Home Improvement – Elizabeth Harris Gallery

Reasons to Renovate Your Home

Ibrahim Wilkins 2022-07-23 0 Comments

Are you thinking of renovating your home? If so, you’re making a wise decision. Renovating your home has many amazing benefits, including increased property value, improved comfort and functionality, and reduced energy costs. This blog post will discuss some of the top benefits of renovating your home. We’ll also provide tips on how to get started with your renovation project.

You Can Reduce the Cost of Your Utilities

One of the most amazing benefits of renovating your home is that you can reduce the cost of your utilities. You can save money on your monthly bills by making your home more energy-efficient.

In addition, by updating your appliances and fixtures, you can also save water. This will help to lower your utility bills even further. So, renovating your home is a great option if you want to save money on your utilities.

There are many ways to make your home more energy-efficient, so research and find the best option for your needs. You can also talk to a professional contractor about energy-saving renovations that would be right for your home.

It Can Make You an Ideal Neighbor

It can be quite embarrassing to have an eyesore for a house if you live in a neighborhood where most homes are well-maintained. By renovating your home, you’re not only making yourself proud but also setting a good example for your neighbors. A little bit of elbow grease can go a long way in making your neighborhood a more pleasant place to live in for everyone. Plus, if you ever decide to sell your home, potential buyers will be impressed by the condition of your home and may be willing to pay more for it as a result.

It Can Save You Money

One of the best things about renovating your home is that it can save you money in the long run.

By making energy-efficient upgrades, you can reduce your monthly bills and even increase the value of your home if you ever decide to sell.

It Can Increase Your Home’s Value

Renovating your home might be a terrific method to raise its value if you intend to sell it in the future. Even if you don’t intend to sell, raising the value of your house can help you accumulate equity. If you decide to sell your property in the future, a well-done makeover might increase its appeal to purchasers. Since most buyers choose move-in-ready properties that don’t need maintenance, investing in a high-quality renovation can make selling your house easier.

Renovating your home can offer many amazing benefits, including increased property value, improved comfort and functionality, and reduced energy costs. By researching the best options for your needs and working with a professional contractor, you can ensure your renovation project is successful. So be sure to consider renovating your home if you’re looking for ways to improve your property.…

Considerations When Choosing Floor Tiles

Henry Schiffman 2021-05-07 0 Comments

Tiles are among the common flooring options used today. Some of the reasons people choose tiles for their floors is that they are strong and long-lasting and make a home have a classy appearance. Besides, tiles are easy to clean. If you are looking for tiles for your house, you can buy them from the best and reliable sellers like the Online Flooring Store. Such sellers offer you value for money because they have the best-quality flooring options like tiles.

Below are some of the factors to consider when buying tiles for your floor:

Consider the Room Size

The size of the room whose floor you intend to tile is a crucial factor when choosing the floor tiles. If you want a small room to feel larger and well-aerated, choose big tiles. The size of the room also influences the tile colors of the tiles. Typically, light-colored tiles are the best choice in small spaces because they make the place feel bigger. Conversely, your options are many for larger rooms because you can select either dark or light tiles.

Consider the Place You Are Tiling

As you shop for your tiles, it would help keep in mind the place you intend to lay them. This is because there are tiles that are only meant for the walls, others for the floor only, and some could be used on both walls and floors. Moreover, there are tiles for indoor spaces and for outside.

Therefore, as you choose tiles, consider where you intend to tile and the effect you want to bring. For example, you could consider using the same tiles on both the wall and the floor for harmony.Also, as you consider the location you will lay the tile, think about the chances of the floor being wet or slippery, for example, bathroom and kitchen. Choose textured or matte tiles in slippery areas like bathrooms because those tiles are less slippery.

Decide Whether Porcelain or Ceramic Tiles

Porcelain and ceramic tiles are so alike that even experts have difficulty telling them apart. However, the difference between the two has to do with their manufacturing process. To get porcelain tiles, they are fired at far higher temperatures and longer than the ceramic ones. Due to that processing, porcelain tiles are hard-wearing and the most suitable for the flooring. Therefore, it would also be prudent to go for the economical ceramic tiles when choosing wall tiles because walls do not need heavy-duty porcelain tiles.

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How to Choose a Painting Contractor

Ibrahim Wilkins 2020-05-10 0 Comments

When you need some painting job done, whether it is for your residential house or commercial building, the first question that comes to your mind is –who will do the job? Well, getting a good painter can be a daunting task. This is because you have to balance quality service, timely delivery, and reasonable budget. The reality is that painters don’t have the best reputation, so you need to hire a reliable one, like Atlanta Painter, to avoid being ripped off or getting a shoddy job.

So what should you consider when looking for a painter?

