The white coat on tiles is just calcium and its compounds. Acid based tile cleaners are best for cleaning this, but be cautious and take precautions like using gloves and keeping the exhaust fan on. Do not use scoring powders to remove hard water on tiles.
1. Saturate a clean cloth with pure lemon juice. You can purchase this in the produce section of the grocery store.
2. Cover the problem area with the saturated cloth so the cloth lies directly on the calcium deposits
Lemon Juice
2. Cover the problem area with the a thick coat of the baking soda and vinegar paste and allow to soak for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the cloth and scrub the area with a stiff bristled brush. The lemon juice will partially dissolve the buildup and you should be able to remove the remaining calcium deposits with ease.
1. Mix plain Baking soda with enough white vinegar to form a smooth paste. This should be wet enough to spread easily, without running.
3. Scrub with a stiff brush. An old electric toothbrush with firm bristles works great for scrubbing those hard to reach areas. No only does the circular motion of the brush lift and remove calcium deposits, the handle allows you to reach tight areas
There is no mistaking the ugly buildup of calcium deposits on bathroom tiles. If you have hard water, you have probably already discovered that calcium deposits build up quickly and if untreated, can be difficult to clean. Dont be fooled into thinking you need to buy expensive commercial products to clean your tiles. Try these easy solutions using common household products that will cost mere pennies to make.
Things You'll Need:
Stiff brush
Discarded electric toothbrush (optional)
Cleaning rags
Distilled vinegar
Lemon juice
Baking soda
Instructions:
A white coat on the ceramic tiles is caused by hard water or minerals dissolved in the water. Full strength vinegar (a mild acid) and elbow grease will help dissolve the hard water deposits: Hard water causes tiles to be covered with a white coat that will quickly come off.
Gorgeous, newly renovated, home on desirable street with million dollar properties. So many features to mention: new custom kitchen with stainless steel appliances, new baths including marble-tiled master, refinished hardwood floors throughout, open floor plan, designer lighting fixtures and http://www.sandfree.com/ paint colors, new roof, professional landscaping, private backyard with enormous deck, large lot, two car garage, lots of storage, vegetable garden, and so very much more. Walking distance from CDC, Emory, and Toco Hills.
There are different types of epoxy floors like flaked floors, antistatic floors, self dispersing floors, terrazzo floors and mortar floors. Epoxy coating is different from an epoxy floor. While cleaning these floors, you need to consider the flooring type. The non-porous, non-slippery surface is due to the saturation of marble stones and quart into the epoxy resin. The non-grit epoxy flooring needs a different type of cleaning procedure when compared with ordinary floors. To clean a regular epoxy floor, remove all dirt and debris first. As the flooring is non-porous and seamless, dirt particles and debris cannot get inside. However, they can damage the floor, if left unattended for longer periods of time. Mop it off with water and detergent to remove dirt and debris. The hardness of the floor enables you to use different cleaning procedures like pressure washing, steam washing, cleaning with hot water or cold water etc.
For an epoxy floor that is slip-resistant or non-grit, you need to take extra care. There is an additional grit added to the surface that makes it non-grit. This additional grit makes the floor a visual delight. To clean non-grit floor, clean the surface with water. Sprinkle small amounts of degreaser on the floor and allow grime and dirt to soak into it. Leave it for some time. As grime starts beading up, remove it with a deck cleaning brush and wash the floor again with water. Remove the water with a squeezer. Taking time for the maintenance of your epoxy flooring not only makes it durable but also allows the floor to maintain the elegance for several years.
There are three things to consider while choosing the perfect flooring http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Hardwood+Floor+Refinishing&find_loc=New+York%2C+NY for your infrastructure. Your building floor needs to be strong and durable to withstand loads of traffic, incredibly magnificent to entice audience and easy to clean. Among several types of flooring options you have, epoxy flooring is the new and amazing concept that is making waves in recent times. An epoxy floor satisfies all your flooring needs as it is durable, elegant and at the same time easy to clean.
