A powder room, although it’s a small space, can have big challenges.  Usually with just enough room for a toilet and sink, using a larger mirror or pedestal sink can make the room feel more spacious.   Lighter paint and tile colors combined with updated lighting certainly can make a small bathroom more inviting for you and your guests.

A hall bath often has similar space constraints as the powder room with just enough space to add a tub. The typical hall bath is usually a shared space for more than one family member and needs to accommodate more storage.   A well designed vanity or linen cabinet can provide an organized place for all of your necessities.   A frameless glass shower door to replace the old shower curtain can increase the visual space of a bathroom by 30% as opposed to using a shower curtain.  Using a unique tile pattern with recessed soap niches will make the added space even more enjoyable.

The master bathroom can set your home apart from others in your neighborhood for resale as well as giving you a spa retreat you can enjoy every day.  While some master bathrooms don’t have space for spa showers and separate soaking tubs, these features can be combined behind frameless glass with creative tile options that don’t have to break the budget.  Heated floors are an excellent way to pamper yourself on a daily basis as well—especially in the winter time.

It’s no surprise that a bathroom remodel has great return on investment because it is one of the most used rooms on a daily basis.  The Foster Remodeling team, with our proven design and construction process, has the experience to get your bathroom project done right, on time and within your budget.

by Rich Caswell – Home Improvement Consultant

Countertops
Fresh new countertops give the kitchen a clean, updated look. The latest trend is granite and natural stone in tones that coordinate with cabinets. Choose the right materials for your lifestyle. If you do a lot of chopping in your meal preparation, be sure to include a durable area, such as a butcher’s block cutting board, for this purpose.

Cabinets
If you need more shelf space in your cabinets, consider replacing the ones you have in a kitchen remodeling project. We have a professional carpenter on staff who can assist with the design and crafting of this project. We will custom design and build kitchen cabinets to coordinate with the rest of your decor.

If you’re comfortable with the cabinet space you already have, a cabinet refacing is another option. This is one way to modernize your kitchen on a smaller budget. Refacing the cabinets involves keeping the same cabinet structure but resurfacing the cabinet shelves, doors and paneling. We can also change the door handles as part of this Northern Virginia kitchen remodeling project.

Eating Area
If you have an eat-in kitchen, you might want to rearrange your table area. Does your table accommodate everyone in your household? Consider changing your table and its placement. A breakfast bar or counter may be ideal for quick snacks and light meals. On the other hand, you might find the space better used for preparation and cabinet space. If you rarely use your dining room, this might be the time eat in there instead, or turn it into a great room.

Flooring
The kitchen is a high traffic area. Replacing the flooring to something that is not worn and tired will give the room a brighter, fresh look. Choose durable flooring such as laminate. This is easy to clean and handles heavy traffic well. Coordinate colors with the cabinets and walls.

Our design team can help you choose the right materials and colors for your Northern Virginia kitchen remodel. Whether you want to do a full home remodeling project, just the kitchen or parts of the kitchen, we can help you find the upgrades that will make your home more comfortable with functional and stylish changes.

1. Screen Door — Whether the screen is torn and falling out, or the door itself is coming off its hinges, it’s time for a repair or even a replacement.

2. Caulking — Shriveling caulk around the plumbing fixtures, such as the kitchen sink or bathroom tub is cause for concern. Once water works its way into subflooring and supporting wooden beams, water damage can become severe. Re-caulking is a simple repair that can become a much larger problem when it goes unchecked.

3. Railings — Whether it’s a railing on a staircase, beside the bathtub or out on the deck, it should stay tight and always offer support. If it wiggles, it’s eventually going to come down if it’s not fixed.

4. Tile Replacement — When there’s ceramic or vinyl tile walls or flooring in the house for a long enough time, at least one tile will probably eventually get cracked or broken. Whether it’s from dropping something heavy on the hall floor or backing into the bathroom wall tile while you’re moving furniture, it needs to be replaced. Putting in a new piece is very easy. In most cases, the hardest part for the novice is finding the replacement piece and getting the broken one out without destroying anything else..

5. Hardwood Flooring — Hardwood flooring is a beautiful and popular addition to any Northern Virginia home. Finding the time and patience to do the installation is often the hardest part of this classic honey-do chore.

Foster Remodeling has its very own Northern Virginia handyman repair crew. We can do these top 5 handyman repairs and many more. Contact us today for a quote.

Partitions
If you’re not quite sure about dividing a room in half permanently to create an extra bedroom, do it temporarily. Use a folding partition to create two rooms from one in your Northern Virginia home. The latest in home remodeling trends include sliding glass or mirror doors for double duty temporary walls when needed. Another option is to use accordion partitions. This transforms the bedroom or playroom into a place where the kids can have their own spaces without short-changing the grown-ups on a computer room or craft area. This works especially well when college kids are home for the summer, but don’t want to lose their bedroom completely the other nine months of the year.

