After repairing the cedar siding and insulating the walls the windows will need to be addressed. Sometimes they are replaced with a historical single pane wood window (look alike). Sometimes they are repaired. Other applications we just add storm windows. Every project is different. But if they are wood, they must be painted.

The uplifting 5 color paint scheme on the exterior breaks up this mini mansion. A bright cheerful lemon color on the upper portion with a soothing soft lemon on the lower portion makes you energized when you gaze upon it. It’s like standing in the sun on an absolutely gorgeous day. The white accents on the ribbon board, railing and corners bring everything into balance. It also prevents the yellow from becoming over-powering. A duo of greens on the porch and foundation reminds us of “mother earth”. It just makes you want to run inside and say, “Honey, I’m home”.

Click here to view pictures of the house as we complete the work.

Well, we are at our featured home again today. It doesn’t make much sense to go into a large project like this without first insulating for energy efficiency. One of the worst elements about an older home is that there isn’t any insulation. We’ve been watching this for years. An old home, some of them historically significant, goes on the market. The proud happy homeowner purchase and move in. They clean it up, spruce it up, perform a lot of cosmetics to personalize it into “their” home and then it happens. Winter comes and with it, heating bills, then they either sell it, divide it into apartments or our preference, make it more energy efficient.

Generally when they divide a home into multiple units little respect and thought are given to the character of the home. It’s physical attributes get ignored. Moldings get divided in half because at first glance it seems the best place to put a wall.

Sometimes there are better ways, but you need someone to think outside the box. This is where a good designer or draftsman can be the best asset a homeowner has.

Click here to view pictures of the house as we complete the work.

One of the projects we are currently working on is a home built approximately 1850. It is very charming. Most of the original woodwork remains and thankfully has not been painted. It’s a beautiful, warm, inviting, open space. I can picture a large family living here. There’s even a small room that could be an office (an escape, a getaway) to just enjoy some tranquility without the children or to attend to the family finances.

In 1999 it received a Preservation award from the City of Rock Island, Il. It appears to have been for the exterior because parts of the interior are pretty rough. But that’s alright. That is why we are here, to give it big dose of tender loving care.

Like a diamond before it is cut and shaped and polished to bring out it’s greatest attributes, we enjoy bringing out the best quality in a home. We don’t own this home, if we did there would be parts of the project that would be approached differently. Everybody has a budget and we have to work within that parameter.

We are looking foward to watching it “unfold” as a sparkling “Gem”.

Click here to view pictures of the house as we complete the work.

What would you like to portray?

Are you looking to paint a room, all your rooms, the exterior? What impression do you want people to have when they look at your home? Color evokes many emotions in each and every one of us. Think about the emotion you want your guests to feel when they come into your home, living room, kitchen, even the bedroom. Here are a few messages that color can communicate:

White: innocence, purity, reverence, safety (in several Eastern Cultures it represents death)
Black: Death, mystery, Power, Elegance
Brown: Earth, Home
Pink: Gratitude
Violet: Royalty, wealth, power
Blue: Peace, faithfulness, tranquility, the ocean
Green: Nature, hope, luck, fertility (can also evoke jealousy)
Yellow: Joy, positive feeling
Orange: energy, enthusiasm, excitement, adventure
Red: love, beauty, blood, the heart, heat

In a room with a northern exposure where it’s typically cooler, using a warm color on the walls and in the overall decorations can actually make you feel warmer.

     Remodeling your house not only makes your house a more enjoyable place to live, but you are also increasing the value of your investment. When you perform any kind of construction or remodel job on your house you will recoup some of the costs for the work being performed. Below is a list of the most common jobs and the amount of return you can expect to earn when you decide to refinance or sell.

From the softest peach to the largest moon, orange is  a color that grabs your attention.  It is flowing with energy, warm and vibrant.  Even in the palest tone, it’s impossible to make orange a cool color.

It will range from mango, coral, salmon, apricot, tangerine and mandarin.  Orange is associated with harvest time.  There’s nothing quite like the feeling it evokes on a sunny fall day when you look at the trees with their red, gold and orange leaves.  It’s intensely earthy and soothing to the soul.

Food packages are often made in orange-to get your attention.  Paint your dining room orange and watch appetites increase.  Oranges and orange blossoms are symbols of love.  German suitors sent oranges instead of flowers.  French brides wore orange blossoms in their hair to represent fruitfulness.

If orange is your favorite color you are enthusiastic, work hard, play hard, have a great sense of humor, are good natured, extroverted, determined, more agreeable than agressive, always looking for adventure, motivating and make perfect sales people.

Did you know that the State of Iowa Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate Program will begin on March 1, 2010? This money is available on a first come first serve basis on appliances from the approved appliance list.  Visit online at www.energy.iowa.gov

Check out www.midamericanenergy.com or call 1-800-894-9599 for cash rebates available for residential, commercial and industrial customers when purchasing qualifying equipment.

