OUR BLOG
OUR BLOG
Check out what’s happening with Myers Constructs as well as the latest news and trends in home renovation.
Late Summer Trip to the Stone Yard
Last week, I made a trip to the stone yard to pick up a couple of small, deluxe custom pieces for a bathroom we’re remodeling. One was a bathroom threshold and the other was a shower bench, both in 1.25 inch Absolute Black! Items like these make a finished tiled bathroom sing! Here are some snapshots from my trip. Things were very quiet the Monday morning I was there. The fabrication room was slow with summer vacation season — so slow, in fact, that the floors were dry. You might not know that all of this stone work is done with diamond-coated tools, which require running water to keep them cool. During busier times, these rooms are typically very noisy and very wet. […]
New on the Design Front
Here at Myers Constructs, we believe that an eager mind will always find fresh solutions. In order to promote continued learning and to broaden our horizons, we stay up to date with industry trends and advances, and we seek out new technology and products to offer as options for our clients. For example, last week, we sent our design team to Princeton, NJ, to meet with the folks at Design Within Reach, a furniture showroom that offers many of the modern iconic pieces from 20th century designers. We were thrilled to learn the new software they are utilizing to assist in space planning and selecting furnishings. When used in conjunction with the other software programs that we already use on a daily basis, this program will help produce nearly photo-realistic renderings of the furnishings within the spaces we design, kind of like a window into the future. […]
Taking the Pain Out of Home Improvement
Embarking on a big home-improvement project can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done one before. The key to reducing the “pain” associated with major renovations is to get prepared and find a professional who will work with you to design and manage the project to your budget, tastes and desired time frame. Here’s how. Establish a Circle of Trust – It’s common to have lots of questions going into your project: Can I afford the results I want? Am I getting appropriate prices and good value? Am I over- or under-investing in my home? When you find a contractor who will walk you through the process and explain your choices along the way, you will feel much more comfortable. Find an experienced professional whose communication style matches yours and who will listen to what you have to say. Talk Amongst Yourselves – Couples undergoing a home renovation will often[...]
Holidays, Home Construction and False Alarms
At our home, we are renovating the master bedroom bathroom suite. Demolition and roughing in were completed on Friday, just before the long July 4th weekend. My weekend project task was to varnish the new, solid-core birch doors. I'd prepped for the final coating to be applied on Monday morning, so they would be dry for work to resume on Tuesday. We're not sure whether is was the CO from left over varnish fumes, in combination with lighting the cooktop to make morning coffee, or a puff of dust that may have blown over the CO sensor, but something triggered our smoke/CO detector alarm. This is a very exciting thing to happen at 7 AM on a vacation day morning when you are relaxing in bed with your coffee! We deactivated the alarm after it went off, but we missed the incoming phone call from the alarm service. So[...]
New Space for Outdoor Enthusiasts: Adventure Rooms
Do you love spending time in the great outdoors? Are you more likely to hit the trails than the malls on the weekends? If so, then you probably understand the logistical challenges that come along with your favorite hobbies: trying to store gear such as bikes, helmets, skis, poles, golf clubs, kayaks, surfboards, fishing poles, and so on. Lacking a better option, most people tend to force these items into closets, front porches, and already overstuffed garages -- creating stress and chaos in their homes in the process. A fun and logical solution? Create an "adventure room" that is dedicated to your enjoyment of these activities. This can be done in any underutilized area of your home that has easy access to the outside: a large mudroom, basement storage area, or a double garage that can be partitioned off for this use. And the finished space can offer more than[...]
Time for a Home Checkup!
Just like you need to go to the dentist for regular routine maintenance, your home needs ongoing T.L.C. to keep it looking and feeling well. And just like delaying medical checkups, if you put it off these maintenance checks, your house will surely suffer for it in the long run. We have been in business a long time, and we find that some folks simply don’t know where to get started with their routine maintenance plan. Luckily, we do! We offer the following programs to keep your home healthy, energy-efficient and in good order between larger projects. And we work with you to establish a schedule for prioritizing these tasks. Base-Line Maintenance Every home requires annual base-line maintenance. This includes everything from cleaning gutters and touching up varnish, paint and caulking, to power cleaning and oiling decks. We can also fix minor items like sticky door locks and broken screens.[...]
Out of a Box Flooring
Most home owners are familiar with the various advertisements for what we call "Out of a Box Hardwood Flooring." These are pre finished flooring products that come in a cardboard box. You can typically find these at your local Big Box outlet as well as at flooring showrooms. There are many types of hardwood flooring that come in a box, and some you should avoid. Typically these products are selected because the buyers see they are less expensive than site finished locally sourced hardwood flooring. But use caution when you consider using these products in your own home. Hardwood flooring that comes in a box will have been dried and finished somewhere else, maybe even in a far away tropical country. This means it's not going to have the same humidity content as your home. This can lead to warping or shrinking once it's installed. You can see in the[...]
Saving Old Doors
These doors were first hung on this fine center city row house when Abraham Lincoln was president! The wonderful old masonry in front has been stuccoed over unfortunately, probably in the 1980's. Now the city's Historic Bureau sees to it that historical details on older homes are preserved. That is why these home owners have hired our company to help repair their masonry, windows and these doors. Chris has removed this pair of doors to our shop for carpentry repair. In the mean time while they get "some lovin" from Chris, he has installed this pre hung door and plywood wall. Stay tuned for the big reveal when these fine old doors and the rest of the project are complete, probably by end of June.
Why Lead Safety Matters
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first fine against a contractor in violation of the agency's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) lead-safety regulations. Read the article here. The penalty for this contractor, based in Rockland, Maine, may run upwards of $150,000, according to some estimates. Acting on an anonymous tip, the EPA concluded that the contractor failed to follow lead-safe work practices during the renovation of an 1852 multi-unit residential property where six children lived. The allegations include failure to do all of the following: train employees in RRP practices post warning signs in the work area cover the ground in the work area with plastic sheeting to collect lead paint debris contain waste to prevent the release of dust and debris prohibit use of machines that remove lead-based paint through high speed operation without HEPA exhaust controls and establish and maintain records necessary to demonstrate compliance[...]
The Man Cave Evolves
On a recent trip to a local design center, we met with an audio visual pro in a room that in the 1990s would have been called a "man cave." My, how times have changed. This AV pro said that fully 50% of his buyers are women now, and the man cave has evolved accordingly. This shift in buying population came with the economic downturn over the past three years, when family budgets for non-essentials were steadily shrinking. Now, discretionary spending decisions are made by both people in a couple, and the women want a say in what this traditional "man space" looks like. Here are some of the features of these kinder, gentler, family spaces: No more macho black leather recliners with mega screens and surround-sound giant speakers on view. Now, these rooms are multi-functioning family rooms with discrete and hide-away sound and visual systems. Screens roll up and[...]
