“Where to put the litter box? It’s tough decision to make since you don’t want it too open, but the cat has to actually get to it. Here are some interesting ideas that approach things a little differently.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
“As the weather gets cooler now it’s time to not only shut off the water to the outside, but check on things inside to be fully prepared.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
By taking preventive measures before cold weather arrives, you can prevent freezing pipes and the costly damage that goes with them. Read
Replacing plumbing can be a costly, time-consuming venture. These alternatives make it doable and affordable. Read
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2016 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
“Do you know what you shouldn’t put in a Garbage Disposal? The list is longer than you might think.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
DO: Follow These Simple Tips to Help Unclog Your Disposal
Never pour bleach, drain cleaners or other chemicals into the garbage disposal as they are corrosive and can damage your pipes. Follow these simple tips to unclog your disposal, and if those don’t work, you may need to get it repaired. Thankfully, your American Home Shield® Home Warranty can help protect your budget.
DON’T: “Sharpen” the Blades with Ice or Eggshells
Garbage disposals do not have blades. They have impellers that are not sharp, but blunt. So, putting ice or egg shells down the disposal to sharpen the blades will not do any good. In fact, egg shells are not recommended for the garbage disposal as the membrane can get wrapped around the impellers and cause damage.
DO: Use Cold Water, Not Hot, When the Disposal is Running
While hot water does dissolve grease, it may actually do more harm than good and could actually push grease further into the pipes and create clogs. It could even cause your disposal to overheat. Cold water is better, as it helps grease to solidify and move more easily down the drain with the wastewater.
DON’T: Pour Grease or Food Scrap Down the Disposal
Never pour fats, oil or grease into your disposal or down your sink. Your disposal simply grinds items. Chasing it down with dish soap won’t always work either. Fats, oil and grease can congeal, stick to and build up in plumbing and clog the sewer. Food scraps are best thrown in the trash not in your disposal.
DO: Keep Using Your Trash Can
Although a garbage disposal is durable, it is not indestructible. Disposals are designed to grind down soft food particles, not hard food waste like bones, corn cobs, fruit pits, and un-popped popcorn kernels. A good rule of thumb is if you have a hard time chewing it, your disposal will probably have a hard time grinding it. If you’re not sure about an item, it’s better to throw it in the trash. Avoid dumping other foods like pasta or rice as they expand in water and could clog your drain. Also, avoid starchy or stringy vegetables like celery, rhubarb, asparagus, potato and banana peels and coffee grounds.
Originally published on American Home Shield
“Everyone knows it’s expensive to replace the air conditioner, but we all know it needs to be done sometime. So how do you know when it’s the right time? This article can help you determine just that.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
Knowing when to replace your hard-working air conditioner can be tricky. While it’s a major purchase that most people don’t make lightly, nobody wants to wake up to a broken air conditioner on a hot summer day.
There are a lot of factors that go into deciding whether or not it’s time to upgrade your AC. Here are few questions to ask yourself before you start shopping.
1. How old is your AC unit?
The age of your unit is the most important factor in deciding whether or not to replace it. A majority of HVAC technicians recommend replacing your AC if it’s 15 years or older. All AC units have a SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. Today, the minimum SEER is 13, but if your AC was manufactured before 2006, chances are it’s only rated at a 10. Just by upgrading to the current minimum, you’ll gain at least three points on the SEER scale. Each SEER number you go up increases energy efficiency by 5 to 9 percent, so a 15 to 27 percent boost immediately puts money in your pocket in the form of energy savings.
2. How often should you perform HVAC maintenance and repairs?
The problem starts when your AC needs repair more than once a year. The more work your unit undergoes, the shorter its overall lifespan will be and the more likely it is that it will need repair again. Look over your receipts and calculate how much you’ve spent on AC repairs. If the total amount you’ve spent on repairs exceeds the cost of a new unit, it’s definitely time for a new one.
3. Is Your Energy Bill On the Rise?
As it gets older, your heating and air conditioning system may be getting less efficient. If your energy bills increase as the summer progresses, your AC unit may be working harder to cool the same space that it used to — and using more energy than necessary to do the job. When this happens, you’ll see a rise in energy consumption and cost. Upgrading to a new conditioner can reduce energy costs by an average of 20 to 40 percent. The savings you’ll see on your energy bill will help offset the cost of a new AC unit.
4. Is your AC cooling your entire home consistently?
If your air conditioner is having a hard time keeping up with your home’s demand for cool air, that’s a sure sign of trouble. Test this by setting your thermostat to your preferred temperature and walking into different rooms of your home throughout the day. If your AC is still working properly, there shouldn’t be a noticeable change in temperature from room to room. An efficient A/C unit will effectively cool your entire home without as much effort.
