West Seattle Remodel | Fine Construction

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Jan 06

GAF Virtual Home Remodeler and Roof Wizard

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Here’s something fun to play with before you get started on your next remodel. Great for changing up roof design, exterior siding, stone options and more. Click on the image and visit GAF Virtual Home Remodeler, choose the model home closest to your homes look and style… and change it up! Great for getting new ideas and inspiration. Let us know if we can head up your next remodel or new build. Fine Construction – Your Seattle area premier builder for over 20 years.

GAF - Quality you can trust from America’s largest roofing manufacturer. Also, try out GAF’s Roof Wizard

Nov 11

Roof Maintenace and Gutter Cleaning – Keep It Up!

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It is important to periodically monitor the overall condition of a home. Wear and tear as a result of weather and age occurs in every home, and it is wise to take care of problems before they lead to extensive and costly repairs. Routine maintenance should be done to ensure that everything is well in all parts of the home. This should especially be the case as far as the exterior of the home is concerned because it is the exterior of the home that is most subjected to wear and tear.

Maintain Your Gutters
One of the best tips that can be given for the proper maintenance of the exterior of the home is by maintaining the gutters. The gutter is the trough fixed under or along the eaves for draining rainwater from a roof. Gutters in general are also are called eaves spouts, eaves trough, rain spouts and spouting. Because they are located at the exterior of the home their proper maintenance has a direct impact upon the overall appearance of the home. Maintaining gutters is an easy task. One only has to think about the serviceability they are able to offer once they are rid of everything that they need to be rid of. Clogged gutters can cause landscaping, lawn and shrubbery, walls, foundation, basement, crawl spaces and existing gutter system great damage. This is the reason why these channels should be kept clean at all times.

Gutter Maintenance Tips
In maintaining gutters, it is important for one to make sure that he has all the materials needed before starting work. It is not advisable for him to stop in the middle of a task to hunt for a tool. The first step is to clean the gutters with a narrow stiff-bristled brush. A wallpaper brush can be used to sweep out debris when the gutters are dry. It is also not advisable to clean the gutters by flushing them with a garden hose. This might cause the downspout to clog. Gutters should be cleaned when they are dry, and the hose should be used to flush out any remaining debris.

- Clean any leaves, twigs or other debris off the roof
- Walking on the roof and using an old broom or a leaf blower, pitch all debris down into the yard
- Once the roof is clean of debris, start on the gutters themselves
- Using a narrow trowel or putty knife, gently lift any debris in the gutters out and pitch it down to the yard
- For safety purposes, it is a must to check all the supports when the gutters themselves are clean enough
- Hose the gutters down
- Use the hose to test the gutters ability to rapidly redirect water

Gutter Tips
It is not advisable to lean ladders against the gutter. Installing a plastic support piece to the gutter to support the weight of the ladder is what should be done. The support piece in question provides a permanent access point to the roof and is fastened to the wood underneath the roof using galvanized deck screws. It can also be mounted directly to the gutter. Purchasing a ladder stabilizer for added ladder safety is also a must as the ladder stabilizer locks onto the rungs of the extension ladder, preventing the ladder from shifting side to side.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure – Gutter Guards
Those who want nice-looking, serviceable gutters for their homes are advised to consider installing gutter guards, screens that prevent debris from entering the gutter. These devices also direct the flow of water away from the house and into the ground. This way, one will have gutters that will prove to be more of a blessing than a curse. Proper maintenance of these devices will cause them to be extremely useful while adding a touch of style to the exterior of the home which they form part of.

Give Fine Construction a call for all your home remodeling and building needs. 206.938.2300

Oct 14

Fine Construction Science Lab Project at Our Lady of Guadalupe Open for Learning!

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The lab is open! My kids school OLG, Our Lady of Guadalupe in West Seattle, needed a little assistance with the design and assembly of bid documents to build a 6th Grade Science Lab. This was very a exciting project for us, designing a science lab where experiments take place, dissecting, blowing things up, looking into different science experiments. Not something Fine gets to do everyday!

Here is what the school and some of the students have to say about their new Science Lab;

“Thanks to a great deal of effort and generosity by many people, OLG has a brand new science lab! The new room has impressed Mr. Franck and has definitely added a science “feel.” The new room features brand new cabinets and 24” wide granite countertops in the back of the room, six stainless steel sinks, electrical outlets throughout the perimeter of the room, drop-down outlets for microscopes, 36” high lab tables and new stools. The sleek design has been an inspiration to the students. The room design allows students to stand or sit and increases the workspace, which has improved the organization and work flow of the lab. Eighth grader, Katie French, had this to say about the new lab, “Overall, the new science lab is an awesome place to be. I can’t wait to do science now!” Mr. Franck and his students are extremely grateful for all the hard work that went into generating the funds for the lab last year and creating the new space over the summer. There is an open invitation to come by and check it out. Special thanks to Tom Fine for coordinating the effort and to Brian Flack for his electrical expertise.”

Fine Construction is a builder / remodeler for all kinds of diverse buildings and projects.

