Marc Roy

How to choose the right floor for your family home

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The floors in your house take the blunt of your families’ activities, from everything from muddy paws to fizzy pop stains, you name it your floor has seen it. Therefore, its key to evaluate what floor bests fit your family wants and needs.

There are endless factors to take into consideration before choosing your new flooring, practicality price, style and installation are among a few. That’s why I have teamed up with Amtico to put together a round up guide of flooring choices, perfect for each room of your house.

Living Room

This is the place where you go to unwind and watch your favourite programs, your living room represents your personal style the most.  That’s why it’s important to choose a floor that suits your style. Mix and match designs to make the room a true reflection of your personality. For the more traditional feel why not opt or neutral carpet that compliments your choice of furniture or be a little more creative with partnered tiles or textured vinyl flooring. [Read more…]

Top 5 DIY activities to keep you active this winter

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Winter is the perfect time to tackle those nagging DIY tasks you haven’t gotten around to starting. The days start getting shorter, the weather gets frostier, and the last thing you feel like doing is challenging the cold climates time outside. So, make your hibernation at home productive with the following top 5 DIY activities to keep you active this winter:

Paint a statement floor

Don’t let the winter months darken your home this season. Pick up a can of hardwearing floor paint in a statement colour- perfect for wooden floors – and get down to business. A statement floor, is a quick and easy project that delivers a significant impact to any room. It’s durable and easy to clean so it will stand up against pets and even the messiest of kids.

Swap out door handles

Sometimes the smallest jobs can make the biggest difference. Why not pick out new hardware for your doors and spend an afternoon switching your old, tired door knobs for some fresh new ones. With so many styles to pick from you can change your tired door into a glamourous passage way with a simple door fixture.

Switch your sockets

Stay in touch this winter and give your electricity sockets a digital update and swap them for the state of sockets that support USB charging. With many devices dependent on wires these days, this quick upgrade will make searching for your phone a thing of the past.

Turn your lights down low

Set the mood this winter with a dimmer switch. Create the perfect ambience for romantic meals or make the perfect movie-watching atmosphere. When the nights get darker as winter draws near you can gradually lift the amount of light in your home comfortably with a dimmer.

Install underfloor heating

Keep your loved one’s toasty with this ultimate winter activity. Add some cozy luxury to your home by adding underfloor heating that will keep toes snug with or without slippers. With suppliers such as BUILT/ stocking a wide range electric and water kits, it’s never been easier to choose the heat vehicle that suits your home best.

Things to consider when choosing your carpet

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When it comes to carpets the only real factor we think of is the colour, and if the carpet matches the drapes. However, there is more to carpeting your home than just matching the colour scheme. Follow our guide to help you match your carpet to your room.

The foundations

It is always best to know your measurements before you begin your carpet search, that way you can work out prices to compare the market. To measure for your carpet, measure the widest and longest part of the room, not forgetting to include any additional spaces such as doorways and inside cupboards that also need to be fitted. Make sure to allow at least 10cm to the width and length measurements for trimming, the same method applies to the underlay.

The first thing you need to consider when preparing to lay your carpet is the location you are laying it. What level of footfall will it need to endure? As the carpet you choose needs to support this. The usual recommendation is to have darker shades for your high footfall zones, and lighter shades in your low footfall zones, such as your bedrooms, to brighten up the room and add style. [Read more…]

Buying a home as an investment – Home improvement ideas which could make you money

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Overview

For many middle class people, homes are their most important and largest investments. However, many people simply do not treat their homes as an investment. First of all, when buying a home it is important to start viewing the purchase an investment on the front end. Taking this view point will help add value in later years. For many people, buying a large home that has a couple areas of improvement is the sweet spot for adding the most value. When going to sell the home, professionally handcrafted kitchens and fitted bathrooms are the two most important rooms and these are prime locations to upgrade.

Home improvement

Kitchens

There is a saying in real estate that kitchens sell the homes. One of the biggest improvement that can be completed in a kitchen is upgrading the counter space with a granite top. Not only do granite tops make the kitchen look much nicer, but the tops are also more convenient because both hot and cold pots and pans can be placed on them without hurting the area. One issue with the granite tops is the price. Upgrading a normal sized kitchen with these granite tops will be at least five thousand pounds, and in many cases much more. When treating a home as an investment, any upgrade that is completed needs to be thought of as an investment in the home. If putting in granite counter tops for ten thousand pounds will make the home sell for fifteen thousand pounds more, than it is a wise decision. You can search online or locally for a n expert to create a handmade kitchen that meets your needs.

Bathrooms

Any focal point when looking at a home to buy or sell is the bathrooms. One of the most cost effective ways to upgrade a bathroom is to put in real stone floors in all of the bathrooms. For an average sized bathroom, this will only run about five hundred pounds per bathroom and this will really upgrade the look and feel of a bathroom. You can find a variety of bathroom fitters and plumbers at Better Home Solutions – an online directory of trades people that are individually hand picked by home improvement experts.

In addition to upgrading the stone floors, putting in upgraded sinks is another great cost effective way to change the look and feel of a bathroom. For less than a thousand pounds, all of the sinks in a bathroom can be changed out for ones that are nicer and go along with the theme of the bathroom. Overall, any investment that is made in the home must be thought of ahead of time, and the earlier this is done in the buying process the better.

A homeowners guide to concrete driveway maintenance

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Concrete is a great choice for a driveway. It may be more expensive but it is worth the investment: it is durable, works well for warm climates and offers more options when it comes to aesthetics (you can choose from a selection of several finishes, colors and patterns). It lasts longer too and you can enjoy it for decades!

If you opt for a concrete driveway and you wish to have it for as long as possible, you need to know how to properly maintain it. Here are some tips to help you with concrete driveway maintenance.

concrete driveway

Cleaning and Stain Removal

Proper maintenance starts with cleaning. Cleaning your concrete driveway occasionally is a must to keep it in good shape. Know that exposure to the elements and any debris can compromise the quality of the concrete, so you need to take time to clean your driveway.

How often should you clean? Frequency of cleaning will depend on two things: weather and vehicle traffic. The latter is a more important consideration as it contributes to the staining of the concrete. Know that as durable as concrete is, it is porous and easily absorbs fluids. This is why you need to take care of stains as soon as possible. Of course, tire tracks can also be a problem. Hence, if you have more vehicle traffic, you will need to clean the driveway more often. [Read more…]