Originally published by American Home Shield
The smaller pieces sitting casually on the floor are a relaxed way to show off art. The room has an “undone” feel that’s stylish without trying too hard. Resting artwork on a floor, shelf or mantel can take away the formality of the piece and give it a modern look.
Be brave with your color choice and even pick out a hue that appears in the painting. These homeowners have added to the gallery effect by placing a wall light above the canvas.
Hunt for items of varying heights, perhaps a few with a theme, as these homeowners have done with the giraffes. Visit thrift shops and flea markets to find items that will complement your new addition, and arrange them until you’re happy with the vignette.
Here, the painting on the wall has inspired the palette of the living room. The inky walls make a dramatic backdrop, while the soft furnishings and decor items pick out the greens and yellows in it.
This is a beautiful way to enjoy random things you’ve inherited. Even an old tennis racket or theater program could be part of the display — anything goes with this one!
Another option is to cover a lampshade. Search online for kits that contain lampshade frames, panels, adhesive and finishing tools, as well as instructions that will walk you through the process.
Highlight its contrast to your decor by painting it a bright color. Rub down all the wood with fine sandpaper and cover any glass panels with masking tape around the edges and newspaper in the center. Brush on a layer of primer or undercoat and top with eggshell paint to protect the piece. You can then add the finishing color.
Once you’ve painted it, turn your attention to the details. Handles, for example, are easy to change.
To paint a similar sideboard, work from the top down and start by painting the pale blue sky area. Let this dry, then apply the lilac. Continue working down, one color at a time, until complete.
Embrace the fact that a collection is eclectic and that that’s what makes them special. They span decades and can be added to over the years.
A Moving Checklist!
“Here is a great article that we found on ‘Real Simple’ that could help alleviate some of the stress that comes with moving. Following this Step by Step guideline can help you make sure everything has been thought of and taken care of.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
Two Months Before
Six Weeks Before
One Month Before
Two Weeks Before
One Week Before
A Few Days Before
Moving Day
Budget tip: Make a grocery store bouquet go further by snipping a few blooms short and plunking them in bud vases for the bathroom vanity and bedside tables. Or, for a longer-lasting alternative, consider setting out a few small potted succulents and a bowl of bright lemons.
Since you probably don’t want this checklist on display, consider keeping it on your phone instead. Here are some items to include:
4. Hide laundry in a lidded hamper. An open hamper filled with dirty laundry isn’t the sort of thing you want prospective buyers to be greeted with in your bedroom, right? Get a hamper with a lid to conceal the whole rumpled mess instead. (In a pinch, you can use a storage bench.)
Fortunately underbuying or overbuying is easily avoidable. It just requires a bit of measuring and some basic math before you head out to purchase the paint. Here’s how you can answer the question, “How much paint do I need?”
Once you know the coverage rate of your chosen paint, you need to calculate the square footage of the walls or ceilings to be painted. To get this figure, simply multiply the width by the height (for walls) or the length by the width (for ceilings). You then need to subtract the area of anything within the plane that is not being painted, such as windows and doors.
2. Multiply the width and height of the door:
3 x 7 = 21 square feet
3. Subtract the door opening from the area of the wall:
250 square feet – 21 square feet = 229 square feet
4. Divide this figure by the estimated square footage coverage amount of your paint. In this example, let’s say the coverage is 350 square feet per gallon:
229 ÷ 350 = 0.65
5. Round up to the nearest whole number to get the number of gallons needed. In this example, you’d round up to 1 gallon, to apply one coat of paint.
Note: If you need to apply two coats, you simply double the square footage to be painted and then divide by the coverage:
458 ÷ 350 = 1.31
(Here, you’d round up to 2, so 2 gallons of paint would be needed to apply two coats.)
1. Add together the width of each wall to be painted:
12 + 20 + 12 + 20 = 64 feet
2. Multiply this sum by the height of the walls:
64 x 8 = 512 square feet
3. Multiply the width and height of the door:
6 x 7 = 42 square feet
4. Subtract the door openings from the area of the wall:
512 square feet – 42 square feet = 470 square feet
5. Divide this figure by the estimated square footage coverage of our paint. Again, in this example, we are going with 350 square feet per gallon:
470 ÷ 350 = 1.34
6. Round up to the nearest whole number, in this case 2. You would need 2 gallons to paint one coat.
Note: Again, for two coats of paint, you double the square footage to be painted:
470 + 470 = 940
Then divide by the coverage per gallon:
940 ÷ 350 = 2.69
(Round up to 3. You would need 3 gallons of paint to apply two coats.)
