Stairs Treatment

Stairway Treatment

Renovating an stairway could add considerable value to a house.

Threads and Risers

Replacing carpet or hardwood floor threads for one piece solid threads can be laborious but a very straight forward task if you are well prepare for the project.

Home depot usually carries solid maple threads that come combine in a package with a piece of maple veneer plywood to be install as the raiser. The package sales for less than 40.00 dollars for step.

Others suppliers sell oak for about the same price.

This price is only for pieces approximately 40 inches long, longer threads will be more expensive of course. I have some suppliers that will give us a very good price for custom sizes and woods.

Railings

Railings bring beauty to the stairs.

There are many designs to choose from at the time to replace the balusters.

Newels add beauty and strength to the railings

Often a good refinishing brings back all the charm of an old railing. I often disassemble the railing and bring the pieces to the shop for a good sanding job and spray painting or finishing.

When the task calls for the use of bull noses and floor transitions a well plan design and the use of good measurements will help with the final result.

The installation of a designed wainscoting on wall side of the stairs will add elegance to the stairways and it will replace with its chair rail molding at the top the use of a bad looking hand rail fasten to the wall.

Task complexity : medium

Please feel free to contact me to inquire about building procedures, materials, cost or any other question related to the work we do. I will be happy to answer all questions.

The practical use of the space under the stairs is a custom feature that add storage space to a home.

Custom Laundry room

The laundry room can be one of the most utilitarian spaces in a family home when it has been a well planned and designed space.

When building a custom home, taking the time to accommodate all the functions and tasks that will be taking place inside this room will result in making live a lot easier for years to come, besides adding to the house the kind of custom design that must people would love to have. 

These are the details that make a house superior to similar properties and mark a price difference between houses in nearby locations.

I will outline few features that make a laundry room a very functional space and therefore should be taking in consideration at the time of building or renovating a home.

1- Laundry chute : a laundry chute is a channel built from an upstairs location to the downstairs laundry. Often the chute will start near an upstairs bathroom inside a closet or cabinet and finish in the laundry room downstairs often also inside a cabinet, where a laundry basket will receive the laundry.

2- Swinging door : a swing door is a door that opens both ways. Its a practical room to install in a laundry room because it makes possible to pass through it without using our hands to open it. It is That is very common for someone enter or exit the room carrying baskets full of clothes.

3- Motion sensor lights. Lights turn on and off by it self when someone walks into the room or open the door.

4- Built-ins laundry bins : built-ins dirty laundry baskets, located under the working counter or inside a custom cabinet, usually three bins, to be able to sort out dirty laundry before washing.

5- Fold out or slide out ironing board : the iron board is hidden inside a cabinet and folds and slides out when need it.

6- Working counter with under-cabinet balance lights : One or two working counter will be very useful space to classify dirty clothes and fold the clean clothes.

7- Cabinets and plenty of storage spaces and drawers are never enough in a laundry room. Hanging rods and drying racks.

8- A counter sink is always useful to have in the laundry room.

9- An important detail to consider when building a laundry room is to look into the possibility of sound proofing all the walls and ceiling of the room. That way the noise of the washing and drying machines will not be hear in other rooms of the house and will allow for a comfortable use of the room at all times of the day or night without inconveniencing people in other rooms of the house.

10- At the time of construction it would be also a good idea to install blocking in the areas of the wall where it could be need it in the future to install hardware and others utensils on the walls. When building a laundry room I board the walls up with 9/16 OSB sheets first, that way there will be blocking all around the room for installations in the future.

11- Installing a floor drain in the laundry room is a building code requirement in most districts, just make sure it is place in the proper location and the floor slopes to it.

Matters to consider when finishing a basement

Finishing the basement will always be an investment that can increase the resale value of your home while let you enjoy the benefits of the added living space, the basement can be an excellent part of the house with many uses, from an entertainment room to an office or an exercise room, among so many others.

Having the luxury of a finished basement in the home in many cases can make or break a potential buyer will to purchase the house. Unfinished basements are a deterrence to many buyers.

The benefits of finishing your basement will always outweigh the cost of doing the job.

