Posted on

3 Summer Home Renovations That Cut Energy Costs

With the official arrival of summer, it’s also that time of year to welcome the sweltering Southern heat and the increased cost of keeping your house cool. It seems as if the constant heat is rivaled only by the constant need to run your air conditioning 24/7. Here are few investments and home renovations you can make to help keep energy costs down when the temps go up. Energy Efficient Windows If you live in an older home or find that you are spending way too much on energy costs, perhaps it’s time to look into replacing your existing windows with energy efficient windows that will save you money all year-round. While it’s not exactly a cheap fix, installing energy efficient windows is an investment that not only cuts energy costs, but adds to your home’s resale value. Energy efficient windows have a wide price range and feature everything from double panes, reflective coating, and weather stripping, all the up to having argon gas between the panes. Replacing your windows also allows you the opportunity to seal up drafty spots around the windows, preventing cool air from escaping when it’s hot outside and keeping warm air from escaping when it’s cold outside. Make sure to look into available tax credits when replacing windows, too. Insulation To further “seal up” the house, it may also be time to add new insulation. When it comes to energy costs, the attic and basement (foundation) are – pardon the pun – hot spots for increased energy costs. If you have an unfinished basement, make sure to have a professional add sealant to any exposed concrete. If your basement is finished, make certain that your walls are properly insulated. If they’re not, you can have a professional add loose-fill insulation without having to open the wall up. As for insulating the attic, there are many different forms of insulation that you can use to get the job done. Whether spray foam, fiberglass or cellulose, proper insulation will add comfort and cost savings year-round. Look for special tax credits, as well. Storm Doors Summer is also a great time to upgrade your front (and/or back) door with the addition of a storm door. Installed in front of your existing exterior door, a storm door features glass and screen panels that allow you to keep your exterior door open to allow natural light and air in while keeping the entryway closed and secure from bugs and other things you wish to keep out. In addition to the extra curb appeal, the increased ventilation can help to keep air moving throughout the house, bringing your cooling costs down. Trust a Professional For over a decade, Green Remodeling has worked hard to turn their clients’ dream home visions into reality. With an experienced staff of licensed designers and project managers, they will consult with you during every facet of your project – from start to finish – to ensure that your home remodel/renovation project exceeds expectations without exceeding your budget or timetable. Whether it’s something as simple as helping to improve your energy savings or a full renovation that transforms your kitchen or bathroom into an amazing blend of form and function, they offer a full assortment of services guaranteed to improve on the very personal and precious investment known as your home. Contact Green Remodeling for all your home improvement needs.
Posted on

Spring Preening: Repainting Your Home Exterior

Quick – when was the last time your home’s exterior was painted? Chances are, if you can’t recall, perhaps it’s been a little too long. Experts recommend that wood siding get a fresh coat every 3-7 years while stucco can go anywhere between 5-6 years between coats. If you’re doing the math and finding that your house exterior is due for repainting, here are a few reasons why there’s no time like the present to repaint your home. Spring Means Optimal Outdoor Conditions Just as the blooms come out in spring, it’s recommended that the paint, brushes, and rollers should, as well. Springtime – especially late spring – brings along with it the best outdoor conditions for painting your home’s exterior. First off, exterior latex paint provides the most protection and durability and is best applied when the temps are neither too hot or too cold. Secondly, spring tends to be a little drier, meaning that there’s less moisture, humidity, and precipitation, both enemies to a successful repainting job. Pre-empt Costly Future Repairs Repainting your home’s exterior welcomes in the unique opportunity to give the outside of your home a great and detailed close-up look that you don’t always get. Preparing the house for a repainting can uncover the smaller, sometimes overlooked, issues that require attention before a coat of new paint is applied. Issues such as wood rot around doors, windows, and chimneys and fastening loose shutters should be addressed prior to repainting. Provides a Protective Coating Without a proper coat of durable paint, your house is susceptible to the fierce climatic conditions without the necessary protection, leaving your house to essentially fend for itself when it simply cannot. The swing between hot and cold temps stresses paint, causing it to potentially crack and peel, therefore exposing the sensitive wood underneath, then allowing moisture in the form of rain, snow, ice, and frost to permeate, shortening the life of the wood dramatically, inviting mold and mildew in. Keep it covered with a fresh, thick coat of durable exterior latex paint that’s professionally applied. Boost Curb Appeal When people think about spring cleaning, thoughts often lead to the interior of the home. But just as necessary is the upkeep of the outside of the home. Curb appeal is essential when you want your house to look its very best. Without the time and financial expense of renovation, the easiest and cheapest thing you can do for your home’s curb appeal is to give it a fresh coat of paint. It instantly boosts curb appeal (and helps to increase home value) and its wonderful results should never be underestimated. Green Remodeling understands all too well the need for repainting the exterior of your home. Not only do they realize how important it is to the life and well-being of your house, but how important it is that it’s done in a professional manner under optimal conditions so as to give it the best look and protection possible. At Green Remodeling, we don’t cut corners and don’t take shortcuts. Our skilled painters have the experience and seemingly artistic ability to transform your home exterior from drab to fab. Contact Green Remodeling today for a free estimate and consultation before the hot, humid days of summer kick in.    
Posted on

