Before the renovation.

After the renovation.

Mosby Building Arts and the proud homeowners know this project is special, and are deeply satisfied with the improvements that will last them a lifetime.  It turns out that others also appreciate the skill and design that went into enhancing this home.

This exterior renovation project in South St. Louis County is honored with two awards:

• The Home Builder’s Association of Greater St. Louis Homer Award for Outstanding Total Renovation, which recognizes excellence in design, workmanship and value in residential projects

• The CertainTeed Award of Excellence, which is a national award based on the creativity, craftsmanship, attention to detail and overall presentation of a project that uses CertainTeed products.

This home, built in the mid-1980s, was ready for new roofing, siding and windows, and the owners searched for outstanding materials with strong value. Their research brought them to two conclusions: CertainTeed had the best roofing and siding products, and Mosby Building Arts were the most qualified designers and installers to deliver lasting value for their home.

Both judges and the homeowners alike appreciated the Mosby Building Arts master plan that delivers beauty, function, reliability and real peace of mind. The judges cited the exceptional craftsmanship that delivered on the quality of the CertainTeed products.  Care and craftsmanship were acknowledged as crucial to protect the value of these quality products.

You can see more of this award-winning project here.

We at Mosby Building Arts appreciate the efforts of the judges in recognizing our design and workmanship that transformed the exterior of this home.  We extend our thanks to Wholesale Siding Depot for working with us to guarantee such a successful outcome.

Our deepest thanks go to our award-winning homeowners who remained committed to the best quality and service available. Their peace of mind from a job done right is our highest praise and as they wrote:

“We are so happy with our home. We did not realize how bad it looked until we saw the finished results. Just beautiful! All of the Mosby crew were very nice, and treated our home as if it were their own. We are very proud of our renovated home, and these awards are pretty cool for all of us involved in our beautiful home!”

.

Mosby Building Arts is proud to be a part of the Earthways Green Homes Festival on September 26, 2009, from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  The event is free, so come visit us at Booth #10 (on Grandel Square, just west of Grand Boulevard and across the street from the Sun Theater) and learn what steps you can take to make your home sustainable.

The broad definition of a sustainable home is one that uses its resources efficiently with the capacity to endure.  We at Mosby practice this as “Build it right the first time,” and have adhered to this principal for over 60 years.  When a home works efficiently and properly, home owners benefit from the low-maintenance function and lasting quality, which ultimately saves money.

Consider that the greenest home is one already standing, reusing (or remodeling) what exists is a responsible form of sustainability.  A home that is comfortable, healthy and energy efficient has a positive impact on our resources,  neighborhood and the earth.  Examples of a sustainable home include:

Water Management

A home’s biggest enemy is water because it has the ability to do great damage and is constantly seeking a way to do this by infiltrating the barriers we put up against it.

All surfaces exposed to repeated water leaks will eventually deteriorate, which causes unsafe and unhealthy living conditions.  Keeping the water out is so much more than a good roof; proper flashing and drainage are part of the system that works with the roof to keep water from invading.  If one part of this system breaks down, there will be water leaks that may take awhile to show up, and by then it may have already caused costly damage.  Keeping a home water tight is the key to sustaining it for generations to come.

Venting

Homes need a steady intake and release of air to keep indoor air healthy and dry. Negative impact of faulty air venting includes:

• Too much air escaping through improper venting or sealing allows valuable heating and cooling energy to escape, encouraging wasteful energy bills and feeling uncomfortable.

• A house that is too air-tight will hold in moisture (commonly experienced as humidity) and high water content breeds mold. Moisture can rot wood (both structure and furniture) and create unhealthy breathing conditions. Proper venting maintains the delicate balance of air flow that keeps families safe and healthy.

Energy Efficiency

Heating, cooling and water bills make up about 40% of the cost of running a home, so it is important for these systems to run efficiently to receive maximum benefit from them.

A home energy audit is the surest way to know the level of energy efficiency in a home.  Audits are a series of tests that will measure items such as the rate of air exchange, carbon monoxide levels and air leaks.  The findings will highlight where improvements can be made that will bring about measurable improvement in energy savings, comfort and indoor air quality.

Mosby Building Arts has a Certified Green Professional energy auditor who is registered with the Building Performance Institute, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Ameren UE to perform the tests that identify problem areas and recommend the changes that will benefit you the most.  Mosby also performs the energy efficiency solutions, so you will have the peace of mind that comes from having experienced professionals handle every aspect of sustainable improvements to your home.

