Periodically, we like to pass along what we’re seeing in the Boston area for remodeling activity. It can be helpful for people considering a project to know more about what’s happening in their area as they decide how to move forward with their projects.

The first thing I would like to let people know is that we are seeing a strong demand for remodeling across the spectrum. Whether it’s exterior siding, a kitchen or a bathroom, people are preparing for projects.

The second thing is that this is a very popular year for people to do bathroom remodeling. From small 1/2 bathrooms to full master suites, people are feeling like it’s time to improve the bathrooms in their houses. This isn’t to say that we’re also not seeing kitchens, whole house remodeling projects as well as additions, but bathrooms are coming in greater numbers than previous years.

A very common feature of New England homes is pine trim. These are trim boards that can be used for corner boards, window trim, soffit and fascia – basically any place where there is trim on a home.

It was a common practice in the last 30 years to install unpainted or “raw” pine boards and then paint the exposed surface when the house is painted. This leaves the backside of the trim exposed to the weather and moisture. This starts water wicking into the wood as soon as the trim is exposed and starts the decay process. The decay starts from the backside and works it’s way to the front. The first sign that the homeowner sees is puckering or cracking of the surface of the wood and the wood gets soft. Unfortunately, at this point, the trim is usually totally rotten and there may be damaged to the wall as well.

What this means is that a homeowner should perform an annual survey of the trim on their home to look for signs of decay. If any signs are found, it’s a good idea to remove that piece of trim and see if there are additional problems lurking beneath the surface. This type of problem only gets worse with time so the sooner that you fix the problem, the better you are.

In many cases, we’ve seen this problem on houses that are 3-5 years old. Don’t assume that because you have a new house that this won’t happen to you.

This is getting pretty granular, but I wanted to write a quick posting on foundations.

As you know, foundations are the walls that hold up buildings. Here in the northeast, the bottom of the foundation wall is a footing. This footing is typically about 24 inches wide and 20 inches deep. To make sure that it’s below the frost line, Massachusetts requires that the footing be at least 48 inches below grade. The frostline varies depending on where you live so make sure that you check your local building code for the applicable depth.

The way that this works is that the footing is poured first, it is allowed to harden and then the walls are poured on top. A small but key detail is the connection between the footing and the wall. In many cases the foundation contractor will put a “keyway” in the top of the footing. This is little more than a trench in the concrete about 2 inches wide and 2 inches deep. It’s designed to make sure that when the wall is poured on top of the footing, the concrete from the wall flows into the keyway and hardens. This prevents the wall from slipping off the footing over time.

Another way that this is done is to install rebar (reinforced steel rods) out of the top of the footing that will project into the wall. This is also an acceptable method.

Anyway, next time you are involved with a foundation pour make sure that you see either a keyway or rebar coming out of the top of the footing

Massachusetts has recently adopted what is called the “stretch” code related to building performance. This is an optional item that can be adopted by each individual town in the state. It requires more stringent insulation and energy requirements in construction. We’ve already started to see this in some of our projects where they are requiring more aggressive insulation and windows.

From a green point of view this is all good. The overall idea is that the additional costs will be offset by the energy savings over the life of the house. The not so good news is that this can increase the cost of a remodeling project. The state estimates that it will increase the cost of an average home by $3,000. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be a good deal more than the $3,000 that is projected.

Make sure you check with your local building department if you’re considering a remodeling project. You’ll want to consider the new requirements in the early stages of your project planning so you’re not surprised later.

One of the challenges that we see on many houses in the Boston area is keeping the outside of the house looking good. Most of this problem comes down to painting. On many older houses, you see 5, 10 or up to 20 coats of paint that have been applied over the years. What this means is that any new coat of paint is trying to stick to an older layer of paint. This might work for a while, but after a few years, the paint starts to peel.

A house not too far from where I live is a beautiful victorian style house that’s about 125 years old. It has the original siding and trim. It looks great.

The family who lives there had the house painted about 6 years ago. The company that did the work is a reputable company and did a good job. However, 6 years later, they are planning to paint their house again. The paint is peeling and the house is starting to look shabby.

An alternative to the paint every 6 year cycle is to consider residing with a pre-painted fiber cement siding. This would involve removing all of the existing siding and replacing it with a pre-painted siding such as the ColorPlus line from James Hardie. This product offers a 15 year warranty on the color and integrity of the paint.

This is an option we’ll be talking about more in the future.