Furniture
Pull-out sofas have long been the stand-by for overnight house guests. They are not always the most comfortable, but are a place for friends to sleep or sick children to watch TV on a day home from school. There are two popular trends for extra sleeping spaces that you can add in to your remodeling design phase. Build a loft or use a hide-a-bed in your bedroom. A loft leaves room to put a bed or couch under the loft frame, with a mattress above it. This is more sophisticated than a bunk bed, and makes a great use of bedroom space, especially for high school or college age kids. The hide-a-bed is a wall unit with a pull-down feature that is available at a moment’s notice. It works well for the few times a year you have house guests, but lets you use the room as an office, sunroom or living room the other 350-plus days of the year.

Basement
Extra appliances might be something you’ve only dreamed of having for the handful of times each year when you entertain, but never thought you would have enough space to really implement. If you’re doing an interior remodel on your Northern Virginia home, carve out an extra storage room for a full-size freezer, wine cellar or portable ice maker. Add full plumbing for a convenient place to wash the dogs, add a washer and dryer or keep holiday decorations. The purposes might be unrelated, but sharing the space makes sense. Add in shelves with pull-down doors to cover the appliances, and it always looks conveniently clean and organized.

Here are some things to keep in mind when planning your custom shower:

• The heights of the users.  This should correspond to the height at which the faucets and controls are located.
• Water pressure.  Good water pressure should be 45 psi at a minimum, and in order to maintain this water pressure with multiple shower heads and/or body sprays, the pipe size needs to be ¾” wide.
• Hot water tank size.  No one wants to run out of hot water in the middle of a shower, so make sure your hot water tank can handle the number of people showering in your home.  (On average, people shower for 8 minutes).  Don’t forget about the laundry machine and dishwasher!
• Drainage.  If you are planning on having multiple shower heads and body sprays functioning at the same time, obviously more water will be landing on the shower floor.  Make sure to plan for all the extra liquid so you’re not left standing in a puddle.
• Long term use.  If you are planning on living out the rest of your years in your current home, then accessibility should be considered.  Some options to think about would be not having a shower door, not having a threshold on the floor into the shower, and grab bars.
• Shower doors.  As said above, this could be an item you want to get rid of completely, however there are many types of shower doors.  Some slide, some swing.  Some are framed, some are frameless.  Aesthetics and budget will drive this decision.
• Extras.  Don’t forget to include a bench seat, corner shelves, and/or a niche for convenience.

When taking on a shower project, make sure you hire the right people for the job.  You will want to make sure you have someone you can design and plan the shower, not just build it.  With just a little bit of forethought, you will enjoy your new custom shower for years to come.

by: Carin Demmon – Design Consultant

This will greatly affect the volume and extent of the changes you want to make with your kitchen remodeling project. You may be content with simply refacing the cabinets to five them a more modern look. On the other hand, you may want more space, more accessibility or to restructure your kitchen cabinets to feel – and look – more organized. An organized kitchen is easier to keep clean and move around in, making meal preparation and clean-up easier and faster, and making the kitchen space more comfortable.

Think about how you use your cabinets. If you do a lot of cooking at home, where do you keep your food? Who cooks the most? Consider whether that person has any issues with height, accessibility or strength with the cabinets. Think about how many cooks you typically have in the kitchen at the same time, and whether their accessibility to cabinets is hampered by lack of space.

Another consideration is the use of spices. Perhaps the jars have taken over the cabinets. They should be easy to reach and not fall out of the cabinets when the doors are opened. Canned and dry goods are also important parts of meal preparation. They should also be easy to reach and well organized for the cook or the snacker.

If you feel as there is not enough storage for food, pots, pans and dishes, that can probably be cured by renovating the kitchen cabinets in your Northern Virginia home. Perhaps make them bigger or change the number or size of the shelves in them. Our Foster Remodeling design team can help you determine what parts of your kitchen cabinets can be more useful than they are presently. We can also make them coordinate better with your appliances, flooring and lighting.

If your kitchen looks as if it is stuck in a past decade, this is also the time to change that. Color, materials, how the cabinet door and drawers open and what purpose the spaces serve can be changed to make your kitchen cabinets work better for you.

Some of the most costly home repairs can be avoided by developing a list of items to check and putting them on a calendar to remind you to inspect them before damage occurs. Some items need to be checked on a more frequent basis such as gutters and down spouts where as your roof might only need to be checked once a year. Most home maintenance can be done with a ladder, some basic tools and a caulk gun, but there are items better left to a professional. Identifying them and taking care of them before they become a costly repair is the goal of Home Maintenance.

A roof inspection to check the condition of the structure or shingles might be better left to a professional but checking step flashing around a chimney or pipe collars for your plumbing vents are items that can be on your list to inspect once a year. A visual inspection for cracks in the caulk can be an easy repair to avoid water damage to your ceiling and walls from a heavy rain. Gutters and down spouts should be checked on a more regular basis especially in the spring and fall. A clogged gutter can over flow causing erosion or flooding your basement. A gutter that has been installed incorrectly or has sagged over time can cause it to drain poorly and overflow quickly. Installation of a gutter guard might be a better solution to minimize the need to clean out your gutters.

