However, before you decide on that old rickety house and breakout all your tools, you need to first understand what you’re getting into. If you don’t have much experience with fixing up homes, there’s a chance you could overlook something so significant that it either blows your budget or makes the home unfixable. Before you buy a fixer upper, be sure you don’t overlook these areas.

Choosing a Fixer Upper Home? Essential Tips to Consider

 

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Inspect the Home’s Foundation

The home’s foundation is one of the most important elements of a home. Damage to the foundation can make the home unstable, be the cause of flooding, or allow rodents and pests to get in and out of the home. Before you decide on a home, be sure that you thoroughly inspect the foundation. Go into the basement and walk along the walls. Look for signs of water damage, cracks, holes, or rotting. You can even look for signs of previous repair, as this will let you know that you may have a potential problem on your hands. If you find any issues, reconsider buying the house carefully. Fixing a foundation can be extremely expensive, as you may need to jack the house up in order to do so.

Look Through the Attic & the Roof

The attic and the roof can say a lot about a home, so you want to be sure you really inspect these areas before deciding to buy. Check the attic and look for signs of water damage or rot. If you notice any, chances are you’ll need to replace the wood in order to keep the home safe and stable. You should also check the roof for signs of damage. If you notice any gaps, holes, warping, or rotting, you’ll need to factor in the cost of roofing materials to your budget.

HVAC – Is the Heating and Air Conditioning Working Correctly?

Chances are you don’t live in an area that offers perfect weather every day, which means that you’ll need a way to warm up or cool down the house. Be sure that you inspect the current HVAC system that’s in place. Look for signs of damage, or even try turning it on to see if it works. You also should make sure the HVAC system is up to code or made to your liking. For example, if the home window air conditioning units, you may want to splurge on a central heating and cooling system instead. If you don’t factor this into your renovation, you could end up with a pricey fix on your hand.

Check the Plumbing Pipes & System

Having underlying plumbing problems can become a major expense. This is why it’s very important you thoroughly inspect the plumbing components of your potential home. Make sure you look for signs of damage, rot, or mold. You should also be sure to turn every faucet on and off to check the water pressure and see how the water drains. If you’re unsure of the home’s plumbing, you can always hire a professional to inspect the home’s system for any issues.

Don’t Make a Home Purchase Blindly

Having a fixer upper can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be a financial nightmare. Be sure that you keep a keen eye on these areas of the home to ensure you’re not buying a money pit.

For more home maintenance tips on Stagetecture, click here.

Organization Tips: How to Organize Your Attic

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Access the clutter

The first step towards organizing is to clear everything out. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t need it toss it. Don’t just keep the excess for the sake of keeping it. Remember you don’t need the clutter; you need extra storage space to organize. Start by creating three categories: keep, toss, and donate. As you work through the items in your attic, assign each item to a category. If you rarely use something, it’s probably a good candidate to either toss or donate. Everything that you decide to keep, wipe down, clean, and make sure it’s in working order.

Add some extra storage space  

Image via: Organizing Ideas

If you have the right type of walls and the space allows, add shelving. It can be a great place to store items that need to be easily accessible. Additionally, clothing rods between the rafters can help you store winter coats and other off-season clothing without using premium floor space.

Pick right storage boxes

Image via: Squidoo

Cardboard boxes, no matter how strong and sturdy, bend and dent when used frequently. Instead, opt for plastic containers which will help to protect the items better, and are easy to move around the shelves. However, make sure they aren’t too big. Also, give anything that’s not easily identifiable a clear label.

Take it slow

It’s very easy to get down a couple of boxes in one go so you don’t have to keep climbing up the attic ladder. But remember, you will have to put them somewhere. And it’s much easier to deal with 2-3 boxes at a time than your entire attic all at once. So work in small quantities, give yourself some break, and keep at it.

Image via: The Examiner

Organizing an attic for proper storage can be a challenge as it’s a natural repository for everything from off-seasonal clothing to heirlooms. Keep it arranged and orderly by following these organization tips and do let us know how you managed?

Winter Organization: Revamping your Attic or Basement

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Make your Attic a Guest Room

Typically, the more space that your home can offer the better, so with that being said have your attic or basement become spare bedrooms or dens for your home. Depending on how large or intimate your attic or basement is it can either be a guest suite for when family members come over for the holidays or unexpected visits, or even an extra den for the kids to go to when you need peace and quiet within your home. Perhaps you have a growing family and need a nursery these are great areas to begin with.

