360renos - Home Improvement & Decor

How to make your home stand out when selling

We can help your house sell quickly and at a good price -- even in a slow market.

It takes a lot more than sparkling windows, scented candles and chocolate-chip cookies to sell a home in today's market.

Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments.

Beyond any doubt, the best investment you can make is new paint. Painting can make a room or an exterior façade look brand-new, and totally transform the look and feel of a room or the entire residence. It is always wise to be somewhat restrained when choosing colors for a home-staging paint project. Avoid choosing colors that are too individual or flashy and favor neutral colors and schemes. This does not mean painting everything white, however.

Use subtle color schemes to accentuate the home's strengths and minimize weaknesses. Dark colors, for example, tend to make a room feel smaller, while lighter colors and pastels can make a room feel bigger.

There is another benefit to painting as well: the process of preparing the interior or exterior surfaces of a home for painting automatically allows us to go over the entire area receiving paint in great detail, and this can often expose items or areas requiring repair. It seems you always discover where the caulking has let go, where the wall is dinged.

It is always preferable that we discover and deal with these items before the real estate agent (or worse, the prospective buyer) points them out to you!

Dave - 360renos




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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Navan for Kraft Hockeyville 2011

 In 2011 there are some great events coming up where you can show your support for Navan's quest to be the Kraft Hockeyville Champions. Please read on as to how you can be part of the great Navan spirit, show your support and getting involved. 





Navan for Kraft Hockeyville 2011
Let's Show our community spirit by including this in our 150 year Celebrations!
The Navan Memorial Centre is entered in the Kraft Hockeyville 2011 competition. Four communities will win $25 000 while the top one receives $100 000 in upgrades to their facility and an NHL pre-season game will be played in the arena in the fall of 2011 with a fun day of activities for everyone to enjoy!
Organized hockey has been part of Navan’s precious heritage for 97 years! In 1913, the history of hockey in Navan began as a hockey club was formed of 24 members. Each member paid ten dollars and this money was used to establish an open air rink. If you have played at the Navan Memorial Centre, on Navan teams, against them, attended any hockey game in Navan or just love hockey, you definitely have a hockey story to share!
We need the support of the community to make this dream a reality by submitting any hockey story and a photo to www.krafthockeyville.ca  and selecting Navan Memorial Centre until January 30th, 2011.   All stories are also accepted including the ones just supporting our quest therefore if you've been at the arena for a dance, for demolition derby at the fair, skating or a horse show, we want to hear about it. We want to celebrate community!
Vintage Hockey Day will be held on Sunday January 9th from 1pm to 6:30pm at the Navan Memorial Centre. In conjunction with Navan’s 150 years celebrations, come and take part in Navan’s precious hockey history. Hockey artefacts, photos and memorabilia presented in part by the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum will be on hand to view. We are organizing an alumni hockey game with Ex-Grads Junior “A” players against the alumni of the Gloucester Rangers from 1:00pm to 2:30pm. The admission fee to the Alumni game will be by monetary donation. Also with a $10 donation, you can sample excellent wine & cheese presented by Domaine Perrault Winery.

