Reducing Musty Smells in Basement

Utilizing your unfinished basement can be a great idea for adding living space to your house without taking on an addition project. We have had clients finish their basements to make:

· In-Law Apartments
· Wine Cellars
· Family/Playrooms
· Gyms
· Movie Theatres

Entertainment spaces Many people don’t want to finish their basement for fear of trapping a musty smell in the carpet. When finishing your basement one product Almar often recommends is Dri-Core. Dri-Core is a subfloor system that is slightly raised off of the concrete. Because it is slightly raised off of the floor it allows for some air flow between the concrete and flooring. The Dri-Core moisture management system allows any seepage or moisture to channel freely under the Dri-Core subfloor panels to keep floors both warm and dry.

Now Dri-Core doesn’t mean you don’t still need a good foundation system. It is not intended to protect again flooding, but rather normal basement moisture. And depending on your home we might still recommend installing a dehumidifier so that the space is as comfortable as possible.

How do Dri-Core subpanels prevent moisture? Dri-Core’s website states, “DRIcore has an integrate high density polyethylene membrane bonded to the underside of the panel which
provides an excellent moisture barrier. DRIcore has also been designed with Air Gap technology that encourages constant air flow and evaporation of surface moisture emitted from your basement concrete floor.”

So if as you start planning your basement renovation give Almar Building & Remodeling in Hanover Ma a call 781-826-2577 and we can go over all your design and product options to fix your specific wants and needs.

Almar Building & Remodeling Co Inc, was started in 1959. For over 50 years our third generation family business has been serving homeowners on the South Shore Ma (Hanover, Pembroke, Scituate, Hingham, Norwell, Duxbury, Cohasset, Hanson, Abington, Rockland, Plymouth and more) For more information about on how you can work with Almar Building on your upcoming
Renovation (Addition, Kitchen, Bathroom, Basement, Sunroom) then please give
call us at 781-826-2577

http://www.dricore.com (photos utilized from the Dri-Core website)

http://www.almarbuilding.com

Plymouth Remodeling: NARI Helps Educate Homeowners

By: Craig H. Guido, CS

Even though we had a mild winter here on the South Shore, I can feel the excitement of Springs approach in our Almar family. Clients are excited about getting new projects underway. Our carpenters are excited that they can comfortably work on exterior projects again, and I’m
excited to start talking to new clients about new projects and how Almar and CAT Exteriors can make their homes even better.

With that in mind I was delighted to be invited by the Eastern Massachusetts chapter of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) to help represent professional remodeling companies at last weekend Plymouth Home Show. EM NARI is a not-for-profit trade association committed exclusively to enhancing the professionalism of the remodeling industry and providing ethical and quality service to the region's remodeling homeowners.

I was happy to have the chance to talk to many of the Home Show attendees and educate them on how as a member of EM NARI professional remodelers and industry associates come together to improve our companies and client experience thru education and collaboration. And also to
let them know that homeowner’s can utilizes the resources that EM NARI provided
to educate and protect themselves and their homes when they decide to partner on remodeling projects.

EM NARI’s commitment is shown in our PEAK program, which aims to provide the absolute best remodeling experience for homeowners in Eastern Massachusetts. PEAK represents the four key aspects of the remodeling industry — Professionalism, Excellence, Ability, and Knowledge — to ensure that homeowners can find the right professional partner to do their remodeling.

Professionalism — All EM NARI members agree to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards of care outlined in our six-part Code of Ethics. These extend beyond building standards to all areas of business practices including marketing and sales, contracts, and customer satisfaction.

Excellence — NARI sponsors both regional and national Contractor of the Year (CotY) Awards to recognize the excellence and quality of its members. These prestigious awards encourage EM NARI members to strive for quality and excellence in every remodeling project. (View the latest
EM NARI CotY Award winners.)

Ability — EM NARI expects its members to maintain skills and expertise through continued learning and education. NARI offers a number of educational programs, seminars, conventions and rigorous remodeling certification programs. The better informed and trained your contractor is, the better your results.

Knowledge — Knowledge is power. Our extensive library of resources offers homeowners information on any number of topics from how to hire a contractor and what questions to ask, to adding value to your home and local licensing laws. The more educated the homeowner, the more
successful your remodeling project will be.

Almar is proud to be a member of NARI and is committed to uphold the standards that all NARI members represent. Almar’s entire team is ready to work with homeowners from all over the south shore of Massachusetts like Hanover, Pembroke, Hingham, Norwell, Scituate, and Cohasset. As a full service Design/Build remodeler Almar can handle all phases of remodeling: Additions, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Basements, and Sunroom projects.

Basement renovations of today are not your grandparent’s projects.

by: Craig H Guido, CS

For years wood paneling has been the staple of a finished basement.

