Remodel For More Space by Randy Mate

 Just by changing the layout of your current house you can better utilize the rooms and therefore have more space to do the things you want to do. If you like to cook but don’t often sit around your front room you could move some walls, make the front room smaller and make your self a grand kitchen. If you always order out for food you could make your dining room or living room larger by making your kitchen smaller. If you have lots of kids and do lots of laundry you may want to make your laundry room and recreation room larger and do away with your living room. Then you can remodel your remaining rooms.

BUILD A ROOM ADDITION
   You may want to add on a bedroom and bathroom, or make an existing bedroom larger and add a bath to make it the master bedroom.

KNOCK DOWN A WALL OR RE-CONFIGURE A ROOM
   You may want to take out a wall between your bedroom and the bedroom next to it because your kids are grown up and the room is just being wasted. By taking out the wall you can make a big bedroom and maybe even add a master bath.
   You may want to take down an exterior wall that goes out to the patio then close off the patio with walls or windows to make the living room larger.

BUILD A LARGE DECK
   You could add a 1st or 2nd story deck to the house with a new large sliding glass door to go out to the deck. You would now have a place to put plants, or for yourself, outside on a nice day.
   You may want to add a deck in the backyard up the hill to have a nice view. Even put a hot tub in the deck. Build a deck all around your pool.

CONSOLIDATE STORAGE
   Take all of the storage you have all around your house and maybe in the basement or under the house. Figure out how much room it is taking up. Now you can either build a storage shed in the back or side yard, or close off an area under the house and make a storage room there, and move everything into there. Now you have more space to re-configure if you want.

CONVERT A ROOM
   You may want to take an unused bedroom, storage space or area under the house and make it into a library, exercise room or game room.

ALL THIS FOR ABOUT $125.00 PER SQUARE FOOT
   There are many things that can be done with the existing space that you have and of course you can always add on. Depending on whether you are doing a remodel or an addition the price to do this can vary from $75.00 per square foot for simple remodeling to over $150.00 per square foot to do an addition depending on how much you want to spend on the finish items such as tile, tub, shower, toilet, stove, deep freezer, carpet, marble, slate, granite, gold-plated hardware, etc

Need a remodel? Call me at (818)613-5632 for your free estimate

Big Decks Are Better Than Small Decks

    Decks can make your outdoor space more useable by making the area level or just by putting a surface there that can be walked on and items can be set on.
   Exterior decks are most commonly made out of redwood. Redwood stands up to the sun and water much better than any other wood. The next best wood to use would be cedar. The other thing to consider is using “fake wood” or composition vinyl “wood”.
   Decide where you would like to put a deck. You can put a deck on flat land or on posts over anything. Attach decks to other decks with walkways and steps. It can be as big or small as you want. Bigger is better because you can then use it to put more stuff on, such as chairs, tables, hot tubs, etc.
   The first thing that has to be built is a free base for the finish deck to be attached to. This base will vary in construction depending on the shape of the area beneath the deck.
   Once there is a base, then the finish deck can be put onto that. The finish deck is most commonly 2 inch by 6 inch with a space of about 1/8th of an inch between each board.
   There can be steps from level to level, handrails for looks and for safety in areas where someone could fall, built-in benches that match the deck, planters that match the deck, holes cut around trees that come through the deck, decks that are built on concrete slabs, decks over land areas, decks put onto balconies and anything that you can imagine.
   If you put in a real wooden deck, it is very important to maintain the surface every year, or at least every few years, depending on the exposure it gets.
   The fastest and easiest way I have found to seal the deck is to use a garden sprayer (the kind you pump up) or a sprayer that is similar to that kind of sprayer that is better designed to spray the sealant. The kind of sealant that you want to use is a type that soaks into the wood and prevents water from getting into the wood. After you put the sealant on you will find that water will bead up on the wood like a new wax job on your car.
   When you put the sealant on, it is important that you cover anything under the deck that you don’t want to get water sealed.
   First spray under the deck on the support boards and any wood that you can get to that is under the deck. Next spray the top of the deck and spray into the cracks between the boards. It is good to fully coat the boards well as the more sealant that the boards soak up the less water can get in and the longer the wood will last.

 Need a Deck or Repair a Deck? Call me - (818) 548-8760