The actual cost and payback for each project can vary, depending on both your home’s condition and overall real estate market values in your region of the country.

1. Make your kitchen really cook. The kitchen is still considered the heart of the home. Potential home buyers make a beeline for this room when they first view a home for sale, so make sure your kitchen looks clean and reasonably updated.

For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones.

If you’ve got a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. “Rather than spring for a whole new cabinet system, which can be expensive, look into hiring a refacing company,” says serial remodeler Gwen Moran, co-author of “Build Your Own Home on a Shoestring.”

“Many companies can remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes, then add brand-new doors and drawers. With a fresh coat of paint over the whole set, your cabinets will look like new.”

If you’re handy, you can order your own replacement cabinet doors and door fronts from retailers like Lowe’s Home Improvement or The Home Depot and install them yourself.

2. Give appliances a facelift. If your kitchen appliances don’t match, order new doors or face panels for them. When Nicole Persley, a Realtor in Boca Raton, Fla., was sprucing up her own home to sell, her mix-and-match kitchen bothered her. The room had a white dishwasher, microwave and wall oven mixed with other pieces that were stainless steel with black trim.

When Persley called the dishwasher manufacturer to see about ordering a new, black face panel, the customer service representative clued her in on a big secret: Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other.

“All I had to do was unscrew two screws, slide out the panel and flip it around. Sure enough — it was black on the other side!”

Persley, who has remodeled numerous homes for resale, says that a more cohesive-looking kitchen makes a big difference in the buyer’s mind — and in the home’s resale price.

3. Buff up the bath. Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved without a lot of cash. “Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install, and they make a big difference in the look of the bath,” says Moran.

Moran also suggests replacing an old, discolored bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl. “You may not even need to take up the old floor. You can install the new floor right over the old one,” she says.

If your tub and shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation but can still be cheaper than paying to re-tile walls and refinish a worn tub.

4. Step up your storage. Old houses, particularly, are notorious for their lack of closet space. If you have cramped storage areas, Realtor Moe Viessi of Miami suggests adding do-it-yourself wire and laminate closet systems to bedrooms, pantries and entry closets.

Firms like ClosetMaid allow you to measure and redesign your closets online. You can also get design details and parts for these systems at many large home-improvement stores. Most closets can be updated in a weekend or less.

In the end, your closets will be more functional while you’re living in the house and will make your home look more customized to potential buyers when you’re ready to sell.

5. Add a room in a week or less. ”If you have a three-bedroom house with a den, the only reason the den can’t be considered a bedroom may be because it doesn’t have a closet,” says Persley. “If you add a closet to that room, you’ve now got a four-bedroom house. That adds a lot of value.”

Persley says it’s usually possible to add a custom closet system and drywall it in for less than $1,500.

6. Mind the mechanics. Finley Perry of F.H. Perry Builder in Hopkinton, Mass., advocates spending a few bucks on nitty-gritty stuff. “It’s often very worthwhile to hire an electrician and plumber for a couple of hours to look over your electrical services, wrap or fix loose wires, fix any faulty outlets, and check for and fix any water leaks,” Perry says. “Those details tell a buyer that someone has really taken care of the home and can really influence its price.”

7. Look underfoot. Carpeting is another detail that can quickly update a home and make it look cleaner. A professional carpet cleaning is an inexpensive investment, especially if your rugs are in good shape and are neutral colors.

If your carpet is showing serious wear, cover it with inexpensive, strategically placed area rugs. Unless it is truly hideous, most real estate agents don’t suggest replacing wall-to-wall carpeting right before you sell your house. The new homeowners may want to choose their own carpeting after they move in.

8. Let there be light. If you have boring recessed lights in your dining and living rooms, consider replacing one of the room’s lights with an eye-catching chandelier. Home stores offer a wide range of inexpensive, but nice-looking, ceiling fixtures these days. If you have a ceiling fan and light, you can also buy replacement fan blades (leaving the fan body in place) to update the fixture’s look.

9. Reframe your entry. Do you have a flimsy little knob on your main entry door? If so, spring for a substantial-looking handle-and-lock set. “A nice, big piece of hardware on the front door signals to newcomers that this is a solid home,” says Viessi.

