sophisticated hail maps can even show the size of the hail that fell in your neighborhood.

If signs point to potential damage, call a roofing company and have them take a look but take care to avoid scammers. If roofing contractors offer to cover your deductible, something is fishy.

“The biggest scam going around is insurance fraud,” says John Edward Bert, CFO of Bert Roofing. “People are supposed to pay the deductible. If you send an invoice for 15 [thousand dollars] and you only pay 13, that’s fraudulent and unfortunately it’s pretty widespread.”

Before installing a new roof, contact your neighborhood association to make sure you don’t break any rules. Keep in mind that your house’s beauty also depends on the houses around it. Try not to choose colors or styles that clash with your neighbors’ houses and the surrounding environment.

It may take over a month from the time you call a roofing repair company to the time your roof is fixed since demand is high right now. Several weeks of waiting might be a fair trade for years of a solid roof over your head.

“You could go a dozen years” after repairs if you take care of your roof, Bert says.

One way to keep your roof intact is to keep it clean. Many historic homes have add-ons with low sloping roofs, which can easily accumulate debris. Piles of debris can impede water flow and lead to leaks. The same goes for gutters, which can become clogged, causing water to pool.

Other healthy roof maintenance habits include pruning the surrounding trees. This will protect the roof from its branches and from animals that can make the leap from a low-hanging branch to the roof. Hail storms, falling trees, strong wind and other similar events might also warrant a roof evaluation.

Windows and shutters might also be damaged from the storm. A slight window crack may not seem like cause for concern but it could grow and lead to moisture damage or air leakage, which could decrease home and property value and increase heating and cooling bills.

Shutters are a great way to maintain or add to your home value, says Ginger Jordan, office manager at Ken Jordan Shutters. They help with the aforementioned bills, they keep the harsh Dallas sun from damaging furniture and, barring outside shutters in hail storms, they have long lives.

“Some shutters have lasted 30 to 40 years,” Jordan says. “You don’t have to do much with shutters. You have to dust them or [paint them] if you want to change the colors after years, but there’s really not much else.”

Styles and prices range. Smaller louvers—the shutters’ slats— are seen as traditional but larger louvers allow for better views through the window. Plastic shutters are typically inexpensive but Jordan, whose company has installed shutters for windows shaped like circles, arches, octagons and more, says customized shutters bring greater value and flexibility in adapting to the window shape and trim color

“You can get cheaper but our shutters are made with USA wood, we buy locally, everything is made right here, we customize it to the window and we match the window trim’s color exactly,” Jordan says. “It’s rarely the lowest price but we pay a lot of attention to detail.”