Fall Home Improvement 2012

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012

Vinyl takeover?

Newly improved flooring has many opportunities

By Trey Mewes trey.mewes@austindailyherald.com

M

ost people think getting the walls repainted on a home is a good change, but for the truly adventurous, it could be time to replace your wood or ceramic flooring, and there’s no trendier alternative right now than vinyl floor paneling.

“A lot of that wood is being replaced with luxury vinyl tile,” said Susy Bengtson, designer at Freeborn Lumber in Albert Lea. Vinyl composition tiling has been around since the 1980s, but there have been vast improvements in vinyl tile looks and adhesives since then. Many vinyl floor panels closely resemble types

of wood, stone, terrazzo and even concrete. In addition, area suppliers and retailers have seen an increase in vinyl floor panel sales over the past several years, particularly for the ease which it can be installed.

“They don’t have to have new construction or new plywood, necessarily,” said Gordy Handeland, of Doors & Floors, Inc. in Austin. “They’re more of a floating floor.”

Vinyl flooring can be used in entry ways, hallways, laundry rooms, kitchens, even bathrooms provided it gets properly caulked.

See VINYL, Page 8

With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s not too late to have new flooring in place before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Metro image

Upgrading a kitchen for less Brand Point content

Small steps can create better spaces

Counter life’s madness with beautiful surfaces

From cooking to entertaining, the kitchen — always the heart of the home — now takes center stage as the 21st century hub of the home. As families spend more time in their homes, today’s “command central” kitchen needs to be multifunctional and high-definition with easy-to-maintain surfaces dedicated to cooking, working, Web surfing and blogging, paying bills and doing homework, as well as creating a comfortable environment to entertain with family and friends.

To design a kitchen that meets the multiple needs of today’s modern family, including standing up to its daily wear and tear without breaking the bank, homeowners can transform their kitchens with a few tips and tricks from interior design experts and companies that have created more durable and affordable yet equally beautiful products.

Begin redesigning your kitchen to address multi-functional needs with some smart planning, and consider remodeling in phases rather than all at once. Begin with the easiest area: replace aging countertops with materials that are beautiful yet durable and versatile. Counter space for food preparation can be optimized for laptops and other electronics while you keep an eye on dinner and the kids. Design at the appropriate height and allow space for your legs under the counter so that the same space can be converted to an ad-hoc desk when you aren’t cooking.

Incorporate a distinct play and work area for kids to do homework or create a crafting or game area for school and art projects, and family activities that can be tucked into a corner when not in use. Include flat-panel screens in a back splash or a separate lounge area adjacent to the workspace to entertain family and friends.

Making the most of the countertop requires the right material for aesthetics and functionality. While there are numerous options, today’s laminate countertops feature beautiful designs that mirror granite and other natural stones at a fraction of the cost, and with scratch-resistant finishes that are not only easy to clean but also resist common stains like peanut butter, permanent marker and red wine. Because laminates are made from recycled content and are easy to install and maintain, they make an eco- and budget-friendly choice for consumers.

“Everyone loves the look of natural stones but they don’t realize how much maintenance they can require, while, today’s high-quality laminate mirrors that look and withstands daily wear and tear,” says interior designer and HGTV’s Design on a Dime host, Summer Baltzer. “I love the fact that there

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are now new countertop collections, like the Wilsonart HD line, that offer great design options that complement both traditional and modern spaces, but also offer great features like integrated sinks and decorative edges, to make it a simple one-stop remodeling project. Consumers can give a room new life just by replacing a countertop with laminate at significant savings compared to other materials.”

Get inspired and create a space to live in high definition Before embarking on a renovation project, talk with the family to determine what the ideal kitchen will look like. Read home improvement magazines, watch remodeling shows for inspiration, and ask experts for tips and tricks at your home improvement store. Look at online tools such as the visualizer on www.WilsonartHD.com to see how you can upgrade your kitchen from blah to bling for less.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Bathroom design: It’s all in the details Brand Point

It’s most likely one of the top reasons you’ve been putting off that bathroom makeover or remodel — you’re not sure where to begin. What should the decor be like? Do you want a pedestal sink or a furniture-style vanity? Will you incorporate any water-saving faucets or fixtures? And, with all the decisions to make, will it all look good together and still perform well?

These questions, and many others, should be at the top of your list when you start mapping out your next bathroom project. Luckily, many manufacturers have made it easier in recent years for you to answer those questions in a painless, affordable way.

