Americans still think buying a home is one of the best decisions they’ve ever made. Here are some ways to increase your home’s value and comfort for less than $1,000. Read
The weather people were spot on when they predicted at least 12" of snow for the Puget Sound area and north. It fell a little and we woke up on a Wednesday morning with the picture to my left on our deck.
We had power through that day. We were good even if we could not leave the house. Business was shut down everywhere, power was out most places and the roads from our house were inaccessible. Okay. Just carry on doing normal stuff around the house. And then it happened. The lights flickered a couple of times, I held my breath; but it didn't help. It's gone and the generator is hooked up making huge noise, but making life okay. We only need water! Our community well is without power so we are just getting the gravity flow.
What do you do when you can't run around doing normal stuff like work, shopping, or just coming and going? Outside doesn't work because of the inclement weather and dangerous conditions. Well here is what I did:
Let the cats in and out. This is FSBO, our middle cat. He didn't think too much of the snow and took the low road getting back into the house.
Puzzles are an intriguing past time when you are indoors. I threw back the tablecloth on the little-used dining table and we went to work. It's always there waiting for one of us to find the right piece working towards a finished product.
Moving right along to my sewing room. This has been an ongoing winter project for me. I took everything out of this room and started painting. It had a bird cage stencil around the top in blues when we moved in years ago. It's all gone now. Napery from Sherwin Williams is the color I chose. It doesn't show up well here, but I really like it.
So I went through my fabric stash and started sewing. I made a valance for the window and a little wall hanging to match, just for the heck of it. You can see the Begonia Leaf fabric on my ironing board.
I made the valance with the Begonia Leaf fabric and lined it with a great dark red polka dot that trims the bottom. My picture doesn't do it justice!
With the left over fabric I decided to make a little wall hanging with some bird applique.
This pattern I made up. I appliqued the birds on my machine, quilted by machine, and sewed the binding on by hand.
And while I did all the sewing, I listen to cds on tape. A lovely experience all in all!
If you live in an area where the weather may turn bad and you may become housebound, you can collect some things:
puzzles
craft projects
books on tape
movies
books
colors, pens, sketch book
crossword puzzles
And take a deep breath. Life will go on when the power returns!
Living in the Olympia/Tumwater area turned nasty these past few days. We are used to rain, but got mega-snow, ice, and loss of power. Still have the power loss; snow is melting. Makes me appreciate rain & fog..
January 02, 2012
Holidays are soon over; we are within hours of Really starting the new year with state employees back on the job, banks open, mail, traffic and the whole nine yards!
December 28, 2011
The week between Christmas and New Years is bleak here in the PNW and few new listings are popping up. Undoubtedly a great time to be listing your property.
Do houses have a personality from the outside or do you have to go inside to feel the vibes? There is a particular couple of homes I pass everyday on my way into town. Both of them fit my definition of a sad house.
The place is worn and weary from paint to porch. The drapes hang dingily in the window that is dark and foreboding. The landscaping is brushing and overgrown. The place reeks of disrepair. And I saw the school bus pull up to drop off a couple of young kids. I would find it hard to walk into that place as the outside makes me think it is sadder inside.
It's none of my business and I know that. But in my profession, I am trained to notice. And I do notice. What makes it really sad to me? I have a basic belief that a person doesn't have to have alot of money to keep a place up. They just have to know how to work hard and be resourceful enough to find what or who they need to help.
I have told you that I am a salvager at heart. I also learned from my grandmother that keeping a place clean has nothing to do with your pocket book. It has everything to do with your work ethic.
To make that house happy I would go down to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store and buy some exterior paint. I would slap a coat on and I would get out the bucket with some vinegar and hot water in it and start washing the windows. I would take down the dingy curtains and give them a washing and rehang them neatly. I would find a rake and some clippers and trim up the yard. And finally, I would make or buy an inexpensive wreath and hang it on my door.
I would want my kids to be proud of the home they come back to. I would like to show the world that my home may not be fancy, but it is comfortable and taken care of. Isn't that what we all want?
I have to share this article as salvage is near and dear to me. I love to forage around in Habitat for Humanity Stores and I find some odd stuff. Mainly, I just look. But you never know and that's what keeps me going back.
Salvaged building materials allow you to improve your home inexpensively—but might require an extra investment of time and energy.
Recycled building materials are getting easier to find
According to the Building Materials Reuse Association, recycling is becoming more common in the construction industry. That means reclaimed building elements like doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, and wood flooring are increasingly easy to find.
Habitat for Humanity’s nationwide chain of ReStores sells recycled items, and many cities have architectural salvage yards. Online, neighbors advertise unwanted items on community bulletin boards, such as Craigslist, and national directories of recycled materials, such as EcoBusinessLinks, can be great sources for hard-to-find elements. And the price is right: reused pieces can be 50% to 75% cheaper than their new counterparts.
Searching for salvaged materials
Sounds terrific, right? But it’s not that simple. Using recycled building elements is like shopping at a thrift store: You can’t be certain you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. Anyone interested in a good deal to spruce up their home—an ornate wood mantelpiece or a set of Victorian doors, for example—has to be willing to compromise on some of the details and commit some time to the endeavor.
If you live in or near a city and have access to a salvage yard, you’re in luck. Many receive multiple new shipments daily, and some, such as Seattle’s Second Use, post their offerings online.
But in most cases, there’s no substitute for regularly showing up in person to check out what’s available. If you’ve got something particular in mind, plan on spending a few afternoons at the salvage yard trying to track down what you’re looking for. The same is true if you’re exploring online: locating the right piece may take longer than you’d expected.
