4 Home Amenities to Upgrade During Your Remodel

When you're remodeling your home, you'll have to pick and choose what parts of it you want to upgrade and what parts you'll leave as they are. Although every home is different, there are a few upgrades that most houses due to be remodeled will benefit from. Here are four essential amenities you should consider upgrading during your next round of home improvements.

Kitchen Cabinets and Countertops

Few rooms in a house are as important as the kitchen. If you want to make your entire home feel more modern and elegant, consider upgrading the cabinets and the countertops in your kitchen. Old, outdated cabinets will make the entire space feel outdated, while a newer and more ornate set will lend a vibrant feel. Switching from composite counters to granite or quartz is also a great idea, since it will make your counters both more durable and more visually appealing.

Flooring

Like old kitchen cabinets, outdated flooring can detract from the appearance of your entire house. Carpeted floors in living areas are severely out of fashion at the moment. If you want to upgrade your living room or family room, consider making the switch to hardwood or bamboo. Both of these materials look great, will last for years and will radically upgrade the look of your home.

HVAC

In addition to looking good, your house needs to be comfortable. For this reason, you should consider having a new furnace and air conditioning system installed when you remodel. Air conditioner and furnace installation are reasonably affordable, and you'll notice a huge difference in the newer models at the hottest and coldest times of the year.

Garage and Basement Storage

Although they aren't main living areas in your home, your garage and basement are important for giving you ample storage space. Installing new shelving, a workbench and some basic cabinetry can make these spaces much more functional. These upgrades are especially important if you'd live to have a small workshop in your home where you can repair household items or work on personal projects.

By making these four upgrades, you can turn your house into the home of your dreams. While not all of the items listed here may be needed in your house, they should give you a good idea of where to start. Once you've picked out the parts of your house you want to upgrade, you can begin lining up the right contractors and laying out designs for the work.

Guest Post - The Most Common Garage Door Issues and How to Solve Them

Your garage keeps your cars protected from outside elements. Over time, your garage door can begin to wear down due to repeated use. Here are some common issues to look out for and how to fix them.

1. Your Door Won’t Open or Close 

Having your door open or close easily is essential. This is especially helpful when you’re in a rush to get somewhere. Failing to use your door for a while or keeping up with proper maintenance could be causing the problem, which is why upkeep is vital. 

Here are some regular maintenance tips to consider:

• Apply lubrication

• Tighten the hardware

• Clean out any dust

• Check for cracks or broken rollers

• Replace the lock  

Even with proper maintenance, your door can tighten over time. Here are some other common reasons you’re having trouble opening and closing it:

• Your remote is dead

• The door opener motor burned out

• The close-limit switch is improperly adjusted 

• The weather has been colder

You can fix most of the problems with a simple battery replacement. However, you may need to contact a professional when dealing with your door’s open motor.

2.  Broken Garage Door Springs 

This is one of the more common garage door issues. There are multiple types of springs, such as torsion, extension and Holmes one-piece options, and any one of them can fail at any time. If you’re at home, you are likely to hear the break. If you notice your garage door isn’t functioning properly, check to make sure all the springs are there. 

Here are some other signs to look out for:

• There are balance issues

• You hear excessive squeaking

• The top half of the door is misaligned

• The door only opens a few inches

• The cables attached to the spring are dangling

Once you notice your springs are broken, call a professional for help. This is especially true if you have metal torsion springs. To keep yourself safe and your garage door intact, leave it to the experts. 

3. The Photo Eye Sensor Isn’t Working Properly 

A photo-eye sensor is a safety feature. It lets you know if something is blocking the door from fully closing. It’s usually a couple of inches off the ground and the size of a pea, and the sensors direct beams toward each other. The circuit breaks if there is any disruption, which prevents the door from closing. 

If your garage door isn’t properly functioning, then your photo-sensor could be blocked. You may also want to check to see if the cord broke.

