Your first step to renovation is to identify which of the three R’s you need. They have been discussed briefly here.

Repair and maintain

Cleaning, repairing and maintaining a property are the cheapest and easiest ways to renovate. Repairs are NOT replacements; they are simple things like re-silicone the edge of a kitchen sink, patching a rusty hole in an iron roof or repairing a cracked tile in a bathroom. Generally, repairs and maintenance are all about elbow grease—the dust is minimal and the biggest dangers are dishpan hands or inhaling too many bleach fumes. This is the best option for those with weak hearts but strong desires for a nice-looking home and improved property value.

Refurbish and Enhance

This is the most common form of renovating—it involves stripping out old fittings and fixtures like kitchen cabinets or light fittings and replacing them with something newer. There are no structural alterations and the renovation usually does not require any council approvals or major building works. It is the most visually effective form of renovation, but it does not ‘cure’ the property of any structural faults.

Rebuild

Anything that involves demolition or new structures such as doorways or windows needs rebuilding. This is the type of disaster renovation that people talk ad nauseam about—it’s dusty, dirty and very expensive. It should be avoided at all costs unless the property would truly benefit from it. Rebuilds are by far the most difficult renovations to tackle, but with planning they can be done relatively smoothly and cheaply. Rebuilds are unavoidable if there are major structural issues to fix—you can’t just paint over subsiding foundations or put a band-aid on a leaking pipe.

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■ Have control over the timing, cost and schedules

■ Can stop the job when you run out of money

■ Satisfying to work on your own home

■ Learn new skills

■ Can save up to 30 per cent of costs

Drawbacks of DIY-

■ Can injure yourself

■ Can be expensive to buy tools and protective equipment

■ Can spend more on materials

■ May have to call in professionals anyway

■ Can be stressful due to lack of expertise

Benefits of using a builder-

■ Saves your time to great extent

■ Technical expertise—everything is in the hands of a professional

■ Jobs can be scheduled more effectively

■ Materials and labor are obtained at the most competitive trade rates

■ All insurance, overhead service requirements and warranties are in place

■ Good communication

Drawbacks of using a builder-

■ Delays can happen and can be frustrating and costly to you

■ Cost of labor and experience—a builder’s margin of 15 to 30 per cent

■ A small minority of builders ‘disappear’ during a job and fail to complete

■ Disputes with building contracts are time consuming and stressful.

Sometimes, paying a professional remodeling company to re-do the kitchen is the most cost effective way for a busy family to renovate a kitchen. There’s no point in putting up with a makeshift kitchen for three months to save money if it means forking out for takeaway for a family of four for 92 days!

For the budget-conscious, you could spend less than $10 000 on a kitchen renovation provided you have the time to invest in shopping around and you can do things yourself. Often, you can re-use existing kitchen components and spend money on the things you really need—maybe a new stove or a modern splash back? Seconds and second-hand kitchen fittings are easily obtained through factory retail outlets, auction houses, the Trading Post, and demolition yards. Auction houses can sometimes take your plans and, for as little as $3000, give you a standard U-shape or L-shape configuration which you can tailor to fit your home.

Buying a second-hand kitchen through the Trading Post or eBay can save you thousands, especially if you know what you are looking for. If you just need new appliances, search only for good appliances. Check the auction listings in the Saturday newspapers—sometimes manufacturers auction their end-of-year stock
and run it out for half the retail price.

“Talk to other renovators about how they saved money on a kitchen or where they think they blew their budget. ‘We bought a beautiful solid timber kitchen out of the Trading Post for $900 and then spent about $300 on bench-tops and $100 re-varnishing the timber. It’s worth looking around for bargain second-hand kitchens—if you buy something that was good quality five years ago, the chances are it will still be good quality today.”
Alison, Melbourne

Waterfall source is hidden within the stones

With some creativity from an experienced landscape designer, a waterfall in your backyard can appear ‘out of nowhere’, as seen in this first picture. Well hidden within the stones the source of this perpetual water feature appears to be a hidden spring.

Waterfalls, streams and ponds no longer need to be sought out in a piece of property. They can be created in almost any location you choose to best accent your landscape.

The relaxing sound of running water

Imagine the tranquil sound of this waterfall and stream running just outside your bedroom windows or alongside your deck as you enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning sun. Water features provide beauty on both levels, for the eye and the ear.

Pond features provide serenity

Ponds provide the calming affect of still water and can be located at the end of a stream, as shown here, or set off separately with their own fill source. Again, we find that today’s water features are no longer dependent on nature’s selection but can be built into the choicest locations when they are made part of an overall professional landscape design.

Black-eyed susans.  They’re a bright, beautiful hardy perennial flower. A wonderful addition to any flower bed. In addition to their beauty they also have the distinction of being one of several varieties of plants that can be labeled ‘deer resistant’. If you ever gone out to your flower garden and found fresh flower buds having mysteriously disappeared over night, you know the value in this. Our beautiful white-tailed deer love to snack on many types of flowers. My opinion is that fresh rose buds are their favorite. Black-eyed susans, however, are not appealing to our four-legged friends and they will allow them to grow and bloom without a taste.  There are several varieties of flowers and plants that fall into this deer resistant category and your landscape designer can assist you in finding those best for your space if those white-tailed friends have a habit of visiting your gardens.

Memorial weekend is fast approaching and here in Minnesota that generally is the official start of the summer season. People have been preparing their outdoor living spaces in anticipation of the the busy months ahead.  Those who have incorporated ponds and other water features into their landscape have that added piece of maintenance to add to that summer startup list.  Water features are a beautiful addition to any landscape plan, but just like swimming pools they do require on going maintence to keep them functioning properly and looking their best.  As you prepare for the holiday weekend, and the summer months ahead, make sure you’ve contracted with a professional to provide that initial cleaning and startup, as well as period cleaning to keep your ponds and water features fresh throughout the season. 

Mother Nature seems to blessing us with a wonderful start to the season, so…set the furniture out on the patio, setup the grill, get your boat in the water and let’s all get ready for some fun in the sun.

1)      Contact the realtor who sold you the house: There is a chance that the realtor has some information about the whereabouts of your blueprints. There might be other houses similarly constructed that can also be a guide.

2)      Walk around the neighborhood and find a similar home: There is a chance that your house might not be the only one of its kind. Developers often build houses with similar specs to save on time and money. If you find a house similar to yours then contact your neighbor and ask if they happen to have what you are looking for.

3)      Contact your building inspector: There is a good chance that the developer of your house had to file paperwork with the local building inspector. That paperwork includes the specifications of the house and any modifications made. The downside is that the records often do not go far back but recent adjustments to the house might be on file.

4)      Consult the City records: Depending on the size of your city, you can go to the department which keeps historical record of your city. These records can include old photographs, building plans, among other things. You can also talk to someone there who might be able to guide you to the right path.

5)      Search public records: This is the best way to find out previous owners of the house. You should contact them if you are able to get the right contact information. They might have a copy of the old blueprint and if they don’t they might be able to tell you where to look.

6)      Hire a building expert: Although this might be a costly option, a building expert can find out what modifications have been made to your house, as well as find the necessary information required for your purpose. They might also have old blueprints if they have worked on this house previously.

7)      Purchase blueprints: There are companies who sell blueprints. This is probably the easiest option as you can be sure that you are getting the right blueprint and won’t have to deal with the headache of trying to locate the correct blueprints. This will help you save time and money in the long as well as the short run.

Hopefully, these tips have helped you get a clearer idea of how to locate an old blueprint. Remember, that your house is your biggest investment. Therefore, you should do your best to maintain it. Once you get a hold of the blueprints, keep them in a safe place for future reference. This will also add to the value of your home when you consider selling it.

Landscape design can be something enjoyed by everyone. Should you want professional help our staff would be more than happy to assist you.

Landscape design is easy once you’re accustomed to it. Here we will discuss some of these designs and have you start developing your own ideas that highlight your talents in the field of landscaping.

From the arbor and trellis, garden lighting and walkways, you want your yard to look like you enjoyed creating it. This can be accomplished by creating soothing surroundings and interesting sights. Consider transforming your front yard into a partial garden with a small pool. You can also create the illusion of making your yard look bigger than it really is by manipulating the curves of your walkway. Make the curves of the walkway from the front of the house through the yard and then back to the sidewalk. It’s a great trick for those who have a small front yard. The plants you will be using are Blue Slavia, Coreopsis, finally trimming the front area with Youpon Holly. The small pond is made with natural stone while the rest of the semi-paved area uses crushed stone.

For a Mediterranean garden design, you will need plants that reflect this particular theme. From the front yard, start with a center walkway created with natural stone. It’s a very cozy and homey look which also makes it easier for others to locate your front door. Surround the walkway with Blue Salvia, Heliopsis, Russian Olive Trees, Pink Verbena, Feather Reed Grass, Lamb’s Ear, Mediterranean Palm and Rosemary. Be sure to check if these plants will thrive well in your environment before you set out to create this design.

Let your imagination guide your next design for your yard. From small gardens to rustic designs, you can find inspiration from the work of others. If you like being original, start sketching some designs that come to you and see how you can build that to be your perfect design.

The United States saw a jump in new home construction.  November saw an increase of 8.9 percent and was steady throughout the country. New building permit numbers were also up by 6 percent. The US government will give the construction industry a total of $130 billion out of the $789 billion stimulus package out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Benefiting from the  stimulus will be infrastructure, industrial, and institutional construction.

Not only that, last month Minnesota was one of 26 states that actually added new construction jobs. This data is compared month-to-month and Minnesota went from 93,600 employed in October  to 94,800 in November.

Ken Simonsin, The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) said in an interview that this was the first time in over a year that the majority of states have gained employment on a monthly basis and that it was too early to say the market has turned around. He also stated that the construction industry will be fueled by single-family residential architecture in the coming year, not by non-residential builds.

“I think we will see more stimulus money in 2010 turn into construction projects” and “the developer-financed or manufacturing or institutional – like universities, hospitals, public schools – those are in for another rough year.”

See, “Minnesota Gains Construction Jobs in November” & “November New-Home Construction up 8.9%“

It doesn’t matter if you’re building your dream home or adding on to your current home. You should look into getting a residential architecture firm to help you. They can help bring your dreams, ideas and visions to reality. Residential architecture firms have architects that are skilled in residential build and design. Laws and regulations are there to govern all construction projects in residential areas, your residential architect should be know and understand all the laws in the area that you are building.

Your dream home is something that you are going to spend the rest of your life in. You want it to be perfect in every aspect. It should meet all your wants, needs and of course your budget is very important. Any residential architecture firm should be aware of all this and take them into consideration when your consulting with them. Residential architects need to know what you want out of your new home. Your needs might be something as wider hallways to assist with any handicaps if there are any present. They should know if you have any special requirements. Then your budget, this it the most important information that the residential architect needs to know. If all you can spend is a few hundred thousand dollars, you do not want to seep plans for a million dollar home that you can not afford. Any good residential architecture firm should request all this information at your first consultation.
Skilled architects are always a must. By knowing what the residential architecture firm has to offer you then you will know what to expect. All good firms should have portfolios for all architects that are employed and working for them. By seeing other homes and buildings that they designed you might be able to choose the best skilled residential architect to design your dream home.

Laws and regulations are everywhere. They tell us what we can and can not do, all with the purpose of keeping society safe from harm. While it may seem that some laws are used as a means to get more money out of your pocket, they are actually there to make sure that your not infringing on someone else’s rights. Some are there for your safety. The residential architecture firm that you choose should know all the laws in the area that your building. If they are a really good firm, they will go out and get any permits that are required before construction starts on your dream home.

Some residential architecture firms might actually direct the architect that designed your home to stay on the site and oversee the construction. This is a great idea and you should ask. This way they know if last minute changes in design need to be made. Also if there are any questions from the county officials the can be addressed right at the site, without slowing or stopping construction of your new home. Always shop around when looking for a residential architecture firm. You should be able to find a few in the local yellow pages or online.