The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

BS4D: Heat & Transfer Methods

Heat is energy and refers only to the transfer of this energy between or through items and not the stored energy of the item (aka its temperature). While this difference might appear to be subtle, it is very important to understand the distinction between the two, & how this transfer takes place. One other important […]

Mortgage Loans Tips & Tricks

The purchase of a home is generally the largest expenditure you will make in your life. With mortgage rates at historic lows, lower home prices, and a large selection of homes to choose from, many more people are able to enter the home market. Whether you are looking at upgrading, investing in a rental, or […]

Safety Sunday: Fall Protection

“If you fall, you are fired before you hit the ground. If you are ok and can climb back up the ladder you are rehired.” Thus started another day working for a roofing contractor who loved to use this line to basically say – think about what you are doing. Needless to say things have […]

Accio Butterbeer part Deux, & Happy Birthday America

July 4th is one of the most popular days for grilling and enjoying the great outdoors with friends & family. Two weeks ago we released a recipe for an adult version of Butterbeer and it just wouldn’t do to have the younger ones dreaming of using Levicorpus, Crucio or any other similar curses, so… The […]

BS4D: Stack Effect

Stack or Chimney Effect describes the natural phenomena of how air moves into and out of a building, a chimney, a flue pipe, or other type of container. This is caused mainly by pressure & temperature differences – the bigger the difference, the bigger the effect is. For most people the concept seems simple – […]

SkillsUSA 2012 – TeamWorks Video Recap

Last year as many of you know, I was more than impressed… I got to say though that the level of competition this year was amazing. While sitting through some of the presentations I was looking at their timelines & going – yeah right… Well in the “Show Me” state, they did just that. In […]

The UK’s Green Deal Program

This week we have a guest article from Sohaib Siddique who is located across the pond in the UK. Sohaib works for Anyjunk and provides man and van services for all types of waste, and is able to divert plenty of it from the landfills. Like many people he is keen to promote green & […]

Guest Post: Installing a Bathroom Fan Timer

So there I am with three bathroom timers to install for my place & thinking this would be a great “how-to” piece. Not only is this one of my most specified items for saving energy, but also  for improving indoor air quality. You know… if JB doesn’t have one yet, it might actually be a better fit on his blog with […]