Learn more about the Mosby Home Energy Audit here, and on Saturday, September 26, talk with the Mosby energy auditor at the Earthways Green Homes Festival.  It is a great opportunity to get a head start on improving the comfort, health and performance of your home.

.

Floors make a huge impact on the look of your home.  They occupy as much square footage as your ceilings, and considering that floors are always in our peripheral vision, we must consider their importance in the overall design master plan.

Floors serve a vital function in your home, and it is crucial to think about how the floor will be used and then choose the right material for the task.  This is a classic example of form follows function.

The simplest way to consider the form and function of your home’s flooring is by thinking of each room as a separate area.  Consider what normally happens in each room, what surface will serve best and then choose the look of the surface you want.

Kitchen Flooring

It is safe to say that the kitchen is the most-used room in every home, so this floor needs to be very durable.  It also needs to be kind to our legs, knees and ankles because we spend most of our time standing in this space.  And a kitchen has many water-producing appliances, so moisture resistance is a top priority.

The most durable and water-resistant kitchen flooring is ceramic tile, but it can be unforgiving when you stand for long periods of time, and if you drop a dish, it’s a goner.

If you drop a dish on a wood floor, you have a better chance of it surviving the fall, and because it is a softer material it is easier on your legs.  But wood floors - whether natural or engineered wood - are vulnerable to water, so if, for instance, the dish washer were to leak, damage to the floor is almost unavoidable.

Vinyl flooring is impervious to moisture, is easy on your legs and has an unending variety of looks to choose from.  Because it is a soft material, it is prone to tearing and scarring, so when you pull out your refrigerator to clean under it, it can leave grooves in the surface.

The only absolute our Mosby designers adhere to is no carpeting in the kitchen.  Food and water naturally winds up on the kitchen floor, which makes carpeting in this room both high maintenance and less hygienic.

Bathroom Flooring

The bathroom is all about water, so waterproof is the most important consideration.  This is why ceramic tile and stone remain the most popular and enduring material for bathroom floors.  Other materials can be used, but just like in the kitchen, water and hygiene is the prime consideration, so choosing a material other than ceramic or stone can be very high maintenance.

For both your kitchen and bathrooms, tile floors can be water-resistant and warm if you also install radiant heating under the tile.

Entries, Laundry Room & Mud Room Flooring

Laundry and mud rooms are high utility, and need to accommodate moisture and dirt.  Hard surfaces like ceramic, stone or concrete work best for keeping these spaces clean.  The same thinking applies to entries, where visitors will be more likely to bring in the outside elements.

Bedroom Flooring

Warmth and comfort are top priority in bedrooms, and because they are typically not high traffic areas, this is a chance to splurge on more luxurious flooring.  Carpeting is a great choice, as is cork, which is a natural material with exceptional softness.

Family Room Flooring

The public spaces of our home are used and seen most frequently. Carpeting is a popular choice for its warmth, and good quality carpet is durable.  Choosing the style of carpet is based on how the room is used, what levels of maintenance you expect and your personal preference for look and feel.

Choosing from such a wide variety of colors and textures requires some extra analysis; light colors in a high-traffic family room will show dirt and traffic patterns, while dark colors will show lint, pet hair and most anything that lands on it.

Wood flooring is a good choice for warmth and lower maintenance, and adding area rugs to the room provides softness and introduces another layer of design options.

Basement Flooring

Your basement can be a moist area, so the choice of flooring is all about how it holds up to humidity and water.  The best choice is ceramic tile because it is impervious to moisture.  If you prefer a wood look, use an engineered wood (or vinyl flooring with a wood look) because it is better at adapting to moisture than natural wood.  Real wood floors will continually swell and contract with the changing humidity levels in your basement.

Carpeting can work in a basement if you choose only 100% synthetic materials with built-in mildew resistance.  Avoid natural carpet materials like wool and cotton, as they will wick up moisture and eventually hold a mildew smell.  Vinyl flooring is another option, but as it is installed directly over the concrete, it will show any imperfections in surface or level.

Decisions, Decisions…

As you may have gathered, there are many other things to consider besides how it looks when choosing flooring for your home.  How do you keep track of it all and make the best decision?