“We’ve created several complementing suites of fixtures and faucets,” says Kevin McJoynt from Danze, Inc. “The elements of each collection were literally made for each other, which makes your job easier.”

So what should you look for when you’re planning your next bath or powder room project? Here are a few things to consider when choosing the key pieces: Sink and vanity — Choices are abundant when it comes to the sink area of a bathroom. For those smaller footprint powder

FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT

Small details can make a big difference in a remodel. Brand Point photo rooms, or where storage isn’t as critical, consider a pedestal sink. If a pedestal doesn’t match your taste or needs, furniturestyle vanities can have a significant impact on a room’s decor and add extra storage.

Faucet — This can be one of the most no-

ticeable accessories in the room and one that homeowners and guests interact with the most. Make sure you choose a style and finish that is consistent with the overall decor. A soft brushed nickel or warm oilrubbed bronze finish can add a distinct de-

tail to the feeling of the room. If environmentally friendly options are important to you, explore WaterSense-certified faucets that can reduce water usage by 30 percent, without affecting performance.

Toilet — This is one of the best places to go “green” in your bathroom. High-efficiency toilets use 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf), saving two or more gallons of water during each use compared to many toilets installed in the 1980s and prior. This saves 20 percent compared to more recent 1.6 gpf designs that are standard today. And, just because it’s a very utilitarian element of a bathroom, don’t skimp on design for this piece. Shape, height, styling and color greatly impact how the toilet can enhance the room’s decor.

Shower system — Years ago homeowners had a handful of choices for showerheads.

Today, there are hundreds of styles, functions, finishes and components that can comprise a home’s shower system. This is a recently discovered area of the bathroom that can really show off your personality and can help you create a unique retreat.

Tastes range from building a “shower spa” with wall- and ceiling-mounted showerheads, to conservation-minded shower stalls equipped with WaterSense-certified showerheads.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012

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A model remodel Couple takes home from bull-dozer ready to ‘Christmas house’

W

hen Chris and Bruce Henricks bought their house in 1996, they knew what they were getting into.

As Bruce described it, the house was “bulldozer-ready.”

“A lot of people would have knocked it down,” he said.

The house was in shambles when the Henricks first saw it. Vacant for a few years, it was full of bats, snow was drifting in, water leaked through parts of the house and many of the doors on the main floor were nailed shut.

“The condition of the house was not very

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good,” Chris said.

The Realtor warned them: If you buy it, you get it as is. Yet something appealed to the Henricks about the old brick house a few miles south of Austin on 540th Avenue. Bruce told Chris it looked like a Christmas house with its brick exterior and green trim.

After a decade of remodels — most done

by Chris and Bruce — Christmas ornaments and decorations can be seen in the house almost year-round.

“Christmas is never really over here,” said Chris.

Story By Jason Schoonover Photos by Eric Johnson

ABOVE: This brick home, rebuilt from near dilapidation by Bruce and Chris Henricks, sits on five scenic acres of land south of Austin.

LEFT: The Henricks expanded the bed rather than buying a whole new bed.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

She does a lot of decorating for Christmas, but puts away all the small decorations on counters and book cases.

After buying the house, the pair quickly got to work on renovating it — a process that hasn’t stopped since. They bought a semi-load of building materials and got to work.

“The frame of mind has been: If we can do it, we’ll do it,” Chris said.

Bruce is a handyman and woodworker.

While Chris said she shouldered her share of the big work, she prefers more of the fine work, like painting, trim and caulking. These differing preferences make for a mostly positive working relationship.

For the exterior, they tried to keep the house original, especially the outside trim.

They hired one person to make many different pieces to complete the exterior, including “bullet” circular decorations, most of which Chris painted.

“She’s the painter,” Bruce said. “It’d drive me crazy.”

The jobs haven’t all been small things like trim and paint, though. The two added on a garage with a small shop and room for Bruce’s woodworking on the west side of the house.

Aside from the cement, Bruce and Chris built the entire addition.

Chris and Bruce also knocked out walls from closets and bedrooms downstairs to reconstruct the kitchen, living room, breakfast room, dining room and three-season porch as they liked.

An upstairs bedroom added on in the 1970s was cut away, and the Henricks hired a carpenter to build the frame of a new room to match the rest of the house. Then they took it over and completed the remaining work themselves.

