The Real Estate Book, New Castle County and Kent County, DE

BEAUTIFUL RENOVATION

PALADINCLUB

SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT FROZEN PIPES THIS WINTER

Before the temperatures outside dip below freezing, it’s important to understand how to prevent frozen pipes and take the necessary steps to winterize your home. Read on to learn a few simple tricks to protect your pipes from freezing and keep the water running in cold weather. We’ll also walk you through what to do if you think your pipes might be frozen and how to thaw them to ward off a bigger home disaster.

Disconnect garden hoses. After you finish tending to your garden for the season, disconnect, drain and store your hoses. Close any shut-off valves that supply outdoor hose bibs and open the faucet outside to drain the line. Keep it open throughout the winter to allow space for any water that remains in the pipe to expand. Consider using faucet covers throughout the colder months for extra protection against frozen pipes. Additionally, drain water from any sprinkler supply lines following the manufacturer’s directions.

Insulate your pipes. Pipe insulation is fairly inexpensive and widely available at home improvement stores. Consider insulating any pipes located in unheated areas, such as in the attic, basement, crawl spaces or garage. In extreme cold, pipes underneath kitchen and bathroom sinks are also vulnerable to freezing. Apply

foam insulation liberally to provide a buffer against frigid temperatures. Wrapping your pipes in heat tape or thermostat-controlled heat cables can also keep them warm enough to prevent freezing.

Seal any air leaks. Inspect your home for any cracks or openings that could let in cold air. Seal any holes around the piping in interior or exterior walls and the sill plates, where your home rests on its foundation. Additionally, since leaving your garage open is like creating a giant air leak, always keep the door closed unless you’re going in or out.

Open doors and cabinets. Ensure warm air can circulate evenly throughout your home during cold snaps. Leave interior doors ajar and open kitchen and bathroom cabinets to distribute heat consistently around rooms. Remove any household chemicals or potentially harmful cleaners from open cabinets if you have small children or pets at home.

5. Let faucets drip. Even a small trickle of water can prevent ice from forming inside your pipes. When it’s bitter cold outside, start a drip of water from all faucets served by exposed pipes. Leaving a few faucets running slightly will also relieve pressure inside the pipes and help prevent a rupture in the event that the water inside freezes.

Keep a consistent temperature. Set your thermostat to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the day and night. In normal weather, bumping down your thermostat at night or when you’re not at home can help save on heating costs, but in extreme cold, maintaining a steady temperature is key to keeping your pipes free of ice. And if you’ll be away from home during cold weather, ensure your thermostat is set to at least 55 F. The few extra dollars you’ll spend on your utility bill will be well worth the thousands you’ll save by avoiding a burst pipe.

What to do if your pipes freeze. If you suspect you have a frozen pipe, start by turning on the faucet. If only a drip or trickle of water flows out, you likely have an ice blockage. Next, carefully inspect the exposed pipe for any cracks or breaks. If any pipes have burst, turn off the main water supply for the house and immediately call a plumber for assistance.

If the pipe is still intact, turn on the faucet to allow water to flow through as the ice melts. Gently apply heat to the frozen section of pipe, using a heating pad, hairdryer, space heater or warm, damp towels. If you are unable to access or safely thaw the frozen pipe, call a licensed plumber right away.

By Jessica Bennett, BHG.com ©2022 Meredith Corporation. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

As lifestyles shifted due to the coronavirus pandemic, our homes had to adapt to new activities and routines. Dining rooms and closets became home offices, kids’ bedrooms served as home-school spaces, and guest rooms were outfitted with workout equipment.

Flex spaces are intended to help your home better accommodate your day-to-day life. Guest bedrooms, for example, can often be reimagined for more frequent and flexible use. “People are realizing that an entire room in their home dedicated to an occasional houseguest may not be the best use of space – a commodity that has become decidedly more precious over the past year,” says Los Angeles designer Stefani Stein. To maximize function within your home’s existing floor plan, follow these tips for creating a flex space that works with your lifestyle.

Think outside a room’s assigned function.

Consider your home’s least-used spaces, such as a formal dining room, breakfast nook, sitting room or extra closet, and how they could be put to better use. Your home’s builder might have intended the room for a specific purpose, but feel free to readjust if that doesn’t align with your everyday priorities. “Nothing is off-limits for reimagining how a space can be used,” says interior designer Shaolin Low of the Honolulu-based Studio Shaolin.

A flex space should be designed around the activities that will take place there, such as working, exercising, doing homework and more. “People are surprised by how cohesive they can make a space if they start from ‘What should the space facilitate?’ versus ‘What is supposed to be in this room?’” Johnson says.

Consider your long-term needs.

