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My husband and I just completed our first remodel. It was a period renovation of a Victorian Gingerbread Craftsman. (I’m so thrilled I can talk about it in the past tense). We haunted architectural salvage houses for just the right windows, bid on eBay for period-correct light fixtures, spent an entire afternoon driving all over L.A. for a screw that they stopped making in the thirties and generally worked to the point of insanity. Tiptoed up to the line but never crossed it.

So here, ripped from the headlines so to speak, are my
Top Ten Tips for Remodeling. Read ‘em and weep.

1. There is a solution to every situation. But it’s
not necessarily yours. You go where the solution is - it
doesn’t come to you.

2. There is no medicine for whatever ails you quite like hard, exhausting, purposeful work.

3. Chew your own food. Don’t make your
problems other peoples. They’ve got their own.

4. I’m not psychic. Maybe you are.
Guesstimates of time and money are just that.
Reality has a way of intruding. When in doubt - go
with Reality. (I don’t know when I’m going to die
either).

5. Pain fades with time. Remodeling is like giving
birth. When you’re in the middle of delivery you
swear you’ll never do it again. But then the kid turns out to
be a looker, a few years go by…..Yadda yadda yadda - you’re in escrow.

6. There are no problems - only opportunities
for creativity, action and collaboration.

7. You’re born alone, you die alone - you don’t
have to win alone. Everyone can win. Some win more
than others but there’s enough in the pot to spread
around. If you squeeze a vendor to bid a job so
low that they can’t make money, harbor
resentment and cut corners - you both lose.

8. Nobody owes you anything. If they help you
it’s because they’re generous people. Acknowledge
them.

9. Everything comes to an end. And then it starts
up again.

10. Remodeling really is like Improv. You show up
without a script. You have no idea what’s going to
happen next ( except you can be sure that whatever
you think it’ll be - you’re wrong). You’re dependent
on others for their performances. So help them shine.
You make it work by paying attention to everything
and dealing with whatever Reality presents to you. Do
the best you can with the resources you have and don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

11. Okay, I lied. There are more than Ten Tips to Remodeling. There are actually thousands. This last one, though, is the most important. Don’t forget to put yourself on your own Punch List. No pressure of work or money is reason enough not to eat right,sleep enough, monitor your health and appreciate your
family.

Mary Rosendale is a Certified Life Coach, Author, Speaker and serial remodeler. Visit her on the web at http://www.TheConstructedLife.com and sign up for her one-of-a-kind newsletter.

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Hardwood floors can add beauty and warmth to any room in your home and can be a wise choice if you are remodeling or building an addition. Hardwood floors can last for decades so selecting the best hardwood floor for your particular needs is important. Here’s some things to think about if you are considering installing hardwood floors in your home.

1. Type of hardwood flooring. Believe it or not, there are countless types of hardwood floors. The first thing to do is to choose amongst the various types.

2. Price. Not everything that is expensive is of the best quality. Most often than not, the price of flooring depends on the cost of materials from which it is made and how it was transported from the manufacturing plant to the present store. If the flooring is imported from another country, chances are it might cost a lot, but is not necessarily sturdier.

3. Maintenance. Various types of hardwood floors require different forms of cleaning to maintain the original look. Though the usual sweeping and waxing will do, specially formulated cleaning formulas are available depending on the type of flooring and different kinds of woods may have different cleaning restrictions and needs.

4. Repair. Not all wood floors lasts forever. Proper repair and maintenance of damaged floors can preserve the original grandeur, but you must be sure that the appropriate materials will be on hand years down the road.

5. Method of payment. If one is short in cash, look for stores that accept credit card payments. Since there are still some home depots that do not accept specific types of credit cards, it would be best to check first if ones credit card is acceptable from where one has decided to purchase. If the only place where ones preferred hardwood floors is available does not accept credit cards, it would be best to first save the needed cash since it would be unlikely that they would run out of stocks until such time that funds are accumulated.

6. Not all hardwood floorings are of the same color. Choose the shade that best suits the general motif or shade of the house and its furniture for a more coordinated look

7. Consider the rooms where the hardwood floor will be installed. Naturally, if one prefers their bathroom floor to be made of wood, this would entail a special type one since it is common knowledge that wood and water don’t mix.

8. To purchase unfinished or pre-finished wood flooring. Hardwood floors can be bought in its unfinished (not subjected to any treatment) or pre-finished (has several coating of UV-cured polyurethane) state. Installation of pre-finished hardwood floors would result in lesser odors and dust, thus requiring little time for clean up.

9. Installation. Hardwood floors may be nailed down, glued or floating. If the current floors are covered with ceramic tiles or vinyl the floating form is the best. This also cuts the cleaning time since it would only be assembled on top of the old flooring Choose which best suits the type of under floor one has or the capability of the one doing the task.

10. Choosing between engineered and solid woods. Engineered ones are much easier to install since they can be glued or nailed down. Solid woods on the other hand cannot be subjected to sub-standard installations.

Whatever type of hardwood flooring one chooses, you are sure to end up with a handsome element for the room that is both functional and durable.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.refinishing-hardwood-floors.com where you can learn more about different types of flooring as well as choosing a hardwood floor that is perfect for you.

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I’ll admit it, I have floor envy. I was over at my sister’s house the other day, and she just had new floors installed. Her kids, much like my own, had destroyed her carpet. Now that they are over the “spilling everything on floor” stage, she took the plunge and installed brand new bamboo flooring. I’m practically sick with envy.

My carpet is well vacuumed, but looks pretty miserable. Life with a toddler and dog can be hard on something as absorbent as carpet, and the worn walking trails don’t help. My child is definitely not out of the spilling stage. I can’t help but imagine my house with bamboo flooring now, too. Believe me, it is daydream I’m ready to actually invest in.

I’ve taken my musing so far as to actually visit a flooring store and see what options are available. As it turns out, there are many. Bamboo flooring comes in a huge number of shades and patterns with grains running both horizontally and vertically. The selection is enormous, and so very tempting for dreamers like myself.

Armed with little other than a fancy, I made further inquires. It seems bamboo flooring is not only beautiful with vast selections, but also incredibly durable and affordable. Bamboo is also a waste product of clearing farmlands for planting in Asia, so its use in flooring is considered very eco-friendly, or ‘green’. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be very much working against the bamboo flooring, at least according to the salesman.

Of course, being the resourceful consumer that I am, I didn’t take anything he said at face value. I, like any other red-blooded skeptic, rushed home to fact check everything online. As it turns out, it is all true. Bamboo is a cane that replenishes quickly, thus no harm is done to the natural world while creating the flooring. It is also incredibly resistant to wear and tear. Finally, the salesman is right, it is extremely affordable.

This is all well and good, but I still have a dog and toddler to consider. How will bamboo stand up to the ultimate test - the leaky sippy cup? As I continued my research I learned that the sealant applied to bamboo flooring is water resistant, and so long as I follow my child with a paper towel, my bamboo flooring wouldn’t warp from drips, spills, and the occasional muddy feet.

So if bamboo flooring is affordable, beautiful, environmentally friendly and resilient, why did my sister wait so long to install it? For that matter, why did I? This is a problem that just had to be solved. Hey, I gotta go, my new bamboo floor has just arrived!

You too can go ‘green’. Visit http://www.bambooflooring.biz to discover the stunning bamboo flooring options available to you.

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