Also, if you’re stuck with a basic steel front door, Persley suggests painting or faux-finishing it for more eye appeal. “It’s becoming a trend in Florida to add wood-grain doors to a home’s entry or garage. The good news, though, is that you can easily paint existing metal doors with stain and paint,” she says.

After using a good metal primer, Persley gives the door a base coat of paint (again, be sure to use one approved for use over metal). For a cherry wood look, Persley uses a burgundy base paint. After it dries, she brushes over the base coat with a cherry wood stain. “It really looks amazing, and it only takes a few hours,” she says.

10. Consider curb appeal. Although it sounds obvious, a nicely mowed lawn, a few well-placed shrubs and a swept walkway makes a great first impression. “What buyers see when they first drive by your home is tremendously important,” says Viessi.

If you don’t have a green thumb, consider hiring a landscaper to install some new sod, plant a few evergreen shrubs and give your front yard a good cleanup. “These kinds of changes can instantly change people’s perception of your home and, therefore, increase its value,” says Viessi. And hey, your neighbors will love you for it, too.

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/10-cheap-fixes-to-boost-the-value-of-your-home-1.aspx#ixzz2TwqF7ecw

Why?

Because picture windows are are not designed to open; they help prevent air infiltration and moisture from entering your home.

Picture windows are a great way to accent any style of home, or for placement wherever natural light is desired.

Learn More

Here are some beautiful decks and patios to inspire you:

Source: HGTV.com

Let All American Remodeling handle your exterior remodel for you. We offer addition plans, cost estimates, and our best home remodeling professionals are at your disposal.

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130423/FEATURES/304230316/-1/NEWSMAP

Source: NRCA SmartBrief

Not only does the tool calculate how much you’re losing, it also offers suggestions for improving your home’s energy efficiency, such as:

• Insulation & air sealing
• Water heating
• Cooling
• Heating
• Windows
• Lighting
• Appliances & electronics

http://plug.energyresponsecorps.org/consumer/house/

It’s easy, free, and available online. Check it out at:

http://www.fabral.com/color-visualizer/ 

“I would highly recommend the All American Remodeling Company… We are thrilled with the work by the sales man Mr. Snyder and the fantastic service we received from the installers John and his partner! Their knowledge of the product was fantastic… Our windows look beautiful A+ work for sure…” – Laurie K.

Thanks, Laurie!

1. Villa Bio by Enric Ruiz-Geli in Llers, Spain

2. Mountain Dwellings by BIG Architects in Copenhagen

3. Nanyang School of Art in Singapore

4. Green Technology Showroom by Vector Architects in Beijing, China

5. California Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano in San Francisco

Source: http://www.thecoolist.com/green-roof-design-10-stunning-sustainable-works-of-architecture/

Since we live in such a harsh, cold climate, the warm spring and summer months are the best time to replace your existing home windows. Avoid installing them in the extreme cold, and prevent a winter emergency replacement.

No matter when you replace them, though, make sure to take advantage of available tax rebates or incentives if you are purchasing energy efficient windows within the government’s guidelines.

Here is a fantastic article about the benefits of vinyl siding from This Old House:

For the Love of Vinyl Siding

Look beyond the never-to-be-settled debate over siding’s merits/sins. It’s an affordable, energy-conscious update. It can even look good.

The Benefits of Vinyl Siding

There are few subjects in the whole arena of residential construction products that draw battle lines as sharply as vinyl siding.

Proponents harp on the fact that it never needs painting, while its detractors insist that houses should never be covered with anything but real wood.

As a building material, vinyl siding is relatively new — it was introduced in the late 1950s as a substitute for aluminum siding. But its reputation was tarnished in the early days when it cracked, faded, buckled, and sagged.

Ongoing changes in the product’s chemistry and installation techniques have improved its performance and furthered its acceptance by builders and homeowners.

In fact, vinyl has captured 32 percent of the U.S. siding market for new homes, with no end in sight to its growing popularity. The reason, in part, is because it’s often (but not always) cheaper than red cedar or redwood and takes less time to install.

A mid-grade vinyl costs about $1.60 per square foot to install, not including the necessary trim pieces, while the installed price of mid-grade cedar clapboard, exclusive of trim and paint, is about 2.5 times higher. (Some premium vinyls cost about the same as the best grade of cedar, but the installed cost is still lower because it goes up faster and doesn’t need painting.)