When it comes to making a choice about a surface that makes such a large impact on your home, we invite you to work with a Mosby Building Arts designer.  Our designers stay up-to-date on all the latest flooring trends and technologies. And after talking with you about how you live and what you desire, we will make an informed recommendation on which flooring best compliments your personal style while delivering lasting value.  To explore your flooring choices, call us at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

.

A St. Louis family has a beautiful deck that connects to a glass atrium indoor pool house one-story below it.

Though the construction was only a few years old, it was showing visible damage in two places.  On the deck, the stone columns had vertical cracks on the surface (shown above), and the rubber tile flooring was warping at the outside edge.

Inside the pool house, the finish on the drywall ceiling was peeling off (shown above).  Suspecting that it was a water leak, the family called in some specialists to find the source and correct the problems.  The cause of the water problem was never correctly identified and any patch work done to the visible damage was only a temporary fix.

Because the visible effects appeared rather minor, it was considered a minor irritation, until the day they were listening to an episode of The KMOX Home Improvement Show with Scott Mosby.  A caller had a question about a pesky, reoccurring water leak, and Scott took them through the process of how the visible problem is only the end of the line of what is most likely a much larger problem hidden behind the walls.

Understanding that Scott and his company, Mosby Building Arts, had valuable experience in detecting and correcting water leak problems, they were motivated to set up an appointment with a Mosby Home Consultant, and get to the bottom of this issue once and for all.

After a thorough inspection of the deck, the pool room and how they connected to one another, it was apparent to the Mosby Consultant that there was a complete lack of proper water management applied during the original construction, and he suspected that there was severe damage hidden under the deck and inside the space connecting the deck to the atrium.

For instance, what was viewed as dirt and stains on the pool room ceiling was actually mold and warping caused by water damage behind the drywall.  The Mosby Consultant was certain that run-off water from the deck was seeping into this ceiling, and that it would require applying proper flashing and water drainage to the deck and repairing all the damage that would be found inside.

The family was relieved to finally have an answer to the mystery, and because Mosby had taken the time to deeply investigate the problem, the homeowners felt they were also the logical choice to correct it.

When the Mosby carpenters began dismantling the exterior framing of the pool room, they found the wood completely soaked and rotted.

Even more horrifying was the framing of the deck walls that were exposed during demolition.  The wood was thoroughly soaked and spongy, and a text book example of how quickly and seriously water can damage structures when left unmanaged.

As the carpenters worked their way into the crawl space between the deck and the ceiling of the atrium, they found the metal supports were severely rusted from constant water exposure.

Flashing was practically non-existent , and the PVC drainage system that was supposed to collect and run-off water from the deck was actually dispersing it into the wooden structure.

The key to this project was repairing all the water damage on the deck and inside the pool room, installing a proper water management system and building a new deck without disturbing the pool room addition below.

After we repaired and replaced the internal workings of the drainage system, we restored the drywall ceiling of the pool room to its original appearance.  The family’s days of patching and re-painting are over.

For the deck itself, we used a water management system that floats ipe wood panels over the rubber membrane of the new deck subfloor.  This allows water to run off into the internal gutter system installed within the newly-built stone wall.  This keeps water from ever touching the wood and stone of the deck while keeping the water away from the pool room.

While the deck and water migration systems were brand new and built to last, the solution is not apparent to the naked eye.  We made sure that the overall look of their home is unaltered, as if there had never been a problem.  Above is a photo during construction, and below is the finished result.  We left the home more water tight and secure than we found it.

In the case of the deck itself, we left it better than we found it, with many material upgrades that improve both the look and function of their outdoor living area.

We rise to the challenge of detecting water problems, enacting the solution and creating quality and peace of mind for the homeowner.  Partnering with Mosby Building Arts to enhance your quality of life is a smart decision.  If you have a reoccurring or mysterious water leak problem that has defied previous repairs, let Mosby be the final call you make to take care of the situation once and for all.  Call our office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

.

Mosby Building Arts has always been the leading name for remodeling solutions in the St. Louis area.  Now we are once again recognized as a national leader, as well. Remodeling magazine recently published the “Remodeling 550,”a list of the biggest companies and franchise organizations in the home improvement industry.  Of 300 full-service U.S. remodeling companies, Mosby Building Arts is ranked Number Eight.