Most of the materials used in the house didn’t come straight from a lumberyard. Bruce has a shed of recycled materials, because he prefers the quality of old wood.

In fact, many materials are either recycled or have sentimental value. Bruce’s father worked downtown when the First National Bank closed. His father took tables, doors, trim and materials from the building but never used them.

Years later, Bruce built them into various parts of the house, like the doors going out into the garage and the center of the mantle over the fireplace. Even wood from the room they removed was reused in a gazebo attached to the deck.

“I hate to see old buildings crushed and dumped in a hole in the ground because I think it’s getting more popular to recycle,” Bruce said. “There’s some absolutely beautiful, quality materials that are going in the ground right now.”

The Henricks admitted the house has a history all its own. The farmhouse was reportedly built in 1872, but Bruce said he believed it was actually built closer to 1900.

Many stories persist about the house: One story goes that Al Capone stopped in on his way to Blooming Prairie during prohibition.

FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT

LEFT: Chris and Bruce Henricks sit in the dining area of their home south of Austin, one of many rooms that required massive amounts of work in renovation of the home.

ABOVE: The Henricks' upstairs bathroom and shower.

Another story states the house was a brothel at one time, and many people claim the house is haunted, though the Henricks don’t seem to buy into that.

“So many people know this house or know of this house,” Chris said.

Since they bought it, the pair have done a lot to make the home their own while remaining true to the original stylings. Chris said it has been fun and rewarding to remodel the house themselves and as they’d like it, even though she admitted she has gotten impatient from time to time.

The two have breathed new life into the house and land they bought for $32,000. They don’t know exactly how much money they’ve put into it, but adding up what they’ve put into the house is a project for the future. Before that, they’re moving onto the next thing.

After finishing the expanded kitchen, the two plan to next repair the foundation around the

garage and then work on resurfacing their deck.

“We’ve had a good time out here,” Chris said.

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Easy tips for green remodeling Brand Point

One of the hottest trends in home improvement is remodeling with green or sustainability in mind. Going “green” means using building methods and environmentally friendly building materials that reduce your home’s impact on the earth, while enhancing the health of your home for you and your family.

In a nutshell, remodeling your home to make it more green means reducing your home’s impact on the environment (using less resources such as water and energy); using building products that are made from sustainable or renewable materials; enhancing the health of your home (improving indoor air quality, removing mold and rot); and using long-lasting, low maintenance building products that don’t require paints and chemicals to maintain or won’t end up in the landfill after only a few years of use.

“The important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to do it all at once,”

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says John Gardner, director of marketing for APEX Siding System, which makes sustainable siding and trim. “You can make your home greener over time, project by project, as your budget allows, to increase its efficiency and quality, while reducing your home’s impact on our environment.”

Here are some tips from Gardner on how to make your home more green: Go green today. You can start going green today by replacing all of your old incandescent light bulbs with florescent or LED bulbs, or installing rain barrels under your gutters to capture rain water, which you can use to water your flower or vegetable garden, while reducing your water bill.

Audit your home. A home inspector trained in green building practices can help you identify what parts of your home are already green, how energy efficient your home is today, and what improvements you could make so your home runs more efficiently. Consider taking this step

before conducting a major remodel.

Experience in green remodeling and building. Hire a remodeler or design/build firm that is experienced in green building techniques or holds a certification from a reputable organization such as from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Stamp out moisture. Rot and mold caused by moisture is a big problem for many homes because it can compromise the structure of your home and can create an unhealthy living environment. Keep moisture out and increase the air flow of your home with low-maintenance siding such as APEX siding and trim. APEX siding is pultruded-fiberglass siding with Ultrex, a long-lasting, durable material designed with a unique airflow system that reduces the occurrence of moisture and mold problems.

Bring in natural light. New energy-efficient windows can reduce your heating and cooling bills while maximizing natural light to reduce your use of artificial

light in your home. Integrity windows from Marvin, for example, exceed federal Energy Star guidelines and are also made of long-lasting Ultrex fiberglass.

Insulate to keep your home warmer and cooler. Make sure the insulation in the ceiling of your home has a minimum R-38 rating (for cold-weather states), and an R-13 rating in the exterior walls of your home.

Green leafy trees provide long-term shade during the summer months, and evergreens on the north side of your home block out cold winds during the winter.

