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What's In This Newsletter

Planning A Remodel In A Down Economy

Product Focus - Carlisle Pre-Finished Wood Floors

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Planning A Remodel In A Down Economy

The bad economic news seems unavoidable. Every newscast and blog seems to report another round of job losses and financial turmoil. But what if you have or maybe had plans for home improvement before all this started? What should you do now?

That's the hundred-thousand dollar question. Only you can determine if undertaking any expenditures on your home right now is the right choice. But let's think this through a bit and look at some of the options.

Obviously if you're at any risk of job loss in the foreseeable future you know what the answer is already. You sit tight and preserve cash. But if you feel somewhat secure (as secure as anyone can feel in this environment) now may be a good time to invest in those upgrades you've been planning. However, keep in mind your objectives for upgrading, as they might help you decide whether to move forward or wait.

For example, if your plan is to remodel your home for the purpose of selling it, you may want to wait until the housing market rebounds given the loss in value of homes in most markets. The return on your improvement investment has also dropped relative to 2007 according to Remodeling Magazine's Cost vs. Value report for 2008-2009.

On the other hand, if you plan on staying in your home and these upgrades are strictly for the benefit of you and your family, then depending on your financial outlook, it may be a good time.

Taking Advantage Of Opportunity
The current housing slump does bring with it some opportunity. Depressed housing starts and the lack of demand for products and building materials have affected the remodeling sector as well. This may give you some leverage on pricing for any home improvements you might be considering.

For one thing, the downturn has impacted builders and there are those that are looking for work. I can personally attest to this given that in the last 4 months my wife and I contacted several builders with our own remodeling plans. We've since had these same builders call back, twice no less, asking how they could be of service and whether our plans had progressed. Several years ago these contractors had so much work we were lucky if they even returned our initial call.

Don't Stop Planning Even If You Decide To Wait
But let's say that you're still a little squeamish about laying out any substantial investment in a home improvement given the current conditions. My advice is to at least keep planning and preparing for when you do make the leap.

Since we started down this remodeling road ourselves my wife and I have been amazed at the length of time this process takes (our plans include a kitchen upgrade and an addition). For us, the process so far has involved several builders and an interior designer. However between our own hectic schedules, those of the professionals involved, family life, etc., it's taken about 4 months just to get to the point of having a plan in place.

My point here is this: any extensive remodel takes time to coordinate and get right. Even if you're not planning on breaking ground within the next 6, 8 or even 12 months, don't wait to start the planning. Just identifying the products that you'll put in your new or remodeled space can take a lot of time. Use this time to get those tasks, along with any financing arrangements and other logistics, understood and out of the way ahead of time.

Sooner or later, the economy will heat up again and so will the housing and remodeling markets. You'll want to be ready to go before it gets too hot.

Product Focus - Carlisle's Custom Coat™ Pre-Finished Wide Plank Flooring

The Carlisle Wide Plank Floor company recently introduced a pre-finished floor product called Carlisle Custom Coat™. Carlisle's specialty has traditionally been wide-plank wood flooring, a style that offers a beautiful and distinctive contrast to standard narrow plank wood flooring

Carlisle offers a wide range of wood species including FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) antique woods. Until now however the wood was unfinished, meaning you finished it yourself or hired a contractor. It also meant that you had to deal with the stains, top finish, fumes and mess that's associated with a finished-in-place wood floor. That's all changed now with Custom Coat.

Pre-finished wood flooring isn't anything new but Carlisle's approach has been more deliberate so that they could, in their words, "get it right".

One of the key differences between Carlisle's Custom Coat and other pre-finished wood floor products is that Carlisle's planks are completely coated including the top, bottom and tongue and groove. Carlisle sees this as an added benefit by making the wood more stable because it's protected on all sides from the absorption of moisture.

There are times savings involved too. Bare wood needs to acclimatize to the room (or at least the home) where it's going to be installed which takes some time, depending on the wood and the prevailing conditions. More time is necessary during the finishing process to ensure each coat dries sufficiently. With pre-finished wood, these two requirements go out the window, cutting down the time it takes to get a completed floor.

Custom Coat flooring is also environmentally friendly. According to Carlisle, the finish contains no measurable amounts of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), the smelly and sometimes nasty stuff that you really shouldn't breathe.

Comparable to other factory-finished wood flooring, Custom Coat provides a very durable top-coat that's more durable than the polyurethanes used on site-finished floors. These floors can also be touched up and ultimately refinished too according to Carlisle. And if you're really tough on your floors, a commercial grade finish is available for the most demanding applications.

Custom Coat is offered in all of Carlisle's stain colors or if you want a custom color, they can do that too. It's even offered on their distressed surfaces like the foot-worn, saw-kerf and hand-scraped varieties.

You can see more about Carlisle's Custom Coat pre-finished flooring at their website (http://www.wideplankflooring.com/wood-plank-floor-pre-finishing.aspx).

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Here's what's new at the website:

The Latest Blog Entries
(You can see them here at the Home Design Blog page)

"A New Twist For Interior Doors"
Announces the new article about Magnetic Chalkboard doors from the Simpson Door Company that offer a new spin (use??) for interior doors.

"Kitchen Faucets - Delivering Handy Features and Style As Well As Water"
Announces the new web page about choosing kitchen faucets.

"Home Depot Closing Expo Stores"
Home Depot closes its Expo Design Centers.

New Web Pages and Articles
Choosing Kitchen Faucets

Simpson Magnetic Chalkboard Doors Article

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