All proceeds will go to the trust fund of a very courageous 13 yrs old that caught meningococcal meningitis and had amputation of both legs below the knees and has decreased function of his left arm.
The Cumberland Grads will also host the Gloucester Rangers with local singers/song writers, Rothwell & Moffatt performing during the first intermission and Lola Spriggs in the second intermission. We will give a prize to the oldest artefact brought to us and for the oldest player to have ever played in Navan that shows up. You will also hear the Navan for Hockeyville theme song performed by Rothwell & Moffatt. Computers will be set up to submit your stories.  
The Navan Lions will serve a spaghetti dinner from 4:30pm to 6:30pm, $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12 yrs and free for children under 5.  Proceeds from the dinner will go to the Food Bank. Door Prizes donated by CIBC Innes & Trim, Lacroix Sports, Broadway Bar & Grill and many more.  Join us for a fun afternoon!
Rally at the Navan Memorial Centre on Sunday January 30th from 2:00pm to 5:30pm.  This is the last day to submit your hockey stories and photos to www.krafthockeyville.ca.  Computers will be set up to submit your stories. Show your support by gathering in the parking lot of The New Oak Tree at 2pm on Colonial Rd. as we will then walk to the Navan Memorial Centre while cheering with signs. The Cumberland Grads host the Smith Falls Bears at 3pm. More to come…..
If you have any questions, need help in submitting your story or would like to volunteer, please don’t hesitate to contact us by telephone Lyne Proulx 613-833-1779 and Barry Irvine 613-835-2509 or email navanhockey@hotmail.com. You can also view our website at www.navanhockeyville.ca or join our Facebook group: Navan for Kraft Hockeyville 2011.  


Thanks 
  Dave

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Painting Straight Edges take skill ... or a good tape

Having trouble getting a clean straight line when completing your home painting projects? 


Reading this article posted by a fellow renovator. They use a product that 360renos uses when you want to have impeccably straight paint lines or when cutting in an Accent wall where two colors meet.

The first recommendation is to have a good brush. For interior work, I like an angled brush, as it allows getting into the corner easily, and a 1 1/2- to 2-inch brush works well. Some people like a chiseled brush, which is more like an artists brush, rounded at the tip.
Although patience is a great thing to have in painting, so is a good steady hand. If you lack one or both of those skills, you might want to consider using painters tape. The typical painters tape is blue, available in different widths. It's similar to a regular masking tape, but the blue tape doesn't stick permanently or take any of the surface off when it is removed.
In my early painting experiences, I tried cutting in with just a brush but wasn't satisfied with my results. I switched to using the painters tape. However, I became even more frustrated with this, because when pulling the tape off, I found that the paint often got behind the tape. This causes extra work in wiping it off and then touching up the area where I didn't want the paint to go. So, I went back to the brush only, forcing myself to learn the skill.


FrogTape Multi-Surface Painter's Tape

However, we have just run across a new painters tape that we've tried out and have found that it works well. It's called Frogtape (frogtape.com) and is available at Home Depot and Lowe's and other hardware stores. The tape is green, so you won't get it confused with the typical blue tape. The reason I like Frogtape is because it is treated with what they call a paint block. As paint is applied to the tape, a polymer on the tape absorbs the water in latex paints, expanding the edge of the tape and creating a barrier. Therefore the paint doesn't get under the tape. The manufacturer states that the tape was created for latex paints, so if you're using an oil-based paint, beware. The only drawback I've found in using this is that at times I had trouble making it stick, so it took more time to get it in place.
As with any painters tape, it is best not to leave it in place for too long after the job is done. If the paint has dried, you might be pulling up paint along with the tape. So, it is best to take the tape off before the paint is dry. Be careful removing it wet, however, not letting the tape touch any other surface, or you may be spending more time doing touchups.
Courtesy of Steve Cloninger
Happy Holidays
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000 
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca

"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso

Friday, December 10, 2010

Mold in your Basement?

360renos was called in to review a finished basement which had a sub-floor that was sagging and warped due to a basement concrete slab that had heaved in some places and sunk on other places over time.


Well, the heaving was so bad that the 3 teleposts which support the main center beam of the home had either sunk into the earth or heaved up on their pads. It was a very dangerous situation as if this had not been rectified it would have eventually brought down the house.


The concrete slab needed to be demolished, so the sub-floor and interior walls were removed by 360renos. When this was completed we found a huge mold problem in one corner of the basement. This is an older home in Ottawa with cinder block foundation walls. The foundation and environmental experts have been called in!







So first to get this cleaned up with the experts before the next stage of pouring a new basement slab and re-building of the finished basement.


