Grove Street

So you’ve done it – you have purchased your own home. You have achieved the American dream. But you really can’t call your home “yours” until you put your own personal touches on it. Whether you bought a brand new home, a fixer-upper, or you have landed somewhere in the middle, an inexpensive way to give your home a personal style is to add exterior vinyl shutters.

Vinyl exterior shutters will give your home a more inviting feeling and will make you stand out among your neighbors. Your home will have “curb appeal” and it will give you the feeling of pride you are looking for. And the best part is you don’t even need to call a contractor to install decorative shutters – you can install them yourself in a matter of minutes.

To get started, you first need to decide which style of exterior shutter will look good on your home. There are generally 3 basic styles of shutters to choose from:

1. Louvered shutters

2. Raised panel shutters

3. Board and batten shutters

Louvered shutters are by far the most popular and are indeed what comes to mind when most people think about the term “exterior shutters”. However, it is important to realize that this isn’t the only option.

Louver shutters were originally meant specifically for solar control, as other types of shutters do not allow varying amounts of sunlight to pass through when they are closed. The modern decorative shutters are only meant for aesthetic purposes and do not open or close. Operable shutters are also available, but most people who put shutters on their home now do it for decorative purposes so they opt for the inexpensive exterior vinyl louver shutters.

Raised panel shutters are another option. Raised panel shutters tend to stand the test of time a little better than louvered shutters because they do not have as many parts when they are put together. These shutters look better than louvered shutters when placed on a really “busy” surface such as brick, but they also look good on smooth surfaces.

Board and batten shutters give your home more of a rustic look. These shutters are constructed using vertical “boards” that are held together with horizontal “cross battens”. The vertical boards can either be butted (or joined) together or spaced apart. Modern styles also have a diagonal batten joining the other two to form a “Z” shape, similar to the way a barn door looks.

After you have decided on a style, you need to decide on a color. Color samples can be ordered to determine the appropriate color for your home, or alternatively you may wish to choose a neutral color such as black or white or even order shutters made from a paintable plastic so you can paint them to match.

Next, you need to measure your windows so you can determine the proper size of shutters for your home. Vinyl exterior shutters can be custom made, or ordered in stock sizes. Stock sizes are usually cheaper, but for a perfect fit you should consider getting the custom made shutters. Of course, another thing to keep in mind is that you may mix-and-match the standard and custom shutters, provided the standard sized shutters are available in the same style you desire. You should measure every window on your home carefully and write down the measurements. This is important because many homes have shorter windows on the second floor than on the first floor. Sizes of windows can vary drastically even on the same house.

Now it is time to order your shutters. Choose your vendor carefully, as not all of them make shutters in-house. Also, pay careful attention to how long the lead time is for the shutters. Some vendors also offer next-day shipping, but most do not. Try http://www.shuttercontractor.com/.

After you receive your vinyl exterior shutters, you can install them quickly and reletively easy. There are typically 2 mounting options, either using shutter-loks or color coordinated painted screws. Shutter-loks look like a button that protrudes from the shutter surface, and come in the same colors as the shutters. Painted screws are the option that most shutter contractors use because the installation is quicker.

Pay careful attention to the mounting instructions that came with the shutters or you have downloaded from the vendor’s web site. It is important to use the correct mounting pattern or you may void the warranty of the product.

After you have finished installing your exterior vinyl shutters, take a few steps back and look at what you have accomplished! You now have a home you can be proud to call “yours”. Cheers!

Garage floors are usually overlooked when remodeling the home. Some houses look really beautiful from the outside but on the inside, the floor looks neglected for years. Keep in mind that a lot of garages suffer the worst conditions because they are the most exposed to the weather. The tires of your car even add up to the torture it faces each and every day. This is where floor paint comes in. It is not merely used for decorative purposes. It also works to protect your surface from normal wear and tear.

Garage floor paints are composed of epoxy resin-based solutions. Armor Proxy and Original Color Chips are popular examples. These paints can resist oils and other chemicals that can damage concrete floors. But more than that, it adds a whole new look to your garage. It can make the extra room look twice as attractive than before.

Epoxy floor paints come in a range of colors. It is easily available from hardware shops and do-it-yourself stores. Other solutions can be added to it too, to add more luster, grip, or durability to the paint. You need to apply it on the floor of your garage for the simple reason that bare concrete doesn’t last long enough. In time, it would crack, get stained, and become very hard to clean. Use floor paint to lengthen its lifespan.

However, epoxy resin-based floor paints can’t be used on floors that were sealed. You have to determine first if there’s some sort of a sealant applied on your garage floor. A good test will be to use some water. Pour a glass of water on one part of the concrete floor and see if it will be absorbed by the concrete after a few minutes. If the water stays on top, then it probably is treated with a sealant and epoxy paints can’t be used to cover it.

If you would like to preserve the beauty of your garage and keep your home’s worth at maximum, simple add-ons such as floor paint and other flooring ideas are definitely worth the investment. Your garage floor needs protection too. Whenever you remodel your house, don’t overlook the extra room in the house. It is part of your house too. And if it isn’t maintained as much as the rest of the parts of your house are, it can pull down the market value of your house unnecessarily.