Let’s face it: money is tight today. If you’re looking to get the most bang for your home improvement dollar, think about making improvements that make your home more livable today and valuable if you plan to put it on the market when times improve.
If you have the budget or access to a reasonable loan, then a major project, such as window or siding replacement can bring lasting value. New fiber-cement or vinyl siding can bring as much as an 87 percent return. Replacing windows with energy efficient wood or vinyl sets can bring nearly an 80 percent return.
Major bathroom and kitchen remodeling efforts also can bring a strong return, but less so than siding and windows. Adding an outdoor wooden deck can boost home value by as much as $24,000 and bring in a sizable return on the cost of installing it.
Mid-scale Improvements that Work
Minor kitchen remodeling projects put an incremental burden on your budget, but still increase home value and utility. Perhaps you want to add kitchen counter laminate or fresh paint.
Minor kitchen remodels can net an 80 percent return on your investment—higher than a complete remodeling project can bring. Or, consider remodeling an unfinished basement, a project that can bring more than 70 percent returns on your outlay.
Your region can also play a large part in determining ROI. For example, minor kitchen remodeling projects brought great returns in the West, while the ROI winner in the South was fiber-cement siding. In the Midwest, homeowners fared best with minor kitchen and major bathroom remodeling projects.
Remember to get plenty of quotes from different contractors and see which ones offer the best discounts on materials.
You’d be amazed how many people ruin their kitchen or bathroom faucets and shower heads attempting to remove the aerator and clear mineral build-up. While clearing a faucet is a simple job, you still need basic skills in how to protect your hardware from tool damage. It’s part of your Basic Home Repair 101 course, but if you’re like some of my relatives, you prefer employing brute force rather than common sense.
In a previous blog, I wrote about fixing leaky faucets and probably should have written about simple cleaning first. The minerals in your water source form sediment that cakes and clogs your sink and shower aerators. It’s mostly calcium and is harmless, even though it creates small maintenance projects.
At home my well water deposits white coatings on my shower head, which then distributes water right out the side window or on the curtain. I use an off-the shelf product that removes calcium, lime, and rust in minutes. Of course, old plumber’s folklore and present practice include soaking your aerators and heads in simple white vinegar. Warm vinegar melts the sediment off overnight.
Next, you puncture the spray holes in the shower head with a push pin to finish off the job.
Take Some Care and Save Your Hardware
You’re going to need a set of pliers to loosen the casing and remove the aerator from the faucet or shower head. Now comes the little class secret: wrap the teeth of your pliers (on the action end) with electrical tape to spare your hardware from scrapes, gouging, bending, or crushing. Once the end is safely rotated loose, you may need a thin blade or knife to pry out the aerator.
Here are other precautions:
• Be sure you close the drain and turn off the water supply to your tap.
• Loosen the casing with a set of pliers or monkey wrench.
• Remove the aerator and soak in vinegar or safe home improvement product.
• Clean all masks or aerators, gaskets, heads, and spray holes.
• Tighten, open water supply and drain.
I use gloves and take a stiff brush to the hardware before rinsing it with clear water. I have a friend who made the mistake of washing the hardware in the same kitchen sink where he had removed the aerator. Old habits die hard.
While you’re at this project, it’s not a bad idea to add in related work, like clearing your drains, and repairing damaged hardware. Need a new disposal? Now’s a good time to think about it.
Kitchen track lighting allows you to aim light where it’s needed most. Whether you want to spruce up a dark kitchen or target your lighting on critical work areas, custom or off-the-shelf track lighting can add functionality and warm up the aesthetics of the kitchen.
There are basic kits to get you going, as well as more expensive models. The best news is that most new kits are lightweight, easy to modify to your needs, and can cut energy bills when you install separate tracks and switches. Light only the fixtures you need, and dim the ones that you turn on only when people visit.
About Kitchen Track Lighting
The best thing about track lighting is its flexibility. If you’re going to do the work yourself, be sure to stipulate a “set” when you buy the kit or you may not get all the necessary components. These include:
You also want to shop for fixtures that operate with the track kit, put out the kind of lighting you need, and look great in the kitchen. Depending on the location of the electrical box for your existing ceiling light, you may not need any additional power source. If the light track is mounted on the surface of the ceiling, it installs easier than recessed lighting.
Because the track lighting sets are lightweight, you won’t need to attach them to joists. Some go into a hollow ceiling with molly bolts. Be sure your ceiling can handle the weight. Measure your distances carefully–especially if you’re installing track lighting under kitchen cabinets. The last thing you want is a swinging door to bash into your new fixtures.
Safety Tips
It’s a great idea to install the track lighting where you can use the existing wiring. Be sure to turn off the power source before working on any existing fixtures in the kitchen. Once you’re sure there’s no current, you can remove the existing lighting. Before doing any drilling to install the lighting tracks, it’s a good idea to mark your chosen locations with tape.
Read all the instructions to make sure you don’t overload the kit with fixtures. The manufacturer should include documentation. Choosing fixtures and bulbs can present a financial challenge. Many new kits feature LED lights, while conventional halogen lights can cost more than other options. Remember, don’t rely on incandescent bulbs–they’re being retired from the marketplace in the next few years.
