True or false: We've reached the bottom of the home remodeling decline?
Harvard says it's true, so it must be, right?
2010 is the Year of the Hammer, particularly by the second quarter, the study (released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University) suggests. Despite unstable housing market prices and roof-shattering foreclosure rates, potential remodelers may see "favorable financing costs" and increased home sales as reasons for taking on some nonessential improvement projects.
If the prognosticators in Crimson Country are correct, this is great news for contractors, remodelers and homeowners alike. It's still too soon to pop the champagne, but tell us, what's the first project you'll hire-out?
It might be too late to spare China's embarrassment over the contaminated drywall mess, but apparently it isn't too late to right their wrong.
That's what Sabre Technical Services is doing, with their chlorine dioxide decontamination process which -- once injected into the tainted drywall -- renders the problematic reduced sulfur compounds inert.
The company claims that the process requires homeowners to vacate their home for less than a week and costs less than the "rip and rebuild" alternative, which doesn't sound like much fun at all.
What would you do: Hope this is a great fix or start from scratch with new drywall?
The company that redefined "clean" is taking the flu head-on, by giving away 1,500 free shots at the South Central Family Health Clinic in South Central, Los Angeles, on Wednesday, October 21. The free flu shots will be available from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, and both adults and children will be eligible.
Clorox seems intent on preparing its faithful customers for Outbreak 2010, with an entire page on their site devoted to the latest flu strain.
With homeowners sealing up their windows, doors and walls against the oncoming winter and all its accompanying germs, viruses, and what-have-you, it's a good time to evaluate the indoor air quality (IAQ) of the home. Now might be a good moment to consider an air purifier, or run down this list of the top 10 contributors to poor indoor air quality.
In the meantime, are you getting the flu shot and/or the H1N1 shot this season?
Most people care enough about energy efficiency that they'll make some changes to their own home to lower the bills a few bucks. But wielding the caulk gun at a stranger's house? Isn't that extremist? The volunteers at HEET don't think so. The Massachusetts-based organization combines weatherizing techniques and good ole-fashioned barn raising sensibilities to kill a few birds with one big good-will stone. Improve a home's energy efficiency? Check. Teach participants skills on said topic? Check. Build community? Check.
Their most recent "barn raising" (yes, they really call them that) attracted the attention of fellow blogger Martin LaMonica, who joined 40 others to help weatherize a leaky New England house before Old Man Winter starts his blowing. You can read all about his experience on his CNET GreenTech blog page.
Great concept, great cause. I wonder how many of these groups are cropping up across the country. Have you helped raise a barn lately? What are you doing to winterize your house this season? Get great tips for winterizing on a budget.
Does your dishwasher and garbage disposal suffer from bad breath? The folks at Whirlpool are banking on it. They've developed a special cleaner tablet that removes bad odors from both appliances.
The tablet -- called the affresh™ Dishwasher and Disposal Cleaner -- is set to sell for about a buck apiece. Throw two in an empty dishwasher and run on heavy and high temperature for a fresh, citrus smell. Toss one down the disposal and run the appliance with a little hot water for 15 seconds for the same. Your kitchen will smell like a Florida orange grove.
While we wait on reviews of the affresh™ cleaning tablet I'll be lamenting the fact that Whirlpool beat Altoid to the punch.
The late, great Michael Jackson once sang, "It doesn't matter if you're black or white." But when it comes to your roof, it really does matter. A black (or dark) roof absorbs heat on a sunny day--which is great in the winter--and a white roof reflects the sun--which is great in the summer. But for each roofing color, those advantages turn to disadvantages as the earth moves to the other side of the sun. The black roof turns the home into a sauna in the summer, driving up cooling costs, and the white roof reflects badly needed heat in the winter, elevating the heating costs.
Thanks to a handful of recent genius MIT graduates, the human race can now lay claim to color-changing roofing tiles. White in the hot months and black in the cold, the tiles use a technology that changes their color in response to temperature.
Bottom line figures: In their "white state," the tiles reflect as much as 80 percent of the sunlight, potentially saving up to 20 percent in cooling costs. "Black state" figures have yet to be released.
No word yet on what shade the tiles take on under overcast conditions. Rooftop mosaic, anyone?
Despite the pervasive “where did the summer go” question I hear at this time of the year, there’s still plenty of grilling yet to be done. If you’re lucky enough to live in more temperate areas -- or if a little snow and sub-zero temperatures don’t scare you -- you might be one of those grill owners who count the number of potential grilling days in the year at 365.
Whatever your grilling habits, here’s a piece of advice: Keep the grill away from the house. In a recent conversation with a local contractor I discovered that replacing melted vinyl siding was one of his most frequent jobs. Folks push their grill right up against the side of the house, where the 300+ temperatures do a warp-job on the heat-sensitive panels.
The Home Safety Council recommends placing the grill 10 feet away from other objects, including the house and bushes. While it might be tough for some homeowners to abide strictly by that rule, do yourself a favor and at least don’t push it flush with the side of the home. You’ll help keep your vinyl siding from looking like it belongs in a Van Gogh painting. So tell us: What's your worst grilling error?
