Review Category : Home Improvement

The Kitchen Remodel Mistakes That You Must Avoid

A kitchen remodel can be a rather exciting project. Since this is such a commonly utilised room, making even a few changes can result in a real impact. At the same time, this can also mean that the stakes can be rather high for this kind of endeavour. Due to this, you can’t really afford to make any mistakes. Even the smallest error can cause delays or even increase the overall cost of your remodel. If this is a scenario that you would like to avoid, here are the mistakes that you should steer clear of:

Handling the Project Yourself

If you read enough articles on the internet, they may be able to convince you that you can tackle this remodel yourself. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case at all. Remember, there are a number of things that you need to be aware of this space. This includes gas, electricity, and plumbing. Thus, you can’t take matters into your own hands. Instead, it is important that you hire a company such as Plumpride kitchen renovations to handle the main elements for you. By taking this precaution, you can ensure that everything will be installed and taken care of just the way that it needs to be.

Only Making Aesthetic Changes

When most people think of remodels, they immediately imagining beautifying a space. Now, to a certain extent, this is one of the reasons for a remodel. However, you should also keep in mind that the kitchen is one of the busiest spaces in your home. Thus, functionality needs to be at the top of your list when making any changes. You shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to make this space easier to work in and perfectly adapted to all of your needs. This way, you will enjoy being in this room a great deal more.

Forgetting About Counter Space

Even a mid-sized family needs quite a bit of counter space. After all, this is where you prep food, make coffee, and prepare meals for school and work. Due to this, you really can’t afford to skimp on your counters. Of course, you don’t need to install additional counters just to increase the amount of surface area. Instead, think of more creative ways of doing this. You can add shelves or built-in features that can be put away when they are not needed.

Selecting Appliances Last

For many appliances can be at the bottom of your list when it comes to kitchen remodels. Thus, you may not pay attention to them until the very end. However, this isn’t a good move. Remember, you are often limited in terms of colour and style with your appliances. At the same time, you need to make sure that they are well-suited to your new décor. To ensure that there is a seamless blend between appliances and your new changes, select the appliances first. This may dictate how you end up decorating the space.

These are the top mistakes that you need to avoid at all costs. Of course, now that you are aware of these, they will be a lot easier to sidestep.

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How Do You Look For The Right Appliance Repair Service?

Appliances can get damaged very quickly. Because of this, we’ll be running through the major things to consider when looking for someone to repair your home appliances. If interested, be sure to read ahead.

What Do They Repair?

When looking for a team, you’ll find repair services specializing in specific appliances. You should ensure you’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing. So look for a team that’s specializing in fixing whatever machine you’re in need of getting repaired.

If not for this, the appliance you want to repair should be one of their most popular repair services as this means they have enough experience on the job.

Are They Covered?

When picking a team to work with, it’s also important that you choose someone that comes with insurance coverage. This is as appliance fixing can be tough. Thus, the workers could damage your home while on the job.

This isn’t what you want as you’ll have to pay for the damages from your own pocket. If the company has insurance, they’ll pay for whatever damages took place.

It can be hard to figure out if they’re insured or not. You may have to speak with the team beforehand and gather this information.

How Long Will The Work Take?

You should get your appliance as quickly as possible. Depending on the repair, the time taken to complete the job can be difficult to judge.

However, how quick the team is would affect this. Hence, check reviews and see if customers have complained about how slow they are.

How Busy Are They?

You want to pick a team that isn’t that busy. If they’re booked, you’ll find it hard to get your appliance back to you. This is as they have to juggle your repairs with the others.

You may think that a company that’s busy is the best as being in demand means they’re good at their job- it’s not and shouldn’t be used to judge a company. Because they have a lot of customers who could be first time, not knowing how bad the team is.

Are They Far Away?

If the team is located far away, you’ll find yourself in a not so great situation. Even if they have completed your repairs quickly, the fact they’re far away from you makes bringing it back to you difficult.

This is especially true if the weather isn’t the best. So you’re best off picking someone that’s in your vicinity.

How Much Will It Cost You?

In terms of appliance repairs, the amount you have to pay defers per team. Therefore, you should be careful of who you work with as you may be overcharged. Unfortunately, you won’t know you’re paying extra until you compare how much you paid with others.

Are They Regulated?

Taking care of appliances isn’t easy. Because of this, repair services have to be certified by governing bodies. Thus, you have to do a bit of research.

By searching online, you’ll see if the team you’re interested in has been approved by the local council in your area. If they have, it’s not illegal for them to tend to your appliances’ repairs.

The above points ran through what you need to look for when choosing someone to tend to your appliance’s repairs. Hopefully, you’ll utilize everything mentioned in the near future.

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Choosing the Best Cladding for Your Home

Cladding is essentially the layer of skin that protects the interior and exterior of your house. Typically, exterior cladding will be comprised of several layers: the wall’s outer surface, an insulation and moisture-repelling layer among other things.

It used to be that brick and plastic siding were the two commonest options for exterior cladding. However, in present times, there are a wider variety of options available to us. How do you know which is one is best for you own home? Well, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each and figure it out.

Brick and Mortar Cladding

Bricks are probably the popular exterior cladding material used in homes. They’re not just aesthetically pleasing (without requiring a paint job) but also cheap and easy to source. But that’s not all, bricks are quite long-lasting and provide lots of insulation for homes.

What are the downsides to brick and mortar cladding? The most noteworthy one would be how much the production process negatively impacts the environment. A lot of energy is needed to burn bricks in kilns and the cement production process accounts for 5% of total global carbon emissions by itself!

Concrete Cladding

Concrete cladding is one the most robust options available. Not only that, the cladding is flexible, allowing you to have any form of texture, colour or pattern displayed on the surface. Most concrete cladding are durable by default but if you’re looking for something extremely strong, check out AAC panels and cladding systems.

Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding is a popular new choice for exterior cladding. This is most likely because of its extremely long lifespan (we’re talking over half a century!) all the while requiring little to no upkeep. Plus, it’s also one of the cheapest cladding options available today. In addition, if you choose the insulated kind, you can save a ton of money on heating each year. Last but not least, the production process takes less than 50% of the energy required to make brick cladding.

On the flip side, there are a couple of drawbacks to vinyl siding. The most significant one is that it’s made from polyvinyl chloride or PVC which is first of all a non-renewable resource. Secondly and more importantly, PVC is a carcinogen, which means that if the cladding ever catches on fire and you inhale the smoke, you might get in some serious trouble health-wise.

Wood Cladding

Wood is an excellent choice for anyone wanting to go for a more traditional or rustic aesthetic with their home’s exterior. Wood siding is made from a renewable source, so you don’t have to feel guilty about purchasing them. In addition, most wood sidings will contain certification that lets you know whether or not the lumber comes from managed forests. Last but not least, the amount of energy used in the production process is one of the lowest.

There are a few drawbacks to wood siding. If it doesn’t have the proper certification, you can’t be sure whether they’re from managed forests. In addition, you may need to apply varnish to help wood siding resist the elements and to deter termites.

Metal Cladding

Last but not least, we have metal cladding. The biggest pro is that metal cladding hardly requires any upkeep and will last a really long time. Metal is also unaffected by the elements and does not promote the growth of mould or mildew on the surface. In addition, it does not attract any insects either.

The two biggest drawbacks are that it requires mining, which negatively impacts the environment and it tends to dent quite easily, depending on the material used.

The above five are currently the most popular choices for exterior cladding. Think carefully about what features are most important to you when you’re trying to make a decision.


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