Tips for Finishing Your Basement

Whether you just built your new home or just finished buying your dream house, many times the first project that you will try to complete is probably not finishing the basement.

However, it may interest home owners to know that a finished basement definitely adds value to your house and, if nothing else, adds more square foot of space the entire family can use, rather than just having storage space on the bottom floor.

 

Image source:iidudu.com

 

That being said, you want to make sure if you investing the money to finish your basement, you want to do it right. You want to be able to maximize every part of the basement and gain the most value and space that you possibly can.

Here are a few tips that you should think about as you begin the process of finishing your basement:

Utilize The Space Properly

Make sure that when you start figuring out floor plans on how you are going to finish your basement and also what it is going to be used for, take the time to consider all options before jumping into it. Will your entire family use it? Do you have kids that will utilize it as a play room? Will it be a guys-only room to watch the football and hockey games? These are important to answer before figuring it all out. If you think that the basement may be used for the guys, then you want to consider if you are adding a bar (built or store-bought) with a couple of bar stools, or whether or not it is better to just have couches with a TV and possibly a pool table. If you think it is going to be a family room, then you will want to stick to the basics on furniture because you know that the kids will have toys everywhere and will be jumping around from each corner of the room. Regardless of what your family decides, take the time to make sure you figure it all out – both short-term and long-term – before starting the process.

How Much Are You Planning To Spend?

No matter what you decided in terms of the space usage of the basement, you can’t just assume that everything will fall into place with your budget. Is the basement already insulated? Will you use a drop ceiling or a drywall ceiling? Will you be able to do any of it yourself or are you hiring an outside contractor? The budget is probably the biggest question throughout the process. This includes not only the materials to construct the basement, but all of the things after the fact (i.e. TV, couches, bars, etc.). You want to make sure that if it is a man cave or a family room, you want to have good carpet so that no matter what you are using the basement for, it will also be a soft, warm climate. Then again, if you know it will be used mostly for the guys watching sports, you want to allow to enough money on the back end to get a nice TV – possibly even a surround system. At the end of the day, you need to come up with a realistic budget, and make sure that you don’t go overboard on anything to have you scraping for extra cash at the end.

Make The Basement Good, But Don’t “Show Up” The Rest of the House

If you are going to finish your basement, make sure you don’t overdo it and make it the most appealing part of the entire house. This could also go both ways. Take this for example – if you build a brand new home and a couple months/years later you finish the basement, you don’t want to go the cheap route and make it look out of place with the pristine flavor of the rest of your home. That being said, if you bought your dream home – albeit it is 20 years old – you don’t want to make the basement lavishing so that it sticks out and makes your family and friends want to ONLY be in that part of the house. Yes it may sound a little odd, but make sure that your basement flows with the rest of the house. Make sure it ‘belongs’ with the rest of your home. If you are going to finish the basement, do so in the right way to add the best value and space to your home.

Asbestos Fence Removal – Perth Professionals Strictly Adhere To the Asbestos Removal Code

If anything will teach you not to assume that something is safe because it’s commonly used, asbestos will. Asbestos. Its presence in our lives is replete with cautionary tales. If only its hazards were made public right away, so many lives could have been spared, so many individuals could have enjoyed better health. Thankfully, these days, most of us know about the danger of inhaling asbestos, so awareness will hopefully play a key role in minimising cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Of course, many of the structures around us, especially the older ones, still have asbestos in them. When people learn about its presence in their property, it’s understandable that they want to get rid of it right away. However, removal may cause greater exposure to the dangers of asbestos than keeping it around. When you disturb asbestos-laden materials, there’s a greater chance of asbestos inhalation, which is why there’s an asbestos removal code that contractors and other related professionals adhere to.

When it comes to asbestos fence removal, Perth workers must be extra careful to comply with the code. Since this is done outdoors, it can affect the entire neighbourhood. Experts know to sufficiently prepare the workplace and its surrounding environment to make sure that the asbestos is contained. It is especially important to keep asbestos particles from being airborne, which is much more difficult to accomplish with asbestos fence removal. Perth contractors should have all the tools and protective gear necessary for the task with everything from three-gallon tank sprayers, plastic sheeting, and disposal bags to sealants and liquid detergent at hand during the procedure. As it turns out, soaking everything in amended water is crucial to keeping the material intact and preventing asbestos fibres from being ingested.

The law is also very particular about asbestos disposal. Content classification is imperative for security purposes and there are only specific, designated landfills where asbestos waste may go. Any responsible contractor knows about this and is sure to follow the guidelines closely.