Here are some steps to adjust your device:

1. Make sure the sensors have a lit LED light 

2. Check them to see if they are dirty

3. Adjust the pivot bracket by loosening the bolts and screws

4. Move it slightly in and out and up and down until the light comes on 

5. See if the wires are mounted at the same height

4.  The Door Isn’t  Responding to a Keypad or Remote 

Having a remote or keypad makes operating your garage door more convenient. If you’re remote isn’t responding, you may be out of range of the antenna. To fix this issue, make sure the antenna isn’t broken and try reprogramming the keypad. 

This is something you can do yourself. If you have any questions, contact your manufacturer for more information. 

Here are the steps to take to reprogram your garage door opener:

1. Access your door motor

2. Reset the motor

3. Enter a new code

4. Reprogram the remote

Make sure your remote batteries are charged before making any adjustments. If they’re not, you’ll want to replace them first. 

5. The Motor Won’t Stop 

When you close your garage door, the motor should stop once it reaches the top. If it continues, there may be an issue. Most motor-related problems require an up-limit switch adjustment, which you can either fix yourself or hire a professional to do. You will need to access the limit switch and turn the adjustment screws clockwise for a DIY repair. 

Common Garage  Door Issues 

Your garage door experiences wear and tear over time. Look out for these common problems and solutions to keep things running smoothly for years to come.

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.

Why You Should Upgrade Your Electric Panel

Our homes run on electricity. These days, you wouldn’t be able to get through the day without your gadgets or appliances. Whether you need your daily coffee intake courtesy of your electric coffee maker or the latest news from your television, it’s evident that electricity plays an essential role in our daily lives.

Now, what would happen if the power went out? 

It would be pretty nerve-wracking, and you wouldn’t be able to do things the way you usually do. Our homes don’t magically get electricity. What keeps electricity running in your home is your electric panel. 

Electric panels are usually in your basements or garages, making them easy to overlook. Although they are pretty durable and rarely need to be replaced often, they are obsolete and can become rusty over time.

When left unchecked, an outdated electric panel can cause a lot of problems for homeowners. An outdated electric panel can cause fires due to faulty wiring and damaged parts. Although a fire is terrifying enough, it isn’t the only reason you should upgrade your electric panel.

In this article, we’ll break down three reasons why you should get your electric panel upgraded.

The Safety of Your Home

The most important reason for upgrading your electric panel is to keep your home safe from potential dangers such as fires. According to research, faulty wiring and electric panel problems are some of the leading causes of house fires. 

Instead of waiting for disaster to strike, you should get your electric panel checked to see if you need to upgrade it or not. Investing in an electric panel upgrade will not just keep your home safe from electrical mishaps. Upgrading your electric panel is one of the most beneficial improvements you can do for your house other than remodeling it. Besides keeping your home safe, it will also increase your home’s value— perfect for those planning to move out or rent their homes. 

Overusing Power Strips

Another reason you should consider upgrading your electric panel is due to overusing power strips. If your home is filled with power strips, then it might be time to upgrade your electric panel. 

Today, we need electricity to charge our phones and appliances. If you’re using more and more power strips and extension cords to keep your gadgets charged, you are using more electricity than your home can supply. 

Tripping Circuit Breakers

Have you ever plugged in a new electrical appliance, and a minute later, your power gets cut off? This happens when your circuit breakers trip. It’s a safety feature in your home to prevent electrical mishaps.

However, if you notice that your circuit breakers trip constantly, it probably means that your home can’t handle that much electricity. This is a sure sign that your electric panel needs to be upgraded.

Wrapping Up

Your electric panel is just as important as any part of your home. It might be the most important thing since it keeps your house running. Upgrading your electric panel can help prevent many issues in the future, such as potential fires, faulty wiring, tripping circuit breakers, and excessive electricity use. 

If you’re unsure whether or not your electric panel needs an upgrade, you can hire a professional to help you out. Electrical emergencies are never fun to deal with. When in doubt, call a professional because they can help you determine what steps you need to take and make sure your electric panel is in good condition. 