Look for Experience

It is critical to know how long the painting contractor has been in that business. If they have been in the field for several years, there is a good reason. Most likely, it could be that they deliver excellent services within the agreed duration and charge reasonable rates. But it is not to imply that new businesses are not good enough; the issue is that they have no or minimal track record and have few reviews.

For you to have peace of mind, it is better to work with painting contractors who have rendered services for at least five years. They have a good profile of works completed and many reviews that you can use to gauge their work.

Avoid Subcontractors

One key aspect that many people often forget to consider when hiring painters is whether the employees working on your premises will be direct employees of the company or will be subcontracted. With subcontracting other painters, there comes a horde of complications that you may not have foreseen. For example, when you have the persons painting your building direct from the company you engaged, their workman compensation and liability insurance are provided by the company you contracted.

You can be at peace if you have verified the company’s insurance cover. However, when there are subcontractors involved, you have to check the liability insurance of each person. If any of those working for you is injured or cause damage and didn’t have any insurance cover, you will bear the burden. As such, you are safer avoiding painters using subcontractors.

Compare the Costs

You should get estimates or quotes from at least three painters, before settling on one. While sourcing the estimates, ask all the painters similar questions and present the same expectations to them. With all the quotes in hand,make sure that the proposals have the same materials, scope of work, time frame, and even the required documentation.

The contractors must break down the overall cost to specific expenses like labor, materials, logistics, and so on. You can then select the one who charges reasonable rates and commits to deliver within your time frame and meets other criteria like experience and having insurance cover.…

Ibrahim Wilkins 2020-02-23 0 Comments

It does not matter whether you are remodeling the entire kitchen or picking a few accents to touch up; there is a need to match your skirting boards with the overall theme, design, and feel of the kitchen. Remember that such details will make or break your interior kitchen theme. The truth is that skirting boards not an afterthought; they provide a range of both visual and functional benefits, particularly if your home has wooden floors. As a result of the nature of the wooden floorboards and the tendency to expand and contract with the weather conditions, it is advisable to leave the gap around the perimeter of the wall. These are some of the things to help you make the right decision.

Who Uses the Kitchen?

There is a need to take into account whoever lives in your home and who uses your kitchen. For instance, are the skirting boards likely to be scuffed by toys or crayons? During the kitchen remodel, it is quite easy to be swept up in aesthetics or pursuit of culinary, utilitarian heaven. However, there is a need to be realistic with your remodel. There is no need to invest a lot of money into skirting boards that you will need to replace in a few months’ time because of puppy or toddler damage. You should note that some dog breeds like chewing skirting boards.

How Your Home Looks Like

When replacing or decorating, one of the important aspects to consider is how your kitchen looks like and if you want it to remain that way. Maybe you want to change home décor and theme, but you are not sure how it will be. You have to take into account your style and choose skirting boards that match your style. For instance, if you have a period-style house, you can complement it by decorating skirting boards that include ovolo, ogee, and torus. On the other hand, modern kitchens can be complemented by simple skirting boards such as bullnose, pencil-round, and square-edged.

Painting

The question here is to paint or not to. First, there is a need to have a better understanding of the type of finish you hope to achieve and the demands of the skirting boards. In this way, you can have an understanding of whether you choose to paint your boards or not. Like anything else, there are various things to consider as far as painting is concerned.…

Investing on an Apartment: Five Major Costs to Consider

Ibrahim Wilkins 2020-01-12 0 Comments

Investing in something huge like an apartment could be very challenging for a first-timer. It requires more than just knowing where it’s located and if it suits your budget.

Purchasing an apartment is also much more complicated than buying a house since you don’t buy the land outright. For first-time buyers, here’s a checklist on what to look for when buying your first apartment.

1. Ownership and Costs

A leasehold property is the one where you have the right to occupy a specific place that you share with other people. This means, if you’re buying an apartment within a building, you have a shared responsibility with the co-owners to maintain the whole structure. Having a part of the ownership means you also have to chip in to maintain facilities like elevators, pools, passageways, and more. These things are all maintained through the collection of annual fees, so make sure you are informed about this before purchasing a place.

2. Existing Lease

With leasehold properties, you have the right to live in a specific property in a set amount of time. As time passes and the lease changes hands, its value also decreases. This is why it is essential to know how much time is left on the lease. If you buy an apartment with less than 80 years left on the lease, you might find yourself struggling to sell the property in at least five years. Having to deal with extending this can cost you money, so make sure you know about this before buying.

3. Renovations

Many people tend to buy a property that is old, but cheaper in price then eventually remodel it into something they actually like. However, not all property owners allow these kinds of alterations, so make sure you know about the property’s rules before purchasing it. Some allow modifications but have some restrictions. Be specific with what changes you are planning to do and talk with your solicitor.

