Attention Plainview, NY Home Owners One smart update can upgrade your entire home

One smart update can upgrade your entire home

Smart tips for Plainview, New york Home Owners.

(BPT) - If your home is 10 years old or older, your garage door is probably a plain-Jane raised-panel steel door that adds little or nothing to the overall design of your house.
So why not make an improvement? In the last decade, the garage door industry has generated stunning new designs that can transform the curb appeal of your home from boring to exciting.
Large area = big impact
“When something consumes such a large part of the front of the house, it should not be generic; it should be special,” says Michael Walsh, a syndicated home-improvement columnist. “It should improve the looks of the house, not detract from it.”
A better-looking garage door can actually parlay into a more-valuable home. One nationwide study of real estate professionals by StrataMark revealed that an attractive new garage door can add as much as 4 percent to the home’s selling price. That adds $10,000 to the value of a $250,000 home, which means that a new garage door can easily pay for itself.
Two new designs that dazzle
Chris Long, long-time editor of Door & Operator Industry, a garage door trade magazine, identifies two new garage door designs that are hot right now: woodgrain prints and carriage house styles.
A woodgrain print is a steel garage door that looks so much like wood, you need to thump on it to realize it’s actually durable steel. This technological breakthrough by steel coating companies brings big benefits for garage door buyers.
“The rich wood-look of these doors is gorgeous,” says Long. “Plus, since they’re made of steel, they’re incredibly durable and require almost no maintenance.”
The other popular new design is the carriage house style. These attractive doors open just like your old door, but they look like the side-hinged, swing-out doors of the charming carriage houses of yesteryear.
Quick design tips
Since both of these new designs come in dozens of attractive styles, here are a few tips to select the one that integrates best with the personality of your home. Design experts advise you to select a door that matches with three exterior features of your home: colors, lines, and shapes.
“The color of your garage door should complement the overall house color as well as the window trim colors,” says Gale Steves, former editor-in-chief of Home magazine.
Then look at the lines on your home exterior. Are they horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or curved? Today’s garage door styles can provide excellent matches for any of these architectural features.
Finally, consider the shapes of elements on your home, particularly the window panes. Are they arched, square, or small rectangles? Matching the panes on the house with the garage is not that difficult, given the wide variety of garage door window designs now available.
Cool choosing tools
Thanks to new technology, you don’t need to guess at the right door design. Most garage door manufacturers now offer door designer tools on their websites. Many door dealers also have similar software on a computer tablet they bring to your home. You just upload a photo of your own home and drop in any of hundreds of door designs to see exactly how it would look on your home.
A good starting place is GarageWowNow.com, a non-commercial website that features dozens of garage door photos from many manufacturers. It also includes a find-a-dealer function that helps you find qualified dealers in your area.
Your new garage door is not only a perfect spring home improvement project, it’s a smart investment. Celebrity designer Chayse Dacoda says, “You are investing in the single largest moving part on your home, which is going to affect its appearance for at least the next 20 years.”

5 home-improvement projects to help sell your Plainview, Old Bethpage, New York house this summer

5 home-improvement projects to help sell your home (BPT) - The real estate market has improved across much of the country, but homeowners thinking about listing their homes this summer need to stay competitive to attract buyers. Buyers are looking for long-term homes, ones they want to stay in for years while raising their children, or settling down and retiring. To prepare your home for listing – or simply to enjoy it a few years longer – check out these top five home improvement projects you can do yourself to make your home more attractive to buyers: 1. Give the front door a new look – The front door sets the tone for your home's curb appeal and security, and it signals how well you maintain everything else. Buyers will be walking into your home via the front door, so be sure to give them a good first impression. If your door is in good shape, you might just need to give it a refreshing new coat of paint or new hardware. But if it's seen some wear and tear over the years, consider replacing it with a steel door – one that will show buyers your home is safe. 2. Update the most-used entryway – While the front door needs curb appeal, the garage door is traditionally the most-used door in the home. Old wooden garage doors will start to sag and the paint will peel, giving your home a run-down look. Replacing this door with an insulated steel door will not only improve the exterior look of your home, but also keep the garage space warmer. Finishing off the garage can also be a big draw for buyers, but you probably won't be able to recoup as much of the expense as you would by replacing only the garage door. 3. Add additional living space – You might not think about adding a deck as the same thing as adding an extra room to the house, but if you're selling your home during the warmer months, that's how buyers will see it. They'll be able to picture themselves enjoying breakfast and picnic dinners outside, or curling up on a lounge chair with a good book on a summer afternoon. To make your deck a good selling feature, consider using ProWood Dura Color, a color-treated wood that retains its color for years. This means your buyers can easily move into your house and can enjoy the space without the annual chore of staining. Realtor.com estimates that homeowners can recoup 87 percent of the investment of adding a deck when they sell. 4. Create a bathroom retreat – As the smallest room in the house, the bathroom tends to cost the least to remodel. If you have a guest or master bath that can use a little help to transform into a relaxing oasis, take the opportunity to replace the flooring, add cushy rugs, paint the walls and replace the accessories with more modern styles. Faucets, showerheads, the mirror and even the toilet can all be upgraded with water-saving and stylish designs. Buyers will take note of a maintenance-free bath, making your home one they'll remember as move-in ready. 5. Turn the backyard into a private paradise – Buyers will be visualizing themselves in your backyard when touring your home. They're looking to see how quiet and secure the space is. Consider adding a beautiful wooden fence to enhance the privacy. It will make the home attractive to families with children and pets, and for couples who aren't interested in having a conversation with the neighbors every time they go outside. To make your fence an attractive selling feature of the home, consider using ProWood Dura Color fence pickets or pre-built panels. The cedar-tone or redwood-tone colorant driven deep into the wood fibers will stand up to the sun's harsh rays and won’t gray out over time, unlike cedar fencing. You can match it to the deck coloring for a beautiful accent look that connects the colors in your backyard.