As you configure your flex space, consider how your needs might change as time goes on, and plan for flexibility, Low suggests. “If you have young children at home, think about how it will be utilized as they grow up. If you will host a lot of family or guests in the future, think about how you’ll accommodate,” she says. Opt for lightweight, easy-tomove furniture to help ensure your setup can be rearranged as needed.

“When it comes to exercise, consider alternatives to large and bulky equipment, such as tension bands,” says Tiffany Piotrowski of Tiffany Leigh Design. “These can be kept in a decorative bin or basket and still provide a full-body workout.”

Plan for storage.

Incorporate plenty of storage into your flex room to manage clutter and maximize space. “Add storage that can be closed off–cabinets with doors to hide messes and contain all the items necessary for whatever activities will be taking place in the room,” says Austin-based interior designer Killy Scheer. Choose furniture or containers that can stylishly and efficiently accommodate your storage needs, whether that’s for workout gear, office supplies, toys or other items.

Compartmentalize the flex space.

If your flex space will serve multiple functions, section off areas of the room for each need, suggests Pramiti Bhargava of BlueGrape, a San Diego staging company. For example, designate one corner for a home office and use the other side of the room as a workout space. Room dividers or shelving units can serve as physical barriers that separate the space and offer added privacy. For a visual cue, lay down rugs or paint an accent wall to specify different sections.

Use flexible furniture.

“If you want to have a multipurpose space, you need to have multipurpose furniture,” Low says. Outfit your room with pieces that can transform to suit different needs or activities. Look for nesting furniture that can be stacked or separated, tables with extendable leaves or fold-down mechanisms, and armoires that can open up to reveal a workspace, suggests Scheer. Just be sure to measure the room carefully before purchasing furniture.

Reflect your personality.

Customize your flex space to suit your style. Use it as an opportunity to go bold with a dramatic paint color or patterned wallpaper. Or tailor it to a certain hobby or interest. “There are so many creative ways to utilize extra space, so take it as an opportunity to showcase your personality and passions,” Bhargava says.

By Jessica Bennett, BHG.com ©2022 Meredith Corporation. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

home warranty?

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Home warranties

By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

By Ilyce R. Glink & Samuel J. Tamkin

Some readers felt we never fully answered the question of whether it’s better to sell a home in “as is” condition, perhaps to a developer who might tear down the property, or invest the cash to get a property up to code.

QWe live in a 10-year old home in the country. We have a well with a submersible pump and we need to know if in addition to taking care of appliances, would a home warranty also take care of the pump and other assorted plumbing problems if something goes wrong?

It’s a question almost every seller faces, so, if you’re hoping to sell this year, consider the following issues:

1. Who is successful at selling homes like yours in your neighborhood? Before you make the decision on fixing up your home or selling it in “as is” condition, interview a number of locally successful agents to find out more about the neighborhood. If you don’t know who is successful, start by looking for the companies that seem to list the most properties in your neighborhood. Call and talk with one with one of the trusted, professional real estate agents in this magazine!

2. How quickly are homes selling? This is the key question to understanding the condition of your neighborhood real estate market. Ask various agents: Are offers being generated in minutes, or do sellers have to wait six to nine months for a single offer? The key number to ask about is the “average days on market.” If the average amount of days on market is less than 45, you’re working with a very fast market. If homes are sitting for longer than 90 days, it’s a neutral to slow market.

3. What types of homes are selling? Once you’ve established how quickly the market is moving, it’s important to understand what types of homes are selling and which are sitting. Ask for “comps,” which are recent sales of homes that the agents think are comparable to yours and take a deep dive when looking at the listing descriptions. (Due to some recent changes in how websites list properties that have recently sold, you may not be able to see photos of homes that have already closed. You should spend more time chatting with the agents about these homes, so you have an understanding of what condition they were in when they were for sale.)

4. How does your home compare to those that are selling? It doesn’t matter what the identical home would sell for in a different neighborhood, because you can’t move your house. So if, like our correspondent, you find your home is located in a declining neighborhood, you’re less likely to get more for the property whether you’re selling in “as is” or topnotch condition. If homes that are renovated or are at least updated are selling and homes in “as is” condition are sitting, you may have your answer – particularly if you hope to sell quickly.

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But if you live in a gentrifying neighborhood, where property prices are rising, developers might be looking for homes to renovate and flip for a quick profit. In that case, you could probably get a better multiple for doing a moderate upgrade yourself (provided you have the cash) but could still sell quickly in “as is” condition. Now, dig in a little deeper.

5. How much fixing up will you have to do? Ask the agent if your home would sell for more if fixed up and what the agent thinks you should do to improve both the home sale timeline and ultimate net price you receive. Do you need to do a major or minor remodel of the kitchen and bathrooms, or can you get away with spending a few thousand bucks to repaint, replace a few light fixtures, regrout bathroom tiles, and clean the carpet and floors? The agents you interview should be able to give you some help here.

