The foundation of your home is important. An extra 20 inches of concrete will give you full-height eight foot finished ceilings in your basement. You could also get a slab on grade or crawl space basement. Discovery the different building foundation types in this column.
Contractors come in all skill levels. To find the plumber, carpenter, painter or roofer that will do a professional job you must go where they go. Check with the supply houses who sell to these contractors, ask for recommendations. Get the right information about the right contractor for you.
Pocket door hardware and tracks that are of lower quality sometimes fail. Pocket doors that jump off the track or will not pull out of the pocket can be repaired. Door frames and components for pocket doors should be of the highest quality.
Underlayments are crucial to the success of the flooring on top of it. Many finished flooring materials require a super-smooth surface underneath them. Without smooth and solid subflooring, the finished flooring can fail or look very bad in a short amount of time. The new gypsum fiber panel is a good underlayment.
Simple hidden trench drains really work well if your lot reminds you of the swampy Everglades. Try one of my Linear French Drains to turn your lot into a meadow or grassland like you see in travel films.
Wood decks built with CCA treated lumber should be cleaned and sealed to keep the chemicals from being washed out of them and into the soil. Power washing can destroy a deck by shredding the soft wood on top. Oxygen bleach cleaners are non toxic and clean wood beautifully. Seal your wood decks with a synthetic resin sealer which has no oils to feed the growth of mildew or algae.
A patio of flagstone makes a colorful patio design. Patios and flagstone patios remain solid if proper patio installation is applied.
A wet bar is a great do it yourself project. Build your home wet bar to withstand a couple of drinkers. Bar stools and bar tops complete the look.
Liquid siding and liquid stucco coatings claim they can be sprayed on your home. Before you believe the claims about their long-lasting, permanent results, consider the Federal Trade Commission's standing on these products as well as several user opinions. Think long and hard before you sign a contract to have these products applied to your home!
Screened in porches with removable screens are excellent alternatives to hot, open-air decks. The new system has Velcro strips for adding and removing the screens. These porches can be built free standing but must be wind resistant, so use metal framing connectors to lock it to a deck or concrete patio.
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