How can you add space to your home without it costing big bucks? Maybe you’ve got a family member moving in or a teenager that “needs more space,” or maybe you need an additional bathroom or a home office. If an addition is out of the question, you may want to look right below your feet and remodel your basement. Here are five tips to lead you through the basement remodeling process.
Glass block windows may seem like too heavy a product for residential use. However, 2” thick glass blocks that are built inside vinyl frames have come on the market, and these windows are not only strong (because they are constructed with vinyl spacers between the blocks) but also come in a wide variety of colors and frosted and etched patterns and are easy to install. Here are seven projects that feature glass block windows, which are increasingly popular in bathrooms, kitchens, and basements.
Leaded glass windows can enhance the architectural impact of many different homes and are characteristic of several schools of design including Victorian, Prairie School, and Art Deco. We provide seven tips to help you select the right decorative leaded glass window for virtually any room of your house.
Decorative art glass tiles are simply hand-crafted tiles made by fusing layers of colored and clear glass together in a kiln. These tiles come in various sizes, in a spectrum of transparent and opaque colors, and can be fused to glass blocks. Five popular places to use this decorative glass element in your home include the bathroom, kitchen, entryway, den, and accent walls.
In today’s construction world, where green is the future, it pays to know about building techniques that not only count toward a green building rating but can actually reduce up-front costs. One such method is known as Advanced Framing, sometimes called Optimum Value Engineering (OVE). Advanced Framing takes a good hard look at the way we frame buildings and tries to eliminate wood whenever possible without compromising structural integrity. All of these techniques, when properly executed, comply with the International Residential Code (IRC), but you should check local codes before beginning a project.
If you're unfamiliar with the title of this article, or this important subject matter, don't feel bad – you're not alone. Confusion and a lack of awareness is the rule, rather than the exception, when it comes to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA’s) new Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule, which totally redefines the way much of home remodeling is conducted. It centers on the control of dust from lead paint created from during RRP, not the elimination of the lead itself. The RRP rule is monumental – in its complexity, in the nature of the changes, and in the cost involved in compliance. Here's the EPA's explanation in a nutshell: “Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.”
Metal and concrete, along with various composite materials, are the definitive building blocks of contemporary architecture. Wood is more historic and homespun … or is it? For almost every green attribute that these trendier materials can boast, wood can boast one of its own. Most notably, wood is renewable, it represents low embodied energy, and it sequesters carbon for as long as it is in use as a building component. The designers of the LifeCycle Tower are setting out to prove that wood can be used for more than just homebuilding.
More homeowners are choosing to build green, but how can homeowners can be assured of the quality of the final product? One of the best ways is to gain certification from a third-party rating system. Two of the most popular are LEED for Homes and the National Green Building Standard. Although largely similar, these two systems have some significant differences.
New York City's infamous Bowery is quickly evolving into a trophy case for Pritzker Prize-winning architects. First, SANAA stacked their blocky New Museum among the area's restaurant supply stores, then the rippling facade of Morphosis's new academic building redefined nearby Cooper Square. The latest modern injection into the botoxed Bowery is Foster + Partners' Sperone Westwater Gallery. Its defining feature? The elevator.
The New York City neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, is a long way from Hollywood and seemingly an unlikely location for a museum dedicated to the silver screen. However, the Museum of the Moving Image, which pays homage to the realms of film, television, and digital media, has occupied the area for over 30 years. A total makeover of its existing facilities and an addition, designed by Leeser Architecture, has doubled the Museum's square footage -- including a renovated lobby, exhibition space, theaters, and courtyard.
Hy-Lite®, the leader in prefabricated privacy windows, showcased the company’s multipurpose acrylic block and decorative glass windows at the 2011 International Builders’ Show. The company explained that builders and remodelers looking to add more value, decorative appeal, and natural light to a home or apartment are increasingly turning to operable acrylic block and decorative glass products from Hy-Lite®, a U.S. Block Windows Company. The fully customizable windows come in a broad range of sizes and styles, helping homeowners to add natural light and fresh air to a room without sacrificing privacy. Operable acrylic block windows are Energy Star-qualified in most areas of the country and make privacy a breeze in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, hallways, and other living spaces. Hy-Lite’s windows are backed by a limited lifetime warranty. The windows, along with a free style and size guide, can be found at www.hy-lite.com.
“Assessing the conditions of the nation’s public schools remains a difficult process,” says the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in their 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The problem leading to this "D" grade seems to be funding. However, part of the problem is that we don’t know how much of a problem we have.
