News Archives - Lumber One

How to Stay On Top of Home Improvements

July 24, 2018/in News /by Jack Brandes

Owning a home comes with a lot of responsibility. The largest responsibility is not mowing the lawn, keeping the floors clean, or checking your fire alarm battery. The largest responsibility should be keeping up with your home improvements!

Time and use will deteriorate everything in your home from siding to appliances to windows. Neglecting to update these items when needed will eventually leave your home in disrepair.

Here are some tips for staying on top of home improvements and being responsible about home ownership.

Schedule Maintenance

JD Roth from the blog Get Rich Slowly has the great advice to create a home maintenance schedule customized to your home. You can even align your home maintenance schedule with your calendar and get notified when it’s time to change the furnace filter! It can be easy to forget annual chores like cleaning the gutters, flushing the water heater, vacuuming the dryer hose, or trimming the trees. However, this regular maintenance prevents serious problems in the future on expensive repairs to your home.

Budget For Improvements

Although you should always have an emergency fund of savings for other aspects of life, it is also wise to budget and save for home updates. New windows, for instance, is unlikely to be an emergency situation, but if you set aside 1-5% of every paycheck toward a home improvements fund, you can replace and update windows when it’s best for you.

Celebrate Progress

Rachel from the blog Small Notebook suggests documenting your home improvement progress in photos or even videos. Any time you make a change to your home—however small—it is motivating to see the before and after. This process also benefits your records in the event of an insurance claim. By photographing your home improvement projects, you will be encouraged to do more and appreciate how far your progress has come.

Put into action these three tips to boost your productivity and resolve in improving your home. For all of your home improvement projects, contact the professionals at Lumber One.

How to Choose the Right Materials for Your Deck

May 25, 2018/in News /by Jack Brandes

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the great outdoors – Especially in Minnesota – but only a few ways to enjoy it from home. Few summer activities are as relaxing as spending time with good company on your deck.

When building or updating your deck, there are lots of different materials to choose from. Thankfully, the experts at Lumber One are always ready to lend a hand!

We’ve created a guide to decking materials to help you find the right fit for the memories you’ll be making this summer:

Treated Decking

Of all the options available, treated decking is very common. It’s durable and affordable, combining natural materials with man-made ingenuity for a deck that is made to last. Features of this option include:

Economic materials
Chemically treated Lumber that resists rot, mold, and insects
Low overall maintenance

Cedar Decking

We can all agree that there’s nothing like the smell of cedar. On top of natural oils that resist rotting, it also acts as a natural repellent to insects while looking absolutely gorgeous as a deck material. We recommend regularly staining cedar to extend the life of the deck while restoring its natural luster. A few benefits of cedar decking are:

Strong and lightweight
Possesses rot-resistant natural oils
Naturally repels insects

Composite Decking

Composite decking brings the best of both worlds to your deck, with a few added features. They require the least amount of maintenance, are the most durable, are heat-resistant, and can last a lifetime. This family of decking materials is broken into two categories:

Capped Composite Decking

Synthetic blend of wood flour and plastic with a PVC cap
Diverse color options and variations of wood styles
Heavier compared to PVC decking.
Mimics a more natural feel of wood
Requires no maintenance

PVC Decking

Scratch, mildew, and stain resistance (same color all the way through)
Diverse color options and variations of wood styles
Lighter in weight compared to Capped Composite decking
Absorbs little to no heat, keeping your deck cool

We hope these options provide valuable information to use on your search for a new deck. Choosing the right materials to use based on budget, appearance, durability, and climate can be overwhelming without help from the experts – but making the right choice can yield an enjoyable experience and an increase in curb value for your home.

If you’re drawn to composite decking, we encourage you to act soon. Purchase any composite deck/railing in the month of May and receive treated framing materials for free!