Search Results for: blog should you hire an architect

Checking Your Remodeling Recoup Cost

Do you ever wonder what upgrades to your home might add in terms of value? Even with a slumping housing market, you can still increase your home’s resale value with the right renovation. As everyone knows, kitchen and bathrooms get the greatest recoup in investment overall, but some other numbers may surprise you. Recoup value on projects can vary by region. This can make sense in some places, such as insulated windows in New England getting a greater recoup value, while not make sense in other places, such as upgrading an air conditioning system in Texas getting a small recoup … Continue reading →

Should You Hire an Architect 2?

When you are considering a remodel of a room or an addition to your home, it might be a good idea to hire an architect. After all, unless you have experience, you wouldn’t consider designing your own car or even your own formal dress. Yet, many people plunge ahead into projects on their own because they believe that a professional architect would cost far too much to justify one as an expense. In the last article, we talked about the following things to consider when deciding whether or not to hire an architect: The size and scope of your project … Continue reading →

Should You Hire an Architect?

When you are considering a remodel of a room or an addition to your home, it might be a good idea to hire an architect. After all, unless you have experience, you wouldn’t consider designing your own car or even your own formal dress. Yet, many people plunge ahead into projects on their own because they believe that a professional architect would cost far too much to justify one as an expense. Recently, we saw a home that had an addition on it. While the extra space was a nice addition, it was obvious that the addition did not take … Continue reading →

Do You Have or Need a Portfolio?

Judging by some of the responses to other blogs, we have a fair amount of writers who visit our hallowed halls. Writers, artists, graphic designers, and other freelancers and consultants are often called upon to share samples of their work with prospective clients. However, assembling a portfolio can be a bit daunting–especially if you haven’t done it before. What is a portfolio, what should be in it and how is it best maintained? In general, a portfolio is a collection of samples of your work. For freelance journalist-style writers, we’re often asked to “submit clips” — which are really copies … Continue reading →

Never Set Limitations

Michele Cheplic another blogger in Parenting Advice asks Would You Let Your Teen Run for Governor? She says she wouldn’t… but I would. When I talk about never setting limitations on teens, I do not mean not setting limits. There is a big difference. To set limits is to make rules, restrictions, and guidelines for their safety and based on their maturity level. Setting limitations, to me, means limiting the expectations of what you expect from them and what they can expect from themselves. My parents unintentionally set limitations on me as a teen. I had a love for drawing … Continue reading →

When Remodeling, Consider the Neighbors

If you are planning a remodeling project, it is important to consider the neighbors. No, not because they might complain but because their home might be affecting the value of your own. Taking a look at all of the factors for your home, including your neighbors will help you make the right decisions about remodeling projects and get the most value from your investment. First, if you are planning an addition, take a look at the square footage of the houses that belong to your neighbors. You want to keep the size of your house in line with the others. … Continue reading →

Hiring a Handyman

Lately we have been contemplating hiring a handyman to help us with some of the many projects around and outside our home. These are projects that are tough to prioritize into our project list for a couple of reasons. They are either of a non-emergency nature, they aren’t enjoyable to do and therefore get put off, they were started but not finished, or they just aren’t on my husband’s list to do, even though I would like to have them done. If you are thinking of hiring a handyman or handywoman to get some of your projects done, you should … Continue reading →

Home Projects in the Heat

Warm weather doesn’t mean that you have to put an end to home improvement projects, but the heat can certainly affect anything you are doing yourself, from quality to safety. Here are some guidelines to working in the summer. While it may not be the most pleasant job in the heat, summer is the perfect time for resealing a driveway. In the Fall or spring you might have to contend with pollen or leaf debris, and the winter is too cold for this project. Painting can be iffy in the summer. Hight humidity will increase the time that your paint … Continue reading →

Home Week in Review: April 7 – 13

This week, our collection of articles is listed by subject matter. We hope you find something you can use or something that makes you smile: Building, Changing, or Adding to a Home Should You Hire an Architect? When you are considering a remodel of a room or an addition to your home, it might be a good idea to hire an architect. After all, unless you have experience, you wouldn’t consider designing your own car or even your own formal dress… Don’t miss part two. Other Structures More Tips for Updating a Garage Mary Ann says: “Spring cleaning can also … Continue reading →

Fun with History – The White House

My daughter came home from school today and told me that the President lived in the White House. She wanted to know why it was called that. So we trotted off into my office to pull up the web page on the White House and to read about it. Let me preface this whole story with the caveat that when all was said and done, she wanted to know why the President got to live there and I told her it was pretty simple – the house was built to be a home for the President – whomever he or … Continue reading →