Choosing the Right Type of Hardwood Flooring for Your Home

Trends in home decor come and go over time. While carpeting was a very popular choice for a long time, hardwood floors have become the top flooring style of choice for many homeowners. While carpeting is softer to walk on and can help reduce noise in your home, homeowners love hardwood floors for its timeless look, durability, and easy maintenance.

If you’re considering changing the flooring in your home and are thinking of getting hardwood floors, lots of people would certainly agree that you’re making a great choice. But before you get started, it’s important to figure out which type of hardwood floor would work best for your home. There are a few different types of hardwood flooring materials available and each of them has their own advantages and drawbacks.

Solid Hardwood

Of course, solid hardwood flooring is one option you could go with. In terms of durability and a natural look, nothing tops solid hardwood flooring. When compared to other types of hardwood flooring materials, solid hardwood is easier to repair. If you want to change the look of your floor later on or need to cover up a little bit of damage, solid hardwood floors can be sanded and refinished. When properly cared for, a solid hardwood floor can last for a very long time, often more than a hundred years.

The biggest drawback to solid hardwood flooring is that it’s the most expensive option available, so if you’re trying to stick to a budget, this might not be your best option. Since wood can warp, swell, and expand if exposed to moisture, there are certain rooms solid hardwood flooring should not be used in, like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Solid hardwood floors also need to be installed over a wood subfloor, so if you have a concrete subfloor, this won’t be an option for you.

Laminate

If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative to solid hardwood floors, laminate flooring is a very popular choice. Since laminate flooring isn’t made of real hardwood, it’s significantly less expensive to produce and install. Most people can even install laminate flooring on their own without having to hire a professional. The planks are very thin, so they can typically be installed over existing flooring without causing problems. Many people also feel like laminate flooring is easier to clean than solid hardwood and can be even more durable.

Just like solid hardwood flooring, laminate flooring can also be damaged by water so it shouldn’t be used in rooms where it would be exposed to moisture. You also do have to be careful when installing laminate because if it’s not done correctly, planks can get pushed together and cause unsightly peaking. Although laminate flooring is quite durable, it’s important to know that it can be difficult to replace or repair damaged planks if you need to. You can’t sand and refinish laminate like you can solid hardwood and it can be difficult to find replacement planks that have the same grain pattern and color as the rest of the floor.

Engineered Wood

Engineered wood is something of a hybrid of solid hardwood and laminate. Since engineered wood does contain some real wood, it’s not as inexpensive as laminate, but it’s more affordable than solid hardwood and offers several benefits that other types of hardwood flooring can’t. Unlike solid hardwood and laminate, engineered wood actually does tolerate moisture well. Engineered wood can also be more durable and stable than natural hardwood or laminate. It can easily be installed over any type of subflooring. If you choose engineered wood that has a veneer at least ⅛ of an inch thick, you can sand and refinish it just like you would solid hardwood.

The main drawback to using engineered wood is that the quality can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. If your engineered wood has a thin veneer, it can be damaged sooner than you’d like it to.

Bamboo

Although bamboo is technically a type of grass, it’s often considered a type of hardwood flooring. Strands of bamboo are bonded together to form planks that look very much like regular wood. If you’re looking for a flooring option that’s both environmentally friendly and affordable, bamboo is an excellent choice. Bamboo flooring is extremely durable, easy to maintain, and comes in a great variety of colors and styles. It can even be sanded and refinished like regular wood floors.

However, bamboo flooring is also prone to becoming dented, scratched, or discolored over time. Some types of bamboo flooring are softer than others, so some types may be more easily damaged than others. It’s also not as water-resistant as engineered wood, although it’s not quite as easily damaged by water and humidity the way solid hardwood is.

The Best Habits to Help You Conserve Energy

If you’re looking for ways to conserve energy around the house, it can be hard to even know where to begin. While there are plenty of larger improvements you can do to make your home more energy efficient, such as getting new vinyl replacement windows, adding more insulation, or buying Energy Star appliances, there are lots of little things that can make a big difference, too. Just by making an effort to adopt some energy-saving habits, you’ll be well on your way to making your home a more energy-efficient place.