The epoxy material is made up of resins and hardeners. The striking feature of this flooring is that it integrates itself into the substrate in a strong way. Resins and hardeners are mixed to make it stronger and harder. The flooring is built using several layers of epoxy, up to 2 mm thickness. The perfect bond with the substrate in a seamless fashion is what makes epoxy floors unique among contemporary flooring types. They adhere to many surfaces, withstand adverse temperatures and are chemically resistant.
When the YMCA of Hagerstown opened its new building on Eastern Boulevard 15 years ago, the http://www.seattlefloor.com/ facility was modern and bright.
But after years of wear and a growing membership of some 8,000 people, the 55,000-square-foot building is getting a much-needed $275,000 facelift.
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At a cooling capacity of 16200 BTU per hour and a heating capacity of 9.8 EER, this conditioner is plenty strong. It can handle small or large rooms with ease.
By cycling the fan with the compressor, the Friedrich ES16L33 is able to work in an energy efficient manner, saving its owner money on electric bills. Anyone who's ever owned an air conditioner knows how they can gobble up electricity and send monthly expenses skyrocketing. This unit takes this into account and saves consumers dollars wherever http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-refinish-a-hardwood-floor.html possible.
The rotary controls give a sense of greater control to the settings. No more worrying about sticking buttons or so called fancy touch sensitive controls that break. These controls are easy to turn and put on the desired settings.
This model has a sensitive thermostat that not only monitors changes in heat levels but anticipates them. So you don't have to wait until the room is sweltering or freezing before it turns on. You can rest assured that it will get your indoor space to a comfortable temperature and keep it there.
Energy Efficient
Ultra quiet working noise level
The Friedrich ES16L33 is both an air conditioner and a heater as the "twintemp" part of the name suggests. The Friedrich ES16L33 Twintemp air conditioner is a remarkable appliance for the money. With a price tag around $1000, it should offer some top of the line features, and it really does that and more. It can get you through the winter and summer in unparalleled contentment. Let's take a peek at a few of the highlights it sports:
The Friedrich ES16L33 Twintemp air conditioner has 3 different heating and cooling speed settings, plus a fan only setting. These multiple settings allow for fine tuning of the comfort level of a room so that there is never a sense of being too chilly or too hot.
This air conditioner offers unmatched control of airflow so that the air you're breathing is always the purest and freshest it can be. It channels in the fresh air and sends the stale air outside the house with sophisticated 8 way airflow control. The Friedrich ES16L33 electric air conditioner also sports antimicrobial filters to further purify the air you're breathing
8 way airflow control, fresh/stale air exhaust vents, and filters
Unlike the noisy monoliths rattling in windows from days past, the Friedrich ES16L33 electric air conditioner does its cooling or heating work so quietly that it's hard to tell it's even on much of the time. This ability to function quietly is one of the hallmarks of a high end machine. You won't be distracted by it, but simply warmed or cooled as the situation requires.
Since its conception Kahn's building has been described as a
raw, adaptable "loft" structure; in the renovated gallery this
concept has been interpreted to mean that installations must be
completely demountable--none of the floor, wall, or ceiling surfaces can
be pierced. For the most part this is a productive restriction,
resulting in exhibitions that charge the space by pressing against the
permanent structure of the building while remaining separate from it.
All hanging works are either suspended from picture rails or mounted on
freestanding "pogo" walls. These walls, wisely restored to
their original dimensions, are really floating partitions supported by
adjustable poles that wedge between the floor and ceiling--allowing
great flexibility in their placement while maintaining the visual
continuity of the galleries. The opening installation shows off the
diverse environments that the wall system can create: from their
complete absence in a remarkable student-curated show in the first-floor
temporary gallery, to a loose, open-field arrangement in the modern and
contemporary gallery, to a roomlike sequence for early European art. The
exhibition space gained in the renovation has also allowed the creation
of a new African gallery, based on the recent gift of the Charles B.
