Revitilizing Salisbury NC Historic Home and Business To Create Job Growth

Improving Salisbury, NC by Mixing New Building with Historical Buildings

Making Salisbury a Thriving Community Again by Mixing New Building with Historic Buildings

How to make Salisbury, NC and Rowan County Thrive Again

Introduction

As with any property investment project, especially revitalizing a struggling city, it is going to take time, lots of capital, good building locations, better infrastructure, and experienced contractors and engineers to help complete the revitalization efforts. There are a lot of differences in revitalizing a city versus building new homes, and revitalizing historic homes. While revitalizing historic homes and buildings can offer big tax credits and incentives, they often takes more time to revitalize, and take years to complete a whole neighborhood. While new homes often require less red tape to construct, more affordable to build, they are also easier to get to market and sale.  Using MB Construction Company's hometown of Salisbury, NC, planning boards, historical societies, and other special interest groups have made mixing historic buildings with new building very difficult.  So the purpose of this blog post is to illustrate some of the challenges facing Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, as well as noting some of the other projects Salisbury, NC and Rowan County has made to attract better paying jobs and more stable jobs into community. While some progress has been made by the city and county, we also want to point out some of the money wasted that attracted zero jobs to Salisbury, NC and Rowan County.  Then last but not least, we would like to add some suggestions to improve on attracting better paying jobs and more stable jobs to the Salisbury, NC and Rowan County areas.

Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, NC Shortcomings

As a lifelong resident of Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, I have seen the area both thrive and struggle.  Unfortunately, Salisbury, NC and Rowan County has been struggling for the most part the last 5-6 years. One of the main reasons for this is we have lost most of our textile plants, manufacturing plants, and other good paying jobs with great benefits to overseas companies. In my opinion where Salisbury went wrong is we made no proactive actions to replace these manufacturing and textile jobs until it was too late, which pretty much everybody knew we were going to loss when NAFTA and other free trade agreements passed, well paying manufacturing and textile jobs moved over seas. Since 1994 when NAFTA became law, unemployment was around 6%, in 2013 unemployment is hovering around 9%, and sometimes higher in North Carolina because of our dependence on manufacturing and textile production.  Salisbury, NC and Rowan County failed for 20 years to bring in new industries, resulting in a struggling economy.  Most Rowan County residents travel to Charlotte and other larger cities for work. 

One reason Salisbury, NC and Rowan County are struggling to bring in new business is the poor infrastructure of our road systems.  Our roads are crumbling, power lines in the way to widen most roads with high traffic volume, thus leading to costly expansion of roads for traffic growth if Salisbury, NC and Rowan County can attract larger employers.  Also, narrowing of roads like Brenner Ave. for a bike trail, on a road with one of the largest employers in the city of Salisbury, the VA hospital, has not only caused wrecks but also made employees late for work..  Salisbury, NC is also spending money on sidewalks out on Statesville Blvd. which is almost out of the county, and then have no sidewalks near Walmart where thousands of residents have to walk in the road part of the way to get groceries home everyday. Not to mention the street lights are out of sequence right at the Walmart intersection with the interstate, our main entrance and heart line into the city, causing traffic jams with not that many vehicles. Why mention these examples? Well these are some of the things employers look for when moving into a new city, to make sure they can their products and services out in a timely manner.  In my opinion, burying power lines and putting sidewalks where needed, will attract more business then expanding sidewalks a few inches in areas of the city with little to no foot traffic.

All this wasted money on unneeded projects not only raise city taxes, to pay for them, although Doug Paris has done a great job in balancing the budget this year, it also makes it a tougher job for Mr. Paris to grow the city. Another problem Salisbury, NC is experiencing which is detracting from new businesses is the rising cost of water bills.  This will also keep major employers from moving to the area as well. As good of a job as Mr. Paris is doing as city manager, boss is the city council, but at the same time he has to please the residents of the city of Salisbury, NC as well, which I think is hindering some of his abilities to make things better for bringing businesses to the area and growing the city of Salisbury. I know Mr. Paris is trying his hardest to recruit more better paying jobs to Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, NC, but one person is not going to be able to get the kind of big investors Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, NC needs to get the good paying jobs we need.  While I have read in the Salisbury Post about the EDC trying to attract jobs, I must say I agree with the country commissioners, that this program is not succeeding. For the amount spent to run the EDC, I think that this money could be better spent outsourcing to a more experienced company, that can bring some good paying jobs that employee more then 60-80 people.

What makes all these problems compound to the local community, is with poor planning by City Council and city engineers, it causes trickle down effect to the middle and lower class families.  If there are no good paying jobs, there will be less homeowners, which equates to less tax revenue for the city. This also leads to less money for nutritional assistance, health care cost, city and country employees, and other government services.  Also, when cities lose good paying jobs, people looking for work will move to other cities with better paying jobs. Less residents mean hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers will downsize their facilities as well, costing the city and county more good paying jobs, reduce the amount of government assistance for health care, and lowering the pay for health care workers that stay.  Loss of residents also raise taxes for remaining citizens to help pay for city services that are budgeted for current population levels.  With all these additional cost, it leads to less money for workers to save money for homes, cars, remodelling, and other big ticket items.

