Why You Shouldn’t Trust Price Per Sq Foot Price per sqft is one of the most misleading ways to shop for a home builder. In the industry, we joke that buying a house by the sqft price is like buying a car per pound. It is misleading and irrelevant. Calculating the price per sqft can be difficult and confusing. The industry standard for calculating it is the total cost of the home divided by the livable square footage of the home. This “livable square footage” does not include porches, decks, garages, driveways, and unfinished spaces in the home. But all of these are included in the total cost of the home! Take a 1,200 sqft. home with three bedrooms and two baths vs. a 1,800 sqft. home with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms. The 1,200 sqft home will have a higher cost per sqft simply because they both have three toilets, bedroom windows, front door, and so on. The 1,800 home has the same number of those items spread out across more sqft. If you take the price per sqft of the 1,200 sqft home and multiply it out to 1,800, you would be severely over-budgeted. And the opposite is true if you go in the opposite direction.  You also must consider what finishes are included in the total price of the home? The higher ended finishes are going to increase the price. When it comes to shopping for your builder, it is best to tour their products and talk to them about what you can get with your budget. Cost per square foot is only useful when you know everything included in the builder’s cost. Be sure to consider all the costs associated with how you want your house finished, not just built.

For Sale

This townhome, featuring 1,882 sq ft, three bedrooms, two and a half baths could be the home for you! All of your living space is on the main floor. The kitchen has plenty of storage with an island and a pantry. There is also a powder room and a mudroom off of the two stall garage. Upstairs, you will find three bedrooms. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. The two other bedrooms share another full bath. The laundry is conveniently located upstairs with all of the bedrooms. 

Features:

• 2 x 6 Exterior walls
• Vinyl siding and stone maintenance-free exterior
• Sliding glass door that leads to the backyard patio
• Sprinklers and full sod
• Painted hardwood trim
• Stone countertops
• Carrier high-efficiency electric furnace
• Bathroom and walk-in closet in the master bedroom
• Laundry located upstairs
• Kitchen pantry

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I cannot tell you how important it is to get your furnace inspected every year. Here are check points to look for when selecting a company:
• Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau
• Do they replace your filter (Most companies will include this, but there could be an extra charge if you have a large filter. Make sure you let them know the size of your filter.)
• Do they clean your heat exchanger
• Do they check the thermostat reading against what is blowing out of your vents
• Will they make repairs or improvements without your authority
• Is there an extra charge if you have a humidifier
• How important is it that I have a Carbon Monoxide Detector

These are just some of the questions you can ask. When you call a reputable company, they will have no problem explaining what they do, and they will and should stand behind their service.

Just as important is your chimney. Rule of thumb is to always have your chimney checked and cleaned after burning a cord of wood. How do I know what a cord of wood is? A cord measures 4x4x8 feet.

When do I drain my sprinklers? You should always try and get those drained before the first hard frost hits. You can also check to make sure you know which sprinklers need maintenance so those can be repaired before the next season.

What about all my garden hoses? Make sure you drain all of them and coil them up and most importantly, unscrew them from the faucets they are attached too.

While you are in the garage, look at your mower and see if it needs any maintenance done. This would be the time to take it in and have those blades sharpened or oil changed. No rush to get it back, but hopefully you will have it by the time for the first spring mow.

And before the snow blows, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make sure you have all of your snow shovels ready, along with ice melt and ice scrapers in all the vehicles. What about that snow blower, make sure that is running smoothly before that first snow hits.

Sometimes you think, I don’t have time for all of this, but in the long run, the little bit of time you spend preparing saves you stress when you actually are in the moment of all of it.

Kinning Design Build

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Your kitchen floor sees it all. Dirty shoes, dirty feet, dirty paws…a lot of dirt and hopefully a little dancing.

When choosing your kitchen floor many factors need to be taken into consideration. Three of those factors are:

-Style/Color

-Material

-Price

Your floors need to match your overall style. Light flooring can draw your eye upward to those beautiful kitchen cabinets you had custom made but light flooring gets dirty a lot quicker than a dark floor. When thinking about choosing a lighter flooring look into a natural stone or tile which is easy to clean. A dark wood floor will draw a lot of attention downward which may be intentional. Your cherry oak floors deserve attention but they may draw your eyes away from your lovely granite countertops. Whatever you choose, match your style but durability and clean-ability are just as important.

