Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Give your home a golden opportunity
QUESTION: I've become bored with stainless steel. I'd like to use gold finishes in my kitchen -- a faucet, lights and hardware. The plan is to stay in our home for at least five more years. I just don't want to invest in fixtures that will bring down the value of our home. Wondering if you think gold is too high-design and trendy or will it become classic? Should I just stick with stainless?
ANSWER: Life is too short to be boring, and five years is a long time. When I flip through every home magazine on the newsstands, gold is everywhere. Although it's a designer favourite -- two of my favourite kitchens with gold cabinets are by design greats Kelly Wearstler and Jean-Louis Denoit -- gold is hard to find.
You'll find a couple of different styles of gold drawer pulls and faucets in big box stores, but there are larger selections only in luxury stores. (Anyone considering gold cabinets will have to go the custom route.)
I asked my friend Margot Austin, senior design editor of House & Home magazine and the savviest design trend expert I know, for her take on gold. She suggests "warm metals are definitely happening, but have been slow to catch on because so many of us want to get away from what we grew up with -- too many bad memories of shiny brass in the over-the-top '80s." Think ºber-shiny door knobs and bathroom faucets.
But she went on to say "things come back, just like in fashion, but in a different and updated way."
"The mix (of polished chrome and stainless steel and brass and gold) is always interesting," she says. "It shows an artful approach to decorating. A gold faucet won't change the value of your home."
I still love Kelly Deck's custom range hood from her jaw-dropping 2012 IDS West kitchen. If I were in the market for a home, I would pay extra for this gilded range hood because I love the glam and a home that makes a statement.
I understand that you want your home to appeal to many buyers. However, a well-designed home will always sell well. I've seen two bold homes sell in a day at well over their asking price. The first house was covered in boldly patterned wallpaper (a highly personal design choice); the second was furnished in mid-century-modern wood with grey cabinetry and eggplant walls.
Buyers can see past easy switches. In fact, you will likely attract a design-conscious purchaser who doesn't want to switch a thing and is willing to pay more for your home's added gold style.
Happy gold decorating!
-- Postmedia Network Inc. 2014
Renovation & Design
Fabric art is creative and easy
Dear Marc: I am not much of an artist but I want to create an abstract or funky art piece for my home. Do you have an easy fool proof technique?
Thanks, Patrick
Dear Patrick: We are not all gifted with the talent of drawing and painting. If you judge my "drawing IQ", I think it would be the equivalent to a second grader; although, I must admit, some eight year olds have stellar drawing skills so I may even be at the bottom of that food chain.
If we are in the same boat and yearn to put our creative juices to play, this is our opportunity. Let's rise beyond our creative barriers, and cheat a little.
Supplies: needed: Canvas, stapler, staples, scissors, fabric.
Step 1: Cut and lay a piece of fabric with the design of your choice, upside down under the canvas.
Step 2: Starting with one side, pull the fabric to the back of the canvas and staple it in place. Just as you would in a reupholstering project, once one side is secured, stretch and staple the opposite end of the canvas. Repeat this step for the two remaining sides.
Step 3: Think of the corners as when you are wrapping a gift. You want to staple each side to the corner so that you can form a "peak", then fold the peak and staple it to the back of the canvas.
Step 4: Hang the canvas and enjoy!
Marc Atiyolil is the Editor-in-Chief of Home Trends Magazine.
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Don't cheap out on flat-roof replacement
QUESTION: I would greatly appreciate your advice on replacing our 20-year-old tar and gravel roof. It has been inspected and maintained for the last 20 years, but with a couple of leaks. Because of the difficulty in finding future leaks on this roof, it now has to be replaced.
We have dealt with a large roofing contractor for 30 years and do trust them. However, their replacement quote was $22,700, which is extremely expensive. I have done some investigation on the different options for a residential flat roof and am thoroughly confused.
I read your column and you did have a short article on flat roofs. You reported that tar and gravel was no longer being used for residential. You mentioned a membrane system which you did not explain. There are many options of membrane.
From my roofing contract quote, it seems they are quoting top-of-the-line material. The quote is for overlay with half-inch recovery board and one layer of granular torch-applied cap sheet. It also included four-inch-wide by half-inch-thick plywood strips to all perimeters, pre-painted flashing, replacing soil stack extensions, base stripping to perimeters and projections. They reported that the decking was in good condition but, should planks need replacing, extra cost would apply. This quote will eliminate the gravel, which will be appreciated as it gradually disappears into the eavestroughs over the years.
In your opinion, can I replace my roof at less cost without losing quality?
Regards, M. Renaud
ANSWER: Replacing older roofing on a flat or very low-slope roof is a very labour-intensive project. While it may seem like the quote is quite high, scrimping on this type of specialized roof system can only lead to trouble in the long run.
When we look at a typical pitched residential roof system -- normally a simple hip or gable design with asphalt shingles -- replacement can be a straightforward process. A good portion of the work involves removing the old shingles, cleaning the existing sheathing of nails and debris and hauling away the old materials. Installing the new roofing may only involve minimal flashing and other repairs.
But replacing a flat-slope, built-up roofing system with rock cover involves many additional items to be inspected and repaired prior to installation of the new membrane. The initial layers of rock have to removed and discarded, and that can be a very difficult job, as much of the rock may have been embedded in the top layer of bitumen for many years. It will have to be manually shovelled, scraped, or chipped out of the tar before removal.
Once all that is gone, the uneven surface will have to scraped relatively smooth before the new layer of sheathing is put down. Alternatively, the sheathing under the layered tar and gravel roofing could be completely removed, but that's even more work.
To accommodate the new membrane, smooth sheathing is required to give a clean, even surface for proper adherence. The membrane can then be rolled out, cut to fit and installed by heat-bonding the bitumen to the sheathing with a large propane torch. There are other similar membranes that do not require heating the adhesive for installation, but the torch-on varieties are considered the highest quality.
The extreme fire hazard during this type of installation is why only trained professionals can purchase and install this product. That may be one reason why the overall installation costs are quite high. Use of a self-adhesive membrane may save some labour costs, but it may not be that significant a portion of the entire bill.
Your quote also appears to include major repairs to the curb and flashing that surrounds the roof area. It's always a good idea to repair this area when the roofing is changed to ensure the new roof doesn't leak through deteriorated curbing.
I assume that the plywood and pre-painted flashing quoted allows for a completely new cap to the perimeter curb, ensuring a leak-proof installation of the new membrane around the entire roof. Lesser-quality roofers may try and cut corners by patching any deteriorated curb flashing with asphalt cement or small pieces of metal, but complete removal and replacement of the old material will ensure the highest-quality job. It should also ensure that the flashing and curb last as long or longer than the new roofing, which should have a life expectancy greater than two decades.
In short, you can try to minimize the costs of some home repairs and renovations without much peril, but flat roofing replacement does not fall into that category. It's one job where a less-costly replacement can only be achieved by cutting corners and reducing the quality of the job. Many residential roofing contractors do not even do repairs on flat roofing systems, so the few that will tackle this difficult task may charge a premium for their services.
If you can't afford the high-quality work that your contractor has quoted, you may be able to extend the life of your current built-up roofing system for a few more seasons with yearly inspection and patching while budgeting for the proper replacement.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