Are you an Eastern Iowa Light and Power customer? Well they are offering rebates pertaining to electric water heaters, heat pumps, appliances and more. Visit www.easterniowa.com

Check with your accountant for Federal Tax Credits available for consumers for items such as:

Windows and doors, Insulation, Roofs-metal and asphalt, HVAC, Water heaters, Biomass stoves, Geothermal heat pumps, Solar panels, Solar water heaters, Small wind energy systems, Fuel Cells.  Visit www.energystar.gov/taxcredits

Davenport NOW has a new program that gives property owners cash back when they invest in property in Davenport.  Visit them at www.cityofdavenportiowa.com

Happy Savings- WE at Olive Construction Inc care about your bottom line!

Historically, the best improvements for remodeling have been the kitchen and the bath. You could easily recoup 95-99% of your investment back at resell. However, we have an entirely different economy with a new set of rules.

The latest research shows that in the Iowa and Illinois markets the following improvements will give you the best return on your investment.

MidRange Projects

Illinois- Replacing your door with a steel entry door will give you a 90% return.  Installing new vinyl siding will give you a 73 1/2% return.  Followed very closely by an Attic bedroom remodel.

Iowa- The top of the list is still a bathroom remodel at almost 83%. followed by an Attic bedroom remodel at almost 77%.  Third place is to replace the entry door with a steel door.

Higher End Projects

In higher end projects both Iowa and Illinois have the same 3 front runners.  Fiber Cement siding replacement.  Foam backed vinyl siding replacement and vinyl replacement windows.

Remember, we are going thru a period of change but it’s just history repeating itself.  Take a look back in time at the Victorian Era where people had an abundance of everything, followed closely by the Industrial Revolution where less became more, homes became more simplified. People had a shift in priorities-getting back to basics and the freedom that comes with it.  It will be interesting to watch over the next ten years at the changes that will occur.

It’s hurry , scurry, busy, busy, busy.  The Christmas season is here and everyone is hanging the lights, the mistletoe and putting up the tree.  More than one doting husband and father has ended up in the hospital trying to clean the chimney or hang the exterior lights.  Let’s keep this Christmas Merry with a few safety hints.

How long does the ladder need to be?  When on an extension ladder you should never REACH PAST where your  belt buckle would hit the ladder rail.  Never climb higher than the permitted standing rung.  Angling a ladder that is too long can cause the ladder feet to slip.  Place the ladder back 1′ for every 4′ of length to the upper support.  This should give you the ideal 75 1/2 degree angle. 

Check the load limit on your ladder.  Capacity is your weight PLUS any tools or materials, such as a big Frosty the Snowman or Santa Claus.  Remember you should never use an aluminum ladder or a wet wood ladder around electricity.  Never leave a ladder unattended where children might climb up it.

Have a Safe and Merry Christmas!

We all get a little nervous when someone wants to talk about money.  It’s rude.  I want the best price.  If I act like I don’t have any maybe I’ll get a better price.  I know what I want to spend but if I tell them, then, what will the price be? If I can get by with less I want to.

Why does a contractor want to know your budget?  When he/she asks, what they are REALLY asking about is this:  How much time have you spent thinking about this?  Have you been out looking at prices so you have a REASONABLE expectation.

When a customer comes to us and says they would like to redo their bathroom.  We ask, Do you have a budget? Or, What is your budget?  There is the $2000, $5000 and $10,000 or more bathroom.  You ask, what’s the difference?  Did one person say they only wanted to INVEST $2000 and they received the SAME bathroom as the person who was willing to INVEST $10,000.  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!

It’s more like this- $2000 you’ll get a cultered marble countertop, paint and an entry level vanity.  $4000 You upgrade that vanity, upgrade to a laminate top, paint, some lighting and a vinyl floor.  $10,000- Now you’re beginning to see YOUR DREAMS come true.  New tub/shower unit, nice vanity and top, water saver water closet and some ceramic tile.  Handsome faucets and paint.

A couple things to remember when you are remodeling especially a bath or a kitchen.

1. You will increase the value of your home.

2. If you sell that home you will receive a return on your investment.  Kitchen and Bathrooms give you a higher rate of return than any other room in your home.

3. Your home in an INVESTMENT- it builds equity, you spend a lot of time in it.  Over a ten year period the cost of a $10,000 investment is $2.74 a DAY!  That’s for the first room most of us see in the morning and use several times a day.

4. There isn’t anything that you will purchase that price is not discussed in one way or another. At the grocery store it’s on the shelf or item.  It won’t do any good for a car dealer to show you a Cadillac if your budget says what you need is a Cavalier.

5. Most importantly you should be hiring a contractor that you TRUST!