Turn Off Lights and Ceiling Fans in Unused Rooms

There’s a very good reason why this is one of the most common energy-saving tips you’ll hear -- it really is one of the best ways to cut down on your energy bills. Simply put, when you’re not actually in a room, there’s no reason to be using electricity to light it. Of course, it’s understandable that you might want to leave a light or two on if you know you’ll be coming home late at night, but generally speaking, it’s best to only use lights as needed.

If a room has a ceiling fan, make sure it gets shut off when leaving the room. Since ceiling fans work by improving air circulation, not by actually lowering the temperature of the room, there’s no sense in having it running when there’s nobody there to actually benefit from it.

Unplug Unused Electronics

Many of us are in the habit of leaving our electronics plugged in when we aren’t using them. But whether we realize it or not, these devices tend to consume power even when they aren’t being used. In many cases, things like televisions, DVD players, video game systems, and computers go into a standby mode when you power them down, which makes it possible for them to start up a little bit faster when you want to use them again.

Although standby mode is supposed to be a low-power setting, the cost of keeping several things in standby mode for many hours a day can add up over time. If you want to help reduce your electricity bills in the long run, get in the habit of unplugging your electronic devices when you aren’t using them. If it’s possible to plug all of these devices into one power strip, you can simply switch the power strip off when you aren’t using those things and you’ll kill the power to them all at once.

Minimize Heating Water

Many homeowners are surprised to learn that a large portion of their electrical bills tend to go toward heating water. Water heaters can consume a huge amount of electricity, so anything you can do to reduce that is a great way to start conserving energy. Insulating the tank on your hot water heater will reduce your heating costs by helping to keep your water hotter longer, but there are plenty of other ways you can reduce the costs of heating water.

When you do laundry, use cold water instead of hot and try to only do laundry if you have enough for a full load. If you’re going to run the dishwasher, try to fill it as much as possible first. When you’re cooking on the stove, try to heat only the amount of water you need and make sure you’re using the right size burner for the pot or pan you’re using. And, of course, taking shorter showers are a great way to help!

Adjust Your Thermostat

If you’re looking for ways to conserve energy, one tip you’ll inevitably hear is to adjust your thermostat so you’re not spending as much money to heat or cool your home when you’re not going to be there. This is a great idea and can help significantly reduce your heating and cooling bills, but many people either have a hard time getting into the habit of adjusting the thermostat or don’t bother because they don’t want to come home to a house that’s too cold or too warm. If this is the case for you, adjustable thermostats are the perfect solution!

With an adjustable thermostat, you can just program it to change temperatures at specified times of the day, such as shortly before bed, before you wake up in the morning, when you leave for work, or shortly before you get home. This way, you’ll be able to cut down on your energy bills and never have to worry about coming home to a house that’s too warm or too cold!

5 Common Home Building Code Violations

Nobody wants to live in an unsafe home, but whether we realize it or not, many of us have at least one thing in our homes that would be considered unsafe according to your local building codes. While it can be frustrating to worry about meeting code requirements when you’re planning a home improvement project, it’s important to remember that building codes are ultimately intended to protect us and ensure our homes are safe to live in.

Building codes cover every imaginable part of your home’s structure and all of its systems, including electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, so there are countless ways a home might fail to meet at least one of those standards. Here are just a few building code violations homeowners often don’t realize they have in their homes.

Electrical Problems

Building code violations that involve electrical systems are extremely common. In a 2013 survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 42% of respondents said that electrical problems were one of the three most common code violations they encounter. If you have an older home, it’s entirely possible that you have wiring in your home that’s so old it doesn’t meet modern safety standards. Many other homes have grounding issues, mislabeled circuits, inadequate GFCI protection, and improperly placed outlets.

Missing Handrails on Staircases

Thousands of people are injured or even killed every year as a result of falling on stairs in a home. This is why building codes typically require all staircases found in homes, both inside and outside, to have handrails. Building codes generally mandate that handrails be a certain height so that they’re easy to hold onto.

Windows

Do you have windows near stairs or by bathtubs and showers? Since those windows are located in places where a person could potentially fall into the glass if they slipped or tripped, many building codes place special requirements on the windows that go in those areas. These windows need to have tempered glass that is better able to withstand an impact. Double and triple pane windows typically meet building code standards, so if you have old single-pane windows in these places, you may need to consider replacing them with new vinyl replacement windows.

