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The Outlook, The Post, The Estacada News
Friday, September 13, 2013
A8
fall home improvement
Y
es, everyone knows
making home im-
provements is a wor-
thy investment in
your greatest material asset.
Sure you want every improve-
ment job done well with top-
notch results. But when all is
said and done, do you really
want to have to put a lot of ef-
fort and money into maintain-
ing those improvements?
For most people — whether
they’ll admit it or not — the an-
swer is “no.”
The best home improve-
ments are the ones that not on-
ly enhance your home’s value
and livability, but also require
little work from you afterward
to keep them looking great and
functioning well. If you’re look-
ing for high-impact, low-main-
tenance home improvements,
consider these popular proj-
ects:
No-leak skylights
When it comes to an im-
provement that brightens your
home, enhances its indoor air
quality and boosts energy-effi-
ciency, skylights deliver. Unfor-
tunately, early skylights had a
reputation for being leaky — a
problem that simply doesn’t oc-
cur with modern, no leak, ener-
gy-efficient skylights like those
made by Velux America. Pre-
engineered flashing kits (the
metal shield that surrounds
any opening in a wall or roof)
work with all types of roofs,
from shingles to metal, to en-
sure a properly installed sky-
light won’t leak.
Need further low-mainte-
nance points to make the case
for adding a skylight? Not only
do modern skylights keep wa-
ter out, they’re energy efficient
as well. Energy Star-qualified,
no leak solar-powered fresh air
skylights, like those from Ve-
lux, deliver fresh air through
cost-effective passive ventila-
tion. Adding remote-controlled,
solar-powered blinds allows
you to easily open or close a
fresh air skylight and shade it
when the sun hits that part of
the roof, boosting the skylight’s
energy efficiency by 39 percent.
Keep the shade open during
cold weather to admit warmth
and reduce heating costs.
A 30 percent federal tax
credit on both products and in-
stallation costs makes a sky-
light project even more appeal-
ing. Visit
for a tax calculator to show
your savings for a new installa-
tion or replacement skylights
and a skylight planner app to
show exactly how skylights and
blinds will look in any area of
your home.
Lighting upgrade
Older light fixtures not only
look dated, they often use out-
dated, inefficient bulbs and are
lacking in the energy-efficient
emphasis that comes with new-
er fixtures. Upgrading lighting
throughout your home is a
great way to ensure you won’t
have to think about it again any
time soon.
If a total lighting re-
design is out of the
question, you can still
make your existing
light fixtures lower
maintenance simply
by swapping out old,
inefficient incandes-
cent light bulbs with
newer, electricity-sip-
ping versions. Options
such as CFLs and
LEDs provide all the
light of incandescents
while using a fraction
of the energy.
Energy.gov says En-
ergy Star-rated LEDs
use at least 75 percent
less power than incan-
descent bulbs, and last
25 times longer. Imag-
ine the time, hassle
and money you’ll save
not having to replace
bulbs constantly — es-
pecially in lights that
get a lot of use, like
porch lights, or that
are hard to reach, like
the chandelier in your
two-story entryway.
Vinyl siding
Wood, fiber cement,
stucco, brick — there
are nearly as many
types of exterior sid-
ing as there are colors
to paint it. When it
comes to low- or no-
maintenance siding, vi-
nyl remains the gold
standard. In fact, more
new homes are built us-
ing vinyl siding than any other
type of siding product, accord-
ing to the Vinyl Siding Insti-
tute.
While early versions of vinyl
siding introduced in the 1950s
earned criticism for being less
lovely than wood, even those
less sophisticated versions had
staying power; it’s possible to
find homes in use today sport-
ing vinyl siding that was added
to the house in the 1970s or
even earlier.
Vinyl siding never needs to
be painted, and when properly
installed provides exceptional
shielding from the elements.
