When Should You Get Your Roof Inspected

So, you’ve noticed that people all around you are getting work done on their roofs. The seasons are changing, the weather's been a little bit turbulent, maybe they’re patching up some storm damage. However, your ceiling hasn’t been leaking and you haven’t noticed any potential damage to your roof. So, you don’t need to get any work done on your roof, right?  Maybe not.

If your house is new, under five years old there’s not much need for concern. You should have it inspected every once in a while, especially after a bad storm with winds strong enough to snap large branches or if there’s been hale. Otherwise, you should be fine. However, once your roof passes the five years mark you need to start getting your inspected once a year, minimum. If your roof is ten plus years old you need to start looking at quarterly and at least once a year professionally. Yes, I said quarterly.

Checking your own quarterly and paying professionals to come out and check it once a year may sound excessive. It sounds like a lot to have your roof checked that often. It sounds like a hassle, it kind of is a hassle. However, a compromised roof would be the least of your problems if you don’t have the damage taken care of promptly. There are so many problems that can occur along with the already damaged roof. We’re talking everything from the lumber that supports the roof and keeping it from collapsing on you, to the finish on your walls and floor getting damaged. Everything in your house, even the interior walls are protected by the roof, so when that’s damaged everything is at risk. When put into perspective, the hassle of maintaining your roof becomes exponentially smaller, it becomes an investment.

Here are two Cotton Home Team approved recommendations for the Greater Metro Atlanta area.

Raymond Little

Perimeter Roofing

Cell Phone: 770-313-7772

Email: RLittle@Perimeterroofing.com

Brad Lemmons

American Roof Specialists

Cell Phone: 770-307-7301

Office Phone: 770-888-5965

Email: brad@americanroofspec.com






Delana Cotton servers the north east Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

How to choose light bulbs

Have you ever wondered what kind of light bulbs you should be buying? Me too. Since people usually tour houses during the day, when there is plenty of natural light builders put very little thought into the light fixtures beyond providing basic ambient light sources. Which means the home you just bought might be a little darker and eerier in tone than you expected them to be. So now you have no choice but to change your fixtures, but what kind of light do you need to fix the feel of the space?

	Types of lightbulbs
Compact Fluorescent  Lightbulbs	Common light bulbs, these tend to be energy efficient. Good for ambient lighting.
LED	Are directional lights, meaning they cast more concentrated light instead of dispersing light. This makes them good for task and accent light lighting. LED bulbs are more expensive but much more energy efficient. LED can last up to 10 times longer than compact fluorescents and around 40 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Incandescent	These are specialty bulbs. They mostly aren’t longer produces, being highly inefficient. They were used mostly for chandeliers and can still be found.  Also, you can find compatible CFL or LED bulbs that are compatible if you can’t get incandescent. You can find old vintage bulbs that still work for the aesthetic.
Halogen	Halogen light bulbs are made to imitate natural light, making them good for ambient and for an artistic task and accent lighting. Very energy efficient and affordable.

If you are wondering about regular fluorescent lights bulbs I wouldn’t recommend using them in a residential space. I’m not sure how you’d install them in a residential space. If I walked into a home and there was office grade fluorescent lighting I would immediately backpedal because that’s the sign of a serial killer.

Lumens - the amount of light emitted from a light bulb. More lumens equal brighter light, fewer lumens equals dimmer light. Standard 100-watt bulbs produce about 1600 lumens.

Watts - the amount of energy a light bulb uses. The lower the watts, the lower the electric bill. CFLs and LEDs have a lower wattage than incandescent bulbs but emit the same light output.

Compact Fluorescent	LED	Incandescent	Halogen
23-watt	14/16-watt	100-watt	72-watt
20-watt	12/13-watt	75-watt	53-watt
15-watt	8/9-watt	60-watt	43-watt

Wattage Conversion: this chart shows the same amount of lumen output.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee. 

Choosing Your Light Fixtures!

Since people usually tour houses during the day, when there is plenty of natural light builders put very little thought into the light fixtures beyond providing basic ambient light sources. Which means the home you just bought might be a little darker and eerier in tone than you expected them to be. So now you have no choice but to change your fixtures, but what kind of light do you need to fix the feel of the space?

