The fine folks at Fixr have updated their Home Improvement graphic with new numbers. I believe it’s interesting to see how the highs of 2007 have been dropping even as home sales have dropped at the same time. This says that most consumers aren’t very optimistic about the direction of our economy.

If you’re a Louisville home owner, feel free to click on our Home Improvement category for all the posts related to improving your Louisville home.

There are many myths surrounding the interior design profession that we are always happy to debunk. One of those myths is that the average person cannot afford an interior designer. Here are the reasons why this isn’t true and how a designer can actually save you money.

Designers Can Work on One Room at a Time

Now more than ever, good interior designers recognize the fact that the average client may want to complete the design of their home in small stages. Most are willing to assist you on a more financially manageable scale. Spreading out projects over time allows you to keep your finances on track while making small improvements along the way. If there isn’t any room in the budget to make purchases at the time of the visit, the designer can put together a list detailing what you will need in the future to complete your home transformation.

Designers Can and Should Work with What You Already Have

Many people do not realize that you can keep the furniture and accessories you already have and still make a dramatic change within your home. Repairing, re-painting, and re-arranging furnishings can make a huge improvement in your home’s style and finding an interior designer who will do this can save you big bucks. This increasingly popular method is called re-design and finding a firm that offers this will help to keep your home’s makeover incredibly budget friendly.

Designers Can Actually Save You Money

We as designers hear this all the time: “I bought this (fill in the blank) but I haven’t really found a place to use it” or “I painted the walls twice already and I still think that this yellow is too bright.” Hire a designer that can help you to define your design concept and coordinate all of your purchases to the design concept. This eliminates unnecessary buying. When it comes to painting or any form of remodeling, having a designer on board from the start of the project will allow you to get it right the first time which saves you time and money.

If you have been thinking about making some changes to your home or hiring a Louisville interior designer you should consider making that first appointment. Many firms offer a free initial consultation so that you can discern what the designer has to offer.

If you are thinking about listing your Louisville house for sale, learn how staging can help you sell it faster!

His latest entrepreneurial business is SaveMyDeck. With Summer rapidly approaching, I thought some of our readers might want to take advantage of the services that this new home services company can provide. To that end, I sat down with its owner, James McNally, to chat.

Question: Hello Mr. McNally, thanks for agreeing to this interview. What was your inspiration for starting this new business?
Answer: After restoring my personal deck this past year, I was reminded that wood restoration is very labor intensive and time consuming. I had thought about restoring my deck often before I finally invested the time to actually do it. Once my deck was complete and I was enjoying it’s restored beauty, it dawned on me that there were likely many homeowners in similar situations. I wanted to offer a service that would “lighten the load” for busy homeowner’s while adding value to their investment.

As well as deck restoration, we also design and build decks, as well as, other exterior home improvement services.

Question: What services does this new company provide to the homeowners of Louisville?
Answer: SaveMyDeck offers a wide range of services, including: deck, boat dock and pergola building; patio & paver installation; home exterior cleaning; deck & fence staining/restoration; and sidewalk and driveway cleaning.

Question: What parts of Louisville KY do you service?
Answer: We work throughout the entire Kentuckiana area.

Question: What makes your company different?
Answer: We are a fast, safe and affordable way to rid your home’s exterior components of unsightly debris, mold, or mildew.

The main thing that makes SaveMyDeck different from other deck companies is that we are an all-around solution to peoples exterior home maintenance needs.

Question: How long does this kind of service usually take?
Answer: Completion time is dependent on project scope of work. Pressure washing and re-staining a deck can be done in 2-to-4 days, depending on the size of the deck. Building a deck or boat dock will obviously take a little longer.

We discuss the design specifications and time-line in detail with the client prior to drafting the contract. When everyone is on the same page throughout the project it eliminates the stresses associated with home construction projects.

Question: James, as a Realtor and home builder you understand the value of keeping one’s house in great condition. This is especially important when it comes time to sell. Have you seen much business from homes for sale in Louisville?
Answer: To date, we have not seen as many projects on homes that are for sale versus properties that homeowners plan to keep for awhile.

We would certainly like more business from homeowners looking to sell… it’s amazing what a good exterior cleaning can do for the resell value of a home.

Question: What kind of reception have you received from your customers so far?
Answer: Though I haven’t requested testimonials from our previous clients, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We receive referral business from previous clients quite frequently.

Question: Your new Web site looks great. I’m sure you wouldn’t be upset if visitors from Louisville Homes Blog came to visit your site, right? What’s that address?
Answer: Visit us online at www.SaveMyDeck.com. Request a quote online and receive a $50 coupon on your first project!

Thanks for your time James!

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) is huge today! With the housing market still working to bounce back, more Louisville home owners are spending money fixing up their existing homes delaying a move to a new home. This despite the fact that Louisville home inventory is now 9,200 properties!

If you’re a Louisville home owner, feel free to click on our Home Improvement category for all the posts related to improving your Louisville home.

Check out this one about the differences between roofing materials, their durability, color options and costs. Well done! Keep them coming.

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Unlike last week’s Top 8 Home Upgrades According to Kiplinger, this comes straight from homeowner surveys. What’s even better is that the data is broken down by region, so we’re not getting a national average but instead, we receive numbers that better represent home improvement costs right here in Louisville, Kentucky.

So let’s get started!

The top five, mid-range home improvement projects for Louisville home owners are:

1. Entry Door Replacement (steel) – 128.9%
2. Attic Bedroom – 83.1%
3. Deck Addition (wood) – 80.6%
4. Siding Replacement (vinyl) – 79.9%
5. Minor Kitchen Remodel – 78.3%

Below is the full list:

Now let’s look at the top five, upscale home improvement projects for Louisville home owners are:

1. Siding Replacement (fiber-cement) – 83.6%
2. Siding Replacement (foam-backed vinyl) – 79.0%
3. Window Replacement (vinyl) – 76.5%
4. Window Replacement (wood) – 71.5%
5. Grand Entrance (fiberglass) – 68.8%

Here’s the complete list:

Similar to last year, siding and window-replacement win the day. Still, it’s interesting to see the numbers of the mid-range gain on the upscale home improvements. Also note that almost all 2009 numbers are down from 2008.

Selling your Louisville home these days often means making it “move in ready.” Today’s buyers don’t want to fix things up right away.

Let’s put aside the discussion about the money you’d gain by buying a new house at this low point in the market and focus on which mid-range home improvement projects are going to give your Louisville home the best bang for your buck.

According to Kiplinger, these are the top eight home improvement projects.

1. Reface Your Kitchen Cabinets
Rather than redoing the entire kitchen for $25,000-$50,000, resurfacing your cabinets is an easy, cost-effective upgrade. Having your cabinets repainted will cost you between $4,000-$6,000, but handy homeowners might tackle the project themselves.

2. Replace the Sinks and Faucets
Kitchen sinks may get no respect, but they sure get a lot of use. Sinks have come a long way in design and function. The current trend is toward undermounted sinks (shown here), which looks great and are easier to clean. Such cast-iron and stainless steel sinks cost around $1,000.

3. Replace Your Countertops
Improved laminate countertops are the more affordable options at $25 to $50 per linear foot and silestone carries a $50-$125 per linear foot price tag. For a more expensive designer look, concrete or recycled glass might be attractive options.

Three projects complete and your Louisville kitchen is looking great! Now let’s tackle the bathroom!

Home improvement just sounds complicated. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few handy tools that don’t kill your budget to improve your home improvement? Just whip out your iPhone and get going on that dry wall or cabinet refinishing project. That’s right, for all you do-it-yourself types and iPhone addicts, your have been answered. We’ve compiled a list of 20 handy, dandy apps that make home improvement projects and mundane chores easier (or at least more fun).

