Reliable Remodeler Blog » Bathrooms

What does “green remodeling” really mean?

woodrow — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:43:36 +0000

You’ve heard a lot about green remodeling. Many new homes are constructed with green building materials, appliances, windows and doors. Green, in short, means that the initial builder or homeowner making a sustainable home improvement is concerned with energy efficiency, indoor air quality, the conservation of natural resources and, ultimately, home value. Let’s look at the [...]

What does “green remodeling” really mean? is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Choosing the best bathroom vanity top

woodrow — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:34:51 +0000

The bathroom vanity top is basically a countertop surface. You’ll find that the surfacing materials offer many of the same choices as those you’d evaluate for the kitchen: solid surface, granite, laminate and wood. Since your selection may come down to money, rather than aesthetics, this discussion suggests you seek a balance between the two [...]

Choosing the best bathroom vanity top is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Going with the flow: look at energy efficient plumbing

woodrow — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:57:09 +0000

Low-flow plumbing fixtures can save you money in the long haul. The jury is still out whether you can quickly gain a return on your investment since water savings may only tally $100-$150 a year. But in the day when many of us are counting nickels and dimes on our water bills, everything that helps [...]

Going with the flow: look at energy efficient plumbing is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Safe bets for remodeling: energy efficiency upgrades

woodrow — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:44:19 +0000

The housing remodeling market is poised for a rebound, according to researchers at Harvard University. In the next few years, spending on home improvements is expected to increase at a 3.5 percent annual average rate. Harvard’s researchers also predict that trends wherein “deferred maintenance” and remodeling plans over the recession years will finally get back [...]

Safe bets for remodeling: energy efficiency upgrades is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Building trends 2012-2015: expect smaller, greener homes

woodrow — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:59:31 +0000

The American trend toward buying smaller homes – currently driven by the economy – will likely extend out to the near future. A builders’ survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), found that new homes will average 2,152 square feet in size by 2015, some 10 percent smaller than single-family homes built [...]

Building trends 2012-2015: expect smaller, greener homes is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Chemical sensitivity and home safety

woodrow — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:13:02 +0000

Slowly, it seems, homeowners and contractors are paying closer attention to the side effects of chemicals and building materials. The main culprits being addressed today are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that “off-gas” into the living area of homes. As more builders create air-tight, energy efficient homes, the effect of VOCs is compounded in that they [...]

Chemical sensitivity and home safety is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Greywater systems help green your home

woodrow — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:43:08 +0000

Imagine installing a garden hose that comes right off of your home washing machine. The soapy, soiled water from your last load of whites or permanent press clothing runs straight to your summer vegetable patch, cutting your water bills for the year by 30 percent. Today’s household greywater recycling systems help you turn your home [...]

Greywater systems help green your home is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Put mold eradication on your fall home improvement list

woodrow — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:49:46 +0000

Get the mold out of your house now before winter comes barreling into your neck of the woods. Mold clean-up and eradication is best conducted while you can still open doors and windows to ventilate and dry your home. My house in the Pacific Northwest sits under unbroken clouds and persistent rainfall for months after [...]

Put mold eradication on your fall home improvement list is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Re-organize your bathroom on the cheap

woodrow — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:50:14 +0000

Everyone you bump into these days needs bath remodeling but simultaneously tells you they haven’t a cent to spend. Think small and think cheap. You don’t have to knock out a bathroom wall to make more room for your family. One of the best ways to open up space or eliminate clutter is to build [...]

Re-organize your bathroom on the cheap is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Plan ahead: Remodeling spending may dive further

woodrow — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:03:52 +0000

Homeowner spending on remodeling and home improvement projects is expected to take a major dive going into 2012, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The plunge is daunting, given the small bubble of increase during the spring of this year. At the same time, a consumer slowdown on ordering projects [...]

Plan ahead: Remodeling spending may dive further is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Getting real about right-sized home improvements

woodrow — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:06:52 +0000

As the housing market continues to limp along, and as people downsize home improvement plans to simple tinkering, it’s wise to think in terms of not letting things go to pot around the property. Even when home construction began to dive five years ago, home remodeling kept going – and even briefly picked up steam as [...]

Getting real about right-sized home improvements is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Accessible design: bathroom improvements for seniors

woodrow — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:47:58 +0000

Nearly 80 million so-called Baby Boomers are 65 years or older. Rather than spend upwards of $60,000 a year to live in a nursing facility, many prefer to modify their homes and “age in place.” That may mean spending from $9,000 to as much as $80,000 to modify their entries, kitchens and, especially, home bathrooms. Elizabeth [...]

Accessible design: bathroom improvements for seniors is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Improvement projects to consider during the housing crisis

woodrow — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:20:45 +0000

It comes as no real surprise to those of us who own homes that today’s housing crisis—which began in 2006—has now officially been called the worst since the Great Depression. According to CNBC, prices have plummeted by 33 percent, some three percent deeper than the plunge in the late 1920s. Foreclosures continue to depress housing [...]

Improvement projects to consider during the housing crisis is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Home improvement: protecting your family from mites

woodrow — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:43:41 +0000

If you suffer from asthma and allergies like I do, you know that there can be more trouble in your home than meets the eye. Often you’ll complete a thorough cleaning of a new or remodeled home only to burst into a fresh spate of sneezing and watery eyes. For most people, home allergies are [...]

Home improvement: protecting your family from mites is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Beware: Mold is not limited to bathroom environments

woodrow — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:24 +0000

Most homeowners believe that the worst household mold originates in the bathroom. Truth is, mold is all around us in the home. Spores travel through the heating and cooling system and your vents. They enter on a fall day when a breeze stirs them up from a pile of rotting leaves or cut grass. Once [...]

Beware: Mold is not limited to bathroom environments is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.