Practical Tips That Come in Handy When Remodeling Your Chicago Home

"Any modification to your home should be seamlessly done and well-integrated into its existing design. That's because an addition is supposed to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of a space. An alteration shouldn't appear as an afterthought—let alone an ill-planned remodeling attempt. If you consider remodeling your Chicago home, take time to sit down and carefully plan how you intend to go about it. For instance, gather and discuss ideas with the people you live with, as well as your friends, co-workers, and the potential members of your design and build team. Here are a few points you can talk about: Consider remodeling your basement There are a lot of areas in your home that can be modified to better suit your hobbies and activities. Remodeling contractors in Chicago, like DAL Builders, for example, regularly complete outstanding projects involving bathrooms, kitchens, and living rooms. If these areas in your home satisfy you, you may shift your focus to another, oft

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Plan to Avoid Problems: On Quality Bathroom Remodeling in Chicago

"Bathrooms can be a sight to behold—but only if they are designed, built, and maintained right. As a Consumer Reports article states: An expertly remodeled master bathroom will provide years of pleasure and comfort. But do an amateur job and you’ll be reminded of the fact every day. It’s a tricky space, unfortunately, with lots of moving parts crammed into a tight footprint, not to mention the volumes of water ready to exploit any and all leaks. Setting a budget and planning ahead are two ways to keep your project on track. And also take care to choose the best sink, countertop and toilet for your space. All these points hold true everywhere, but they take on added resonance in cities like Chicago, where residences can be sold and bought at high values. Developments in the housing industry indicate that you need a bathroom remodel if you are considering to sell your home, because it raises property value. Whether you take this route or are content with where you are, yet still want

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What the Collapse of 2003 Taught Chicago Porch Builders and Residents

"On June 29, 2003, the wooden porches on the second and third floors of an apartment building in Lincoln Park served as the venue for a great party among law school students and young professionals. Celebrations were supposed to last on and on—but stopped when disaster struck. The porch on the third floor collapsed, bringing the second-floor porch and the party down to the ground. There were enough casualties to bring the tragedy to national attention. As the Chicago Tribune recalls: The early morning disaster 10 years ago — June 29, 2003 — became news nationwide and a flash point for controversy in Chicago, sparking lawsuits affecting victims, family members, city officials and property owners. ""It is certainly the most catastrophic single porch collapse in Chicago,"" said Francis Patrick Murphy, a partner at the Corboy & Demetrio law firm, which represented a number of victims. Chicago porch builders like DAL Builders know this as much as the rest of the city. Changes in po

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Basement Remodeling in Chicago Can Result in Your New Favorite Room

"In many houses, the basement is just a place to store old furniture, broken appliances, and outgrown clothes. However, basements can also be converted to sizable living spaces that any homeowner will enjoy having. People who work at home can turn the entire floor into an office that can handily fit computers, printers, fax machines, filing cabinets, and other business equipment. On the other hand, those who love to entertain guests can turn it into a home theater complete with a large-screen TV and surround sound system. There are virtually no limits to what homeowners can do once they undertake basement remodeling in Chicago homes. If you are curious about how you can transform your basement, contact Chicago basement remodeling experts like DAL Builders for advice. Who knows, soon enough, you might have them constructing your new favorite room."

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Remodeling Tips for the Budget-Conscious Homeowner

A lot of homeowners put off a remodeling project because they don't have enough money to fund it. Such delay can cause frustration especially on occasions when the modifications they want done aren't solely intended to satisfy aesthetic concerns.

If you happen to be on the same boat as these homeowners, consider dividing the remodeling works into manageable chunks. Rather than delaying the pursuit of the project that has been floating around your head for quite a while now, break it down instead into portions that suit your budget at the moment. This will help lessen the project's initial financial impact to your advantage.

Even if you intend to finish the project by stages, still prepare and finalize your plans in advance. Do you still want to realize a great concept you conceived once the project's duration is at or near its end?

Another cost-effective approach you can employ when remodeling is updating rather than upgrading. If you can afford to purchase few expensive building materials, use them sparingly.

When it comes to communicating your expectations, be as specific as you can. For instance, identify the exact materials you want to use to prevent confusion among the remodeling team as well as to avoid change orders sooner or later.

Finally, choose standard-sized over customized furniture and fixtures. You can personalize them by buying embellishments using only a fraction of the total cost you would've spent.

Bathtubs – Out with the old, in with the new

A bathtub creates a unique bathing atmosphere as people can continuously lather up while at the same time relax and lounge in the tub. However, bathtubs are also prone to wear and tear, as are many bathroom fixtures are wont to be. When this happens, replacement is a more viable option for the sake of everyone's safety. Others, meanwhile, opt to replace their tubs for the purpose of remodeling the entire bathroom. Whatever the reasons may be, though, the important thing is to leave the entire process to a professional, so as to reduce headaches on your part.

The first order of business in the process of bathtub removal is stripping off the molding, underlayment, and the floor covering. If the bathtub is attached to the walls, then these would have to be worked over as well, to ensure a perfect fit. The water and drain connections to the bathroom should be shut down while this is going on. The contractor can then proceed with chipping away the tub’s wall coverings and remove the support clips.

If there’s an open room closest to the bathtub, the remodelers should access it and make a hole to slide it through. However, if the wall is important to the house’s structural integrity, the studs that will be affected by the hole must be braced up before moving the tub. The replacement tub itself may be of the same dimensions as the old one and the installation would be done in reverse.

Accentuate Your House With A Porch

Any home design can have a porch, but the best porch, according to experts, appears as if it's been there from the get-go. In this case, designers cite the importance of sticking to the architecture of the house in designing the porch. Think of the porch as a dental implant; a properly-placed implant looks like a natural tooth in plain sight. To put it simply, it doesn't look too obvious.

Fortunately, many homes in the U.S. have a long history, dating back to as early as the first settlers. Colonial-style homes are among the most prolific designs used in the country, often featuring design emphasis on the front door and symmetrical architecture (equal number of windows on both sides of the door). Later versions featured elevated brick foundations and matching porch designs.

For contemporary homes, professional porch builders suggest looking for design cues to help design a porch that fits the bill aesthetically. For example, if the window frame has an arched head on top, design the posts in the porch the same way. This allows the posts to accentuate the window design and blend with the home design itself. Overall, the porch is part of a reflective image of the home.

What to Do With Your Basement? Plenty.

The basement is an undiscovered treasure for many homes. A typical basement offers 1000 sq. feet of living space just waiting to be used if only homeowners would invest in it. Instead of simply being a storage area for old and broken stuff, basements can be remodeled into a number of functional and enjoyable spaces:

For The Kids

Basements can be converted into a spacious playroom for the young ones. They’ll have more than enough room to express their creativity, energy and curiosity. You can even put in tables and chairs so they can do all their coloring and drawing (and maybe even homework!) in a space they’ll be sure to love.

For The Boys

The boys have a new favorite hangout: the basement! Why not invite the guys over for a few games of pool? Then when the basketball game starts, you can all lounge on a plush couch while watching the play-offs on a large, flat-screen TV. Of course, having a fully-stocked bar never hurt either.

For Your Health &Fitness

You’ll never have an excuse for not hitting the gym after remodeling your basement into an exercise room. It will handily fit flat benches, treadmills, weight racks and other common gym equipment. Or why not convert it to your own personal yoga or pilates studio? 

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.