How to Apply Grout on a Backsplash

 

I’ve gotten a couple of requests lately for how to deal with the backsplash grout caulking separating from the countertop. That’s why today I’ll teach you how to apply grout on a backsplash.

You will need a grout sponge, a putty knife or scraper, a caulk gun, and the grout caulking. Begin by using the scraper to remove the old, dry caulking. Wipe the old stuff off the counter or use a vacuum. Sometimes it comes off in a neat string, and sometimes it comes off in bits and pieces.

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Fixing the grout is fairly simple.

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You want to keep your grout sponge as dry as possible. Get it damp and wring it out very well. If you put too much water on, the caulking will come out light-colored and watery-looking. Taking the caulk gun, cut the tip off an eighth of an inch. Apply a small bead between the backsplash and the counter and draw it across. 

Finally, take the sponge and wipe it across a couple of times. This keeps the line smooth so there’s not too much product on there.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 

If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our 8 new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

Quick tips for maintaining your kitchen sink and garbage disposal

Here are some quick fixes to your garbage disposal & more.

Today we’ll explore all areas of the home’s kitchen sink, and we’ll give you some tips for quick fixes.

From time to time, we’ll receive calls from clients who state that their garbage disposal isn’t functioning properly. The common diagnosis is that the electrical cord at the back of the disposal and the pull-down weight to the faucet become interlocked and the disposal is unplugged. As a rule of thumb, the first thing you want to do if your disposal isn’t working is unplug it and be sure it has a good connection.

If waste becomes lodged in the disposal, avoid injury by first unplugging the unit before reaching in from the sink.

From there, find the disposal key contained within the base cabinet, and insert the key into the slot found at the bottom of the disposal. While rotating the key, guide a shop vac through the sink into the disposal to remove the waste; the suction power will usually do the trick.

Also under the sink, you’ll see some shut-off valves, the water supply to your dishwater, and the hot and cold water supply to the sink itself. If you experience any leaking here, simply turn the valves to the off position.

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When it comes to caring for the sink, be sure to use non-abrasive cleaners.

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Another issue we receive calls about is leaky faucets. Largely, these are easy fixes, and the common culprit is hard water if the homeowner doesn’t have a water softener. If the faucet seems to be losing pressure or is dripping, it can often be attributed to sediment buildup in the screen. An easy remedy is to use CRL, a scrub brush, or a vegetable cleaner to periodically scrub the screen.

To remove the screen, locate the tool clipped to the water supply line underneath your sink. The tool will be circular-shaped and fits perfectly inside the screen. By applying a little pressure toward the faucet head and turning the tool counterclockwise, the screen will eventually detach.

Once it’s been cleaned thoroughly, you’ll line the screen up with the end of the faucet head and again use the tool to secure it back onto the faucet head.

When it comes to caring for the sink, be sure to use non-abrasive cleaners; Norwex rags, 409, and Windex are all examples of environmentally friendly cleaning products you could use.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to check out our website at CharlestonHomesOmaha.com and view some of our models. We’re happy to help!

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 

If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our eleven new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

How to Maintain Your Tiled Shower

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? 
If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our 6 new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

Today we're going to be giving you some tips on how to maintain the tile in your shower. Most of our homes have tiled showers, and after a few years you're going to have to do some maintenance on them.

Tiled showers are caulked with Tec Brand Grout Caulking, and this is used where the floor meets the wall or on any of the corners in the shower. You'll want to ensure that there is no cracking in the grout joints, and if there is, you can simply apply more grout with a grout sponge.

When you repair the grout caulking, make sure you have a matching color. If the original caulking is too cracked, you can scrape it out with a putty knife, or you can simply apply new caulking right on top of the old stuff if it's not too damaged. After applying the new grout caulking, you need to run a grout sponge over it and smooth it out.

We recommend sealing the grout annually because most grout sealers only work for about a year. There are other grouts that last for 4-5 years, but an annual check up is still necessary.

If you see any mold or mildew building up in the corners, applying bleach to a stiff bristled brush should remove the mold. If you have a buildup of mold in the corners of the shower you can apply bleach to a paper towel and squeeze it into the corner. Letting it sit overnight and removing it in the morning usually solves issues with mold building up in the corners of your shower.

Hopefully this has been helpful for you. Check back often for more helpful homeowner tips!

What Should Be on Your Spring Checklist?

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our 6 new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them.

Today we wanted to take a moment to discuss our spring home exterior checklist. People are always excited to do spring cleaning indoors, but often neglect the outside of their home in the process. A lot of damage can happen to your property over the long winter, so let's run through a checklist to make sure your home is prepared for the summer. 