Once the decision is made there are few things to take in consideration :

Finishing the basement will eliminate easy access to most of the electrical wires or plumbing pipes that are usually exposed in an unfinished basement. We finished a basement once just to find out that the home owners liked our work so much that had decided to do a massive kitchen renovation in the main floor that required moving electrical and plumbing to a new location for an island. Luckily we were able to get access to pipes and wires lifting the kitchen floor, but it would was a lot easier to run all those cables and pipes through the open basement ceiling just like it was four weeks before. Thinking ahead will save money in the future.

Family needs for space change with time, and even if the urgency for extra space or rooms seems not a necessity at the present time the needs for a bathroom or an extra bedroom could be reality in the future. If the renovation budget is not large enough to pay for these additions at this time at least it would be good to extended to cover the plumbing and electrical rough ins
Remember, when you are renovating your home, the renovation project can always be done through faces as long as every step is guided for one master well detailed plan.

In cold climates the most important part of remodeling a basement is how to insulate the walls and floor of your basement. Faulty insulation procedures are the main cause of mold. Understanding how vapor barriers work will help at the time of insulating your basements walls and prevent mold problems to develop in the future.

Insulating the concrete or block masonry walls before framing the basement walls it is the proper way to start the project. Spray foam or foam boards can be install to achieve the separation of the foundation walls from the framing and insulation products that promote mold growth. Omitting this procedure is a regrettable mistake at the time of renovating a basement.

Framing the basements walls is an straight forward procedure with some minors modifications to adapt to the conditions of the basement. Fiberglas insulation can be use to insulate the studs wall cavities and spray foam is a perfect option to insulate the rim joist cavities above.

Insulating basements floor is an important factor to consider when intending to create a comfortable warm energy efficient space. There are a variety of products in the market that can be use, but the height of the basement will dictated which procedure will be most suitable to install without losing a considerable amount of space between finished floor and the ceiling of the basement.

The building codes required a minimum ceiling height of 84 inches over the majority of the floor area. Other areas as bathroom, hallways and task areas can have a ceiling dip as low as 76 inches. All bedrooms window need to be at last 5.7 square feet.

Fireproofing the basement from the rest of the house will help to make a safer home. One way to achieve just that is installing Roxul Safe and Sound insulation in the ceiling joist cavities. The insulation will work as a retardant in the case of a fire.

If you are converting the basement to a rental apartment or mother-in-law suit soundproofing the basement can be a good way to go as well. Sounds get through in two ways, it can be transmitted or leaked. Preventing leakage can be as simple as sealing all openings while preventing transmission will required procedures to block, absorb or insulate the sound. In generally soundproofing a basement will depend on two things, how much soundproof you want and how much you can spend to achieve it. Nevertheless is something to ask yourself before entering a basement renovation project.

Taking care of the proper heating and cooling of every room in the basement will require to have the duct work necessary to distribute the warmed or cooled air in the most efficient way. This need to be taking in consideration at the time to place the interiors wall to make sure they can properly host the duct work.

Choosing the most appropriated lighting for the basement is an important decision to consider at an early stage of a basement finishing project. Recessed or surface mounted lighting fixtures require a different preparation that starts long before the walls and ceiling can be insulated and boarded up. Recessed lights make the room to feel much more spacious but are more difficult to install and it can be challenging to get them symmetrically laid out.

A bathroom in the basement is always a valuable addition to any home and one that for sure will make a difference in the overall price of the home.

Either you are looking for a plain or a more decorative finish look in your basement they are details that will bring a more charming feeling to the basement. The form and style the stairway or entrance to the basement is design will have an impact in the way the basement integrates to the rest of the house.

The inclusion of custom built cabinets in the design will enhance the look and style of the project while helping to maximize the storage space available.

The combination of plaster, drywall and wood materials and tones will bring warm and elegance to any design chosen for a basement renovation.

The basement is an ideal location for professional designed and built entertainment room due to its conditions to insulate sound among other reasons.

Laundry room located in the basement are always a good idea due to the minimum damage risk in case of flooding.

Most of the high end custom homes we had worked on have a designated space in the basement for a wine room, a walk in humidor or/and a home theater, basements are very welcoming to these kind of spaces.

But in generally basements can accommodate any room as long as they are design and built with great attention to details. I always remember an amazing office we built for a customer in the back part of the his home's basement behind hidden doors that simulated a bookshelf. There was not a better place in the whole house to build such a private place.

It is my personal experience that once we finished the basement of our own home we found our self spending more time enjoying our space down stairs and using less and less our main floor family room.

