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Bristow, VA

Fourth of July Flowers

Jay Markanich: Inspector in Bristow, VA

This is as close as I could come to planting red, white and blue clematis under my deck. It came out pretty well!

Bristow, VA: Lovely Single Family Home in Kingsbrooke for $425,000

 Chris Ann Cleland, GRI: Real Estate Agent in Bristow, VA
Chris Ann Cleland | Long & Foster | 703-402-0037
9231 Lost Fields Court, Bristow, VA
Outstanding Single Family Home in Bristow!
4BR/3.5BA Single Family House
offered at $425,000
Year Built 1998
Sq Footage 4,479
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 3 full, 1 partial
Floors 3
Parking 2 Car garage
Lot Size 9,422 sqft
HOA/Maint $42 per month

DESCRIPTION

Looking for a well cared for home? Your search is over! This brick front colonial in Bristow is ready for it's new owners. Pull up and the first thing you notice is the location. A lovely lot on the cusp of a cul-de-sac. Step inside this brick front beauty and the openness of the two story foyer will welcome you. You may not even notice the den to your left, behind see through French Doors. To your right, the formal living room is open to the formal dining room. The late afternoon sunlight pouring in the bay window makes a late afternoon/evening meal a special treat. Wander into the kitchen and you are in a light and bright space. White appliances including double ovens, gas cooktop, built-in microwave and refrigerator with ice and water dispensers blend in with and abundance of white cabinets. And the available counter space with the island, is a cook's dream. Inside the kitchen is a breakfast nook, open to the two story family room. Two stories of windows, on two separate walls give the family room a hint of sophistication. Enjoy a cold winter night by the gas fireplace. Or watch a movie with friends and family. There is plenty of space in this room for entertaining! With every square foot of the basement finished, there is plenty of space for all kinds of activities. A den is separated by the open basement with see through French doors. The open area of the basement offers areas that separate nicely into zones. Have a media area for a home theater, a game area or an exercise area. Don't forget the full bathroom and walkout exit, both features of the basement. Upstairs, the Master Suite features a cathedral ceiling, walk-in closet, French doors and a luxury Master Bathroom. With a dual vanity, soaking tub and separate shower it is easy to become spoiled. Second, third and fourth bedrooms all offer plenty of space and share a full bathroom in the hall. Dramatic touches to the upstairs floor plan are the overlooks to the foyer and family room. Outside you can enjoy a fully fenced yard, adorned with mature evergreen trees, a walk down deck and patio. This home sweet home is ready for you. Call for a tour today!

see additional photos below
PROPERTY FEATURES

• Central A/C • Central heat • Fireplace
• High/Vaulted ceiling • Walk-in closet • Hardwood floor
• Family room • Living room • Bonus/Rec room
• Office/Den • Dining room • Breakfast nook
• Dishwasher • Refrigerator • Stove/Oven
• Microwave • Attic • Basement
• Washer • Dryer • Laundry area - inside
• Balcony, Deck, or Patio • Yard

COMMUNITY FEATURES

• Clubhouse • Swimming pool(s) • Tennis court(s)
• Playground


ADDITIONAL PHOTOS


Photo 1

Family Room

Family Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Deck & Patio
Contact info:
Chris Ann Cleland
Long & Foster
703-402-0037
For sale by agent/broker

powered by postlets Equal Opportunity Housing
Posted: Jul 3, 2009, 7:29am PDT

Jay's Floor 6 - How Dry I Am

Jay Markanich: Inspector in Bristow, VA

This is typical of one of those problems that crop up during floor installations. It it at the edge of the entry where the original hall flooring and our new flooring meet the bottom of the stair case.

It could have been harder. I might have had to notch out a spot for that trim piece.

This one is straightforward, with a little wrinkle. You can see that the tongue on the new piece still needs to go into the groove of the original flooring, but also accommodate a small 1/8" bump out of the stair piece, and then an easy notch for the molding piece.

How to do that and still maintain straight lines?

I have a tool.

Surprisingly, this is called a "Japanese Pull Saw." It has its own case to protect it while in the tool box with the other bourgeoisie tools. It likes to be set apart!

What a wonderful tool. It is not like a traditional saw where you pull and push. This saw is just pulled.

It makes very fine, very exact cuts. You simply pull gently and let the saw do the work.

Working with hardwood flooring isn't exactly like working with furniture. But close!

This is what it looked like when finished.

The floor molding still needs to be nailed into place. But I wanted you to see how it looks at the end of the process.

It fits pretty well!

This right view is the opposite side left by the builder - two large gaps visible.

That was installed by the flooring "professional" ten years ago.

So, how do you get the floor down so as to mix grains, and textures and colors? How do you make it not only look pretty but also with very little waste?

