DasHaus AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
Living a dream Nearly everything in this home is made out of wood.
CONTENTS
Be prepared....4 Online program aims to financially prepare disaster victims.
At home6
Come on in.....12
Choosing the right fit for your front door.
Couple fulfills lifelong dream of log home.
Das Haus is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News, 507 Main, Hays, KS 67601. Find it online at www.HDNews.net/DasHaus. Copyright Š 2015 Harris Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Das Haus is a registered trademark of The Hays Daily News. Printed by Northwestern Printers, 114 W. Ninth, Hays, KS 67601, northwesternprinters.com. Publisher, Patrick Lowry, plowry@dailynews.net Advertising Director, Mary Karst, maryk_ads@dailynews.net Designer, Nick McQueen, nmcqueen@dailynews.net Account Executives: Joleen Fisher, Ashley Bergman, Eric Rathke Creative Services: Juno Ogle, Mallory Anderson
Fix your budget....14 When buying a home, figure in costs for needed repairs.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Linda Beech is a family and consumer science agent with K-State Research and Extension in Ellis County.
Plan ahead Be disaster-ready with online program Sometimes, life in the Heartland is not for the faint of heart. At least that’s the way it seems when we experience tornadoes, flooding, fires, ice storms and other disasters like Kansas communities can. But, for every disaster that makes the news, there are many more fires, storms and other disasters that we don’t hear about. They can be just as devastating to an individual, a family or a neighborhood and recovering from them all is difficult. Prepare Kansas is an online financial preparedness challenge offered by K-State Research and Extension. The free Prepare Kansas challenge is designed to help individuals and families be better prepared ahead of disasters — which can make recovery easier afterward.
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Tribune News Service
Throughout the month of September, participants will complete weekly tasks to their home or workplace ahead of disaster. To sign up, visit kstate.qualtrics.com September has been declared National Preparedness Month by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The program focuses on a few activities to do every week during September, including creating an emergency supply kit, assembling a grab-and-go bag for each person in the family, updating a household inventory, developing a family communication plan and practicing a family fire drill. Challenge activities will be announced each week via email and an Extension blog. Participants record their efforts online. Prepare Kansas may be just the motivation needed to get started on — or complete — a disaster plan for your home or workplace. The weekly challenge format breaks preparedness tasks down to a few activities to do every week, which makes it easier than if you’re trying to complete many activities from a long list. Working on each activity gives families or co-workers an opportunity not only to work together on becoming better prepared, but can spark discussions about preparedness in general and the best ways to handle future emergencies. A little work now can make recovering from a disaster less difficult. This is the second year for Extension’s Prepare Kansas online challenge, which in its inaugural year last year involved over 400 participants from 63 Kansas counties and several other states. Participants said working on challenge activities sparked discussions about preparedness and the best ways to handle future emergencies. Accomplishing weekly activities provided them with a closer look at their overall financial picture. Join me, and others across the state, as we take the second annual Prepare Kansas online challenge and get prepared for disaster. Enroll in the free program at kstate.qualtrics.com by Aug. 30 to participate. We all can feel more organized and a bit more at ease should our homes or businesses encounter disaster. Free home inventory books and
disaster preparedness information will be available at the Ellis County Extension Office for all who enroll in Prepare Kansas. Those who complete at least three of the four weekly challenges will be entered into a drawing for prizes. For more information, check out the Prepare Kansas blog from K-State
Research and Extension at blogs.kstate.edu/preparekansas/ or call the Ellis County Extension Office at (785) 628-9430. I’ll be glad to answer your questions or schedule a presentation for your group or club to share more about the Prepare Kansas challenge and getting prepared for disaster.
AT HOME
All their lives, they wanted a log home. Nearly everything is made out of wood.
Living a dream F
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rom early on in their relationship, Travis and Holly Decker told each other they dreamed of living in a log cabin someday. Four moves, three children and two semi loads of logs later, the Deckers are living that dream. Since October, the Deckers have been settling into their log cabin home that resembles a mountain lodge 5 miles northeast of Russell on property not visible from the road. And while it’s a work in progress, the Decker family now can feel like it’s home. “Sometimes I look around and can’t believe Story by we’re actually here,” Holly said. Diane The Deckers’ venture began in 2009 when they bought 80 acres of pastureland and farm ground in Gasper-O’Brien some rolling hills near Russell. Photos by They took one look at the spot and decided it fit both their wishes. Jolie Green “I wanted to live in the Flint Hills,” said Travis, whose parents both are from the Topeka area. Holly grew up in the Quinter and WaKeeney areas, and “she wanted someplace close to home,” he added. “This seemed like a good compromise for both of us,” Travis said. Travis, an insurance adjuster by trade, worked on the home off and on for nearly four years.