The material you choose will be influenced greatly by your style but also keep in mind that your kitchen floor will experience a lot of wear and tear. For those of you who don’t want concrete kitchen floors here are some other durable alternatives:

• Natural Stone (such as travertine)
• Tile
• Hardwood or Engineered Hardwood

The third, and for some of you, most important factor when making these decisions is price. The most important thing is to do your research. Sometimes you get what you pay for so paying extra, especially when it comes to flooring may mean you are getting more value. Try finding your ideal flooring, if it’s out of your price range talk to the flooring company about a similar, less expensive alternative.

Overall, your kitchen is a gathering place whether you want it to be or not so you might as well create a kitchen space that can sustain a little more wear and tear than you plan for.

The post Your Kitchen: The Ultimate Dance Floor appeared first on Kinning Design Group.

Indoor pollution, both chemical and environmental, is a large concern for homeowners. Not only for those who deal with various allergies and respiratory problems but for those who don’t as well. The air filter uses synthetic materials to catch dust, small particles, and debris. Changing your air filter more frequently could lead to a healthier life and possibly a more inexpensive one as well.

Having a clean air filter will lead to the proper performance of your HVAC and in turn reduce costs. According to the serviceexperts.com, choosing how often you change your air filters depends on many different factors. These factors include:

• Type of filter your HVAC requires
• The overall air quality of your city or hometown
• If you have pets
• Number of occupants in your house

Obviously the worse the air quality is around you, the more pets you own, and the more people you have living under one roof, the more often you should change your air filter. Some say, change your air filter when it’s dirty but for those who do not find themselves checking the air filter every now and then a good rule of thumb is to check it and most likely change it every other month.

The problem with the $0.99 air filter is that originally is was created to simply protect your HVAC, not create a better air quality in your home. In the case of air filters, the more expensive the air filter, the higher quality you will receive. You get what you pay for so saving a few extra dollars in this category might not be to your benefit or those who dwell in your home.

In conclusion, you should be changing your air filter more than you think especially if you have pets or deal with allergies. Hopefully changing your air filter is a common occurrence for most of you but if it’s not, check your air filter and make sure you are doing your part to  create a healthy environment in your home.

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Some factors to consider are:

1.Cost

2. Maintenance

3.Return on Investment

4. Looks

First is the cost factor. Solid surface averages around $75-$120 per square foot. Although prices vary, granite countertops will average around $100-$250 per square foot. It may be more effective cost wise to install solid surface but don’t stop reading here.

Secondly we need to look at maintenance. Solid surface requires zero maintenance and is quite durable. On a solid surface counter and dents or scratches can be buffed out and no continuous sealing is necessary. Granite on the other hand requires some degree of maintenance. Your granite countertop may be factory sealed but every so often it may need additional sealing. It is also true that granite is susceptible to cracking in comparison to solid surface but this is rare. So far solid surface has taken the prize in cost and ease of maintenance but when it comes to return on investment and looks opinions often vary.

When we talk about return on investment what we’re really saying asking is, “do granite countertops really increase the value of your home?” The answer is yes to some degree. By being more expensive than solid surface you are increasing the actual cost of your home but some would argue that granite countertops also increase the psychological value of your home. More home buyers have a strong opinion about having granite countertops therefore having them makes your home more “sellable”. In my opinion, as more and more homes utilize different materials for countertops, backsplash, and flooring the grandiose stigma about granite will slowly fade. Currently, when we look at the factor of return on investment granite is the best option.

Lastly, let’s look at the beauty of each. Design preferences are up to the homebuilder but it is hard to deny the beauty of a granite countertop. Natural stone provides such an organic look and intricate details that solid surface cannot give you. But solid surface doesn’t deserve such a bad rap. Solid surface can create a modern and sleek look with its uniformity.

In my opinion, if you are not completely swayed one way or the other a mixture of both granite and solid surface is a great way to go. Think about the possibility of using an ornate piece of granite for your kitchen island and backsplash and then pulling a darker, neutral color from the granite to use as your solid surface color for the rest of the kitchen and bathrooms. Mixing different mediums is modern, affordable, and visually appealing.

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