Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Remodeling text: Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: My current 1,100 square foot single story three bedroom one bath home is not large enough for my growing family. To get a somewhat larger new home that barely meets our needs costs $100,000 more than what I can sell my existing home. It seems as if I need to stay put and add space here. My lot is small so a second story seems the only way to go. How hard is it to add a second story to a home? What do I need to think about? Maria E., Sacramento, CA

DEAR MARIA: It is not too hard to add a second story to a home. You have quite a bit to think about to put it bluntly. In fact, there are so many things to consider, I almost do not know where to start. Fortunately, you have already done part of the mathematical analysis that has illustrated a point many people overlook. You can almost always buy square footage in an existing or used home for far less than new home square footage. A new home in a great location on a nice lot can be very pricey. Older existing homes in great neighborhoods often can be fantastic bargains when you simply compare them to a new home on a finished living space basis.

Adding square footage to your home by going up instead of out presents many challenges. Photo credit: Tim Carter

The first thing you need to do in my opinion is to visit your local government zoning office. They should be able to tell you if you are permitted to add a second story. Ask them about total structure height. Many building and zoning codes only allow the top of the structure to be so many feet above the grade level. You may have to visit your local recorder's office at the same time to see if any subdivision restrictions were recorded with your property deed or plat. As crazy as it sounds, maybe the developer of your land included restrictions that simply do not allow second story additions.

If you determine you can add a second story, it is time to talk with two remodeling contractors who have done this type of work. Interview a few and ask them to provide addresses of several homes where they have added a second story. Ask them what they feel the current cost per square foot is to add the necessary room to your home. Be sure to ask what the extra cost might be to add a full bathroom. Remember, these are just guesstimate numbers and you should be prepared to pay as much as 20 percent more as the plans are developed and challenges are addressed.

Using these very rough preliminary numbers, see if you can afford to add the amount of space you need. For example, if you feel you need 800 more square feet of space and the remodelers tell you it is going to cost $145.00 per square foot, plus $8,000.00 more for the full bath, you are looking at a possible cost of $124,000.00 plus the 20 percent contingency. Can you borrow $148,800 comfortably? Visit your local banker or mortgage company and ask them to help you with a quick refinancing analysis.

If you qualify for a new loan, you should now start thinking about the actual project. Here is a partial list of the things I see as issues:

How would you like me to build your new home? It's probably impossible for me to fit your job into my schedule, but I will gladly share hundreds of my tricks and building secrets with you and your builder. Check out my New House Specifications.

If you are lucky and the remodelers you speak with are experienced, they may add several more things to my abbreviated list. Furthermore, as you begin to proceed with plans, it would be very wise to speak with two or three homeowners who went through the process. Ask them about how they dealt with the disruption. Ask them what they would do differently if they could rewind the tape and play the experience over once more. You just might be surprised with their input.

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Adding a Second Story | Ask the Builder

Thr r mainly two major processes uses fr steel pipes manufacturing. Due t thr different manufacturing processes w divide steel pipes n t different categories.

Steel pipes r long hollow tubes tht r used fr a variety f purposes. Th r produced b two distinct methods, whh result n thr a welded r seamless pipe. In both methods, raw steel first cast nt a more workable starting form. It thn md nt a pipe, b stretching th steel out nt a seamless tube, r forcing th edges together & sealing thm wth a weld.

Welded pipes ld b manufactured b one f th process, know Electric Resistance Welding (ERW), whr n a high frequency current being used t fuse th steel together, resulting n welding t th seam f th pipe.

Worldwide, ERW pipes r manufactured & distributed, looking t th various applications, various people r nt manufacturing f steel pipes & tubes, following various Indian & International standards.

In India many organization, r engaged nt manufacturing & exporting f Quality ERW Pipes. Th manufactures different types f ERW Pipes namely Black Pipes, Hot Dip Galvanized Pipes, Conduit Pipes, Casing Pipes, Scaffolding Pipes & General Engineering Purpose Pipes.

Th companies h hg production capacities, & holds certification f various Indian well International standards.

Maintaining th quality f th ERW pipes f utmost importance t. Th product mt pass through stringent quality tests, before th r finally supplied. Raw Material shall b tested fr Chemical Composition, Tensile Strength, Elongation nd Thickness & Tolerance. Pipes shall b hydraulically tested t ensure n leakage n th pipe. Galvanized pipes mt b tested fr uniformity f th zinc coating.

A th quality th lifeline f n industry, t Steel pipes manufacturing companies, Quality nt nl checked, bt monitored & produced, wth th hl f proactive & professional rh.

Steel Pipes finds various applications n Commercial, Industrial, Residential & Agricultural areas. Th pipes r used n Staircase Hand railings, Door Frames, Oil & Gas Industry, Structural & Scaffolding purposes, Green Houses, Shed fr ware houses, Sanitary f households, Sewage, Construction activities, Hand Pumps, Tube Wells, Brng, Water Distribution System & several thr applications.

