5 Ways for Handling Home Improvement Work While Staying Within Your Budget

Home is the most important place in a person’s life; his personal sanctity away from the hustle and bustle of the world. Every one of us wants our home to be in the best condition. For that purpose, it is very important to keep your house well maintained and take proper care of it. Negligence and carelessness can leave your house in despair. Even if you’re restricted to a tight budget, home improvement is something you should not give up altogether.

With these few simple home improvement tips you can easily keep your house in the best condition, while making sure you do not exceed your budget.

Paint Smartly

Painting your house is one of the most easiest and low-cost ways to give your house a new look, and add value to it. By painting your house in smart colours, you can make it look far newer, fresh and clean. You can use light, soft colours to make your rooms look bigger and brighter. You can also paint old furniture to give it a new look and match it with your newly painted house.

You can paint the house yourself if you have the right tools and are working on a limited budget. However, if you can afford it, hire a professional painter to do the job to give it a classy finish.

Work On Your Garden

Revamping your garden in a new style can make your house look much better and does not costs anything much. If you regularly maintain your garden yourself, it will be much easier to make some changes. A few new plants, painted fences, a beautiful bench or a simple shed; all these additions can be beautiful yet not too expensive. If you want, you can even take the help of a professional gardening company to help you out.

Make Use of Your Garage

Your garage makes for the perfect additional space you can use for a lot of purposes. Whether it is a kitchen extension, a larger bathroom, a study room or a storage room to keep spare parts or your appliances, you can use your garage for any of these things. You won’t even need to get planning permission for it.

Create Niche Spaces

 You can create beautiful shelf spaces in a bathroom, kitchen or any other area of your house, especially if you are pressed for space. You can do so by finding spaces in the wall free of plumbing or electric fittings and creating out-of the-way shelves. Even if you don’t want them to keep something, they can be used for decorative purposes as well. A few of these shelves, adorned with soft lighted bulbs and a small decorative piece can give a beautiful look to your house.

Get Your House Insulated

Insulation is not only a low cost home improvement method but also saves you money in times to come. It is environment-friendly, keeps in-house temperature under control and can substantially reduce your heating costs. The best thing is that you can get government grants to get the insulation done, which makes it even more affordable.

With these few tips, you can easily give your house a completely new look without spending too much. So, grab your sweatshirt and start working!

This post has been written by Rick Roux. He loves to write about various types Home Improvement & flooring.  Currently he is writing articles for hardwood flooring such as distressed hardwood flooring.

Top 10 Flooring Trends of 2017

While many people are contemplating the wide array of choices that need to be made before taking on a remodel, don’t let your flooring wear you out. Here are some details of the top 10 flooring trends of the year and how they will suit your home.

1) Slate floors are modern and utilitarian. When sealed, slate is impervious to stains and liquids, making it amenable for kitchens and bathrooms. As an interior design choice, slate communicates minimalism and practicality.

2) Hardwood is an attractive and solid material that lasts for generations. Scratches can be sanded down and refinished. Hardwood comes in a wide variety of board widths, colors and finishes.

3) Ceramic tile comes in many choices of sizes, textures and colors. Your choice of grout color should be neutral or dark, properly sealed to prevent future discoloration. A good sweeping and damp mop once a week are all you need to keep ceramic tile looking fresh.

4) Porcelain tile is similar to ceramic tile in its array of customization options. Tile professionals can create interesting mosaic patterns at entryways or in the center of a room. It’s a little pricier than ceramic tile, but you’ll find it much more stain-resistant. A quick mopping once a week will keep it sparkling.

5) Marble flooring carries with it an aura of sophistication and wealth. Marble appears in patterns of dramatic glossy swirls and shapes, showcasing the natural veins of the stone.

6) Limestone is a natural choice. Formed over time from coral, shellfish and other marine organisms, it presents itself most commonly in soothing shades of pink, yellow and cream.

7) Everyone thinks of granite as being just for counter tops, but this versatile stone is great for floors, too. As the hardest stone, it stands up to wear and tear in heavy traffic areas.

8) Laminate is an alternative to hardwood. Though it does not stand up well to wear and tear or liquid spills, the price difference makes it an attractive option.

9) Instead of wall to wall carpeting, people in Miami gravitate toward throw rugs or area rugs. Easy to clean, these typically don’t retain the dirt and sand particles that carpets collect over time.

10) Cork is a green option because the derivative plant is fast-growing and renewable. Sealed, it is impervious to liquid and makes a comfortable kitchen floor.

Any of these would be great choices for any remodel no matter what effect you’re going for.

Tips for Polishing Hardwood Floors

Keep a shiny wood floor is a very important aspect when you want to print a touch of elegance in your home or a commercial space. To make wood floors look bright, like new, there are certain necessary care.

Today we have prepared for you a list of tips for polishing hardwood floors. We are confident that when you know the tricks, the floor will look as you had thought about it.

 

Tricks to polish hardwood floors

It assesses what amount of traffic must support your daily wood flooring. This will allow you to have a view on the quality of the wax that you need to make durable the polished wooden floors.

Before you start polishing is very important you remove each piece of furniture or space elements. If you have floor mats or accessories that may annoy remove them.

When the space is completely clear, we recommend performing a cleanup which removes dust or surface dirt from the wood floor. If the floor contains some kind of protective wax, the ideal is to remove it to create not able to additional. Then make sure it is completely dry.

As you’ve chosen a wax for optimal wood according to your space needs, it is time that you apply it on the wooden floor. The trick is to follow the package instructions very well because everyone has their method of application.

