A Guide to the Three Elements of Successful Remodeling

Home remodeling is one of the projects you will find hard to avoid as a homeowner. Dings and scratches will soon appear on your home's surfaces and some of your basic facilities will slowly wear down. So it's best for you to know the different factors to consider when remodeling your home as early as now. These are three of them:

Contractor

While cleaning and repainting can be done without professional assistance, a complete remodeling project, which normally involves dismantling of existing surfaces and installing new fixtures, should definitely be entrusted to a certified remodeling contractor. The last thing you want to see after the project is poorly-installed lighting or uneven tiles. A remodeling contractor can guarantee high-quality workmanship.

Energy Efficiency

One reason your bills have been skyrocketing every year is that your existing utilities, furniture, and lighting may not be energy-efficient. During your remodeling project, make sure to replace all powered equipment and fixtures with energy-saving ones, which can now easily be found in retail stores through the Energy Star label. This will certainly lower your power consumption by several dollars annually.

Budget

Upon hiring a contractor, tell him or her about your budget immediately so that any unwanted or unnecessary expenditures can be avoided. Stick to your plans and never expect more than what your contractor has told you your budget can only cover. Additionally, set aside 10 percent for contingency should there be issues that require emergency expense.

Things You Should Consider for Bathroom Remodeling

As with all things involved in home improvement, a simple bathroom remodeling project needs to be planned carefully before it even gets started. However, planning per se doesn't just include spending time on the drawing board for a particular bathroom design. It also involves considering and working with a number of external factors that can affect the outcome of the project itself.

Budget is probably your biggest consideration; for one, it has to factor-in the cost of materials and labor. While there are people who'd strictly follow the budget plan, it's probably best to treat it as a guide; renovation projects can go a little over-budget for many reasons. Time is another consideration because a project that takes too long to accomplish accumulates added costs. That doesn't even take into account the size and design of the bathroom itself. Inaccurate measurements and/or inappropriate design choices can push a project back by a considerable amount due to the corrections that need to be made.

Regardless of what happens during a renovation, it has to follow the local building regulations. In other words, bathroom remodeling in Chicago has to follow the Chicago Building Code, which has strict electrical and water requirements for existing and brand-new bathrooms (among other things).

A Look at Some Good Ways You Can Update Your Porch

In TV shows and movies, there is almost always a scene where characters ruminate on what happened to them during the day while seated on a rocking chair on their front porch. This is closer to life than you think; many Americans do love to hang out on their front porch. After all, it's a great way to enjoy the and catch a lovely view of the outdoors.

This is something you won't be able to do, however, if your porch is missing a few boards here and there and the furniture is all worn out. For this reason, it may be time to have your porch updated by trusted porch builders in Chicago. This will also be a good time to enhance your porch with new features and designs that will not just make it great for you to relax in, but also inviting for your house guests.

Having the flooring redone is the first step to updating your porch, and this time, you can use materials other than wood. There are a variety of non-wood products you can use as porch boards, including plastic-wood composites and engineered vinyl options. Once you have the flooring done, you can think about bringing in new outdoor furniture that are more comfy and weather-resistant.

From Basement to Recreation Room

Remodeling your basement is a great way to add a new room to your home without actually building one. With the right design, furnishing, and decorations, you can transform what may otherwise be a little-used area in your home into a functional new room. In fact, a basement can be converted into a cozy recreation room for the family.

In converting your basement to a recreation room, you would want to optimize the space as much as possible. This can mean using furniture that can easily be moved from one spot to another, including movable sofas and ottomans, and customized storage spaces. An open, unobstructed design can help create a continuous flow and allow for less restricted movement among the occupants.

The use of light and neutral colors on the walls and furniture can also help create a more spacious feel. Additionally, adequate lighting is very important. A well-lighted room can give a sense of more space, and do away with the cramped, “dungeon-like” feel often associated with basements. Likewise, letting in as much outdoor light as possible can be very effective in making a basement room feel more spacious. An existing window may be enlarged, if possible, to enhance the sense of an open space.