There are three main questions we hear when customers ask us the question about whether or not they should hire an interior designer. Here are the questions and our suggested solutions:

How do I know that a designer’s design style will fit what I want to do in my home?

Start off by reviewing the design portfolio of interior designers you are interviewing to see first hand if their projects and experience are a good fit for what you want to accomplish with your project. As an example, you wouldn’t want to hire an interior designer who specializes in modern and contemporary lofts if your project is closer to a mid-level suburban home with a more classic or traditional look.

Locating and interviewing prospective designers

Begin your search for an interior designer by visiting the website for ASID located at www.asid.org or, better yet, visit the website for the local chapter of ASID in your city to get a list of members in your area. Many local ASID chapters are hosting “Meet the Designers” events this Spring where designers attend and show off samples of their work. You can meet the designers and see visuals of their work to see if that designer will be a good fit for you.

What will hiring a designer cost?

There is no standard wage scale for interior designers. Most will charge depending on the complexity of the job, the variety of materials desired by the client, and the designers projected time commitment to the project. Fees may normally be quoted in one of three ways:

* A Flat fee – what is covered should be negotiated between the client and the designer

* An Hourly fee – fee normally determined by the time commitment required of the job

* Cost Plus – instituted when the client desires the designer to locate and purchase materials on their behalf. The designer will place a percentage markup over cost as the fee for their materials selection services

With thousands of product lines and finishes to choose from, and technology that changes everyday, an interior designer can be a valuable resource to draw upon for those taking on a remodeling project.

These glass mosaic tile blends are a great and affordable choice as a shower accent stripe when paired together with our 3” x 6” glass subway tiles. We have also had clients use the 3” x 6” glass subway tiles in the shower and use the coordinating glass mosaic tiles color as the kitchen backsplash choice. This way the color palette in the home can be consistent from one room to another.

We would love to hear any creative ideas you might have to use our glass mosaic tiles and glass subway tiles in a unique and fun design.

In order to prevent this problem from happening to you, take the time to trowel a thin layer of thin set on the back of each tile before you set it. Spread the mortar using the flat side of your trowel from the center of the tile out to the edge. Rotate the tile one-half turn and repeat the process until the back is evenly covered. When installing larger tiles on your floor, adding this step to your installation should eliminate the possibility of having any hollow or loose tiles down the line.

With job creation now a top priority for the Administration the “cash for caulkers” program as it has been dubbed is estimated to create tens of thousands of jobs as 2 to 3 million consumers are expected to invest in their homes by purchasing energy efficient windows and doors, insulation and other upgrades that are aimed at stimulating manufacturing and construction jobs from companies that produce the materials and companies that install them.

The bill must make its way through Congress still so let’s see what kind of support the measure gets from both Democrats and Republicans.

Seaside Handmade tiles

Installing handmade ceramic tiles requires more a few more steps than does a machine made tile and it is always recommended to read the manufacturers recommendations first before beginning the tile installation process.

The main points to keep in mind when installing handmade tiles are as follows:

* Tiles should be removed from the box and sealed with a clear, penetrating sealer made for ceramic tiles prior to beginning the installation process. Lay the tiles on the counter or the floor and apply sealer with a brush or roller in a thin consistent coat so sealer goes on evenly

* Install the tiles using white mortar in most cases to account for the white ceramic body that most handmade tiles are made with. Read manufacturers instructions for any variances to this point

* Grout joints on most handmade tiles are 1/8” or larger to account for the uneven nature of handmade tiles. Install tiles using sanded grout in this case

* Once grouting is complete, seal grout using the same clear penetrating sealer as was used on the tile initially

Follow these simple steps for an error free installation and you can then enjoy your tiles for many years to come.

In the initial years most major repairs or flaws resulting from potential construction errors will surface and will show themselves as needing repair. The exterior paint job will probably need to be re-done in the first four or five years since builder grade paint is often thinner than paint sold at home improvement and home & garden centers. And the heating and cooling system, also known as the HVAC system should be inspected and serviced in years four to seven to have any heat pumps and air conditioning compressors recharged.

In years eight to fifteen in the typical home, items that had been maintained on a regular basis in earlier years will now be starting to wear out and need replacement. Depending on their frequency of use the dishwasher, disposal, and laundry equipment may be worn out and need replacement. Water heater elements usually fail after eight years too, and tanks rust out in about 12 to 14 years even if they are drained of sediment on an annual basis.