For many people, price isn’t the issue at all; the real seduction of plastic siding is reduced maintenance. That’s exactly why a wood guy like This Old House general contractor Tom Silva put vinyl on his house 20 years ago.

“I don’t have time for painting,” he explains. “I’d rather spend weekends on my boat.” Of course, with the right maintenance, wood will last indefinitely. Vinyl can’t match that claim because no one knows for sure how long it will last.

All Plastic Siding is Not the Same

Vinyl is a polymer formed during a chemical do-si-do between ethylene gas and chlorine, which produces a fine white powder called vinyl resin. When it’s melted and mixed with different additives, the resulting compound can be as rigid as pipe, as supple as a shower curtain, or durable enough to survive the heavy foot traffic on a kitchen floor.

New, so-called virgin vinyl siding has a greater complement of the key additives that impart flexibility and resistance to UV degradation. Some manufacturers will tout their product as 100 percent virgin (along with a mention of its supposed superiority), but most siding is made with a core of remelted vinyl top-coated with virgin material.

Typically, vinyl siding is extruded through a die, but to produce the deepest patterns and crispest edges, panels must be molded from polypropylene, a more expensive plastic. Molded panels are typically no more than 4 feet long, while vinyl extrusions can be virtually any length.

Rap on a vinyl-sided wall with your knuckles, and it will flex and sound hollow. That’s because, in most cases, only a relatively small area of a vinyl panel is actually resting against the sheathing.

A thin panel, or one without support, is more likely to sag over time. The thinnest siding that meets code is .035 inch thick. Premium siding can be .044 to .048 inch, and a few manufacturers sell .055-inch siding. The thicker sidings tend to be stiffer, and therefore more resistant to sagging, but stiffness depends on other characteristics as well.

Panels with a folded-over, doubled nailing hem and a relatively deep profile tend to be stiffer than others, as do those with narrow “clapboards”: The more bends the better. Although claims are made that thicker siding is also more impact resistant than thin siding, test results suggest that it has more to do with its chemical makeup, which, unfortunately, is not available to consumers who want to compare products.

Thinner, less-stiff sidings can also be sucked off a house when high winds blow. Reading the manufacturer’s warranty should give you a good indication of the product’s ability to handle heavy weather. Some even comply with the 146-miles-per-hour wind code in hurricane-prone Miami, Florida.

One siding, Wolverine Millennium, comes with a “won’t-blow-off” warranty, and its literature states that it will withstand 180-mph winds, when nailed properly.

While wood siding is fastened tightly to the house, vinyl siding literally hangs from nails driven through horizontal slots at the top of a panel’s nailing hem. The reason for the loose nailing has to do with the vinyl’s (and polypropylene’s) need to expand or contract as the temperature changes: A 12-foot length of plastic siding can expand as much as 5/8 inch with seasonal temperature swings. If nailed tight to a wall, it can buckle on hot days.

“The worst thing you can do is nail vinyl tight,” says Tom Silva. To ensure that the panel is free to move, the nailheads shouldn’t contact the hem, but should be left about 1/32 inch proud. Conversely, if nailed too loosely the panels will rattle noisily whenever the wind blows.

Vinyl’s tendency to move means that panels can’t be butted tight to trim, either. Quality-conscious installers leave about 1/4 inch of clearance (3/8 inch in temperatures below 40°F) at the end of panel courses; at corners and door and window openings a trim piece called J-channel covers and conceals the resulting gap. Other proprietary trim pieces, made by manufacturers to fit their own brand of siding, include soffits, rake boards, and crown moldings. All help to improve the appearance of an installation, giving it a more custom look.

In addition to J-channels, one characteristic that distinguishes vinyl from other siding is its overlaps. While lengths of wood (or cement) siding meet in an unobtrusive butt, vinyl panels must be overlapped by about 1 inch wherever they meet, resulting in telltale vertical lines. The thicker the vinyl, the more obvious the overlap. Compounding the problem, most vinyl siding panels are molded to represent double or even triple widths of clapboards. This slashes installation time dramatically, but it also makes panel overlaps even more visible. A good installer will orient overlaps away from dominant views, for example, by running the siding from a back corner to a front corner. On the front of the house, panels should be installed so seams are least visible to someone approaching the front door.