Here are the three types of lighting that you’ll be looking for in interior spaces and the types of fixtures you can use to achieve the effect you’re looking for.

	Types of Light Fixtures
Ambient lighting: In terms of interior design, ambient light is meant to provide general dispersed lighting meant to reasonably light.	Flush: lights mounted flush or flat to the ceiling. They usually span from 12” to 24” in diameter, the size chosen should be proportionate to the room size. They’re good for bathrooms, closets, bedrooms, and hallways. They’re discreet and provide optimal light for rooms with ceilings under 8 ft. tall. Semi-Flush: lights that hand around 4” to 8” off the ceiling made 7” around 23” in diameter, the size should be chosen based on the size of the room. Look best in rooms with 8 ft. to 10 ft. ceilings. They have most of the pros of flush lights, but they look better in more communal areas like dining rooms and kitchens. They are also more fragile than flushed lights, the light bulbs are more exposed, which at least make them easier to change. Also, a semi flush lights also direct light upwards toward the ceiling, unlike flushed light that can only shine downward. Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are very difficult to install and should probably be installed by a professional. Hanging: these lights depending on the style of fixture you choose Inverted, Pendant, or chandelier can have the similar effect as semi-flush lights & island lights, & larger track lights. Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to handle individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light, they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern.
Task lighting: Task lighting is exactly what it sounds like. Its light meant to specifically light spaces where active work is happening such as kitchens, desks, and other types of workspaces.	Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are good for workspaces where the ceiling is within close proximity. Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to hand individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern. Island Lighting: Island lighting is task lighting specifically for kitchen islands. The fixtures style is a mix between track lighting and hanging lights. Island lights would also be appropriate over other central workspaces like desks and shop tables. Hanging: these lights depending on the style of fixture you choose Inverted, Pendant, or chandelier can have the similar effect as semi-flush lights & island lights, & larger track lights.
Accent lighting: Accent lighting is meant to highlight the cool stuff and features you have in your house. Kind of like the lights you used in museums and galleries.	Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to hand individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern. Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are good for directing light toward specific spots, especially if you buy adjustable ones.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee. 

Putting You into Your Home STEP TWO: Lighting

Light is the ultimate creator of ambiance. Light and the manipulation of light is an important tool for setting the mood of a space. Changing the lighting in a space can completely alter a person’s perception of it. For example, a space that can feel open and inviting in full light could seem stifling and creepy at night. If you want to change the overall feel of your space with redecorating your entire house, maybe consider relighting the place.

The first step is to figure out what you want, which may be something that is easier said than done. There needs to be a sense of cohesion in the room, if not throughout the entirety of the house. Any lighting or fixtures you choose should enhance the space, not clash with it. All that to say, you need a vision for the room. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU’VE FIGURED THIS OUT! Consistency is key, you can tweak your vision a little bit but keep one eye on the goal. Maybe get some visual inspiration (Pinterest is great) having one constant peace of unchanging inspiration is good for keeping you anchored in the idea and that idea should continue throughout the house.

Bedrooms and any other spaces considered more private can be exempted from this. They are a little separate from the more communal spaces of the home and don’t have to have nearly as smooth of the transition from there to the rest of the house. Do whatever you want in those spaces, I suggest you do something that makes sense for the space but unless you invite someone into those spaces then your opinion is really the only one that matters.

Delana Cotton servers the north east Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

Choosing your Paint: Sheen/Finish

So… paint sheen… is it really important? Yes, actually it’s very important. There are a number of important visual and functional ramifications to picking the wrong sheen. The wrong paint finish can throw-off the effect of an entire room.

