This is the gathering space that the Smiths added off their kitchen and previous informal dining area.

Kevin Bunnell, Renovation Design Group

Last week we discussed the common issues of remodeling a split-level or split-entry house. The Smiths found that common thread of a love/hate feeling toward their house and their situation. They loved the neighborhood, the lot and the view. Their split-level had appeal, and with a little tweaking of the floor plan, they knew they could stay there for a long time.

This is a good real life example of last weeks suggestions for addressing the common issues of a split-level house, which are the lack of details/curb appeal, the division of rooms and functions (i.e. lack of gathering space near the kitchen) and a tight, awkward entry and porch.

When the Smiths decided it was time to remodel, they knew they wanted a better gathering space. With their six children still at home, they understood that even when they eventually fly the coop, their family would grow again by way of future spouses and grandchildren. A comfortable and convenient gathering place would be useful both in the present and in the future.

When they created the master plan, they decided to divide the project into phases. Phase one was an addition to enlarge the family room, and phase two was to relocate and enlarge the kitchen. Phase three was to update the exterior curb appeal of the front of the house, and phase four involved renovating the master suite. They ended up blending phase one and phase two once they got into the construction process. "I couldn't imagine stopping and starting again down the road," Tiffany Smith said. "We just wanted that part of the house finished."

The addition created 400 additional square feet on the main floor, and they duplicated the space in the basement. On the main floor, they used the space to create a great room, which included relocating the original kitchen.

The old kitchen was a galley layout, but it unfortunately also served as the hallway, which was the only access to the family room that had been previously added onto the rear of the home. Any time the dishwasher or the refrigerator was open, there was a major road block.

"Now there is a dedicated pathway to the great room," Smith said. "We don't have to have the company come through the kitchen to get to the gathering area."

Prior to the remodel, the laundry room and the pantry were combined. "Before, the kids would throw all their dirty clothes on the washer, just inches away from all of our food," Smith said. "I didn't realize how weird that was until now that they are separated. I love it."

Read the original:
Renovation Solutions: One family's experience with remodeling a split-level home

Letting your house slip behind your neighbors' could lower your home value and cost you when you sell.

(Money Magazine)

"You never want to exceed the neighborhood norm, but you definitely want to stay up with it," says John Bredemeyer, an appraiser in Omaha.

Must-haves and deal breakers

Home shoppers have strong opinions about what they do -- and don't -- want in a house.

Source: National Association of Home Builders, 2013.

Bringing your home up to speed doesn't have to mean a massive, six-figure renovation. Small-scale projects that address some typical flaws of older homes can do double duty: They'll make your home more attractive when it's time to sell, and turn it into a more comfortable place for you to live.

These three upgrades all cost $5,000 or less.

Expand your closets. Homes built before the mid-1970s often share a frustrating problem: nowhere to put stuff. Small, one-rod closets are a prime offender and a big turnoff for buyers, says Rockaway, N.J., realtor Ellen Klein. Make the most of these spaces by installing an organizing system equipped with additional rods, shelves, baskets, and more, available at big-box home stores (starting at $50 per closet). For those who would prefer to use a pro, firms like California Closets handle the installation, starting at $500 or so.

Calculator: Was my home a good investment?

Originally posted here:
Your home: It pays to keep up with the Joneses

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Vikki Ruisch had a fireplace in her house, but it was in a room her family barely used. So during a remodeling project last year, she had a fireplace built in her heavily trafficked living room, where everyone could enjoy it.

Ruisch figured it would add value to her Woodcliff Lake, N.J., house, but that wasn't really an incentive. She grew up having a fireplace in her home and just wanted one, or two. She also had one put in the master bedroom.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't like a fireplace," she said. "We use ours, especially this winter. My husband puts the one on in the bedroom when he gets up about an hour before me, and then it's nice and toasty by the time I get up."

Ruisch is one of many home and business owners installing fireplaces to add ambience, warmth and financial value to where they live and work. A fireplace can increase a home's value by 6 to 12 percent, according to the National Center for Real Estate Research of Littleton, Colo.

In addition to the standard stone or brick fireplaces found in typical settings like single-family homes and ski lodges, temporary hearths can be installed in the tiniest of apartments and the most intimate of restaurants.