It took many years to establish that asbestos is the killer that we regard it now. Past authorities have much to answer for, but the current ones are definitely making sure that the present and future generations will no longer suffer the ill effects of this noxious substance. Regulations are thankfully in place, so if you want asbestos removed from anywhere in your property, make sure that you hire trained and qualified professionals to perform the task.

About the author: Kenneth Lawrence is a passionate "handyman". His craft involves DIY concepts and he would like to share guidelines and tips about stuff on home improvement. He writes and reads almost anything that can hone his skills and increase his knowledge about DIY concepts. When writing articles about home improvement, he uses helpful sites such as http://www.martelletticontracting.com.au/ for his source of valuable information.

Important Facts about Tree Lopping Perth Homeowners Must Know

If you're one of the many homeowners in Perth who absolutely adore stepping out their front door each day into a lovely little garden with lush foliage, fragrant blooming flowers and stately trees, then you will know the level of care and work needed to keep your outdoor space healthy and looking vibrant at all times. Plants, just like humans, are living things that thrive when proper care and nutrition are observed; from an early age, people are taught to look after a plant by giving it enough water, placing it in a spot where it is sure to get the right amount of sunlight that it needs, and providing ample protection from weeds or small wildlife that may cause damage to it.

A crucial component of caring for plants that some homeowners may overlook, though, is trimming or pruning specific areas of growth. Many will think that allowing a tree, for example, to grow undisturbed is the best thing to do and that cutting or pruning certain parts of a plant will harm it, but on the contrary, proper tree pruning can promote enhanced growth, remove dead branches, regulate its size and shape, maintain its safe condition, and even improve the quality of its fruits and flowers.

 

image:en.wikipedia.org

Tree lopping, Perth homeowners must know, refers to the removal of large tree side branches, done by making vertical cuts. Often, lopping means cutting tree branches to stubs or lateral branches which are not large or developed enough to assume the terminal role, and the most common reason for performing this type of tree work is to reduce the size of the tree. Homeowners may feel that a tree is becoming too large for their property, or that it may start posing a hazard for both the residents and the neighbours. Through lopping, between 50 and 100 percent of the leaf-bearing crown of a tree can be removed.

Ideally, pruning cuts in trees should be made just beyond the branch collar, at the point of attachment of the said branch. Such a "wound" can be effectively closed by the tree's biological functions. It's important for arborists or tree specialists to ensure that such pruning cuts should only be made in a size that's not too large, on a tree that is found to be healthy. Otherwise, a tree will not be able to close the wound and the exposed tissue will become infected and begin to decay.

Another way of properly reducing a tree's branches (according to the Australian Standard AS 4373-2007: Pruning of Amenity Trees) is to cut back to a lateral large enough to assume the terminal role, or to a lateral that is at least one-third the diameter of the limb being removed. Ideally, this practice will ensure homeowners that the natural form of the tree will be retained.

Author: Sarah Miller is a business consultant by profession and a content creator, writer and blogger by passion. Having been exposed to the different aspects and faces of businesses and other home improvement ideas, she frequently does research on useful information about business and home improvement and shares her passion through blog/content writing.http://www.martelletticontracting.com.au/ is one of her resources.

When You Need to Find Quality Carpets in Amarillo TX

When coldest days in the year come, you definitely desire the relaxed sensation of warmth and softness below your feet. Thus, it’s no wonder at all if many homeowners prefer to install carpet flooring for bedrooms, family room and living room.  Though it may need more regularly maintenance, nothing can match the warm, comfy, tranquil and soft values of carpet floor.

Between other different floor cover options, carpet floor is already well known for its softest surface since long ago but not with its durability. Carpets are seldom to be used in households with small kids and pets. But nowadays, thanks to the advanced technology in related fields that has been applied by top carpet manufacturers; homeowners are allowed to enjoy further advantages. It’s no hard anymore for those who also seek for long-lasting carpets to discover today’s finest grade carpets that offer stain and wear resistance as well as texture retention.

Today’s soil-resistant and wear-resistant carpets are ideal flooring choices for your busy and heavy foot-traffic rooms.  So, if you want to have striking and functional new floor in the family room where the whole family members and pets love to spend fun time together; installing such carpet into the room can’t be a wrong decision. 

You probably think that first-rate carpet is very expensive to purchase. Happily, you would be able to save money by getting the desired carpet at reliable floor stores like Carpet One.  To find quality carpets at affordable prices in Amarillo, TX, homeowners who live in the community can depend on the trusted Casey Carpet One Amarillo TX since they offer a wide variety of carpet collection –at lowest prices and backed by unique warranties- to meet any need, style and design. The skilled people at the right floor store will assist you in creating outstanding new carpet floors -with their complete offered service from flooring consultation to installation step. It’s the kind of store and people that you can count on to handle your flooring needs!