The quality of your paint will also affect the amount you need. Higher quality paint tends to offer better coverage, requiring fewer coats, whereas a lower-cost paint may be thinner and therefore require more coats for proper coverage.
Also, it’s a good idea to keep a record of the paint brand, colors and sheens you used, so if you need to touch anything up down the road you know exactly what you need.
This is true for interiors as well as exteriors: You’ll get the best sense of how the color will really look if you paint it directly on the wall. Each of the five pros we spoke with agreed. “If they use a board, I feel like it just doesn’t saturate the same way,” says interior designer Keith Wardlawof Plus Modern Designs in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kelly Porter, an interior designer in the Washington, D.C., area, explains the problem with using boards: “The texture is really not representative. It’s not the same as what’s on your wall, and that can really affect the look,” she says.
In this image, the colors are not samples, but intentional horizontal stripes in a finished room. The paint colors are Benjamin Moore’s Arctic Blue, Palladian Blue and Blue Bonnet.
That’s the amount of coverage you’ll typically need on any wall. The second coat usually makes a big difference in the way the paint reads. Also, paint large swaths — at least 1 foot by 1 foot, and even larger is better. The 2-inch swatches won’t give you a good sense.
Here, in a white room with white floorboards, the designer used a plain white base.
A small selection of deep paint colors can be created only in conjunction with specific primers. The paint deck will show which colors are in this category. (Pictured here are four by Sherwin-Williams, clockwise from top left: Lemon Twist, Hyper Blue, Daredevil, African Violet.)
For these specific colors, you probably won’t be able to get a sample size in the paint, though you may be able to in the primer, says J.T. Trainor, owner of Freshcoat Painting, a paint company in the Phoenix metro area.
The colors you’re testing will read differently depending on the amount of light that hits them. “We recommend you paint on a wall that doesn’t get direct sunlight and one that does,” Trainor says.
Also, landscaping outside a window can color the light streaming through it and change how a paint looks on the wall as well. In the above photo, where the green trees can be seen through the window, they’ve tinted the gray on the right side of the room a greener hue. See it, in the corner?
As you view the colors, make sure you consider what time of day you’ll most often be in the room. You want to like how the color looks at that time.
It’s simple, but true: It’s better to use the lighting that fits your needs than try to select your lighting to complement your paint colors. “You wouldn’t want to pick a lightbulb that looks good with your paint color, but you can’t read in the room,” saysJennifer Ott, a San Francisco-based color consultant and interior designer.
Here, the overhead lighting is casting a yellow glow throughout the room, warming the color of the off-white paint toward a pale shade of honey.
Make sure your lighting is in place as you’re considering colors. They may look quite different in bright bulbs that you prefer for nighttime use — or softer yellow-hued ones, if that’s what you’re going for — than they do during daylight hours. Having the right fixtures and bulbs in place can help you decide which shades will work for you.
If you’re not yet sure what lighting you prefer, you can use the time examining your samples to experiment. “Even changing out lightbulbs is a good thing to do,” says Carl Mattison, an interior designer in Atlanta. “Like any color in the world — just like your eyes or your hair or your skin tone — things will change in different light.”
Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team
The centerpiece of your kitchen is your stove and oven. You have a couple options to choose from, cooktops and ranges. What is the difference? Find out here.
Photo by: Shutterstock
Ah, the kitchen. Done right, it’s a sight to behold. But done poorly, it can come back to haunt you. Seemingly trivial differences often end up playing a large role in the room’s success. Today, we’ll focus on the centerpiece itself: Cooktops vs. Ranges.
So what is it exactly that makes a cooktop different from a range? Well, in simple terms, a cooktop ditches the oven portion of a range and takes up only counter space. This means that the burner’s knobs and buttons are on top of the counter, rather than on the front. Of course, if an oven is needed, that means opting for a wall-mounted oven in addition to the cooktop.
A range, on the other hand, is both of these units in one. This means it’s a freestanding appliance that has the burners on top and the oven down below. The knobs and buttons on a range are typically on the front as to not get in the way of the pots and pans while cooking.
There is a third option, however, called a rangetop, which is essentially just a cooktop with the knobs and buttons placed on the front. It typically takes up a little bit more room than a standard, flat cooktop. For our purposes, we’ll group this option in the regular “cooktop” category.