Ventless fireplaces are a swiftly growing segment of the market, targeted for apartments or other buildings where permanent changes can't be made. Those that run on electricity can, with the flip of a switch, heat a space up to about 400 square feet, or, in hot weather operate with no warming element.

One manufacturer, HearthCabinet Ventless Fireplaces in New York City, offers products that use alcohol gel cartridges instead of electricity, said Sara Check, marketing and sales manager for the company.

"Lots of people wanted a fireplace and didn't have a chimney, gas line or vent," Check said. "So we are filling a void in a niche market. The cartridges work like a sterno canister works. You can replace the top and then use it again."

One of the drawbacks to ventless fireplaces, specifically because there is no way to send gases outside the building, is that they often emit an odor, similar to the smell from an oven when it is on. But Check said HearthCabinet throws off little, if any odor, because of the gel cartridges it uses.

"Since our cartridges use isopropyl alcohol, our emissions don't really have an odor," she said.

Visit link:
Fireplaces raise home values

WATERLOO | The cost of remodeling the City Hall meeting room jumped this week.

City Council members voted 4-2 Monday to approve a nearly $25,000 increase in the original $194,500 contract to renovate the council chambers on the second floor of City Hall.

Councilmen Steve Schmitt and Tom Lind voted against the increase. Both had voted Feb. 3 against the original contract, saying it was not a good time to spend the money. Councilwoman Carolyn Cole was absent.

Failor-Hurley Construction is putting new carpeting, window treatments and furnishings in the council chambers and adjacent Mollenhoff Room.

New electronic equipment to improve meeting broadcasts and presentations is being added, while the room will become wheelchair accessible.

Resident Forest Dillavou questioned the need for additional improvements.

"I have a problem with change orders whenever I see them," he said. "Did we get softer chairs?"

Building Official Craig Clark said the key reason for the change order was a new desk where council members will sit and a rebuilding of the raised platform in the room, which was found to be improperly constructed when the renovation started.

Mayor Buck Clark said he also doesn't like change orders but contends the additions are necessary.

"The desk was just a flat oversight," he said.

Excerpt from:
Waterloo council chambers renovation project cost rises

TERRE HAUTE For the first time since the dedication of its corporate headquarters downtown in 1988, First Financial Bank will begin next month to use the entire building, after a remodeling of a long-vacant, previously unfinished fourth floor.

The move will impact 69 employees, 19 of which will be moved into the downtown office building from the banks operations center at 1401 S. Third St., said bank President/CEO Norman L. Lowery.

The bank is moving all of its commercial, mortgage and installment loan employees and loan administration to the more than 16,000-square-foot fourth floor.

The move also will relocate 50 people to the fourth floor from the second floor. That vacated second-floor space will allow for additional personnel moves from the operations center to the downtown, possibly legal and auditing personnel, Lowery said.

The fourth floor relocation is scheduled for April 21.

This will improve our lending service and allow us to do some things such as cross train some of our personnel who had been in separate buildings, Lowery said.

This building was built and furnished in 1988. This is our corporate office, and we are the only publicly traded corporation headquartered in Vigo County. This is our corporate office, and I want to start seeing it in that light. I think this is probably the first step in some things that we will do here and in some other facilities, too, Lowery said.

Banking has changed so much since this building was built, with some things that made sense in 1988, but now everything it electronic. We have 15 teller lines [inside the building] and we probably use five, Lowery said.

Is there a better way to do that, and should we be installing some electronic means of banking? Lowery said. I think we need to look at what we do and try to improve on it down here.

Lowery said the banks operations center had people elbow to elbow, requiring the relocation.

More here:
Room to grow: Downtown bank remodeling, expanding headquarters

Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 12:01a.m.

A patient no longer will have to ask for a private room at any of the three hospitals operated by Excela Health.

On Saturday, Excela officials converted the last of its hospitals Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg to all private rooms, health system officials said.

Private rooms are the norm in new construction, said Maryann Singley, vice president of patient care services at Westmoreland Hospital.

The concept is wellness-oriented and promotes rest and recovery by removing the added distractions of another person sharing the room.

Latrobe Hospital converted all its rooms to single-patient in 2011. Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant changed its rooms as part of remodeling done in 2012-13, a spokeswoman said.

I don't think it's a question of competitiveness as much as it is patient preference and the trends nationally in admissions, Excela spokeswoman Robin Jennings said.