If you’ve never sliced the top of your thumb cutting open the edge of a tube of caulk, you have greater dexterity than most part-time home handy workers. I grew up around ratchet-rod caulk guns and cursed a few. Today’s drip-free caulking guns operate by a spring-loaded pressure rod that works smoothly from the pressure of your finger. A quick trip to the hardware or home improvement store can convince you that there’s a wider selection of caulks and guns than you’ve seen before.
You need the right caulk for your project-at-hand. Shop wisely and ask a clerk for help. Generally speaking, you’re probably looking for:
Silicone Caulk: for a premium-grade, waterproofing job. Great for kitchens and baths
Vinyl Latex Caulk: for a water-resistant, quick adhesive job in wet areas of the bath
Butyl Rubber Caulk: for sealing outdoor gutter seams, storm doors, and windows
Caulking, Simplified
So you have the caulk in the gun and you’re ready. Hold on, turbo! Even the best-quality caulk may have trouble adhering to a dirty surface or crease filled with remnants of old caulk. It won’t adhere to soap, either, so clean the surface with plain, warm water. To root out old caulk, you need anything from a sharp blade (for silicone) to a heat gun, screwdriver, or caulk softener (for latex or acrylic).
Cut the tip of the caulk cartridge at the business end of the gun to match the depth of your job. Use steady pressure on the trigger as you work the tip at a 45-degree angle to the area you’re filling. And here’s a tip you might otherwise overlook: always caulk a bathtub when it’s filled with water. Otherwise the tub rides high and when it’s filled for the first time, the weight of water and bather can crack the new caulk.
It’s best to work at a careful, steady pace to get the caulk applied during a single repair. It can try your patience to match up your tracks and at the same time lay down a seamless, protective sealant. Caulk, like other adhesives, cures as it sets.
If you’re caulking cracks in your exterior concrete, be sure to buy siliconized latex concrete caulk. Again, your success depends on how well you clean the cracks of debris and old patching compounds or sealants.
Years ago I was visiting a friend in Tokyo and was astonished that she took water from the tap for tea, and it was too hot to drink. This was way back in 1979. I was amazed that all the hot water for the home’s kitchen and bath came from a heat-on-demand water tank powered by natural gas. Later that year, I saw passive solar water heating systems on the roofs of homes just outside of Tel Aviv. Thirty years later I’ve yet to see these systesm in widespread adoption around the states.
Then you consider that tank-less, heat-on-demand systems are available—with models that just heat your teapot, while others power the shower—they’re still a ways off from popular use around the states. You’ll probably remember (or still have) one of those tea elements for plugging in and using electrical power to heat coffee. That’s as far as most of us go.
The Savings?
You might save a hundred dollars a year in energy bills from an on-demand system. But if you’re considering buying an on-demand heater to cover all your hot water needs, be sure to consider the size of your family, the cost of installing a system, the tank capacity, and the amount of hot water you need every day. The Department of Energy says a majority of systems can generate 2-5 gallons a minute, depending on the fuel source. From your own experience you know that gas-fired heaters are quicker to raise your water to the right temperature than electric ones.
Tax Credits for Tank-less Water Heaters
You can read up on the 2009-2010 tax credit at the Alliance to Save Energy website. In essence, your potential credit for installing a tank-less unit for the credit depends on your finding a system that can heat the water to efficiency standards based on source (electric, gas, oil, propane). An acceptable energy factor may be hard to find. The credit may only be $300, but pennies saved by energy efficiency can add up.
According to the Department of Energy, the energy factor is determined by fuel consumption and the speed of recovery, and how much heat is lost in the cycle of briefly storing and pumping out the water. When shopping around, examine units for a high-number energy factor, meaning the most-efficient for home use.
Dedicating a tank-less heater to appliances, spas, or as a secondary power source can prove a wise choice if there’s no constant or huge demand.
Not since Edison’s 1879 incandescent electric lamp hit the market has there been such a hubbub about lighting. One can only wonder if the American population was concerned about the quality of light produced by the filament bulb when compared with the illumination from gas lamps. They probably loved the convenience.
Now, forced by Federal legislation to save energy, American consumers may again face a quantum change in the way their homes and offices are lighted. Beginning in 2012, all new light bulbs will be required under law to use 30 percent less energy to produce the same levels of light that we enjoy today. The winners of the shift, according to The New York Times, will probably be the manufacturers of compact fluorescent bulbs. The losers: the aesthetically conscious consumer.
Compact fluorescent bulbs on today’s market are designed for use in kitchens, baths, and all the rooms between. They’re said to operate on 70 percent less energy than the traditional bulb, and last as much as ten times longer under normal use. But so far, manufacturers are well beyond the curve in offering lighting fixtures designed to cast the fluorescent bulbs in the most-favorable light.
Consumers Reluctant to Change
Wal-Mart has sold compact fluorescent bulbs for three years and the new items make up less than 20 percent of their bulb sales. Consumers dislike the overall color effects of the bulbs and complain that some models give off a disturbing buzzing sound when in use.