Repainting Your Home’s Exterior

Keeping up with the exterior of your home is one of the biggest maintenance burdens that comes along with all the joys and pains of home ownership. If your house has more than one side of wood siding, painted brick or stucco, exterior painting is a tiring, time-consuming job. Heck, even if it’s just trim and windows, it’s a big job! At Green Remodeling, we have the resources, skills and experience to finish this job quickly and make your home beautiful again! When to Repaint There are many reasons to repaint a home. Over time, repainting becomes necessary as paint weathers away. The typically time between exterior paint jobs is 5 to 10 years. Then again, you may want to repaint your home even before the paint starts to expire either because you’ve had a change of heart about the color you choose or because you want to boost your curb appeal before selling. The most common reason homeowners repaint is obvious: they’ve simply had the same old color for a long time and feel ready for a change. Often, by the time they’ve decided to go for it, the paint itself is starting to fail and is becoming a maintenance issue. Finished siding will begin to fade and flake after a certain period of time that depends entirely upon the quality of the outdoor paint used. When inspecting your home’s paint job, what you’re really looking for is peeling, cracking and discoloration. You may want to rub the tips of your fingers across some painted surface – do they come away chalky? This is the result of paint breaking down. The areas you should pay particular attention to when determining if you need to paint are: door seals and window castings, lower sections of siding, edges of porch floors, eaves, railings and any shady areas. While you’re at it you may also want to check out how your home’s caulking is holding up at any wood-to-wood connections. If you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, we’d be happy to help you perform a thorough inspection on your home’s exterior. Painting to Sell Even if the old paint on your house is holding up just fine, if your home is on the market, repainting is one of the most inexpensive and most impactful remodeling options available to you. Because it’s so much less expensive than, say, kitchen remodeling, it’s sure to provide you with excellent return on investment. After all, some pressure washing and a fresh coat of paint can greatly increase its curb appeal which gets more potential buyers in the door in the first place. Think you’re ready for an estimate? Want some more exterior painting ideas? Give us a call! And remember, we don’t just paint. If you get done repainting and decide that your home’s interior could use a little facelift too, you can bet we’re ready to make it happen.
Posted on

The Prettiest Interior Paint Ideas

A new coat (or a couple of new coats) of paint can give a room a whole new appearance! These five interior paint ideas work in any home and if carried out by experienced professional painters, they’ll create stylish spaces with lasting loveliness. 1. Play with Contrast Contrasting colors make rooms interesting. The walls, ceilings and cabinetry are a great place to work in some contrast. Incorporate classic black and white features like bright white trim and smooth black cabinets or more subtle light and dark elements like pastel floors and bold walls. 2. Pick a Mood Can’t decide a color? How about a feeling? You’ve probably noticed that certain colors evoke certain moods in people. Bright yellow and orange can feel energizing. Pastel green and blue are soothing. Red and maroon are intimate and contemplative. Just think of how you want to feel and think of the room’s main purpose (is it eating? sleeping? socializing?) and the right color will come to you! 3. Compliment Your Décor It’s easy to get lost in a rainbow of colors when you’re in front of a wall full of paint chips. Just don’t get so caught up in robin’s egg blue and sunshine yellow that you forget about the furniture and décor that’ll be up against those freshly painted panels of drywall! 4. Use Different Shades of a Single Color In other words, chip it! Most paint chips show a gradient of colors from light to dark. Rather than picking one of those shade and slapping it on every wall, pick two or more to work with. Painting the ceiling in a lighter version of the wall color, for example, lends a sophisticated look to most rooms and adds interest above eye level. 5. Bring in Texture Picking an interior paint style isn’t all about picking colors. There are also different textural finishes to choose from – matte, shiny, bumpy or crinkly. If you’re painting kitchen cabinets or small bits of trim there are even textured paints that can make your wood surfaces look like polished silver or soft gold. Adding texture to paint isn’t the easiest DIY project. If you want a textured paint look somewhere in your home, you should definitely consider hiring professional painters. One final tip that’ll let you pull of any of these looks without hitch: always bring your paint chips or a sample of the paint itself to view in natural light and in the light of your home. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen home store lighting get in the way of a perfectly painted space!