Basements when renovated with taste and functionality on mind can become in one of the most captivating spaces in the whole house.

Doors installation

Door installation is one of the most experience demanding task in the construction  of a new house or during a renovation project with new doors to install. It can be even more detail oriented task in the case of a project where the old doors will be install into the new openings created during the renovation. Though only in the case of extremely valuable doors, the option of keeping  the old doors would be a practical one. In most cases new doors are reasonable priced and they bring a good value to a renovated home.

I had installed slab doors and then decorate them with a custom trim design to match existing patterns in the architectural design in the home. The home owner loved it.

The door installation process starts at the time of designing in which directions are the doors gonna swing in every room or if a pocket door would be a more practical option for an specific room. Pocket doors require custom framing and need some hardware installation long before the walls are boarded up.

One important detail to keep in mind when framing the doors openings is to make sure there is enough space behind the hinge side of the opening to easily fit the casing and back band that will be install at the time of trimming the house. Lots of time this is a detail overlooked that leave no option that rip that side of the casing, taking the beauty away from it.

Framing the openings at least 3 ¾ inches bigger that the door will make sure that it will be enough room to fit the door jams, shims and still have enough room to properly level the door during the installation. Accurately installed doors should stand still at every angle of their opening without moving or swinging on their own.

The process of preparing the doors for installation consists in many cases of beveling both edges of the doors and routeing a cavities for the hinges in the door and in the jam. These are tasks that require not only experience but the proper tools to be able to perform a high quality job.

When the high of the door itself has to be adjusted, the doors are usually cut at the bottom and it is always recommended to seal that side of the door after the cut.

When hanging a door I use temporary hinges saving the real hinges for after all the finishing is done, that way the painting job can be done without having to worry about covering the hinges.

Door stops, hardware and casing will complete the process of installing a door. Replacing the casing around an important door with a custom design as columns or insert molding panels will add decor and turn that door into a focal point of an area or room.

Leaving the proper space between the door and the jams can help with the fact that the door can rub  against the jams in the future with the humidity changes inside the home.

Proper installation of a door calls for a maximum of 3/8 space between the bottom of the door and the floor.

Door installation is a task that often requires small adjustment at the time of the lock installation or after the floor is installed.   

Crown molding installation

 Crown moldings are a decorative transition usually between the walls and the ceiling and reach their full design purpose when combine with others walls and ceiling decorative patterns.

The installation of crown molding is a task of medium complexity and it requires of certain grade of experience to be able to perform a high quality installation.

Seasoned carpenters know all the tricks, gadgets and procedures to make crown installation an easier and efficient project. Professional tools, sharp blades and proper procedures are signs of a high workmanship and also contribute to beautiful results.

When there was time to hire help, I run a short in shop test of crown molding installation among the applicants. I was always surprise to find out how many of them fail to perform a proper installation. In the other hand, someone that handles crown installation in an effortless and precise way in most cases can master a whole range of others tasks with similar precision.

Attaching backboard strip to the ceiling and walls is always a good preparation before a crown molding installation. It helps to even out differences between the ceiling and the walls and a practical solution for a stronger installation. When installing multiple pieces crown molding, the top and bottom moldings of this more complex designs often serve as the backing pieces for the installation.

When given the choice between wood and plaster crown molding, plaster crown molding installations are always more durable and resistant to cracks and splits and usually easier and cheaper to repair than wood crown moldings. Crown moldings splits and cracks at the joints are common due to seasonal temperatures and humidity changes and house movement in new buildings.

When running plaster crown molding around a perimeter of a room that includes built-ins units, attaching strips of ¼ thick dry wall to the cabinets fascia will allow to continue with the plaster crown molding on top of the wooden cabinet, integrating the best of both worlds and creating an uniform continuous look.

Crown molding holder

Three piece Crown molding

Ceilings

The ceiling is usually the least decorated part of any room, ironically, it is the most visible. When building or renovating a room a good attention at the ceiling design will contribute significantly to the beauty and character of the space.

Options to decorate the ceiling are multiples. Every ceiling design starts from a decision about what type of  light fixtures will be install in the ceiling and their exact location, only then we can start choosing a design.

Coffered Ceilings

Coffered ceilings are the maximum decor idea and the options about the details of the design are endless. Rooms with a higher ceiling height will allow a deeper and more elaborated design that could also incorporate combinations of wood and plaster moldings.

