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Update your home with some TLC
Is your home looking a little ho-hum, a touch out-of-date or maybe a bit on the drab side? Has it been awhile since it benefited from some updates, improvements or enhancements? If so, it’s time you gave your home a little TLC to boost its appearance and functionality!
Transform your home
A well-planned renovation can transform your house from adequate to outstanding, giving you a place that better suits your needs, desires and taste. Remodeling projects include adding square footage, making better use of the existing space, or updating the style, with many of the changes offering the added bonus of increasing your home’s energy-efficiency. When planning a renovation, first establish which options you have available and then determine what you can do that will improve your home the most. While kitchen and bath updates offer the best return on your dollar, repurposing a room can address new space requirements or desires without increasing the home’s footprint. For example, convert a family room to a home office or enclose a screened porch to make it available for year-round entertaining. Change the door style as well to better suit the room’s new “identity” — for example, select a sliding patio doors to separate the home office from the adjoining area.
Lighten up the indoors
“Daylighting” (using windows and reflective surfaces to bring in natural light) can increase the illumination within your home without driving up your energy costs. In addition to windows and skylights, opt for an entry door that offers some light transmittal. Sidelites (a fixed glass panel placed on either or both sides of the door), doorlites (windows integrated in the door itself) and transoms (a framed glass unit placed above the door assembly) can bring in a substantial amount of light without any energy loss, thanks to triple pane decorative glass or clear glass with Low-emissivity (Low-E). Many glass designs come with Privacy Scale Ratings from clear to opaque, making it easy to choose a design that matches your home’s architectural style while giving you the privacy you desire. Patio doors (both sliding and hinged) can also visually open up the interior space while providing a view to the landscape beyond. In addition to choosing doors with Low-E glass, consider options such as removable or internal grilles, screens and internal mini-blinds with a tilt and raise-and-lower feature.
Create some excitement
When it comes to improving the exterior of your house, new windows and doors, a redesigned entryway or a major landscape overhaul can create a new look even for an older home.
With doors being one of the major sources of energy loss, it’s a wise move to replace older ones with energy efficient models, choosing a style that complements your home’s architectural design. If it’s just the door’s appearance that needs strengthening, update its stain or paint color to coordinate or contrast with the house’s color palette. In either case, a new or updated entry door will give the front of your home some much needed flair.
Simpler updates include adding trim accessories such as shutters or moldings or changing the color on the trim, fascia and soffit. These architectural differences will change your house relatively inexpensively, compared to the value they will add to its curb appeal. And the updates make you feel good about your house. But before you begin your remodeling project, make sure you do your research and decide if the project is one that you can handle on your own, or if you should use the services of qualified contractors.
A New Look for A New Door
If your wood-grained fiberglass door is in fine shape from a structural point of view, but lacks the pizzazz to spark up the entrance, consider updating its appearance with stain.
Easy to apply and available in seven popular colors, fiberglass stain kits can enhance your door’s look and give your entryway a fresh new look. Don’t substitute stains made for wood, since they may not bond properly to the surface.
To make your project even easier, the Therma-Tru® Same-Day™ Stain Kit has all the supplies you need: stain and topcoat, brushes, protective gloves, staining and cleaning cloths, mineral spirits, stir sticks and two test skin samples for stain color tests. Follow these steps to update your door.
Choose the right shade. When choosing the right color stain for your front door, be sure to consider the style of your home. A Spanish style home calls for the rich red tones found in mahogany stain, for example, while a Victorian style lends itself to a darker, more old world stain such as walnut.
Modern architecture can handle just about the whole range of the stain spectrum, from the dark, rich brown of an English walnut or cedar to the golden undertones of oak or a rich cherry shade. Your stain color can also be selected to accent another color on your home’s exterior — the shutters or a tone in the brick or stone, for example — with the trim painted a contrasting color for more emphasis.
In-swing front doors can be stained two different shades— one to complement the exterior of the home and one to enhance your interior space.
Tip: Make sure the outside temperature is between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is below 95%.
Prepare the surface. Remove old paint or stain with a methylene chloride-based stripper. Then clean with an all-purpose cleaner, rinse and allow to completely dry. Then mask all glass components and remove or mask hinges, lock hardware and weatherstripping.
Apply the stain. Stir the stain well and then lightly apply the stain, starting with the interior panels. Use a circular motion or, if the door has a grain, apply in the direction of the grain — one section at a time. Wait five minutes (seven to 10 minutes longer for medium to darker shades) before brushing gently with long sweeping motions to blend the stain. Then move to the next section.
Tip: Lighten the stain color in the first 24 to 48 hours by wiping lightly with mineral spirits or darken by adding more stain. After 48 hours, however, you will need to follow the Stripping to Refinish instructions.
Protect the finish. Once the stain is dry lightly apply the topcoat. Brush in the direction of the grain and be sure to cover all door surfaces. Apply a second coat three to five hours later.
Tip: Use the tip of the brush to apply the topcoat and work in the same order in which you applied the stain.
Maintain the color. Although the topcoat lasts about three to five years, exposure to the elements will take their toll, causing roughness or loss of gloss. To check your stain’s status, compare your door to the skin samples from the stain color test. If it needs refreshing, clean the door (see Prepare the Surface, above), then apply one very thin coat of the topcoat to all surfaces of the door.
Tip: Replace the can of topcoat if it is more than three years old or has been frozen. Check with your local waste management department regarding proper disposal. Even if you are “all thumbs” when it comes to update projects, you’ll find that staining your door is a simple 1-2-3 process, taking your door from tired to terrific in just one day!