If you have a finished basement and are thinking of adding an extra bedroom down there, make sure your potential basement bedroom would have proper egress windows. Building codes require all rooms used as bedrooms to have proper egress windows to provide an alternate way out of the house in the event of an emergency. Egress windows need to be large enough for an adult person to fit through.

Improperly Installed Bathroom Ventilation

With all the steam that hot showers can generate, it’s extremely important for bathrooms to have a good ventilation system to prevent problems with mold. However, many homes have exhaust fans that lead directly into the attic area. Since this does not direct moisture in the air out of the house, it can cause mold and other moisture-related problems in your attic instead. If this is how your bathroom exhaust fan is set up, it’s extremely important that it be rerouted to direct air out of the house.

Non-Functioning Smoke Alarms

If you have smoke alarms in your home, there’s a good chance that you’ve had to deal with it going off at some inconvenient time like while you’re simply trying to cook dinner. Some people with overly-sensitive smoke alarms get tired of dealing with it going off all the time and simply take the battery out. As annoying as this can be, the simple fact of the matter is that a smoke alarm could save your life. Taking the battery out or failing to test your smoke detectors on a regular basis means you’re losing an important way to be warned in the event of a fire.

FAQs About Vinyl Replacement Windows

Replacing your windows is an excellent investment in your home. However, it’s not the sort of project homeowners deal with very often. There are a lot of different types of windows out there, so when it’s time to consider having your windows replaced,  it’s important to take the time to do some research to make the best choice.

Vinyl replacement windows are one of the most popular types of windows around. If you’re considering having vinyl windows installed in your home, it’s totally understandable that you might have a few questions about them. If you have questions, we can help! Here are answers to a few of the most common questions people have about vinyl replacement windows and about the process of having their windows replaced.

When Can Vinyl Windows be Installed?

Anytime! Windows are a hugely important part of your home and if you need to have one (or all of them) replaced, there’s absolutely no need for you to wait for a specific time of year. Although many homeowners prefer to wait until the spring or summer to replace the windows in their home, vinyl windows can be installed all year round.

Do Vinyl Windows Need Any Special Maintenance?

One of the top reasons why vinyl replacement windows have become so popular is because people love how low maintenance they are. You never have to worry about wood rot or having to scrape or paint your windows, which are things you’d have to deal with if you had wood windows. Vinyl window frames can easily be cleaned with ordinary soap and water, so you don’t have to buy any special cleaners or use harsh chemicals to wash them. At most, you might want to apply some lubricant to the hardware parts of your windows once a year and make sure the window tracks are kept clean to make sure they continue operating smoothly.

How Do Vinyl Windows Compare to Other Types of Windows?

Out of all types of replacement windows, vinyl windows are one of the most affordable options available. But that lower price tag doesn’t mean they’re lower quality. They’re an extremely durable type of window and hold up extremely well through all sorts of weather conditions, including high heat. Unlike wood windows, vinyl windows won’t warp or swell in humidity. Since vinyl doesn’t conduct heat, they’re inherently a better insulator than aluminum windows. Vinyl windows are durable enough to last for decades.

Are There Color and Style Options for Vinyl Windows?

Vinyl windows are extremely versatile. No matter what style of window you’re looking for -- picture windows, casement windows, bay windows, double-hung -- vinyl windows can be used. Although many people think vinyl windows are limited to either white or beige colors, there are other options available, too. You can even get vinyl windows with a faux wood finish so you can have the look of wood without having to deal with the hassles that come with maintaining real wood windows.

How Do I Know When it’s Time to Replace My Windows?

Windows can show signs of failure in several ways. If you touch the pane of glass and can feel heat or cold from the outside or feel a draft when there are no signs of worn caulk or weatherstripping, it may be time to replace that window. Is your window hard to open or close? It could be a sign that your window frame has become warped or that your house has shifted, pulling the window frame out of alignment. If you’re consistently seeing frost or condensation on your window or in between the panes, you may need to have a seal fixed. Sometimes you can have the seal repaired without replacing the whole window, but if the seal was broken by something like the house shifting, you may need to have the window replaced.

Do I Have to Replace All My Windows at Once?

