BlogEasy Real Estate

In this video, kitchen remodel expert Bob Schmidt discusses options for remodeling your kitchen. There are two basic types of kitchen redesign, and he briefly talks about both.

The first is a situation that involves changing your floorplan – knocking down walls, rearranging the configuration of your appliances, adding new windows, etc. For this type of remodel project you should spend the money and consult with a legitimate designer or architect.

The second type of kitchen remodel project just involves working within the space already being used for your kitchen – upgrading or installing new cabinets, flooring, appliances, etc. For this type of project you will probably not need a designer. You can get a lot of helpful information – including suggestions on competent tradespeople – from a major building center like Home Depot, Lowes, Rona or Home Building Centre.

For example, Home Depot will come to your home, measure up your space and then create a computerized kitchen design. They will do this for a small fee ($100 is mentioned in the video). Lowes has a very similar service at a similar price.

The major decision is whether you hire a contractor or do the sub-contracting yourself. For suggestions on finding kitchen remodeling help in the My Town area, give me a call.

blogeasy :: Aug.27.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

One of the easiest parts of your My Town house to properly insulate is your attic. Usually there is much less preparation time required, and it is much easier to finish the job than when you insulate other parts of your home.

Why bother insulating your attic? The reasons are pretty straightforward. Since your attic is much more exposed to the outdoor weather the temperature in your attic will be much more extreme – hot in the summer and cold in the winter. So without a sufficient insulation barrier between the attic and the interior of your house there will be a lot of heat transfer. That means you will have a less comfortable house, and higher heating and cooling bills.

Here is a video, produced by the Owens Corning company, where they demonstrate how to properly insulate an attic. They show how to place insulation between your attic joists, where to use a vapor barrier, and just how much insulation to use.

blogeasy :: Aug.25.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

Remodeling or improving your kitchen is an important way to increase the resale value as well as your own enjoyment of your your town home.

This is the first in a series of videos about kitchen upgrading and design. In this video kitchen remodeling expert Bob Schmidt discusses the preliminary steps you should go through when deciding on remodeling your kitchen.

Communication between you and your spouse or partner is very important, along with getting the advice of an experienced professional. Every facet of your remodel project has an impact on the end result and on the cost.

blogeasy :: Aug.24.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

If you have one of those new clothes dryers that has a blocked vent indicator, you will at least be aware that having an unblocked vent is important. Many people don’t know that a build-up of fluff can cause a fire.

A few tests have shown that even when a vent completely blocked, these new indicators may or may not light up to warn you. Therefore the prudent thing to do is check your dryer vent regularly and remove as much lint as possible. Also remember to clear the lint trap after every dryer load.

blogeasy :: Aug.20.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

In this video from Lowe’s Mike Kraft their home improvement expert, offers helpful tips for maintaining your string trimmer. Learn how to replace string, change the oil, clean the trimmer filter and more that will help keep your trimmer working like new.

blogeasy :: Aug.18.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

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When you’re installing a dimmer switch in your location home here are some useful tips to make the job easier. When you have decided which rooms would benefit from variable lighting, then gather up a few things such as wire nuts, screwdriver, and wire stripper, and get to work.

Imagine how surprised your family will be when they discover that they can lower the living room lights on movie night, or illuminate that important science project they have spread out on the kitchen counter. By watching this very informative video, you will become an expert in no time.

blogeasy :: Aug.16.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

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If you have an asphalt driveway in your Local Town home, it will probably develop cracks. Tim Carter from AskTheBuilder.com demonstrates how to fill a cracked blacktop surface. He fills the crack with an asphalt compound using a caulking gun..

Some things he points out:

- Make sure the asphalt is not wet
- Brush out the crack so there are no loose bits of debris
- To use this method the crack should not be too large
- The caulking compound is easier to work with when the weather is not too cool
- Do not overfill the crack otherwise you will have a mess

Notice that he recommends using bits of asphalt debris from the driveway itself to help fill larger spots in the crack and make the compound work better.

He also suggests you find some asphalt debris found beside the driveway and sprinkle it over the compound so it looks more like the rest of the driveway.

blogeasy :: May.04.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

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In this video home improvement guru Tim Carter takes a call from someone whose toilet keeps on running. Tim explains the job of finding and changing the faulty flapper valve.