• Check the caulking and sealing on the cracks in your driveway and see what effects the winter months have had on your concrete.
• If you have stone or mortar walls on the outside of your home, check for cracks. Also, check the seals on your windows for any possible leaks.
• Double check your downspout extensions. Winter weather and high winds can often cause these to become separated. Reconnect them if you need to.
• You definitely want to check the sealing on both your air conditioning and your fresh air exhaust and intake. If they have separated, reseal them with putty.
• Sump pipes can be disconnected. If yours came undone during the winter, you want to get that water away from your foundation. 
• If you have areas of sod that need some sprucing, overseed with a bluegrass/fescue mix and those areas will come back over time.

Over the winter, a lot of things can  happen to the outside of your home. Hopefully, this list will help you have less worry when it comes to getting your home ready this spring. If you have any questions, we are just a phone call or email away!

New Model Homes in Arbor View Neighborhood

Know anyone who's interested in building a home? If you have any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to own their first or second home - would you forward this message to them? We'll be happy to show them our 7 new construction home plans along with the benefits of owning a Charleston Home so they can make a decision that's right for them. 

Today, we're on the ground at 208th and Maple at our great new development, Arbor View. Models are under construction right now and running right on schedule. They will be finished and ready to tour before the holidays!

We still have our other models, of course. You can find them at Saddlebrook, at 150th and Fort, and Pebblebrooke, at 174th and Highway 370. As always, we're available to help with all your real estate questions and needs. Give us a call or shoot us an email - we'd love to work with you to achieve your dreams of home ownership!

How to Tell If Your GFCI Outlet Has Power - Part 2 Sump Pump and Treadmills

How to Tell If Your GFCI Outlet Has Power

Welcome back! I’m Shaun Sterba, Warranty Manager at Charleston Homes. Today I wanted to talk to you about Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI).

Down in the furnace room, we have a sump pit that is plugged into its own dedicated GFCI outlet. If the light is illuminated, follow the troubleshooting steps listed previously. After heavy rains, lighting or snow melts, it is good practice to reset the outlet to make sure it’s working and it hasn’t accidentally tripped. Also, a sump pump has an unknown lifespan and is common practice to replace it every few years. Also, our electrical systems do not support treadmills and if you plan to use one, we recommend having a licensed electrician professionally install a 20 amp dedicated breaker for the treadmill.

Thanks and have a great day!

How to Tell If Your GFCI Outlet Has Power - Part 1 - Kitchens and Bathrooms

How to Tell If Your GFCI Outlet Has Power 

Welcome back! I’m Shaun Sterba, Warranty Manager at Charleston Homes. Today I wanted to talk to you about Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI). All of our kitchens, bathrooms, exterior, garage and basements will have GFCI outlets. You can tell if the outlet does not have power by noticing the illuminated light on the unit. To restore power, simply press in on the reset button and the illuminated light will disappear. There are different styles of GFCI outlets; but generally if there is no power press the reset button on the unit and power will be restored. As a general rule of thumb, all of our bathrooms are connected to master bathroom. This means if the light on the unit is illuminated, none of the outlets will work until the main unit is reset.

Thank you and have a great day!

Now is the Time for You to Winterize Your Sprinkler System!

Now is the Time for You to Winterize Your Sprinkler System!

Today I wanted to talk to you about the importance of winterizing and draining your sprinkler system. In the basement of your home, you will find the utility room where the main water line comes into the house. You will see two valves on the unit and by turning them at a 90 degree angle, that will shut the water off to your house; that is not what you want to do. Above those valves, you will find a red valve that will control the water going to your sprinkler system. Once you turn it 90 degrees, water will be shut off from going outside. Once the water is shut off, there is a drain valve above it where you should get a bucket and allow the water to slowly drip out. This can take up to several hours. Once on the outside of your home you will find the backflow preventer and you will turn the valve and allow the water to drain out by just leaving it open.

When it comes to actually winterizing your sprinkler lines, we leave that to the professionals at Turfbuilder Irrigation; they use compressed air to blow the lines out. Anytime the temperatures dip below 50 degrees or freezing, I highly encourage you to drain the lines until you feel the need to water again.

Thank you for joining me and have a great day!

Are You Having Trouble Finding a Home?

Are You Having Trouble Finding a Home?

Welcome back! We have had a phenomenal year due to the fact that most of our homes are presale. This means we weren’t building homes and waiting for them to sell; we had many people coming to us and building from scratch. Our low on-hand inventory is not alone, the Omaha area in general is lacking inventory.

The lack of inventory is creating frustration for buyers as they cannot find the home they are looking for. When buyers come to us with this issue, we simply tell them “let’s build it!” We help you find the lot and the floor plan and are more than happy to make it happen.

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying, give us a call or stop by one of our model locations. They’re open seven days a week. Have a great day!

Don't Wait Until Spring!

Don't Wait Until Spring!

It is shocking that we are already halfway through October. If you are looking to move into a new home, the soonest you could move in would be mid-April 2014 as we are sold out into spring. Most people’s mindset right now is that it's late fall, the holidays are coming soon and I am not ready to move. The reality, however, is that now is the time to buy so you can move in next spring. Additionally, interest rates are still staying low making it a great time to purchase a home and to also get an extended lock through your lender to secure your pricing and your final interest rate price.

Don’t forget, our models are open 7 days a week and we would love to have you come out and visit Pebblebrooke or Saddlebrook. Thanks and have a great day!

Pebblebrooke - Our Newest Subdivision

Pebblebrooke - Our Newest Subdivision

Autumn is here and today we’re at our Pebblebrooke subdivision on the corner of 174th street and Highway 370 where we opened our new models earlier this year. The sales and successes of this new subdivision have been phenomenal and there are still plenty of lots available. We do have lots that we are going to re-plat this fall to make more lots suitable for three-car garages. These lots are some of the most affordable in southwest Omaha and the locations include prime interstate access, minutes from schools and Chalco recreation center.

If you have not been out to visit us, our models are open seven days a week and we would love to see you. Thanks for watching and have a great day!

Building an Accessible Home - Part 2 - Warranty Check Up

Building an Accessible Home - Part 2 - Warranty Check Up

Hey, guys! Welcome back to our video blog!

At Charleston Homes we take pride in our homes and the service we provide. We want to be there for our customers before, during and after the home building process.

That’s why we are here today with the Hoell family. They have been in their home for 11 months now and we wanted to follow up with a checkup to see how everything has been going. Like many other families, the Hoell’s needed to customize their home to fit their needs.

A wheelchair accessible home was a must for them. So, we made sure the bathroom was large enough to comfortably move around in. We also added roll-over thresholds to help accessibility and many other adjustments to make life a little easier.

With these changes, the Hoell's find their daily routines much easier! This is just one example of how we work to make your home perfect for you and your needs.

Here's part one of this series: http://charlestonhomes1.blogspot.com/2012/10/an-inspiring-interview-with-newest.html.

If you need any help or have any questions. Please give us a call!

Seal Your Exterior Foundation Cracks

Hi everyone, welcome back to our video blog!

Today, I wanted to talk to you about sealing any exterior cracks you may have on your foundation above grade.

Many of you don’t know that your waterproof warranty does not cover any leaks above grade.  Now, here, we have our tar line and the tar line is meant to expand with the crack. Cracks in the foundation will happen and are very normal. Water can come in through the crack and exit on the inside into the basement.

To seal you can use Vulkem. It will leave a line; you can paint over it later. Start from top and go down to the tar line. Then take a rag and push everything into the crack. That’s it! It’s best to do it in the late spring or summer.

That’s all for today, if you have any questions please give us a call!

Thanks for watching!

Driveway Maintenance

Hi everyone, today I’d like to talk to you about driveway maintenance.  Summer is drawing to an end and that means winter weather will be coming before you know it.  So I want to talk about sealing your driveway, the control joints and any cracks you may see as well as sealing the surface with a penetrating sealer.

First we have a crack we want to seal. The product we like to use is Vulkem 116; you can get it at any hardware or home maintenance store. The color you should get is limestone; it matches most concrete shades.

So, the reason you want to seal the cracks is when the weather drops and snow falls, water gets into the cracks. It freezes and then will bust open the top. We seal then in the summer so the water can’t get in. Sealing the control joints is important as well because it prevents moisture from soaking in the ground underneath the driveway.

When you apply the Vulkem 116, you don’t need a lot, just enough to cover the surface.  Now, this is a polyurethane sealant so it can be a little difficult to get off your hands. So if you want to wear rubber gloves you can, but you’ll take your finger and push the sealant in the crack a little more.

It will be pretty tacky and sticky before it dries. Sometimes you can spread sand over the sealant to help with the tackiness. After about 2-3 days it should be dry.

Another maintenance item is sealing the surface of your driveway. Concrete is porous on the surface and all the way through.  You want to seal that surface for the winter months when you are tracking in salt from cars. You want to use a penetrating sealant. Try not to use an acrylic sealer; that just goes on surface and doesn’t soak as a penetrating sealant would. You would just spray that in a pump sprayer on a clean driveway!

So if you have any questions give us call! Thank you so much for watching!