Painting trim around your soffits, windows and doors will keep them from rotting and needing to be replaced. Inspecting the caulking around the doors and windows and repairing problem areas will avoid water getting into your home and causing expensive repairs to drywall. Water can cause some of the most costly repairs to your home. Maintaining caulk in bathrooms is also an important item. If the caulk around your vanity, toilet, shower or tub is cracked or discolored remove it and replace it before water damages the wall and floor underneath. Wall tile and floor tile will not keep water where it is supposed to be without caulk and can result in the most expensive items in a bathroom repair or remodel.

These are just a few examples of common areas of your home that need to be maintained. The purpose of home maintenance is to avoid the higher cost to repair neglected items. Foster Remodeling can help you identify potential problem areas, perform simple maintenance, make the necessary repairs and put a plan together to help protect the comfort and value of your home.

Written by: Rich Caswell – Home Maintenance Consultant

Attic
When you first bought your home, you probably thought that someday you would finish the attic. Someday might be now. If you have pull-down steps, you will need to create more permanent and sturdy access with a full stairway. Heating, air conditioning, electricity and insulation are other considerations. Aside from that, you could create a few bedrooms upstairs in the attic, essentially doubling the number you have now. Not only does this help reduce tension, it also increases your home’s value.

Basement
Sectioning off the basement is one of the most straightforward ways to create another bedroom. Start your home remodeling project by considering how many rooms you need and what changes can be made by adding walls and a ceiling. Upgrades to flooring, electrical wiring and plumbing allow for great creativity and personalization.

Garage
While your garage may have been an absolute necessity at one time, it may have lost some of its appeal. Maybe you don’t have as many cars as you used to, or maybe it’s the last versatile piece of space in your home. Consider transforming your garage into another bedroom or two, depending on its size. This is an ideal Northern Virginia custom remodeling project that works for homes that cannot be built outward or upward due to zoning regulations. Another option is to add a room over the garage. The main remodeling focus would be on refinishing the walls, floor and ceiling.

If you are having bedroom space issues in your home, you might consider changing one of these areas into something more useful. In many cases, there is more than enough room to build not only a bedroom, but to use some of that space for other purposes, as well.

The initial hurdles were determining the right design and putting something on paper that could be affordable to build. My initial estimates were very close to what I was hearing from prospective contractors who I had scoped out for the work. The next hurdle was selecting the contractor to do the work.

I met with some very talented and experienced patio and wall installers who had been referred to me by other people or who I had sought out myself from doing some general searching on websites and through trade associations. I ran through my own mind all the things that were important to me in who would be doing this work- fair price; ability to meet my schedule; quality of work and overall professionalism. Then it struck me that all these companies had these qualities. Stuck in the back of my mind after all the reviewing of estimates, designs, referrals and insurance paperwork was the fact that I was going to require the work be done by the person I felt I could trust the most.

So, after conducting my research – including checking references; seeing examples of their work and following up with consumer advocacy groups like the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and Angie’s List – I narrowed my pool of choices down to two. I had one last meeting with each contractor and asked them why I should trust them to do this project.

Contractor “A” replied with statements about their experience, the great price they were giving me and the fact they were a large company with plenty of manpower to get the job done. This all made me feel very good but not necessarily any more trusting in this company.

When I met with Contractor “B” and asked the same question, the response was straight forward- “I’ve been in business for almost ten years and, in that time, I’ve built my reputation with lots of very satisfied clients. I will not tell you that every project went off without a hitch or that there has never been a minor delay but I always kept the client abreast of what was going on and, in the end, I always made it right. I will not tarnish my reputation that I’ve worked so hard to build by doing one client wrong.” My search had ended. This contractor realized the importance a little personal reassurance and communication would have in keeping me happy as a client.

That is why I enjoy working for a company like Foster Remodeling Solutions. There is no project worth sacrificing 28 years of satisfied clients and stellar reputation to cut corners or do less than what we said we would do. Every happy client is a referral to the next prospect and no matter what experience, manpower or cost a company can provide nothing can replace the feeling of trust in the contractor you choose- Trust to do the right thing and do it well every time.

Foster Remodeling is familiar with the area requirements when it comes to zoning and codes for electrical, water, easements and building materials. Our design build team can help you create a plan for your custom home addition that complies with zoning regulations and building requirements. We also have a do-it-yourself remodeling project where you pick a package and size before you configure the features. Once you have completed these steps, we will give you an estimate for your project.

Before you map out a plan, let’s take a look at the possibilities. You may need to upgrade your electrical wiring to conform with modern standards. You may have lead paint on the walls or asbestos in the insulation that must be properly removed. You may also be required to build new structures according to American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, depending upon the types of changes or Northern Virginia home additions you are making.

Some of the newer requirements affect the distance you can build from the edge of the property, how high you can build in certain zoning areas and the quality of building materials that must be used. When you are ready to take the first step in designing your Northern Virginia custom remodeling project, we will guide you through the process. Whether you are planning a do-it-yourself project design that we will complete for you or Foster Remodeling is doing the design and the home addition, we can help you come up with a safe, efficient and beautiful home remodeling project that you love, is on budget and makes sense.