	Pro’s	Con’s
High-Sheen/ Glossy	- Glossy sheen formulas are easier to keep clean. Glossy sheens produce the toughest, most stain-resistant and smooth finishes. - To achieve a 3-D feel, consider using gloss paint on the trim in a room that has otherwise been painted with a low-lustre or flat paint. Also consider using gloss finishes to help architectural features pop – such as entry doors or trim around ornate glass work. - Brighten naturally dark rooms by reflecting light and magnifying.	- Glossy sheens add vibrancy and bounce more light. This can add a spasmodic and blinding effect. It creates excessive glare. - Spaces with glossier paint finishes, depending on the color, are harder to relax in.
Semi-Gloss, Low-lustre/ Satin, or Eggshell.	- All of these finishes have a sheen that is between Glossy and Matte paints and are listed in order from glossiest to dullest. - These finishes present warmer than and provide a greater appearance of depth than flat paints. - More resistant to stains than flat paint. - Like High-gloss paint they reflect more light and brighten a darker space.	- Don’t have as much of a dramatic effect as either High-Gloss or Matte finishes. - Semi-gloss can have the same effects of Glossy paint in the wrong lighting,
Flat/Matte	- Can create beautiful effects! - Can conceal surface blemishes better than paint with more reflective properties. Smooths out walls that are dented or rough. - Great for downplaying and receding surfaces, such as ceilings or other surfaces you want to downplay.	Conversely, high paint-pigment levels, along with coarse pigment granules, create duller, rougher and less resilient finishes. Unfortunately, stains are often difficult to remove from flat finishes. Unlike paints with higher sheen, a non-reflective, flat paint finish has a porous texture, which can trap dirt and result in burnishing when scrubbed or rubbed

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee. 

Choosing your Paint: Colors

Choosing colors for your home is a big task. There is so much to think about when picking a color pallet for a room, theme, cohesion, the general ambiance of the space. So where do you even start?

Before you choose your color palate you need to visualize your space. Figure out what you want, which may be something that is easier said than done. I suggest you check out our other article “Putting You into Your Home STEP ONE: Painting” for more advice about this step. After you find out how you want your room to feel when you walk into the space then you can begin to choose your color pallet.

First you need a color wheel! Don’t worry you don’t actually have to go out and find one, I mean you can if you want to but google images exists. The colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel in combination with each other are more soothing. So you might want to use that technique in rooms that you want to be peaceful or restful. Keep in mind that vibrant colors pump up energy and can be annoying, consult “Choosing your Paint: Go Soft, Dark, or Vibrant” for help choosing shades/tones.

Next consult your closet. Hopefully once you paint you’ll be looking at these colors for a long time, thus you need to choose colors you know you’ll like. The best place to find those are in your wardrobe! I’m assuming that unless you hate yourself, you probably only wear colors you are drawn to. How do those clothing items make you feel? Use that as a basis to create the proper tone for the rooms you’re your putting together. For example, your going to paint your home office and you want the room to feel soothing and help you focus, but you also want to feel energized. Do you feel calm in that green shirt you like? Does the yellow button down make you feel perkier than usual? Maybe incorporate those colors,

Remember to use the 60-30-10 rule. The 60-30-10 rule is a rule of design for colors, 60% one main color, 30% secondary color, 10% accent color. You don’t need to follow this rule strictly but it’s a good place to start to maintain balance in the space. Not all of these colors need to be present on the walls, you can incorporate it using furniture, throw pillows, etc.

Gray is a safe color. Gray is a neutral color that adapts to whatever color you put it with. It looks good with most other colors and goes from being warm to cool relatively easily. Thus, an extremely useful transition color.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee. 

Putting You into Your Home STEP ONE: Painting

You bought a house! Congratulations, you’re almost done but now it’s time to make the space your own. Everything you’ve done up until now has lead to this step of the process and if planned properly this step should be the fun part. Once you’ve had deep cleaned your new home, cleaning the place of any debris from the construction or the previous owner move out, it’s time for you to paint. Personally, I suggest that you do this step before all of your stuff is moved in. It will be easier for you to do it in this order, fewer things to maneuver around and protect from paint.

The first step here is visualization. Figure out what you want, which may be something that is easier said than done. I suggest you look at magazines, use internet blogs and resources like Pinterest, even watch some HGTV… don’t go overboard with that last one.  The point is the first thing you need is a goal. Unfortunately for those of you who are not artistically inclined, this part is more art than science. What colors do you like? What is your design aesthetic? These are all things you need figure out before you pick up a paint chip.