Ceiling designs built with the use of exotic woods bring an unimaginable elegance to any room.

A flatter ceiling design ( 1 ½ inch deep ) can be install practically in any room of a lower height and it will also add an unique charm to the room.

I have personally designed and installed many coffered ceilings through the years and they still remain as one of the most challenging and rewarding projects to carry out.

There is not touch of elegance that proof in a better way the proud ownership of a home where the owner has invested resources in decorating with tasteful designs one or more ceilings in the home.

Bigger rooms accommodate coffered ceiling in a more attractive way while ceilings in smaller rooms can be decorated with crown molding, medallions, domes, rims rosettes in a beautiful custom plaster design.

The living room, dining room, office or family room are often the rooms in a house that demand this kind of decor. I am a believer of ceiling designs as a complement to high end custom kitchen cabinets. It always adds a classic touch of beauty to any kitchen in spite of size and style. 

Front door allure

The ideal front door must be tough, yet beautiful.The entryway is the prime location to set the tone of what we will find in the rest of the house.
Front doors with one or two sidelights and /or a transom will make the entry seems larger.
Adding a marquee with architecture details as decorative brackets, moldings, columns and trim over the front door will help keep the sun, rain or snow off visitors and off you while you reach for your keys.
I knew someone who built his front door years before he start building his own house, sure he knew what he was doing.
There are ways to update the front entrance without having to spend thousands to buy a larger more decorative door.
The front door could be the land mark for your entire house.

Interested in the hard and tough business of flipping houses ?

The business of buying, renovating and selling a house can be a profitable investment but there is a big difference between buying and renovating a house with the purpose of living in it and buying and remodeling a house with the intention of putting in the market again. The big difference is  TIME.

When you are carrying a mortgage, insurance and utilities, every day between the purchase closing day and the sale of the house comes with a price tag attached to it. To have a detailed plan and have some experience with the process will minimize the time and cost of the project and leave you with a more considerable profit at the end.

The key of flipping houses is labor : qualify labor and labor cost. People that adventure successfully into this enterprise have to be  or have trade people directly involve and committed to the process. The involvement of experienced renovators from day one of the planning stage, and then every day during the renovation is essential for a successful and profitable operation. Every day counts when flipping a house. 

I have been parts of projects taking from 60 to 120 days of continuous work to achieve the planned dateline.

The experience to plan and organize all the steps of the renovation project is important. Knowing when is the right time for every task will save time and money. One good example is the case of the "pocket doors", we arrived to the site of this specific renovation to hang the doors, out of the 20 something doors, six doors were pocket doors, but the walls where all finished, boarded and taped and nobody thought about even framing or preparing the walls for hosting the pocket doors hardware and the doors them self. At this point the whole installation became three time more expensive and amazing time were wasted.

Everything comes with good planning, to have an experienced person to plan, organize and manage the whole process could be the difference between making and losing money in projects like this where time and a budget decide the success of the operation.

Here are some important points at the time of renovating a house to flip it :

Plan and properly budget every step of the way. Contract and budget the entire project with good trade people, experience and a high workmanship will pay at the end and save all the hassles, delays and loses that hiring a cheaper and unqualified renovator can cause. 

Remember the secret of flipping a house is time and quality renovation; good workmanship will sell the house once the house is all finished, shortening the time the house sits in the market waiting for someone to buy it taking away from the potential profits created for the value of the renovations. We have been involved in flipping projects were potentials buyers where viewing the house already during the renovation and we were able to show the choices we were making along the project pursuing quality and style for the finished product, it worked, the last finishing touches were done according to the personal taste of the buyers. that is the perfect flip, the house is sold during the renovations, that is how important a good team of knowledgeable renovators are for this kind of business. 

Do not save with the use of quality materials, use and implement quality construction procedures and materials and document it to be able to show it at the time to show the house. 3/4 thick solid wood hardwood floors will always bit laminated floors. Buyers will appreciated the difference.

Built-ins cabinets, nicely organize closets, a higher end trim design, a beautiful decorated powder room, a thoughtful foyer with a custom table, wall trim and two sconce lights at each side of a custom framed mirror had captivated more than one buyer.

