OUR BLOG
OUR BLOG
Check out what’s happening with Myers Constructs as well as the latest news and trends in home renovation.
Myers Constructs Joins Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Stabilization Effort
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Alarming Electrical Hazards Hidden in DIY Home Renos
We are working on a "new" home built in the 1960's. Its a 2 story ranch in decent shape for its age. The homeowners who just bought the house, asked us to come in for a lot of projects all over. In particular, we are focusing on a great paint job, refreshing hardwood floors, tweak an existing kitchen, rework a laundry powder room, and a gut remodel of the master bedroom suite. While working in the kitchen it was discovered that the electrical wiring in the kitchen was really dangerous. It was a surprise that no fires had been started. Many hidden splices were found and illegal junction boxes. You should know that junction boxes must be accessable, and covered to be legal. There were not enough lines to the various outlets either. Our electricians corrected all these problems. But encountering them set a tone for us. We were going[...]
Investing in Energy Upgrades? Spend Your $$ Wisely
We recently caught up with one of our HVAC pros. He's a very nice and knowledgeable guy who works for a large HVAC company, whose name I won't mention here. He let us know they have been installing a lot of geothermal HVAC systems and had just completed one for a house in Mt. Airy, a town on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Let me provide a little backstory on this. Typically, geothermal is done for houses with yards since the geothermal heat/cool collectors are placed in drilled holes in the ground, or under a lot of soil, or in ponds. In other words, you need access to soil or groundwater to make use of the system. That's because these systems use the constant heat/cold differential of the earth, or a pool of water, to condition the air in your home. This particular home is about 1,500 sf --[...]
Unsafe Decks: Things to Look For
I looked at a home for sale yesterday. The door to the deck off the kitchen was marked with a “Do Not Enter” sign, and “DANGER” was written large on that sign. The deck and under it looked like this. Can you see why this deck is unsafe? Keep in mind dozens of people are killed in the US each and hundreds injured year by unsafe decks! In general because it is a structural renovation, decks are not a homeowner DIY project and they do require permits and inspections. […]
Buying a Home? Don’t Forget to Factor in a Renovation Budget.
A couple of weeks ago, we blogged about our home-buyer consulting service, “Helpline for Home Buyers.” Yesterday, I got a call from a first-time home buyer who was considering buying one of two homes. She wanted to know a little about our services and how we might help her. In her case, since no offer had yet been made or accepted, I suggested that she get some free online remodeling cost information to arm herself with useful general information. I directed her to “Remodeling Magazine’s” website and their annual “Cost vs. Value Report.” That’s a great place to get good information about what typical remodeling projects will cost. […]
A Site Built Cabinet
This is what one looks like before its installed. You can see the pink area of the kids bathroom where our crew will be installing it. The funny little shelves will be removed and the whole space here filled with proper storage. We'll bring the outlet that was there into the cabinet. Our carpenters build these site built cabinet elements on site using table and chop saws. They use MDF or plywood for the case and poplar for the face frame. So the quality of materials is very good. The poplar doors are made for us by a local cabinet shop since fancier cabinet making tools are needed for these. A site built cabinet is a nice solution to finding a great fitting cabinet at a good price. A stock built unit wouldn't look as good or be of the same quality. A custom cabinet shop built one[...]
When It Comes to Interior Home Maintenance, There’s No Such Thing as a Free Pass
I’m always surprised when I see stuff in people’s homes that tells me they are not maintaining them. What’s most surprising is that, many times, they are very simple things to take care of. Last time, I wrote a little bit about the myth of the maintenance-free exterior. This post will be about the interior of our homes and some typical simple things we should all do to maintain them. […]
The Glam World of Property Development: Water Damage Woes
Part Two of an Occasional Series Water damage. While those two words can strike fear in the hearts of average homeowners, they can be a welcome message for property developers. While many buyers would walk away from a deal on a home with water stains or active leaks, if you are a developer or first-time homebuyer with the right know-how, you can cash in on this type of property. But only if you proceed with caution! Here is a gallery of snaps of water damage I took at a recent initial property walkthrough . You can see from the photos that there are some buckled floorboards, dead plaster, third floor ceiling damage from the roof, and second floor paint blowing off of ceilings. This is a scary house for most homebuyers. But let’s look closer. We need to know what caused the areas of water damage so we[...]
The Glam World of Property Development: Wiring Nightmares
This is a short blog entry in a series we will be doing that highlights some of the things we encounter in our property-development business. Many people are interested in property development or in buying a fixer upper for their own use, and it’s a good way to go if you have the skills. You can get into a great home for less money. But you need to be prepared for messes. If you are buying to flip, take care, assume the worst, and do your due diligence. Here are two photos of some scary electrical work I encountered in a flip house recently. These kinds of illegal and unsafe conditions are common. When you do a first walk-through, you’ll need to be on the lookout for these types of issues. Keep a list of what you find. And expect these signs to mean the entire electrical system[...]
What is an Air Switch?
Here is a photo of an air switch kit. We use these all the time in our kitchens. These "air powered" switches use a puff of air to turn on your garbage disposal. The black box and hoses are mounted and plugged in, under your sink in the cabinet. All you see from the sink side is the chrome button of the switch. A hole is cut in the stone to allow this to be mounted next to the kitchen faucet. With this air switch, you never have to touch your electrical appliance (disposal) and water at the same time. Neither do you have to put your hand into a sink full of greasy dirty water, using the batch feed handle some disposals come with. These list for about $140.00 plus installation. We've used cheaper in the past, but this brand is the best we've used.
