Around the home – Page 12

Basic Water Heater Maintenance – Draining the tank

It’s ok, you can admit it and in fact, I will start – I have not drained my water heater in a few years. Fortunately, for me the water is not that “hard” where I am. “Hard” water is simply sand, minerals, and other solids found in water. Now, if I still happened to live […]

25 Conservation Tips & Tricks

In our last article, “Energy Efficiency vs. Conservation – what is the real issue?” we covered plenty of the issues that involve your actual house while it is being worked on. While we have also had several articles on making your house more energy efficient, money saving tips & tricks, air sealing, green cleaning, and […]

Designing your Dream Kitchen – One common mistake you can easily avoid

Wow, what in the world is that? Well, before we get to that, I would like to first thank Bill Conley from Northwest Kitchen & Bath in Tacoma Washington for allowing us to repost these pictures. These are pictures he took at a homeowner’s house that wanted a new kitchen. She had apparently spent a […]

Going Green – While Cleaning Part Deux

In our last article on Green Cleaning materials, we provided some options that we have either used, use, or know of others using successfully with good results. Well like everything else in life, one finds that a little common sense goes a long ways but sadly is lacking by many individuals and groups. This point […]

Going Green – While Cleaning

I don’t know about you, but underneath our kitchen sink, my bathroom sink (my wife’s vanity is to full) and in the laundry area we have a ton of cleaning supplies. While these items’ making cleaning up certain area’s easier, they also come at a cost. Most of the kitchen cleaners have warnings on them […]

ENERGY STAR: Can it and should it be saved?

As many of our regular readers know, we have long supported and still recommend purchasing ENERGY STAR® rated products. Unfortunately, though there have been some issues that have popped up lately that have caused many groups and individuals to question if the program is more fiction than fact. On the flip side, we have some people […]

A match made in heaven?

Happy April 1st AKA April Fool’s Day — You know when someone told me about this program; I thought they were trying to play an early April Fool’s Day joke on me. They then faxed me the letter & I could not help but laugh. TREX and ServiceMagic join forces, oh boy, what a match […]

Should your Contractor carry General Liability Insurance?

Back on January 8th, I was surprised to get a phone call from Cullman City Licensing. I can see who is calling, and remember wondering – what did I forget to sign the form or the check? Nope, they were requesting a copy of my General Liability Policy. Did I miss something in the directions? […]

Air Sealing: Materials & Methods for sealing common leaks (Part 2)

In our prior articles on Air Sealing, we covered how to find the leaks inside your house, along with what tools and basic materials required to air seal your house. In this second part of this article, we will be dealing with tips & tricks on how to seal up the air leaks inside your […]