The flapper valve in your Local toilet is the thing that opens and closes the opening that allows water run to the toilet bowl.

If the flapper itself is not closed the right way water will trickle from the tank and the toilet reservoir will continuously try to fill itself.

In situations where the flapper falls back into position correctly it probably needs replacing because it is not fixable. Be sure when you make the trip to your LocalTown plumbing supply store to find a replacement part you end up with the right one.

Resource: AskTheBuilder.com

blogeasy :: Apr.22.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

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Building a garden wall is an excellent ways to add some style to the landscaping of your LocalCity home. In this video Mike Kraft from Lowe’s describes how to build a retainer wall using readily available materials from most LocalCity area landscaping stores.

There are lots of different types of stones available in the LocalCity area for building retaining walls. You should check out the alternatives to determine what best suits the type of wall you are aiming for.

This project will require some simple excavating, so after you have a location and design worked out, contact a LocalTown area utility company to arrange to locate various utility lines buried under the ground.

This video shows you exactly how to do the project yourself. You are given a list of tools are required and how to properly plan and begin the project. You are also shown how to prepare the ground and how to construct the wall so it will last for years.

For further information on sources for materials and tools for projects like this, callgarden centers. If you don’t feel you can tackle this project yourself, give me a call and I can recommend LocalTown area professionals who can do a great job for you.

blogeasy :: Apr.18.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

Whenever your attic is not correctly insulated you are probably losing a large amount of heat in the winter.

When it’s hot out your attic will get very hot and some of that heat will end up into your living space, which will increase your air conditioning costs.

In this video, produced by the Owens Corning company, they show how to lay insulation in your attic, how to use a vapor barrier, and how much insulating material to use.

Some people do this work themselves. Or if you need help locating an experienced installer in the My Region area, contact me and I’d be glad to make some suggestions.

blogeasy :: Apr.13.2010 :: home improvements :: 2 Comments »

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There are a few tips to cutting lawns properly. Done properly, cutting the grass will lessen the need to use any additional pesticides in your My City yard. Growing a healthy lawn will make it harder for weeds to flourish. Cutting grass too seldom or too low can cause the lawn to turn brown and let lawn diseases spread throughout the weakened grass.

Keeping a proper height is important. Most varieties of grass ought be cut when the blades grow to four inches high. Allowing a lawn to get much higher than this may cause it to go into shock when it is eventually mown. Using a mulching mower returns grass clippings to the lawn where they act as their own fertilizer.

Except for some specialty grasses, the mower blades should be set to three inches. Many home owners cut the grass too short, thinking that they will not have to mow again so soon. But trimming it too short can also shock the grass. Taller grass will stay greener. It shades the soil and discourages weeds from germinating.

Grass will grow at different rates throughout the growing season. Differences in the amount of water, sunlight, and temperature all affect the rate of growth. Your mowing timetable needs to adapt to the height of the grass and not be preprogrammed to conform to a calendar. When the grass grows fastest in the spring, it usually needs to be cut twice a week. During a dry season, it may need cutting far less often.

Maintaining the lawn properly and regularly will save work in the long run.

Copyright AgentMapIt AgentMapit BlogEasy

blogeasy :: Apr.05.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

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Your 0 realtor has just suggested that repainting could help sell your house. You question, “Is there an easier way?”

Maybe there is. You might not escape painting completely, but painting to resell is often easier than painting to decorate.

Time Saving Tips

- If the room already has a high-quality paint, try sponging down the walls first. That just might freshen up the look of the area.

- If only one spot in the room is unattractive, just paint to the nearest corner and not the entire room.

- Use paint in the same color so that it will take a single coat.

- If the walls are in fair condition, retouching the woodwork around the doorways and windows can make the room look clean as new.

- Remember that it is faster and easier to remove switch plates, doorknobs, and outlet covers than it is to avoid getting pain on them. It also leaves a more professional look.

If you do choose to repaint the entire room, pick the proper rollers and brushes for the job so that you won’t create extra troubles with streaks an roller lint. A good quality paint is easier to use than a economy-grade quality one.

Copyright AgentMapIt AgentMapit BlogEasy

blogeasy :: Mar.29.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

In MyCity, and for that matter any other city in the country buying a home is the biggest investment decision that most of us will face. The roof of your MyTown house plays an important role in preserving the condition of your house and maintaining its value in the resale market.