As a construction company owner, and I'm sure others will say the same thing, if we can't get good paying jobs and new businesses in the City of Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, there is little to no construction work, which are also good paying jobs. Better paying jobs allows more Salisbury, NC and Rowan County construction workers to start building and remodelling again. New businesses often build new buildings as well, or retrofit them to fit their needs, leading to more high paying construction jobs. These good paying construction jobs also leads to more people purchasing homes, which real estate is one of the biggest drivers of the economy.  Larger employers that pay better will also keep the construction industry booming again.  Luckily for MB Construction Company, we have been able to make it through remodelling and taking jobs in Charlotte and Concord where the economy seems to be doing a lot better.

Benefits Salisbury Can Build on to Attract More Business

While Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, NC has been heading in the wrong direction for a long time now, we do have a lot of to offer for things to do.  Restaurants, bars, friendly attitudes, reduced price housing, parks, and other amenities.  These things also help attract new businesses to communities as well.  Although we won't get a 8 million dollar school administrative office downtown now it seems, it is still more attractive to a businesses to have great schools instead of a $75 million high school for 2,200 students in Wake County.  Business people are good number crunchers and they know that this will cost them money in taxes in the long run, which may put Salisbury, NC in a good position for attracting new businesses with good paying jobs. Although Rowan County needs a new administrative building, I think we will save a lot of money at another location, which will also lead to new development in another part of town, something we need drastically. In addition to the shopping, restaurants, bars, nightlife, etc. it is also all located within walking distance which a lot of shoppers like.

Another benefit Salisbury, NC has going for them is a lot of empty lots and historical buildings that are emptily.  As travelling around the state of North Carolina, I have noticed quite a few times that have made their cities look great by mixing new buildings with historical buildings as well.  I think this would add to the appeal of businesses that are looking to Salisbury to relocate or build as well.

Purpose of This Blog Post

While their may have been a lot of rambling in this blog post, I think at least half the residents of Salisbury, NC are looking for better paying jobs, and as a construction company, I think we can provide some better paying jobs.  I am also a lifetime resident of Salisbury, NC and want to see Salisbury return to some of its glory days, where nobody had to worry about finding a job. This is not to be a political statement, just simply some observations and suggestions on how to help bring Salisbury, NC and Rowan County back to a thriving community.  If you are from the area or have been to the area, please feel free to add comments for more suggestions to make our small town better.

Also, if you are an investor looking to rehabilitate some of the property or buildings here in Salisbury, NC, feel free to call for a FREE estimate at 704-267-7763 and we will be happy to come out to measure, estimate, and help you get a material list together to form a budget.  Thanks for reading, and please feel free to offer suggestions on new blog post or how to make Salisbury, NC and Rowan County, NC a better place.

North Carolina - Historic Home Renovation Investment Stratagies

-How To Get The Most Out Of A Historic Home Renovation Investment in Rowan County, NC

Tips, Strategies, and How to Plan for a Historic Home Renovation

Historic home in Salisbury, NC and the surrounding Carolina areas are often beautiful homes, with spacious living areas and other amentities that new homes don't offer. Historic homes are also great home improvement projects for homeowners, who are interested in either revitilizing a neighborhood, looking for project that "fixer up project", or looking for a lower priced home to flip for a profit.  What we intend to explain in this blog post is how to asses your goals, and creating a plan to make achieve those goals.  We also want to explain some of the advantages a historic home can offer versus a new home as well.

Lets first start with the goals your are trying to achieve when shopping for a historic home.  Many homeowners simply like the larger floor plans historic homes offer, however in the current market we have found that their are many investors looking to either flip the historic home for a profir, or turning them into rental units to help maximize return on investment.  Obviously if your looking for a historic home as a primary home, its going to make the goal setting a little differnet, versus purchasing a historic home as a rental property.  Depending on the structure of the historic home, seperating a historic home into a rental property can be a lot more expensive, then rehabibing a historic home into a livivable unit for a single family.  We will go into more detail later in this blog post on what is going to be more cost effective, however when inspecting a historic home for either reason, there are a few thing you want to look for so that you can get the best historic home property suitable for you needs.

Here is a short list of some of the things that potential homeowners can look for in order to get the best historic home property on the market. We will try to list the most costly repairs first and go to the least costly repairs last. 