There are many benefits unique to a cooktop, but really it all depends on what your needs are. Is your kitchen cramped or full of space? Do you cook alone or as a team? Do you host large dinner parties? Do you suffer from bad knees or back? The questions are endless, but answering them is crucial when deciding which would suit you best. Here’s a handy guide to help you quickly decide which option might be your best bet.
Related: Gas Vs. Electric – A Heated Debate
• Cooktops require a much smaller cutout in your counter space, and are surrounded on all four sides, leaving ample room for cabinet space below.
• Because there isn’t an oven below it, you don’t have to stand by extra heat (which usually radiates from the oven) if you use both appliances at the same time.
• Purchasing an oven separately gives the option for you to select a single ordouble wall-mounted unit.
• Cooktops are also better for people with knee or back problems because their accompanying ovens are more at arm height.
• If you have small children in the house, a cooktop could be a safer choice because the control settings will be out of their reach.
• Glass, or smooth cooktops also make for much easier cleaning, since things like burners don’t need to be removed.
• Cooktops offer more flexibility in burner style, size and options like induction burners.
• Electric cooktops also provide constant, even heat and can maintain very low heat for simmering.
• If your kitchen already has a focal point, such as a window, sink, view or back splash, a cooktop is a good choice so it will let the other features stand out.
• A cooktop is best for multiple-cook scenarios because of separate cooking and baking zones.
• Oven cooking can be more ergonomic: at eye and arm level.
• A range is best for small kitchens with limited space because it houses the cooktop and oven in a single appliance and location.
• Ranges are easier to install as well as less expansive, and there are more options at the lower end of the budget spectrum.
• If your kitchen needs a strong focal point, a range can help bring the room together.
• There are several different types, sizes and cooking styles available, including freestanding, slide-in, drop-in, double oven and dual-fuel ranges – all at an added cost.
Now that the breakdown above has given you a sense of what fits your needs best, let’s take a look at some of the best options in each category. Of course, there is a huge variety of features you can choose from, but these top models have proven themselves time and time again. Our top 3 favorites come from scouring sources like Top Ten Reviews, Consumer Reports, Reviewed.com and our own personal experience.
This 30” induction cooktop costs the same as a regular electric cooktop but offers additional benefits, such as direct cooking, responsive control, quick boiling, energy efficiency and consistent low temperatures. Its smooth, sleek design and flattop controls makes for easy cleaning as well. (Est. price: $1,209–$1,349)
Coming in both 30-inch and 36-inch designs, this first-class cooktop features stainless steel trim, illuminated controls, continuous cast iron grates and a Lodge griddle. Outperforming the competition on almost every metric, the high temperature was strong enough to sear a steak, while the low was light enough to melt and simmer. If you’re after the best of the best, you simply can’t beat the GE Café. (Est. price: $1,499–$1,599)
With touch controls and curved stainless steel trim, this 30-inch electric cooktop is the epitome of modernity. Boasting a wide range of temperatures and quick boiling times, the Flex-2-Fit element offers three separate sizes to match your collection of pots and pans. On the other end of the spectrum, this cooktop was able to reach temperatures as low as 86ºF – perfect for simmering. (Est. price: $1,073)
Highly affordable, Frigidaire’s new FGGF3054MF comes with five burners, continuous cast iron grates with an optional griddle, true convection, a temperature probe, quick preheat times, a fast boil, low simmer temperatures and superb baking. Now that’s value. (Est. price: $949–$1,149)
When it comes to basic gas ranges, the Amana AGR5630BDW is as good as it gets. Sure, cheaper ranges exist, but none of them match this one’s cooking performance, contemporary design and digital controls. Chock -full of features, unlike most price-conscious ranges, this one offers a self-cleaning option, a storage drawer, a broiler, Easy Touch electronic controls, Temp Assure™, four sealed gas burners and a versatile cooktop offering power from 5,000 to 12,500 BTU. Plus, when you’re all finished cooking, the Spillsaver™ upswept cooktop makes for an easy cleanup. (Est. price: $549)
This beautiful double-oven range comes with its own suite of unique technology. Besides being able to bake multiple dishes that require different temperatures at the same time, it also has a quick-heating infrared broiler, an EasyClean coating that makes self-cleaning cycles more effective and top-of-the-line temperatures and boiling times. What does all that mean for you? It’s one of the best cooking experiences money can buy. (Est. price: $1,625)
Now that you have a good sense of the differences between a cooktop and a range, the benefits and some of our favorites, you’re well on your way to creating your perfect kitchen. But don’t let those new appliances go unprotected. Protect your budget form unexpected repairs and replacements with a Home Warranty Planfrom American Home Shield®. Happy cooking!
Originally Published by AHS (American Home Shield)
