Once the holidays die down and the weather begins to get a bit warmer in a few months, it will be time to start remodeling your home.  Most people begin remodeling their home in the month of March when winter is almost gone and the hot summer weather has not quite arrived yet.  If or when you decide that you would like to remodel your home in 2012, there are a few things home remodeling experts would like you to understand.

First, you have to decide which room or rooms you will plan to remodel in the coming year.  By knowing how many rooms you will plan to remodel, you will be able to establish a budget for your entire remodeling project.  However, you will need to keep in mind that each room is going to require different upgrades and will end up costing you more or less.  For instance, if you decide to remodel your entire kitchen, you will need to purchase new cabinetry, new appliances, new counters and usually a new floor pattern for the kitchen.  If you decide to only remodel your bathroom, you will likely only need to replace the cabinets and linens.  Only needing to replace cabinets and linen in you bathroom will be much less expensive than redesigning your entire kitchen.  Once you have a plan for your remodeling project and know exactly which rooms will be updated, you can now begin buying your materials for the project.

Most, if not all, of your new remodeling items will come from your local home improvement store.  Home improvement stores will carry flooring materials, wood cabinets, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, material for your new counters, some furniture and all of the tools you will need.  Begin shopping at your favorite home improvement store as soon as possible.  If you are planning your remodeling project to begin in March, you can begin buying all of your materials as early as December or January.

The first part of any remodeling project is removing all of the old fixtures in your home.  This can be a lengthy process and will require the most work of your entire remodeling project.  If you are replacing the floors of any room in your home, you should begin there first.  Replacing other items in the room is not too difficult, but the floor will take a long time.  If you have hardwood flooring, Denver remodeling experts recommend you hire a contractor to help.  Contact a contractor who has remodeling experience with wood floors Denver homeowners love.  Even if you do not have wood floors, you should still begin the project removing the old flooring.

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When you begin to remodel your home, you may notice that you would like a bit of customization.  You can customize things like your bathroom’s shower, bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets, kitchen counters and other areas of your kitchen.  Before you begin to customize these features of your house, there are a few things you need to know.

Custom kitchen cabinets and custom bathroom cabinets have to be created well in advance of when you plan to install them in your house.  You will likely be able to pick out the lumber of the cabinets you will be installing and it may take a while for Denver kitchen design companies to acquire the lumber you choose.  Most cabinets in Denver are made from alder or maple, so it is common for people wanting custom cabinets to choose a kind of lumber that is difficult to come across.  In most cases in Denver, people wanting custom cabinets choose Canadian rock maple, which of course comes from the forests of Canada.  This type of lumber provides a rich texture and wood pattern, as well as the strength of most forms of maple.

When I was deciding to install custom cabinets in my bathroom, I wanted to choose my own lumber.  I did a bit of research on the internet and decided I wanted to have Canadian rock maple cabinets.  They looked very elegant and I thought they would make my bathroom look great.  I ordered exactly what I wanted from a Denver cabinetry company and had them installed about three months later.  Now, I am thinking of having the same cabinets installed in my kitchen. – Will Burnside

Once you have chosen the lumber to be used for your custom wood fixtures, you will need to find a contractor to help you install your new cabinets and countertops.  Selecting a contractor in Denver during this time of year might be kind of tricky because most of them take the winters off or are already booked.  You will want to try contacting a contractor earlier in the year and let them know of your remodeling plans.  In most cases, if you book well enough in advance, a contractor will be able to help you out with your custom bathroom or kitchen design without any problems.

When you decide to get custom cabinets, choose a company for custom cabinets Denver kitchen experts recommend.  With custom cabinets and counters, you will have the best kitchen Denver will ever see.

Winter is the perfect time of year to remodel or renovate areas on the interior of your home.  If you live in the Denver metro area, you know there is not much to do outside during the winter other than ski and snowboard.  It is for this reason that people choose to perform remodels to their homes during the winter.

Remodeling the interior of your home usually happens in your kitchens, bathrooms and entry way.  Remodeling the entry way or area near your front door is usually performed first because it is the pathway that most people take when entering or exiting your house.  To remodel the entry way, you will need to clear this area of any furniture or objects that can be moved.  If the floor plan is made of carpet, you may want to change the carpet.  Carpet can become dirty quite easily and needs to be replaced every few years.  If your floor is hardwood, linoleum or tile, you may want to replace this as well.  If the floor has had a lot of water damage, it may be structurally damaged and unsafe.  Once your entry way has been remodeled to your liking, you should move on to bathroom remodels.

