What happens when a homeowner wants to hold band practices at their house? Theses Exeter, NH homeowners had an extra room in their house (versus the traditional basement approach) but weren’t sure if they could add enough soundproofing to contain the noise for others in the home, and the neighborhood.

Eric wanted to hold band practice at and Marguerite wanted to explore what their options were and how much the project might cost. They were existing clients of my handyman business so they gave us a call to see what advice we could offer. READ MORE

When you need more space in your home, there are numerous choices to consider and your budget will point you in the right direction. You can re-purpose existing space like an attic or basement, which is more cost effective than putting on an addition which  requires excavation, a foundation, framing and roofing.

Sometimes you just need more visual space and you can achieve that by changing the configuration of your walls or eliminating them altogether. Many homeowners are opening up their kitchens to one/more adjoining rooms with kitchen/family rooms and kitchen/dining room being the most popular. Last and most expensive, you can add more living space (square footage) to your existing home. READ MORE

Sometimes you need to replace an appliance in a hurry and that’s not much fun. You might not have enough time to research, shop or get the model you really want — we had to wait 4 weeks for this refrigerator to get delivered. There’s also a matter of money and whether you can afford to buy a higher end model right now?

This refrigerator only cost us $300 because we got a $1,500 credit for our existing refrigerator, only 3 years old but the freezer was a constant frozen waterfall. My husband gets credit for his perseverance, through 5 service calls – after the second visit, we jokingly said  “… see you next week”, but it got old real fast. Finally there were some lengthy phone conversations until we got a credit, including delivery and disposal of the old refrigerator.

Plan and budget home upgrades before there’s an emergency

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Most people don’t get excited reading about home improvements, yet Russ Ringsak from A Prairie Home Companion has a way of entertaining while writing about the topic. His description of being a carpenter’s helper “… chain sawing, Bobcatting, shoveling, pick-axing, jack hammering, sledgehammering, regular hammering, mixing concrete, wheel barrowing, and holding the dumb end of a tape measure” was fun to read and maybe you’re wondering too, which is the dumb end of a tape measure?

At Russ’s home, the Broken D Ranch, they were replacing the back porch with a much larger sun room, and hired “Minnesota’s best carpenter” to complete all the structural work while doing the interior finish work themselves. READ MORE

Bathroom design starts with a blueprint or floor plan. You need to layout where key features like the sinks, toilet, bathtub and/or shower will go, with enough space for doors to open and people to access everything safely. In new home construction, careful consideration is also given to which walls the plumbing and vents will run through, and ideally plumbing will go on interior walls when you live in a cold climate location.

Remodeling a bathroom must address similar needs when adding space or moving the plumbing. The cost of a bathroom remodel goes up significantly when walls, doors and/or plumbing get moved so the benefits need to outweigh the added cost. READ MORE

Picking materials for your deck is easy, right? Maybe if you want a basic deck but you should still look at the new composite decking materials that can lower your deck maintenance costs. Picking the right materials for your home and lifestyle (low maintenance) takes time and the reward is a beautiful deck you can enjoy for many years.

You’ll need to decide on your deck flooring materials, from pressure treated wood to a composite with no wood content. There are different choices for deck railings from basic wood balusters to glass panels when there’s a view you don’t want to miss. There are also add-on products to consider for lighting, built-ins like seating (kit from Azek shown here) and more. READ MORE

Deck designs are similar to house designs, letting you make decisions on paper where it’s easy and inexpensive to make changes. Deck design software let’s you experiment with different layouts and view the designs in 3 dimensions.

While you will focus on your deck layout, or top down view similar to a floor plan, your deck design will also include a framing plan that describes the underlying support structure for your deck. To build your deck then, your deck design needs to include a deck layout, the framing plan and a material list. READ MORE

Every home buyer dreams of the perfect deck, and so do you. Builders know this, so they include a deck on new homes to give you a starting point. From here you can add your dream deck ideas, from built-in seating to planters and more, as people are spending more time outdoors.

Even if your first deck is an 8 by 10 pressure treated deck off the family room, you will begin to dream about deck ideas. The question is rarely if you’ll have a deck but more about the size of the deck, the deck design and how it compliments your home as well as the materials used for the deck and railings.

With a builder deck, it’s common to extend the deck on the same level or sometimes a second deck at a different level which adds interest. Regardless of the deck you start with, the deck design is your first priority, followed by picking materials. READ MORE

Do you know why some homes have a deck while others have a patio? Patios are always at ground level while decks range from just about ground level to the roof of a garage or even the roof of a house. While it’s true you get to decide, there are many factors that will influence the decision you make.

The first factor to consider is how high your home sits above ground or how many steps are needed to go from your door to the ground? According to Jack Tremblay, a registered landscape architect, “It’s supposed to be easy to access your outdoor living space. If you can get from your door to the ground in 4 steps, a patio or terrace is appropriate. With 4 or more steps, a deck is more practical.” READ MORE

Wondering what tape and mud means? Tape and mud are some of the magic ingredients used in home building. You see the results every day when you look at your walls and ceilings so you’re wondering where the magic is?

A stick-built home is made up of hundreds of 2 x 6 wall studs and even bigger pieces of lumber for all of the horizontal framing that goes into a house. Inside the wall cavities go all sorts of important things like your electrical wiring, your plumbing, your heat and air conditioning distribution (HVAC) components and more.

Learn about Habitat’s Women Build projects where you can learn to mud & more