The life of your roof depends on the type of roofing components you use, the weather in your local community, the way it is installed and the type of maintenance it gets on a regular basis.

Asphalt shingle roofs will typically last from 30 to 40 years. The same applies to wood shingle roofs – 30 to 40 years. Roofs covered with clay tiles usually last for a period of 20 years. Metal roofs can last for in excess of 40 years.

Exposure to the sun has a major impact on your roof, irrespective of the materials used. The direct rays and heat from the sun cause virtually all materials to become weaker because of expansion, contraction, warping and curling. Other weather factors including water from rain, high winds, snow, hail, etc. lead to more damage to the already weakened roof resulting in the form of leaks, splits and cracks, mildew and the growth and spreading of fungus.

If an initial overview of your roof it is often advisable to have those problems dealt with as promptly as you can. Many times an inspection of a roof reveals that there is a leakage problem at a number of spots and that the shingles are not capable of being repaired. When that is the case having the roof replaced is often a better course of action than trying to repair it.

When you need a competent roofing expert for your MyCity home, contact me. I have dealt with many home maintenance contractors in the MyCity area and almost certainly will be able to suggest someone who can do the job for you at a good price.

blogeasy :: Mar.23.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

Just about everyone selling their MyCity home asks how much effort and cost they should sink into their home to get the best selling price.

Of course not all homes are the same. But most real estate experts agree that no matter what condition your home is in, relatively inexpensive cosmetic improvements can make a big difference. But they also agree you are not nearly as likely to recover the costs of doing major renovations.

Let’s take a closer look at this. First, you have to realize that the price of your home is largely set by your location. That price is arrived at by comparing similar homes in your neighborhood and the values assigned to other homes with similar amenities. The result is that an exquisite home in a lower priced district in MyCity will not get the same kind of offers as it would in a higher priced neighborhood in the same town. Yes, you can try to increase the selling price of your home by adding high-priced extras, but it doesn’t usually work.

Just think about it for a minute. Say you were a buyer and you had a choice of buying two MyCity homes with roughly the same features, and the only difference being the neighborhood. Same price, same features, different neighborhood. Most of us would choose the one in the better neighborhood? Well, most people would, and that’s why you should not count on significantly increasing the resale value of your home by building in high-priced features. And it’s also why expensive updating of things like kitchens and bathrooms may not be worth doing – because the value of your home will tend to be pre-determined by its location.

Instead, focus on improvements that will increase your home’s curb appeal and give the impression that you have taken care of your home, while keeping it fresh and clean – things like painting, cleaning and landscaping. By all means add improvements to your home for the sake of your own enjoyment.

But don’t assume you will get the cost of those improvements back when you go to sell your home. Kitchen and bathroom renovations will almost always improve your home’s appeal, and often increase the resale value of your home in the MyCity area, or anywhere else for that matter. But those renovations may cost quite a bit and you have to take that into consideration. You’ll probably find you will not recover the full cost, and you might be better advised to simply sell for a bit lower and let the new owners do the renovations.

blogeasy :: Mar.15.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »

One of the most frustrating problems of MyCity home ownership is a leaky basement. Water can flow into your basement because of a number of problems, so there is no simple solution.

Installing a sump pump is often the first “solution” tried by home owners with leaky basements. But putting in a sump pump is a kind of last resort measure, rather than a fix for your more basic problem.

Water leaks happen because of two conditions: the soil around your foundation is not draining away properly, and your walls and/or floors have openings that let the water leak into the basement. You can compare your basement to a reverse swimming pool. If the walls are not sealed properly, any water accumulating in the exterior soil will try to get through the openings.

To eliminate this water flow the first thing you should try to do is improve the drainage of the low lying areas around the outside of your foundation. Here is an excellent overview of some inexpensive exterior drainage solutions including french drain and dry well installations.

Sometimes the best approach is to install an interior drainage system. with an interior drainage system water beneath the floor or at the base of your walls is collected by a drainage pipe under the floor and carried to your sump pit. For a description of how this works see this article about interior drainage systems.

blogeasy :: Mar.15.2010 :: home improvements :: No Comments »