Happy Halloween!

 

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Halloween! Be safe and try not to eat too much candy!

Autumn Maintenance For Your Home

"As the leaves change and the days get shorter, take the time this autumn to prepare for the oncoming cold weather. Ready the furnace for the months of work it will have ahead, and clean out the fireplace. Test them both to ensure they’ll be working when you need the heat. Don’t wait until it’s snowing to clear out your gutters. With upkeep in the fall, you’ll have peace of mind in the winter and more time to hibernate.

INSIDE THE HOUSE

Heating System Checkup

Be sure to change the air filter in your furnace and check its efficiency before the cold weather begins. Call in an HVAC contractor to test the heating output and give the system a tune-up. This technician can also check for and correct possibly hazardous carbon monoxide levels generated by your heating system. Stock up on several air filters for the winter, and change them every month. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, purchase one for the system to help lower your energy costs.

After your furnace has been tuned up to its maximum efficiency, take a moment to inspect your heating ducts and vents. Dust them off and clear away anything that may have gotten into them over the summer. Then check your windows for any leaks that may compromise your heating efficiency. If you feel cold air coming in, purchase a plastic sealing kit from the hardware store and place the plastic around the window to keep the heat from escaping. Be sure to check your doors as well, and fix their weather-stripping if needed.

Check The Fireplace And Chimney

Most chimney sweeps recommend an annual sweeping, but depending on how often you use the fireplace, you might be able to wait on a full sweep. But if you will be using the fireplace often, call a chimney sweep for an inspection. For further information, read the Chimney and Woodburning Fireplace Safety guide.

Hopefully you will have your older, seasoned firewood now ready for use after sitting for the spring and summer. It’s recommended to keep the firewood at least 30 feet from the house and covered. Seasoned wood is best for fires, as it burns cleaner and longer." [Continue reading...]

Pumpkin Carving Tips

5 Essential Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contractor

 

"For all of the excitement of choosing plumbing fixtures, cabinets, and tiles for a remodeling project, the most important decision you make won’t involve color swatches or glossy brochures. It’s the contractor you pick that makes or breaks the job. That choice will determine the quality of the craftsmanship, the timeliness of the work, and the amount of emotional and financial stress the process puts on you. To make sure you’re getting the best contractor for the job, here are five questions to ask the candidates.

1. Would you please itemize your bid?

Many contractors prefer to give you a single, bottom-line price for your project, but this puts you in the dark about what they’re charging for each aspect of the job. For example, let’s say the original plan calls for beadboard wainscot in your bathroom, but you decide not to install it after all. How much should you be credited for eliminating that work? With a single bottom-line price, you have no way to know.

On the other hand, if you get an itemized bid, it’ll show the costs for all of the various elements of the job—demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, tile, fixtures, and so forth. That makes it easier to compare different contractors’ prices and see where the discrepancies are. If you need to cut the project costs, you can easily assess your options. Plus, an itemized bid becomes valuable documentation about the exact scope of the project, which may eliminate disputes later.

The contractor shouldn’t give you a hard time about itemizing his bid. He has to figure out his total price line by line anyway, so you’re not asking him to do more work, only to share the details. If he resists, it means he wants to withhold important information about his bid—a red flag for sure.

2. Is your bid an estimate or a fixed price?

Homeowners generally assume that the bid they’re seeing is a fixed price, but some contractors treat their proposals as estimates, meaning bills could wind up being higher in the end. If he calls it an estimate, request a fixed price bid instead. If he says he can’t offer a fixed price because there are too many unknowns about the job, then eliminate the unknowns.

“Have him open up a wall to check the structure he’s unsure about or go back to your architect and solidify the design plans,” says Tampa, Fla., attorney George Meyer, who is chair-elect of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. If you simply cannot resolve the unknowns he’s concerned about, have the project specs describe what he expects to do—and if he needs to do additional work later, you can do a change order (a written mini-bid for new work).

3. How long have you been doing business in this town?

A contractor who’s been plying his trade locally for 5 or 10 years has an established network of subcontractors and suppliers in the area and a local reputation to uphold. That makes him a safer bet than a contractor who’s either new to the business or new to the area—or who’s planning to commute to your job from 50 miles away.

You want to see a nearby address (not a PO box) on his business card—and should ask him to include one or two of his earliest clients on your list of references. This will help you verify that he hasn’t just recently hung his shingle—and will give you perspective from a homeowner who has lived with the contractor’s work for years. After all, the test of a quality job, whether it’s a bluestone patio or a family room addition, is how well it stands the test of time." [Continue reading...]

Halloween Safety Tips

"Halloween is an exciting time of year for kids, and to help ensure they have a safe holiday, here are some tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Feel free to excerpt these tips or use them in their entirety for any print or broadcast story, with acknowledgment of source."


