Improvement Guide HOME 2014 A PUBLICATION
OF
THRIFTY NICKEL WANT ADS
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USE COLOR TO REVAMP THE LOOK OF YOUR HOME (NAPSI)—Choosing a new look for your home can be a liberating, rejuvenating change that will pay off in the future. By choosing the right color, you can express yourself, freshen up an old look and increase the value of your home. According to a recent Cost vs. Value Report conducted by Hanley Wood, LLC, an exterior makeover -such as installing fiber cement siding-can be a great investment, returning more than 83 percent of the project cost upon resale. Here are several tips to help you increase the value of your home while boosting curb appeal: • Go Green. Color choice can affect the energy efficiency of your home. Darker colors absorb the sun and therefore warm the home, while lighter colors reflect the sun’s rays, keeping the home cooler. This is an important consideration depending on the amount of sunlight your home is exposed to on an average day. • Get Back to Nature. Look to your natural surroundings for inspiration. For example, in a wooded area, vivid greens and browns can help blend the style of a home with its environment. In an urban setting, bright, eye-catching colors can help to offset the sometimes drab hues associated with city living. • Go Back in History. If your home is from a certain historical period, play off that history. Find old pictures of your house or neighborhood to use a historically accurate color scheme. Try to select shades that were used at the time your home was built. This will add character and a certain amount of authenticity to your own little historical treasure. • Visualize the Finished Product. The ColorView
free online tool at www.certainteed.com lets homeowners picture their home complete with new color. You can even mix and match colors of roofing, siding, trim, rail and deck to choose the perfect style and look. • Make a Lasting Impression. The darker the hue, the more likely it is to fade over time, especially with homes exposed to direct sunlight. CertainTeed’s Monogram vinyl siding offers consistent quality and variety with over 40 colors and wood-tone blends. • Look Up. The roof accounts for roughly 40 percent of the exterior appearance of the home, so it’s important to consider roofing shingles. CertainTeed’s Presidential Shake Shingles deliver the charm and character of hand-split wood shakes with the durability and strength that preside over wood in virtually every surrounding. From aged bark and charcoal black to weathered wood and chestnut, the shingles are available in a wide array of dynamic color options and textures to match your home’s unique style.
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INNOVATIONS SAVE MONEY, ENERGY (NAPSI)—In today’s real estate market, more Americans are choosing to stay in their homes and focus on renovations and improvements rather than moving. Home improvement expert Jodi Marks notes that many homeowners are looking for meaningful fixes, such as decorative enhancements and space-saving strategies, that can make a home feel fresh again. “People are also focused on saving money and energy by looking for building products that offer both current and long-term benefits,” said Marks. “Like many architects and designers, homeowners are turning to plastics to help reduce energy and maintenance costs.” According to Marks, innovations in plastic building and construction products have made it even easier for homeowners to save money, make their homes more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. Some of these innovations can be made of recycled plastics. All types of plastic bottles and containers, when properly recycled, can go on to lead a “second life” as new products for homeowners, such as decking and furniture. Here’s a look at the ways: • Windows: Applying plasticbased caulks and sealants is a quick, easy fix for drafty windows. If replacement windows are needed, vinyl plastic windows provide excellent insulation to help maintain an even temperature in the home. This cuts down on heating and air-conditioning, saving homeowners money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. • Decking and fencing: Lumber made with plastics is durable, doesn’t require painting or staining, and is easy to maintain. It’s also resistant to fading, mold and mildew. Some plastic lumber is even made with recycled plastic grocery bags. • Flooring: Plastic-composite laminate flooring is readily installed over almost any existing, hard-floor surface. Each piece simply locks into another, so even a large room can be installed in an afternoon. Because
of plastics, composite flooring is durable and both stain and moisture resistant, which means it requires little maintenance and works well in just about any room of the home. Luxury vinyl tile—a tough, durable tile that’s already proved itself for many years in commercial settings—is thicker and made entirely of plastics, with a beautiful finished look to rival traditional materials. It also locks into place over existing flooring for a doit-yourself project. • Roofing: Plastic roofing can look like slate or wood shakes and it’s long lasting and tough enough to withstand extreme weather. Manufacturers often offer a 50-
year warranty; some even offer a lifetime warranty when the product is installed by a professional. It can also help provide additional insulation protection as part of the roofing system, as well as reflect heat, so it helps reduce heating and cooling costs and energy use. • Insulation: Adding foam and other plastic insulation when renovating or residing a home can help homeowners save on heating and cooling bills. For example, plastic house wrap can reduce infiltration of outside air by up to 50 percent. To learn more, check out Plastics Make it Possible® at www.plasticsmakeitpossible.com.