The years 15 through 25 are a critical period because most key components must be replaced during this timeframe. Keep note any unwary buyer of a 15 – 25 year old house can be hit with a series of large replacement expenses. This means that homes in years 25 to 30 are usually enjoying a second prime period in their useful lives because all of the key components have been replaced and (somewhat) recently installed.

Homes over thirty years old will have components that have been replaced on such a varied time schedule that it is hard to determine with any accuracy when or if one item or another may fail soon. The recommendation for homes over thirty years in age is to maintain a regular maintenance schedule as much as possible and stay on top of the major components of your home.

Thank you to Lew Sichelman and the Los Angeles Times for much of the information contained in this post.

The Federal Housing Administration’s 203(k) loan program was established by Congress in 1978 with the goal of revitalizing blighted urban areas and to encourage working-class professionals to invest in and improve abandoned properties. With interest rates so low and loans easy to qualify for in the early part of this decade the 203(k) loan program was little used by most borrowers. While still under-utilized by borrowers today the number of 203(k) loans originated since 2007 has more than tripled in number and shows no signs of slowing down.

Much of the reason for this stems from the fact that the US government is creating incentives to help banks unload the tremendous number of foreclosed homes they are holding on their books. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act the FHA has raised the maximum loan amount to as much as $729,750 for high-cost areas. This means that those wishing to remodel their homes may be able to borrow several hundred thousand dollars to buy and remodel their home, or to refinance their existing mortgage and remodel their home.

There are generally two types of 203(k) renovation loans where borrowers take out one loan to cover the purchase or refinance and remodeling costs. The Streamlined (k) loan is for loan amounts up to $35,000 with no minimum requirement while the Standard (k) loan is for larger loan amounts where additions or structural work is involved. For more information on the 203(k) loan requirements and to locate approved lenders in your area visit the FHA’s 203(k) web page to see if the program fits your needs. Talk to a few 203(k) lenders and ask lots of questions and you just may find that this program is just the remodeling financing package that you have been looking for.

RedGard by Custom Building Products

Installing glass tiles is a multi-step process that we outline in the article titled “Installing Glass Tile” located under Tile Articles in the Learning Center on our website. The initial step in the installation of glass tiles is to install a crack prevention membrane over your substrate in order to provide protection for the tile during the curing process such that any movement or shifting of material is not transferred to the tile.

These membranes are available in many forms and are normally trowel applied or sheet applied. In some cases there are multiple components or steps that are part of the system. Since many of our customers are Do It Yourself homeowners we try to suggest the trowel on varieties since application of this material is relatively simple.

One product we are comfortable suggesting to our customers is RedGard by Custom Building Products which is commonly available at most Home Depot locations across the country. The product is applied to the substrate using a 3/16” x ¼” V-notch trowel at a thickness of 30 mil when wet. When applying with a trowel, use the flat side of the trowel and flatten the ridges to form a continuous, even coat of material.

For curing, the product is dry when it turns solid red with no pink showing, normally 1 – 1 ½ hours. Depending on conditions at your location, drying can take up to 12 hours.

To confirm, this material is not to be used as an adhesive, rather, it should be used as protection for your glass tiles and installed ahead of application of the mortar adhesive and installing any tiles. Read through the installing glass tile article on our website and if you still have any questions about the installation of our products feel free to give us a call any time.

Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends in Meadow

Upon placing your order in the next few days for our Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends use code SGMT2010 during checkout to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

Homebuilders got caught with too few spec (completed) homes when the previous deadline came around on November 30th and lost sales as a result. This time around builders are taking a cautious approach and on average are building 2 – 3 spec homes per community in their most popular subdivisions as opposed to not having any.

As reported in an article last week in the Wall Street Journal, builders are taking different approaches to what they call “finished” product. Builders are expecting buyers to wait until the last minute to get serious about their purchases and builders know that it typically takes four to six months to complete a new home, so the window to start construction is closing quickly.

The Journal article noted that KB home, the nation’s fifth largest builder will build a limited number of spec houses about half way through to the drywall phase, allowing enough time for buyers to personalize finishes and still close in time for the credit.

For those in the market for a new home the buying environment one can argue has not been much better in quite a long time. Builders are very flexible on both pricing and terms and will generally bend over backwards to get buyers to close on their purchases. If you are in the market to buy take note of the April 30th deadline for qualified buyers and happy house hunting.