1. Structural Repairs - When examinging structural repairs, it may be a good idea to schedule an engineer that specializes in historic repairs.  Even with a good contractor, any structural repairs in North Carolina are going to require a licensed engineer to sign off or make drawing to specifications to make any structural repairs that will pass local buidling codes.  The positive side to this however, is you know the home will be structurally sound and pass local building requirements. Also, a lot of exterior structural issues can be seen with the naked eye.
2. Interior Repairs - One advantage to older homes is they have beautiful hardwood floors, trim, and other woodwork that isn't produced in today times.  However, the floors and wood my be beyond affordable repair, and may not fit inside a lot of homeowners and investors budgets.  Sagging floors, bad paint jobs, and poor electrical, plumbing and heating systems may cost more to bring up to date then the house is worth.  A good way to find out if these items are outdated is doing a through exploratory report, drilling small holes and testing electrical current.  You may also need skilled tradesmen to make this assessment as well. Aslo levelling floors can be costly as well.
3. Exterior Inspections - Trees and landscaping my also have grown over the years making it costrly to have these things removed as well.  Aslo a good roof inspection is a good idea as well as roofing is not cheap, and there may be plywood repair under neat the roofing materials. Siding and soffit repairs can get expensive as well.
4. Plumbing Inspections - Often times older homes use cast iron piping for waste and steel pipes for water supply.  Although cast iron is a good product for fire rating, however it is very expensive, to install, and from our experience it is also costly to repair if needed.  Steel water pipes hafe gone out of date, one for price, and the other reason is it doen't provide as clean of a water supple versus more motern products.  We have also found that it har find an affordable plumber to install and repair these products.  Even with the best plumber, cast iron and steel take a tremendously longer time to install, versus newer plumbing products.  Aslo, in older historic homes, a lot of the plumbing fixtures can be outdated as well, addiding more cost to the rehabilition.
5. Energy Efficient Windows and Doors - Most older homes have older style windows with a sash and little insulation around the windows, leading to energy loss when heating and cooling a historic home. They generally have odd sizes, compared to current windows, leading to extra cost to have them custom made.  Same way with doors, in addition to doors that don't meet current ADA standards, which can also add cost to the rehabilitation.
6. Sagging Ceilings and Floors - While floors can be a little more easier to level, ceilings can take a lot of time and labor to them flat enough to give an acceptale look.
7. Fireplaces - Many older homes used fire places as their heating sours, which can cause heat and air loss, and lead to higher carbon monoxide levels.  Usually these are easy fixes, however these are some things that need to be taken care of now with more modern, and energy efficient heating and air systems.
8. Out of Date Electrical Systems - Some historic homes have been rewired, however there are still a lot of historic homes with knob and tube electrical systems, which can be a very costly repair to bring up to current building code standards.
9. Retrofittig For New Light Fixtures, Plumbing, Hvac, and Electrical - As state earlier, these can be costly repairs, that will be required to bring the historic home up to code.  This is not to add cost to the potential buyers, but to make the home more safe versus fire and other hazards.
10. Replacing and Patching Drywall - Most older homes used plaser with battons, which not only create more timely demolition and patching.  This will also cost to the rehabilitation cost.

Now that we have listed some of the problems you my encounter when rehabing a historic home in th Salisbury, NC and Charlotte NC areas, lest list some of the advantages of why homeowners choose historic homes over newer homes.

1. Huge Floor Plans - Many historic homes have larger living spaces such as living rooms, kitchesn, bedrooms, libraries, and bathrooms which is not common in newer homes unless you plan on spending a small forturtune on designing your you home or purchasing a million dollar home.  Even with all the disadvatges listed above, it's usually cheaper to rehab an older home, as you eliminate cost on footings, foundations, and high ceilings.
2. Coverd Porches - Something that is making a comeback, but with the cost of new building materieals, its unlikely your going to find a cost effective way to get a porch that is as large and covered like an holder historic home is.
3. Better Building Materials - An older home will often use nominal lumber vs. dimensial lumber. The difference is nominal lumber is an actual 2" x 4" width board, versus diminsial lumber which is 1.5" x 3.5" lumber, giving every structural wall another 1/2" of support, which also leads to less saggin.  This probably construbutes to why they last longer and stay square longer then newer homes. Most home shoppers don't even need to know this information to be able to ride by a histori home that is kept up, and see why it looks just as good, or better, then new homes.
4. Roof Lines - Historic homes, in our opinion, seem to have better looking roof lines then newer homes, with flatter roofs then newer homes as well. Roof lines can make a house stick out from other homes in the same neighborhood.
5. More Attic Space - Older homes seem to have steeper roof pitches, leading to more attic space for homeowner with a lot of person items which need more storeage space, tending to save a lot of historic homeowners savings on renting storage units.
6. Larger Porch Areas - A latger porch area not only leaves rooms for swings, but also gread areas for family gatherings as well.
7. Larger Craw Spaces - Making periodic home inspections a lot easier, in addition to any repairs that may have to be made in the funture.
8. More Attractive Exterior Trim Prices - While new homes will use drip edges on the roofing, older home use crwon monling, which in out opinion adds more appeal to a home then just simpy pre-fab drib edge as seen on newer homes.
9. Longevity- If you live in a historic town like Salisbury, NC, you will notice older homes genterally
10. Tax Credits - As in the recent years, escepially Rowan Country, NC and Salisbury, NC have offered substantial tax creadis on making homes more energy effiecen, and older homes have better tax credits for rehabing onler homes, eliminating some of the extra cost in rehabing historic homes. Sonething definitley looking into when making a decision on a new homel  Riht now older homes are some of the best investments on the market in Rowan County NC, and Salisbury NC.