On the other side of the aesthetic argument is the government’s claim that 90 percent of the energy burned by incandescent bulbs is emitted as heat—not light. The energy drain has led Australian legislators to ban incandescent bulbs by next year.
In America, the Department of Energy supports the end of the incandescent era, claiming that 25 percent of our total home energy bill is generated by lighting. Compact fluorescent bulbs, reports the California Energy Commission, should not only reduce energy use by 75 percent, but should last 10,000 hours.
To consumers concerned about the quality of light produced by compact fluorescent bulbs, the Federal ENERGYSTAR team claims that newer models of compact fluorescents will come with “warm” colors to match the yellow tint of incandescent bulbs. The new bulbs will be offered along three settings in the Kelvin scale: yellow, white, and blue.
In the end, we may have to settle for some discomfort until manufacturers dial in the colors. But we’ll probably be stuck with fluorescent bulbs.
As I grow older, my feet get colder. Every winter I wish I had radiant floors. I first encountered a radiant floor kitchen in Washington State where friends had rehabbed a Victorian home. They used a hydronic tubing heating system, which is usually too pricey for most homeowners. It can cost more than putting in an entirely new boiler and forced air system. But the floor was toasty and muffled the shock of walking across the floor to make morning coffee.
Today, you can install an electric radiant floor heating system for your kitchen or bathroom floor for under $500–depending on square footage. I discovered two kinds of electric radiant heating systems with a wide range in costs for materials and labor. Both have gained in popularity over the last decade.
Some systems consist of cables that are wrapped with insulation and installed directly into concrete or gypsum sections that are embedded into your floor. These can be the more expensive choices because you need a sturdy sub-floor to handle the weight of the tiling.
Installing Radiant Floor Matting
The other option is installing radiant mats that have cables woven directly into them. The mats are installed directly below your tiles or onto the sub-floor and covered with pad and carpet. The radiant mats come in a variety of sizes, are powered by 20 volts and 240 volt systems, and require about 12 watts per square foot to operate. A system installed directly beneath a carpet can heat up in an hour or so, while a system in the sub floor can take hours to reach your comfort level.
If you choose to install a radiant mat system in your bathroom, you have the option of covering it with any stone or tile that makes for a good conductor (ceramic, marble, granite, glass, or slate). There are also over-tile radiant heating systems comprised of mats that install directly over your existing tile and allow you to add a new tile floor on top. But you may need to reinforce the sub-floor to handle the weight and problems with deflected heat.
A more-recent radiant system uses mats that install directly beneath carpets and floating floors. Manufacturers claim that the systems are silent and can supplement your heating sufficiently to curb some usage from the forced-air furnace, fighting mold, pollen, and cutting heating costs. The greatest advantage, it seems to me, is that you can install these on your own.
Renovating your kitchen and adding a sink? Perhaps it’s time to consider the latest options in garbage disposals. While only a few manufacturers actually make disposals and issue them to resellers, there are more choices than ever before.
If you’ve ever found yourself (I have) using a broom handle to dislodge frozen chopping blades in your kitchen disposal, there are new units that have reversible blades. And while most disposals run on a third-horsepower, you can purchase models that rev up to a full horsepower in operation. That’s like Tim Allen attaching a corvette engine to a disposal to convert it into a wood chipper.
About Disposal Options
The invention of the first kitchen disposal in 1927 is credited to Wisconsin architect John W. Hammes, the man who went on to found one of the today’s largest manufacturers, InSinkErator. Since then, kitchen garbage disposals have been segmented into three major categories: Continuous-feed, Cover-control (or batch-feed), and Septic-tank disposals.
The Continuous-feed disposal is the most-common unit found in homes and apartments. You flip a switch on the kitchen wall and the unit fires up. It keeps running until you switch it off.
The Cover-control model consists of an open mouth and stopper-cover. You push scraps and waste into the unit and then insert the stopper. The cover fires up the unit, and it runs until you remove the stopper.
The Septic-tank disposal works just like the Continuous-feed model, except that it contains a bio-charge cartridge that further breaks down waste before it feeds out into your plumbing. Cartridges must be changed several times a year.
New Ideas for Old Garbage Newer disposal models today include features like anti-jamming and reversible blades and quiet operation. The anti-jamming models have timed or auto-reverse features where the blades suddenly lurch into reverse or can be set to operate in reverse to prevent silverware, bones, lost dimes and quarters from freezing the mechanism. (Remember the broom handle trick). I don’t know how often I had to hit the reset button on those older units.
The quiet-operation feature comes either with baffles or insulation wraps around the unit. I’m not sure how much they soften the din of chopping food waste. Some models also come with hookups to your dishwasher so that wastewater from your pots, pans, and dishes runs through the blades before leaving the kitchen.
Consumer Reports says that you can expect a ten-year service life from most models of today’s garbage disposals. You can do your part, too, to extend service life by operating your disposal with a minimum amount of care. Many disposal problems are caused by homeowners running units with little water or hot water. You need a healthy stream of cold water to assist the shredder.
It’s also common sense worth repeating that you should take care to remove silverware, large bones, and large twigs or stems from vegetables from the sink before running the unit. The latter belongs in your compost pile.
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