Floors

From water damage to dream kitchen!

This kitchen was remodeled by us after taking some serious water damage. A “water loss” is what your insurance company calls it when water destroys a part of your home. It can come in through a leaky roof or from a busted pipe and if it isn’t caught, it can unfortunately ruin large areas of your home.

This is why homeowner’s insurance is so crucial. Your insurance company will send in a mitigation team to dry out the area that was effected and from there, you can work with an experienced builder to begin repairs.

In this home, we worked with the homeowners to to not just bring their kitchen back, but to help make it a kitchen they will love for years to come. Here, we started from the ground up - selecting flooring and trim with the homeowner, then counters and cabinets, like the gorgeous cabinet set around the refrigerator! Speaking of refrigerators, we then helped them with appliances and finally the sink, faucet and backsplash!

Working on the interior design with the homeowners is the best way to not just give back your space and quality of life, it’s the best way to improve it and turn a home nightmare into a dream kitchen!

Would you put these floors in your home?

Check out the new floors in this commercial property we are working on. Could you see these in your home?

Finished basement in just 5 weeks

Five weeks ago, this was a basement - concrete, dark and useful mostly for storage. Now this Mason home has a ton of new, warm square footage to use for anything they want.

We have made finishing basements a cornerstone of what we do over the last few years and we can take your basement with it’s cobwebs and it’s darkness - and we can turn it into something that brings real quality of life to your home. Whether it’s space to rent out, additional bedrooms, a home theater, office space, a in-law apartment or a gym, we can do it. It’s time to make the home you’re in into your dream home!

In just a few weeks, your home could change like this one!

Commercial Property in Lansing completed! Our first full commercial job!

We had the opportunity to perform commercial work on a beautiful property in Lansing. We worked the framing, trim, carpeting, plumbing, electrical, cabinets counters, paint, electrical, that beautiful ceiling and project management over the course of the project. While it’s still wrapping up, we wanted to share these photos from the property owner because commercial is something we’ve only recently branched out into over the last few years.

This building is round with a domed ceiling and the owners wanted to have that shape be present in the design (instead of square rooms in a round building). That is neither the most cost effective or easiest route, but for them it was about the character of the original building and I think that paid off for them.

Our team and the pros we work with are proud of the work done here and we look forward to showing you the finished photos of the property soon!

Custom flooring and shoe

We’ve replaced the flooring, added new shoe moulding and done some painting to bring this old kitchen back to life! The dark floors and paint balance well with the cabinets and appliances to make the home look warm and inviting!

Floors are more than just another surface, they set the tone for any room because they occupy most of the space your eye sees as it passes over the room, so the color of your floors make a huge difference in how the furniture, decor or cabinets are perceived. Take a look around your home and see how your floors influence the feel of each room!

A basement living room for a student

Loving where you live is a concept many of us have gotten more familiar with in the last year. This basement went from a concrete, dark room to a beautiful space.

This week, we’ve posted about the other rooms, but today, we are checking out the main room. This main room has a place for cold drinks, counter space and a ton of room for a young student to live at home or really anything these homeowners can imagine. From the lights to the carpeting and the walls, all the work was done by our team, who have now finished over a dozen basements in the last year and a half.

Please check out our other posts this week for the bedroom and study from this basement project. We are really proud of the work our team is done and would love to inspire new basement projects!

A basement office for an Okemos home

Love finished basements? So do we! This office nook is a custom feature, designed to meet the needs and specifications of our homeowner. This could be a place for a college student to do their homework in a “home-not-so-far-away-from-home” or it could be a private suite for remote work. If you can imagine it, we can build it.

Everything from floor to ceiling (minus furniture) was done by our team. Our project manager, GT, worked with the homeowners to select flooring, colors and features. This basement has gone from a concrete storage bin to a place you’d love to spend time in!

We will be featuring different rooms from this basement all week, so check back with us for more of this great home or check out our recent posts!

A beautiful basement bedroom

We just finished a basement in Okemos. This basement has now become a beautiful, private part of the home with its own living room, office, bathroom and the bedroom featured in this post!

Everything from floor to ceiling (minus furniture) was done by our team. Our project manager, GT, worked with the homeowners to select flooring, colors and features. It all came together so well.

We will be featuring different rooms from this basement all week, so check back with us for more of this great home!

Restoring a Historic Commercial Property in Lansing

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We have been doing more commercial work recently, including putting curved drywall up inside a historic building in Lansing. The new owners want their business environment to reflect the old-school charm of this beautiful property. Curving drywall is difficult and tedious, but it’s well within the skillset of our drywall expert.

While we are a residential contractor first, commercial business has been a cornerstone of what we do for the Lansing community. This project is going to look incredible when it is complete and will be worth a trip just to take a look!

A Cute Custom Kitchen Remodel

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This cozy kitchen remodel includes new, custom cabinets, brand new counters, a new sink and faucet - not to mention we matched a window sill trim for a beautiful garden window. The white and grey really pops with the rich reds and browns from the floor and overall, this is a kitchen that will put a smile on your face as you walk into it. Very proud of the work here!

A Basement Apartment - Add value to your home

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This home went from having the old concrete basement our kids are scared to venture into to being a bright and vibrant area for one of their children to live in, complete with a bathroom, living room and bedroom. We decided to go with an open ceiling to maximize the overhead space and sprayed the joists black to make the flooring and walls really pop!

Finishing your basement is one of the best moves most homeowners can make. If this is your “forever home,” then you create living space, room for fun, work, a gym - whatever brings more joy to your life. It could also be an investment - adding living space to your home could mean income property in the form of an apartment downstairs or just more value when you go to sell the home. A combination of those approaches could also mean providing a secure space for an older child while they attend a local college!

A Fantastic Home Remodeling Job! Kitchen, Dining, Floors and More!