Benenson collection, and greatly expanded coverage of Asian art.
"TO FIND OUT what architecture really is took me fiftyyears--half a century," Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once admitted. Nowanother half century has passed since Mies completed his mature postwarbuildings, and a wave of renovations is forcing us to reconsider whatexactly he and his contemporaries found architecture to be and how tohandle their discoveries. A convergence of age-related need, heightenedhistorical appreciation, and persistent ignorance has produced a mixedrecord to date: ranging from the salutary reconstruction of GordonBunshaft's Lever House and the conscientious forensic work on FrankLloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, both in New York, tothe unnecessary disfigurement of Alvar Aalto's Woodberry PoetryRoom at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and thecontroversial redesign of 2 Columbus Circle in New York. But to thesecan be added exemplary recent work on Mies's own S. R. Crown Hallat the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and Louis Kahn'sYale University Art Gallery in New Haven. These two projects make clearthat, done seriously, restoration is an act of exegesis in which eventhe smallest moves are interpretative.
Designed by Mies for the architecture department he headed, Crown
Hall, completed in 1956, was one of the last buildings of Mies's
great campus expansion at IIT and the most refined of his long-span,
universal-space structures. Today, as the home base of a booming
architecture school, the building continues to be crowded with the messy
business of making things. Its restoration is being overseen by a large
project team led by Donna Robertson, dean of the School of Architecture,
with Mark Sexton and T. Gunny Harboe of the Chicago firms Krueck &
Sexton and Harboe Architects, respectively. The most visible phases,
including complete reconstruction of the perimeter curtain wall and
south porch, are complete. Replanting of the surrounding landscape is
ongoing, and important mechanical upgrades--needed to tame the infernal
climate of this glass box--are upcoming.
Both buildings have been celebrated for their honesty--what you see
is what you get--but such jargons of aesthetic authenticity founder in
the face of a primary modernist material: glass. For the only truth of
glass is its variability, its constant shift from transparent to
reflective. In the modernist curtain wall, this visually unstable
surface is, with some difficulty, made into a boundary of environmental
control, the front between a well-tempered interior and the weather
outside. Successfully handling these unique characteristics of glass
became the central challenge of the Crown Hall and Yale University Art
Gallery restorations, and in both buildings, it became a game of
fractions of inches.
The brave use of a markedly new element--rather than a faux Kahn
construction--in such a prominent location exemplifies the sort of tough
choices that will inevitably arise in other high-profile postwar
renovations (including Yale's Art and Architecture Building by Paul
Rudolph, which is beginning its own complex restoration). There can be
no dogmatic approach to these decisions--they must be adjudicated on a
case-by-case basis. Happily, at the Yale University Art Gallery and at
Crown Hall they have been made with enough knowledge and concern to
allow adjustments and additions that are respectful without being
slavish; which is to say that both projects have found ways to make
postwar architecture new again.
SEAN KELLER IS A VISITING LECTURER IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY
OF ART AT YALE UNIVERSITY IN NEW HAVEN, CT.
Given Kahn's reputation as an architect of brute materiality,
it is more surprising that the Yale University Art Gallery renovation
demanded a similarly high level of finesse. While images typically
stress the solidity of the tetrahedral ceiling and the opacity of the
brick facade, three-fifths of the perimeter of the building is, in fact,
glass-and-steel curtain wall. Because Kahn used a more advanced,
insulated double-paned glass, his transparent facades never shattered
but deteriorated steadily. When the restoration began, nearly all the
glass panels were obscured by internal fogging; in cold weather the
interior sides of the highly conductive steel frames also dripped with
condensation. The elegant solution was to replace the glass and
substitute thermally broken aluminum for the steel frames with only
minor changes in their profiles. The reconstructed curtain walls are the
greatest revelation of the project, providing a crystalline wrapper for
Kahn's famously massive floor plates.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The virtues that demountability can breed are best displayed in the
smart new entry-level addition by New York-based Joel Sanders Architect.
