One thing that many people overlook when remodeling their home is their interior doors. Doors do more than offer privacy; they also offer another way to incorporate design elements into your home’s interior. The following article can be used as a guideline to use when choosing new interior doors. Continue reading to learn how to choose interior doors.
Solid Core Or Hollow Doors
When you visit your local home improvement store, you may notice that interior doors come in a variety of style and colors. You may also notice that prices can vary greatly from door to door. One of the main reasons for the differences in price is the type of door it is. Solid core doors are made from solid wood; thus they are more expensive. Hollow doors use thin pieces of wood making them less expensive.
Paint Grade Interior Doors Versus Stain Grade Doors
Door come in two qualities: stain grade interior doors and paint grade doors. Stain grade interior doors are made of wood and can be stained. Paint grade doors are generally made from medium density fiberboard. For this reason, paint grade doors are less expensive than stain grade doors.
Door Slabs Or Pre-hung Doors
While browsing through your home improvement store, you may notice that some doors are extremely cheap. Most doors that are really inexpensive are door slabs. With this type of door you must hang it from your existing door frame. This type of door can be more difficult to hang; however, with a little preparation it can easily be accomplished by the majority of homeowners. Pre-hung doors include the framing and trim. These doors are easily installed by removing your current door and nailing the new pre-hung door in the opening.
Door Styles
There are numerous door styles to choose from. Whether you want a traditional look or a contemporary look, you can find it at your local home improvement store. One of the more common door styles is the panel door. A panel door consists of several square panels, generally either six equally spaced squares.
How Does Your Door Swing?
One thing that most people do not think of when purchasing a door is how the door swings. How a door swings is based on where the door knob and hinges are located. Doors can be either left handed or right handed. To figure out which one you need stand on the inside of your door and look at your doorknob. If the doorknob is on the right as it swings toward you, then you need a right handed door. If on the other hand, it’s on the left, you will need a left handed door.
As this article has shown, there are many things to consider when choosing your interior doors. Follow the advice located above to help ensure you choose the best options the next time you purchase new doors for your home. You can give your home a new and improved look by doing nothing more than changing out your existing interior doors.
Exterior Home Improvement Projects That Add Equity to the House
There are three beneficial home improvement projects that can add significant value to the worth of the home. These include adding a sprinkler system, enhancing the landscaping, and adding concrete work to the patio or driveway.
Adding a Sprinkler System
For less than $3000, many homeowners can add a sprinkler system to the existing landscaping. It can help produce a healthier lawn, and make a great impact on water conservation in the community. More than just a guilty pleasure, installing a sprinkler system will use automatic mechanics that can be scheduled to water the lawn at times of the day when water supply is higher. This is often in the early morning hours, before the community takes their showers, or in the early afternoon, before everyone comes home from work.
Installing a sprinkler system in the existing landscaping is an easy solution for having the lawn completely watered before coming home from work. By not having the lawn completely wet every night, the grass will remain disease and fungus free. It also helps manage exactly how much is spent on water every month to maintain the yard, which makes it easier on the budget.
Installing New Landscaping
If the water bill is simply too high, then consider installing eco-friendly materials into the existing landscaping. It is possible to tear up the existing lawn, and instead replace it with a fescue grass that requires a substantially less amount of water every month. In addition, eco-friendly shrubs are available that require minimal watering, and there are indigenous trees that can handle the type of humidity or lack of humidity, and only a minimal amount of watering, if any at all.
Many homeowners replace their existing lawn with gravel that is available in a variety of colors including green. This minimizes the need to water anything outdoors at all. This eco-friendly solution to the landscaping can be decoratively designed to enhance the overall appearance of the exterior of the home, and add significant curb appeal.
Installing Concrete Driveways and Patios
For less than $4000, it is easy to install a concrete driveway or patio to enhance the overall beauty and functionality of the home. This particular home improvement project usually requires professional assistance, or the skills of a licensed contractor. However, it can minimize problems, especially in areas of the country that have high levels of snow. It provides a solid surface for being outdoors, or parking the car, and can add significant equity to the value of the house.
These exterior home improvement projects are easy to perform, and are very affordable. Research indicates that for every dollar spent on these types of home improvement projects, the homeowner can expect to receive nearly 2 dollars back on their investment.
For any homeowner that is interested in enhancing the beauty of the exterior of their home, while increasing the equity of the house, adding a sprinkler system, rearranging the landscaping, or installing a concrete driveway can serve as a beneficial addition that adds equity and beauty.