OUR BLOG
OUR BLOG
Check out what’s happening with Myers Constructs as well as the latest news and trends in home renovation.
Hot Off the Press
Our postcard marketing program is featured in a new book called Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design by David Langton and Anita Campbell (Wiley). Get your copy today!
In the News Part III
Everything You Wanted to Know About Windows The third installment in a 5-part Examiner.com series featuring Myers Constructs. Read the story here.
In the News, Part II
Myers Constructs is featured on Examiner.com today regarding making older homes more energy efficient. You can see the story here.
Myers Constructs in the News…
Examiner.com is featuring Myers Constructs in a 5-article series. Check out the first installment here!
Renovation Roundup: Can We Talk?
To kick off the unofficial start of fall, a.k.a. "nesting season," we'd like to try something a little different. Tell us: What's your biggest design dilemma? What's at the top of your renovation wish list? Tell us about the projects you have planned in your own homes during the coming months ... or whatever else is on your mind relating to construction and design. All reasonable comments will be posted in the comments section below, and we'll respond to as many of your postings as we can.
Part I In a Series: When Vintage Decor Meets Modern Renovation – and a Giveaway!
If you follow our blog regularly, you may already know that we’re doing a long-awaited renovation of the master bedroom suite at our 1950s Sputnik-era split-level rancher in Flourtown. Happily, the construction phase is over, and we’re now on to the finishing touches and decorating stage. This is when we get to install all of the shiny and pretty bits. Shopping for just the right decor is, for me, one of the most fun parts of the project. Because I love old, quality crafted furniture, I really enjoy the process of combing the local antique and high-end consignment shops to find pieces that will not only fit the space properly, but also tell the right story about our home. […]
Irene’s Local Effects
By all accounts most of us in and around Philadelphia dodged the very serious potential effects of Irene. Our hearts go out to those who were not as lucky as we were. Here are some snaps of what I saw the day after in my own neighborhood; Local streams and rivers were 5-10 feet above normal causing low-lying areas to flood. Some people even had to be evacuated by boat. Because the storm threw weather at us from unusual directions, new leaks were discovered; At our house, some water came behind the brick screen wall and into the house via the window below. Crawl spaces got wet because the ground outside was so saturated. Tenants at our rental house let us know the old chimney let some moisture in and it stained the plaster ceiling. A customer called to let us know she too got some rain in[...]
Q and A: Checking in With Myers Constructs
As the busy fall home-renovation season kicks off, Myers Constructs co-owner Diane Menke sits down for a chat about breaking traditional design build paradigms, finding paths for growth in a difficult economy, and the surprising places where her team finds design inspiration. Q: Tell us about your design to build philosophy. DM: Generally speaking, design build is a model in which the design and construction phases of a renovation project are done in a streamlined fashion — often by having design and construction professionals team up in order to save time and money. Our approach is a different take on this concept. We do both design and construction in house, using a very tight system of steps we have developed over the years. We call it Design to Build™ because we only design projects to build them. We don’t spend a client’s financial resources on exploration of ideas that won’t[...]
Finding the Magic in Your Home
We often talk to new clients who come to the table with ideas about all kinds of “stuff” they want to buy and install in their homes. While this is a perfectly natural place for most people to start their renovation process, our job is to get them to back up a little and talk to us about their lives. What we really want to know is how they want to live, and how their home fits into that picture. Many times, we have to ask them to stretch a little, imagine a little magic in their everyday lives … and explain what that magic would be. Typical questions we ask in the initial consultation include: What works and doesn't work in your home? What do you love and what do you hate in your home? When you travel or visit the homes of friends and family, what do you[...]
A Visual Breakdown of Kitchen Renovation Costs
I asked Dana, who is very good with the computers, to give us a simple pie chart of one of our recent kitchen projects. Here you go: I wanted this tool because many homeowners think the most expensive stuff in their kitchen is the cabinetry and counter tops. You can see from the graph that this is not the case at all. In this case its less than 18% of our typical kitchen project. "How come?" you ask. Let me explain; The only way your biggest cost would be in cabinets and counters would be if you were swapping out the exact kitchen you have now; same layout, with new cabinets and a new counter top, or re-facing the kitchen you have and adding a new counter top. Most of the people who call us want a completely new kitchen space with the room stripped to the subfloors and studs.[...]
