It’s no secret that a house’s curb appeal can make a tremendous impact on its resale prospects. Although we always tell ourselves not to judge a book by its cover, it’s only human nature to assess something upon the first impression we form. Even if a story is great, we’re less likely to give it a chance if we don’t like the cover. Even if a house’s interior is charming and highly alluring, we may not give it proper consideration when the exterior doesn’t appeal to us.

For this reason it is important to pay attention to your house’s curb value when you’re trying to sell, especially in the current buyer’s market. With prices stagnant and inventory high, refinancing your home may be a better option than trying to sell it under current conditions. But, if you ultimately need to sell, you’re going to want to maximize your curb appeal as much as possible.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take too much money or effort to upgrade a home that is lacking in curb appeal. Here are four easy options that you might want to consider:

1. Start painting.

The easiest and most beneficial way to boost your curb appeal is to get some paint and add an layer to your house’s front façade. Since this may be a challenging solo project, you can get essentially the same value for your work by painting your garage door and your home’s front door. A clean layer of paint on each of those surfaces can go a long way towards boosting your house’s perceived value.

2. Pave the driveway.

When looking to improve curb value, many people focus on their home or on their garden and overlook the driveway. This is a mistake. A chipped, cracked, or faded driveway can reflect poorly on the house and on the property as a whole. The general rule of thumb is that a dark, smooth, and clean driveway is probably your best bet. If you want to take it a step further, however, you can instead top your driveway off with crushed gravel or limestone to give it a more sophisticated look.

3. Brighten and clean the yard.

Most people realize that an appealing front yard can make a house appear much more desirable. This does not, however, require that you plant exotic bushes and spend a tremendous amount of time and money cultivating the perfect garden. Instead, just make sure that everything in the yard is well-trimmed (ie bushes, the grass, any trees). If you’re looking to sell during the warmer months, you also want to make your yard as colorful as possible. This may entail using fertilizer to darken your lawn or buying some cheap flowers to plant near the house.

4. Get outdoor lighting.

Buying and installing a few well-placed outdoor lights can go a long way towards boosting your curb appeal. These lights should be facing towards your house and should be used to illuminate bushes or the home’s façade once evening falls. Having lights can be especially useful in winter, when many homes are viewed after the sun has begun to set.

There are numerous other ways that you can easily improve your home’s curb value. For example, if you drive a nice car, giving that car a wash and then letting it sit in your driveway has been shown to add perceived value to a home. But even without a high-end vehicle, following the above tips can go a long way towards improving your resale value. In a tough market, it’s an easy and obvious investment to make.

Photo Credits: bgautrea

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First, it’s important to determine whether or not you’ll be staying in your home or selling it, before you think about switching the flooring. This will have a lot of bearing on your choices. If you like wood – perfect – you’ll be able to use it whether or not you want to sell your home. However, if you plan to stay, it’s important to focus on what you really like, not so much what is current.

As we mentioned previously, buyers today are looking for clean wood floors in medium shades that aren’t visually offensive. Patterned wood or parquet is usually frowned upon, unless it is in an entry. Dark floors are dramatic when paired with ultra white walls, but this can really close in a room. By far, if you’re going to pick wood floors, go with a light or medium finish that brightens up the room.

Another flooring that has become more popular, especially in warm climates, is the use of ceramic tile. This is however very expensive and may not be long wearing. If you’ve got a lot of kids, or are particularly hard on floors, we don’t recommend ceramic tile, simply because it can easily crack. An extreme version of the sleek look is a poured concrete floor, but this is expensive and harder to maintain.

If you’re thinking about adding carpet, you will have a lot of options. Plush carpet is definitely a thing of the past and since it is so hard to maintain, this is a good thing. Plush carpet wears easily and your rooms end up looking like they have trails blazed through them thanks to foot traffic. If you’re going to install new carpet, go for neutral colors that are stain resistant. Dark colors are dramatic when it comes to wood flooring, but with carpet, it’s definitely overbearing and not a good thing.

Berber carpet wears the best and is easier to maintain but may be a little harsh if you’ve got kids that will be crawling (and falling) on it. Look for a softer material that is still long lasting and stain resistant but not so hard to the touch.

By far, the best compromise when it comes to flooring is to go with wood, and dress it up with some very nice rugs. This gives you the best of both worlds and you’ll have a lot more options. You can still get the benefit of carpet, while staying very current and yet timeless with your home. At the end of the day, your choices are up to you, but if you need to update your home, the above tips will keep you right on the edge of what’s hot.

