Extensions of Your Home

Outdoor living spaces are a unique way to enjoy your lawn and yard. Imagine an outdoor kitchen complete with plumbing or an outdoor-friendly television set. Thinking you may get too warm, have a mister installed. For those homeowners who want to spend less money yet have a great outdoor space, a simple fire pit, grill, and nice patio set will create a fine atmosphere for entertaining. Give the outdoor experts at Fauser Home Improvement a call and it will be there pleasure to provide you a FREE ESTIMATE and make your dreams into reality 309/792-3122. Visit us online anytime at www.FauserHI.com.

Homeowners Need to Know List

• Use a contractor. The biggest cod violations result from well-meaning do-it-yourselfers, get a contractor to review or prepare plans and check your finished project.

• Get a permit! Without a proper building permit you risk paying twice as much.

• Have your home inspected. A standard home inspection will cover your entire home. Home inspectors do not give a pass/fail; they detail items that need repair. Generally the cost for a home inspection begins around $400.

• Start thinking vinyl. Vinyl windows, doors, and siding offer excellent thermal performance for year round insulation. Also fiberglass doors will not rot, split, or crack.

• Use a decorative Fypon trim around doors to create a winning combination. They are impervious to decay, insect infestation, and water damage.

Tips to Raise your Property Value

There are some exterior home improvements that you can do to your home that will really pay off. Anything that you do to your home can raise the value of your property. Exterior home improvements not only raise the value of your home but also help to maintain a good appearance of your home. Exterior home improvements give your home great looks and add great curb appeal to your home. Here are some home improvement tips that will make your home even more valuable then what it already is. If you have a roof that is old and damaged you may want to fix or replace it. When selling a house this is one of the biggest concerns of home buyers is that the roof is in good shape. Even if you are not selling your home yearly maintenance on your roof is needed to keep it in good condition. Always keep care of the siding on your home. It does not matter if you have wood, vinyl or brick on your home. It needs to be checked each year for any damage the weather has caused. Keep up with the siding on your home and paint it or repair it when needed. This will not only make your home worth more in the long run but will keep your home in tip top shape and looking its best.

If you don't have a deck or patio on the outside of your home you may want to consider building one. They really help to add value to your home. People love spending time outside on their deck or patio. Even a sunroom added to your home will raise its value. This is a big plus for any home to have is a nice outside area to go to. A garage or a shed is another thing that helps to sell a home. And add more value to your property. This is a big deal to home buyers to have a place to put their extra stuff in including their car and all their outside lawn equipment and other things they own. A lot of people will not even look at a home without extra storage space for these items. People prefer a garage but a storage shed will do well at times if no garage is available. Having both a garage and a storage shed is ideal for a home. These are just a few exterior home improvements for your home that can really pay off and also make your home look its best.

How to Keep Cool

Air conditioning is a convenient way for many of us to cool our homes, but some people go overboard and try keeping the temperature at around 70 degrees even in places where the outside temps are 100 or more. This puts an immense strain on your AC unit plus it doesn't help the environment at all. A more reasonable temperature is closer to 78 or 80 inside. In many articles I read in newspapers or online websites there is one telling point that really hits home. Most rooms in your house go unused most of the day, so using your air conditioner to cool off rooms that are not being used is silly and a waste of energy. Many experts recommend getting a portable AC unit, one that sits in your window or similar. Some of the newer models are energy efficient and do a great job of cooling off smaller rooms where perhaps the family is most of the day.

The biggest thing you can do is to plant a trees or larger bushes near your exterior windows to help keep shade on your house even when the sun is at its hottest. Of course, if you don't already have trees planted it could take years to get shade. Other solutions for immediate shade are things like awnings over exterior windows to get more shade. Awning can definitely help protect your windows from taking in a lot of heat. You can also get window film which goes on the window itself and helps block some of the heat that would normally come right into your house.