Posted on Sun, Nov 29, 2009
Most homeowners dream about getting a bathroom that's high on comfort and personal style but are concerned about making the right decisions on materials, fixtures, and amenities that will have lasting value. Fortunately, there's good news.
A bathroom remodel is a solid investment, according to Remodeling magazine's annual Cost vs. Value Report. A $15,000 bath remodel will recoup almost 75% of those costs when it's time to sell your home, and a more extensive $50,000 job returns 70%. In addition, you can maximize the value of your investment by using smart strategies to help you to get the bathroom of your dreams while keeping costs under control.
1. Create a plan, and stick to it
"The biggest issue in a bathroom remodel is adequate planning, no question," says Jeani Lee, a certified kitchen and bath designer and president of the Iowa chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). "You need to thoroughly evaluate how you plan to use the space, what kinds of materials and fixtures you want, and how much you're willing to spend. Don't begin your project until have answers to every aspect of your plan."
In fact, the NKBA recommends spending up to six months evaluating and planning before beginning the actual work. That way, you can be confident of your priorities and won't make decisions under duress. Once work has begun-a process that averages 2-3 months-refrain from changing your mind. Work stoppages and alterations add costs. Some contractors include clauses in their contracts that specify premium prices for changes to original plans.
If planning isn't your strong suit, consider hiring a designer. In addition to helping establish style and effective use of space, a professional designer makes sure all aspects of a project are harmonious so that contractors and installers are sequenced in an orderly fashion. A pro charges $100 to $200 per hour, and spends 10 to 30 hours on a bathroom project.
2. Keep the same footprint
No matter the size and scope of your planned bathroom, you can save major expense by not rearranging walls, and by locating any new plumbing fixtures near existing plumbing pipes. You'll not only save on the demolition and reconstruction that moving walls and pipes require, you'll greatly reduce the amount of dust and debris your project generates.
3. Make lighting a priority
When it comes to adding creature comforts, your first thoughts might be multiple shower heads and radiant-heat floors. But few items make a bathroom more satisfying than lighting designed for everyday grooming. You can install lighting for a fraction of the cost of pricier amenities.
Well-designed bathroom task lighting surrounds vanity mirrors and serves to eliminate shadows on faces. The scheme includes two ceiling- or soffit-mounted fixtures with 60-75 watts each, and side-fixtures or sconces providing at least 150 watts each distributed vertically across 24 inches (to account for people of various heights). Four-bulb lighting fixtures work well for side lighting.
4. Clear the air
Because bathroom ventilation systems are basically hidden, they usually don't appear on a must-have list. Nevertheless, bathroom ventilation is essential for removing excess humidity that fogs mirrors, makes bathroom floors slippery, and contributes to the growth of mildew and mold. Controlling mold and humidity is especially important for maintaining healthy indoor air quality and protecting the value of your home-mold remediation is expensive, and excess humidity can damage cabinets and painted finishes.
A bathroom vent should exhaust air to the outside-not simply to the space between ceiling joists. Better models have whisper-quiet exhaust fans and humidity-controlled switches that activate when a sensor detects excess humidity.
5. Think storage
"Adding storage to the bath is a challenge, and should be a top consideration in the planning stages," says Linda Eggerss, editor of Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine. To add storage:
• Think vertically. Often, upper wall space in a bathroom is underused. Freestanding, multi-tiered shelf units designed to fit over toilet tanks turn unused wall area into storage. Spaces between wall studs can be used to create niches for holding soaps and toiletries. Install shelves over towel bars to use blank wall space.
• Think moveable. Inexpensive woven baskets set on the floor are stylish ways to hold towels. A floor-stand coat rack can be used to hang drying towels, bath robes, or clothes.
• Think utility. Adding a slide-out tray to vanity cabinet compartments gives you full access to stored items and prevents lesser-used items from being lost or forgotten.
6. Contribute a little sweat equity
You can shave labor costs by doing some of the work yourself. Again, discuss this with your contractor; the agreement you both sign should specify what projects you'll assume responsibility for. Some easy DIY projects:
- Install window & baseboard trim; save $250
- Paint walls and trim, 200 s.f.; save $200
- Install toilet; save $150
- Install towel bars and shelves; save $20 each
7. Use low-cost design for high visual impact
If you'd like to add visual zest to your bathroom but are concerned about going too far or creating a one-of-a-kind look that might put off a future buyer, try a soft scheme. A soft scheme employs neutral colors for permanent fixtures and surfaces, then adds pizzazz in items that are easily changed, such as shower curtains, window treatments, towels, throw rugs, and wall colors. These relatively low-cost decorative touches provide tons of personality but are easy to redo whenever you want.
With good planning and budget-savvy strategies, your new bathroom will provide years of satisfaction.
John Riha has written six books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He's been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. His standard 1968 suburban house has been an ongoing source of maintenance experience.
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
HouseLogic.com
Posted on Sun, Nov 08, 2009
When you work from home you help keep cars off the road, but you also likely increase your utility bills.
With roughly 34 million telecommuting adults in America-a number slated to double by 2016, according to Forrester Research-adjustments to your home office power consumption, lighting, and heating and cooling can impact the environment and your wallet-up to about $200 per year in energy costs.
Down-shift your power consumption
1. Activate power-management settings. Home office electronics have multiple power modes: active (or "on"), active standby ("on" but consuming less than 100% power), and passive standby (or "off"), according to the nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, which promotes energy efficiency to consumers and government policy makers.
You can instruct your computer to move into lower-consumption modes automatically when you've stopped using it temporarily-during a lunch hour or phone call, for instance-yet also wake up when you're ready to resume working. Such tactics can reduce your computer-related electricity costs by $25 to $75 per machine annually, says Energy Star.
Energy Star-rated power management features are available on Macintosh and Windows platforms (XP, Vista, 2000). Energy Star offers tips for how to adjust settings on different platforms.
Other providers offer help, too: Software vendor Verdiem offers a power management set-up tool called Edison and EnergyStar offers a similar tool called EZ Wizard, both of which guide you through the process of setting up power management.
If you're uneasy launching power management protocols yourself, you can pay software companies' IT pros to log on to your computer remotely and adjust your settings. Symantec, for instance, charges about $20 for its "Green PC" service.
2. Use a power strip for your computer, printer, copier, and other peripherals. If you plug office electronics into a power strip, you can switch all of them fully off (versus leaving them in "standby" mode) with one button. Power strips cost around $3 to $12 from online retailers. Standby power-the energy that's wasted by electronic devices that are plugged in, but not in use-represents about $100 per year in the average household's electricity costs, says Energy Star. Assuming your home office equipment represents about 4% of your electricity bill, you could save up to $4 a year.
3. If you're investing in new computer equipment, look for Energy Star-rated computers, small servers, copiers, fax machines, and adapters. Energy Star estimates that using these rated electronics in your home office can save $115 over the products' lifetimes.
4. Consider a laptop over a desktop. Laptops use one-third the power (22 watts) of a typical desktop (68 watts) when in active mode, according to ACEEE. Annually, a laptop could save you about $19 compared with a desktop.
5. Opt for a flat-panel vs. CRT monitor. A cathode-ray tube monitor consumes about 70 watts of power, while an LCD or flat-panel eats only 27, according to ACEEE data. That's about $1 in savings over year.
Reduce lighting costs
6. Replace traditional bulbs with compact fluorescents. By replacing one 60-watt incandescent bulb with an equivalent compact fluorescent in a home office where lights are on for eight hours per day, you could save up to $15 per year, according to Energy Star.
7. Buy CFL versions of halogen lights. If you like the look or brightness of halogen or torchiere lamps, the The Edison Electric Institute recommends buying compact fluorescent versions that consume less than 25% of the power (55 to 65 watts) of conventional versions (300 watts) and cost about the same.
8. Consider task lighting. Opting for a desk lamp versus whole-room lighting lets you use fewer bulbs concurrently, according to The Institute.
9. Locate lamps in corners. The adjoining walls will magnify the light across the room.
10. Turn off lights when leaving a room.
Keep heating and cooling costs at bay
11. Lower thermostats 10% during the day (to 62, for instance, from 68). This can save up to 10% on annual heating and cooling bills, according to the DOE, or about $100 per year. Supplement with thick slippers and sweaters in winter and keep windows open in summer, with shades down in the afternoon.
12. Use a space heater in winter and a portable or ceiling fan in summer. Both room-specific solutions cost far less than running whole-house systems at maximum capacity. Using fans or space heaters will eat into your savings for lowering the thermostat, but not nearly as much as using a central heating or cooling system throughout the house. Fans can run $25-$150; space heaters, $10-$80 at online retailers.
If your office is one-third the size of your house or smaller, you can safely estimate that space heating will be more cost-effective than heating the entire home just for the sake of the office, according to NYSEG, a utility company in Rochester, N.Y.
Optimizing your home office for maximum energy efficiency requires little effort, but can help lower your home's overall energy consumption and annual utility bill without hampering productivity.
Jane Hodges has written about real estate for publications including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, and The Seattle Times. In 2007, she won a Bivins Fellowship from the National Association of Real Estate Editors to pursue a book on women and real estate. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, CBS's BNET, and Fortune. She lives in Seattle, in a 1966 raised rancher with an excellent retro granite fireplace. Latest home project: Remodeling a basement bathroom.
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
HouseLogic.com