All of this reminded me of a great new article and tips by Bryan Baeumler and his series 'Room for Improvement'


Q: We have a major disaster in our basement due to a mold issue and now we are in a race to fix it. What is the best way to insulate the concrete block walls in the basement? Also, what are the best material to use for a basement subfloor? The current floor has foam insulation and plywood which seems to have worked extremely well but was 20 years old. Of course you could always drop by to take a look …. Cheryl and Mike
A: Hi Cheryl and Mike!
Sorry to hear about the mold in the basement – you’re definitely not alone! A lot of people have similar issues with finished basements that haven’t been waterproofed properly, have had a flood, or have high humidity levels in their homes. The silver lining in the cloud is that you now have the chance to finish the basement properly to avoid experiencing the same problem in the future.
It sounds like you’ve done the demo, which means you have a blank slate to work with. The first thing you ‘ll want to do is make sure you’ve taken care of the moisture problem. If it was a foundation leak, that means waterproofing the foundation wall properly, making sure your weeping tile system is operating effectively, ensuring proper grading of soil around your home, and directing water away from the house with downspouts. If you had a plumbing leak, obviously you’ll want to make sure the problem has been identified and corrected. And finally, if the mold was due to high humidity in the house, you’ll want to make sure you consult with an HVAC specialist to balance the system and install a dehumidifier to assist in lowering the humidity.
When it comes to insulating the foundation walls, you have a number of options. The best method by far is a closed cell spray foam – we use Walltite Eco, which you can ask about and have installed at your local Lowes. The reason spray foam works so well is that it has a high R value / inch, and eliminates any airflow – the biggest cause of heat loss. It can be sprayed right onto the foundation wall (block or concrete), and creates a monolithic insulation layer that won’t feed mold or lose R value due to moisture. You can also use the batt over spray method, which means spraying an inch of foam on the foundation wall, and adding either fiberglass or Roxul batts between the studs to increase R value, while still having the benefits of the air barrier from the foam. Roxul mineral wool insulation is another great product to use in a basement, as it’s fire proof and is a natural repellant to insects and rodents. If you plan on using batts, you’ll also need to vapour barrier the entire wall, tape the seams, and seal the top and bottom with an acoustic sealant. You’ll also want to be sure that you fully insulate and seal the joist bays (the area where your floor joists rest on the foundation) as the rim joist is one of the biggest culprits of heat loss. Not insulating and sealing the joist bays is a big reason people end up with cold floors above the basement, as cold air gets trapped in between the drywall ceiling and the floor above. If you go the spray foam route, joist bays and walls are all sprayed at once. We foamed our entire home, and we currently spend less than $50 / month heating it. We also filled all of the interior walls with Roxul to absorb sound and eliminate any wall cavities where fire could potentially spread.
When it comes to laying a subfloor, head for the Dricore – it has tongue and groove on all 4 sides to keep everything in place, it creates a thermal break from the floor that warms up the room, and also leaves an air space under the subfloor which allows for airflow so any moisture coming through the basement slab can evaporate. It also saves your finished flooring should you have a small amount of water under the floor, where it can flow to the drain. It’s also so easy and fast to install that it ends up being cheaper than other methods when you consider the cost of labour, or sanity. Foam laid directly on the subfloor will also keep your feet warm, but like a sheet of plastic it will eventually trap moisture – the idea is to give any water coming out of your slab somewhere to go and evaporate, something an impermeable layer laid directly on the concrete won’t do.
Of course there are lots of different products and methods to install a subfloor and insulate a basement (of which all done properly will perform well), so you have to make a decision based on your budget and skill level when it comes time to do the job. Most people would agree that the best method is never the cheapest, and the cheapest method is never the best. But when you look at the big picture, the best method is indeed often the cheapest in the long run.
Good luck, and have fun! (I’ll be over as soon as I can!)
Cheers,
Bryan
Fantastic info that can help a lot of home owners
360renos 
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000 
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca

"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso