Atlanta Design and Build

 

3-Chastain_3

Do you ever wish a renovation crew would come build you the home of your dreams? Maybe you’re dreaming of quartz counters, soaking tubs, crown molding, or just a front closet that’s not overflowing. Home ReBuilders is here to help! Remodeling is a great way to maximize space, make your dream floor plan a reality, and increase your home’s value – but many people don’t know where to start. That’s why we guide first-time renovators and seasoned pros alike through the process from start-to-finish.

Renovation horror stories typically involve construction delays or a contractor misinterpreting a design – but our team of expert designers and contractors under one roof have years of experience in working together to get the job done. With the best remodeling contractors Atlanta has to offer, we offer a turnkey, one-stop-shop for your Atlanta remodel.

Go from this:

whole-home-before

To this!

whole-home-after

 

Our licensed Atlanta design and build team will listen to your needs and desires during an in-home consultation and create designs and a budget in just a few days. You can visit the showroom, meet designers, and view in-process renovations. Typically, once you approve final designs, the job would be bid to contractors – a process that can take months of back-and-forth. Because our renovation team has spent 34 years bringing designs to life, our in-house architects and construction team can seamlessly build the schematics our designers envision, and we’ve completed thousands of renovations Atlanta families are proud to call home.

Home ReBuilders offers exceptional service, 24/7 responsiveness, and knowledge from a team that understands your home from foundation to finish. Our projects include:

  • Opening the flow of a home’s interior
  • Adding another story
  • Renovating attics
  • Remodeling kitchens and bathrooms
  • Exterior facelifts to boost curb appeal
  • Specialty projects: basements, carports, porches, and even dog houses!

 

picture1

 

We’re thrilled and humbled that Atlanta Business Chronicle has listed us as a top Residential Remodeling Contractor since 2001, with dozens of awards and plenty of happy homeowners to prove it! If you have pre-renovation jitters, our 90-day warranty provides peace of mind: 90 days post-job, we come back to see if anything needs adjusting.

If you’re ready to whip up dinner in a kitchen you love, start your morning routine in the bathroom of your dreams, or tackle any other project that’s been on your list, we’re ready when you are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlanta renovations and repeat clients

Some of the most rewarding projects we get to work on here at Home ReBuilders are for past clients. When are often called by homeowners that we have worked with in the past to come back and shape their homes again. Families grow or change and needs shift. We have many clients that call us back again for another area of their home or a new home entirely.

In 2006 we worked with a young family with three small children. They had recently purchased a home in Buckhead. The home was a clean, contemporary space that needed a fresher kitchen and baths as well as new paint and some wall removals.
Now 9 years later we are back to complete a master bath renovation and the addition of an exterior patio to increase the function of the exterior of the home.

Samady 2

 

 

 

Fireplace and Chimney Maintenance

Fireplaces seem to be a focal point during the holidays, either providing warmth in the cold temperature, decorative elements, and of course, the old fashioned present delivery system. Your fireplace, the most low-tech piece of equipment in your house, may seem like a simple load-and-light operation, but ignoring annual maintenance can impair its performance, leading to heated air (and dollars) blowing out the chimney, harmful smoke inside, and possibly even a chimney fire.

The average number of annual U.S. home fires caused by fireplace, chimney, and chimney connectors between 2003 and 2005 was 25,100, and the average costs for those fires was $126.1 million, based on the most recent statistics from the Chimney Safety Institute of America. That’s roughly $5,024 in damage per home. Annual chimney maintenance removes flammable creosote, the major cause of chimney fires, and identifies other performance problems.

Annual inspections keep flames burning right

Creosote—combustible, tar-like droplets—is a natural byproduct of burning wood. The more wood you burn, the wetter or greener the wood, and the more often you restrict airflow by keeping your fireplace doors closed or your damper barely open, the more creosote is produced.

Soot build-up, while not flammable, can hamper venting. One half-inch of soot can restrict airflow 17% in a masonry chimney and 30% in a factory-built unit, according to the CSIA. Soot is also aggressively acidic and can damage the inside of your chimney.

The more creosote and soot, the more likely you are to see signs of chimney fire—loud popping, dense smoke, or even flames shooting out the top of your chimney into the sky. Chimney fires damage the structure of your chimney and can provide a route for the fire to jump to the frame of your house.

“If the chimney is properly maintained, you’ll never have a chimney fire,” says Ashley Eldridge, the education director of the CSIA.

The best way to ensure your chimney isn’t an oil slick waiting to ignite? Get it inspected.

Three inspection levels let you choose what you need

A level-one inspection includes a visual check of the fireplace and chimney without any special equipment or climbing up on the roof. The inspector comes to your house with a flashlight, looks for damage, obstructions, creosote build-up, and soot, and tells you if you need a sweep. If so, he’ll grab his brushes, extension poles, and vacuum, and do it on the spot.

“You should have it inspected every year to determine if it needs to be swept. An annual inspection will also cover you if the neighbor’s children have thrown a basketball in it, or a bird has built a nest,” says Eldridge.

A level one typically runs about $125. Add a sweep, and you’re talking another $80, or about $205 for both services, according to CSIA.

Consider a level-two inspection if you’ve experienced a dramatic weather event, like a tornado or hurricane; if you’ve made a major change to your fireplace; or bought a new house. This includes a level-one investigation, plus the inspector’s time to visit the roof, attic conversion considerations, and crawl space in search of disrepair. It concludes with a sweep, if necessary, and information on what repair is needed. The price will depend on the situation.

A level three inspection is considered “destructive and intrusive” and can resemble a demolition job. It may involve tearing down and rebuilding walls and your chimney, and is usually done after a chimney fire. The cost will depend on the situation.

Small steps can improve your fireplace’s efficiency

Besides the annual sweep, improve your fireplace’s functioning with responsible use.

  • Only burn dry, cured wood—logs that have been split, stacked, and dried for eight to 12 months. Cover your log pile on top, but leave the sides open for air flow. Hardwoods such as hickory, white oak, beech, sugar maple, and white ash burn longest, though dry firewood is more important than the species. Less dense woods like spruce or white pine burn well if sufficiently dry, but you’ll need to add more wood to your fire more often, according to CSIA.
  • Wood, only wood! Crates, lumber, construction scraps, painted wood, or other treated wood releases chemicals into your home, compromising your air quality. Log starters are fine for getting your fire going, but they burn very hot; generally only use one at a time.
  • Close your damper when not using the fireplace to prevent warm indoor air—and the dollars you’re spending to heat it—from rushing up the chimney.
  • On a factory-built, prefab wood-burning fireplace, keep bifold glass doors open when burning a fire to allow heat to get into the room.
  • Have a chimney cap installed to prevent objects, rain, and snow from falling into your chimney and to reduce downdrafts. The caps have side vents so smoke escapes. A chimney sweep usually provides and can install a stainless steel cap, which is better than a galvanized metal one available at most home improvement retailers because it won’t rust, says Anthony Drago, manager of Ashleigh’s Hearth and Home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
  • Replace a poorly sealing damper to prevent heat loss. “You can get a top-mounted damper that functions as a rain cap, too, an improvement over the traditional damper because it provides a tighter closure,” says CSIA’s Eldridge.
  • Install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors in your house—near the fireplace as well as in bedroom areas.
  • If you burn more than three cords of wood annually, get your chimney cleaned twice a year. A cord is 4-feet high, by 4-feet wide, by 8-feet long, or the amount that would fill two full-size pick-up trucks.
  • To burn fire safely, build it slowly, adding more wood as it heats and keeping your damper completely open to increase draw in the early stages. Burn the fire hot, at least occasionally—with the damper all the way open to help prevent smoke from lingering the fireplace and creosote from developing.

By the way, fireplaces aren’t officially rated for energy efficiency because they’re so varied. Depending on the source of information, they can be 10% to 30% efficient in converting fuel to heat.

