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In Praise of Rays
(ARA) - Dark and confining may be fine for a cave, but it isn’t what most people want in their homes. Today’s homeowners want well-lit, personal spaces throughout the house, and more continuity with the outside world.
Windows and doors are...
Repair A Frozen Pipe
In just a matter of a months winter will be upon us. Besides bundling up from the cold and shoveling snow, homeowners sometimes have to deal with the additional task of fixing frozen pipes.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
The best way to...
The 34 Principles Of An ExtraOrdinary Home
Planning to remodel or build soon? Want to have an ExtraOrdinary
Home? One that goes way beyond the norm in your neighborhood but
doesn't blow your budget? We started collecting over 1,000
uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins in 1998, when...
Treat Your Feet: An Electric Radiant Floor is an Affordable Luxury
(ARA) - Mountain climbers have an old saying: "Don't cheat your feet." A homeowner might consider this advice when building or remodeling a bathroom or kitchen floor.
For floors, homeowners know that ceramic, slate or marble tiles are...
When replacing a fountain pump or choosing a new one, first there are some key terms to keep in mind:
"Head": This is the maximum vertical lift of the pump. For
example, a 6' head means the pump is rated to pump water up to 6
feet high. Note, however, that at 6 feet the pump would be
providing very little water, with gallons per hour around...
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Building A Garage Addition To Your Home
One of the most rewarding home improvements I made to my house was to build a garage addition. For years I contemplated building a garage addition while I scraped the ice and snow from my cars and waited for them to warm up during the winter months. About 5 years ago I finally made the decision to build a garage onto my home.
The first big decision I had to make after deciding to build the garage addition was to determine how large to make it. I wanted a large enough garage to fit two cars comfortably and that would be of proper proportion with the rest of the house. I also wanted space to include a work bench and to allow room for the lawnmowers or snow blowers. I decided on a 26 foot wide, by 24 foot deep garage. Since my house was 36 feet in width, this gave me a garage that was about 2/5ths of the entire home frontage.
I also needed to make sure that the roof pitch and the elevation of the garage would be consistent with the rest of the home.
After taking these issues into account, I created some drawings of the garage including: the foundation size, the location of the garage doors, the maintenance door and windows, and the height profile of the roof. From these drawings I was able to discuss with a number of general contractors my garage and home plans.
After selecting my general contractor, I generated some additional drawings that provided all of the framing details necessary to pull a building permit. Because of the specific contour of my property, my garage plans also included a bonus room that would reside above the garage. Thus, I needed to include additional drawings of the bonus room, e.g. interior walls, doors, windows, closet, and entrance way and stairwell to/from the main house.
After excavation and installation of the foundation, the framing crew had the garage frame up in about a week. Three
The Authors Who Made My 'Day To Day'
As a correspondent for <em>Day to Day</em>, Karen Grigsby Bates often reported on books and their writers. She offers an essay musing on her time with the show, including some of her best moments with brilliant authors. Karen Grigsby Bates
Looking Forward: How Will Lives Change?
Joel Kotkin, who studies metropolitan development and urban planning, talks about how people might be arranging their lives in the coming five years. And author Jamais Cascio outlines where technology might take us.
Final Credits
Show credits pay tribute to the folks who put <em>Day to Day</em> together.
Goodbyes From Listeners: Amy Ignatow
Amy Ignatow has had her share of economic woes this year, but she's coming out on top. This week, she gets to say goodbye to her crummy old apartment and hello to a new life.
weeks later I had a completely enclosed garage, with all the outside doors and windows installed and the shingles installed on the roof.
From this point forward, I took over the electrical and insulation work, after filing for these specific permits.
Once the insulation was installed and approved, I called in the drywall contractor to install the drywall, and to tape and mud. I also had them apply a coat of primer and one coat of builders grade paint. It is well worth the money to have them do this.
I then finished the electric, installed the stair railing, interior doors and baseboard trim and the garage was nearly ready to move in.
The finishing touch was the installation of two garage door openers and a final application of paint in the bonus room.
The total cost of my garage addition was about $30,000. I had been quoted as high as $50,000, however with a little negotiation and sweat equity I was able to get a lot of garage for a reasonable price.
A few years have gone by since I completed my garage addition and every winter when I see people standing by their cars in the driveways scraping, I am reminded of one of the best decisions I ever made.
About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more information visit: http://www.homeadditionplus.com and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com
Source: www.isnare.com
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