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Making The Garage An Organized, Family-Friendly Space (NAPS)—In the flurry of today’s active family lifestyles, it is clear that the garage is no longer just the domain of the family car. For many households, this versatile space is used by every member of the family. It has become the logical place to store tools and gear for sports, hobbies, yard work and playtime, along with outof-season items that would otherwise take up room inside the home. However, with so much to hold and family members coming and going all the time, the challenge is to keep this space neat and well organized. To help, here are some garage design tips from EasyClosets—an online provider of do-it-yourself custom storage and organization systems for all areas of the home. • Establish the transition area —the space that’s reserved for hanging coats, storing shoes and boots, and setting down packages, groceries or mail when you’re
opening the door. • Next, determine a need-it-now area for quick and easy access to things like dog food and leashes, water bottles and other beverages, or recycling bins. • Decide which area is best for long, thin yard and maintenance tools like shovels, rakes and clippers. • Identify elevation zones, creating a storage area for large items that may be stored out of the way for months at a time, such as coolers, camping gear and holiday decorations. Reserve easy-to-reach areas for the kids to keep their sports equipment. • Plan an area for frequently used items such as active gear, outdoor games and cleaning supplies. • Stake out a workspace for hobbies and interests. From gardening to fishing, woodworking or automotive work, designate a space for organizing tools and supplies needed to work on these projects.
A Multipurpose Space To help homeowners complete the conversion of their garage to a truly multipurpose family space, EasyClosets created organization solutions that keep the garage in order, improve its appearance, and make it easy for family members to find or put away the things they need. “Transforming the garage into a hardworking, multipurpose space can actually empower a family’s active lifestyle,” said EasyClosets organization expert Denise Scopas. Homeowners can choose from cabinets, shelves, drawers, work surfaces and clever accessories. EasyClosets garage cabinets are available in several depth and height options, and can even be customized to meet a variety of width requirements. To maximize space, the company also offers slatwall panels to hold hooks, racks and baskets. The cabinets come in seven on-
trend colors and with stylish hardware that coordinates with today’s homes. Designed and engineered especially for the garage environment, the solutions feature heavy-duty cabinets with integrated full back panels, one-inch-thick sturdy shelves, and doors with wideopening Euro-style hinges. Legs can also be added for additional support or style. Intuitive Design Feature The company offers an intuitive online design tool to make space planning quick and easy for homeowners. Complimentary de_sign service is also available, allowing customers to have an expert review their plan or create it for them. The solutions are made specifically for do-it-yourself installation. Components are cut to order and shipped with a complete set of hardware and detailed instructions to make home assembly successful—even for those without remodeling experience.
