Low Maintenance Living Houston Chronicle Article

Written by May Delgado, Remodelers of Houston. Published in the June 16th edition of the Houston Chronicle.

When remodeling or building custom homes, today’s homeowners are looking for a well-designed home with the least amount of upkeep. It’s becoming such a standard that manufacturers and vendors are responding to this trend by supplying low maintenance stylish products. What is considered low maintenance you might ask?

Low maintenance products are items that require less effort to keep clean. Usually the product has a longer life expectancy, or the replacement time period of the product is longer. For example, composite versus pre-treated decking or metal roofs versus asphalt shingles. They will cost the you more upfront but, in the long run they provide a good return on investment when factoring in the life expectancy of the product. Some low maintenance products have minimal annual maintenance, such as marble and granite which need to be sealed regularly while quartz, porcelain and ceramic materials do not require sealing.

It’s not a surprise that consumers with busy lives are demanding more of these stylish and functional products that require less up-keep.

Here are some low-maintenance trends to consider when remodeling, designing or building a home:

• Traditional hardwood flooring is still very popular but difficult to clean and maintain. Consider installing wood look porcelain tile instead. It is beautiful, durable and easy to clean. Wood look porcelain tile is allergy friendly, holds up to spills and is ideal for high traffic areas and household with pets.
• Aluminum-clad windows are another low maintenance solution. They are low cost, look like real wood, and come in several different color options as well as the option of having wood on the inside.
• Xero Landscaping is a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation. This type of low maintenance landscaping is achieved by selecting plants for water conservation and plants native to your environment that are drought tolerant and don’t require a lot of upkeep.
• Switching your current lights from CFL to LED, you can not only save on your energy bill but will also save time and energy by not having to replace light bulbs. Please note that in some cases, the recessed can housing will have to be replaced with an LED compatible housing when making the switch, other than that there really isn’t any maintenance.
• Bathrooms are the most challenging rooms to keep clean, especially for families with children or teens. One fixture that’s becoming more popular are commodes with a skirted trapway which makes it easier to keep the commode area clean.
• Washable paint finishes that can be wiped down, are very useful especially for high traffic areas and families with kids and pets.
• Countertop materials like an engineered stone such as Quartz are non-porous, resist stains and scratches and do not require sealing.

The next time you remodel your home look for products that will make maintaining your home easier so you can have more fun with your free time.