Contrary to what many people expect, vinyl is actually less likely than wood to trap moisture, Tom says. “There are tiny weep holes in the butts of the panels. And because it’s hung loosely, air can move behind it.” Just make sure your siding contractor first installs flashing and either housewrap or builder’s felt, just as he would under wood siding.

Every quality vinyl siding job starts with the contractor. Dont hesitate to ask potential installers for their certifications — most of the large manufacturers certify installers in proper installation techniques — and for the names of satisfied customers. Also check complaint lists established with local and state business associations, as well as with state contractor licensing boards.

Not Entirely Maintenance Free

To keep vinyl siding looking its best, it should be washed periodically to remove the mold, mildew, dirt, and chalky oxidation that collects on the surface. Tom uses a soft-bristle brush and a bucket with a 30/70 mix of vinegar and water. (If that doesn’t do the job, the Vinyl Siding Institute suggests mixing 1/3 cup laundry detergent, 2/3 cup powdered household cleaner, 1 quart liquid laundry bleach, and 1 gallon water.) He just brushes it on, working from the bottom up, and gently hoses it off. Tom discourages homeowners from using a power washer on their siding; the high-pressure equipment is likely to drive water behind the panels.

Repairing a damaged panel is simple. With a zip tool and a flick of the wrist, Tom simply unhooks it from the ones above and below, then pulls out the nails. A new panel can then be snapped in place, nailed, and rehooked. The biggest problem is matching the replacement to the surrounding pieces, which will undoubtedly have faded. “What I’ll do,” Tom says, “is replace the damaged piece with some siding from a less conspicuous part of the house.” Then he replaces that piece with the new, unfaded length.

All vinyl siding will fade somewhat. After 10 to 15 years, the change can be significant. When that happens, or if you simply want to change its color, vinyl can be painted, as self-defeating as it may seem. (Check with the manufacturer first; many companies void the warranty if siding is painted.) Wash the siding first, and use latex paint, which will flex with the vinyl’s movement. But don’t count on changing a pale-yellow house to hunter green; dark colors absorb more heat than lighter ones and can cause panels to expand too much and buckle. (For that very reason, vinyl’s color palette is limited to lighter shades.)

Tom is well aware of the fact that plastic siding draws strong opinions from his clients. “It’s pretty hard to convince someone who wants vinyl to use wood siding instead, and vice versa,” he says. “Some people like it and some don’t, just as some people like Fords and some prefer Chevys.” Whether vinyl siding is good or not depends a lot on the quality of the product and the installation job. “Would I put it on my house again, if maintenance issues weren’t a factor? Probably not,” Tom says. “I really prefer wood.” But he really, really doesn’t like to paint.

Re-siding with Vinyl

Much of what appeals to us about older historic houses, apart from their architectural style, is the graceful moldings, well-proportioned trim, subtle shadow lines, even the slight irregularities in the spacing of the siding — testaments to the skills of this country’s housewrights. But in countless slipshod re-siding jobs, where vinyl is slapped up over the existing shingles or clapboards, these details have been obliterated, making the facades of handsome gingerbread houses as plain as sheet cakes. “I’ve seen a lot of cases where they’ve sawed off moldings, window trim, cornices, even knocked them off with hammers,” says Tom. “It looks worse than terrible. And it takes away what makes old houses special.”

For those contemplating having a house re-sided, Tom recommends finding a contractor who specializes in old-house work, not just in vinyl siding, and insisting that all the architectural details remain in place. “Run J-channel around them and butt the siding into it,” he says. “Of course, it takes more time and money to do it this way.” A proper paint job may make more sense, if that’s the case. Sometimes, re-siding jobs are sold as a way to “tighten up” the house and reduce energy bills. The installers simply nail up a layer of foil-faced foam before the vinyl goes up. Tom doesn’t think much of this practice. “The foam panels are only 3/8 inch thick; they don’t add much R-value,” he says. “You’d be better off packing the walls with blow-in cellulose.” The final word: If you have any doubts about its effects, don’t put vinyl siding on your old house.

Source: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,266296,00.html