Picking up on Kahn's black terrazzo bands, Sanders has designed a
freestanding snake of ebonized oak cabinetry that carries the reception
desk, retail display, small bar, banquet seating, and a retractable video screen. With beveled corners that recall Tony Smith's
sculptures and Kahn's own triangulating geometries, the assemblage
provides an appropriately adaptable base for the varied media and
services demanded by a contemporary museum.
The Yale University Art Gallery, which opened in 1953, wasKahn's first significant building and has long been seen as anearly, but ultimately unresolved, draft of the monumental modernism thathe spent the next two decades exploring. Although originally it toohoused architecture and design departments, Kahn's building hasbeen devoted solely to the art gallery since 1963. A major aim of itsrecently completed renovation, headed by Leslie Myers and LouisaCunningham of the gallery and Duncan Hazard of Polshek PartnershipArchitects in New York, was to further liberate space for exhibitions byclearing out staff offices that had accreted over the years.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
This was to be expected in a structure by Mies, who long professed
that his deity was detail-oriented. Fittingly, the deepest philosophical
controversy of the Crown Hall restoration concerned an eighth of an
inch. Mies's original exterior skin was an extreme manifestation of
his "almost nothing" (beinahe nichts) architecture: Vast
sheets of quarter-inch-thick plate glass, reaching nearly ten feet by
thirteen feet in the upper panels, were hung in narrow steel frames and
secured by even narrower steel stops. In their Platonic abstraction many
of Mies's buildings have difficulty facing empirical conditions.
Normally the trouble is creeping--condensation, corrosion,
overheating--but at Crown Hall reality occasionally came crashing in, as
when a strong Lake Michigan wind would shatter one of the impossibly
thin glass panels. Stopping this spontaneous defenestration (and meeting
present-day code) required doubling the glass thickness to half an inch.
To hold the extra weight, the "bite" of the stops on the glass
needed to be increased from five-eighths of an inch to three-quarters.
Great controversy surrounded how this should be done. Simply using
thicker stops would make the black steel profile too heavy. The eventual
solution was to use stops that tapered from five-eighths on the outside
to three-quarters at the point of contact with the glass. This was
visually and practically acceptable, but it introduced nonorthogonal
planes to Mies's obsessively rectilinear world; it also meant
replacing the original stock steel stops with custom-made ones. Purists
on the renovation team saw this as a subtle corruption of the
master's finest building. By giving priority to appearance, the
tapered stop favors a contemporary antiessentialist interpretation of
Mies that emphasizes the visual impact of his work--but what an impact
it is. With the sandblasted lower glass panels also restored and the
steel frames repainted to their original "Mies black"
(actually a very dark charcoal), the reconstructed building offers
gorgeously http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-refinish-a-hardwood-floor.html unified facades that are materially thin and phenomenally
deep--revealing, reflecting, defusing, and glowing all at once.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Naturally, materiality is still a major source of the pleasure
offered by the YUAG, but the careful refinishing of the interior shows
the materials to be far more refined than the building's common
Brutalist tag would suggest. To contemporary eyes the materials seem to
be handled not in the service of existential authenticity (a common
interpretation) but as a palette of contrasting colors and
textures--warm oak parquet, coarse matte concrete, polished black
terrazzo--in a manner that suggests the work of Herzog & de Meuron.
The famous concrete-block interior walls, which are now nearly all
reexposed after spending years under plasterboard, appear
demonstratively unfinished not because that is "what a wall wants
to be" (it probably wants to have its joints properly struck), but
because of the contrast such crudeness makes against the glossy
terrazzo. The sight of Reynolds and Renoir on concrete block does
produce a shock, but Kahn's use of such a provocative surface in a
gallery challenges not so much the inauthenticity of the white
plasterboard norm but its banality (the hundreds of white-box gallery
spaces around the world are just as real but just not as interesting).
