Around the home – Page 13

Air Sealing: Materials & Methods for sealing common leaks (Part 1)

In our prior article on Air Sealing, we covered the benefits, the concerns, and how to find the leaks inside your house. In this first part of this article, we will mainly be dealing with the tools, materials and methods required to air seal your house. In the second part of this article, we will […]

Air Sealing: Benefits, Concerns, & How-To Find the Leaks

Air can easily leak in and out of a home through cracks, joints between different materials, where holes have been drilled to allow pipes and wire to enter the structure, and many other openings. Some of the popular areas for air leakage is around doors, windows, attic access panels, recessed ceiling lights, electrical outlets, switch […]

February – Winter Maintenance Checklist

Ahhh February, we are now in the second full month of winter and many people in the northern states and elsewhere are starting to feel run down from a lack of sunshine. If you are starting to feel this way may we suggest that you get out, go visit some friends, go for a walk […]

Warning; this book may shock you or possibly start a fire

To be fully honest, I laughed when I first saw this, but now I am getting more and more upset as I keep looking into this and the more I think about it. Before we go into what has gotten my blood boiling, let me start from the beginning. I have been kicking around the […]

What matters the most to you – the Fixture’s or the Foundation?

As a contractor, it constantly amazes me how people seemingly could care less about items that truly matter or will even pay them dividends down the road. Unfortunately, some people never listen and / or seemingly forget that conversation later on when they get there first electric bill, or the traffic noises seem just a little bit louder than at […]

Preventing or fixing frozen water pipes

Updated: This article was originally posted in early 2010 after the Alabama Department of Health issued the following warning via press release: Prolonged period of cold weather ahead prompts warnings to take winter precautions. While the press release mainly brings up the elderly and methods of preventing hypothermia, I recommend that anyone who will be working […]

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 clean and start fresh with a list of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead of adding to your list of resolutions (unless one is keeping up on […]

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 / returns, while plenty of others will go out shopping with all those gift cards they got. If you have been following along with our Holiday […]

LEAD, the EPA, and You – a quick primer for Home Owners, Rental Owners, and Contractor’s regarding Renovation’s of pre-1978 houses

As I mentioned in a prior article, the EPA has released new regulations concerning LEAD in houses built before 1978. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of confusion out there on the subject and many contractors still don’t know this is coming. One quick example involves an ADECA class on weatherization projects for the Department […]