It would be pretty unfair of me to throw all these bad ideas onto the table, without leaving you with a few good ones.

1.) Wood Window Replacement: A homeowner will recoup nearly 80% of an aluminum-clad wood window replacement project when they sell their home. That’s pretty darn significant. Wonder why they’re so valuable? Not only are interior wood windows extremely attractive, their aluminum-clad exteriors offer the appeal of increased energy efficiency. They add value and they reduce energy bills – outstanding combination!

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What do you know? The annual Remodeling Cost vs. Value report for 2009-2010 was just released and despite the track record of recent years past, a new trend is being established.

Hip, hip, hooray for Exterior Remodeling Projects!

Gone are the days of “best bang for your buck” in the form of Kitchen and Bathroom remodeling. It’s the remodeled exterior of your home that will now offer the greatest return, according to this year’s cost vs. value report. Seven out of the top ten high-yielding value projects on this acclaimed report are exterior remodeling projects.

Reason being? I’ll give you one guess.

The state of the economy has forced many homeowner to scale back on their projects in the name of frugality. Tax credits and energy efficiency incentives also aide in this outcome.

Folks are recognizing the importance of quality product vs. price of product (i.e. Most homeowners are now willing to pay more money up front for an energy efficient window that will help to lower utility bills in the long run). Projects are being recognized more and more as true investments.

Your Top Ten list is here:

1. Entry door replacement steel (128.9%)
2. Attic bedroom (83.1%)
3. Deck addition wood (80.6%)
4. Siding replacement vinyl (79.9%)
5. Minor kitchen  remodel (78.3%)
6. Window replacement wood (77.3%)
7. Window replacement vinyl (76.6%)
8. Basement remodel (75.4%)
9. Major kitchen remodel (72.1%)
10. Bathroom remodel (71%)

No, I did not illustrate this cartoon. Not a chance. I stole it from the web. Pulled it off of Google.

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Need to switch things up a little?  Maybe it’s time you make your bedroom brighter or your living room lighter?

If you enjoy doing little projects like these (assuming your bedroom/kitchen are “littler” rooms to begin with), I’ll give you a few get-going tips that will help you to…Get Going!

Rick and I like to do as many of the smaller projects as we can on our own – this way, we can save our pennies for the larger “For-Hire” projects (i.e. windows, siding, etc.)

To get you going on your interior paint project, you’ll first need to know how much paint you need to buy.

You can go to the hardware store and ask – but if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll end up over buying and wondering exactly how much of a commission cut the paint guy just made off of you and your ignorance.

Well, feel ignorant no more.

Standard guide to go by: A gallon of paint will cover 450 square feet of surface area.  Go ahead and figure 400 square feet to be safe.  To determine the amount of paint you will need, multiply the height of the wall by the length and then divide by 400.

h * l / 400

Now, depending on a variety of other factors, you will need to purchase for the proper amount of coats.  Consider the following factors:

• The level of color you are buying in relation to the level of color you are covering
• Texture/condition of wall

Use these guidelines to get you off the ground.

*And if you’re looking for a clever way to re-use your paint stir-sticks, check this out.  Holiday fun for all!

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Evidently we are in the midst of “National Work At Home Moms Week.”  Did you have any idea that such a holiday existed?  Well you do now!

WAHM’s (Work at home moms) spend the majority of both their professional and personal lives at their home.  From a professional standpoint, these women often operate as business owners, freelancers and subcontractors.  And from a personal standpoint, they practice a masterful balance between family and work.  This, ladies and gentleman, is multi-tasking at its finest.

In an effort to help my WAHM’s out just a little, I’d like to provide the web link to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry below.  This link can act as an excellent tool when trying to find assistance with your next home remodel project (You just can’t always do it yourself, right?).  Using a NARI certified contractor will provide guaranteed Quality, Professional & Accredited Work.

This is a great starting point.

NARI Kansas City

(And yes, that is my Pat Strand near the bottom of the list–Too bad they won’t let me submit a photo for their site.  I’ve got a few good ones!)

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So you’re gonna remodel the interior of your home, eh?  This experience can be an adventure or it can be a disaster.  The process is, for the most part, up to you.  I am offering you my advice that will allow you to place as much positive influence into your remodeling project as possible.

1. News Flash!  Your house is about to become a construction site.  Accept it.  Prepare for it.  Work with it.
2. Discuss details and variables with contractor prior to beginning of project.  (i.e. Where will trash be stowed?  Which bathroom will crew be able to use?  How will floors/carpets be protected?)
3. Consider the pets.  Do not assume that your dog will appreciate the workers’ presence.  Also keep in mind, the workers cannot carry heavy materials through gates and doors without propping them open.  Moral of the story: Fefee needs to be contained and quarantined away from the construction.
4. Live like simpletons for a few weeks.  It will be fun!  Eat soups, sandwiches, take-out.  Use disposable plates.  (This will apply mostly for any of you who are either remodeling your kitchen or who are utilizing your kitchen as a work zone during another remodeling project).
5. Number 5 to stay alive: Keep a sense of humor.  Trust that you did ample and adequate research to hire an accredited and talented contractor who has probably done this many more times than you.  This will be messy but it will be well worth it.

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Looking to finish your basement?  Have family or pets who are allergic to mold & mildew?  Maybe you’re just looking to remove the Rainforest-like atmosphere from your little dungeon.  Either way, if you’ve got soggy basement issues, it’s as good a time as any to cure those basement woes.

In addition to allergen issues, moisture in the basement will rot wood, drywall, carpet and just about any other material left in its presence.  When we first moved to our new home several years back, we stored all of our belongings in the basement while we remodeled the upper levels of the house.  Slowly, we brought our stuff upstairs and were able to integrate it into the home.  Our leather furniture set was one of the last items on the list to join the land of the living–it had been buried in the very back of the basement amongst other boxes, tables, tools, etc.  By the time we were able to dig the leather set out from underneath all the other stuff, we discovered the pieces were covered in a greenish, moldy film.  Not only were the exteriors ruined, but the interior mechanisms and hardware had been affected, as well.

Your moisture problem can stem from something as simple as a grading problem.  If the ground along the outside of your foundation doesn’t slope down and away from your house, it will collect rain & snow melt against the foundation.  This excess water will then seep into your basement.

If this is the case, you will need to build up the soil around the foundation to where water runs away from the house.

You can also check your gutters and downspouts.  Make sure there are no leaks allowing water to soak into the foundation.  Extensions can be used on the downspouts to force water to drain away from the house.  (Downspout extensions should drain water at least 3 feet away from the house).

If these little tricks don’t work, you’ll need to call in the big dogs.  Get in contact with a licensed waterproofing contractor.  This guy will be able to give you a good work over–Be forewarned that his services may not be cheap, however.  Permanent solutions can involve excavation or installation of all new drain tile alongside the footings.

But believe this: the longer you wait to tackle the damp dungeon issue, the more damages will be done to your property and to your wallet.

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Wallpaper Calculator

As if hanging wallpaper wasn’t hard enough–The wallpaper roll manufacturers expect us to be able to bust out with our handy-dandy Geometry/Trig skills as we’re standing in aisle 4 trying to decide between solids and stripes!

The above link is a super little tool.  It will help you out with your next wallpapering project.  I think it’s confusing to try to estimate how much wallpaper to purchase for a project, but you can use this link to enter your wall length and height in order to get a really good idea as to how much paper will be needed.  It even subtracts paper for doors and windows.  How cool is that?!?

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