Residentialife.com

Traditionally, washers and dryers were located in the basement. This is a little like storing garden tools in the attic. The dominant thinking today is to have the laundry room closer to the bedrooms. This is easier than it used to be because homes are generally more spacious, and because there are more choices of appliance models which might fit into closets and other tight spaces. Whenever you're remodeling laundry rooms, the first challenge is finding the most likely spot to put the laundry room. Almost certainly, some changes will have to be made to walls. Full sized washers and dryers are 4 or 5 inches deeper than most closets. Think about what's on the other side of the closet and what happens if you break through the wall. You could look at compact machines, but they won't handle the work load if you have a family. There are a few stackable models with large capacity. These will work in a narrow space. Of course, in an ideal arrangement, you also would have a sink and space to store the laundry. If you're working in a closet, you'll need a minimum of 5'-6" wall to wall, and a clear door opening of 5 feet. The inside depth of the closet needs to be 30". A room (even if it's no bigger than a walk-in closet) would be much better. That will give you space for an ironing board, and possibly a linen closet (or at least some shelves). If the room exists, remember to check the .. more»

Remodeling trends come and go. Sometimes, though, what looks great in a design magazine just does not translate so well into a real life home. Here are a few examples of such unfortunate fads and some realistic alternatives. The Stadium Kitchen Perhaps because of the myriad of celebrity chefs that seem to be taking over every channel on TV, the arena sized cooking space has been splashed all over glossy design magazines for quite a while now. Suddenly people think that they have to have enough room in their kitchen to cook a banquet for 16 - or maybe run a Hell's Kitchen style cooking contest? Wouldn't it be a lot more useful to have a kitchen layout that allows the home cook to pivot with ease from the chicken in the oven to the peas in the fridge to the tomatoes on the counter while whipping up a weekday dinner? A big kitchen is nice, but one that requires Rollerblades simply to get from oven to sink quickly is just overkill. The perfect kitchen feels spacious but keeps everything close at hand, something that a good kitchen remodeling contractor can help you achieve. Misplaced Porches Having a porch built onto your home is a wonderful idea. If that porch is screened in so that you can enjoy the outdoors within being bitten to death by mosquitoes that's even better. No one would argue that the addition of a porch will indeed benefit everyone who lives in the home. The problem is where most people choose .. more»

When Schlage and Kwikset came out with locks that can be re-keyed by the homeowner, many locksmiths were upset because they perceived a loss of business. My response was just the opposite-any product that save the customer time and money is a good idea. Now that these locks have been on the market for awhile (In fact many hardware stores now only carry the Secure Key and Smark Key systems), I have mixed feelings about the product. Read on for a brief review and comparison between the Schlage Secure Key and Kwikset Smart Key products. Kwikset's SmartKey: The basic goal of the system is to allow the homeowner to easily change the working key on their locks without the need of a locksmith. Kwikset's SmartKey was one of the first on the market and looks and operates exactly the same as traditional cylinders. The only sign that it is a Smart Key lock is the small hole at the 10 o'clock position on the cylinder. Follow these steps to rekey the lock 1) Insert a current working key and turn 90 degrees. 2) Insert the "change key tool" into the hole in the front of the cylinder (a small paperclip may also work). You will hear a slight click. 3) Remove the working key from the lock (do not turn it). 4) Insert a new Kwikset cut key into the lock. 5) Turn the new key back to the home position and remove. The lock is now rekeyed! Without getting too mechanical, the cylinder uses a series of .. more»

Even though the garage door is the biggest piece of operational element in the home, most home owners do not understand its importance. They are not even observed till they are broken, at which moment the security of your home is violated. The two main categories of doors are wood and steel. Labor intensity is the principal distinctness amidst wood and steel doors, in accord with a representative from the leading fabricator of overhead sliding equipment. It really takes almost no work to maintain steel doors coated with baked enamel. But small work is required to fix scratches on the steel door, as the baked finish keeps it and maintains it excellent as new for a long time. Others choose their steel doors painted. Usually painted ones are made to compliment with the rest of the home exterior. Additionally, one of galvanized materials are not flawed by snow, sleet or rain. In contrast to steel doors, wood do loll, fissure and weather if one doesn't tend to them as essential. Before exposing, it is recommended that the home owner applies at least two layers of oil based exterior finish like stain or pain to all parts of the door. Use one layer of paint on the surface of the door once a year to keep the wood. These are the methods to wood doors that look excellent in the years to come. Wood doors are physically accommodating, enabling it keep its fresh new look longer than other materials. This typical quality of the .. more»

Glass cabinet doors are a central point as far as the homes are concerned since these are the most frequently used article there. These are commonly installed in homes particularly if you wish to decorate your home by using its essential items. Glass cabinet doors when added to any room enhance its beauty manifolds. Cabinet have been extensively used by the people from past many years but the recent advances in technology have wonderfully improved their performance as well as quality. These are very advantageous for home use particularly in case you wish to sell your house and want to enhance its price, the installation of glass cabinet doors would be a brilliant alteration in the appearance of your particular house. You may make glass doors cabinet by yourself bur for that you have to obtain all the information regarding their making as well as gather the equipments required for its appropriate formation.You may take the advice from an expert of this field or may consult different magazines or go online. Alternatively, you may purchase cabinet ready made from the market. You have to consider two basic points regarding the purchase of glass cabinet doors. At first, decide that which particular features you wish your glass doors cabinet to possess. Then you have to check out your budget range and determine how much you can pay for that. A good way to purchase glass doors cabinet is by doing it online or you may buy them manually from the shops in your .. more»