Basement Renovations | Yakima Furniture

General Contractors Tips – Carpeting a Basement

August 30, 2022 Comments Off

When you’re remodeling your basement, carpeting is often on your mind at least for part of it – especially if you’re building out a space that’s going to be used for family gathering and entertainment. Before you jump at the first carpet choice that looks good however, take the time to consider what you’ll really be using that space for. Likewise, talk with some general contractors about the best carpet choice for your design ideas.
Carpeting for a Playroom
Growing families with small children often require a lot of space for romping, fun, playtime and the mass amounts of toys. If you plan on remodeling your basement to turn it into a playroom then you should consider a quality, durable carpet that will stand the test of time.
A second option for a playroom is carpet tiles. Tiles offer easy installation and maintenance, and should the carpet need replacing you can just go after the problem tiles instead of tearing up the entire run of carpet in your basement or play area. While quality tiles are expensive, you’ll save on maintenance and replacement down the road. Buying some extra tiles ahead of time will ensure that you have them on hand if there’s an accident or damage later on – allowing for quick replacement.
Installing Carpet Tiles
Carpet tiles are a great DIY project once general contractors have finished the rest of your basement. The first step is to ensure that you have a clean floor, free of debris, and level. Review the layout of your basement and find the center of the room or area. You can do this by pulling chalk lines from corner to corner. From here, locate the centers of the walls for the playroom in the basement. Connect the midpoints of all walls that face one another with chalk lines again.
After you have the chalk lines, you can start laying carpet tape over those lines as well as the room perimeter. Once your lines are in place you can begin laying carpet tiles, starting from the center of one wall and working your way to another. Depending on the size of the room or basement area and the layout, you may need to cut some tiles to fit snugly.
Carpeting a Game Room or Family Room
If you’ll be turning your basement into a game room or other gathering area then you can expect a lot of high traffic – more so than a kids play area. An indoor/outdoor carpet designed to withstand high traffic with shoes is a good idea here. If you prefer something that’s more comfortable then you may want to make the extra investment and go for a more plush but highly durable stainmaster carpet. The added plush is comfortable on feet, adds the right atmosphere to a family room and cozy’s up any basement.
There are a lot of carpet styles on the market, so choosing the right style and color for your basement will be difficult. If you’re stuck, run over your design ideas with a general contractor and get their input. Likewise, you can speak with friends and family to check their experience with carpet installation and carpet preference.

Worried About The Risks Of Asthma? How Your Roofing Replacement Company Can Help

May 10, 2022 Comments Off

If you or your children are constantly suffering from asthma, like 21.8 million others in the United States, there might be a hidden danger lurking somewhere in your home. This danger is mold and 4.6 million cases can be directly attributed to dampness in the home. Learn about why it’s important to have an exterior home remodeling specialist from a roofing replacement company come and inspect your roofing and your attic space to make sure your home isn’t an ideal breeding ground for mold.
What Is Asthma?
People who have asthma can have serious problems breathing. This is because the disorder causes the airways to swell, which makes it harder to intake air. An attack can happen at any time, and symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing and even a blue tint to the lips or face.
It can be difficult to diagnose asthma because lungs will sound normal when there’s no attack. Because of this, many doctors will provide people who suspect they have asthma with a rescue inhaler that contains a steroid. These steroids often allow an immediate opening of the airways, which eliminates the restriction. There’s no cure, but it’s possible to treat asthma so that sufferers can live a normal life.
Why It Occurs
Different sufferers have different triggers that can cause an attack. Some of the most common triggers include animal hair or dander, dust, weather changes (normally moving from warm to cold), exercise, mold, smoke, stress and common colds. Any of these triggers can cause an attack. The key is to know which trigger you suffer from and do everything you can to avoid that trigger.
How A Roofing Replacement Company Can Help
Mold is one of the biggest triggers plaguing sufferers. Because it can grow unseen in a house, it can be one of the most dangerous triggers. Much of a home’s dampness can be attributed to a roof that’s improperly ventilated and this improper ventilation may encourage the growth of spores. But why is improper ventilation such a big problem?
When a roof is properly ventilated, air can freely circulate throughout the attic. Without it, the air can become humid and stagnant. Stagnant air can condense and the moisture in the air will eventually lead to mold growth on walls, floorboards and more.
If your house doesn’t have attic vents, a roofing replacement company should install them. These vents will pull in air that’s the same temperature as the outside, which eliminates the condensation problem that leads to mildew and spores. If you do have the vents, but they’re not doing their job, a roofing replacement company can recommend that you install fans in your attic or baffles if the problem is insulation that’s prohibiting air flow.
Contacting an exterior home remodeling company for help can eliminate the potential for mold growth in your house. If they do find mildew or spores, you’ll need to contact a remediation company after fixing the cause that led to the growth in the first place. Don’t let your family suffer in silence — you’ll find yourself breathing better and living without the fear of an asthma attack.

Remodeling to Sell Your Home

April 16, 2022 Comments Off

You may be thinking about a home remodeling project, but you’re not sure you’ll spend more than a few years in your home. Don’t fret. Even in today’s economy it’s possible to remodel a house and still get a good return on your investment (ROI).
Kitchen – Today the kitchen is the center of the home and the focus of every home buyer’s attention. That makes kitchen remodeling projects the king of ROI. Realtors estimate that a good kitchen renovation can yield an 80% to 100% return on the money you invest. In today’s market, an up-to-date kitchen will also make your house sell more easily and quickly.
Bathrooms – Bathroom remodeling projects are usually second only to kitchens when it comes to ROI. Because a dated bathroom can make a whole house seem older, it’s one of the best places to invest your money. ROI for bathrooms averages 70% to 90%, but be sure to consider today’s trends. Many home buyers seek bathrooms that feel spa-like and relaxing, with little touches like multiple head showers or even steam rooms.
Windows and Siding – If you’re thinking about selling your house, consider replacing old windows or deteriorating siding, projects which can yield an ROI around 80%. Many buyers today are thinking about energy efficiency, so consider energy-efficient replacement windows. If you buy Energy Star rated windows, the government will also give you a tax break of up to $1,500.
Attics and Basements – Putting in an attic bedroom or remodeling your basement to create more usable living space can increase your quality of your bottom line. Return on investment estimates for these projects are around 75%.
Simple Fixes – Don’t just focus on big remodeling projects. If you’re planning to put your house on the market any time soon, a fresh look can be as easy as a coat of paint in a neutral color or replacing the pulls and knobs on your kitchen cabinets. Fairly superficial improvements such as replacing worn flooring or dated-looking countertops can also make your home more attractive to a buyer.

Construction Defects Lead to Home Repairs

April 13, 2022 Comments Off

Most of the construction workers that work on brand-new homes, don’t realize the problems that they could be creating later for homeowners and even the home builders that they’re working for.
Construction defects eventually lead to home repairs and the biggest problem with this is the inexperienced workforce that is building homes today. The new home building process has become mechanized and workers are like robots going through the process.
Most of the labor is skilled at one specific task and if they run into a problem that they’re not familiar with, they often cover it up or leave it for another trade to deal with, only to find out that the problem was never dealt with by anyone.
Today’s homes are being built faster than ever and it seems like they can build a home twice as fast as they could 20 years ago. I don’t really know if the speed that they’re building these homes with is going to create more home repairs in the future or less, but I do know one thing, it’s never good to cover up construction defects that could eventually lead to home repairs.
Home repairs of course eventually lead to financial problems and sometimes these financial burdens turn into lawsuits. Today’s home builders have different methods of dealing with construction defects and sometimes their solutions are simple Band-Aids and don’t really fix the problem correctly.
It’s never a good idea to hire a home builder who uses inexperienced and cheap labor. Find a home builder who only uses qualified construction labor to build your house. This will prevent a lot of frustration in the future.

Can I Really Power My Home With Wind Energy?

May 1, 2021 Comments Off

The Federal Tax Credits currently available in the US for upgrades for residential energy efficiency are significant enough to have many people thinking about energy efficiency remodeling. There is much discussion around the cost benefits of installing solar energy systems and even geothermal heat pump systems. But many homeowners are still asking, “Can I really power my home with wind energy?” The answer is “Yes!”
When most of us think about wind energy, we flash on images of huge turbines lined up in mid-western or off-shore wind farms. We see pictures of turbines 150 yards in diameter that sit 3000 feet above sea level. But wind technology is advancing daily. In fact, turbine design is advancing so fast that some of the wind-energy web sites are having difficulty keeping up!

Many farms and other residential and industrial facilities in rural areas have been using wind turbines for years to provide all power for their needs. But as interest in powering homes with wind energy grows, new technologies are producing quieter, more attractive, turbines that can be effective at lower elevations. In fact, there are new turbine designs that can be incorporated into landscaping design around homes.

The economics of wind power depend on where you live, how much wind is available on a continuous basis at what elevation, and whether you plan to invest in batteries to store excess energy. The economics of wind power also depend on whether you plan to install a stand-alone system to provide all of your energy needs or you plan to connect to the electric grid serving your area and use a wind energy system to generate power that you supply to the electric company in exchange for free energy. Either way, a small wind system could provide all of the power your home needs with wind energy.

You can now purchase a wind generator from and from several other online retailers. You can also purchase complete wind systems from the manufacturer. At the very least, you can do your homework online before you start talking with a local contractor. Most states currently require that wind power systems be professionally installed by certified contractors. Before you purchase any equipment from any source, you should discuss your options and what kind of systems are working for other homeowners in your area with your contractor.

Choices of turbines are generally based on the amount of wind power generated by the system. This is measured in kilowatts. For example, a 1.2kW turbine produces 1200 watts. A turbine of this size installed where there is an average wind speed of 12 mph will produce about 2000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The cost of a wind system usually ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 per kilowatt connected to the grid. The cost could be lower for an independent system not connected to the grid. Turbines are expected to last about 20 years.

In most cases, the installation cost for a 10 kilowatt residential system will be about $35,000 to $40,000. In an energy efficient home, this system could meet all energy needs, eliminating the electric bill. The amount of time needed to recover the cost would depend on current average monthly electric bill (e.g., a home using $200 of electricity per month, would recover $2,400 of the cost each year) and the available purchase incentives. The incentives would begin with the current Federal Income Tax Credit of 30% of the cost of equipment and installation or $10,500 – $12,000. Many states also offer such incentives as investment tax credits, sales tax reductions, property tax reductions, and financing assistance. Many utility companies also offer a variety of incentives, including net metering, to wind system installation.

In short, it is entirely possible to completely meet the energy needs of an energy efficient home with a wind power system that could be expected to pay for itself in as little as 10 to 15 years.
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