All in all rehabing a n historic home is a great idea and and can save a lot of money in can save big money on tax creadis.

We hope we have explained in a good way on why rehabbing a historic home could be a more cost effective way in purchasing a new home.  Not only do you recieve some good tax credits, your also doing something great for the local comumminty.  If your looking at remodelling or purchasing historic home, now is the time while market prices are done.

As always, we hope this blog post has been informative, and if you need help with estimating a historic home cost versus the cost of a new home, then feel free to call us to give you a free estimate and a cost analysis at MB Construction Company at 704-267-7763 for a free estimate.  Thanks for reading our blog, and be sure to ask questions in the comment sextion below, and list new topics you would like to here about on home improvments..

Sincerly,

Brad Basinger
MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone:704-267-7763 (Brad)
Email: brad@mbconstruction.com
Websiter: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Historic Home Restoration | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Porcelain Tile Installers | Mosaic Tile Back Splash Installers | Deck Construction & Deck Repairs | Laminate Floor Installers | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |

Laminate Flooring - Advantages & Disadvantages in Charlotte Homes

Is Laminate Flooring Right For Your Home?

Advantages & Disadvantages of Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is a multi-layer flooring product which uses fiber board materials and adhesive resin compressed together for the core of the product, and a laminated face either made of wood, or resembles the look of wood, tile, or other common flooring products.  Over the past few decades, laminate flooring has risen in popularity with homeowners for a number of reasons. Laminate flooring is often less expensive then other popular flooring products, cost less to install, and easy to maintain.  Although, like with any flooring product, laminate flooring does have some disadvantages as well.  What we intend to explain in this blog post, is the advantages and disadvantages of laminate flooring, and to help educate the homeowner to make the decision on whether laminate flooring if right for your home or not.

As with any home improvement project, cost is often a big factor for homeowners, when making a decision on what to buy.  While a homeowner may want hardwood floors, it simply may not be within their budget.  Laminate flooring is a great cost effective option for homeowners, to get the look of hardwood flooring, at half the cost.  With hundreds of styles and options of laminate flooring, homeowners can generally find a laminate flooring product that resembles the hardwood flooring product's look they are going for.  There are laminate flooring products that resemble nearly every species of wood, board size, and pattern of hardwood products.  Laminate flooring products vary in pricing from as low as $.50/square foot, all the way up to $4 or $5 per square foot.  Higher priced laminate products generally offer a longer warranty then the lower priced products, however their are a variety of options for homeowners in any price range.

Ease of installation is another advantage laminate flooring provides to homeowners.  While a more experienced DIY'er could do a laminate floor installation, eliminating installation cost all together, the ease of which the product is to install leads to lower installation cost, even when having a professional installer do the work.  Laminate flooring generally comes in 4 foot by 12 inch pieces, meaning more square footage can be installed on each board piece.  Sometimes laminate flooring is referred to as a "floating floor" because it requires no nailing, which also helps to lower installation cost as well.  Underlayment materials for laminate flooring also take less time to install then other flooring products as well. Also in addition to easier installation, laminate flooring can be installed on just about any surface.  While many homes in the Charlotte, NC area are built on concrete slabs, laminate flooring can be installed right over a vapor barrier, versus using expensive adhesive to put down an engineered hardwood floor.

While cost is the major driving factor for many homeowners when choosing laminate flooring over other flooring products, a lot of homeowners will choose a laminate flooring product over other flooring options because of the low maintenance.  Laminate flooring can be vacuumed, broom sweeped, or dust moped, which takes a lot less time to do then moping and waxing like you would have to do with other flooring products.  Many homeowners with pets often choose laminate flooring as it is easier to get up the pet hair off a laminate flooring surface versus other flooring products.

With all the advantages of laminate flooring it is hard to find why a homeowner would not choose a laminate flooring product for their home.  However, as with any flooring product, laminate flooring has some disadvantages as well.  One of the major disadvantages of laminate flooring is its water resistant abilities.  While some of the higher end laminate products hold up better to water exposure, many laminate flooring products don't hold up well if exposed to water for long periods of time.  Another disadvantage of laminate flooring versus other flooring products like hardwood, is product warranties and lifespan of the product.  While the higher end products can offer 25 year warranties, many of the more affordable options will only cover 10 years.  Also laminate flooring can not be refinished like traditional hardwoods.