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“Ever since I can remember, Travis has said he wanted to build a log cabin.� - Holly Decker
Once they bought the land, work began immediately on the construction of a shed, in which they built a small apartment to house the family until their new home was finished. With the school year quickly approaching in the summer of 2009, the Deckers moved from their WaKeeney home and took their camper to the new homesite and lived in it for two weeks until the apartment was ready to move into. The family lived in the
small apartment for five years as Travis worked on the log cabin home during his free time, and when an adjacent 160 acres went up for sale, the Deckers bought that, too. Travis had been researching information about building log cabin homes for years and even traveled to Washington state a few years before they bought the land to take a weekend class from the Log Homebuilders Association.
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“So he pretty much knew how he wanted to do it once we decided to do it,” Holly said. After pouring a concrete basement, Travis started with 33-foot tall logs that are from 18 to 24 inches in diameter and rise from the basement floor to the roof. “I didn’t know if he was going to survive building this house,” Holly said. Travis often got help from a relative or friend, especially with the larger projects. Otherwise, most of the work he did himself. He used the “butt-and-pass” method for the four walls of the home that started with a 36-by-36 foot square floor. Travis chose that method — where a log on one wall butts up against a log on the other wall, overlapping like brickwork up the corners — because it’s how the original log cabin homes were built, and butt-and-pass homes settle less than others. Travis did most of the work during the winter months, when his job didn’t take him away from home as often, and by last October, the home was “ready enough for us to live in,” Holly said. Plans are to begin work soon on a second-floor loft that will cover the entire north half of the main part of the house. The loft will add another bedroom and bathroom for the family. For now, there is just one bedroom on the main floor, in an addition to the original structure that also includes the main-floor bathroom, utility room and garage.
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Bedrooms for their two daughters — Ashton, who will turn 17 in September, and 13-year-old Liberty — are in the basement. And their 5-year-old son, Bo, for the time being shares a bedroom with his parents. After living in the cramped quarters of the shed apartment, those type of things seem only like small inconveniences. In fact, the first two months they lived in their new home, the girls used a ladder to access their bedrooms downstairs while their dad finished the staircase at Huxman Custom Cabinets in Hays. “It worked,” Holly said. “It wasn’t as convenient, but it worked. We just really needed to get moved into the bigger house.” Even without the upstairs loft, the home permeates rustic, country living, complete with country decor and wood flooring throughout. A couch and loveseat separated by a lodge-type rug serve as dividing lines for a living room in the southeast quadrant of the main part of the home. Deer busts shot by Travis and Liberty hang
high on the ceiling of the south wall that also stretches over the southwest part of the floor plan that serves as the dining area. The kitchen in the northwest corner features knotty pine cabinets and a 7-foot long island/bar complete with cupboards that Travis also built at Huxman Custom Cabinets. The family does its cooking on an antique wood stove from the 1920s they got from one of Travis’ uncles who had it converted to half gas and half wood. The northeast corner serves as an office/classroom where Holly home schools Liberty. Other antique pieces that fit perfectly into the country theme are a pie cupboard in the dining room, a large
“farm sink” in the bathroom and an old icebox in the kitchen. A large porch runs around three sides of the house, overlooking the countryside that includes a pond and a limestone patio below. The couple constantly talks about ongoing projects, which include adding a fireplace in the living room/dining room area. All in due time, Holly said. “People ask me all the time when the log cabin will be done,” she said, “and I say ‘It’ll never be done, but it’s livable.’ “ While it’s been a team effort, Holly is quick to give Travis a big share of the credit for making their dream come true. His family responsibilities increased in 2012 when Holly was diagnosed with an auto immune disease that causes pain and extreme fatigue, and sometimes kept her bedridden. “He was amazing, and this is his project,” Holly said. “Ever since I can remember, Travis has said he wanted to build a log cabin. I never even considered that; I just wanted to live in one. But here we are.”
Fresh new look Vertical racing stripes a winner for upholstery
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Fabric-on-fabric makeover HIGH POINT, N.C. — Upholstery is getting racy. At the spring Furniture Market, vertical stripes commonly associated with classic speedsters made the jump from the racetrack to chairs and sofas. In contrasting textiles or tapes, the winning result is fabric-on-fabric vibrance. CR Laine showed the high-back Copley chair with a big broad stripe running up the back and down the center of the seat. “When I first saw this ‘racing stripe’ treatment in the CR Laine showroom in 2013, it struck me as a fresh, new way of accenting upholstery,” recalls Pat Bowling, vice president communications of the American Home Furnishings Alliance. “I had never seen a contrasting fabric used in quite that manner before.” The look gained traction the following market and went full throttle this year. “I believe we were one of the first, if not the first, upholstery manufacturer to lead the way into this ‘deconstructed fabric’ color-blocking trend by presenting fabrics seamed together in an askew manner to create their own bold personality,” says Holly Blalock, CR Laine’s vice president of merchandise and marketing. She was inspired by the spring 2013 “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. She began wondering what fabric applications would look like if the textile was ripped apart and reassembled. The black-andwhite Aledo chairs were the result. “Look for an updated version of this type of blocking in our fall 2015 High Point Market collection,” she says. Things took off from there. Following that successful experiment, Blalock used a strip of Sunbrella fabric as a stripe, not trim, in October 2013. “She continued to advance the look in 2014,” notes Bowling. “The racing stripe becomes the piece that unifies a design,” explains Blalock. “When a customer is looking for the perfect fabric to pull together, let’s say a mint green chair and a blue sectional, why not create your own textile by asking our crafters to assemble elements from two solids into one bold stripe?” The result of that combination is the new Tobi Fairley for CR Laine Collection.
Changing things up using a narrow version of the same idea was Wesley Hall and Century furniture with the Gavin side chair. “The vertical banding in the decorative tape adds the ideal touch of modern that transforms an otherwise classic silhouette into something fresh and today,” says Zack Taylor, president of Wesley Hall. Ambella Home went in another direction with its boxed trimmed seat and back on the Palm Beach chair. Designer Mary McDonald used a sophisticated double racing stripe on her sofa for Chaddock. Also going a little wild with the idea of fabric strips as stripes was Norwalk, which used bands of fabric on the arms and seat of the Belle sofa. The variations on this theme are endless. Expect to see more imaginative use of multiple textiles in upholstered goods of the future. Patricia Sheridan, TNS
Opening new doors A few tips on finding the right fit for your new front door.
Come
W 12 DAS HAUS August/September 2015
on in
ith so many choices abounding in home improvement stores and online, how do you know which is the right choice for you when selecting a new entry door for your home? These days, homeowners likely will be steered toward fiberglass or steel. While traditional wood is beautiful, newer materials are lower main-
tenance, and provide more durability, security and energy efficiency. When various factors are considered, here’s how each stacks up: Beauty Fiberglass most closely mimics the defined grain of authentic wood doors and comes in a number of textures like oak, cherry, mahogany and
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fir, as well as a variety of stain and paint colors. Options include decorative door glass to improve curb appeal. Steel entry doors are available in smooth or wood grain textures in multiple stains and paint finishes, and come in a variety of styles, including some with glass. Durability Unlike wood doors, fiberglass doors
do not shrink, warp, split, crack or delaminate, making them ideal for harsh or humid climates. Because they last so long, many come with long warranties. For instance, ProVia doors come with a Lifetime Limited Warranty that guarantees doors through the entirety of the ownership of the home by the door purchaser, plus one subsequent homeowner. Steel doors, particularly those made of 20-gauge steel like ProVia’s Legacy Steel
line, won’t crack or warp and are the most durable on the market. Maintenance Fiberglass offers the lowest maintenance, resisting denting and scratching, and can be cleaned with mild soap and water. Although generally low maintenance, if scratched through the galvanization layer, steel doors can rust if not properly primed and painted. Dents and dings can be pulled and puttied with an auto-body repair kit. Security The solid construction of fiberglass entry doors provides significant security over wood doors. However, if you’re particularly concerned with home security, the strength of steel entry doors offer the best solution. Energy Efficiency Both fiberglass and steel door systems are engineered to be highly energy efficient. For example, the polyurethane core, Q-Lon weatherstripping and ComforTech Warm Edge Glazing System in ProVia entry door systems work together to keep cold out in winter and heat out in summer. Most of their doors are ENERGY STAR certified. In fact, the company is the only door manufacturer to have ever received any ENERGY STAR award for door manufacturing, winning the prestigious ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for Door Manufacturing four times and the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence award four times.
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Cost Fiberglass doors can be comparable in cost to wood doors, depending on the model, glass options and hardware selected. However, fiberglass is a better financial bet in the long-term, offering longer durability and less maintenance. While total cost can vary widely depending on style and options chosen, steel entry doors typically cost less than fiberglass, offering significant long-term value. Before buying, consider your priorities — whether it’s beauty, endurance or energy efficiency, opt for a door that best fits your needs. Photo, story by StatePoint
Hidden costs Beware of costly repairs when buying a new home.
Budget for repairs
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If you’re buying a home, there are additional expenses you might want to budget for beyond the down payment and monthly mortgage. Home projects, even small ones, can really add up. Recent data from HomeAdvisor, a leading home services marketplace, reveals that 75 percent of homebuyers will face a costly emergency within the first 12 months of moving into a new home. From unplanned projects to unexpected emergencies, most homebuyers reported spending more time and money on projects than
they initially anticipated. The most frequent emergency projects reported by homebuyers in the first year of owning a new home included blocked toilets and pipes, a clogged drain, a broken heating or cooling system and water leaks. These unexpected projects can cost homeowners anywhere from $199 to fix a clogged drain to $2,068 to repair water damage according to HomeAdvisor’s True Cost Guide. “To help prepare for these unexpected costs, homebuyers should plan to spend 1-percent of their home purchase price on repairs and emergencies each year,” says Marianne Cusato, special housing advisor to HomeAdvisor. StatePoint
BACONRIND APPRAISING SERVICES, INC. Patty Baconrind, PhD Certified General Appraiser
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