Sep 21

Decks! Low Cost, Low Maintenance, Wood, Composite Decks…Many Choices

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Wood Deck

Need a new deck? Building a deck? There are a lot of choices; wood, cedar, and the top of the line products for PVC (Azek).

Wood decking is the lowest cost and the highest maintenance. The costs can really start adding up when you get going on your decking project; adding railings, stairs, benches and planter boxes when using items such as composite decking, Trex, or TimberTech can really get costly. Both companies offer a broad line of decking materials from composite (wood and plastic) to PVC materials for decks and materials. In the long run though, these materials will last and last and are very low maintenance for the homeowner.

Azek Deck

A wood polymer composite deck material, made from reclaimed plastic and wood fiber, are relatively maintenance free. Trex takes recylced plastics and utilizes them in the decking boards. Composite and PVC decking materials have been used extensively over the years in playgrounds, city parks, residential and commercial property decks. The decking materials today, such as the composite or PVC products are highly resistant to moisture, which stops the decks from decaying and maximizes the life of the deck.

Below is a simple chart to provide pricing from wood products to PVC products

Decking Options
- – - – - - 2×6 Pine #1, Treated 5/4×6 Cedar 5/4×6 Composite Azek PVC

10′x8′ $210 $285 $560 $670
12′x8′ $265 $460 $655 $770

Summing up what products to use? I personally like the PVC and Composite materials. As a builder and developer, I love wood, though used in the right area, wood can look beautiful and be used where there is less maintenance needed. The added costs for the composite and PVC products really do pay off and it doesn’t take that long once you consider all the work an costs for a maintaining a wood deck. Pay now or pay later.

Aug 31

Kitchen Remodel / Renovation In Seattle by FINE Construction

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This is one of my favorite projects of late…being a father of 2, I could relate to this families need for a master bedroom suite addition, they were expecting twins! The poor Mommy-To-Be had all the Fine Construction workers under foot and all over her home while she was trying to stay de-stressed and rest up for a timely baby delivery.

Well that all went really well…and they were very pleased, so they asked us back! I wish I had a before photo to show you, BUT the after, as you can see, was a great success! This is a craftsman style home and they had the typical dated 1970’s kitchen, that needed renovating very badly. We are so proud of this one, it came out really, really nice and we came in right on budget and under schedule even with added work.

Aug 17

Fine Construction Performs a Glascock Pool Lift

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A day in the life of Fine Construction! As a remodeler some have it easy, they just remodel homes, others, like Fine Construction, Inc. tackle some pretty interesting and challenging projects, that by the way, most remodelers/contractors wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole or even know where to start on some of these projects that we do quite often.

Today we completed another interesting project, we used a crane to move a prefabricated swim spa from the front driveway to the back of the house for a new additional area leisure area to house the swim spa and hot tub.
The delivery driver of the pool supplier showed us a video of a crane accident that happened a week ago when a crane crushed into a house trying to lift a pool into place, this only gave me more anxiety about the porject, AH! But, today all went well and the pool was placed, all the straps held the pool, and no damage was done, Yeah!

Check out our fun little slide show that shows the process of the assembled and coordinated lifting and placement for the 18′ (Long) x 8′ (Wide) x 6′ (deep) pool. The pool is manufactured by Endless Pools. Fine Construction built an enclosed spa room with colored concrete and southern windows to allow the sun to naturally light the pool/spa room. The owners are thrilled with their new outdoor recreation area. WHEW!

Jul 27

Outdoor Lighting – Create Ambiance and Safety

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As many already know, adequate lighting is a critical part of keeping your home safe. Even though lighting is very important to home safety, a lot of homeowners don’t look at their lighting as being an integral aspect of safety. No matter where you may live, you should always make sure that there is plenty of lighting in place and that the lights are out of reach for those without a ladder.

The lighting that is around the doors of your home is very important, as most burglars like to focus on doors before anything else. When it comes to the doors of your home, any lighting at all is better than no lighting. If a burglar sees lights around your home, chances are he’ll move on. If the lights are off however, the burglar will more than likely proceed as planned.

If you own a garage, you should always use an automatic garage opener. Once they have been activated, most will automatically turn on the lights. Your carport is also important to safety. If you are going to be away from home, you should always make sure that the leave the light on your carport on. You can also use motion detected lights as well. When these lights detect any type of movement, they will automatically turn on – which could easily startle a burglar.

For the exterior of your home, motion detected lights are the way to go. If you have a large backyard, you should always make sure that you use motion detected lights. To be on the safe side, you can always connect an alarm to the lights. This way if someone was to move through your yard, the lights would sound the alarm. Burglars don’t like alarms and they will normally flee the instant they hear an alarm sound.

If you are planning to use motion sensors in your front yard, you should make sure that you have planned the locations carefully. People walking by the sensor or kids playing nearby can easily trigger it. When you set the motion sensors up you should always make sure that you hook lights up to them as well. This way, those in your family will know where the motion detectors are and they can easily avoid them.

