Home Remodeling

When planning your home remodeling project you want to take into consideration the investment you are about to make.  Sometimes people get too anxious and excited for their remodel and tend to go overboard with the costs.  I always urge the homeowner to “get what you want, and go big”, but that can be done within the confines of the comparable homes in the area.  If you live in a $250k-$350k neighborhood, you don’t want to be doing $1 million dollar work on your home.  You can get the million dollar look without going that extra step and using that real stone on the front of your home, or going way overboard with the interior finish.

There are some great ways to add value to your home without making a huge investment.  Below are just a few things that you can do to enjoy your home more while adding great value.

• Adding cultured stone to the front of your house with new siding.  If you have that old masonite siding with a 12″ reveal, it’s time for a facelift.  While you are replacing the siding it is easy to add a half wall of cutface stone to dress up the front of your home.
• Remodeling your kitchen is another good way to add value to your home.  With all the new kitchen cabinets accessories out today, adding your new kitchen will increase the functionality of the space.  As far as the countertops, I believe that granite can be used in a kitchen no matter what price range your home is in.  That said, using an exotic granite that is over $100 a square foot would not be cost effective in a $200k home obviously.
• Bathroom remodel is also a great way to increase your quality of life while adding value to your home.  Walk-in showers are a fad that is here to stay, and it is a fixture that we use everyday of our lives.  Bathrooms can get expensive so be careful on the costs when remodeling your bathroom space.

• Backyard renovations are a great way to enjoy your outdoor space and add value.  Stamped patio’s are a great alternative to a treated deck.  You can add concrete seating around the patio with built-in fire pit.  Most suburbs of Des Moines do not allow real wood fire pits, so we can run a gas line and have gas fire pit you can enjoy.  If a fire-pit is not your thing, then you can always add an outdoor kitchen with grilling area.

These are just a few ways to add value to your home while being easy on your pocketbook.  With more and more people staying put in today’s economy there is more need to remodel and add the space needed.

Kitchen Remodel Des Moines

This kitchen needed a lot of TLC!  We turned the pantry into a half bath, moved the laundry out out of the kitchen and into the bedroom areas.  Removed all the exising cabinets, and repaired all the drywall.  In this particular kitchen, we just used stock maple cabinets from Lowes, laminate countertops, and lower end appliances.  We finished the flooring off with laminate wood.  Click on the pictures below to view the project.

Des Moines Kitchen Remodel

When remodeling a kitchen you should always look at all the possiblities when designing your kitchen space.  In this particular kitchen, we wanted a more open feel into the living room.  With all the newer homes having a more open floor plan, these homeowners wanted to stay in their home but have the feel of a newer style floorplan.  In this Des Moines kitchen remodel, we removed an 18′ load bearing wall and installed a LVL header to support the roof.  We removed all the drywall,  updated the electrical and installed can lighting.  Something that I like to recommend to the homeower is to build a pantry closet rather than purchasing a very expensive pantry cabinet from the manufacturer.  You can see in this kitchen, we were able to chose a pantry door that is very similar in style to the cabinets and match the stain perfectly – at half the cost of a cabinet and twice the space.  We finished the floor off with 3/4 ” oak throughout the main level and wrapped the island with wainscotting to match the cabinets.

Kitchen Remodel Tips

There are many decisions to make when remodeling your kitchen area

• What color and species of wood for the cabinets
• What countertops do you chose – granite, solid surface, laminate, concrete, tile
• Floor coverings – wood, tile, laminate, vinyl
• Lighting – under cabinet, recessed, surface mount, fans
• Appliances
• Wall color

When facing these decisions, it is best to have an outside opinion for the popular trends.  The contractor installing the cabinets should be educated on the different trends going on in the building industry and should be able to lead you in the right direction.  Also think about how often you will use the space and what necessities you will need to make your kitchen function to your particular needs.  There are many different styles and brands of cabinets to chose from.   A particular cabinet that I tend to favor is Kraftmaid.  They have great customer service and there is a design center at your local Lowes.

Below are some kitchen project that we have completed, both with Kraftmaid cabinets.  For more information on Kitchen Remodels, stay tuned for our Ask Adam home improvement videos.  Click on the link below

Kitchen Remodel