Unlike the expanded Museum of Modern Art in New York, Kahn's
gallery does not attempt a doomed disappearing act; and unlike a Frank
Gehry museum, it does not constantly clamor for attention. Instead, the
YUAG stands in balance with the art it contains--supportive but
independent.
A.: This is definitely commercial type products. For example, we use our own patented Polyaspartic coatings on floors and using this takes extensive training. A common homeowner, however, can purchase an epoxy flooring kit from Home Depot. However, it would have to be redone/replaced after a couple of years. Our techniques have lifetime guarantees.
* Remember to add storage to your garage with a makeover so you are not moving Christmas supplies or looking at stuff you use once a year.
A.: The cost depends on the size and technicalities of the job. But the bigger your garage is (in terms of square feet), we will charge you less per square foot. It is a sliding scale.
A.: As one of the premier garage refinishing and coating companies in North America, Global Garage Flooring and Design through its network of dealers, offers complete garage finishing solutions from custom industrial strength concrete floor coatings to an exclusive offering of top of the line wood and steel cabinetry.
* And finally, don't overplan when considering the add-ons--costs can mount fast.
* Landscape the entrance for a complete look.
A.: Our experts usually arrive with around $25,000 worth of tools including diamond grinders, special spikes on their feet, generators, and much more for preparation.
A.: The garage refinishing business continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of the multi-billion dollar home improvement industry. We are in the process of allowing many people who are interested in learning more about this industry, to become franchisees through our network. At Global Garage, we view the garage as not only the main entry-way but also one of the primary focal points of the home.
* * *
Global Garage also left us some tips to offer you:
Q.: Are these commercial-type products or can the layman or common homeowner attempt this?
We also do Garage Floor Inlays, which is one of the best ways to put your personal touch on a garage floor. They are dramatic and are only limited by your imagination. Company Logos, Sports Logos, School Logos, a personal drawing, hey, if you can dream it we can do it!!
Q.: Can you tell Readers the basics of who is Garage Flooring & Design?
Q.: Is there anything else you would like to tell Examiner Home and Living Readers?
Q.: Do you have an appropriate cost?
* Don't underestimate the amount of lighting required.
Q. How long can one expect this to take?
Q.: What happens to the floor? What are the benefits?
We pride ourselves on exclusively offering only the best products available at the most reasonable prices. Our products have been installed on thousands of applications throughout North America, and have been extensively tested to certify their outstanding performance. We also specialize in excessive crack repair.
* Think about wiring for temperature control; what good is a space you can't sit in in the winter or summer?
A.: Our patented Global Garage One-Day floor coating systems can be applied all year round, exhibit excellent color and gloss retention, and are 3x stronger than conventional Epoxy and Urethane coating systems. Global Garage polyaspartic flooring systems offer the highest quality available on the market today and come in a wide variety of solid colors and simulated granite paint chip or fleck finishes.
A secondary component of our business entails a focus on commercial and industrial flooring applications. The unique characteristics of the coating systems we employ are ideal for applications requiring resistance to heavy foot or vehicle traffic.
Q.: What tools are needed?
Just recently we received some photos with a story about how to turn your garage into a posh office. We already have an office but are entertaining the thought of turning an area of the garage into an exercise space. We followed up that idea with an interview with a representative from Global Garage Flooring and Design. They have products designed to provide a solid color finish to any concrete surface. If this is something you are thinking about, here is more information along with some stunning photographs for inspiration.
It's always a Sisyphean task to set a budget for a renovation -- or at the very least an ever-moving target -- but if you're planning to put your home on the market, you'll have a way different set of calculations than a starry-eyed new homeowner.
Before you embark on a gut of your circa-1990 kitchen, consult with a Realtor and a general contractor about which renovations will yield the biggest return on investment. How much work you'll need depends on your home's value, your market, and the comps in your neighborhood.
"In competitive markets where prices are through the roof, like San Francisco or New York City, you don't really need to do renovations before selling," says Mike Aubrey, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate in Gaithersburg, MD. "But in other places where inventory is going up, your house needs to measure up to the other listings on the market."