In Need of a Home Office

Maybe you and your spouse are starting a business or just a need a space dedicated to your work. Fortunately, the attic and basement are excluded enough for one to be able to do get there work done and not be bothered.  For this winter organizational tip, visit websites and magazines for inspiration about how to go about revamping your attic or basement into a home office and take off from there. You can even go as far as to make the office a family office that the kids can use for their homework and projects, just lay down some ground rules such as this is the homework room.

Image via: Design Ideas

A Home within a Home

How about creating an extra home within your home? That’s right, creating an apartment above or below your home. Contact a credible contractor to help assess your home and see you if can first turn the places into an apartment. You can rent it out, just be aware of your neighborhood, you might have a better turn out if you live near a local college or walkable neighborhood. Or you may just want to have a bigger space for your guests to be comfortable for there stay with you. The choices are yours.

Image via:  HGTV

The attic and basement are areas that just seemed to go unnoticed and after awhile become just another larger closet.  But that does not have to be the case, make these spaces work for you and grow into more than just another storage space.  The possibilities are endless for this winter organization project.  So go out research, explore and be inspired to do above and beyond within your interiors.  Do you have any revamping ideas for your attic or basement spaces?

For basement or attic ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

After seeing how you can transform your attic into an additional room with more storage space, it’s time for the underutilized basement to get attention. There are so many potential uses for a basement, that only your desire, needs and budget can help you choose the best solutions for your basement’s transformation.

Begin by imagining yourself in your new basement – what would it look like?

The bridge between a cluttered old basement and a brand new room must be built, but once you deal with usual problems like humidity or noise and other problems that you might encounter on a close inspection of the premises, you should listen to expert advice that can help you decide what modifications are necessary to transform the rarely used basement into an extra space for your favorite activity. A long and narrow basement would make a fantastic place to install a bowling lane – why not enjoy your favorite game in the privacy of you own home?

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Modern basements can become an extension of your home that houses any type of service you might think of – from children’s playrooms to wine cellars, workshops or gyms – we can all be attracted to a certain kind of recreational necessity. But why stop there? Imagine turning the basement into a dance studio, a media room, a recording studio or go even further with personal choices and imagine it as an emergency shelter or a hydroponic garden – the possibilities are endless.

There is even the possibility to make money with your basement. It requires an investment, but a basement can become a rental apartment that can bring in some extra cash. This idea brings additional costs and work – like building walls to separate the bathroom, kitchen (or kitchenette) and actual room/s – but the results will be satisfying. Maybe you should even consider adding a separate entrance so that you and your tenant have the required privacy.

Reclaiming a cluttered basement as your hard-earned recreational room can seem at first a project too large to take on. But even this challenge will add precious relaxation moments once the former basement acquires a new and upgraded status.

Move out then move in

Unravel the basement’s hidden potential by opening the windows to let the air inside and storing all those forgotten boxes in dedicated storage spaces, like the attic. Clean, organize and remove any unnecessary stuff, repair what needs to be repaired and then take a look around to see how much space there actually is. Can you imagine how you would like to use this additional square footage? If you can’t think of anything after this, then at least you have a clean, organized basement that awaits your inspiration.

The secret to more storage is in the way you define storage space – cold, forgotten spaces sprinkled with dust or organized, clever and creative places for each thing you own. Appreciating what you have is key to a happy life, as your attic is key to your storing needs.

Depending on passions, everyone has things associated with that hobby to store, so why not make it a dedicated space with additional storing solutions integrated in the attic’s new design? Try thinking about the attic as your new attic closet, workout space or lounge area – that will put a spin on things.

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Storage space or a new room? Both!

Attics are always present in our dreams as additional spaces where storage meets style and function in a complementary design. By integrating the attic storage space into a larger concept of your favorite room, the brick-a-bracks stay elegantly hidden and you get to use your attic as a new room. Imagine all the possibilities!

Attic media rooms perfect for enjoying a movie with friends, dreamy attic bedrooms with windows to the stars, an attic playroom for your children or even a multifunctional space for one of the more independent family members – that is what an unused attic can become!