ALL DRESSED UP:

• Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and Trick-or-Treat bags for greater visibility.
• Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.
• When shopping for costumes, wigs and accessories look for and purchase those with a label clearly indicating they are flame resistant.
• If a sword, cane, or stick is a part of your child's costume, make sure it is not sharp or too long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he stumbles or trips.
• Obtain flashlights with fresh batteries for all children and their escorts.
• Do not use decorative contact lenses without an eye examination and a prescription from an eye care professional. While the packaging on decorative lenses will often make claims such as “one size fits all,” or “no need to see an eye specialist,” obtaining decorative contact lenses without a prescription is both dangerous and illegal. This can cause pain, inflammation, and serious eye disorders and infections, which may lead to permanent vision loss.
• Teach children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they have an emergency or become lost.

CARVING A NICHE:

• Small children should never carve pumpkins. Children can draw a face with markers.  Then parents can do the cutting.
• Consider using a flashlight or glow stick instead of a candle to light your pumpkin. If you do use a candle, a votive candle is safest.
• Candlelit pumpkins should be placed on a sturdy table, away from curtains and other flammable objects, and should never be left unattended. [Continue reading...]

High-Tech Kitchen Faucet: A Hip, Smart Retrofit

 

"If you’re looking for a new kitchen faucet, check out the high-tech wonders. The latest-gen kitchen faucets seem to operate with only a wink and a nod, and are a cool way to upgrade your kitchen without remodeling the whole space. Best of all, they aren’t that expensive—you can get some of the latest features for under $200.

Can you do this with your kitchen faucet?

The contortionists: The trouble with a kitchen faucet that only pivots left or right is that you’re limited by the range of motion. Today you can find faucets equipped with multiple articulated joints, folding necks, or spouts on pullout hoses so you can direct water deep into any corner of the sink or fill your tallest flower vase.

Check it out: Five pivoting joints allow the Karbon articulating kitchen faucet an especially flexible range of motion, allowing you to precisely direct the stream or select height. You’ll appreciate the sculptural quality of this faucet as you play with various configurations. The faucet starts at about $900.

Lights fantastic: If you think water and light make an eye-appealing combination, try a kitchen faucet with built-in lighting. Colorful LEDs indicate whether water is hot or cold, while soft white lights elegantly illuminate the water stream.

Check it out: An LED light in the faucet head of the Chrome Centerset LED Sensor Faucet (0599-QH0108F) changes color to indicate water temperature. Green indicates 82 degrees or below. Blue means the water is 82 to 100 degrees. Red says the water is 100 to 118 degrees. When the light turns red and flashes, the water temperature is too hot! The chrome gooseneck faucet sells for about $180." [Continue reading...]

Homeowner Tips for the Fall

"When the leaves start to change and the weather gets cooler it’s time to evaluate your home to help prevent winter damage.

A common missed item in your home, believe it or not, is your lint trap. Not properly cleaning out your lint trap in your dryer can cause a fire. Also it’s a good idea, two times a year, to clean out all of the connecting hoses to your dryer.

Another often missed item is your smoke detector’s batteries. Make sure you change your batteries twice a year and it’s a good idea to clean off the dust and test your detector to make sure it’s in proper, working order.

Also, make sure you take the time to clean out your rain gutters after all the leaves have fallen. If you do not clean your gutter’s ice damns are more likely to occur. Also, check the wood behind the gutters to see if it is in need of repairs." [Continue reading...]

Tips for Improving Water Quality

 

"Homeowners can play a key role in cleaning up out our polluted waterways through behavior changes. The majority of pollution in our urban waterways can be linked to common lawn care practices such as over applying fertilizers and pesticides or not properly disposing of pet waste.

Before learning how you can make a difference it’s important to understand some key elements regarding water pollution.

Run off - Run off is stormwater that flows over impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, streets an to some extent over residential lawns. As it flows, it picks up oils, lawn chemicals, pet waste and other pollutants along the way." [Continue reading...]

Tips for Homeowners

To protect your investment in your home, it’s important to perform regular maintenance. The following tips not only help you to prevent costly repairs in the future, but can also make your home more efficient, saving you money on your monthly utility bills.

1. Inspect the exterior of your home annually:
• Check the foundation for cracking.
• Check the weather stripping and caulking around doors and windows, and check for cracks and holes in the siding.
• Check the paint for peeling, cracking, fading or blistering.
• Trim shrubs and trees so they clear the foundation, exterior walls, and roof.
• Drain and shut off your outside faucets before winter.
• Clean gutters and downspouts in the fall and spring.
• Clean leaves and mulch from under porches and decks, and pull mulch away from foundation walls.
  
