M.P. McQueen of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) weighed in this week on the do-it-yourself boom. It seems as the housing market continues to circle the drain, the home improvement industry is about to profit from the first spending increase in four years.
Driven by plunging prices, cash shortages, and ongoing house payments, homeowners are strategizing [...]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued an immediate advisory that thousands of American homes that contain Chinese-manufactured drywall may emit hazardous levels of hydrogen sulfide—up to 100 times the amount released by non-Chinese-made drywall. The new CPSC guidelines say homes with the product will not be safe until the drywall is gutted.
According to [...]
If you’re a contractor, you probably already know about the new requirements when you’re remodeling or renovating around lead paint. Homeowners working on their own residences are not bound by the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) law that goes into effect April 22, 2010.
The law requires renovation contractors, painters, and maintenance workers in multi-family housing, [...]
It’s hard to keep track of new legislation that affects home building and remodeling across the 50 states. Too often homeowners and re-modelers get going on a project that requires a local permit and suddenly discover they have to lay out additional money to meet building codes. I know people who have had to rip [...]
In thinking about internal pollutants and dangers in the home for an earlier blog this week, I thought you Do It Yourselfers might benefit from a talk about radon. There are a great many false notions about this toxic gas and whether you need your home inspected. So I went straight to the source: The [...]
Is it absolutely necessary to have your heating ducts cleaned every year? Experts seem divided on the issue. Home improvement expert Bob Villa says it’s not necessarily so. He claims a great many people have them cleaned when there are no obstructions or growth in them. Villa says the time to have someone in to [...]
It doesn’t matter whether your fireplace is used for aesthetics or heating the house, every fall is a great time to have a chimney inspection and cleaning if it needs it. If you’re changing the amount of use, the kind of fuel you burn, or your home heating venting, be sure to include a chimney [...]
It’s time to revisit the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its energy improvements section. In sum, Section 1121 of the act was created to offer a $1,500 tax credit for materials applied towards an energy retrofit of windows, skylights, doors, insulation and roofing.
Homeowners can earn the credit up to a [...]
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