Behind carefully integrated doors, storing spaces can become home to all kinds of things – from sports equipment, coats and shoes to children’s pushchairs and bikes, all can find a corner especially designed for them. Clever and inexpensive storage built under attic sloping roofs can help you reduce the clutter and leave room for an open space to use at your discretion.

Sloping roofs defining the bookcase

A tall attic allows you to build a mezzanine and vertically distribute storing spaces. Whether you disguise the stored items behind cabinet doors or leave them out in the open – as you would do for books – a vertical storage space in the attic proves very helpful and gives the space character.

Make use of the triangular space under the sloping roof by adding cupboards or drawers in the recessed spaces and creating a very personal feel all around. Custom-designing an attic is the best solution if you think about personal storing needs as well as dreams of a dedicated space and combine them into a room that will captivate you every time you enter the remodeled attic.

Inspiration from nature for storage space customization

Imagine a creatively hidden storage space right under the sloping roof – made to look like a huge pile of firewood, this would definitely solve storing problems while looking intriguing and edgy. The Facecord Cabinet by Mark Moskovitz (seen in the photo below) inspired me to think about a custom-built woodpile storage unit running across the attic’s length that would do wonders for both the design and the storing capacities of a modern attic.

Romantic attics don’t have to be spacious – the idea of a corner above your beloved childhood home from where you can enjoy the surroundings can curl up in your head and stay there until the moment is right in front of you – an opportunity to turn your uncomfortably forgotten attic into your rediscovered teenage dreamworld. An intimate atmosphere interrupted by the subtle movement of curtains in the breeze quenches the thirst for stand-still happiness and daydreaming.

Right near the window could be a lounge zone where thoughts are free to run wild through the maze of imagination. Reading a book or immersing into memories of the past through family albums becomes an almost divine experience that you can keep to yourself. Make the most of your attic and it will surprise you with the infinite possibilities pinned down with a customized final design of your choosing.

Photo images: 1,2,3,4,5

There might be a reason why you’re garage door is always closed: Does it look like a tornado blew through it, filling it with clutter.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In addition to attics and possibly basements, garages are hands down the most disorganized room in any home. Your car takes up a majority of the space and then you do your best to cram everything that’s left — tools, bikes, sports equipment, lawn mower — in the little space that’s left.

If you’re ready to finally organize your garage, but don’t want to break the bank, here are five tips to keep everything within budget.

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Shelves, shelves and more shelves

It’s a mystery to me why homebuilders don’t install shelves right away with a garage. The main reason why garages become so cluttered is because people aren’t stacking things. You can maximize your space by using shelves.

The cheapest shelving solution is a 2×4 wood shelf. The 2×4 is very common and can be found at any hardware or wood retailer. If built correctly, you can rest assured that your 2×4 wood shelves will hold more than 600 pounds.

If you’re not a handyman, hardware stores also sell easy-to-build plastic or metal shelving solutions. Beware, though, that these probably won’t hold as much weight as a strongly built wood solution.

Hanging Bars

You’d be amazed how many things you can hang flush against the wall or from the ceiling of your garage. By screwing in some thick pins into your walls, you can easily hang things like a ladder, snowshoes and gardening equipment. And not only will you be creating more room, but you’re also organizing your tools.

Make sure to put stuff that you don’t use as often higher up — when you need it, simply get out a ladder.

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And don’t be afraid to use every nook and corner of the garage. If it doesn’t interfere with your garage door, then it’s fair game for wall-hanging.

Even More Creative Hanging

If you’re really ambitious, there are multiple ways to hang anything from bikes to crates on the ceiling.

Most hardware stores sell cheap bike hooks that simply screw into the wood on the ceiling of your garage. Measure the length of your bike(s) and screw in two of the screws, which then allows you to hang your bike by the tire spokes.

Things like Christmas decorations can be hung by installing 2×4’s with lips on the side. Put two of them together so that the lips catch the crate, allowing for easy sliding access, and that clutter will be out of your way until you need it.

If you haven’t caught on yet, wood solutions are probably the cheapest route to go when organizing your garage.

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Small Tools

Organizing the bigger items in your garage is the easy part. Things get complicated when you need to figure out where to put the nails and screws, screwdrivers, hammers, etc.