Hospital admissions are down nationwide, in part because of more surgeries being done via outpatient procedures, she explained. The outpatient surgeries have freed more spaces in hospital rooms.

A patient in a private room has fewer people entering each day, reducing the patient's perception about noise and busyness, Singley said.

One patient to a room further enhances the ability to have face-to-face conversations about diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, Excela officials said.

Read more here:
Excela finishes switching Westmoreland Hospital to all private rooms

Lets hope William Shatners negotiator skills work at Home Depot.

The TV legend and Priceline pitchman will next star in a home-renovation reality show for DIY Network.

The channel has started production on The Shatner Project which will follow Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) and his wife, Liz, as they enlist the help of a construction team to gut their 1970s-style California home including the kitchen, living room and dining room and remodel Shatners favorite hangout spot, the media room.

The couple also plans to renovate the front patio to create a space for big family parties (he has three children from his first marriage and five grandchildren).

I am embracing change, said Shatner in the announcement. Our home will be unfamiliar territory for a while but I am excited by all of it. The series will premiere later this year.

Continued here:
Shatner at the helm of new remodeling reality show

Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 12:01a.m. Updated 2 hours ago

A patient no longer will have to ask for a private room at any of the three hospitals operated by Excela Health.

On Saturday, Excela officials converted the last of its hospitals Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg to all private rooms, health system officials said.

Private rooms are the norm in new construction, said Maryann Singley, vice president of patient care services at Westmoreland Hospital.

The concept is wellness-oriented and promotes rest and recovery by removing the added distractions of another person sharing the room.

Latrobe Hospital converted all its rooms to single-patient in 2011. Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant changed its rooms as part of remodeling done in 2012-13, a spokeswoman said.

I don't think it's a question of competitiveness as much as it is patient preference and the trends nationally in admissions, Excela spokeswoman Robin Jennings said.

Hospital admissions are down nationwide, in part because of more surgeries being done via outpatient procedures, she explained. The outpatient surgeries have freed more spaces in hospital rooms.

A patient in a private room has fewer people entering each day, reducing the patient's perception about noise and busyness, Singley said.

One patient to a room further enhances the ability to have face-to-face conversations about diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, Excela officials said.

More:
Excela rooms solely private

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Vikki Ruisch had a fireplace in her house, but it was in a room her family barely used. So during a remodeling project last year, she had a fireplace built in her heavily trafficked living room, where everyone could enjoy it.

Ruisch figured it would add value to her Woodcliff Lake, N.J., house, but that wasn't really an incentive. She grew up having a fireplace in her home and just wanted one, or two. She also had one put in the master bedroom.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't like a fireplace," she said. "We use ours, especially this winter. My husband puts the one on in the bedroom when he gets up about an hour before me, and then it's nice and toasty by the time I get up."

Ruisch is one of many home and business owners installing fireplaces to add ambience, warmth and financial value to where they live and work. A fireplace can increase a home's value by 6 to 12 percent, according to the National Center for Real Estate Research of Littleton, Colo.

In addition to the standard stone or brick fireplaces found in typical settings like single-family homes and ski lodges, temporary hearths can be installed in the tiniest of apartments and the most intimate of restaurants.

Ventless fireplaces are a swiftly growing segment of the market, targeted for apartments or other buildings where permanent changes can't be made. Those that run on electricity can, with the flip of a switch, heat a space up to about 400 square feet, or, in hot weather operate with no warming element.

One manufacturer, HearthCabinet Ventless Fireplaces in New York City, offers products that use alcohol gel cartridges instead of electricity, said Sara Check, marketing and sales manager for the company.

"Lots of people wanted a fireplace and didn't have a chimney, gas line or vent," Check said. "So we are filling a void in a niche market. The cartridges work like a sterno canister works. You can replace the top and then use it again."

One of the drawbacks to ventless fireplaces, specifically because there is no way to send gases outside the building, is that they often emit an odor, similar to the smell from an oven when it is on. But Check said HearthCabinet throws off little, if any odor, because of the gel cartridges it uses.

"Since our cartridges use isopropyl alcohol, our emissions don't really have an odor," she said.

Original post:
Fireplaces add ambiance, value

remodeling my room part one

By: unicorn power

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remodeling my room part one - Video