Committed to doing some work? Start by thinking small. Minor cosmetic upgrades go a long way in getting more buyers through the door for a quicker sale -- and time on market is key to determining what you'll net at closing.
Where to start? Here are some suggested upgrades (and some to avoid):
Walls and floors
Replacing or refinishing your flooring and painting the walls are the quickest and least expensive ways to give a house new life, Aubrey says. With these enhancements, you can expect roughly a 15% uptick in asking price.
Paint color matters. Shades of gray are in with buyers right now; stay away from tan and beige hues -- they scream the era of Bill Clinton and Seattle grunge, Aubrey says. While you can certainly go the DIY route with paint, hiring a pro will get the best results. Expect to spend $2,000 to $3,000 for whole-house interior painting, Aubrey says.
The same goes for new carpet. A sturdy, builder-grade fiber in a neutral color that doesn't compete with your wall color is the way to go. While most buyers prefer hardwood floors, they're pricey to install. If you have existing hardwood floors, refinishing them will bring back the luster.
If you live in an area where ceramic tile is the standard (hey, we're looking at you, Florida), a less expensive and durable http://www.familyhandyman.com/floor/hardwood-floors/how-to-refinish-hardwood-floors/view-all option is DuraCeramic, an engineered tile that mimics the look of ceramic without the high cost, Aubrey says. You can find it for less than $3 per square foot.
Doors
According to Remodeling magazine's 2015 Cost vs. Value Report, replacing your existing front door with a new steel door will net you a 101.8% return on resale for a minimal replacement cost of about $1,230. Who knew? But think about it: It's the first and last thing you'll touch on your home visit. It makes an impression.
Installing a new garage door has an impact on buyers, too. Even better: It offers an 88% return at resale and costs an average of about $1,600 to replace, according to the Remodeling report.
Roof and siding
Adding a new roof and replacing your home's unsightly vinyl siding will also yield a high ROI, Aubrey says. His assertion is backed by the Cost vs. Value Report, which found that homeowners recouped 72% and 80% of the cost, respectively, for those upgrades. Another benefit: When it comes time for inspection and appraisal, having those repairs done will not only increase the value of your home but also reduce the likelihood of being forced to make fixes or adjust pricing later in the process.
Kitchens
A modern kitchen is a top draw for buyers -- but don't try to overhaul a dated one, which could cost mucho dinero. Buying new cabinet drawer pulls, painting or refacing old cabinets (white is in right now), and installing sleek light fixtures are all low-cost upgrades that will make your kitchen sparkle.
New appliances, which can run about $10,000 for a whole-kitchen replacement, are an easy way to add value. While the upfront cost might be hard to swallow, new stainless appliances make your kitchen more attractive to a wider range of buyers, says Ashley Oakes-Lazosky, a Realtor with Vegas Homes and Fine Estates in Las Vegas.
Granite or quartz countertops are also hot, but they can be pricey, depending on your kitchen layout.
"You need bids from professional remodelers to figure out how much new countertops will cost -- and if it fits your budget and timetable for selling," says Robert Criner, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers and owner of Criner Remodeling in Newport News, VA.
A less pricey alternative is simply adding a clean, white ceramic tile backsplash to create visual appeal, Criner adds.
Upgrades to skip
Thinking about finishing an attic or basement? Adding a deck? Well, don't. Those upgrades tend to be pricey, and buyers will likely prefer to remodel those areas to their own tastes.
Other areas to avoid doing a major renovation: bathrooms, bedrooms, and home offices, according the Remodeling report.
In other words, if it ain't broke, don't renovate it!
They responded with a paperwork arsenal aimed at their lender, asserting that the appraisal had been based on faulty recent sales data. The loan squeaked through, after the bank crafted an exception for the Mays. It was able to do that because their loan was a jumbo loan, not subject to the more rigid underwriting standards they would have encountered if it were a conventional loan aimed at secondary buyers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"The reality is that the appraiser is only there for 30 minutes at most," says Brian Coester, chief executive of CoesterVMS, a nationwide appraisal management company based in Rockville, Maryland. "The best thing a homeowner can do to get the highest appraisal possible is make sure they have all the important features of the home readily available for the appraiser."