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Hardwood Or Laminate, Natural Tile Or Luxury Vinyl: What’s Best For Your Lifestyle (NAPS)—Anyone can have beautiful, functional floors—once you review your options. For ex_ample, you may have your heart set on hardwood, but laminate may be a better option given your lifestyle. Alternatively, you may admire tile floors, but you might be a lot happier with luxury vinyl tile (LVT). In order to make the right decision, consider three key factors—budget, wearability and maintenance. • Hardwood floors are a great choice under the right conditions. Nothing compares to the natural beauty, color, intricate graining and depth of shine of a hardwood floor. Not only easy on the eye, hardwood floors tend to be warm underfoot too. Quality hardwood flooring is a big investment but will last a long time and add real value to your home. Hardwood is timely and timeless and completely authentic, and it comes in many colors, from nearly white to practically black and various warm shades of brown in between. Though there are many pluses to hardwood, there are some minuses to consider when deciding whether it’s right for you. Bear in mind, all hardwood is not the same; quality and pricing are big factors. Depending on the species, some hardwood floors can take a great deal of wear and tear and still look good. Others, though beautiful at first, show the signs of wear very quickly. In any case, you have to clean and care for it properly. This includes not using ammonia cleaners, oil soaps or a wet mop; using a professional hardwood floor cleaner to remove scuffs and scratches; and cleaning spills immediately. For these reasons, hardwood might not be the best fit for every home. • In some cases, laminate is a great alternative. Fortunately, for people who really like the look of wood, there’s an excellent—and much less expensive— alternative: laminate flooring. Through highly detailed digitized photography, laminate floors of today duplicate hardwood with tremendous realism that allows for a lower initial cost. What’s more, an inner cork subfloor on some laminate products helps tone down the noise and echoing attributes associated with laminates of yesterday. Unlike hardwood, a laminate floor will not fade. Pets can also be a problem for hardwood flooring. Laminate, on the other hand, offers a durable wear surface that is highly stain, scratch and moisture resistant. Because of its durability, hygienic nature and ease of installation and maintenance, laminate floors have become a low-cost alternative to hardwood, stone and tile. • Is your heart set on stone? Natural stone and porcelain tiles are another popular way to pave your floors. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, glazed or unglazed, and can be used plain, decorated or as part of a mosaic. Along with its beauty, natural stone flooring will likely increase your home’s resale value, and it only improves with age. Stone is also popular because every piece of stone is unique so no two floors are alike. Natural stone varies in hardness as no stone floor has a perfectly smooth surface. There is always a possibility that small chips or pits may show up and be more evident in certain kinds of lighting. It’s a good idea to match the flooring with the kind of activities that will be taking place, as soft, porous stone flooring is probably inappropriate for a high-traffic area. • Is tile the right fit for your family? A properly installed ceramic tile floor will outperform and outlast nearly any other. Glazed ceramic tile and porcelain resist stains, odors and dirt and can be cleaned
easily. Environmentally friendly, _ceramic tile is manufactured using natural materials and does not retain odors, allergens or bacteria. It also does not burn or emit toxic fumes. It can, however, be expensive and difficult to install, and some people find tile cold underfoot. • Vinyl floors offer many perks. Luxury vinyl tile, which falls in the “resilient” flooring category, may be a flooring you should consider—especially if you’re concerned about pets and kids. Luxury vinyl tile flooring is a great choice for kitchens and bathrooms, as well, because it’s “no wax” and easy to keep clean. It’s durable, affordable, water resis_tant, easy to install and doesn’t fade or stain. LVT flooring comes in many colors, textures and patterns and can imitate wood grain, tile, even marble. Since it also comes in sheets, planks and tiles, there’s lots of room for self-expression. A talented installer can use contrasting sheet vinyl for large patterns. Tiles can be arranged any way you want, from checkerboard to stripes to diagonals. Plus, LVT are flexible and soft to walk on. They have a cushy “give” underfoot. Learn More You can find further facts on floors and decorating advice from the experts at the World Floor Covering Association at www.WFCA.org and (800) 624-6880.
