The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Notes from the field: Habitat #39

This week I had the pleasure of heading back up to the Athens Limestone area to work on Habitat’s newest house with a great group of kids from Ohio State. Unlike the last one which was made of ICF’s this one is going with typical 2×4 framing. With that said, they will still be pursuing […]

Industry Standards 101

When reading over a contract or talking to almost any contractor there are three items you will generally hear or see; your project will be built to code, we will follow accepted industry standards, and it will of course pass inspection. Shoot, that all sounds pretty good so no worries right? Well let’s take a […]

Wacky Weds; Duck / Duct Tape is not meant for Ducts

Quack, quack… Repeat after me – duct tape is not meant for ducts, it is meant for ducks… No, this was not a homeowner either, it was done by a professional company & it had passed both the rough & final inspections. (It also passed the duct leakage test, now as for how long it remains […]

Picking a Fresh Cut Christmas Tree:

Let’s face it, nothing beats having a real Christmas tree. While I prefer a live one that I can plant, that isn’t always optimal so the next option is a “fresh cut” tree. Whether you drive to a Christmas tree farm to cut your own or simply pick one up from a tree lot here […]

Guest Musing: LEED, Lance Armstrong and You?

Ahh as we usher out another year, I was invited once again by Christoper G. Hill to post a guest musing on Construction Law Musings. This year I took a slightly diffrent tack and instead of focusing on a typical building subject like infrared or builder verifications I decided to take a look at how the world has […]

Interior Storm Window: One Option & a How To

In our recent articles for renters (how to save money on utilities) & homeowners (getting ready for ole man winter) we talked about another option for storm windows; namely a DIY kit that mounts on the inside. This kit from Frost King simply consists of a sheet of specialty plastic & double sided tape & […]

Funny Energy Efficiency Videos – say it isn’t so

Isn’t it amazing how just one simple statement can give one pause & go, no way… to shoot, you know you might be right… Well in this case it came from a blog posting by Elisa Wood on the Home Energy Pro’s where she says “I know what you’re thinking. An energy agency and humor? […]