No. If you’re only having a problem with one window, you certainly don’t have to replace all the windows in your home if you don’t want to. However, since new windows can have an impact on the appearance of your home’s exterior, many homeowners prefer to replace multiple windows at a time to create a more consistent look, particularly if the window would be visible from the front of the house.

The Basics of Homeowners Insurance Policies

Does anybody really like dealing with insurance policies? They’re often confusing to understand and it’s another expense you have to worry about. But if you ever need it, you’ll be very glad to have it! Your home is one of the most significant investments you’ll ever make and it’s very important to protect it with a good homeowners insurance policy.

Shopping around for a new homeowners insurance policy? Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Let us help you make sense of some of the most important things you need to know.

What’s Your Policy?

Homeowners insurance policies come in varying degrees of coverage. HO-1 plans offer very basic coverage against damage caused by things like fire, lightning, theft, vandalism, explosions, vehicles, aircraft, and windstorms. However, the the coverage HO-1 plans offer is so minimal that there are some circumstances where homeowners are required to have HO-2 coverage instead. HO-2 plans offer the same amount of coverage as HO-1 plans, but have additional coverage if your home gets damaged by things like a falling object, the weight of snow or ice, flooding caused by an appliance or your plumbing system, or in the event of a sudden collapse.

HO-3 homeowners insurance policies offer the highest level of coverage. With a HO-3 plan, you’re covered for damage caused by all types of accidents and disasters unless it is specifically excluded in your plan.

If you live in a condo or a co-op, a HO-6 plan offers similar coverage to a HO-2 plan, but is tailored for your housing situation. HO-4 insurance plans are for people who rent apartments or houses and are commonly referred to as renters insurance. HO-8 homeowner insurance policies are very similar to HO-1 plans, but are most commonly used in in older homes that aren’t able to get covered by a HO-3 plan. These plans only cover the cash value of the home, not the replacement cost.

In addition to the specific types of damages covered by your insurance plan, different policies will offer different levels of compensation for damages. If your plan offers actual cash value coverage, this means the insurance company will pay you for the depreciated value of your home and/or belongings. A policy that offers replacement cost coverage will provide you with compensation for the amount it would cost to replace something, but within a certain limit. Guaranteed or extended replacement cost coverage covers the replacement value of the damage, even if the costs go beyond your policy limit.

What’s Covered?

Homeowners insurance policies cover more than just the structure of your home. Other structures on your property, such as garages, sheds, and barns, are also included. You’re also covered if the landscaping or fences on your property are damaged by a disaster that’s included in your policy.

Your personal belongings are also protected by your homeowners insurance. If your belongings are lost, damaged, or stolen, even if they weren’t on your property at the time of the incident, your homeowners insurance should cover it. So if you bring your laptop with you on vacation and it gets lost or stolen, your insurance policy should cover the damages.

Some types of damage to your home will make it impossible for you to live there while it’s being repaired. If this happens to you, homeowners insurance policies will typically cover the costs of staying in a hotel while your home is being repaired.

Lawsuits aren’t something many people plan ahead for, but if you ever end up facing one, your homeowners insurance policy may help you out. This is known as liability coverage. It commonly provides coverage for medical bills and other expenses caused if someone is injured on your property. It also protects you if you, or another member of your family, damages something or injures another person off your property. For example, if your dog bites a neighbor, your insurance will typically cover the person’s medical bills, even if the bite happened off your property.

What Isn’t Covered?

No matter what level of insurance policy you have, some types of damages are specifically excluded from virtually all types of homeowners insurance policies. Many homeowners realize too late that their insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, or sump pump failure. If you want coverage for these sorts of damages, you’ll probably have to purchase separate insurance. Damage caused by wars, landslides, sinkholes, and mudslides are also very commonly excluded from homeowners insurance policies.

Do you have any exceptionally valuable belongings like high-end jewelry, fine art, or rare antiques? If so, you may need to get separate coverage for those things if they go beyond the personal property limits of your policy. You may also need to purchase special coverage if you run a business based out of your home.  

Although finding the right homeowners insurance policy can be overwhelming, taking the time to deal with it can be one of the most important things you do as a homeowner. When disaster strikes, you certainly don’t want to be without it!