Websites including Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia offer recent sales prices and details such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a home.
KNOW WHAT ADDS THE MOST VALUE
CLEAN UP
MAKE SURE APPRAISER KNOWS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Is the appraiser from within a 10-mile radius of your property? "This is one of the first questions you should ask the appraiser," says Ben Salem, a real estate agent with Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills, California.
He recalled a recent case where an appraiser visited an unfamiliar property in nearby Orange County and produced an appraisal that Salem said was $150,000 off. "If the appraiser doesn't know the area intimately, chances are the appraisal will not come back close to what a property is really worth."
Don't forget to highlight all-important structural improvements to electrical systems, heating and cooling systems - which are harder to see, but can dramatically boost an appraisal. Show receipts.
In Leesburg, Florida, for example, low appraisals have caused the cancellation of as many as 15 percent of home sales for local real estate broker Gus Grizzard.
GIVE THE APPRAISER SOME SPACE
(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Appraisals are based on recent sales prices of comparable properties. And in rising price markets, those sales prices might not be high enough to support the newest deals. Young said there were many places in California reporting appraisal problems.
DOCUMENT YOUR FIX-UPS
Provide your appraiser with at least three solid and well-priced comparable properties. You will save her some work, and insure that she is getting price information from homes that really are similar to yours.
You can request that your lender send a local appraiser; if that still doesn't happen, supply as much information as you can about the quality of your neighborhood.
(Follow us @ReutersMoney or here; Editing by Linda Stern and Tim Dobbyn)
Here are eight ways you can bolster your appraisal:
According to Remodeling magazine, a basement renovation that cost $63,000 in 2011-12 will recoup roughly 66 percent of that in added home value. That's not as good as an attic bedroom, which will recoup 73 percent of its cost. Even similar bedrooms typically count for more if they are upstairs instead of downstairs.
Even jaded appraisers can be swayed by a good looking yard. "Tree trimming, cleaning up, a few flowers in the flower beds and paint touch up can all help the appraisal," says Agnes Huff, a real estate investor based in Los Angeles.
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS
If you're going to do minor renovations, start with your kitchen and bathrooms, says G. Stacy Sirmans, a professor of real estate at Florida State University. He reviewed 150 variables that affect home values for a study sponsored by the National Association of Realtors. Wood floors, landscaping and an enclosed garage can https://www.nhance.com/ also drive up appraisals.
"Before-and-after photos, along with a well-defined spreadsheet of what was spent on each renovation, should persuade an appraiser to turn in a number that far exceeds what he or she first called out."
Don't follow the appraiser around like a puppy. "I can't tell you how many homeowners or listing agents follow me around in my personal space during the inspection," he says. "It's a major red flag there is a problem with the home."
And while you're at it, make the appraiser's job as pleasant as possible by giving your home a pleasant smell. At a minimum, clean out the litter box. Baking some fresh cookies and offering him one or two probably won't sway your appraisal, nor should it. But it couldn't hurt.
That advice holds true indoors, too. "Get rid of all the clutter in your home," says Jonathan Miller, a longtime appraiser in New York. "It makes the home appear larger."
If you've put money into the house, prove it, says Salem.
Many homeowners covet that refinished basement, but that doesn't mean appraisers look at it the same way. "Improvements and additions made below grade, such as a finished basement, do not add to the overall square footage of your house," says John Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services in New York. "So they don't add anywhere near as much value as improvements made above grade."
"We are seeing higher price appreciation and are starting to run into appraisal problems," said Charlie Young, chief executive officer of ERA Franchise Systems, a firm with a national network of real estate brokerage offices, including Grizzard's. The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that inventories of homes were low and the median price a home resale was, at $180,800 in December, up 11.5 percent in a year.