Next, make a little chart or map with each room of the house and write down the notes for each room. Who is that room for? What are they going to do in there? Allocate a feeling for each room, use adjectives; how do you want to feel when you walk through the door? How do you want the house to feel as a whole? Draws lines between the rooms you want to be cohesive, write little notes on how and why you’d like them to flow together.

For more information, check out our "Choosing your Paint" series

Delana Cotton servers the north east Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

Choosing your Paint: Go Soft, Dark, or Vibrant

An important part of choosing your paint colors is choosing the tone of your colors. A large part of setting the mood of a space is choosing between the softness, depth, and vibrancy of your colors. So jumping right in:

Soft – Soft colors reflect light and brighten a space. The more light there is in a space the bigger the space looks.  This can be achieved by using lighter colors. Scientifically light colors bounce more light off its surface, meaning there’s more light being cast into the surrounding space. Brighter lighter spaces also have the benefit of being more inviting. If you want people to linger, you want the space to feel open and bright. It’s also a bonus that bright and light spaces are good for your mental health.

Caution: Ultra-light colors do tend to wash out. If you want an off-white color that subtly ties into the color of another room with the same undertone getting a very light version of that color will work beautifully. However, this is more a subconscious tie-in, at first glance the room will look white. If you want a hint of whatever color you’re going to want to go a little more saturated unless the rest of the rooms color scheme will make the very subtle color pop.

Dark – Darker spaces have the effect of feeling and looking smaller. Dark colors absorb light, thus casting less light into the surrounding space. Which can make a room feel close and cozy. Not everyone wants every room to be sunny and bright. Deeper, richer colors can be soothing, relaxing, and homey. Also, when you have a larger room or an open floor plan darker colors are good for making rooms feel fuller and occupied instead of being vast and intimidating.

Vibrant – Bright, vibrant colors are the hardest to work with. These colors are exciting and good for creativity, so they’re good in small doses. However, in large quantities they can be overwhelming fast. Vibrant colors give you energy which is great in a work space but in high doses can make people jittery and irritable. Also, if the color is too bright when light bounces off of it the color can mess with your senses.

Painting Your Home for Sale

So, it’s time for you to move. Your home has served you as well as it could but now it’s time to move on. In order to honor the place, you have called home it’s up to you to make sure it goes to the best seller possible. Unfortunately, that means it’s time to take out some of the personalization. This might feel like your stripping it of its personality, but I assure you that is not the goal. We’re simply minimizing things that could distract prospective home buyers from the houses features. We want the house’s base architectural charms to shine through so that other people can envision making a place for themselves in their new home, just as you did before them.

Do’s	Don’ts
Keep it Simple: It’s easier for people to imagine adding things on so a space then subtracting things from it. This means simple, soft colors and simple wall treatments. There is nothing that entices people looking to buy just about anything more, than lack of complication. The simpler a process is the less likely you are to lose a prospective buyer simply because they gave up or have a lack of imagination.	Complicate: It may seem like a good idea to HGTV and Home décor magazines for the newest trends. However, this just adds a different, specific personality to the walls that some buyers may have a hard time seeing around. Trendy painting techniques can be fun and interesting, but it may just force buyers to use more mental energy trying to imagine the house without it.
Let in the Light: The more light there is in a space the bigger the space looks.  This can be achieved by using lighter colors. Scientifically light colors bounce more light off its surface, meaning there’s more light being cast into the surrounding space. Brighter lighter spaces also have the benefit of being more inviting. If you want people to linger, especially prospective buyers you want the space to feel open and bright.	Close off the Space: Darker spaces have the effect of feeling and looking smaller. Dark colors absorb light, thus casting less light into the surrounding space. It’s harder to imagine filling a small space without the space feeling cluttered. So when preparing a space for other people's eyes it’s better to give off the impression of abundant space than limited space.
Keep It Cohesive: The colors you choose for the walls should tie the individual spaces in to each other. You’re going to want the house to feel like a whole, interconnected, harmonious space than a series of spaces tied together by doorways. People will want to separate and divvy up the spaces themselves, that will be easier if they first see it as a whole they can separate if they please then a series of spaces they’ll have to try to tie together.	Section-off Space: This is part of keeping spaces open and inviting. It’s off putting for a buyer to walk from one room into another room and have that room feel completely different. It feels like they would be buying into a bunch of separate spaces instead of one, singular house.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

Winter is Coming: Garden Maintenance PART 1

Winter is coming… which means that it’s time to protect your landscape from the cold before it’s to late. Here are the steps you need to take to see your garden survive through the winter.

