Category Archives: Remodeling

NOVI, MI — The Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan (BIA) is sponsoring the Novi Home Improvement Show featuring the Michigan Kitchen and Bath show, January 27-29, 2012, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. The show is part of the National Home Garden Series presented by Dish.

Anything and everything you need to remodel and design your home can be found under one roof. Browse exhibits in kitchen and bath interiors, windows, doors, flooring, furniture, cabinetry and more!

Q: We installed a new electric hot-water heater. I thought maybe the old one had collected sludge in the bottom and was cutting water pressure to the faucets upstairs. This didn’t work. The water pressure is the same as before. We have a ¾-inch line to the bath and kitchen in the basement, then ½-inch lines to faucets. Is there anything available to increase pressure to faucets, or is this what electric water heaters do? People that I’ve seen with gas water heaters don’t have this problem unless I’ve missed something when looking at their hot-water heaters.

In addition to the services provided by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, co-sponsors of the 50th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show, which will be held Thurs., Feb. 9, through Sun.,
Feb. 12, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, other member organizations play prominent roles in the event.

Assisting Milwaukee/NARI in Show production are the following companies:

LAKE TAHOE — With the growing number of options for flooring, woodwork, custom cabinetry, granite, lighting, and dozens of other choices during the building process, it is easy to forget the role that low voltage wiring and electronics will play in the home.

Most homes are wired for the basics. You are going to get cable or satellite, phone and Internet, but with a little planning, any home can be turned into a “smart home.” Think about being able to make a call from your cell phone that would turn on your front porch light prior to your arrival, or sitting at an airport on the way back from a business trip and turning up the heat so you are greeted home with the perfect temperature.

For the past few years, the federal government has offered tax credits for certain home improvements aimed at increasing a home’s energy efficiency. While the most popular and generous tax credits have expired, such as the one that allowed you to claim up to 30 percent of improvements for a new energy-efficient roof or hot-water heater, you can still get credit for other significant energy-efficient improvements.

According to EnergyStar.gov, you can claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost of installing a geothermal heat pump, small wind turbine or solar energy system in your home. The credit has no upper limit and applies to both existing homes and new construction, but not to rental properties. This credit is good until Dec. 31, 2016.

there’s a showing of Brunschwig and Fils fabrics and how they can be used in the homeat the Clive Daniel Home store in Naples today.

Clive Daniel Home hosts fabric guru

Lee Jofa, one of the world’s most distinguished fabric houses, will unveil the newest Brunschwig Fils collection, Les Alizés at Clive Daniel Home at 1 p.m. today, Jan. 13.

Westfield interior designer Laura Mannes makes effective use of a tight nook by tucking in a slim-profile desk.

It’s never too late for home improvement resolutions. Here are 12 months worth of ideas that can help make home happier this year.

1. Let nature guide you: “Tangerine Tango” is the official color of 2012, but if you’ve no taste for citrus hues, Westfield interior designer and blogger Laura Mannes has a color-selecting suggestion: “Take your camera, and head outside into nature where the best color combinations exist in abundance and light.”

If you’re looking to make some home improvements, you may be able to recoup some of that cost in the future.

Angie Hicks, of consumer group Angie’s List, says  “My favorite home improvement projects revolve around energy efficiency and window replacement is a great example. If you replace your windows you can save as much as 30 percent on your heating and cooling bills. In the long term you can potentially get 70-80 percent of that investment back.”

The 50th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show will be held Thurs., Feb. 9 – Sun., Feb. 12, 2012 at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis.

Cosponsored by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2012 Show will provide Milwaukee/NARI, the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource, with the opportunity to have its members demonstrate for consumers “Celebrating 50 Years of Ideas for Your Home,” the theme for the Show.

Business picked up last year for the home improvement industry, and new ventures are cropping up to take advantage of the growing market.

House Doctors, a growing national home improvement franchise, opened its first outlet in the Indianapolis area this week.

Handyman Erik Prock, Noblesville, is the franchisee. He hopes to have three employees on board within three months.

He will focus on two-hour to two-day projects, anything from replacing a light fixture to putting in a new deck, he said.