According to BankRate, there are a few home upgrades that pay off for resale. The suggestions are: Upgrade the kitchen with nicer cabinets, fancier hardware, and good fixtures. Make your kitchen appliances match in color/design. Spruce up the bathrooms with new toilets or contemporary vanities. Brush a fresh coat of paint on just about everything. [...]
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Recently I told you that after a year of living in the house, we finally got our mailbox finished. I simply posted to find a mason, and within a few days, it was being completed. Now, every time I back out of the driveway, I feel good. And so does Sam. For 12 months, approaching [...]
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When we moved from Florida to Utah, we had the grand idea that we were going to be gentleman farmers. We had purchased five acres of land with animal rights and were getting ready to make our way on our ranchette. We planned for horses, mini-cows, chickens, and goats. We’d also have a large vegetable [...]
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I realize I stil haven’t completed my final post on the landscape. With the end of summer and the cooler weather closing in, we’re trying to wrap up all the final issues, replace plants that didn’t survive the year (or the deer!) and get everything ready to sleep for the winter. We love the yard [...]
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Every time Sam and I went to a home show (and we went to far more than he’d care to remember!), I looked at a booth displaying copper rain gutters and accessories. Watching rain run down a verdigrised chain, draping from the roof to the ground, was far more romantic than a rusty old downspout. [...]
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The premature packing and move have put the construction updates way behind. There are a number of things to report. The back patio and walkway cement was poured months ago, but we still had lots of front yard concrete work to be done. A few weeks ago the driveway and walkway concrete were poured as [...]
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When planning a custom home, you can incorporate all sorts of really cool things that are important to you. We have durable, easy to maintain surfaces, granite with fabulous details, a stainless steel kitchen sink, lots of storage space, and a simple design. But you can’t bring in every neat detail you find. If you [...]
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If you’re thinking the house building has come to a stand still, think again. The reason I’m not posting about it — or about much of anything — is because I’m too busy with the details. Painting, cabinets, trim, hardware, flooring, decking, landscaping, fixtures. Not to mention stupid budget overruns that never should have happened. It [...]
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We are party people. We love to entertain, especially by hosting dozens of teens. That works best for us if the party can spill out into a great backyard. To make that more feasible — and to make the fun last longer — it’s imperative to have a way to light up your yard. We [...]
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We chose the Heath Zenith Motion-Sensing Light for part of our security package. These lights are fairly unobtrusive — as far as security lights go. They are compact and match the soffit and facia. Features include: 250-watt single-light halogen 180-degree motion sensing Energy-Star rated Heavy-duty die-cast metal Manual override from an indoor switch The lights [...]
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We’ve got stucco going up on the exterior of our home and the interior as well. While exterior stucco is pretty common around here, we’re also having stucco applied to the interior side of the exterior walls. This is actually less expensive than sheetrock, because the stucco adhere directly to the blocks, without all the [...]
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Our new, craftsman-style front doors were installed this morning. Both doors are on the porch; one is the main door, the other the office door. They were custom made to our specifications by Meadow Wood Custom Doors and are absolutely gorgeous! Both doors features a dark stain with light distressing. The main door also has [...]
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We are ready to get bids on the four garage doors for our new home. Please either comment below or contact me via the contact form. We will be selecting the doors as soon as possible. 2 size 8′h x 9′w 1 size 8′h x 10′w 1 size 7′h x 5′w (utility door) Our specifications [...]
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Our Jeld-Wen windows are now completely installed. We purchased them through Stock Building Supply. We chose white frames to match the white trim we’ll be using. We also went with a very plain window, no muntins or mullions. We even got rid of the transoms, except the one over the front door. Less lines, less [...]
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One of our main goals with our custom home was to build a home that required minimum maintenance. Because roofs are a major expense — and a worn roof can cause extensive damage — we researched roofing alternatives extensively. We looked at magnum boards, metal roofs, and other less common surfaces. When comparing the pros [...]
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We have spent the past week looking for the exterior doors for our custom home. The variety and selection of doors is enormous and it can be difficult to compare from one product to the next. Make sure you know precisely what each manufacturer is bidding on, since there are many variables. We spoke to [...]
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The roof trusses are going on! Next to the first shovelful of dirt from the backhoe, this is the most exciting thing going. With the roof on the entire house takes shape.
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We have decided on our exterior doors and are looking for bids on them. If you offer a similar door and would like to bid on it, please use the contact form or comment below. I’m not particularly conversant on door construction, but hopefully this information is helpful. I have not found an image that [...]
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The trench around the french drain was filled with gravel and fill dirt was brought around to the front of the house to fill in around the foundation. It look like an entrance now. The slope from the sidewalk isn’t nearly as steep as it seemed it would be.
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Five window wells were installed today. Brad got some great prices for us. He found one, very deep window well that was damaged on the bottom, so he bought it for half price and cut off the damage for the size we needed. Then the supply store gave him the rest at damaged prices. Woot [...]
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