First line of defense: bring potted plants indoors, covering outdoor plants that won’t be able
 to stand the cold, and mulch anything you care about.

The type of mulch you choose is basically an aesthetic choice. Mulch is basically anything that holds in moisture that isn’t a rock, so the type doesn’t really matter.  If you’re interested and knowledgeable about the chemistry of soil components, anything you put down as mulch will eventually break down and become a component in your soil, so if that interests you it’s something to think about. Otherwis,e it’s not what you put down, it’s how you do it. 

MULCH SHOULD NOT TOUCH YOUR PLANT! This can encourage disease and is counterintuitive to the entire point of mulching. Make a two inch ring around your plant 

clear of mulch.

MULCH SHOULD BE LAYED IN A THICK LAYER! About two inches thick. I mean it when I give you that measurement. Get a ruler, and measure out two inches of mulch, I’m not joking.

Mulching isn’t a hard thing to do. It may end up being a little tedious but it’s mostly just specific.

If you have bulbs that will survive in the ground through the winter months mulch over the
entirety of the area. This will keep your bulbs protected from the cold and help them survive until the summer.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

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Deep Cleaning Your New House

So, you’ve bought a new home! First, congratulations on your new home. You’ve gotten past the hard part and now you’re on the final leg of the process, moving in. However, just because the house is new doesn’t mean it’s clean. Before you move in your furniture, you’re going to need to thoroughly clean your new house. Until then anything you move into the space is just going to an obstacle for your cleaning. So now you have the herculean task of deep cleaning the entirety of your new home, but where should you start?

1. Make a List

Everything is more manageable when you have things you can check off of a list You know everything that needs to be done, which reduces the stress of a task. Also, the instant gratification of being able to check things off of a list is amazing motivation. Go from room to room and write down everything that needs to be done in each space. Sweep the floor, dust the ceiling fan, wipe down the baseboards, mopping, dust the mantle, wipe down the windows, etc.

2. Start from one corner to the opposite corner.

It’s best to start from the ceiling, knocking all the dust and the dirt to the floor, so that you won’t end up having to clean the floors several times. I also suggest cleaning from the furthest corner from the door outwards until you make it out of the room. That way if you’re mopping or sweeping you don’t end up putting your dirty shoes or feet on your freshly cleaned floors.

3. Hit the Appliances

If you’ve inherited some of the appliances from the previous owners of the house, first congratulations they’ve saved you a good amount of money. However, even if they cleaned they’ve probably missed something, and you don’t want to cook in the remains of someone else’s crumbs, baked in grease, and dirt. Break everything down so you can clean your appliances thoroughly. Be much more careful with stainless steel, it’s not all that forgiving when it comes to chemical reactions — that blue dish soap and hot water will usually do the trick.

4. DON’T SKIP THE WINDOWS AND LIGHT FIXTURES

Look, I know you're tired of this by now and I’m sorry, but I promise that it’s totally worth it. If your house isn’t new you don’t know when they were last cleaned. You think your light fixtures are frosted glass… they might actually be clear. Accumulation of dirt in clear light fixtures looks strangely like they were meant to be opaque. You would be surprised at how much light you might be missing out on when your light fixtures aren’t clean.

Same with your windows. Unlock the window, lift it about a quarter of the way, then pinch the two tabs on the top toward the center while pulling the window toward you. On higher end windows, the top panel will also tilt in. With the bottom pane tilted into the room, lower the upper pane about a quarter of the way, or until you can see the same tabs that are on the lower pane and repeat the process. When you’re done cleaning, just push the panes back into their tracks one at a time until you hear a click. The increase of natural light will be rewarding.