Reduce home maintenance. By remodeling your home with higher quality, sustainable building materials, you not only can reduce the time spent maintaining your home, you can reduce your use of paints, household cleaners, and other products for upkeep. For example, choosing siding made with Ultrex, will not rot like wooden siding and will not need to be painted because the color is embedded right into the pultruded-fiberglass material.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Eight tips to improve energy efficiency through lighting Brand Point content

It’s easy to instantly trim your energy consumption and boost the eco-friendliness of your home. The key to easy energy savings is lighting. Though for many homeowners and renters, knowing how and what to do to improve their home’s lighting energy efficiency can be confusing.

To alleviate that confusion, the American Lighting Association (ALA) offers eight easy energy-saving steps: 1. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs). To make an immediate impact on your energy consumption — and your utility bill — swap out your most-used incandescent bulbs with CFLs. “It’s the easiest way to start improving your energy efficiency,” says Joe Rey-Barreau, education consultant for the ALA and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Interior Design. If you have not used any residential CFLs in your home, you might be surprised at their range and versatility. The newest CFLs do not flicker like those of old, and they have much better color quality than

FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT

even just a few years ago. A close look at the color temperature listed on the bulb package label can help you get the right product. “What happens is that people buy a color temperature that’s too cool, and they absolutely hate it,” says ReyBarreau. Instead, choose a bulb that’s labeled “residential color,” “warm” or “soft white.”

2. Replace dimmable incandescent bulbs with dimmable CFLs. As the color range of CFLs has improved, so has their ability to be dimmed, says ReyBarreau — and dimmable bulbs are a proven way to decrease energy use. However, while the technology has come a long way, CFLs still do not have the dimming range of incandescents. “At about 20 to 30 percent, the CFL will shut off,” says Rey-Barreau.

3. Buy name brands. It is frustrating to invest in a longer-lasting bulb only to have it burn out quickly. To avoid that, buy recognizable brands for improved quality and color.

4. Revamp outdoor fixtures. Your outdoor lighting fixture may be beautiful, but it may be an energy guzzler, too.

Start outside as you slowly replace fix-

tures with more energy efficient versions. Look for those that use either CFLs or light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or those that activate using a motion sensor or photocell.

5. Buy Energy Star-qualified fixtures and bulbs. Energy Star is a U.S. Department of Energy certification most recognized on appliances — though also used on lighting fixtures and bulbs. “Any time someone buys a product that has the Energy Star label, they’ll know it has both efficiency and quality verified,” says Rey-Barreau.

6. Retrofit recessed lighting with LED fixtures. Recessed fixtures can be easily replaced with super energy-efficient LED versions — without any messy construction. “You just take off part of the existing fixture, and the replacement fixture fits into the old housing,” says Rey-Barreau. “LED fixtures have a high initial cost, but the fixture will last literally the lifetime of the project.”

7. Replace your under-cabinet lighting. With long life and super high efficiency, some LED lighting also offers fairly easy installation, including pucks

and strips used as under-cabinet lighting. As an added bonus, LED lights will not give off the undesirable heat of incandescents.

8. Be realistic in your expectations. While upgrading some or all of your lighting is a good way to improve your energy efficiency, it is not a onestop solution. “One of the things sometimes misunderstood is that people assume if they replace all of their incandescent lighting with energy-efficient versions they are going to save this huge amount on their electricity,” says Rey-Barreau. They will save, of course, but since lighting only accounts for about 10 percent of all electricity consumption, the amount saved will be relative to that. The most savings comes over the long term with continued lower utility bills and fewer burned-out bulbs.

Visit your local ALA-member retail showroom to see the newest products and to talk to an expert about how to improve the energy efficiency of your lighting. To find your closest ALA-member lighting showroom, visit www.americanlightingassoc.com.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012

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New flooring can add new life to a home. Metro image

Vinyl: Middle-of-the-road colors make for timeless style From Page 1 But what sort of vinyl flooring should people get? Both Handeland and Bengtson recommend medium colors, as light and dark-colored flooring ebbs and flows as fashionable hues.

“I’ve always encouraged my customers that dark is trendy, but if you stay somewhere right in the middle, that means that color of flooring is probably going to be timeless,” Bengtson said.

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In addition, medium, neutral colors often accentuate your wall designs, and won’t have to be redone to match a new shade of wall paint, according to Handeland. Yet there’s no denying the appeal of darker floor paneling.

“They’re darker than they were five years ago, as far as what we’re selling,” Handeland said.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD