With spring right around the corner, many homeowners will be looking to sell their houses. This is considered to be real estate prime selling season, and if you are considering putting your home on the market this is the time to start working on some home improvement projects.

"The key is to invest in some projects that will raise your home's value is to consider projects that appeal to the buyers that will be flooding the market very soon. Here are the top 3 ways to improve property value this spring."

Installing a Sprinkler System

The first thing that people will see when they drive up to your home with a realtor is your front lawn. The curl appeal of your house is like a first impression during a business meeting. In order to have a beautiful full and green lawn, you should invest in a new sprinkler system. The sprinkler system will help to maintain your healthy lawn automatically each day.

Home buyers will definitely appreciate seeing that nice green landscaping and knowing that the entire watering process is done automatically. This home improvement project can increase both the curb appeal and the value of your property.

Installing Energy-Efficient Appliances

The kitchen is where families will spend the majority of time in the house. Outdated appliances can really take away from the appeal of the kitchen, and they definitely will cost the new homeowner in the long run. When you purchase new energy efficient appliances you increase the value of the home immediately.

Each appliance you install will net you twice what you spend to purchase it. Match all the appliances in color and make sure to highlight to the buyers that the entire kitchen appliance package is brand new, energy efficient, and will save them a significant amount in utilities costs this year.

Converting a Spare Room

If you have a game room, home office, or spare room in the house, convert it into a bedroom to improve the value of your home. The bottom line when it comes to valuing a home is that the more bedrooms it has, the more the house is valued at.

Buyers need to feel what it would be like to own a home with that many bedrooms, so don't simply tell them they can convert that home office to a bedroom, do it for them. Paint the room in neutral colors and add some simple bedroom furniture to it. Let them feel the house with more bedrooms, and you will fetch a lot more money for you home in the end.

Invest wisely in your home improvement projects and you will see a nice increase in the value of your home. Make sure your focus is on the return, and not the look or feel of an item. A new swimming pool might appeal to some, but it is not going to get you much in return.

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To get your drywall installed properly and potentially avoid making some costly mistakes, you need to master some of the most important tips.

Buy the right materials

• Drywall sheets ? Take into account the size of the area where you need to install drywall so that you may buy the right size and number of sheets needed. If you need drywall for wet areas like the kitchen or bathroom, make sure you go for the mold and moisture resistant drywall.
• Joint Material ? although premixed joint material is easy to work with, after initial use you can?t store it for future use as it dries out over time. Powdered joint material can be used many times over time because it?s always fresh every time you mix it yourself.

Get the right tools

Some tools like a screw gun, different sizes of taping knives (4-12 inches) and pole sanders are specifically more important when installing drywall, but a lot of other general tools like a tape measure, mixing tools and T-square among others will also make your work easier

Measure more than once before cutting

Cutting the sheets only when you are sure of the measurements will avoid wastage. If there is any electrical box you have to measure its height from the floor and its distance from the nearest corner or adjacent board, then transfer the exact measurements to the drywall sheet where you will need to cut out a hole of the same size and shape.

Do the installation together with a friend

You need extra hands to hang the boards especially for the ceilings. Taping and applying mud to more joints especially for a large room can also be done faster if you have someone helping you. Each of you will focus on ensuring you do the job properly and no important step is likely to be overlooked.

Hang the drywall sheets for the ceiling first

Always hang the drywall boards for the ceiling first and then hang walls starting from the upper section going downwards to the floor.

During the entire process of drywall installation, make sure to follow the manufacturer?s specifications for every material you will be using.

Unlike other construction projects, building a sound studio requires painstaking attention to the details. This is because material used in any type of construction project comes with a resonant frequency; by tapping into that frequency, sound begins to resonate. When a client seeks out a professional, like yourself, controlling the sound in that studio is critical to their bottom line.

Absorbing The Sound

Among the biggest misconceptions surrounding the construction of a sound studio is that acoustic foam -- in and of itself -- is capable of soundproofing a room. Acoustic foam is extremely efficient at absorbing reflected (also referred to as ambient) sounds in a room. While you can achieve minimal levels of sound isolation, acoustic foam is not designed to keep sounds contained within a room.

For projects involving either new construction, or a newly built soundproof wall, products such as sound barriersáor high performanceáacoustic panelsáshould be included to achieve the highest levels of noise reduction.

Wall Construction

For most existing structures, the walls will not be thick enough, as is, to provide a sufficient sound barrier. However, when clients complain that their existing walls are so "paper thin" they can hear any and everything happening outside, that's a clear indication that the wall is void of insulation. By simply removing the existing gypsum board, adding soundproof insulation, then replacing the gypsum wall with multiple layers, you'll achieve a much better sound barrier for the room.

Of course, you must take extra precaution to close off all seams in the studio area (using caulk, taping and mudding) to prevent sound from escaping. Airtight construction is critical because like its fellow elements air and water, sound quickly and easily escapes through any gap... even the tiniest ones.

For projects that allow for brand new construction from the ground up, the best way to achieve soundproofing is to create a room within a room. The way to achieve this is simple: The interior walls of the room which will be used as the studio should not connect (or even be adjacent to) any of the exterior walls. Further, you should leave some airspace between the soundproof studio wall and the exterior wall. The soundproofing treatments built into the interior wall will have the benefit of having an additional layer of protection -- and possibly the best sound barrier available.á

Creating a Soundproof Ceiling

The rules for constructing a soundproof ceiling are much the same as it is for the walls. Gypsum board can be layered over the existing ceiling, or if funds are available, an entirely new ceiling can be constructed a bit lower than the existing ceiling. In fact, the new, lowered ceiling can actually rest on top of the newly soundproofed walls you've just completed.

While light fixtures are often mounted within the ceilings at many sound studios, in the soundproof studio room, you will want to minimize the number and size of the light fixture boxes. Again, the goal inside the studio room is to alleviate areas through which sound can escape. In these rooms, if at all possible, utilize floor lamps and wall-mounted light fixtures.

Further, if the studio room is small, consider using noise control panelsáon the ceilings to provide a protective sound barrier.

Floor Construction Tips

Within rooms where every sound matters, the floor construction cannot simply be overlooked, as sound reflects off every material within the room. Products such as floating floorsáandáacoustic isolation pads can help to reduce sound transfer. The acoustic isolation pads are effective for both wood and concrete floors.

There are also a number of budget friendly subfloor solutions that work well with all types of flooring, from wood to carpeting to concrete. In most cases, these acoustic treatments used beneath the flooring in a sound studio will not only reduce noise in the room, they also create moisture barriers, aiding in the prevention of mold and mildew.

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Determining the future of construction is complicated given the turmoil of today?s economy and the public?s perception of the government. It?s difficult to decide on a direction when the wind is constantly changing direction.

To listen to the economist and compare their forecast with that of Wells Fargo Finance and McGrall Hill Financial, they have different opinions on most fronts and agree on few.

The problem lies with government spending resulting in a national debt climbing out of control with no viable plan to cap it. It makes the market extremely volatile. If you ask five economists their opinion you get five different answers ? six if one went to Harvard.

They will also attempt to back up their prediction with past figures or arguably reliable assessments. Your best bet is to be cognizant of the financial analysis presented by these institutions with the understanding that they base their projections on resolutions to the taxes planned for 2014.

McGraw Hill Financial warns that the fiscal cliff poses a serious risk for near-term projections for the economy and construction industry. The following projections are dependent on the successful efforts to curtail the rise in the debt and prevent the slide into recession. If the government is successful, there are several positive notes that will help the construction industry, such as exceptionally low interest rates improving marketing prospects for certain types of construction.

McGraw also projects a modest increase in construction by about 5-percent, up a percent over last year.

Wells Fargo speaks in terms of Optimism. This optimism is expressed by equipment rental agencies. They predict that residential starts will increase by 7.8% surpassing non-residential.

The American Institute of Architects (3) estimates a rise, though unspectacular, in the construction of industrial projects with healthcare being the strongest sector.

Additionally, they report that housing has finally turned and is recovering slowly. Most segments signal increases across most of the country. This is partly due to quickly diminishing distressed properties. The fourth quarter of 2012 showed an increase of 9 percent while existing homes were up close to 11 percent.

The most promising were new starts up almost 30 percent. All the major forecasters estimate that new construction will increaseá another 25 to 30 percent this year.

Again, current events can have such a dramatic impact on all these predictions. All these automatic cuts in federal spending and $109 billion in sequestration for the fiscal year directly effect construction activity.

Never before were we as a nation been so far in debt and at the mercy of current events influencing so much of our lives.

Commercial facilities have a brighter outlook for 2013 with growth predictions of about 9 percent and expected to rise another 11 percent. Hotel construction is expected to dominate.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)(4) has long been the leading indicator for forecasting the future of construction.

The AGC is a collection of over 30,000 firms to include over 70,000 of America?s leading general contractors as well as 10,000 specialty contracting firms. Their well respected opinion can be counted on for as much accuracy as is possible in this fluid environment. They summarize the health of the construction industry like this:

Construction has been experiencing a turndown for six years at a cost of more than 2 million jobs and turned a $1.2 trillion a year industry into a $800 billion a year industry.

Finally, Construction?s outlook is heading in the right direction. More staff are being added and more firms are poised to expand this year, and even confident enough to increase charges for their services.

As welcome as this sounds, many firms are torn in their amount of optimism for 2013. They see no significant recovery until 2014. Significant economic problems still plague many firms and they feel the public sector will remain stagnant.

As good as the generally upbeat outlook appears, many firms are still facing significant economic headwinds in 2013. Most firms expect the public sector construction market to shrink. For this reason they are reluctant to purchase equipment and would prefer to be safe and lease.

Health care costs continue to rise costing a good percentage of the consumer?s income. As cost of living rises, the consumer suffers when applying for credit due to the income versus debt percentage.

Credit ratings for a low interest rate must be near perfect and the correct income to debt ratio, which severely limits the number of consumers who meet the criteria.

The responses overall varied little regardless of what segment the contractor fell into.

Look at these sites for complete predictions to make the best assessment as to which segment of the industry you will focus your attention. At the same time, keep up with current events and rethink purchases versus leasing.

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Sources: https://www.wellsfargomedia.com,áhttp://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB097351,áwww.agc.orgá

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The majority of newly constructed walls need sheathing; nonstructural sheathing is an insulator, thus increasing the R-value of a home, whereas, structural sheathing offers additional strength to the frame of a home. Sheathing is also easy to handle and is the perfect underlayment for installing new siding.

An existing wall does not always require sheathing; however, sheathing is used on an existing wall if old siding is removed and then replaced with a style of siding designed to have sheathing as its base. á

Structural Sheathing

Common Forms ofáStructural Sheathing

• Wafer board
• Plywood
• Exterior gypsum board
• Oriented strand board (OSB)

Structural sheathing attaches wall studs to one another, which contributes to the strength of a home?s framing.

Structural sheathing offers a nailing base for the installation of siding. It is important to note that the majority of structural sheathings will not add a significant amount of insulation value to the home.

Thickness

Structural sheathing is available in various thicknesses and sizes. While you can purchase a panel as thin as 5/16", consider spending a little more and purchasing the 1/2" panel. The 1/2" panel offers the home a significant amount of additional strength when compared to the 5/16" panel.

Panel Sizes

While the 4' x 8' panels are the most common size of structural sheathing that is used, some sheathing materials are also available in 4' x 9' and 4' x 10' panels.

Nonstructural Sheathing

Common Forms of Nonstructural Sheathing

• Polysiocyanurate
• Extruded Polystyrene

Nonstructural sheathing will not add a considerable amount of strength to a home?s walls; however, this type of sheathing can drastically increase the insulation (R-value) of a home.

Cellulose-fiber and rigid foam panels can be attached to masonry walls and placed over existing siding (prior to re-siding a home). These panels can also be attached to wall studs and on top of or underneath structural sheathing.

Polysiocyanurate vs. Extruded Polystyrene

Polyisocyanurate offers a substantially higher per-inch insulation value (R-value) than polystyrene does. The R-values of polysiocyanurate are as much as R-8.7 per inch higher than its polystyrene counterpart.

Foam-Board Thickness

The thickness of foam-board ranges from 3/8" to 4 1/4". Generally, the best foam-board thickness to cover existing siding is the 1/2" and 3/4".

Panel Sizes

The standard foam-board panel sizes are 2' x 8', 4' x 8' and 4' x 9'; however, some foam panels are available in lengths of up to 50'.

Exterior Gypsum Board Sheathing

Some types of sheathing have paper mats. These mats can be problematic in that they can mold and/or mildew. For this reason, exterior gypsum board has fiberglass mats instead. These fiberglass mats are designed to resist mold and mildew.

Choosing Nonstructural Panels

The kind of panel used depends greatly on the materials used to construct a home's walls, as well as the type of exterior siding being applied.

Choosing the Correct Type of Nonstructural Panel

Panels that have matt facing or reflective aluminum panels should be applied beneath:

• Stucco
• Brick
• Some of the sidings constructed of wood

Non-foil-faced panels are usually applied beneath:

• Vinyl
• Aluminum
• Wood-based sidings

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Photo Credit: huberwood.com

Sources:

http://www.hgtvremodels.com/home-systems/foam-sheathing-on-exterior-walls/index.html
http://www.sidepro.com/reside/