I am using Armstrong flooring that comes in various lengths inside boxes that are about 7' long. Each box has 84 board feet. For each box, I am getting less than 12" of waste. That is pretty good.

Here is one technique below to be able to mix and match, with little waste...

This is a dry fit technique. You simply lay out the boards ahead of time, placing together colors and grains that are different. You also want to put them down so that edges do not come together in the same place. There is one spot in the upper center which looks like the two seams are together, but that is an illusion. The longer piece is on top of the one below and there will be about 3" cut off.

Onward and upward!

Do You See What I See?

Jay Markanich: Inspector in Bristow, VA

The Flashing, Flashing, Flashing post has already brought in business. Another person in the same neighborhood, impressed by my Superman ability to see non-existent flashing (cough!), invited me over to investigate this same flashing problem on their house. While there I also did an IR examination.

It seems that in addition to water stains, the bedroom also is hot and cold. Looking around with an infrared camera, it isn't hard to see why.

This is blown up larger than normal, and grainy, but you can still see what is happening. Part of the room has a pentagon shape, with a long attic space behind the bed.

You can see the bed at the bottom of this image.

The wall behind the bed is about 6 feet high. The attic space behind is quite hot.

The Max is the hottest spot in the image. It is 131 degrees.

Keep in mind, this is right behind the bed!

The area you are looking at represents the space between two studs, and no insulation below about 5 1/2 feet.

The insulation was never stapled and fell down.

Looking into the attic, it was resting right on the floor.

Keep in mind, this house is just over one year of age. That is how quickly insulation can slip.

Imagine what can happen on a tall balloon wall!!

The image to the right is along that same wall. It is to the right of the bed and in the corner.

The same situation exists - the insulation was never stapled, it has fallen and the Max hot spot you see is 135 degrees!

That will influence a room, just a bit...

This represents the 12th image taken in that room. There were more than two spots along that attic space wall. In that room alone, here were 23 pictures taken in total!

Imagine how hot and cold this room can get!

This is the cathedral ceiling in one alcove of the bedroom. It is the end of that same pentagon shape described in the first image.

The line in the middle is the center double stud from floor to the highest point. The height here is about 10 feet.

The insulation on both sides of that double stud was not stapled. The Max temperature there is 166 degrees Fahrenheit!

There is only air between this drywall and the outside of the house. This spot just happened to be in the sun on this particular day at the time I was there.

Even though the thermostat is in this room, and it has its own HVAC return, this room was uncomfortably warm. A ceiling fan does not help.

It probably is uncomfortably cold in the winter.

How can you control the environment there when it is so poorly insulated? There were 23 problem spots in this room.

I went to investigate one problem, and found a few others. This was not the only room with the hot/cold issues. There were many other spots in many other rooms throughout the house. It was a very long thermal image report.

This particular home represents one of the worst insulation jobs I have seen in a long time. They are out there. I had a previous post over a year ago entitled "What I Am Seeing Now," which identified insulation that is not stapled as being a big problem. You can see why. Despite what the builder says, the drywall does NOT hold it up over time. Insulation that is not stapled is simply poor quality, unprofessional work.

People love looking into the camera with me. It can be horrifying! It can also be fun...

I took a picture of a young lady a couple of months ago. She was five months pregnant. The baby's form was clearly visible! I am sure they framed the photo I emailed them!

My recommendation: If you can get an IR inspection on a house, do it before the one year warranty walk through. That way, issues like this can be corrected before your clients have to live with them.

Jay's Floor 5 - Aw, Cut It Out!

Jay Markanich: Inspector in Bristow, VA

Anytime you start a big project, it is important to keep first things first!

Safety first!

Whoa! Everything but the knee pads? Where are the knee pads?

Whenever you are involved in a project, there are always obstacles to overcome. As I was laying this flooring, I noticed a hole in the floor! I think it was supposed to be there.

There was cold air blowing out of it. Yepper, supposed to be there!

Actually, in this project, there will be two HVAC floor registers. While there are a variety of ways to cut out the flooring to accommodate the register over the space, you have to be careful not to cut into the metal opening.

I decided to use a tool I had used many times in the past to cut openings for drywall. But I had never used it to cut into hardwood flooring.

Time to try it out! Porter Cable calls this a “Cut-Out Tool.” I have always referred to it as a “zip tool.”

First, I tried a couple of test cuts to see if I could control it. And I could. So I cut it out.

You can see how not parallel to the wall this opening is. When there was carpet there it was not noticeable that the opening is not very square to the wall. But with the straight lines of hardwood flooring it will be easy to see how the register does not align with the flooring! It would have been very difficult to cut the opening in a manner that was not straight with the metal opening but straight with the lines of the floor. You can see how it looks when it is all said and done!

No, I did not work with all that “safety gear.”

Yes, I do work with very, very good knee pads.

Believe me – you have to!