Every room in the house has to have that custom touch of style and character. An original custom architectural design and a smart combination of refurbish high quality recyclable materials are a winning combination that not only brings that magic touch of custom and style but stand the house up from the competition. An old refurbished solid wood cabinet, installed as a cabinet for a bathroom vanity will always bit  the particle board vanities on sale in home depot.

If you are in the business of flipping houses and need qualify people to work with through the whole project, I will be happy to talk to you. Here is a list of things I have to offer :

Design assistance.

Assistance in choosing and purchasing quality materials at discount rates.

Experience qualify labor on every trade.

In house cabinet shop to build all custom cabinets and built-ins.

Master finishing carpenters to install decorative trim works and custom cabinets.

Professional finishing equipment and qualify tradesman to spray finishing your built-ins, either on shop or in site.

Professional Painters and wall paper installers.

High tech technicians for the installations of all the security, alarms, video and audio connections all through the house.

10 home improvement projects under 5 thousand dollars.

Here is the list of  ten different home improvement that will no cost more than five thousand dollars and will make a big difference in the way a house looks, feels and value.

1- Opening a wall and building a pass through will open up two rooms into one bigger and cozy space. Knowing how to properly design and finish the opening will bring an elegant touch to the space. Usually done between the kitchen and a family room.

2- Installing crown molding or a coffered ceiling to a room. Nice details to be added to a living room, dinning room, family room or master bedroom suit.

 3- Installing a fire place mantel. It can be build as the center of a built-in cabinet and host a multimedia center as well. Perfect for a family room.

4- Upgrading the trim work to a more stylish selection of molding design all around a room, bigger baseboard, adding back band to the casings... and maybe building a window bench.

5- Adding a custom build island to the kitchen. Island are usually different on color and style from the rest of the kitchen, so its possible to add it to an existing kitchen as long as there is room to install it.

6- Installing an skylight. A proper installed skylight, bring light and space to any room and it can a beautil fixture as long as the interior installation blends with the room decor.

7- Customize walking closets interiors. A well thought closet interior had become a decisive factor to make up the mind of a potential buyer in many cases, people love well organize, functional closets.

8- Refacing your kitchen cabinets. Sometimes upgrading your existing kitchen cabinets, keeping the boxes and replacing only the doors, adding decorative light balance and crown molding, new counter tops and back splash is a more cost effective solution that free capital to invest in others areas of the house.

9- Installing pocket doors. It is a great way to pick up usable floor and wall space in small room.

10- Installing wall molding or wainscoting. Wainscoting adds elegance to stairsways and its also a different design for bathroom interiors for houses with multiple bathrooms, nice design for a powder room.

financial benefits of a custom design renovation

There are substantial financial advantages to owning a home. One of them is the value you can add to your property through a series of home improvements that will increment the overall price of the house as a direct result of the renovations

Home owners that choose to tap into this possibilities find themselves a source of financial stability and a collateral for future loans or better returns at the time the house sells.

A considered amount of equity can be added to an average 350 k home in a five year term, when you combine your mortgage payments towards the principal, the tax deductible portion of the interest, the market price value and the results of a well plan renovation.

Unfortunately most home owners look at the obvious hassles of a renovation project forced by the concerns of a growing family or at the time of putting the property back into the market, at this time approaching it more as a face lift operation than a genuine quality value gaining home improvement.

Today most homes are constructed caring for sounded structural conditions and the limited gains that can be obtain from applied materials such as wall paint, and window coverings. The architectural style and the customized choices that add a particular beauty and functionality to every room in a house have been left out at the time of designing and building a house today. 

Rest with the home owner to bring the advantages of his preferred architectural style and personal choices to customize his home not only as a way to show his personal taste but to mark a considerable difference between his customize home and the rest of similar built houses and rip the benefits of a much better quality of life and the financial effects of such of investment.

I have a vast experience integrating high-end custom design millwork in average priced homes without losing the beauty and quality of the installation.

We renovate the whole house at once or one room at the time according to your budget and time expectation. Room by room we transform the whole house into a more inviting, cozy space with character, style and beauty that will also increase the overall value of your home.

The lack of architectural style or a beautiful customized interior in most of the new houses built today, answer more to a lack of practical knowledge than a cost effective reason. Beautiful stylish interiors can be build for a reasonable cost and turned out to be more than worthy when you weight in its many benefits.