The trick after waxing is to take a clean mop, micro fiber and passing in small sections until the entire surface is shiny. Ideally, spend the mop always clean, the trick is to polish without scratching the
work done.

Recommendations to polish wood floors

If the space is very large, perhaps you should consider the use of a machine to polish hardwood floors.

When you get to place your furniture to its original position it is very important that they are under covered with guards which in turn prevents scratches on the floor.

Wood floors must not be exposed to too many amounts of water and if so should be cleaned immediately.

Never use other products that do not warn about the exclusive use on wood floors.

The recommendation is that you breathe or clean your floor twice per week as the dust will be removed and will avoid the risk of scratches or damage, perhaps should know how to care for your hardwood floors.

Wood floors can last long only if maintenance is excellent; it will be a question that follows one to one advice for polishing wooden floors and maybe even your grandchildren involved the durability of this type of flooring. Will come the time when they think how renewing wood floors.


James Patrick is an experienced writer about hardwood flooring. He suggests visiting Palmetto Road Floors for more useful information about hardwood flooring and remodeling.

How To Clean And Maintain Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is not only beautiful to look at but, when maintained and taken cared of properly, it can also be a long-term investment. Some people find caring for hardwood quite easy but most will agree that it is no easy feat. The key is to religiously follow a maintenance regimen from the time it was installed and everyday thereafter. Here are some tips to make hardwood floors last longer.

Identify the Finish

More important than knowing the kind of wood used knows what kind of coat it is finished with. Surface sealed floors, or those coated with urethane and polyurethane, are generally resistant to water-damage and are easier to clean. On the other hand, penetrating sealed and oil-treated floors need to be protected with liquid or paste wax.

Surface-Sealed Floors

Equally important to knowing which products to apply is being familiar with which products not to apply. Waxes, oils, and furniture spray must never be used on surface sealed floors. Applying wax is time consuming and it will make recoating more difficult to do. Oil, on the other hand, leaves unsightly residue while furniture spray can make the floor surface really slippery. In addition, avoid using alkaline, straight ammonia or abrasive cleaning products as these can scratch, dull, or damage your flooring.

It is always safer to use cleaning products that are recommended by the company who applied finish on your flooring. But if such products prove to be too expensive or difficult to secure, you can always rely on mild soap and plain water. However, remember that water is still wood’s worst nemesis. A damp mop should be used rather than a water soaked one.

High traffic areas, such as the kitchen and living room, must be swept at least once every day and mopped once every week. Less traffic areas can be mopped at least once every month.

Penetrating-Sealed and Oil-Treated Floors

Use a paste or liquid wax that is recommended by the floor finisher. Liquid wax is easier to apply but it leaves a thinner coverage, whereas paste wax offers better protection. Remember to use a stripper to remove old wax build-up before applying a new coat. Make sure that the floor surface is free of dust and residue before applying a new coat of wax.

Penetrating-sealed and oil-treated floors cannot tolerate moisture so damp mops should be avoided altogether. Regular surface vacuuming and sweeping often does the trick.

Affordable Renovation Ideas to Modernise the Kitchen

Most people are so busy renovating other parts of their home that they often forget about keeping the kitchen up to date. Many people build lasting memories in their kitchens with family holiday dinners and time with everyone gathered around the kitchen table for laughter and a good time. That is why this room of the home should be kept comfortable with bright colours to give it a cheery atmosphere. There are plenty of renovations that could be done to the kitchen that will make it look like you’ve spent thousands of pounds redoing it, when in reality you only have to spend a few hundred pounds, especially if you take advantage of deals online.

Make the Same Cabinets You Own Look Like You Spent a Fortune Replacing Them

Cabinets are one of the most expensive features of a home, and they can b

e really expensive if you completely replace them. However, you do have the option to have your cabinetry refaced to give your kitchen a modernized look in any finishing style that you desire. Whether you want a futuristic metallic look or warm tones of wood, you can accomplish it for a fraction of the cost of what a whole set of new cabinets would cost you. If you really want to get creative, then you can mix and match the finishes on your cabinetry as well. This has become a hot trend over the last decade, and it really gives the room a sense of style and classiness.  Obviously if you want to change the size of your cabinets then you simply don’t have a choice but to replace the whole unit.  However, if you are going to do so then make sure you do you research online to avoid getting stung with an above market rate price. It is also important to keep in mind that going cheap is not necessarily the best option because you will have to live with your decision for a number of years!

Out With the Walls and in With the Open Space Concept

Beams, partial walls and closed spaces are a thing of the past. Removing these walls can open up your kitchen space to make it feel airy and larger than it actually is. The great thing about this project is that it costs very little to do, and the resulting effect can be absolutely amazing. It is important to make sure that the wall you are taking out are not supporting walls to the structure of you home before taking this type of project on. The cost of taking out beams and walls only runs a couple of hundred pounds in most cases.  Open plan houses make much better use of smaller spaces – especially in cities, and can give a much more relaxed feeling to the house as a whole.

Changing Up the Walls and Flooring

Every kitchen should be bright. Trends change every few years, so you will want to get floor and wall coverings that can change with the times easily. Paint is the best option for the kitchen walls, but it comes in literally hundreds of colours to go with any décor, and costs only a few pounds per can.  Flooring should be durable and easy to clean.  Ceramic tile, linoleum or hardwood floors such as distressed flooring are great options for kitchen flooring, and they come in an array of shades, colours and patterns.  You can always change the colour of the walls but the floor is much harder and more expensive to change.  As such, it is usually advisable to opt for neutral colours!