The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

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 a good time to do this. There are a couple of reasons for this with the first being you want to prevent frozen water lines &/or […]

Filed Under: FAQ's, Acronym’s, & Terminology Tagged With: radon February 3, 2014 By SLS

Common Sense Building: Build Radon Out

As many of you probably already know, January is National Radon Month. Just like CO, it is an odorless & tasteless gas; however, unlike CO there are no warning signs that it might be affecting you until it is too late.  It is estimated that elevated levels are found in 1 of every 15 homes […]

Filed Under: Common Sense Building Tagged With: radon January 25, 2013 By SLS

Going Off Grid in the 21st Century: Water Filtration

Lately in our going off the grid series we have been focusing on water where we have covered everything from pumping & storing the water, to rain water harvesting & we even looked into greywater systems. This has brought us to one of the most important points we need to remember and that is that […]

Filed Under: Off-Grid Living, Water Related Tagged With: radon, Water April 19, 2012 By SLS

Day 2: ENERGY STAR V.3 Training

Well today was the last day for the mandatory class, where we finally went through the final three checklists. We started the day off with a RemRate file & simply told to get it into compliance with the new version of ENERGY STAR. As a quick tip for any fellow raters, do not forget about […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar, Training, Education, & Confrence Tagged With: radon February 17, 2011 By SLS

RIP: Solar Powered Attic Ventilator’s

Welcome to a new series, based on putting numerous bad building practices and so-called green myths & misconceptions to rest. While I wish I could take credit for this idea, I do have to give the credit to this week’s – Let’s Blog Off. Needless to say, it was supposed to be based on writing […]

Filed Under: Myth or Misconception Tagged With: Blog Off, radon, Roofing January 4, 2011 By SLS

Building Green Homes: Step 3 – Footings & Foundations

In this series on Looking Back & Looking Forward, we are reviewing a green home we built over 2 years ago, the lessons learned and more importantly, how we can (or even how you can) utilize those lessons on future builds. As a quick recap, we have looked at some of the unique issues we […]

Filed Under: Going Green? Tagged With: Looking Back, radon July 26, 2010 By SLS

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 year directly attributable to Radon gas. This would make Radon the second leading cause of lung cancer. On the other side of the coin, […]

Filed Under: Around the home Tagged With: Granite, radon January 13, 2010 By SLS

Granite – Maintenance, Upkeep and a Geiger Counter?

Besides laminates, granite is one of the most popular materials around for countertops. What isn’t there to love about it? It is a durable product that can last for centuries. It can easily handle a hot pan being placed on it. It does not chip or scratch easily, and no one else will have one […]

Filed Under: Myth or Misconception, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Granite, radon October 2, 2009 By SLS

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 ...

Read More

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 ...

Read More

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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