Diversified form f steel t t come, whh wll change th face f ll economies, wth easy applicability adaptability, affordability, viability & stability.

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Guide to Flooring Installation

There are many owners out there that think about the different types of flooring installation options that they have. This is a major step for people to consider, because flooring can be used to enhance the overall appearance of a room. Owners should think about what type of flooring installation project will match the decor of their home as it has been designed. Most people will appreciate that they can actually link up with the best overall options for these projects. They should work with a flooring installation team that can showcase some of the different types of styles that they offer. This will go a long way towards helping people learn more about the features available to them.

First, owners should talk to the flooring installation team to get a breakdown of the services that they offer. Most people will want to check out how they can get set up with the best overall flooring installation for their projects. This is a major reason why people will want to discover how they can learn about the right flooring options for their needs. Most everyone will be glad to see that they can get linked up with the best overall flooring for their home's needs. There are a few different types of options out on the market that are also just growing in popularity.

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A major deciding factor will simply be the amount of work that owners want to put in to this flooring installation project. They will be able to think about how they can book the best overall flooring installation for their needs. Most people will be impressed by the full array of choices that they have to manage this process. If owners think that they can deal with high maintenance flooring installation projects, hard wood may be a good choice. If not, they may want to gravitate towards getting something like laminate flooring installation done for their home soon.

Maintaining their flooring installation is another important consideration for home owners. They should think about the different types of flooring installation that they can opt to put in to place. Most people will also appreciate that they can get linked up with the right flooring installation repairs. They should talk to a flooring installation team about buffering out scratches. Then they may want to apply a seal to the top layer of the flooring installation that they already have installed. This will help make sure that homes keep the look that they need throughout the year. Owners will appreciate that this will also cut down on the maintenance that they have to perform.

This sounds like a lot of work, and owners may be wondering why they should go through with the flooring installation process. A well conceived flooring installation will help people identify the right options that they have going forward. But it will also add a considerable amount of value to the overall look of their homes. Owners will appreciate that they can dramatically improve the appearance of these rooms. They will also be capable of bumping up the value of their home with flooring installation, which will be a considerably important step for them to keep in mind.

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Flooring Installation | Flooring Installation Price

When looking for a Columbus, Ohio, home remodeler for your kitchen, bath or home addition, look to NJW Construction, Inc. Our team of custom home builders is here to guide you in defining, refining and realizing the home solutions needed to merge your lifestyle with your home style.

When your home is truly a reflection of you, its something you want to last forever. And thats why NJW Construction focus is on flexible spaces for years to come. In order to create the ultimate home space, we consider both your current life place and your future needs so that your home remodel takes you from today into tomorrow. It is through the teaming of NJW Construction and each individual family that a home can become the statement of positive outlook we all want for ourselves and our family. This occurs when a home reflects the standards, the personality and the sense of style of the family members residing within those walls.

Though our key goal is a home that works well for its inhabitants, NJW also makes sure that seamless remodeling design is a priority. Whether for your kitchen, bath or a new addition on your house, once the project is done, your home will appear as if it has been well-designed since its original structure rising. If you are looking for home remodeling in Columbus, Ohio, contact us today to find out just how beautiful we can make your home, room addition, kitchen remodel, restoration or bathroom remodel. Whether its a new home or custom remodeling project, we can construct on whatever youre home style!

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Ah, the powder room. That whimsical, showoff of a bathroom. Unless of course, its fixtures are frumpy, its style lost in the last century. Here's how to remodel your powder room so you're never afraid to say, "Yes!" when someone asks, "Do you have a restroom I can use?"

A powder room, because of its small size, is a great place to take chances with design. You might try an intense color or unusual materials, ones that might overpower a larger room. "You can go really crazy," says Sara Ann Busby, president-elect of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) and owner of Sara Busby Designs, Elk Rapids, Mich.

Before contacting a bath design professional, give some thought to what style of powder room you prefer. Unsure of your personal style? Yes/No Design: Discover Your Decorating Style With Taste-Revealing Exercises and Examples by Diane Love (Rizzoli International Publications) can help you get a handle on it.

Once you've pinpointed your style, check out some beautiful bathrooms in person. Decorator show houses, kitchen and bath showrooms, and plumbing showrooms provide places to see styles in 3-D, says Jessica Clock, a designer with Carmel Kitchen Specialists Inc. of Carmel, Ind.

When auditioning colors for your powder room, beige, tan and sand need not apply. Bold hues like merlot, navy, chocolate and even black work well in this small space. Although conventional decorating wisdom suggests that lighter colors make a small room feel bigger, there's no need for visual tricks here. Embrace the room's small size and go for drama instead. "I love the idea of creating a jewel box. A bathroom doesn't have to be big to be effective," says Randall Whitehead, lighting designer and owner of Randall Whitehead Lighting Designs.