4. Major Repair Costs

Annual fees and service charges should cover general maintenance but may not include significant repairs such as roof repairs or any extensive work. If this happens, you might have to ask who would shoulder such repairs and how costs will be divided amongst owners. That being said, you must prepare yourself for future dilemmas like this.

5. Hidden Costs

At the start of the transaction, you wouldn’t worry about the “hidden costs” since it’s not a present problem. This may include extra charges for updating records if a new person joins or leaves the management. This can add up to your costs, so it is worth planning for.…

The Benefits of Skirting Boards

Ibrahim Wilkins 2019-12-08 0 Comments

To some minimalist architects, skirting boards or baseboards have no importance whatsoever in a home structure. They think that they are just additional pieces of wood or PVC that are nailed or glued on the base of the walls. But to some homeowners who think otherwise, a skirting board has functions, and it can add to the aesthetic value of a house.

Also called mopboard, floor molding, or base molding, skirt boards are usually made of wood or PVC. They provide an outline at the base of the walls. Here are some of the importance of skirting boards to our homes.

As Protection to Walls

Covering the lowest part of interior walls, skirting boards are made primarily to cover the space between the wall and the floor. As a wall protector, it acts as a shield to unnecessary force that is exerted on the lower part of your walls like kicks or when we are moving fixtures and pieces of furniture. Your walls will be protected when your vacuum cleaner comes in contact when you are cleaning. The walls will also be kept safe from scratches from your toddler’s toys.

In the kitchen, skirting boards are crucial when water drips into the floor. It will prevent the water from getting in contact with the wall, which will soon cause wooden walls to rot. And because baseboards are well-placed on top of the floor and pasted on the wall, it leaves no space for dirt and dust to enter underneath it.

Increases the Aesthetic Value of Your Interiors

A wooden skirting board system will undoubtedly add a classical feel to your home. Skirting boards have been here for ages. In the past, skirting boards are even taller than the skirting boards that we see today. When you choose wood as your baseboard, you can have various designs to select from. You can also emphasize its look by Octopus painting it to enhance the design and add to the colorfulness of the interior of your house.

When your skirting board is made from PVC, it is glued on the lower part of your wall with strong adhesives so that removal is difficult. PVC baseboards are more flexible than wood, and they can come in different colors. They are very durable and are easy to maintain.

Other Functions

Skirting boards can help in the insulation of a room. By leaving no space in between the wall and the floor, movement of heat from one room to the other is reduced. Through baseboards, the sound-proofing of rooms within the house is also enhanced, which means more privacy can be enjoyed.…

Benefits of Utilizing Window Treatments in Homes

Henry Schiffman 2019-10-08 0 Comments

Window treatments are much more than regular window coverings. A diverse variety of treatments can be utilized to improve the style and functionality of the windows. A common method that some homeowners used to counter the excess heat was using window treatments.

A few of the common types of window treatments include curtains, drapes, sheers, shutters, and blinds. There may be many varieties but they all do the same thing; offer light control, privacy, enhance home aesthetic, and room insulation. Window treatments give the homeowner a humble and easy time deciding which type of treatment they fancy. You can decide to use one style or try blending different styles.

So, how do these new changes to your home windows improve your living conditions?

Offer Protection

The most significant benefit of getting the treatments installed is security. Regardless of the type of treatment you choose (curtains, shades, shutters or blinds,) they all offer protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Also, long periods of sunlight exposure can lead to fading and damage to most household accessories. With the help of window treatment, you can counter the effects of the sunrays and still maintain a room’s aesthetic.

Give You Light Control Ability

Another benefit of utilizing the coverings is because they assist in controlling the amount of light inside a room. If you prefer a dark theme, you have the option to get your window completely covered. You are guaranteed of having peaceful daytime sleeps. Still, if you need a well-lit room you can simply open the curtains and shades.

Offer More Privacy

When you aim to increase the privacy of a room, the windows are among the significant targets. Window treatments assist in improving privacy in your living spaces. By drawing the curtains, you can block any nosy neighbors from viewing the inside of your house. Coverings often come in handy in offices; where discretion is of importance during business discussions and staff meetings.

Treatments are Means of Saving Energy

The majority of window coverings are great insulators. During hot temperatures, the treatment on your window blocks the heat outside from getting inside the room. Similarly, during winter, heat does not escape from inside allowing you to enjoy some warmth. At the end of the day, you end up saving some money because of minimal to no use of cooling and heating appliances.

There is no particular rule to follow while picking window treatments. Keep in mind the above-mentioned factors and all other necessities while obtaining the treatments. Also, remember to take good care of the coverings by cleaning and correctly sustaining them…

Category: Home Improvement