Metro Detroit's Remodeling Trends

Sales isn't the only housing sector to benefit from the long run of low mortgage interest rates; so is remodeling in metro Detroit.  . But the National Association of Home Builders says home owners paid roughly $182 billion in 2003 to improve their homes and keep them in good working order.  

The most common projects remain Metro Detroit kitchen and bathroom remodeling, closely followed by room additions, according to NAHB's research director, Gopal Ahluwalia.

The five hottest trends in the business these days are daylighting, detached garages, his-and-her spaces, "visitability" and a movement toward higher quality materials:

·  Daylighting  Almost without exception, the home owners  say they want their homes "lighter and brighter."

"Metro Detroit homeowners are tired of the usual dark rooms, small windows and no views," .

You can change this with larger windows, more windows, stacked windows, feature windows, skylights, sun tunnels, interior windows, mirrors and open floor plans that share light from other rooms.

·  His/Her Space  The ultimate luxury is space; there never seems to be enough of it, which is what keeps the remodeling business healthy.

Most of clients will opt for small walk-in closets of their own rather than a shared walk-in. And vanity areas that are across the room from each other are much preferred to the ubiquitous side-by-side arrangement."

·  "Visitability"  This is a term for remodeling a house to make it more accessible for older occupants. The new word is necessary, he says, because "baby boomers are in serious denial. They don't acknowledge they are getting older or less able."

Yes, people today are healthier and more active than previous generations. But a 60-year-old is not 30. Nevertheless, home owners don't like to talk about their own decreasing mobility, strength, frailties or perception. But they will discuss their parents and friends who come to visit.

Thus, the new term, "visitability." "It is much easier to see and design for the frailties of our parents than it is to admit we may be in the same shoes 10, 20 or 30 years down the road." .

·  Making It Real  Home owners are choosing higher quality materials for every room in the house. Tile or granite countertops instead of plastic laminate, porcelain cast iron tubs over fiberglass, even lath and plaster over drywall.

"Across the board,  clients making the right choice for their homes, choosing quality over quantity and selecting the better materials that in the end have lasting value and lower life-cycle cost," .

A word of caution before closing: If all this seems expensive, it is.  Many trends start in the luxury market and eventually work their way down to the mainstream.

Remodel Your Tulsa Home ?

Unless you've taken a new job in a new location, the decision to move up may involve deciding on whether to remodel or move altogether. Homeowners nationwide will spend $192.8 billion this year to either remodel or repair their homes, according to the U.S. Census.

The Remodeling Index, provided by National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Council, determines minor alterations at $25,000 or below and major alterations above that amount. Where do you stand? Is it worth $25,000-plus to remodel or should you move up?

There are reasons in favor of both. Let's deal with the remodeling first.

·  Your community is great, why move? For some homeowners they already live in the best community for their family and lifestyle. The schools are great, it's near their worship center, shopping and they are plugged in with neighbors and the community. So instead of moving, it might be best to expand or remodel.

·  Sometimes, it's just time to upgrade the house -- even if you're planning on selling in the future. If you bought a home with 15-year-old appliances and décor, it may be time to switch them out, now that they are 20 or 25 years old. I always get frustrated with homeowners who want to remodel right before they move -- they've never had the opportunity to enjoy the house they've just remodeled. Upgrades may include flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, exterior facelift, paint, curtains, furniture -- not just the house itself.

·  It might be cheaper than selling. If you're needing more space, the remodel may actually be cheaper than selling, especially if you're looking at finishing or remodeling the basement. The basement remodel is the easiest and most affordable remodel available to homeowners because the exterior walls, plumbing and most electric may have already been run throughout.

·  You're a do-it-yourselfer. Okay, you love those Old House, Fix-It or Nix-It, Saturday morning programs. Living in a dust-ridden environment with tools and power cords strewn throughout is your vision of heaven on earth. Go for it.

·  You'll have to remodel the new house anyway. Most new homeowners spend upwards to 30 percent of the value of the new house they just bought fixing it up the way they want -- so why move? Just spend that money where you are.

Now, there are just as many reasons to move instead of remodeling.