Despite the room's small size, many mechanicals must be included. "You've got big drain lines to get in and obviously the water supply lines," Sara Ann says. "You've got to get ventilation in there and possibly a window and some very specific products that aren't really flexible in size," like a toilet and sink. A professional designer can look at the overall size of the room, take the mechanicals into account, and create a floor plan that maximizes space.

Powder rooms are the perfect place to dabble in materials that are more costly, delicate or require more maintenance because the room needs considerably less material than other bathrooms and receives less traffic. Sara Ann Busby also suggests using materials in unusual ways. For example, she likes to add a twist to stone countertops by creating a jagged edge. The effect is unexpected and gives a natural feel to the bathroom.

To make a powder room hospitable, accessorize. Add art to walls, arrange small vignettes on the countertops, and provide little luxuries like finely milled soaps and rich lotion for guests to use. The one thing a powder room doesn't need much of is storage. Anything a visitor needs from hand towels to extra toilet tissue should be in plain sight. So put the lights on a dimmer, light a wonderful candle, and the next time someone asks to use the bathroom tell them yes, without hesitation.

Sara Ann Busby NKBA President-Elect, 2007 Sara Busby Design Elk Rapids, Mich. SaraBusbyDesign.com

Jessica Clock Designer Carmel Kitchen Specialists Inc.

Randall Whitehead Lighting Designer Randall Whitehead Lighting Solutions San Francisco, Calif. randallwhitehead.com

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Remodeling Your Powder Room - HGTV

Choosing The Right Colors

The most common interior decorating dilemma is choosing the right colors for your home. Learn how you can make home decorating and interior design color choices as easy as 1-2-3....

Right color >>

This special page takes you to a titled list of home decorating help, ideas, tips and features on the website with a direct click. Scan the list of decorating topics and enjoy. You will soon be on your way to a beautifully decorated home!

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This section discusses the 8 basic steps to home decorating, interior design, and interior decorating for the home.

Read what people have to say about our home decorating ideas.

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Learn Jamie's interior design and home decorating do's and don'ts for your home.

Don'ts >>

Take a look at some of the most common questions about home decorating and interior design.

Decorating techniques>>

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Interior Decorating Tips: Home Decoration Ideas, Interior ...

ometimes the most effective decorating strategy for your home is to rethink what you already own instead of buying more furniture and accessories. This philosophy is called "redesign". Joetta Moulden has styled hundreds of rooms all over the country for major decorating magazines. Her expertise is letting your style come through on your budget.

Joetta's clients are the first to sing her praises. Equally at ease styling traditional, contemporary or country environments, Joetta's extraordinary talent is making an ordinary room picture- perfect by skillful rearrangements and the introduction of a few new elements utilizing the art of interior redesign.

She advises on surface selections such as granite, ceramic tile, laminate and hard wood flooring, carpeting, countertops, paint color selection, wallpaper and lighting. She can shop with you (or for you) for surfaces, ready made window treatments, furniture selection, home furnishings and accessories, area rugs and light fixtures. An experienced photo stylist, Joetta can ready your home for parties by styling tabletops and bookcases, arranging flowers, re-hanging artwork and fluffing your rooms for picture-perfect presentation.

For new "before" and "after" images of Joetta's redesigns, click on Testimonials and Portfolio

home | meet joetta | portfolio | services | style tips | faqs | testimonials | links | sitemap | contact us

2000-2014 Joetta Moulden, Brad Simmons, and ShelterStyle.com, LLC. All rights reserved. All photos Brad Simmons, Hal Lott, Fran Brennan, and Janet Lenzen. All rights reserved. ShelterStyle.com LLC, 9337-B Katy Freeway #176, Houston, TX 77024 Phone: (713) 461-2063 | Email ShelterStyle.com One day interior design home makeovers, furniture rearranging, interior redesign, real estate staging, style tips, and decorating ideas by Joetta Moulden, Houston, Texas

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Spend time planning it out and get it right the first time. by Don Westphal, A.S.L.A.

The addition of garages to manufactured homes in land-lease communities and on private property is becoming more popular every year. Manufactured home owners are looking for the same convenience and security available to site-built home owners. Unfortunately, many of the efforts to marry site-built garages to manufactured homes fall short of the generally-accepted appearance standards for garage/home integrations. Here are some of my observations on the matter. Garages are generally one of two types, free-standing (or detached) or attached. Free-standing garages are quite easy to build and easily appointed to complement the home. All that is necessary to make them aesthetically compatible with the home is matching or complementary shingles, roof pitch, color and materials. Most can be built rather inexpensively on thickened edge slabs.