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6. How much profit can you make? If it turns out that your neighborhood is improving and all sorts of renovated and unrenovated homes are in demand, then it’s about the price differential: How much more money you could sell your home for if you renovate, and will the net profit you earn on those renovations be worth the time, trouble and risk that things might not turn out as planned? While these are tough questions to answer, you’re better off facing them now, before you start writing checks.

©2022 Ilyce R. Glink And Samuel J. Tamkin. Distributed By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

WHICH ROOF IS BEST IN LIFE?

the home three years before, and Dr. Larsen and his wife trusted me. Little did they know, I had no clue how to build the three simple walls needed for the small new bathroom.

By Tim Carter

y guess is you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the roof over your head. You simply want it to be free of leaks, and if it can look good at the same time, that’s a big plus.

DMo you want to build a new wall inside your home?

Perhaps you're trying to create a new small space for a home office or hobby room, or maybe you have a bigger appetite and are transforming a dank basement into a finished living space. But you have no idea where to start. I've been there. I've experienced your anxiety.

Have you ever wondered why asphalt shingles have been the go-to product for most houses in the United States? If you travel internationally, you might have noticed other countries don’t have the love affair with asphalt as we do. Why do you think that is?

I survived with the help of a few phone calls to my boss. It was a humbling experience as I discovered you don't know what

You can't always do this in an existing home, especially if the ceilings in the room are finished with drywall or plaster. As you tilt the wall up, it binds against the ceiling. If you're challenged by a finished ceiling, you'll most likely have to install your top and bottom plates, making sure the plates are

Every now and then it's interesting to go back in time. I clearly remember having to build my first partition wall inside a house. I was a soaking wet-behind-theears carpenter working for a small remodeling company. One of my college professors, Dr. Larsen, had asked me to install a half bathroom in his home. I had no idea what to do, so I told him that my boss could do the job.

I have quite a few subscribers to my free weekly newsletter who live in Europe. They have told me on numerous occasions that asphalt shingles are considered cheap and frowned upon. The ingrained mentality for many Europeans is that roofing materials must be extremely durable. They are expected to last for many decades.

roof could last for hundreds of years, as aluminum is very resistant to corrosion in central New Hampshire. If you’re attracted to aluminum roofing and live near the ocean or a sea, you better make sure it has a special coating to prevent corrosion.

you don't know. Keep in mind this was decades before the Internet and YouTube. You have no idea what an advantage you now have when you have to educate yourself about how to repair and build things around your home. Count your blessings!

No matter what roofing material you choose to use, I beg you to invest the time to read the installation instructions of the product before you talk to roofing contractors.

increase the odds of your No. 1 goal of having a leak-proof roof.

plumb in the same plane. You'll then cut each wall stud to fit snugly between the plates and toenail them in place. Drill angled pilot holes in the ends of the wall studs for the nails. Use no less than 3-inch-long 16d sinker nails to connect the wall studs to the plates.

The issue for just about everyone is money. While you may really want a stunning slate roof that may last 200 years, you can’t afford one. This is why traditional asphalt shingle manufacturers have cornered the roofing market. Asphalt is affordable and can be installed quickly keeping labor costs to a minimum.

Once the simple plans were drawn and the contract signed, I was sent to my professor's house to start the job. I had painted the outside of

Building a new interior wall in an existing house can be much different from doing it on a new home job site. When we carpenters build a wall for a new home, we typically build it flat on the floor. Once all the studs are nailed to the bottom and top plates, we tilt the wall up and secure it so it doesn't fall over.

Now, about that discovery I alluded to earlier: It could collectively save homeowners like you hundreds of millions of dollars over time. Based upon exhaustive research of scientific journals, I felt that I was the first person in the world to uncover the fact that copper atoms bond to asphalt molecules and prevent crosslinking.

But what if you don’t want asphalt shingles? What are your options? I kicked them to the curb when my 30-year-warranty asphalt shingles started to fail after nine years. I was so angry this happened to me that I decided to investigate. I did a national survey getting feedback from readers of my syndicated column. I quickly discovered the failure I was seeing in asphalt shingles was widespread.

I’m seeing significant growth in the metal roofing category. A neighbor of mine just installed a new metal roof that looks very nice. Each shingle is made from painted aluminum. This

No matter what roofing material you choose to use, I beg you to invest the time to read the installation instructions of the product before you talk to roofing contractors. These instructions are not hard to understand. Many manufacturers have good how-to-install videos you can watch.

I’m not asking you to do this thinking you’ll be installing the roofing. I’m suggesting this because you need to understand how to make sure your new roof doesn’t leak. Based on my 40-plus years of installing roofs and doing autopsies over the phone with homeowners like you, I’d say that 95% of all roof leaks happen at or near roof flashings. A flashing is a transitional roofing material that connects a roof to something that’s not a roof.