2. Check annually for water or moisture in the crawl space, as well as for water leaks in the basement or in the attic.
   
3. Drain a gallon or two from your hot water heater at least twice a year to extend its life expectancy. [Continue reading...]

99-Cent Store Solution #1: Scuffed Countertops

 

"If you’ve ever had a scuff mark on a colored countertop, you know that it sadly becomes the room’s focal point. But we found the right supplies to save you any embarrassment. 

Supplies:

Crayons, 99 cents

Spatula knife, 99 cents

A microwave-safe bowl, 99 cents (If you have one you’re willing to sacrifice to melt crayons, you just saved another 99 cents.)

Total: $2.97. $3.96 if you throw in a weak lemonade-type drink.

What you do:

Pick the Crayon whose color comes closest to matching your countertop. Peel off the paper and place it in the 

bowl.

Pop the crayon and bowl in the microwave.

Pour the hot, melted crayon onto the scuff mark and work it into the indentation with the spatula knife.

Scrape off the excess with the spatula knife.

The Crayon mixture will harden and dry quickly, erasing your countertop flaw." 

[Continue reading...]

Extinguish Your Chance of a House Fire

 

"Malibu beach houses and mobile homes all burn down. Any home can catch fire and any home owner can die in the blaze. In 2009, house fires caused 2,565 deaths, 12,650 injuries, and $7.6 billion in direct damage. Usually one or two people die per fatal fire. But that’s not always the case. Last year, nine fires resulted in 59 deaths. While these numbers symbolize staggering amounts of loss, they are on the decline.

Some of the most devastating structure fires happened decades ago. On April 21, 1930, 320 people died in a fire in an Ohio penitentiary. Twenty-seven years prior, 602 people were killed in a fire in a Chicago theater. Another 27 years before that, 295 people died from a fire in a Brooklyn theater.

But arguably the most famous fire is the one that took down nearly an entire city. From October 8 through October 9 in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire blazed through the Midwestern hub, causing 250 deaths. The events in Chicago inspired the creation of the first Fire Prevention Day on October 9, 1911. 

Today we have Fire Prevention Week that lasts from October 3 through 9, sponsored by the NFPA. To contribute to the awareness of fire safety and prevention, and to mark this noteworthy anniversary, we offer readers a reminder of the deadly power of fires and key tips for prevention." [Continue reading...]

10 Tips for Saving Energy in the Kitchen

 

Spending less money on utility bills doesn’t mean you need to rush out and purchase a whole new suite of Energy Star appliances. With occasional light maintenance and good habits, you can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your large kitchen appliances—up to about $120 annually—without sacrificing convenience.

Refrigerator/freezer

Energy-efficiency experts tell us to focus our efforts on the biggest energy hogs in the house, and that definitely includes the fridge. Because it cycles on and off all day, every day, the refrigerator consumes more electricity than nearly every appliance in the home save for the HVAC systems. The average refrigerator costs about $90 per year to operate, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The good news is that a few simple adjustments can trim roughly $38 to $45 off those utility bills.

1. Adjust the thermostat. By setting the thermostat colder than it needs to be, you might increase your fridge’s energy consumption by as much as 25% on average. Adjust the refrigerator so that it stays in the 37-40 degrees F range. For the freezer, shoot for between 0-5 degrees F. You could save up to $22 per year. If your model doesn’t display the current temps, invest in two appliance thermometers (one for the fridge, one for the freezer). They cost roughly $3-$20 apiece at online retailers.

2. Clean the coils. As dust accumulates on the condenser coils on the rear or bottom of the fridge, it restricts cool-air flow and forces the unit to work harder and longer than necessary. Every six months, vacuum away the dust that accumulates on the mechanism. Also, check to see that there is at least a 3-inch clearance at the rear of the fridge for proper ventilation. This routine maintenance can trim up to 5% off the unit’s operating cost, says energy savings expert Michael Bluejay, saving you about $4.50 a year.

3. Use an ice tray. Automatic ice makers are a nice convenience, to be sure, but it turns out the mechanisms are energy hogs. An automatic ice maker can increase a refrigerator’s energy consumption by 14% to 20%, according to Energy Star. By switching off the ice maker and using trays, you can save about $12 to $18 off your annual electricity bill. Most units require little more than a lift of the sensor arm to switch them off. To reclaim the space remove the entire unit, a simple DIY job on many models. 

4. Unplug the “beer fridge.” Many homes have an extra fridge that runs year round even though it’s used sparingly. Worse, these fridges tend to be older, more inefficient models. By consolidating the contents to the main fridge and unplugging the additional unit, you eliminate the entire operating cost of a fridge. The second-best solution is to make sure the extra fridge remains three-quarters full at all times. The mass helps maintain steady internal temps and lets the fridge recover more quickly after the door is opened and closed, according to the California Energy Commission. 

[Continue reading...]