Does your new or remodeled home meet the minimum energy codes for construction and design? If you’re like most consumers, Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) believes that you have no idea.
Last fall, the nonprofit agency reported that energy bills in an average new home that doesn’t meet the minimums are consistently higher. In fact, they’re [...]
Of all the doors or gates to your home, your garage door and opener probably experience the greatest amount of wear and tear during a year of ordinary use. Imagine how many times that door has opened in the last 365 days; how many round trips have you made to work, school or the local [...]
It’s my nature to surf the world of online home improvement blogs. There’s great information out there, including home improvement ideas if you’re rebuilding or going green. But I’ve yet to see a blog give any bandwidth to a discussion about home safety and security. Are we just numb to the same old ideas of [...]
The bathroom vanity top is basically a countertop surface. You’ll find that the surfacing materials offer many of the same choices as those you’d evaluate for the kitchen: solid surface, granite, laminate and wood. Since your selection may come down to money, rather than aesthetics, this discussion suggests you seek a balance between the two [...]
One of the top selling points for vinyl siding is the ease of maintenance. But that doesn’t mean there’s “no maintenance” involved in extending the life of your product. Vinyl siding has come a long way since it caught on as a relatively inexpensive alternative to wood and stone. It’s more durable now and holds [...]
Low-flow plumbing fixtures can save you money in the long haul. The jury is still out whether you can quickly gain a return on your investment since water savings may only tally $100-$150 a year. But in the day when many of us are counting nickels and dimes on our water bills, everything that helps [...]
Your refrigerator is toast. The compressor is on its last legs and would cost more to repair or replace than you want to spend. It’s been a long time since you felt any resistance from the door seal when popping it open. There’s a drip or, worse, a pool of water collecting. The unit runs [...]
The federal government has enacted changes to The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) that may assist about one million troubled homeowners to qualify for refinancing. The jury is out whether sparing so many homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosure will positively impact the economy, but for our purposes, I wonder whether the elimination of [...]
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