It may seem obvious, but one of the most important thing between a homeowner and a contractor is trust. The homeowner has to trust that the contractor knows what they are doing, that they will take care of their house and that the work will get done on the promised schedule. The contractor has to trust that the homeowner will make decisions when required, pay invoices promptly and be easy to reach and to communicate with.

The reason that I’m writing about trust is that we’re getting ready to start a new kitchen project. The client is going to be out of town for the first week of the project and trusts Red Apple to work in their house when they are away. Working in people’s houses when they are not home is something that we do every day. Whether the homeowner is away for an hour or a month, we’re often working in their home without anybody else being there.

To allow someone to be in your house while you aren’t there requires a great deal of trust. Our clients put that trust in us everyday on all of our projects. We realize that we’re being honored to be trusted like this by the people we work for. A person’s home is the center of their universe and holds much of what they hold dear.

To our past, present and future clients, we want you to know that we appreciate your trust and work to earn and maintain that trust every day.

We’ve finalized our marketing plans for the rest of the year and they are pretty exciting. We’ll be updating the web site and doing more with social media. We also plan to do more online advertising. We also plan to attend Andover Days in September in Andover, MA. This is a family oriented event that offers live music and good food. We’ll be there with the Red Apple booth to let people know more about what we do and answer any questions they have about remodeling. We look forward to seeing you there.

A project that we’re working on this week reminded me again of one of the most common problem we see in residential construction. The problem is the connection between a deck and the wall of a house. This connection is often constructed poorly and leads to water damage to the wall of the house.

The reason that this is a problem is that you have a deck that can hold some amount of water up against the wall of the house. This needs to be attached in a way that allows water to drain away from the house. In the project we’re working on now, the person who built the deck made several mistakes.

First, the didn’t put enough space between the deck boards. This allows water to build up on the deck and pool against the house. Many people like the look of the deck boards spaced closely together because it more resembles a finished interior floor. But this is not a good idea for an outside deck.

Second, some of the deck framing ran from outside through the wall of the house and into the crawl space below. This is universally a bad idea. There are ways that it can be done, but they are complicated and beyond the skill level of most contractors. In this case, the deck framing that ran under the house created a highway for water to get into the building.

The third mistake was bringing the cedar shakes on the wall down to the level of the deck. This created a situation where when there was water on the deck, the shakes would wick the water up and into the wall. Cedar shakes are a great material for an exterior wall and do a great job of shedding rain and snow. However, they are not designed to sit in standing water.

So do yourself a favor and take a close look at the deck on your own house. If you are concerned that there might be a problem, call a reputable contractor and have them come out and take a look.

One of the things about remodeling is that the difference between work that is okay and work that is great is in the details. From the design through construction, the difference between the average and the spectacular is how much attention your contractor pays to the details.

Here’s an example.

One of the questions we run into when we do screen porch projects is where to put the railings? If your local building code requires that the height of your porch requires railings, you’ll need to decide if the screen panels are inside or outside the railing.

Now there is no correct answer to this question – it comes down to what will work best for the homeowner. Each approach has pros and cons.

If you put the railings on the inside, you get greater protection for the screens. Also, if you design it correctly, the top rail of the railings can be a great glass holder at the edges of the screen porch. The down side is that your porch is less attractive from the outside as the screens block the railings.

If the railings are on the outside – the opposite applies. The screen porch looks better from the outside, but it’s easier to damage the screens on the inside.

What works best depends on the situation but it’s an important consideration as you design the porch.

Lastly, don’t forget to screen under the deck! We find that many contractors forget to screen under the screen porch floor leaving great access for all kinds of small bugs.

As always, we’re happy to answer any questions you might have on your remodeling projects.

Chris Matey

This is a blog post for all those people who’ve been thinking about a project, but haven’t felt comfortable to take that first step. You may be concerned that it’s not the right time, that the economy may have ongoing issues, or that your house might not be worth the investment.

I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with the economy or the value of your house. What I can tell you is what we see on the ground at Red Apple Renovations.

This spring has shown a dramatic increase in the number of projects that people are contacting us about. These projects range from small repairs to full-fledged additions and whole house remodeling projects. They are comfortable moving forward with the investment in their house and they want to start their project soon. I wanted to relay this information in our blog so that people who were concerned about moving forward with their project could have a little more information about what their friends and neighbors are doing when it comes to remodeling.

As always, feel free to call us with any questions on your remodeling project.