The cheapest way to organize your tools is by using a pegboard. You can buy a pegboard at any hardware retailer for next to nothing. Most hardware stores will also sell you hooks to put on that pegboard, allowing you to hang your tools in any which way you desire.

Oh, and pick a fun color! It really brings your garage to life.

Clean House

Let’s face it — there’s plenty of stuff in our garage today. What’s the cheapest and most beneficial way to organize it? Throw it out.

You’ll be surprised what you find in your garage once you finally decide to pull the trigger and organize away, you’ll find plenty of things that you just don’t need. This should be your first step because it will make the rest of your organizing endeavors much simpler.

Once everything is organized, you can finally breathe. You officially have a garage that you can be proud of.

Sarah Bolt is a home organizing guru who helps people at Steel line garage doors make the most of their garage.

For more garage ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Building an addition to your home is a significant undertaking that will cost you precious time and money. Rather than breaking ground to add square footage of living space to your home, why not utilize what you already have?

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If you have a garage that goes unused, convert this area into a useful, habitable space. A few new rooms that can come from your old garage include:

• Another living room
• An extra bedroom
• Playroom
• Home gym
• Home office

Fix up the floor

Most garages are built directly onto a concrete slab. While this is an ideal surface to park a car on, concrete can be harsh for livable rooms. Start by ensuring there are no major cracks in the surface. If there are a few minor issues, you can easily take care of them with some filler and a vapor barrier to clear up the problem. In addition, clean up any oil and grease that an automobile may have left behind.

Once you have a stable surface, you should consider putting down a floating wood floor or carpeting. These options are relatively affordable and go directly on top of the concrete foundation with minimal effort.

Upgrade the walls

The conventional walls of a garage are enough to keep a car safe from the elements, but they will not provide the same level of warmth as the walls of your main home. This is why it is important to finish the walls. You can finish the interior by framing some simple stud walls, filling them with insulation and adding drywall and paint on top to bring it all together.

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Plug up any openings

While it is relatively simple to add insulation to the walls of your garage, the same is not true for the garage doors. Instead, you should replace them with energy efficient French doors that will not only hold in the heat, but also look great in the process. However, if the garage faces a busy street, you have the option of closing up the door altogether by turning it into a fourth wall.

Warm up the space

Adding insulation to your converted garage will make it warmer to live in, but in areas with colder climates, this will only go so far. It’s important to install a heating system. While work on your heating system is best left to a professional, you do have options.

If your home currently has a forced-air heating system, extending the ductwork into the garage will be the simplest and cheapest path to take. However, if this is not an option, the next cheapest choice is installing electric baseboards. It is important to note that with the latter options, your utility bill will likely go up, but it is the best way to heat a large room, or newly renovated garage.

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About the Author: Specializing in FHA mortgages, VA mortgages, and low interest refinancing rates, Freedom Mortgage has been a leader in the mortgage lending space for more than 20 years. With pride in their customer service, tips for first-time homebuyers, and payment calculators, Freedom Mortgage helps their customers select the right mortgage or refinancing option to meet their needs.

For more outdoor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

How to Increase your Home Value by Adding a Loft

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Increase home value with a loft

Lofts are open spaces that can be used for many different purposes. These areas are often above a main room, such as a family room, and can be used as offices; exercise or play rooms, and even as a spare bedroom for guests. Their multi-functional use makes this addition a bonus to potential buyers, especially those with children. Kid’s toys take up a lot of extra space, leaving parents desperate for some form of organization. By adding a loft to your home, you’ll appeal to families, which make up a larger group of people still searching for a home to buy in this bad economy.

If you decide to add a loft, you’ll need to contract with a professional remodeling company, Loft Conversion West London. You might also need a special permit from your city, or county, office before you’re allowed to start. Professional contractors will know if your project needs one or not- another bonus to hiring a company instead of attempting to do it yourself. Ask a neighbour, friend, or colleague for recommendations to local companies.

If you don’t know anyone with a referral, contact a local realtor’s office. Once you have a short list compiled, take the time to check their credentials. Contractors are required by law to hold a license in their specialty and be in good standing in order to remain in business. Your local Registrar of Contractors will have this information which you may be able to verify online, or over the phone. Also check with the Better Business Bureau to see about their overall rating. Take note of the nature of any recent complaints and if they were resolved.

