What Homebuyers Want in a New Home?

According to the Realtor Magazine website, there are some new trends that there are some new trends that homebuyers are on the lookout for in 2015. And if you’re selling or flipping a home, you should pay attention to them.

Leading off the top 5 are coral shades. This blast of a new color is the easiest change to make if you’re a seller and will get you the biggest bang for their buck. Sherwin-Williams Coral Reef (#6606) is the hottest color on the market. Opening up your spaces is the way to go if you’re looking to sell to the mainstream. Removing the walls brings everyone together. The trend towards convenience continues in the home design as buyers prefer an off the shelf plan over a custom design plan. Quartzite is becoming the alternative to granite for countertops and flooring materials because of its toughness.

Number 4 on the list is freestanding tubs. While freestanding tubs may make you think of the excessive Victorian-style opulence it’s making a comeback in a big way. Because it compliments other design trends like open wall niches and single wash basins, the freestanding tub is the perfect fit for your bathroom. At Soak Saskatoon, you can pick from one of three styles from the Royal Series, the oval shaped, pitted M602, the M603 with a hand rail and the deep M706. Come by our showroom and check them out.  

The Hot Tub over Time

Hot tubs have been around as long as man. Since 2000 B.C when the Egyptians used hot baths for therapeutic value, man has known about the healing power of hot tubs.  It’s been reported that in 600 B.C., the Persian king Phraortes built one of the first hot tubs. Other primitive versions of hot tubs were calderas which are the cauldron-like volcanic holes usually formed in the earth following a volcanic eruption. Even philosophers including Plato and Hippocrates believed in the therapeutic value of water. Those philosophers were definitely on to something!

Later on the Japanese and Roman cultures integrated hot tubs into their lifestyles. The ancient Romans used three types of baths: the home bath (balnea), the private bath (balnea privata), and the public bath (balnea publica). Even when the Roman army was occupying foreign lands, they built their own baths in mineral and thermal springs.

It was really int the 1940s that the hot tubs craze hit North America.  The Jacuzzi brothers introduced hydrotherapy pumps were introduced by Jacuzzi. Fiberglass shell hot tubs made their appearance in the 1970’s and eventually overtaken by cast acrylic shells. The 1980s saw the introduction of models that worked as hot tubs, whirlpool baths, or sometimes both. Waterfalls were incorporated into the design with the increased flexibility of being installed indoors or out. The designs that came later expanded on these features and the rest is history. 

Is it Time to Replace Your Spa Cover?

Don’t be alarmed if your hot tub cover is starting to fall apart or lose its shape, it’s just nature’s way of telling you to change your spa cover.

There are a few ways that your hot tub is telling you it’s time for a new cover. When the cover is retaining water and is waterlogged you need a new cover. It seems more serious than you think. There are health risks of continuing to use a waterlogged cover because the vapor barrier fails due to the chemicals used to keep the water healthy eventually break down this barrier. The foam cores inside the cover will absorb the moisture from the warm and humid air underneath creating a paradise germs and bacteria. The condition of the vinyl will crack and break. Another cause of spa cover deterioration is forgetting to treat the cover with the suggested cleaning products regularly. We’re all busy but if you do not treat the vinyl on your hot tub cover using the recommended products the sun air, rain and snow will beat it up letting water in.

So what can you do to prolong your hot tub cover’s life expectancy? While we suggest that you use only those products that have been recommended for your hot tub, leaving the hot tub cover off for about 20 minutes after using chemicals in your hot tub, will allow the vapors that can destroy the plastic vinyl cover to escape. This also prevents them from staying in the hot tub, where they shouldn’t be. Be nice to your spa cover, don’t put anything heavy on it. And be careful how you handle it. Dragging it around on the ground will cause premature wear and tear.