Air Flows and Seasonal Adjustments

Hi there! Thanks for joining our blog today! I wanted to discuss airflow and seasonal adjustments of your damper and register vents!

Today we’re in a two story model. I want to point out if your home is equipped with dampers, there is a lever you need to adjust accordingly depending on the season.

When the lever is in line with the pipe, it is in the on position; it is open all the way. Inside the duct there is a flapper where a fan can be manipulated with the pull of the lever. As I rotate up or down (it doesn’t matter which way) I am able to adjust the air flow. If I turn to a quick 90 degree angle I can actually shut it completely off.

So, in the summer months, the upstairs is warmer than the main floor. So, you will want to turn the bottom lever about 45 degrees to push more air up. The same in the winter months, except you will want to adjust the top lever.

Other seasonal adjustments include the register vents in your home. The vents above the furnace tend to get more air so to create more air flow in the rest of your home you will want to close those a bit.

If you have any questions, give us a call at 402.934.2212!

Lot Availability in the Omaha Metro

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It’s no secret that the real estate market has been on the rise. Financial barriers that prevented people from buying and building are far behind.  

Walt Slobotski, of NP Dodge Real Estate, reported in 2008 there was a total of only 28 lots sold during the entire year. It’s almost the middle of 2013 and they have already closed 147 lots and have 120 pending.  

What does this mean for future buyers?

Lots are being bought up quickly, which is great; however, not much new land has been developed. A shortage of desirable lots is inevitable in the near future.  

To make sure our clients have desirable lots to choose from in 2014, Charleston Homes has bought 350 lots and put them in inventory.  

If you are thinking about building, our suggestion is to do so sooner rather than later.  Land developments can take anywhere from 18 to 24 months to complete.  Now is the time to buy: there is lot availability, interest rates are low and the market is great. Take advantage of the opportunity before things change.  

Please feel free to visit our models at Saddlebrook or Pebblebrooke if you are interested in building a new home and you can always get more information from our website at www.CharlestonHomesOmaha.com.

Why Now Makes Sense to Build

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The message is simple. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, let’s build it. There are only 3,800 homes on the market—the lowest number we’ve seen in years—so we’re getting calls daily from agents and consumers asking what inventory homes we have available, but we sold out of them a month ago. This type of market makes it the perfect time to build.

With the supply of homes so low, it’s especially challenging to find everything you want in an existing home. Don’t end up settling! It makes sense now more than ever to build. At Charleston Homes we offer seven floor plans at a variety of price points whether it’s a ranch, two story or 1½ story. To date, we’ve built in more than 60 neighborhoods and can find the perfect lot in the perfect neighborhood for you.

Best of all, you can personalize your home, rather than settle for what an existing home has to offer. Your home will reflect your personality because you can customize it to meet your tastes and needs. There are so many options from three-car garages, brick or stone fronts, a media room, finished loft, and more. Once you move in, we’ll ensure you’re satisfied by checking in with you 60 days later to see if you have concerns and then again 11 months later. We stand behind every home we build.  

If you’re out looking for a home, visit one of our model complexes. We’d love to talk with you at our new models in Pebblebrooke at 174th and Highway 370 or our models in Saddlebrook at 150th and Fort. Our model hours are Monday through Thursday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. You can also reach us at Pebblebrooke at (402) 502-5600 and at Saddlebrook at (402) 934-2212. We look forward to seeing you!

What Makes the Huntington Stand Out

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Our 1½ story—the Huntington—has an updated design. You can see it at our model complex in Pebblebrooke at 174th and Highway 370. There are not many 1½ stories in Omaha, but we can build the Huntington anywhere in Omaha and the surrounding areas. You won’t be disappointed.

So what’s new in the plan? The heart of the home, the kitchen features more cabinets and a new setup that makes it more spacious. Tying the kitchen into the family room makes it a very open floor plan. The front room, could be a formal dining room or living room while the rest of the first floor features an owner’s retreat, with a more spacious bedroom and bathroom than in the previous layout. With two bedrooms and a spacious loft upstairs, the Huntington is one of the most functional plans we have. Top off all this space with an unfinished basement that offers multiple configurations such as a bedroom or a big open space with lots of storage and you can have the home of your dreams.

To give it your own personality, you can customize the exterior and interior to meet your needs and tastes. The Huntington, which has a total of 2,631 square feet of finished space above grade, typically sells in the $220,000 to $270,000 range.

We’d love to visit with you at our new models in Pebblebrooke at 174th and Highway 370 or our models in Saddlebrook at 150th and Fort. Our model hours are Monday through Thursday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. You can also reach us at Pebblebrooke at (402) 502-5600 and at Saddlebrook at (402) 934-2212. We look forward to seeing you!