Having the right amount of lighting around your home will go a long way in keeping your family safe, Fine Construction is about family and keeping your loved ones safe. Burglars don’t like to be around light, which is why it is so very important. If you don’t have a lot of lights around your home, you should do something about it. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – all you need is enough lighting to make sure that a burglar thinks twice about breaking into your home.

Jun 22

New Project: The Hamilton’s Home, Our Room Makeover Contest Winner

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This week we started our newest project, a room makeover for our contest winners, The Hamilton family. They have a lovely home and Authentic Home and Fine Construction are genuinely excited to get this done and surprise them with a beautiful new room. Take a look at our first viewing of the room in this blog post…The Hamilton Home.

Here is how the room looked on day one of the transformation.

Today Billy Brandt, of Billy Brandt Painting, gave the fir ceiling in the living room a new look. He applied a white washed finish to lighten up a rather dull and dark living room ceiling. A mixture of 1 quart of glaze to 2 quarts of Authentic Home COLOR Paint™ in the Champagne on Ice color provides a fresh new “shabby chic” look to the room. Tomorrow he will be painting the walls!

As you can see the light ceiling will brighten the whole room and give all the elements, including the fireplace and windows and doors, a whole new look and feel to them.

Follow along as we show you the progress on this room makeover project and provide remodeling tips and inspiration to help you with your next project. Subscribe through RSS and get our updates in your preferred reader or check our blog every week for the update, enjoy!

May 07

Now’s a Great Time to Replace those Windows and Doors

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Fine Construction wants to encourage all homeowners to take advantage of this time of year and get those windows and doors replaced. Not only is this great for heating and air conditioning costs but the are tax deductions and benefits are optimal with home improvements. AND…Fine Construction is offering discounts on installed products like woodclad, fiberglass and vinyl windows. Below we have listed some of the product materials we offer. Now’s the time for a new window package. Call us or visit our website today.

Window Replacement
The type and quality of the window frame usually affect a window’s air infiltration and heat loss characteristics. Many window frames are available–all with varying degrees of energy efficiency. Some of the more common are fixed-pane, casement, awning, single and double-hung and horizontal sliding.

Fixed-Pane

When properly installed, fixed-pane windows are airtight and inexpensive and can be custom designed for a wide variety of applications. But because they cannot be opened, fixed-pane windows are unsuitable in places where ventilation is required.

Casement and Awning

Casement and awning windows with compression seals are moderately airtight and provide good ventilation when opened. Casement windows open sideways with hand cranks. Awning windows are similar to casement windows except that their hinges are located at the top of the window instead of at the sides. Windows with compression seals allow about half as much air leakage as double-hung and horizontal sliding window with sliding seals

Single and Double Hung.

Double-hung windows have top and bottom sashes (the sliding sections of the window) and can be opened by pulling up the lower sashes or pulling down the upper sash. Although they are among the most popular type of window, double-hung windows can be inefficient because they are often leaky. Single-hung windows are somewhat better because only one sash moves.

Horizontal Sliding

Horizontal sliding windows are like double-hung windows except that the sashes are located on the left and right edges rather than on the tops and bottoms. Horizontal sliding windows open on the side and are especially suitable for spaces that require a long, narrow view..

Frame Materials

Window frames are available in a variety of materials including aluminum, wood, vinyl, and fiberglass. Frames may be primarily composed of one material, or they may be a combination of different materials such as wood and vinyl. Each frame material has its advantages and disadvantages.

Aluminum

Though ideal for customized window design at low cost, aluminum frames cause conductive heat loss and condensation.

Wood

Wood frames have higher R-values, are unaffected by temperature extremes and are less prone to condensation, but they require considerable maintenance in the form of periodic painting. If wood frames are not properly protected from moisture, they can warp, crack, and stick.

Vinyl

Vinyl window frames, which are made primarily from polyvinyl chloride (pvc), offer many advantages. They are available in a wide range of styles and shapes, have moderate to high R-values, are easily customized, are competitively priced, require low maintenance, and mold easily into almost any shape. But vinyl frames are not strong or rigid, which limits the weight of glass that can be used. In addition, vinyl frames can soften, warp, twist, and bow.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass frames can be made in a variety of colors and can hold large expanses of glass. Some fiberglass frames are hollow; others are filled with fiberglass insulation.

More on door replacement products and choices in our next blog entry…

Apr 30

We Have a Winner! Let’s Get this Room Makeover Started!

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Congratulations! Katherine & Jarrod Hamilton on being the winners of our Room Makeover Contest…

Authentic Home and Fine Construction Companies are very excited to get started on the living room of these lucky winners, and they seem pretty excited too! We met with the couple in their lovely home and discussed their personal lifestyle, family and vision for their living room.

Here are some of the tasks will be undertaking;

select a new paint color
paint the wood tongue & groove ceiling to give the living room a fresh new look and tie it in with the rest of the house
update the fireplace surround with new tile
rearrange the furniture to accommodate conversation, musical enjoyment as well a place for their young daughter to play
rearrange the wall coverings and accessories

These before pictures of The Hamilton’s living room, show what a beautiful home they have and the wonderful room we have to work with. We will be updating our blog regularly with the step by step process, including pictures, paint colors used, design process and more…check back soon!