1. ConsumerReports.org – A trusted resource for consumer product testing. Check the free mobile news and video app for information on products for home, and to get the best bang for your buck. A must-do before you start any home improvement project.
2. Home Improvement Calculator – A calculator equipped to estimate exactly how much of a certain material you’ll need to complete home improvements. It covers painting jobs, wall papering, tile laying, fences, concrete laying, brick laying, carpeting, gravel and deck building. Enter the measurements for the project’s size and the calculator will do all the work (almost).
3. Home Improvement Store Finder – For 99 cents, find and get directions to nearby home improvement stores. Simple and convenient when you need a quick phone number or address to a home improvement supply store.
4. iHandy Carpenter – A toolkit on your iPhone. This app features five carpentry tools, a plumb bob, a surface level, a bubble lever bar, a protractor and a ruler, to make home improvement a cinch. All the tools can be used in landscape mode, and if you calibrate the plumb bob, level bar and surface level, you can use them together as a clinometer to read angles precisely.
5. Handyman Sidekick – Another easy-to-use calculator for gardening, wallpapering, painting and flooring. It converts and saves units of measurement for easy reference. At $1.99, this app eliminates the need for a contractor on small jobs and saves a few dollars by figuring the amount of needed materials for a project.
6. Home Sizer – A simple app made to calculate the square footage of a room or your home. It can also be used when designing a new home. The app features a file manager to save your data or your “house” plans and a mortgage calculator to estimate monthly payments for your dream house.
7. Palettes Lite – A free app to create color palettes. Use it to repaint and develop a color scheme for your entire home. The company also features an upgrade version, Palettes, with more advanced techniques and options at a cost of $9.99.
8. Warranty – Who knows where to keep all the warranty junk that comes with a new product? This $4.99 app keeps up with it all for you. No more paper stuffed boxes or drawers full of warranty papers. It’s all gathered in one place at your fingertips.
9. Convert Aid/Converter – Two 99 cent apps that calculate units of measurement for you without the algebra book.
10. Drywall Calculator – This app adds up the square footage of a room so you can quickly assess how much dry walling you will need for any room in the house.
11. ConcreteCalc – Similar to the Dry Wall Calculator, the Concrete Calculator app calculates the amount of concrete you’ll need per cubic yard.
12. EZ Loan Calc – Figure up the money needed for a project and get an estimate of what a loan would cost you. It has endless possibility written all over it.
13. Distance Calculator – Convert distances easily with the $2 app. No more memorization and calculations for you.
14. Goal Tender – A nice app to keep your home improvement goals and projects on track. The price is right at $2.99, and it allows you to write down and review your goals and track your success rates.
15. Flashlight – A free app that glows like a tiny flashlight for dark spots. It comes in handy for midnight trips to the bathroom as well.
16. Homelogic Mobile Control – An app designed by HomeLogic to control your home with the touch of a button on your iPhone. Use this free app to adjust electronics and other WIFI-enabled systems from your iPhone or the Internet.
17. Computer Repairs – When you can’t fix the computer yourself despite all the Computer Programming for Dummies you read, use this 99 cent app to look up a professional in you area to help.
18. Trash Day – For those of us that forget home improvement includes the little things like taking out the trash. Program reminders, and never miss a trash pick-up again.
19. Heat – A free temperature converter app. It converts Fahrenheit and Celsius as well as Kelvin and Rankine.
20. Builder Dan’s Toolbox – This toolbox is a reference of building codes for contractors and do-it-yourself folks. Downfalls? The codes are based on Canadian standards, and it’s $6.99 for the download. Keep in mind, nothing replaces the expertise of a professional. If the sink you fixed, with the help of your new iPhone app, is rerouting water to the toilet and flooding the bathroom faster than a tsunami, it may be time to make the call for a pro.

I think it’s safe to say that Green is the new Black and that’s not likely to change. But many green products are very costly and their benefit to the environment is relatively small. So, how do we decide which ones make the most sense?

Leigh A. Poltrock is an attorney in Pittsburgh who published a piece called Going Green Without Going Broke. It’s directed at people thinking about incorporating green building practices and products into their new home. There’s a myriad of government programs and incentives centered around energy efficiency in today’s homes that clever consumers can benefit from. This section especially caught my eye:

For an increase of up to 5 percent in development costs, studies have shown that buildings could use 30 percent to 50 percent less energy to heat and cool, 20 percent less electricity, and 10 percent to 20 percent less water. This equates to savings often far exceeding the 5 percent initial premium.

If you’re looking to custom build a green home here in Louisville, these builders have a great reputation: Landis Homes, Kimbel Construction and Thoroughbred Homes.

Also, John Morris with Kentucky Quality Homes is one of the few local builders who builds with insulating concrete forms (ICF) which is very energy-efficient and has increased strength against severe storms and tornadoes. Here’s a clip on his building process from FoxNews.

If you’re not planning a move but want to green-up your current home, thedailygreen.com posts simple tips daily to help you go green and spend less. Switching light bulbs is easy (and obvious) but they have a large amount of helpful advice, as well.

It seems many look to our government for guidance far too often as some are actually calling for a “cash for caulkers” program. From today’s Wall St. Journal:

Such unsexy-sounding home improvements can be some of the most lucrative in terms of energy savings and make a home far more comfortable. The federal Energy Star program estimates homeowners can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs just by sealing and insulating, or “weatherizing” against the elements.

I find this one part tragic and one part common-sense. Couldn’t we just hire a Louisville handyman or do the work ourselves?