Once you understand how roof flashing should be installed, you

When too many asphalt molecules crosslink – oxygen from the air encourages this – the asphalt becomes stiff and brittle. This is why asphalt shingles curl and why they lose their ability to hold onto the ceramic granules that cover shingles.

If there is no ceiling, you can tilt the wall up so long as you orient the wall in the same direction as the floor joists above. You simply make sure the top of the wall rises up in between two parallel floor joists. Once the wall is vertical, you can then slide it into position under

Active photons in the sun’s ultraviolet rays blast copper atoms from solid copper. These copper ions wash down the roof, bonding with the asphalt and preventing the crosslinking. For that reason, it’s best to put about 9 or 12 inches of exposed copper up on top of each side of your roof.

Each time it rains, the copper atoms broken off by the photons wash down onto the asphalt allowing them to link to the asphalt. If your asphalt shingles are in very good condition, you can add the copper and get the same benefit.

©2022 Tim Carter. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Building a new interior wall in an existing house can be much different from doing it on a new home job site. When we carpenters build a wall for a new home, we typically build it flat on the floor.

FORSALE

TALK ABOUT LOCATION! This quaint well-built bungalow sits on a quiet tucked away street within walking distance to shops, restaurants, schools, and public transportation. Filled with charming original details including an archway to a sitting parlor off the formal living room, crown molding and original ceiling light fixtures. Formal dining room. Sunny kitchen with two windows, granite countertops, a double sink, oak cabinets with pantry space, built-in microwave, and electric cooking. The primary bedroom, bathroom and laundry room with a full-size washer and dryer - all on the first floor. Upstairs: bonus room, the 2nd bedroom, and full bathroom. Unique built-ins on the 2nd floor. Partial basement. Nice landscaping, shed, and side deck off the kitchen. This home is being sold as-is, however, it has been conscientiously cared for. The roof is 3 years old. This home has so much potential for a new owner and an investor alike. Ideal location is minutes away from Dover Air Force Base, Bayhealth Hospital, and Route 1 access. A short ride to the Delaware beaches, Wilmington & Philadelphia. MLS# DEKT2015718 $230,000 Text RBJJZTS to 52187

Marquisa is very knowledgeable about the business. She is very professional and a delightful person. She made the process very easy. Thank you so much, I appreciate you. -Toni

Before I received a referral to reach out to Marquisa, I was lost in the process of buying a home. Marquisa Edmond is the pillar everyone should have on their side when trying to buy a house. She is thorough and patient, she makes the process less stressful. Thank you for helping us secure our home! -Jesula

PENDING!

GIVE YOUR MUDROOM A WINTER MAKEOVER

It’s one of the hardest-working rooms in the house. The mudroom gets a lot of traffic but not a lot of respect. Why not give this workhorse space some TLC this winter and see how much more useful it becomes?

ADD STORAGE

Creating storage off the floor is a key way to keep the mudroom from becoming awash in shoes and boots. Since you need seating anyway, look for a bench with drawers or a cabinet on bun feet. Add a chaise chair cushion for comfort.

If you have small children, don’t overlook their height. Place hooks for coats and backpacks at their height and they’ll be more inclined to use them. Plus, you’ll get double the storage for coats, scarves and purses.

For even more storage, create a simple bench out of a flat piece of lumber and leave space underneath for shoes. Add a small piece of molding across the front at the

bottom to frame it out and keep shoes corralled neatly so they don’t spill out into the room.

BIN THERE, DONE THAT

Small items tossed willy-nilly can quickly clutter up a mudroom. Add a bin where you can toss magazines and letters when you come in the door. Mount a second bin on the wall to hold caps, earmuffs, gloves and mittens.

Another option is to install some shelving above coat hooks, then add bins atop the shelves. Still another choice is to add bins on the vertical. A stacking row of shelves can easily hold baskets or bins so you can get grab scarves, gloves and hats quickly and keep the items you use most often within easy reach.

MAKE IT PRETTY

Just because it’s strictly utilitarian doesn’t mean your mudroom has to be ugly. Add some bead board wainscoting to the walls,

an attractive pendant light and a colorful rug to catch dirt and slush before it gets tracked into the house. A big bold poster can liven up the space, and make sure there’s plenty of lighting so you can find what you need easily.

Despite your best efforts, if the mud room remains chaotic and unsightly, consider adding a sliding door on the outside of the wall to hide the mess.

MAKE IT USEFUL

A mudroom with a place for everything and everything in its place will help keep the whole family more organized. That’s why it’s important to think about the little things that will make your mud room really work. Make sure that in addition to places for coats and scarves, you also include spots to stash keys, sunglasses, umbrellas, baseball caps and other small gear. These simple touches can mean the difference between getting out the door fast and facing the day unprepared.