Before beginning your search, make sure you’ve got measurements in hand. It’s useful if you can allow for some wiggle room: unlike big home improvement stores, the items on sale are usually one-of-a-kind pieces. So while a recent truckload might have dropped off a beautiful old mantelpiece, the size might not be an exact fit; know in advance if you can manage with a slightly larger or smaller size.
Dealing with lead paint
Some old items need to be treated with serious care. Ruthie Mundell of Community Forklift, a salvage yard in Edmonston, Md., says that the staff tries to flag items that appear to be lead paint hazards--that is, anything painted prior to 1978, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned lead in paints.
Nevertheless, buyers of old painted items need to be aware of the potential hazards. Older paint doesn’t mean the pieces are unusable, but the paint must be thoroughly removed or sealed—never scraped or sanded. The CPSC offers guidelines for treating lead paint in the household.
Finding savings
Some salvaged pieces are better deals than others. The best is often flooring: careful shoppers can find used floor boards from quality old wood that’s difficult to come by these days. Sat Jiwan Ikle-Khalsa, a green living consultant in Takoma Park, Md., scoured a local salvage yard and found maple, white oak, and rare heart pine flooring at a low price for his renovated 1940s-era home. He estimates he saved more than $2,000 over the cost of new flooring.
Other useful finds are doors, particularly those already on a frame, and plumbing elements. Antique light fixtures can be a great bargain, but check whether they’ve been recently rewired before you buy; otherwise, you may have to do it yourself, or pay an electrician for the service.
Windows are common, but many older widows are single-pane and not energy efficient. These are better used for interior walls to add light and air flow between rooms. Stained glass panels are relatively common at salvage yards and cost from $50 to $500.
Sample price comparisons for various salvaged materials
Salvaged oak flooring: $1 to $3 per sq. ft. New oak flooring: $4 to $10 per sq. ft. Average savings for 12x16-foot room: $960
Salvaged interior solid panel door (basic): $20 to $50 New interior panel door: $100 to $200 Average savings: $115
Secondhand pedestal sink: $20 to $250 New pedestal sink: $100 to $800 Average savings: $315
Recycled crown molding: $.30 to $1 per lineal ft. New crown molding: $.90 to $3 per lineal ft. Average savings for 12x16-foot room: $72.80
Don’t forget to add in transportation costs. Not all salvage yards deliver, and those that do aren’t necessarily cheap: the cost of getting materials across town could be $100 or more. It might make more sense to borrow or rent a truck on your own.
The value of salvage building components
Salvaged elements may not add to a home’s appraised value, according to Chicago appraiser Tim McCarthy, president of T.J. McCarthy and Associates. An appraiser probably won’t include a home’s reclaimed heart pine beams in the kitchen or the bathroom’s antique plumbing fixtures when calculating the house’s value.
But that doesn’t mean the seller can’t use those amenities as selling points and boost the asking price accordingly. “It’s very market-specific,” McCarthy says. In higher-end neighborhoods, homebuyers may be willing to pay more for authentic elements that give a house personality.
McCarthy recommends talking with a local realtor before making changes; they’ll have a good sense of the housing market’s current demands and should be able to tell you whether a vintage element will boost your home’s market value.
Working with salvage
To effectively integrate salvaged items, Arne Mortensen, owner of Mortensen Design/Build in Seattle, recommends choosing a contractor who has a particular interest and experience in working with recycled building materials. Salvage yard staffs may be able to recommend someone; other sources for ‘green’ contractors include online sites like Angie’s List.
Nonetheless, the time-consuming legwork of finding good pieces generally falls to the homeowner. To make the process easier, spend time thinking about and researching online what you want before you begin to shop. And be prepared to be persistent; happy hunting takes patience.
Don't put it off! If you live in a region that offers a free energy audit through your power company, jump on it. It's that time of year when we think about cozying up, staying warm and not breaking the bank to do so.
I was even brave enough to have a guy I work with do our audit. And I didn't know exactly what I was getting into by doing that. He was in every room of the house, the attic and the crawlspace. I hadn't washed my light fixtures recently and guess what: he could tell I'm sure. After doing all the assessments including checking out the furnace, hot water heater, ducts, and crawl space he replaced alot of light bulbs with the latest flourescent bulbs. It lit up our world and I am thrilled!
(We have to buy the chandelier bulbs for the dining area and entry. )
He made several recommendations for improvements to keep the heat in the house, but didn't find anything earth-shaking. We could use a more energy efficient furnace and we need to seal the can lights in our super-high vaulted ceiling. Our pipes in the crawlspace need to be insulated or there could be dire consequences.
We have energy-saving bulbs, a list of improvements to complete and all for no charge to us. Do some research and make an appointment. Just remember to dust your light fixtures and cold air returns prior to the visit. It just makes sense....
This postcard is going in the mail this week to 50 people who live in the area surrounding my listing off Boulevard Street in Olympia Wa. This is such a great house, but we seem to have three issues with potential buyers: parking, an upstairs master, and no grass. My clients have done an awesome job decorating and upgrading this home built in 2004. After they moved in a duplex was built next door; that hasn't helped our selling process as it is a rental. It is a quiet, dead-end street with nice neighbors and a forested wetland across the street. It certainly has as much parking as newer subdivisions with short driveways and narrow streets. But there are new homes out there at low prices with some of the same features. So there lies our dilemma. Buyers are making the choice: brand new instead of established. The right buyer is out there and it is my job to continue marketing in creative ways.
So out goes this card and tomorrow.....Craigslist, etc.