Attached garages pose some more complicated challenges, both aesthetically and physically. Garages attached to manufactured homes most often are one of two types, attached or integrated. The attached variety is built adjacent to a "stock" single-section or multi-section home. Ideally, the access into the home is by way of the utility room or kitchen. Comparable foundation systems are necessary for both home and garage so that they function alike under differing weather conditions. The garage is built with four walls to stand alone and not compromise the integrity of the HUD coded home by adding unplanned stress to the home.

An integrated garage is attached to a home that is designed and approved to accommodate the anticipated load and stress of the garage. Comparable foundation systems are also required for the home and garage in this scenario so that they function as a unit after construction. The biggest problem encountered when attaching a garage to the home, especially in a land-lease community, is the difference in elevation between the floor of the garage and the floor of the home. This difference creates at least four problems. First, it may require five or more steps to get from the garage into the home. These steps and the necessary landing at the door to the home take up significant floor space in the garage. Second, sufficient clearance between the garage ceiling and top of the door into the house is difficult to achieve. Solving the second problem often creates a third one: garages are built with very tall side walls and match the garage eaves with the home eave line. This results in a large area above the garage door and unusual proportions for the garage, as pictured below.

And fourth, most garage doors come in white from the factory and since most face the street they overshadow the front door of the houses in the streetscape. All these problems can be minimized with a little planning and forethought. The distance between the garage floor and the home floor can be reduced by setting the home as low as possible and elevating the garage floor and driveway. This also reduces the amount of room needed for the steps. Creating a combination step and wheel stop in the garage floor also helps reduce this problem. The garage ceiling height problem over the home door can be solved by conventionally framing the garage roof or modifying the roof trusses adjacent to the home.

Locating the garage so that its ridge falls near the home door opening can also help. Lowering the garage side walls to a conventional eight-foot height not only saves cost, but results in a break in the eave line which can add variety to the home appearance, addressing the third problem area. Finally, one can divert attention from the garage door by painting it to match the color of the siding and shift the focus to the home entry door where it belongs.

The following contrasting pictures show how planning and forethought can create an acceptable and harmonious appearance to manufactured homes with garage additions that improve the image of a community or home-site.

I hope these few suggestions will encourage the reader to spend time on planning garage additions to their homes that result in a more acceptable appearance of the homes in our communities. Next month, we'll discuss some items to add to Community Guidelines that will assist in making a community more attractive. ##

Donald C. Westphal Associates, LLC Landscape architecture & Site planning Please check out the website at http://www.dcwestphal.com. Need help with your community upgrade? Give us a call at 248-651-5518 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Attractive Garage Additions to Manufactured Homes | MH ...

Building An Attached One Car Garage Addition

When you bought your house the garage might have not been on your necessity list of things to have, but now, a single bay garage sure does sound like a convenience that you could really use.

There are a variety of reasons why people like to have garages, but the most popular reason is to protect their favorite car, truck, SUV, or motorcycle from UV rays and bad weather.

Laura W. bought herself a craftsman styled cape in a great neighborhood that her real-estate agent said was up and coming. Sure enough, years later Laura's house almost doubled in value and Laura bought herself a brand spanking new Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Laura said that the moment she pulled up to her house and realized that her fancy new toy was going to have to sleep outside, she knew that she had to solve this problem ASAP.

Laura took advantage of our last promotion "Request a Free Home Addition Design" and we designed the versatile one car garage seen here, and if you look really closely, you can see her Jeep Grand Cherokee already parked inside. With the estimated cost in hand and a list of the best garage builders in her area; courtesy of our Automated Contractor Locating Service, Laura had a brand new garage addition built in less than 4 weeks!

This garage is based on a slab on grade foundation.

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1 Car Garage Plans - Simply Additions

Proper indoor lighting can transform any room from mediocre to magnificent with the flip of a switch. Indulge in the right illumination for your space and experience the difference in the look, feel, and overall ambience of your home. If you're simply looking to brighten up your space or searching for the perfect lighting for your favorite reading spot, turn to QVC.com for stylish, functional fixtures that give your space just the right amount of glow.

Decorative lighting doesn't have to be limited to the side tables or walls of your home. Create a space that shines with style by incorporating floor lighting into your interior design. With our selection of floor lamps, you'll be able to find the lamp with the right height and shade to brighten up the look of your room. For those who prefer a traditional look, browse our Tiffany-style lamps for designs that feature gorgeous colors and shapes within their stunning glass shades.

Whether you need to improve your indoor lighting or want to upgrade your decorative light fixtures, QVC.com has everything you need to get the luminous look you seek. Browse our variety of lights including floor lamps, wall fixtures, and celling fixtures from stylish brands like Valerie Parr Hill, Meyda, and Kenroy Home and watch your home radiate with elegance.

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Indoor Lighting Floor Lighting & Tiffany Lamps QVC.com