Let EGStoltzfus Homes be one of the first to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! With this family-focused holiday already next week, we all have a lot on our "to do" list to get ready for the holiday season.

It is also during this time of the year that most of us come in from the cold and spend more time indoors. As a result, this is also when we realize how much we'd like to have more space - to entertain our friends or cozy up with the kids to watch a movie on a snowy afternoon. As we've often reported, one of the highest valued spaces you can create is a finished basement. Not only will you gain a ton of square footage, but during a basement remodel, you can also carve out an area (or two) for your hobbies.

As a reminder, time is running out for our FREE refrigerator offer. This is an offer only available to our newsletter subscribers! If you are considering a kitchen remodel, make sure your agreement is signed by the end of the year to take advantage of this great deal (see below for full details).

Finally, two excellent remodeling resources are available - for FREE - to assist you through the planning process (see below). If you are interested in one or both, just give our office a call, (717) 393-0212.

All the best,

Bill Patrick, Senior Designer/Division Manager Residential Remodeling

EGStoltzfus Homes, LLC

(717) 393-0212

P.S. Don't forget to look for our latest give-away at the bottom of this email.

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Personal Interest Spaces  

Where can you find all of this: space in your home for storage that is organized, an inexpensive playroom for the kids, an exercise space for yourself or a fully tricked-out gathering space (complete with a sports bar) to accommodate a game-day gathering? For many, you don't need to look any further than down the stairs for your expanded living space - the basement.

Finishing your basement is one of the best returns you'll get on your investment. Not only are you adding valuable square footage to your home (ROI), but you are also adding a whole new floor of living space to increase your family's comfort and overall return on enjoyment (ROE).

One of the first places many homeowners look to find additional living space is the basement. Often, adding a home addition is not desirable because they don't want to give up their yard space, and adding a second floor is more expensive than they are willing to go. So basements are the natural choice.

But there is a bonus that goes along with finishing a basement: not only are you creating more space for your family, but for many homeowners, they are also carving out their little sanctuary - their personal interest space - for their hobbies, too.

Imagine being a musician and having a room where you can make music all night long - without disturbing the kids sleeping upstairs.

As a scrapbooker, how nice would it be for you to have a space where you could spread out projects until completion - and not have to clear them from the kitchen table to serve dinner?

Do you like attending wine tastings? Why not design a wine cellar in your basement that is large enough to host your own wine tasting events for your friends and family?

Here are some of the personal interest spaces that we are creating for our homeowners:

• In-home theatre
• Wet-bar or kitchen area
• Additional bathroom
• Guest bedroom (providing there is proper egress)
• Place to display a prized collection
• Room to organize and for storage
• Crafting area
• Wine cellar
• Workout room
• Game room

Basements are fast becoming one of the most desired entertaining areas, too. Many people are designing their basements as an open space, which allows for families to host "gaming nights" where instead of watching movies, they break out the video game controllers and spend a cold January evening playing Rock Band or Wii Bowling.

No matter what your interest is - watching movies, entertaining or crafting - the basement is naturally the best solution for finding your personal space.

Are you ready to begin your personal, one-of-a-kind remodeling project?

Start here >>

To wrap up our series of kitchen renovation articles, this month we are honing in on "down under" kitchens. No, we aren't referring to Australia; we are talking about kitchens below ground - in the basement.

When homeowners investigate the idea of a basement remodel/finishing project, more often than not they are also interested in installing a wet-bar as part of their downstairs make-over. They want easy access to water, cold drinks and snacks - without having to run upstairs to the kitchen every time.

When we meet with homeowners who are interested in finishing their basement, one of the first questions asked is, "What's allowed?"

With the numerous building code requirements, this is a natural question, and the short answer is - you can build practically a full kitchen in your basement, if you'd like. The only stipulation to meeting code is that one of the main elements needs to be eliminated. When making this decision, most homeowners choose to eliminate the cooking range, since they don't want to cook in the basement anyway. Otherwise, you can have a (nearly) complete kitchen, with sink, refrigerator and microwave being the top choices.

Second, homeowners are often concerned with not having the "roughed in" plumbing when finishing their basement, but this certainly isn't an issue. Actually, this can be a blessing in disguise because when designing the basement, we now have a clean design slate - with fewer obstacles to work around. This allows us to incorporate all of your mechanical systems - plumbing for the kitchen and a powder room, electrical, heating and cooling - into the layout and design of the space.

Remember, when you are looking into finishing your basement, more often than not it is to gain valuable living space and have it convenient for entertaining, too. As you move through the thought process of what to include in your basement, think about how convenient it is to have access to water (via the sink), a cold drink and snacks without having to leave the room and head upstairs. This little extra of a wet-bar downstairs will certainly provide plenty of entertaining convenience for years to come.

Seeking & Sealing Roof Leaks 

After the storms that blew through earlier this fall, it is even more important to make sure that your roof remained intact before winter's harsh winds howl. Roof flashing is particularly prone to deteriorating and ultimately causing small leaks to form - and these often aren't visible without a close look. Additionally, if you have roof boots - rubber "pipe boots" that go around the venting pipes - they have a limited life span and should periodically be inspected and replaced.

Roofs are dangerous places to navigate, so please leave it to a professional. Give us a call and we can schedule an appointment to inspect your roof and make any small repairs needed - long before they become major hassles.

The EGS Handyman Service: Your Trusted Expert

Do you need help fixing a few things around your house? EGStoltzfus can help with this, too!

The EGS Handyman Team can expertly fix and/or replace items such as doors, windows, and siding and repair or install exterior or interior trim ... to name a few tasks we help our homeowners with. Got an issue you want fixed? Give us a call at (717) 393-0212.

We have the tool for you! If you are thinking about remodeling in the next 12 months, these tools will help you navigate that process.

Free Kitchen Planner guide. Published by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), this full-color guide is filled with advice to help you define the scope of your kitchen remodeling project, finalize a budget, refine product choices and plan for installation.

Free Concept to Completion guide. This easy-to-read booklet walks you through the eight steps to a successful remodeling project.

To request either the Kitchen Planner or the Concept to Completion guide, email  Cindy Luckenbill or call her at (717) 393-0212.

Our purpose for bringing you The Construction Connection is to share our wisdom. We have seen it all and yet there is so much more to learn every day.

For nearly 45 years the divisions of EGStoltzfus (Neighborhoods, Designed Homes & Remodeling, Commercial Construction and Handyman) have been Building Better and Creating Value for more than 7,000 property owners. The collective wisdom of our team is the key to a predictable outcome for each and every project.

In this forum we will be reaching out to offer specific how-to's for caring for your property and improving what you have, as well as suggestions as to what to do when it's time to start anew. Additionally, we will provide you with information on market conditions, technology updates, codes and legal concerns, design trends and many more topics we feel can connect all our readers to Better Value.

The team of EGStoltzfus Homes is always available to answer your questions and advise you through a remodel or new home construction project.

Get to know us better!>>