Although the companies are ranked on the basis of sales volume, we recognize that our rating as a Top 10 National Remodeler represents much more than just a dollar value.  We feel it reflects our consistent dedication to hundreds of homeowners who team with us each year to enhance their surroundings - and their quality of life.  We are honored to make a positive difference in both their homes and their lives.

It’s just another example of how we at Mosby think differently.  We’re much more than remodelers - we help people to live better and maximize the value of their homes.  That’s an important benefit in this unsure economy, and yet another way that Mosby helps homeowners to enjoy “The Art of Living.”

We would like to thank all of our valued clients who trust us with both their homes and their peace of mind.  Because of you, we are proud to be recognized as a Top 10 National Remodeler and we could not achieve this without you!

.

Concrete is the most durable and flexible material for driveways, patios and walkways.  It is poured into any shape you desire with an endless variety of colors and finishes, and - with proper care - is an investment with enduring value.

Concrete is a high-function surface, and just as with a kitchen floor, how it looks is just as important as how it performs. We are familiar with the standard look of concrete, but did you know that you can have a surface for your concrete that will compliment and enhance your home? You work with a designer to choose the best look and know that these cosmetic options do not compromise the structural integrity of the material. So you get the best of both worlds.

Let’s review the choices you have for the appearance of your concrete surfaces:

Dyed Concrete

Typical concrete with a pigment added during the mixing stage, so that the color runs throughout the entire slab. You have a large palette to choose from and the color will not wear off.

Stained Concrete

Colors are applied on the concrete after it is cured, and then sealed.  This is a surface finish and is not as durable as dyed concrete.

Stamped Concrete

Standard or dyed concrete gets added texture by rubber stamping a pattern onto the wet surface.  The colors can be variegated with the use of powder pigment broadcast over the surface during the stamping process.  Typically, stamping is done on dyed concrete, as stamped patterns do not have the same aesthetic impact on standard gray concrete.  See more photos of this project.

Exposed Aggregate Concrete

Concrete is mixed with a decorative, smooth rock that is brought to the surface and left exposed.  Mother Nature dictates your color palette.  See more of this project.

Above is an example of how several concrete finishes can be combined to create a unique look.  For this backyard pool, standard concrete with a broom finish is outlined by a border of dyed and stamped concrete.  See more photos of this project.  The picture of the driveway at the top of this page uses the same concept but with different colors, highlighting how many choices you have when it comes to concrete.  See more pictures of that project.

Protecting Your Concrete Investment

Concrete is a strong and long-lasting material, so you pay more for these surfaces.  A crucial step for maintaining your concrete investment is to have it sealed.

Water is concrete’s enemy, so sealing it minimizes the moisture that penetrates and weakens your concrete.  An example of how water damages concrete is shown above; this flaking and deterioration is called spalling.

Spalling is a very common problem in the St. Louis area due to our excessive freeze/thaw cycles.  Every time concrete freezes and then thaws out, the moisture content weakens the surface of your concrete.  We are prone to 40 - 50 or more freeze/thaw cycles a season, and this happens more here than in any other part of the country, which is why we have the nickname of The Pot Hole Belt.

Winter is hard on your concrete, so the sooner you seal it the better you are protected against this type of damage.  The other benefits of concrete sealing are easier maintenance, cleaning, and snow removal.

Protect Your Investment with ProTreat Seal by Mosby

Scott Mosby, the KMOX Home Answer Man and president of Mosby Building Arts, has spent years researching the very best system for sealing and protecting concrete.  Scott believes so strongly in this product, and its 2-part application process, that his company now offers this concrete sealing service.

Mosby’s trained and experienced technicians begin by deep cleaning your concrete and then they apply a permanent, penetrating sealer that bonds with the interior of your concrete to block moisture from seeping in.  This is followed by a surface application that protects the surface from stains.

ProTreat Seal can be applied to concrete that has been sealed previously, and all the different concrete finishes shown above need to be sealed to protect the colors and textures.  If you are pouring new concrete, applying ProTreat within 48 hours on the fresh concrete will improve the curing process, which makes for a stronger surface and slab.

The ProTreat Seal by Mosby is an ounce of prevention for a pound of cure.  We work with you to design and build the most unique concrete look for your home, and we assure that your investment remains sound by protecting it from the elements.  To explore concrete finishes and protection, call Mosby at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

.