TALK UP YOUR TOWN
If your town has recently seen exciting developments, such as upscale restaurants, museums, parks or other amenities, make sure your appraiser knows about them, says Craig Silverman, principal and chief appraiser at Silverman & Co. in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
PROVIDE YOUR OWN COMPARABLES
But the appraisal came back roughly $70,000 less than the $1,230,000 the Mays were expecting, and too low to support their new loan.
"It was a major stumbling block," says Kellie May, who has owned the 4-bedroom, 3-bath colonial for seven years. Not that she and her husband were unprepared; they'd been through an appraisal for another refinance in 2010, so they knew to point out improvements they'd made to the 3,400 square foot home, and supply prices for other neighborhood properties that had sold recently.
But those rules don't go into effect for a year, and don't apply to most conventional loans. It pays to protect your own loan before the bank even thinks about sending that guy with the clipboard over to your house.
WASHINGTON When Kellie and Michael May decided to refinance their home in the New York suburbs, they wanted to take advantage of historically low interest rates. But before landing a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, they had to get through a home appraisal.
Low appraisals are becoming a bigger problem for many would-be buyers and refinancers as home values have started to stabilize and rise in some markets.
On Friday, the federal government issued new rules aimed at improving the appraisal process as it pertains to high-interest mortgages on rapidly appreciating homes.
Dirt got you down? Dusting every few days will minimize the buildup that makes dust noticeable.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Hide a container of wipes on a shelf behind some http://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-refinish-hardwood-floors/ books at the top of the stepsWhen a cleaning tool is pretty enough to stay in view, you'll use it more oftenIndividually wrapped glass-cleaning wipes can inspire you to polish mirrors
(RealSimple.com) -- No time to dust and declutter? Prop your home strategically and you can make it sparkle on the fly. Follow this tactical plan for what to stash where and impromptu improvement is a snap.
RealSimple.com: Quick cleaning solutions for every room
Floor wipes near the stairs
Hide a container of wipes in a console drawer or on a shelf behind some books at the top and bottom of the steps. On the way down, swipe the banister. On your way up, when you're eye level with dust, clean each step. Use water-based rather than oil-based wipes specifically made for floors so you don't leave the surface slippery.
Quick Spill floor wipes, $5 for 30, buy.com.
A pretty duster near framed photos
When a cleaning tool is artful enough to stay in plain view, it should -- you'll use it more often. Hang a glam duster on the wall, or keep it upright in an opaque tapered vase. A little TLC for pictures every few days minimizes the buildup that always makes you groan.
Feather duster, $30, caldrea.com.
RealSimple.com: How to fake a clean house
Flat-folded mesh cubes behind dressers
In the kids' rooms, these are perfect for popping open and receiving errant toys and clean (but strewn) laundry. Negotiating with the kids to return stuff to its rightful place is another battle -- but at least you'll be able to see the floor.
Folding mesh cubes, from $3 each, containerstore.com.
Glass wipes in the medicine cabinet
Individually wrapped glass-cleaning wipes take up little space and can inspire spontaneous mirror polishing. Toss extra packets in the glove compartment for cleaning the windshield.
Stoner Invisible Glass wipes, $9 for 28 wrapped wipes, amazon.com.
RealSimple.com: Clean your bathroom, fast
A microfiber mitt in the desk drawer
For computer screens, keyboards, and speakers, it's the safest, most effective option. Another mitt or cloth tucked where you store your remotes will remind you to keep the TV screen clean and clear, too.
Dust Never Sleeps
Sneaky cleaning opportunities for the hyperproductive:
Use a dryer sheet to grab cobwebs in the laundry room while the washer is filling up.
After doing the dishes -- but before taking off the rubber gloves -- run palms over upholstery to catch fur.
While brushing your teeth, polish the faucet (chrome only) with toothpaste.
Using a lint roller to defuzz your clothes? Tackle the nearest lamp shade, too.
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paint-renovation(Warren Goldswain)