Overall, laminate flooring is a great flooring product, that will provide the homeowner with a great look and quality flooring product at an affordable price.  As you can see the advantages of laminate flooring outweigh the disadvantages, however the final choice of what flooring product to use rest in the hands of the homeowner.  We hope that we have educated the homeowner on laminate flooring products and will help the homeowner make a better educated decision when choosing their next flooring product.  For more information on laminate flooring, visit some of these websites of the leading laminate flooring manufacturers.

Mohawk Flooring - http://www.mohawkflooring.com/flooring-products/laminate/default.aspx
Shaw Flooring - http://shawfloors.com/laminate-flooring
Pergo Flooring - http://na.pergo.com/
Bruce Flooring - http://www.bruce.com/flooring/laminate
Armstrong Flooring - http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/laminate.html

You can also find a lot of useful information on laminate flooring at these leading home improvement suppliers websites as well:

Lowe's Home Improvement - http://www.lowes.com
Home Depot - http://www.homedepot.com

While we do not work for or recommend one product or store over another, we do want to provide easy access to the information available on laminate flooring products.  We do not endorse one brand over the other.  If you are a homeowner in the Salisbury NC or Charlotte NC areas looking to have a professionally installed laminate flooring, contact us through any of the methods listed below.  Thanks for reading and please comment for more topics for our blog.

Authored by:


MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Porcelain Tile Installers | Mosaic Tile Back Splash Installers | Deck Construction & Deck Repairs | Laminate Floor Installers | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |

Popular Summertime Home Improvement - Deck Construction and Deck Repairs

Deck Construction Is A Popular Summertime Home Improvement Project

The Advantages of Building a Deck or Repairing an Existing Deck Structure.

One of the most popular home improvement projects in the summer for homeowners in the Charlotte, NC area is constructing a new deck.  With the great spring & summertime weather, mild falls & winters, installing a new deck can add a lot of value for a homeowner in the North Carolina area.  Having a new deck built also can turn a boring patio slab into one of the more attractive features of your home.  The are a lot of reasons why to build a new deck, and what we intend on highlighting in this blog post, is a variety of advantages that a new deck can offer.

First, lets start with the added space of outdoor living area.  Decks vary in size and lengths, but no matter how big of a deck you decide to build, it gives your home a lot more area to enjoy the outdoors right at your home. From having cookouts, to sunbathing, to just having drinks with guest in the evening, having a deck offers another area to enjoy the outdoor space on your property. Being able to have a nice, clean area to enjoy the outdoors on a nice day, is always an added benefit of having a deck.  More often then not, this is one of the most popular reasons why a homeowner will build a new deck on their home.

Another advantage of having a new deck on your home is that it can be a great selling point when it comes time to sell your home.  Especially in many of the tract home neighborhoods in Charlotte and other cities, where a lot of the homes look the same, a new deck can help differentiate your home from other in the neighborhood.  A lot of new buyers will take this into consideration when making a choice to buy a home, and having a deck already installed on your home, can factor in to a new buyers thought process when making their final decision.  Also, the many deck design options available online and in home improvement magazines can help homeowners find a unique and attractive deck design that will wow guest and potential buyers at the beauty of your deck, offering a homeowner another design option, that can differentiate your home from others in the neighborhood.

One of the major factors that might dissuade a homeowner from building a new deck, is the added maintenance it may add to your home.  Often times homeowners will think about what it will take to keep their deck looking nice, and the cost and time associated with it.  However, after building decks and other exterior structures for years, decking products have come a long way, with many new products offering little to no maintenance at all.  From stains and paints, to new composite decking products, depending on your budget, you can build a new deck that offers little to minimum maintenance.  Even with traditional pressure treated lumber, simply sealing the lumber and keeping the deck clean from leaves and other debris, is often all the maintenance a homeowner will have to do to keep their deck looking nice for years.  The new technology developed in fastening materials, such as screws and nails, have also made many improvements in design, that reduce and eliminate one of the most common deck maintenance needs, that being nail pops. Even if repairs are needed, they are often easier and more affordable to make, as decks generally do not have to have drywall and other wall covering materials removed before any structural repairs can be made, making deck maintenance easy for the home improvement contractor.

All in all, their are many more advantages then disadvantages to building a new deck on your home. With having a nice space to enjoy the outdoors, adding new design enhancements to your home, to the easier to maintain decking products, there are many reasons why now is the time to install a new deck or replace an existing deck on your home.  If your looking to have repairs on your existing deck structure, or looking to construct a new deck in the Charlotte NC and surrounding areas, then give MB Construction Company of Salisbury NC a call today for a free estimate.  We hope this blog post has been informative, and please leave comments for ideas for additional home improvement topics for our blog.

MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Porcelain Tile Installers | Mosaic Tile Back Splash Installers | Deck Construction & Deck Repairs | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |

Bathroom Remodelling Ideas - Mosaic Tile Back Splashes

Mosaic Tile Back Splashes For Bathroom Remodel Projects

A Popular Home Improvement Project That Adds Pop To Your Vanity

Bathrooms are often the smallest rooms in home, however they are one of the most popular home improvement projects for homeowners in today's market.  A lot of factors contribute to why homeowners will choose remodelling their bathrooms over other rooms in the house.  One reason is homeowners spend a lot of time in the bathroom doing things like getting ready in the morning, or relaxing in the bathtub after work. Another reason is they want to make it presentable to guests when they are hosting parties, or having friends over for a barbecue.  For these reasons and many others, homeowners are always looking for ways to make improvements to their bathrooms.  Adding a mosaic tile back splash to a bathroom vanity is becoming one of the most popular bathroom remodelling projects in today's market.  The purpose of this blog is to educate customers on how to measure for purchasing materials for a mosaic tile back splash, what materials will be needed, the time frame for installing the back splash, and give some illustrations on what a finished mosaic tile back splash will look like.

While picking and choosing the tile colors, patterns, and layout will depend on personal preferences, it is a good idea to have what product you want to use in mind.  Although this is not necessary to begin taking measurements, you will need to know the tile dimensions, in order to know exactly how much to purchase.  Now getting back to taking measurements for your mosaic tile back splash, you will simply need to measure the entire length of your vanity, including the sides, if your vanity has two walls, or three walls in some cases.  Next you will need to know how high you want the back splash to go up the wall, keeping in mind your going to need clearance for electrical outlets, mirrors, towel bars, etc.  Once you have the linear footage of all the sides and the height you want to use, simply add them together to get total linear footage. 

Example: Back Wall: 5ft. 6 inches + Side Wall: 1ft. 6 inches = 7 linear feet total.

Now that you have the linear footage of the area to be tiled, you will next need your height requirements for the mosaic tile back splash.  Again, this is a personal preference on what you want the back splash to look like, but most homeowners generally go with a back splash that is between 3-6 inches tall.  For our example we will use a 4 inch high back splash. Now when figuring for materials, you will need to know what type of mosaic tile you are going to use, and what sizes they come in.  Most mosaic tile patterns come in 12" x 12" squares, however some of the more expensive mosaic tile patterns may already be cut to height.  If they are already cut to height, you will simply purchase enough linear footage of the mosaic tile to cover your total linear footage.  If they are not, here is the formula to use for figuring how many pieces of tile to purchase.  For our example, we will us a 12" x 12" tile, and the dimensions used in our example above. A 12" x 12" tile will give you 3, 4 inch high, 12 inch long pieces after they are cut.  Here is the math:

12" divided by 4" = 3 pieces, 1-12" piece covers 1 foot x 3 pieces = 3 linear feet of coverage at 4 inches high.  Having 7 linear feet will mean you will need 3 pieces of 12" x 12" mosaic tiles, as we end up in between pieces, and you always want to round up.  Extra pieces of tile never hurt, as they can be used for replacement pieces if they by chance get broken in the future, or on another home improvement project.

Now that we have the tile figured, now we will need to figure out how much tile backer board will be needed.  When installing any tile on a soft surface like drywall, it's recommended to use a tile backer board product, to keep the thin set or glue from rotting the existing drywall.  When figuring for tile backer board, most contractors figure using square footage, this square footage number will be helpful when figuring for other required materials.  Since we already have the dimensions to figure the square footage footage of the area to be tiled, now we just need to figure the square footage for the backer board.  Backer board is usually sold in 3' x 5' pieces, so to figure the square footage for the backer board, simply multiply 3' x 5', which equals 15 square feet.  For our tile area, using our same example, we will simply multiply 5.5' x 1.5', which equals 8.25 square feet.  Therefore, with one sheet of backer board, we will have enough material to cover the area we are doing in our example.  Here is the formula for square footage:

Length x Width = Square Footage

Also, to install the backer board you will need to purchase specially made screws for the backer board, which are usually located right next to the backer board material itself.  A 1 lb. box should be enough to properly fasten the backer board in our example, however larger areas will require more fasteners. Most tile backer board screw manufacturers have a recommended estimate on how much a 1lb., 5lb., or 10lb. box of fasteners will cover, so it will be easy to figure how many screws you will need. 

Having the square footage figured as we did above for the backer board, will also help us when figuring for the remaining materials needed to do the back splash, which are thin set mortar or tile adhesive, grout, and grout sealer.  Since we already know we have 8.25 square feet of area to tile, the manufacturers have made it easy to figure how much thin set mortar or adhesive, grout, and sealer to use.  This information is generally listed on the back of the product in the specifications section, and with the growing popularity of mosaic tile back splashes, a lot of manufacturers have even made smaller sizes that are perfect quantities for most mosaic tile back splash installations. 

Now that we have all our materials figured, here is a checklist to make sure you have all the materials you will need to install, or have purchased for your tile installation contractor, for a mosaic tile back splash.

