Wednesday, March 26, 2014

2014 Cost vs. Value Report Finds Cost- Value Ratio for Home Improvement Projects Increased to 66.1%


For the second consecutive year, the national overall average cost-value ratio for home improvement projects has increased, reaching 66.1% (5.5 points higher than last year), according to the Remodeling 2014 Cost vs. Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com). 

This means that homeowners are now expected to recoup over 66% of the cost of home improvement projects when they sell their home.

What is really nice about this study is that you can drill down to specific housing markets. When looking specifically at the Richmond region among the types of projects that CCI specializes in, the top cost-value projects are:

Bathroom Remodel - 110.0% cost-value in RVA
That's right... According to the 2014 Cost vs. Value report for Richmond, sellers can expect to get back all of their investment and more from a bathroom remodel!

CCI can provide full bathroom renovations, from the planning and design phase to laying the final tile in place. We are a Class A licensed contractor for the complete renovation project, including plumbing, HVAC, and gas fitting, as well as building. Click here to see our gallery of bathroom remodel projects.

Attic Bedroom - 89.6%
Need an additional bedroom in your home? Convert unfinished attic space into a bedroom suite. Since I am a design/build contractor, you can show me what you want, and I will make recommendations that fit into your budget and will work effectively with the existing structure. Finished attics also make great home offices and playrooms.

Kitchen Remodel - 87.3% (minor), 79.5% (major)
Thinking of renovating your kitchen? Whether you have a home simply in need of some updating, or if you live in a historic home and need to bring your kitchen into the modern era, we have the expertise to get it done. We can help you design a renovation that will keep the integrity of your historic home, while adding the high performance features and the latest green technologies to make your home more efficient. Check out our gallery of kitchen remodels on our website.

Basement Remodel - 86.5%
Want to finish the lower level of your house to create an entertaining area, home office, or bedroom suite? Click here to see an example of CCI's work in this area with our award-winning 2009 retro-modern basement remodel.

Two-Story Addition - 79.4%
CCI has the capabilities to construct an addition for your home or help you execute a full house renovation. You'll see that we can design the project for seamless integration of old and new, and plan the project to exceed your expectations and meet your budget. You can see a gallery of our additions on our website.

CCI is the premier remodeling company for the distinct needs of home renovation projects in Richmond. Give us a call at 804-497-3491 or send us an email today and we can provide a free estimate on the project that interests you.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Fix a Leak Week: March 17-23


Fix a Leak Week is celebrated in March of each year as a time to remind Americans to check their household fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks. 

If you suspect you have a leak and need a plumber, call Cabinetry & Construction. Rob is a licensed plumber and can help you address all of your plumbing needs.

The Facts on Leaks:
  • The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That's equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.
  • Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.
  • Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. All are easily correctable.
  • Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.
  • Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet valves, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don't require a major investment and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers.
  • The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.
Leak Detection:
  • A good method to check for leaks is to examine your winter water usage. It's likely that a family of four has a serious leak problem if its winter water use exceeds 12,000 gallons per month.
  • Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.
  • One way to find out if you have a toilet leak is to place a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl within 15 minutes without flushing, you have a leak. Make sure to flush immediately after this experiment to avoid staining the tank.
Faucets and Showerheads:
  • A leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. A home with WaterSense labeled toilets could use that water to flush for six months!
  • Leaky faucets can be reduced by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and replacing them if necessary.
  • A showerhead leaking at 10 drips per minute wastes more than 500 gallons per year. That's enough water to wash 60 loads of dishes in your dishwasher.
Toilets:
  • If your toilet is running constantly, you could be wasting 200 gallons of water or more every day.
  • If your toilet is leaking, the cause is most often an old, faulty toilet flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part decays, or minerals build up on it.
  • If you do need to replace the entire toilet, look for a WaterSense labeled model. If a family of four replaces its older, inefficient toilets with new WaterSense labeled ones, it could save more than 16,000 gallons per year. Retrofitting the house could save the family approximately $2,000 in water and wastewater bills over the lifetime of the toilets.
Outdoors:
  • An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.
  • An irrigation system with pressure set at 60 pounds per square inch that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.
  • Check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. If it leaks while you run your hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
Get more information on how to detect and repair leaks at: www.epa.gov/watersense

How You Can Go Green at Home

Green Building is not just a catch phrase for us at Cabinetry & Construction. We have always believed that remodeling is inherently greener than building a new house. Moreover, the close-in Richmond neighborhoods in which we work are the opposite of sprawl.

And by incorporating the latest green building products and ecologically responsible construction practices, we are in the unique position of truly ushering the modern era into the historic beauty of the homes in the Richmond area.

Green products include those that may consume less energy during use, those that produce less waste or use recycled products in their manufacture, or those that contribute to a healthier living environment. Certainly, some options for ecologically responsible construction are more expensive than others, but even small investments can have a great impact on the performance of your home, improve its efficiency, and reduce the lifetime operating cost of your home.

In the spirit of "going green," we'd like to share some information about our environmentally aware repertoire.

Operating and maintaining a home correctly is the only way to make sure it "lives green," and Cabinetry & Construction can explain the hows and whys of green building and help you decide the aspects that are appropriate for your project -- from helping you choose the right products to advising you on how to ensure everything works the way it is designed.

Some options for green building products that we like to provide our clients include:             
  • Energy star rated appliances
  • Energy star windows
  • WaterSense plumbing fixtures
  • Richlite counters
  • Concrete countertops utilizing recycled content
  • James Hardie siding products
  • Whole house ventilation
  • Rinnai tankless water heaters
  • Slant Fin high efficiency boilers
  • NuTone ecoLogic high efficiency HVAC systems
  • Cabinetry made with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood
  • Upgraded insulation packages
  • Marmoleum flooring
  • Recycled, natural floor products
  • Paperless drywall
  • Solar heating
  • Geothermal heat pumps
  • Low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints
  • Radiant heated floors
We welcome your questions and concerns about our green building products and ecologically responsible construction practices. We can tell how they will help improve your home's performance and how they work with historic renovations. 
 
Let us help you help the environment and your pocket book. Give us a call or send us an email today about you can "go green" by making your home more environmentally efficient.
How You Can Go Green

You can learn more about these products and our green practices on our website:
www.cabinetry-construction.com

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Recent 5-star review!


Recent 5-star review from Donna J. in Richmond, VA: "Cabinetry & Construction completed two renovation projects on our Fan home in 2013. First, we added a front porch that perfectly matches the period of the house. So many Fan walkers stop and compliment us on how beautiful it looks. We were so pleased with the results that we worked with C&C again for a complete kitchen renovation. Rob had excellent suggestions and has extensive knowledge of Fan houses. We would highly recommend the company to anyone...." http://bit.ly/1gpYpIW

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Before & After: Ceiling Remodel


Here's a look at before and after photos of a ceiling in the West End. The owners asked us to replace the mural with a classic, sophisticated look.