No inspection will turn a masonry or factory-built fireplace into a furnace, but it can improve efficiency somewhat, decrease the amount of heating dollars you’re sending up the chimney, and increase your enjoyment of your hearth time by reducing smoke. If a sweeping prevents a chimney fire, you’re talking about the difference between another ordinary January day, and the potential loss of your home, or even life.

 

Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant heating for flooring has moved from an over-the-top luxury item to something that is now frequently installed and  has enegry efficiency advocates smiling. Not much can beat the feel of a heated floor. Just an even blanket of heat, right where you want it.

That’s the appeal of radiant floor heating, says This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, who has long been a fan. “It’s truly invisible,” he says. But a radiant floor system has more than just aesthetics going for it. It’s also a highly efficient way to heat a house, increasing comfort as it reduces energy costs.

In a radiant setup, the warmth is supplied by hot-water tubes or electric wires buried underneath the floor. As the invisible waves of thermal radiation rise from below, they warm up any objects they strike, which radiate that captured heat in turn. Though the air temperature remains relatively constant, you stay comfortable because the surrounding surfaces aren’t stealing warmth from your body.

Contrast that with what happens in a conventional forced-air heating system, the kind found in most American homes. Air blows out of the registers at a well-baked 120 degrees, rises to the top of the room where it quickly sheds heat, then drops back down as it cools. The air in the room becomes uncomfortably stratified: Your head can be bathed in warmth while your toes lie in the frozen zone. Then there’s the problem of cycling. “You turn on the furnace, it quickly takes you to 68 or 70, and then shuts off,” says Richard. The result is a phenomenon he calls “the cold 70,” which is what you feel right after the hot air stops pumping from the registers. Those jarring ups and downs are absent with radiant floors, which may reach 85 degrees, tops, on a frigid day. The warm air still rises, but it does so evenly over the entire floor, so the coolest air stays up at the ceiling. “You’re heating where the people are,” Richard says.

There are two basic ways to supply this gentle, even warmth: hot water or electricity. Electric radiant, which uses zigzagging loops of resistance wire, is ­generally retrofitted to a single room, such as a bathroom or kitchen. Hot-water “hydronic” systems—the most popular and cost effective way to heat an entire house—circulate water from a boiler or water heater through loops of 1/2-inch polyethylene tubing. The flexible tubes can be installed in a variety of ways: on top of the subfloor in grooved panels or snap-in grids; clipped ­into aluminum strips on the underside of the floor; or embedded in poured concrete. Once the system is in place, you can cover it with most types of finish flooring, including hardwood and tile. Carpet, however, can be tricky, especially if it has thick padding underneath. “If the floor is too well insulated, radiant heating really ­doesn’t make sense,” Richard says. “It’s like putting a sweater over a radiator.”

Hot-water radiant costs more to install than other types of heating systems—from $6 to $15 per square foot depending on the method, whether you’re starting from scratch or retrofitting, and where you live. New builds where the tubes are buried in concrete slab tend to be the least expensive. And you’ll still need a separate air-conditioning system for cooling. But if the price tag puts you off, consider this: Once it’s up and running, a radiant system can be up to 30 percent more efficient than forced-air heating, depending on how well insulated a house is. And there’s no comparison when it comes to comfort. In that category, radiant always wins, feet down.

Details Create Value

Value is more then a cheap price. Value is ceated when the expected return surpasses the investment. Take this portico detail for example, the craftmanship in the cedar timber framing, in combination with the simple design elements makes this a very appealing assembly. Could it have been done cheaper? Absolutely. Would it have been as appealing? No. Does it add to the value of the home? Yes. Will it last the test of time? Yes.

The end result is that this is a very attracive front portico that will welcome guests to the home for years to come. It has increased the value of the home by adding to its curb appeal and charm and will be a low maintenance structure, having been built correctly the first time with the proper use of materials, and moisture protecting details and technology. Thus for a reasonable investment to the home, Home ReBuilders design and build team has added value to this home. Please visit bridgetopia for more on technology based solutions.