• 1/4" or 1/2" Tile Backer board
• 1 1/4" Screws Designed For Tile Backer board
• Thin Set Mortar or Tile Adhesive
• Mosaic Tile
• Grout
• Grout Sealer

Now that we have the materials needed for a mosaic tile back splash, and the quantities of materials needed to complete the project, it will be good to know the time frame required to install the back splash.  Given the nature of any tile project, it is good information to know when installing a mosaic tile back splash, or when hiring a mosaic tile back splash installer.  It is generally going to take 2-3 days to complete a mosaic tile back splash.  Although it is a small bathroom remodelling project, you will want to follow manufacturers suggested waiting times for allowing mortar and grout to cure properly.  Installing the backer board should take about 1-2 hours, and installing the mosaic tile will take another 2-4 hours.  After installing the tile, you will want to wait on average 24 hours before grouting the tile, check manufacturers recommended waiting times to be sure.  After grouting, most grout sealer manufacturers will want another 16-24 hours for the grout to set before applying the sealer, however there are additives you can put into the grout, that will include the sealer into the grout.  Again, follow manufacturers recommendations to determine what is best for your mosaic tile back splash project, and proper waiting times before sealing the grout.

Now that we have gone through the process for installing a mosaic tile back splash, your probably wondering what the finished product will look like.  It's also helpful to see some finished mosaic tile back splashes first hand, to make sure this is something you will want in your home's bathroom.  Here are some photos of some of our most recent mosaic tile back splashes:

]

 

Now that we have seen what the finished product looks like, you should now know if this project is right for your bathroom or not. A mosaic tile back splash can be a great, affordable bathroom remodel project for any homeowner, that will enhance the overall appeal of the bathroom.  Having the knowledge of what materials to purchase, how to figure for the quantities of materials need, and the time frame for installing a mosaic tile back splash is helpful information for any homeowner, whether you doing it yourself, or hiring a bathroom remodelling contractor. 

 

We hope this blog post on mosaic tile back splashes has been informative and helpful, and please feel free to comment with more information or ideas for new blog post.  Best of luck with your next bathroom remodel project, and if your looking for a bathroom remodelling contractor in the Charlotte, NC area, contact MB Construction Company for a free estimate. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to our blog for more home improvement ideas, tips, information, and more.

 

 

MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Porcelain Tile Installers | Mosaic Tile Back Splash Installers | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |



Kitchen Remodeling Ideas - Installing Porcelain Tile

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas - Advantages of Installing Porcelain Tile

Porcelain Tile Adds Value to Kitchens When Selling Your Home

New flooring is always one of the most popular home improvement projects when homeowners are considering remodelling. One of the most popular rooms in the home to remodel is the kitchen.  Many homeowners and families spend a lot of time in the kitchen area cooking, eating, and hosting guests for food and drinks, thus making it prone to spills and dirt.  Also many homes have entrances into the kitchen area, making it a high traffic area in the home.  All things considered a durable and easy to clean flooring product in the kitchen can add tremendous value to the home.  One of the most durable flooring products for the kitchen is porcelain tile.  The point of this blog post is to point out the advantages of porcelain tile in the kitchen, how it adds value to the home, and the many selections of tile products, patterns, and colors.

Lets first start with the advantages of installing porcelain tile in your kitchen. One major advantage of installing porcelain tile in the kitchen is that it is easy to clean.  Most porcelain tile flooring products have a smooth non-porous veneer, making it difficult for drinks and food products to stain the surface of the tile. This veneer also makes it easy to sweep, wipe, mop, and clean the surface area. With all the cooking, pouring of liquids, and cleaning of dishes and cooking utensils, the kitchen is more prone to spills and dirt then any other area of the house.  It is an advantage to any homeowner who does a lot of cooking to have an easy to clean flooring surface. 

Another major advantage of installing porcelain tile in the kitchen is its durability.  With the kitchen being one of the most high traffic areas in the home, the hard surface makes it hold up for a lot longer time then many other flooring products. Even in a high traffic area of the home, many porcelain tile manufacturers guarantee up to 50 years of use out of tile flooring products.  50 years is a lot longer then the average amount of time a homeowner will stay in a particular home. The long lifespan of porcelain tile also beats other popular kitchen flooring products by 25 years or more in most cases. Due to the long lifespan of porcelain tile flooring products, porcelain tile can cost a little more upfront to install, however the durability far outweighs initial upfront cost in the long run.

Considering all the advantages of porcelain tile, it is easy to see why it adds value to the home. A new home buyer takes into consideration the fact, that with a tile floor they are probably not going to have to ever replace the tile. Porcelain tile is also a very popular flooring product in today's housing market.  Having porcelain tile already installed in your home, can make it stand out against other homes on the market, that have less durable flooring products in the kitchen. Many prospective home buyers take this into consideration when making there decision on which home to buy.  In subdivisions where many homes look the same, and have the same building products inside, differentiating your home with porcelain tile in the kitchen, can be the deciding factor in your home selling before another.