Anyone that tells you a remodel will go flawless is lying. There are too many variables and unknowns in a large project that only get revealed during the remodel. The best we can do is expect the unexpected and be ready to switch gears at the drop of a hat. That’s why you want somebody like me with decades of experience who works with only the best professionals in the business.

We recently finished a huge kitchen/ dining room remodel. The homeowner had been wanting to remodel the space since they moved in during the 1980’s. I felt super proud and thankful that they chose to go with my company. They’d seen our work on Facebook and I think that is what set their heart on using us.

They wanted to go with a more modern style cabinet design that had to be pretty custom in order to accommodate filling the existing cubbies in the brick wall. Luckily, I have a close relationship with Nate the owner of Grant Designyard. We set up a meeting with the homeowner and together were able to come up with a design that fit their kitchen.

I was able to sketch a design on the computer based on what walls they wanted removed to open up the space and with their approval, we were off to the races.

The homeowners wanted to save a little money by doing their own demo work so we of course worked with them. They had had a pretty significant belly to their dining room floor so the first thing we had to do after demo was sister in floor joists next to the bowed ones. This resulted in such a quiet and sound floor that the homeowners decided to have us do it to every floor joist throughout the kitchen and living room as well. This was perfect for the ¾” hardwood to come into the living room and dining room and for the vinyl tiles going in the kitchen and entries.

From there, we moved to the insulation and drywall.

Next was the paint and priming followed by new, more modern trim to compliment the new kitchen.

We spent a lot of time with all the subs on site putting our heads together to make sure everything turned out smoothly. This would allow us to finish the project without after-thought trim pieces or any cover-ups. For example, the custom vent in the back of the cabinet. We had Servicemaster come in and soda blast decades of build up from the brick wall while we got to installing cabinets. Nate had to do some meticulous install with the cabinet pull installation. He fabricated a custom jig to router out the doors and drawer fronts so the handles would sit flush.

From there it was pretty much down hill getting the flooring installed, the final trim up and everything painted.

The Quartz counters got pushed back just before Thanksgiving and since the homeowner was having company, we had my countertop guy build an entire kitchen of laminate tops to temporarily go in. He also installed a sink and faucet for a week when the quartz showed up.

The tile backsplash came next with the appliances and range hood installation.

We got the place all cleaned up and the final touch was a custom made bench seat by In Stiches custom fabrics.

The transformation is absolutely stunning. As with any remodel, there were some hiccups, but experience allows us to come up with creative solutions and push through any hurdles to get to the desired outcome.

Anyone that tells you a remodel will go flawless is lying. There are too many variables and unknowns in a large project that only get revealed during the remodel. The best we can do is expect the unexpected and be ready to switch gears at the drop of a hat. That’s why you want somebody like me with decades of experience who works with only the best professionals in the business.

If you are interested in a project like this, call (517) 242-4353 or email zischkebuilders@gmail.com and I will get you a free estimate. Let’s get to work.

Income Property Made Easy

It’s hard to believe this started as a raw, unfinished basement, but here it is now - a living space, a potential supplement to the homeowner’s income, and a place somebody can call home. If you’re interested in creating income space in your home, we can get you on the path and set up - starting with a free estimate. Give me a call at (517) 242-4353, message me here or email zischkebuilders@gmail.com

How many layers does your floor have?

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Want to guess what this is? This is about 2.5 inches of old flooring we discovered during an install. You see, a lot of people will do things the “easy” way and just put the new flooring over the old, but over time you are really losing some space. There’s even more to it though:

Whenever you decide to put down new flooring you should almost always tear up the old one down to the original subfloor. This allows you to maximize ceiling height, inspect for damage, eliminate any squeaks by screwing down any loose boards, maintaining base trim exposure, and ensure you have a solid foundation for the new floor you’re spending hard earned money on.

Additionally, people never think about this in a kitchen but often when you add layers of floor people will run it right in front of the dishwasher. Thus, when you need to remove the dishwasher because it broke or worse leaked, you can’t remove it because there’s flooring in the way.

Dishwashers are made to fit in an opening roughly 34.5” tall. When you add layers you eventually take up that space and the dishwasher will no longer fit.

No matter if you hire a contractor or DIY, make sure the job is done correctly. Often the “easy” way will only make life harder in the long run.

A Kitchen Saved From Frozen Pipes

When a pipe burst this winter, it ruined this kitchen. Everything down to the very studs had to be removed. It’s an unfortunate danger of cold climates and I wish people didn’t have to face it. When they do - they need professionals to make things right and restore order to their home. That’s where my team and the great people at Servicemaster Absolute Home & Restoration Services come in.

Once the damage was mitigated by Service Master’s team, my team was able to come in, work with the homeowner on their ideal kitchen redesign and make it happen.

With very little hassle, we were able to install new cabinets, counters, floors, trim and drywall with fresh paint.

I’m proud of the work we did here (look at the before photos) and proud to work in a business where we can help people get back to their lives after disaster strikes.

If you find yourself the victim of a burst pipe or other water damage, call Service Master. If you need restoration work or just a good, old fashioned remodeling - call (517) 242-4353 or email zischkebuilders@gmail.com

New Kitchen Remodel with Vinyl Plank Included!

Here is a full kitchen remodel that we recently finished. We put in new cabinets, floor and a really nice quartz countertop. The homeowner decided to upgrade with a timeless white subway tile backsplash to tie it all together.

Kitchens are the center of the home. It’s where you make the meals you feed your family, make school lunches, where you keep old, family recipes, the beer 😉 and make some of the biggest decisions for your family.

This kitchen looks bright, clean and open. I’m happy for the homeowner and proud of the team today.

If you’re interested in having your kitchen remodeled, message me here or call 517-819-0429 for a free estimate.