·  The move could take less time and hassle. Depending on the condition of our local real estate market , you may be able to list, sell and move in a shorter period of time than it would take to actually remodel your current home. Time is a major factor in our busy lives, and many times it would be quicker to just move.

·  Remodeling would disrupt your lifestyle more than you're willing to deal with. You have to hire a designer, then a contractor, move furniture from one area to another in your house, find storage for the rest, live with dust, workmen, etc., for several months and then HOPE you like what you get at the end of it. Better to buy the house that's already finished the way you want it than betting on a finished product you're not sure about.

·  You don't want the hassle of dealing with contractors in case they don't get it right. The challenge for re-modelers is that they are being told by a remodeling-challenged homeowner what they want and then try to create that environment. If the homeowner doesn't like it at the end -- it's very expensive to change once it's done.

·  Remodeling could cost more than moving. For some people, to get what they really want, they would have to double their mortgage anyway -- so it might be better to check out what's available in new construction or even in a move up in the community. Plus, builders in some markets are starting to offer free upgrades -- including rec rooms, decks, and other add-ons that usually are the subject of a remodel job.

·  Finally, you're metro Detroit family has enlarged. You just may need a larger home because you have more children or your parents/au pair/adult children have moved in with you.

When it's time to remodel, look over the local real estate market before making your final decision, it might be in your best interest to make that move instead of knocking down a wall.

Sequence of a Metro Detroit Home Renovation Project

Now that spring home-remodeling time is nearly here.When we talk about sequence, there is the obvious and not so obvious.

Insulation Costs

The fear of rising oil, natural gas and electric prices has led just about everyone to look at how they live and make adjustments. This is a situation low-income Americans live with every winter, and while the middle class complains about paying $50 or so more a month to heat its homes, the vast majority can afford the extra money. Higher energy prices are making the poor even poorer, if the utilities haven't shut them off already.

Cellulose insulation had been blown into the attic, but there was so much of it that some of the ceilings sagged. While cellulose insulation is environmentally friendly (shredded newspapers treated with boron to make it fireproof and pest-free), it often settles at low points in walls and ceilings.

The trick is to seal those gaps with foam after stuffing them with unfaced insulation inside white or black plastic bags (the clear plastic deteriorates more rapidly, so I'm told), so that warm air is prevented from going through the roof. You are, as a radio listener told me last week, putting a hat on your house.

These chase ways are everywhere imaginable, often created by plumbers and electricians cutting away the framing contractors' work. Houses dating before 1970 were built with no concern for energy efficiency, since fuel to heat the house was cheap, so it really didn't matter.

The heating system, which is designed around a high-efficiency condensing furnace, can, in combination with the proper amount of insulation, make a house comfortable at lower thermostat settings -- 65 is what we try for. That leaves the second floor at 60 when the programmable thermostat is set at 65, and 57 when the thermostat is at 60 (the daytime and overnight setting).

We have three options to make the second floor more comfortable. One is raising the thermostat to 68, which would boost the upstairs to 63 when we are home and awake, and then setting the thermostat at 63 for daytime and overnight, so that upstairs never falls below 60. There should be no more than five degrees between low and high settings, since you use as much or more energy when the temperature has to climb 10 degrees twice or more a day than if you maintained the temperature at 68, for example.

The second option is to add returns, which, at this juncture, would be very expensive, since ductwork would have to be added.

The third is an electric fireplace, which is the one I've chosen. I've built a wall facing the bed that has the fireplace built in to the wall with a bookcase on either side. The fireplace plugs into a 120-volt standard outlet, produces about 5,000 BTUs an hour at a cost of 2 cents an hour of electricity (which remains cheaper than natural gas in areas where natural gas isn't used to produce it) and looks like a real fireplace. It will heat about 400 square feet of space, which is about the size of the second floor.

There are two added bonuses. One is that it will likely add to the value of a house, since fireplaces in master bedrooms are a feature of new construction. The second is that the heat can be shut off and you can watch the logs "burn."

It's more romantic than air sealing and insulation, and easier to install and less expensive to run these days than a gas insert.