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THE SIMPLE MUSTS FOR YOUR TO-DO LIST (NAPSI)—Every homeowner’s to-do list will vary by the weather—cool and rainy, sunny and dry—but from indoor to outdoor projects, it is important to prepare your home for weather changes and make the transition easier on yourself and your home. Here, from an assortment of experts, are a few must-do’s to prepare your home for cooler weather: 1) Beautify Your Fireplace. When temperatures drop, many families light up the fireplace to relax and wind down from the day. Before you do, be sure to follow these cleaning tips. Make sure the floor around the fireplace is well covered with drop cloths. Mix a solution of highalkaline cleaner and one ounce of chlorine bleach per gallon of warm water. Wet the surface of the fireplace well with the solution, but don’t use so much that it runs. Dirty water running down the face may cause hard-to-remove streaks. Scrub the solution in with a brush and rinse well. If you’re not comfortable, you
may want to call in a professional from Merry Maids. 2) Keep Your Floors and Furniture Looking New. The best way to keep the look of your decor is very simple—keep up with the cleaning. ServiceMaster Clean experts recommend performing the following tasks consistently to enhance and maintain your home: Vacuum regularly, dust your floor, respond to spots immediately, deep clean carpets once a year, deep clean and treat hard-surface floors, and rid upholstery of oils that soil. 3) Feed Your Lawn. The experts from TruGreen know a little preparation with your lawn and landscape can go a long way. Late summer to early fall is the right time to feed your lawn to ensure its health and vitality. Lawns recovering from heat stress require the proper blend of nutrients to become thicker and develop a better root system. Heat-stressed lawns also need fertilizer in order to complete their growing season with healthy grass and a
pleasing appearance. 4) Scale Away Pests. Rodents and insects will stick around in cooler weather, carrying harmful bacteria into your home through cracks and crevices. To protect your home against the nuisance, experts from Terminix advise placing weather stripping on the bottom of all exterior doors to ensure they seal tightly. Use caulk to seal any holes or cracks in your home. Eliminate cracks or openings around pipes and utility lines that enter the home. Make sure to close the flue damper when the fireplace is not in use. Move piles of firewood and other debris away from the home’s foundation. Trim tree branches and shrubs away from the house so rodents do not have access to your roof or other entry points in the home’s exterior. 5) Check Your Heating System. Before firing up your heater, the experts at American Home Shield recommend having an annual system maintenance service
performed at least a month before the heating season begins. Other steps you can take to ensure proper heating include moving furniture that has been placed over floor vents to clear the airflow, checking your filters every month to ensure efficient operation, and visually inspecting your exhaust vent for rust, damage or deterioration. 6) Prepare Your Plumbing System. Plumbing is like any other machine: It requires basic maintenance to remain functioning properly. Insulate pipes prone to freezing, such as those near an outside wall, those in unheated areas of your home or any exposed plumbing such as outside faucets. Keep your water meter box covered with its lid and wrap outdoor or crawl space pipes with electric heat tape or insulation to prevent freezing. You can learn more at www.servicemaster.com and (866) 3487672.
GREAT PLANTS FOR FALL AND WINTER COLOR Cool-season flowers bring a splash of color to your garden right when you need it most. Where freezes are infrequent, you can plant cheery pansies (pictured), snapdragons, English daisies, and more from early fall through late winter. They’ll overwinter, filling your borders, containers, and pocket gardens with months of flower power. In cold climates, plants will die off in winter but can be planted again in spring. Look for sturdy plants with good leaf color in six-packs and 4-inch containers. Giant rosettes of frilly leaves in lavender, rose, white, and creamy yellow make ornamental kales favorite additions to the winter garden. Because these showy cabbage relatives tolerate cold weather and can hold their brilliant color all the way into spring, they’re ideal for display on porches, patios, or beside entryways, or for massing in garden beds. They grow 1 to 2 feet tall. Plant kale as soon as possible so heads develop fully; the color will intensify in the cold. Plant in full sun or light shade. W ater regularly and feed every other week with a dilute liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion.
Easy Ways To Add Value To Your Home For Under $1,000 (NAPSI)—Whether preparing a home for sale or simply personalizing your abode, upgrading your space can add up. Kitchens and bathrooms are often the first areas prospective homeowners and houseguests notice, so updating these rooms can reap the greatest reward. Luckily, new products on the market can help homeowners update their home without investing an exorbitant amount of cash or time, making it possible to revamp these essential rooms for under $1,000. • Instead of buying new cabinets, purchasing new cabinet doors and drawer fronts and swapping out old cabinet hardware can save thousands of dollars while giving your kitchen a sleek, finished look. • Consider tiling your countertop instead of installing more costly granite or stone for a budgetfriendly update. • For both your kitchen and bathroom, swapping out the faucets with newer models can create a more modern look. • Repaint. A new color on walls or ceilings can change the feel of an entire room. Warm dark colors can make a space feel cozier, while light and bright ones help open up a room. • Installing a kitchen backsplash using a DIY-friendly product such as Bondera TileMatSet—a doublesided, pressure-sensitive adhesive on a roll that eliminates the need for mortar and mastic—will help you easily create a professional-looking design while staying on budget.
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