How to Brighten Your Yard With Landscape Lighting

For most of us, a yard is more than just some extra space tacked onto the back of our house. It’s a safe haven, where we can tend to our garden, socialize, and relax in tranquil, beautiful surroundings. 

However, especially for those who are lucky enough to have large yards, lighting can become an issue once the sun goes down. Sitting on the decking isn’t quite as fun when it’s pitch black outside. 

So, you have two choices. You can go inside when it gets dark, or you can highlight your beautiful yard with carefully chosen landscape lighting.

Depending on the size and features of your yard, you may need only a few simple lights. Let’s discuss how to choose what to highlight, and what types of yard lighting are best for you.

Choosing Features to Highlight 

It’s easy to go overboard with landscape lighting. It’s better to adopt a “less is more” attitude to lighting up your yard. Yard lighting is more about highlighting features of your garden than anything else, so if you overlight, nothing will stand out. 

So, the key is to prioritize the features you think should be emphasized. Let’s take a look at some popular features and how you can highlight them. 

• Yard features

This could include water features, statues, or any other kind of notable decoration. Focus on beauty spots in your yard. Feel free to experiment, since playing around with lights and shadows can give a yard a completely different look at night. 

• Pathways and driveways

While yard lighting is usually a decorative aspect, don’t overlook a safety element. Some lights can sit unobtrusively along pathways, steps, and driveways. This lights up traffic areas and means you can move safely around your garden at night. 

• Decking or patios 

Chances are, the patio or decking area is where you’ll spend most of your time in the garden at night. Spotlights can work well to illuminate the area, but they can be a little too bright, and leave harsh shadows. Some flat lights can be built into the area around the borders of the decking or patio, giving a relaxing, low-level light. 

• Texture areas

Lights can add detail and texture to an area, for example, a stone wall. Setting lights at intervals along a wall can keep the area gently lit while highlighting the textured area of the wall. This can also be handy to illuminate signs. 

There are endless possibilities of features and areas to light up in your yard. The goal is to get your yard to look completely different during the night. 

Types of Lighting

Yard lighting can vary from soft, subtle fairy lights, to harsh spotlights. The amount of lighting and the kind you use will depend on the size, shape, and style of your yard. For example, if you have a large yard, you’ll need strong lights and you may need more of them. 

You can use just one style of light, but it’s more common to use a variety. 

• Spotlights and floodlights 

Especially if you have a large yard, spotlights provide a good way to illuminate a large section at once. Motion-activated spotlights can add an extra layer of security. Spotlights can also be trained onto a feature element, creating interesting silhouettes and shadows. They can also draw attention to a feature you’re particularly proud of. 

• Post or in-ground lighting 

Ideal for lighting up driveways or pathways, these lights can be built into the path itself, or can easily be placed alongside. 

• Water feature lights 

Submerged lights in a water feature are exceptionally popular. Water feature lights make the water look as if it’s glowing from the inside, and you can even use colored lights to give an ethereal effect. 

• Uplights, or accent lights 

These types of light shine directly onto a feature, drawing the eye. You can use these types of light around decking or patios, but you can also use them to highlight your favorite garden features. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of possible lighting ideas. The age-old method of stringing fairy lights in trees and shrubs can give your yard a sparkling, mischievous look. However, if you’re planning to light up your yard with large-scale landscape lighting, you may want to consult a professional. 

Properly setting up landscape lighting is very important, if you don’t want your lights to flicker and die halfway through a late-night barbeque! Professional landscape lighters can give you helpful advice and may even give you a preview. Remember, the reality of the lighting may look different from how you imagine it in your head.

Benefits of a Well-Lit Yard

A well-lit yard can greatly enhance the beauty of your garden. Aside from allowing you to spend more time in your yard, landscape lighting makes yard space safer. Highlighting paths and driveways is a sensible choice to prevent tripping, and motion-activated spotlights can be a huge deterrent for prospective intruders. 

Of course, landscape lighting gives you the chance to express your individuality, allowing you to style your space in a way that suits your taste. You can add as much or as little lighting as you like. Now, sit back and enjoy your revamped yard!