The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Guest Musing: Energy Codes, Compliance Deadlines & Keeping up to Date

Remember ARRA & that little February 17th, 2017 deadline? Wonder where the states stand & where they are headed? Just how can one keep up with all the legal, financial, regulatory & other code changes that seemingly just pop up? Well this week I am honored to do my 7th musing which covers this subject over […]

Filed Under: Regulatory Issues Tagged With: Guest Posting February 24, 2017 By SLS

Employee or Contractor? New Illinois Construction Reporting Requirement

For many small business owners when it comes time to grow one of the questions is do I hire employees, should I just hire subs, or… Needless to say when one starts adding up the cost of Workman’s comp, FICA taxes, etc… subbing it out starts looking more and more attractive. Unfortunately whether it is due to confusion, […]

Filed Under: Legal, Regulatory Issues December 22, 2014 By SLS

From the Fiscal Cliff to Commercial RRP – Heads Up

Wow what an interesting start to this New Year – if we didn’t have enough regular mandated changes slated for the start of this year, a few more managed to pop up quite quickly. With that here is a quick recap of some of new & some of the most major impacts that affect almost […]

Filed Under: Regulatory Issues January 3, 2013 By SLS

State by State Residential Contractor Licensing Recap & Alabama’s Limited License

It seems like the first thing off everyone’s lip before hiring a contractor to work on a house is “make sure they are licensed”. Well would it surprise you that 15 states do not require one to be licensed, another 6 states require it only if you are doing $10,000 of work or more on […]

Filed Under: Legal, Regulatory Issues May 11, 2012 By SLS

Is it Trash or Hazardous Waste?

Ahhh spring cleaning time… what a wonderful time of the year, when your significant other & the kids scatter like mice… Besides the whole house getting a major clean out (once you find all your helpers), the pantry, under the sinks, medicine cabinets, garages (maybe we can get a car back in there…) & sheds […]

Filed Under: Consumer Awareness, Regulatory Issues Tagged With: Trash March 9, 2012 By SLS

Alabama Storm Water QCI Training

This week instead of heading to Austin for the RESNET conference, I choose to head south to Montgomery to ABLE aka Alabama’s Better Living Expo. One of the reasons was to catch up on the updated Storm Water codes & regulations that apply here in Alabama (and the rest of the country).  Like many EPA […]

Filed Under: Regulatory Issues, Training, Education, & Confrence Tagged With: Rain Water, Water February 27, 2012 By SLS

Let’s Blog Off: How much should I charge…

This week, the Let’s Blog Off crew threw us an interesting twist, and it all started with them using a statement for the title instead of the normal shortened question, namely “If you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford the meal.” They then proceeded to ask quite a few hard hitting questions on dealing […]

Filed Under: Regulatory Issues Tagged With: Blog Off, How To December 20, 2011 By SLS

LEED Lawsuit Updated, the Better Building Initiative, and some Common Threads

In case you might have missed the news, this Monday, the ongoing soap-opera lawsuit between Henry Gifford and the USGBC was modified. Last Thursday, the White House released its Better Buildings initiative, which is primarily aimed at the Commercial sector. While these two items may seem worlds apart, they are in some ways remarkably similar. […]

Filed Under: Recovery thru Retrofit, Regulatory Issues Tagged With: Better Buildings Initiative February 9, 2011 By SLS

Recovery through Retrofit: The Workforce Guidelines

While I was originally planning to do a Clif Notes version of the Workforce Guidelines, that idea was looking less & less likely after hitting two pages of notes. When I was less than 200 pages in & a computer problem destroyed over three pages of notes, the idea officially hit the scrap bin. As […]

Filed Under: Recovery thru Retrofit, Regulatory Issues December 10, 2010 By SLS

Recovery through Retrofit: The EPA’s Part

In case you missed it, last week VP Biden announced the new Recovery through Retrofit program. In it there was four main items that were all wrapped together. A new Home Energy Scoring Tool, Financing, DOE’s Retrofit guidelines, and an often-overlooked one: The EPA’s “Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy upgrades” Seeing that the […]

Filed Under: Recovery thru Retrofit, Regulatory Issues November 19, 2010 By SLS

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Featured Posts

Holiday Checklist – The day after

First off, we hope everyone had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. Many people will be heading out today for the annual gift exchange / ...

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January is National Radon Month

January is National Radon Month

Should you be worried? Believe it or not – this is actually debatable by some people. According to the EPA, they estimate that there are over 21,000 lung cancer deaths per ...

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January - Mid Winter Maintenance Checklist

Welcome to the start of a New Year, and the first full month of winter. This is the time of the year when many individuals try to wipe the slate ...

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FAQ: Should I close my crawl space vents during winter?

FAQ: Should I close my crawl space vents during winter?

In short the answer is generally yes, they should be closed up during the winter months. If you follow our Monthly Maintenance Schedule, we recommend the month of October as ...

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FAQ: Do I need to change my HVAC filter monthly?

FAQ: Do I need to change my HVAC filter monthly?

If you follow our Monthly Maintenance Program, the first item we have listed is "Change out your HVAC filter." This has brought up a few questions, namely: Do I need ...

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FAQ: Exterior HVAC units - Should I cover my unit, or... fall & wintertime questions

When it comes to the exterior HVAC unit most people wonder about hiding them and reducing the amount of noise. We delved into that topic in our Spring & Summer ...

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FAQ: Ceiling fan direction - summer & winter

One of the biggest questions out there is which direction should my fan be running and how can I tell. You look at the switch and realize it isn't any ...

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