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Originally posted 2008-11-26 06:34:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Keeping your Driveway Clean

Keeping your driveway completely clean is going to be a big part of allowing it to last a long time while maintaining the attractiveness as well. It is important that you clean up oil spills, other spills and other forms of contamination as quickly as you can before the chemicals are given a chance to damage your driveway by seeping into it. In order for you to clean up a dirty asphalt driveway, you should perform the following steps:

1. Use an ice chipper, a spade or a lawn edging tool to scrape out any weeds, debris or grass that have gotten into the cracks in the driveway, as well as from around the edges of the driveway.
2. Use a hose or an air compressor to create a strong blast that you can use to remove loose bits of asphalt from damaged areas or cracks present in the driveway surface.
3. Bring out a broom and use it to brush away any debris or loose asphalt that you shook loose.
4. Dilute a driveway cleaner and use it to scrub your driveway, removing any dirt or oil. Repeat this scrubbing process as needed until you have removed all of the stains. If there are oil stains that are excessive you may want to use a primer for oil spots and other stains that you cannot simply scrub away.
5. Hose the driveway down thoroughly, using as much pressure as you possibly can. When you go about hosing the driveway down, it is best that you begin at the top and work down and to the sides as you go.
6. You can use a shop vacuum cleaner to remove loose debris from the cracks in the asphalt as well. Keep in mind that the driveway has to be very clean and dry before you can repair it with filler.
7. Now you are going to want to allow your driveway to dry completely before you make the necessary repairs to it.

Photo Credits: JaguarJulie

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Originally posted 2009-10-27 03:09:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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1. Level an area.

Find an area where you will be putting the dog kennel and mark off the distance. Once you have an idea of how large it will be, you can start leveling this area off. This is important to ensure good drainage and to keep the concrete you will be pouring later from cracking. If necessary, rent some tools that will help you completely flatten out the site to be on the safe side.

2. Pour your concrete.

Once the site is level, you can pour concrete to give you a solid base for your dog kennel. While you can use just regular ground, there is the chance that the dog will be able to dig out from the kennel, and it can be harder to keep clean. A concrete surface can simply be sprayed with a hose to clean it regularly and your dog won’t have as many opportunities for escape.

3. Plant your posts.

You should have metal posts that are at least three feet longer than you want your kennel to be tall. These will need to be buried deep in the ground, and you may want to consider adding concrete to the holes for greater stability. This will provide you with a very sturdy kennel that will not be at risk for blowing over or falling down. Space your posts about six feet a part, or four if necessary.

4. Purchase and install fencing material.

Red Brand fencing works very well for dog kennels, since it is durable enough to withstand even the roughest dogs, but light weight enough to make it easy to install. Look for either chain link fence, or a small square wire fencing material. This will usually come in a roll that you can unwind, and attach to your posts.

5. Attach the fencing material.

This should be done with high quality ties that will be able to hold up to the elements and your dog. The ties should be placed around each post, and you’ll need at least three for each post. Err on the side of caution and use more if you are dealing with a dog that is a known escape artist. You can use this same material to create your gate and you’re all set with a new dog kennel.

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Originally posted 2008-09-27 05:03:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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A concrete stamp usually requires that there is at least 2 to 4 inches of concrete to prevent the stamp from pushing all the way through it. These stamps are very easy to take care of as you simply clean them off after use with a hose and give them a quick wipe to dry them. They are rigid so that you get the same pattern time after time and have a handle on the back for ease of use. But you can also purchase concrete stamps that are more flexible that allow for a partial pattern such as along an edge.

Some of the most common concrete stamp patterns are things like cobblestone, brick, and wood plank. These can give any concrete surface the appearance of those surfaces. That's also typically done by coloring the concrete to match before stamping. In some cases, adding a certain texture to the concrete will also aid in the appearance of a certain surface. Concrete stamping has come a long way over the last 10 or 20 years because now the texturing and stamping is much more detailed. Where a concrete stamp from several years ago might just contain the shape of natural stones, today's concrete stamp will have dimpling and gives the entire surface a textured appearance rather than just making the lines to outline where stones would be.

The advantages of using a concrete stamp to create certain illusions rather than simply use those surfaces is that concrete is so heavy duty and often much less expensive than other types of services. If you really want the look of cobblestone and nothing else will do, you may want to look at some stamped concrete and compare it. You'll probably find that you can tell the difference with careful examination and that it doesn't look quite as good.

A concrete stamp can mimic it very closely but will never look exactly like the original. But in many cases it's a better alternative because if the concrete is poured correctly over a properly done underlayment, it's going to last longer and costs less. If you want to look of brick or cobblestone, using concrete with a concrete stamp is also much less labor-intensive than laying those surfaces. And if it's installed correctly, you won't have to deal with weeds and grasses growing between stones. Any type of surface put down with several small pieces has more of an opportunity to crack and break between those pieces with the changing temperatures than solid concrete marked with a concrete stamp.

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Originally posted 2010-04-04 03:07:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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