Depending on how many bathrooms you have in your home, this step might take a long time.  You will need to begin by checking the plumbing and design of your bathroom sinks.  If the sink’s faucet is corroded and old, it will need to be replaced.  Most local Denver hardwood stores have elegant faucets that are simple to install.  Next, you may need to update your bathroom cabinets.  Due to steam from using your bathroom’s shower, the wood cabinets may become damaged and will lose their glossy finish.  There are many options to choose from when replacing your cabinets, but you should pick a wood pattern that is consistent with the rest of the decor of your bathroom.

Finally, you will want to update the cabinetry and fixtures in your kitchen.  Most kitchens see a lot of traffic and can get damaged over time.  Begin by replacing your kitchen faucet and making sure all of the plumbing is functioning correctly.  Again, you can find an elegant faucet at your local hardware store that will be easy to install.  Similar to your bathroom remodeling, Denver kitchen remodeling requires that you update your kitchen’s cabinets.  For the best design of bathroom and kitchen cabinets, Denver CO has many lumber yards and design specialists who can help you.

Use these tips for your remodeling this winter and have fun!

Hello Everyone,

Sometimes we post testimonials and stories from folks who have done their own extreme remodeling projects.  Today, we are publishing a great testimonial written by an avid reader, Becky Tredder, based on her experience in buying a fixer-upper in the historic Baker neighborhood as a newly-wed with her husband, Greg.  Enjoy!

When my husband Greg and I were about to get married, we knew that we wanted to invest in a home as a young couple that we could live in until we got old.  We are very settled in Denver, and we have always loved the historic Baker neighborhood around South Broadway.  One night, while on a walk in the area, we found the perfect home for us to raise a family in.  It was a run-down Victorian home on a corner by a park with a “for sale” sign out front.  While it was clear from the outside that it needed (at the very least) a paint job and a new roof, we immediately called the broker for a time to see the house.

When we finally saw the inside of the house, it became clear that there were many more problems than just old paint and a wrapped roof.  The floors needed to be refinished, the windows needed to be replaced and there were more than a few rotten boards on the wrap-around porch.

None of that mattered, however.  The house was being sold for way below market value and we felt like that we had the remodeling know-how to do most of the household repairs ourselves… and so we did.

The painting, the changing of fixtures, the deck repairs, and the re-finishing of the floors all went very well for us.  We proudly admired our gleaming floors, freshly painted walls, and fully-functioning deck.  Unfortunately, our prowess was limited by some very difficult challenges in the plumbing and roofing of the old house.  Let’s start with the roof:

We decided, after considerable deliberation, that we decided that a slate roof would be the best option for our home.  We had saved such a significant amount of money doing other repairs ourselves, that we thought a roof would be worth investing in.  Not only does slate considerably increase the value of any home, but it also lasts for much longer than an asphalt roof, thus limiting the number of roof repairs we would have to do over the course of our ownership.  These Colorado roofers did a great do with the slate.

The plumbing was another issue entirely.  Like most old homes, the water that came out of the spout in both the kitchen and bathroom was rust-colored.  Luckily, we hired this Denver plumbing company, they were competitively priced and came on time.  Now the water that comes out of our faucets is drinkable without a filter.

We are slowly but surely moving into a space that we think we will call home for a long time.  Thanks so much for reading!

When you think of concrete, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Coming home and parking on your driveway? The coarse basketball court you played on in middle school? Although most people associate concrete with being outside, there is a growing trend in both concrete companies and interior designers toward indoor rooms being furnished with concrete floors.

Thanks to rapidly developing technologies and experimental new techniques, concrete is now much more than a place to leave your vehicle. It is also more than a foundation for other floorings to lay on top – concrete can now be stylized, whether it is colored, printed, smoothed or stained.

Denver is one of the top creative forces in the interior design world, with several design firms garnering national attention. So what better place to look at jazzing up your living space than the mother of all up-and-coming design spots?

Concrete flooring is a good option not only for its style but also for its tried-and-true durability. Once you lay concrete and properly seal it, you won’t have to go back and spend money on upkeep, like with other kinds of flooring that cracks and peels. Concrete is also more sanitary, as it is able to resist stains and mildew, both of which so often plague vinyl and tile floors.

Institutions such as schools and hospitals, which are highly concerned with levels of sanitation and preventing bacterial spreading, are looking more and more to epoxy coating, which has been shown to stop the spread of mildew.

But no need to sacrifice style for substance. If it’s simply color you’re after, acid staining is one of the most popular ways to update concrete. It uses a chemical reaction to change the color of the composite, and since every slab is made up differently, no two floors will ever be exactly the same. Individuality is key when it comes to this type of coloring, as you are able to find a shade that is uniquely yours.

Another way you can personalize concrete is through graphics. Through stencils, printing and freehand, the possibilities for what you can create on your floor are endless.

And think of concrete floors as an investment in your home. Beautiful, colored floors will only increase the appeal of your home. And even if what you choose is not a future home-owner’s particular style, concrete is easily covered.

This is an excellent resource for Denver concrete.