Last but not least, another selling point of porcelain tile is the many different styles, sizes, colors, and patterns which can be used when installing porcelain tile in the kitchen.  This gives homeowners a lot more options to be creative when doing a kitchen remodel.  Although the running bond pattern is probably the most popular tile pattern, staggering the grout lines and running the tile on an angle can really make a good tile product stand out even more.  Take a look at one of our recent porcelain tile installations, and see how this pattern can really make an already good looking tile flooring product, look even better.

As you can see, this pattern really makes this good looking porcelain tile product stand out even more.  Although it is personal choice on what you like in your home, tile patterns can really make a big difference in the overall look.

In conclusion, porcelain tile is an excellent home improvement, and kitchen remodel idea. The many advantages of porcelain tile such as the durability, ease to clean, and lifespan of the product make it a great home improvement project for any homeowner.  Also, adding value to the home is always a good home improvement project. Then with all the styles, colors, patterns, and sizes of porcelain tile, it gives homeowners many more options to be creative when remodelling their kitchen areas.  We hope this blog has sparked some kitchen remodelling ideas in homeowners minds, in addition to giving some information on porcelain tile products, and why they are one of the most popular kitchen flooring products on the market. 

Thanks for reading our blog, and please feel free to comment to us with more ideas for blog post.  If your a homeowner in the Charlotte NC area, we welcome you to give us a call for a free estimate on installing porcelain tile in your kitchen, and best of luck on all your future home improvement projects.

MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Porcelain Tile Installers | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |

Bathroom Remodelling Ideas - Tile Showers

Bathroom Remodelling Ideas - Tile Showers

Tile Showers Are a Great Way to Change Your Bathroom's Look

As a home improvement contractor in the Charlotte NC area, one of the bigger markets in the United States, we often get calls from homeowners who want to remodel their bathrooms, but are stumped for ideas on really changing the look of their bathroom.  Being on the construction side of things, versus the interior design side, we are often stumped as well. Interior designers are better in asking questions to find out what homeowners are really looking for, however hiring a interior designers can often push many homeowners over there bathroom remodelling budgets.  So the purpose of this article is to share the story of a popular bathroom remodelling idea, that we are getting a lot of calls to estimate and install.  Tile showers seem to be popular, at least in our area of the country, and they really do make a positive, yet drastic change in the look of homeowners bathroom.

With many homes in the Charlotte area being built during the housing boom of the early 2000's, a lot of homes are tract homes, with every house in the neighborhood having the same bathroom fixtures and design.  Bathrooms are often overlooked by builders, and very little time is spent on the design and construction of them, making them one of the more popular home improvement projects in the Charlotte, NC area. Most homes often have a standard tub/shower combo, with a boring appeal to many homeowners, making a tile shower really set your home apart from your neighbors. In addition to making your home more saleable, if you decide to sale, a tile shower can also get you many compliment from friends and family when they visit your home.

Another advantage to incorporating a tile shower in your bathroom remodelling project, is the wide variety of styles, colors, patterns, and shapes of tile.  Tile also has a variety of different textures, which gives homeowners even more options, when selecting tile for their bathroom remodelling project. Ceramic and porcelain tile are the most popular tile textures, however in recent years natural stone has become very popular as well. In addition to being able to choose from all these options, mixing tile styles, colors, and shapes; adds even more options for creativity by the homeowner. Check out some of these pictures from a recent bathroom remodel we did for a homeowner in the Charlotte NC area.

 

 

As you can see from the photos, the homeowners in both pictures have used a combination of tile size, color, and trim pieces. It also seen how different patterns can differentiate the look of tile as well. We also must note, these where homeowners design ideas, we only did the installation. In addition to providing the installation services, once a homeowner knows what they want to do, we can provide the estimating and material list for purchasing the tile.

 

In conclusion, tile showers are a great way to change the look of your bathroom, giving homeowners many options to make their bathroom a unique room in the house.  So whether your using an interior designer or doing the design yourself, a tile shower is a great bathroom remodelling project.  If you are a homeowner in the Charlotte, NC area looking to install a tile shower, and need help in estimating, purchasing, and installing a tile shower, contact MB Construction Company through any of the methods listed below. Be sure to stay tuned to our Charlotte NC Home Improvement blog for more ideas and tips on home remodelling project.

 

 

MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

Home Improvement Services | Kitchen and Bath Remodelling | Flooring Installers | Tile Installers | Handyman Services | Rental Home Maintenance | Painting Services | Home Repairs | Charlotte NC | Concord NC | Salisbury NC | Kannapolis NC | Mooresville NC | Rowan County NC | Mecklenburg County NC | Cabarrus County NC | Iredell County NC | Home Improvement Blogger |