If your b
athroom, kitchen or floor tiles are looking a little rough, consider renewing the grout, especially if re-tiling an area is out of the question. Considering that grout is dramatically less expensive than tile, your main decision has to do with choosing a grout color, which was recently simplified at Ask a Floor Guy.
There are hundreds of grout colors, it’s true, but according to everyone’s favorite flooring expert, you can simplify your choices in grouts by:
- matching your tile color
- choosing contrasting grout color
- choosing a neutral grout color
Keep in mind that darker grouts tend to hide stains better, while lighter colors can showcase the tiles or accent a design. In any case, re-grouting is bound to improve and freshen the overall look of your home, and therefore is a great addition to any home seller’s strategy. Happy home selling.
Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by juhansonin
A photo of the Denver Botanical Gardens (Flickr–Creative Commons)
Among Colorado home owners, the phrase “water, water everywhere” isn’t a phrase often thrown around. With summertime lawn watering restrictions in Denver, it isn’t always easy to keep things green when temperatures rise into the 90s and higher. But with homebuyers out in force this season, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to wow them with your Colorado home simply because your yard wasn’t all it could be.
Most Colorado consumers are concerned with rising gas prices, but if you’re buying a home in the Colorado Front Range, you probably have some ecological and financial concerns about water, too. Here’s a short list of things you can do this summer to keep your home looking great from the curb, whether it’s on the market or not.
- If you have a sprinkler system, make sure it’s properly maintained. Leaks and inefficiencies can cost you both dollars and dead spots. Carefully research installers, and look into receiving an irrigation system audit that measures and evaluates your system.
- Follow your neighborhood’s water restrictions (if there are any). Not only will you save the communities water supply, you’ll avoid fines or additional fees.
- Water before 9:00 AM. Watering before it gets too warm outside raises the bang for your watering buck because you’re not losing as much moisture to evaporation. Avoid watering at night, however, because doing so can increase the molds and fungi that can take hold.
- Ask your water department for literature or material on landscaping in a dry climate; further, ask an expert about landscaping/xeriscaping options.
- Careful care and management of grasses can make them more water-wise.
The Washington Post recently put together a succinct look at home selling tips related to bathroom updates. It’s said that a dreary, outdated bathroom can be a home sale deal breaker.
Remodeling magazine says the average price of a mid-range bathroom remodel in 2007 was $14,445. But $500 worth of nips and tucks can upgrade the room, says Lytel Young, host of HGTV’s “Save My Bath.”
There are three important things in a bathroom. Clean, simple, and orderly. That’s the key for every budget, whether it’s $500 or $40,000,” Young says.
He recommends these inexpensive steps to sellers whose baths need a facelift:
- Rip out the dated medicine cabinet and replace it with a big mirror.
- Replace the lighting with new sconces on both sides of the mirror plus a new overhead fixture on a dimmer.
- Re-caulk the tub and shower.
- Repaint with a neutral color, but decorate with big, fluffy colorful towels.
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