New technology has made
modern vinyl siding look better
and last longer without fading
issues associated with older
versions of vinyl. It requires
basic cleaning, and overall
maintenance demands are
much less than other types of
siding. Visit
.
org to learn more.
— From Brandpoint
The most successful
ones not only
enhance your
home’s value, they
require little work
afterward
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Call for information on
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$
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00
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after
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24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE
We Service all Makes and Models
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themolelady.com
LET ME TAKE CARE OF THOSE PESKY MOLES!
Serving You For 18 Years!
NOTICE NEW MOUNDS OF DIRT IN YOUR YARD?
It’s likely a mole making a home in your yard!
Get rid of those pesky moles now and minimize the damage to your yard.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO: BRANDPOINT
Sun Tunnel tubular skylights with light reflecting globes that allow the user to
adjust the direction of the light are both attractive and efficient in areas where
traditional skylights won’t fit. An optional light kit makes these lower-cost
units dependable sources of light from dusk to dawn and throughout the day.
The best kind of home improvements:
high-impact, low-maintenance
W
hether you’re fin-
ishing a basement
or adding space,
many home im-
provement projects require
you to replace or add drywall.
These days, many homeowners
are considering hanging and
finishing drywall themselves,
giving their projects a com-
plete do-it-yourself flair and
helping to cut expenses.
As you plan your home im-
provement projects, consider
adding the drywall portion of
the task to your to-do list.
Nearly 80 percent of homeown-
ers who remodeled their home
or built a new one in the past
two years did all or a portion of
the construction themselves,
according to a survey by Priori-
ty Metrics Group.
Anitra Mecadon, host of DIY
Network’s Mega Dens, is work-
ing with National Gypsum, the
maker of Purple drywall prod-
ucts, to help homeowners in-
stall and finish their drywall
during this summer’s home im-
provement season. She pro-
vides some easy tips to ensure
their projects look profession-
ally done when finished:
1. Choose the right drywall
product to ensure your walls
are built to last. For example,
Purple products are fire resis-
tant, provide unparalleled re-
sistance to moisture, mold, mil-
dew, scratches or dents, and
can even help reduce the noise
heard between rooms.
2. Measure the wall and ceil-
ing space twice to determine
the amount of drywall needed.
You only get one cut, so double
check your measurements. Us-
ing a utility knife, score the
front of the drywall deep into
the core.
3. Snap the board so it’s con-
nected only by the back paper.
4. Cut the back paper so it
separates, using a utility knife
or keyhole saw to cut around
electrical outlets, windows and
doors.
5. Trim rough edges using a
rasp or utility knife until the
edges are clean and smooth.
6. Hang the drywall horizon-
tally against the framing and
attach using fasteners such as
screws or nails. Remember to
hang and attach ceilings first.
Ask a friend for help.
7. Using joint compound and
paper joint tape, apply a coat of
joint compound to the joints
and firmly embed the tape to
ensure a good bond, then let it
dry.
8. Apply joint compound over
the taped joints and fastener
heads — feathering out further
with each coat — then let dry.
9. Using sandpaper, sand ex-
cess joint compound to create a
smooth surface, making sure
you don’t damage the drywall
face paper.
10. Make sure the finished
wall or ceiling is free from dirt,
grease, dust or anything that
might affect your primer or fin-
ished paint.
“If I can install or finish dry-
wall, anyone can,” says Meca-
don, who has hung plenty of
drywall. “Whether you’re
building a new home, adding a
media room or remodeling
your kitchen or bath this sum-
mer, Purple products give you
what you need to get the most
out of your walls.”
To learn more about drywall
techniques and the benefits of
using high-performance Purple
products, visit AskforPurple.
com.
— From Brandpoint
Do-it-yourself
project saves money
and offers an
individual flair
Don’t be daunted by drywall:
Tips for success in your home
Nearly 80 percent of
homeowners who
remodeled a home or
built a new one in the
past two years did at
least some of the
construction
themselves, according
to a survey.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO:
BRANDPOINT