Contractors

Interview your contractor in person and ask specific questions to gauge their knowledge in relation to the scope of your project. Ask if they’re willing to give you references, and if you can go out to see one of their latest projects in person. Use these visits to assess their quality of work. Once your project is complete, have your realtor come by and give you an estimate of what they think you can sell your house for. Even if you choose not to sell, you will now have a whole extra room to enjoy with your family!

For more attic and loft ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Many homeowners are looking for do-it-yourself projects for their homes that will not only add to their enjoyment of their home, but add value to the home as well. With money being tight, homeowners are looking for DIY projects that are easy to do, inexpensive, and have a good return for their investment of time and money. Adding a skylight or sun tube to your home is just that kind of a project.

Look around your home. Which rooms seem dark even during the sunniest days? Are you constantly turning lights on and off? Do you always have to fuss at family members for leaving lights on? Then your home will definitely benefit from adding one or more skylights. If you like to sleep late, then do not add a skylight to your bedroom unless you are also going to add a blind to it as well.

Image via: Home Hagler

How Skylights Help

Rooms with skylights are flooded with natural light, making the rooms appear brighter and more open. There is nothing nicer than coming into a room full of natural light. In addition, the added natural light can assist you in lowering your power bills, since you will have less need of electric lighting during the day. During the winter months, many rooms feel too dark and closed in, even with the lights on. If you are one of the many people who suffer from the winter blues, then the added natural light that a skylight can bring into a room help you to avoid feeling down.

Homes with skylights tend to have a slightly higher resale value. In today’s competitive real estate market, home sellers need every advantage they can get. Having one or more skylights in your home can put you ahead of the competition when selling your home. Just make sure that your Realtor highlights the skylights when listing your home for sale.

Image via: Modize

Where to Use Skylights

Skylights and sun tubes are an excellent choice for bathrooms that do not have windows. Bathrooms tend to be the smallest rooms in the house. The added natural light from a skylight will instantly make your bathroom appear to be larger and more inviting. An added benefit is the ability to use the bathroom during the day without having to turn on a light. Skylights and sun tubes also open up dark hallways, in turn adding additional light to the rooms that open off the hallway.

Well built and leak proof, today’s skylights and sun tubes will be a beautiful and welcome addition to your home. Many homeowners remember hearing stories of skylights that leaked when it rained and let the cold in during the winter and the heat in during the summer. Better designed to prevent heat and air conditioning loss, today’s skylights also come with UV protection to protect your furniture and carpet from fading. Designed to be leak proof, they come with easy to follow installation instructions. For homeowners who are comfortable with doing DIY projects around the house, adding a skylight is easily within their skill set.

Installing a skylight is so easy that installation instructions are even on the Internet. If you are still uncertain as to whether or not you can handle this, just ask someone at your local home improvement store. They will be more than happy to explain the procedure to you and make certain that you have everything that you will need to do the job properly.

Citations:

• By Downtowngal (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

About the Author: Aaron Garcia has completed numerous DIY remodeling projects on his home, including the installation of polycarbonate skylights and aluminum sun tubes.  He knows how to add more value to a home with easy, inexpensive DIY projects.

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture, & Stagetecture’s YouTube Channel, click here.

Do you have a extra space in your attic that is going to waste in your home? Have you considered turning it into another bedroom, home office, or playroom? It’s a proven fact if you finish off your attic, you will add on to the square footage of your home and in turn increase the worth. Attics are similar to basements.. they are that one room that may be a hidden gem in your home.

Image courtesy of Hahoy

One from the archives…

Original Entry #287, September 26, 2010

In my childhood home in Boulder, Colorado my sister had an attic or loft room. What was so neat about it was the fact that it had tiny stairs to get up to it, but when you looked out the window, you felt like you were in a castle! To this day I’m intrigued with attic and loft spaces that people convert into usable space. Look at these inspirational ideas for transforming your attic into an addition in your home.

I think an attic home office is ingenious .. quiet… spacious.. perfect!

Children’s rooms adjacent to other rooms are great for attic spaces.

Ahhh.. what about an attic bathroom? Soak away your worries, and enjoy the peaceful tranquility.

Your attic doesn’t have to have a specific function, make it what you want.

Image courtesy of Interior Original

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.