The majority of basements were that we're finished in the 79's and 80's were done with faux wood paneling stapled to 2x4's with little or no insulation, making for a cold uninviting space. To day's basements can be designed in to more relevant and comfortable space in your home. Here are some tips on how you can make your basement into a more warning and inviting living

1. Lots of lighting: a basement should have more lighting than above-grade areas. Most basements don’t have a lot of natural light. And with today’s LED lighting options you can make a basement feel warm with artificial lighting.

2. Light wall and trim colors: because most basements have few or no windows utilizing light colors on the walls, trim and ceiling will help keep the room feeling more open.

3. Headroom is critical: You want to make sure that the ceiling height is as high as possible. So your design should addresses moving, relocating or installing new ducts and pipes in wires if possible. (There are state building code requirements about how high your ceiling height has to be.)

4. Use horizontal design elements to emphasize the width and length of the room rather than its lack of height. Set tiles in a diagonal pattern to make the room feel wider.

5. By adding a separate heating zone with its own thermostat you can control the temperature in just the new space, so when you’re not using the room you don’t have to heat the space.

6. Adding an extra Full-bathroom in the basement is a popular

way to increase the functionality and value of the house. Utilizing a well designed plan we can either find in stock items or you can opt for a custom shower, with some of the following options: built-in seat, steam, walk-in, and multiple heads. Saunas are also increasing in popularity.

7. Built in Cabinets and Shelving gives you are great place for extra storage without having to have a lot of furniture cluttering the space. Huntwood cabinets can be utilized to create an entertainment cabinet that the TV and components can be stored.

8. Built in Bar: By adding some Huntwood Cabinets (which we match to the kitchen cabinets) you can add some nice finishing touches to the room, and have a comfortable place to host your guests.

9. By adding some foundation sealant and a dehumidifier we can help reduce the moisture in the room and almost eliminate that tell-tale basement smell.

10. Spending the money to include a subfloor product like “Dri-Core” as a subfloor over the concrete prior to installing carpeting can help increase the air flow allowing the concrete to breathe reducing the potential for mold and mildew. This subfloor will also help the floor feel warmer by getting the flooring up off of the concrete.

With the right design tips you will appreciate your basement just as much as the other floors. The planning and designing that goes into a renovation is incredibly important and how much you do will have a noticeable effect on the budget. So consider these tips and for more suggestions ask your contractor.

Residential Saunas

I was just skimming thru http://www.wsj.com/ to see if there was anything in the real estate section when an article titled “The Home Improvement That’s the Hottest of them All by Anne Marie Chaker” caught my attention.

The article talks about how residential Saunas have long been part of the Finnish culture, but that they are also making a name for themselves in US households. And it made me think about a basement renovation Almar did a few years ago in Hanover where we added a Sauna to the bathroom section of the remodel.

The article says that “More Americans are making space for sauna rooms, clearing out basements, converting closets, and even partition off backyard sheds.” I think this is an interesting observation. Because we have found that more people in the last ten years have been choosing renovations to make their own homes more enjoyable and resort like even with the unstable economy, and a sauna is a perfect example of bring that comfort home.

Can you imagine anything better in the dead of winter, after a long stressful day, where you don’t want to go to the gym and deal with people any more than coming home and relaxing in your own personal sauna. You can have it be dry or add humidity just by adding water to the rocks.

In our project we were renovating a walk out basement and adding a full bathroom with the sauna as well. While designing the overall space we were able to find out from the homeowner what their wants and needs were for the over all space and then the bathroom specifically.

This homeowner was an athlete (who ran marathons) so the basement had a section for his gym equipment. And the shower was going to be mainly used after work outs, so the faucet and sprayers we picked we are all designed to help facilitate his post workout needs.

The sauna was to help him after his work outs but they also decided that they wanted it to be a social experience as well. So we went for a 2-4 person unit. But positioned it in the new bathroom space so that it wasn’t the focal point of the bathroom, and they chose a light colored wood to help keep the basement space from getting too dark.

So could a home sauna be right for you? I don’t know. I think that they are defiantly a luxury that many people don’t realize they could afford. But I thought it might be something fun to consider if they want to bring the calming feeling of well-being home.

2010 Customer Appreication Cookout

Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2010 Customer Appreciation Cookout held at our offices at 1130 Washington St this year so special. We were honored to have many of our past clients and freind stop by to say hello and have a bite to eat with us. It is always great to catch up and hear how people are using and loving their homes since the remodeling has ended.





Craig was busy grilling most the day, we honored Mark Caruso's 20th Anniversary with Almar, and Paulette Lilla the Custom Decorator did a short presentation on decorating a room ar ound a theme.





All the guests were sent home with ALmar Goodie goodie bags with small gifts donated by our freinds at Certainteed, Matthews Electric, Rockland Trust, The Cleaner Spot and of course Almar.



And the Kids Zone was well stocked with their own "construction site" sand boxes, Bubbles, Construction Sticker projects, Bob the Builder Dvds and Corn Holes games. Alongw ith Almar "hard hats".

You can see more photos on our facebookpage: