The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Safety Sunday: You’re Feet

No matter if you work in the trades, have a job where you are always on your feet, or just out having a good time with your family; issues with your feet can turn a great day into one of pure misery. Whether it is athlete’s foot, blisters, hot foot, or any other issue it […]

Safety Sunday: A look at Occupational Fatalities

A little over a week ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their preliminary National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2011. On the good news front the rate of fatalities is still dropping, but there were still 4609 individuals who lost their lives. Whether you are a homeowner or a trade’s person, it […]

Securing Equipment & Deterring Theft on the Job Site

Equipment theft is big business with estimates topping a billion dollars a year which doesn’t even begin to include small tools or material theft. Most understandably, the most common time is after a site closes down on Friday & before everyone shows up on Monday. For smaller jobs it generally isn’t an issue to load […]

Safety Sunday: Job Site Safety Setup Checklist

Another day & another job site; while no one plans on anything bad happening, stuff does happen occasionally. In most cases “lives saved” are generally credited to quick thinking, fast response, & good training. Some that have been injured just shake their heads at such a fluke event happening, count their blessings as it could […]

Safety Sunday: End of the Day Job Site Safety Checklist

One of the most dangerous times on a job site is when it starts getting close to quitting time as everyone is hurrying to get things wrapped, cleaned, & packed up so they can call it a day. One of the ways I like to minimize this issue is by constantly cleaning throughout the day […]

Safety Sunday: How not to do Electrical

Drywall is well known for covering a multitude of sins, which is one reason why electricians are fond of saying; be forewarned, if you see something wrong, you know there is going to be a lot more you can’t see. While many may think that the fuse box is one of our favorite places to […]

Checklist: Preventing slips & falls inside & outside your home

Wow, that picture sure does bring back some memories & even a few chuckles at some of the antics that the commercial garnered. While the jokes or the over the top re-enactments might be funny (to some) the reason that the company was founded & still continues to thrive today isn’t. 121,113 is the total […]

Severe Weather Awareness Week: Lightning

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley declared Feb. 19-24 as Severe Weather Awareness Week to encourage people to make their own personal preparations long before severe weather strikes. On average each year in the US there are 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and an average of 2 hurricanes making landfall. “The key is readiness,” Governor […]

Severe Weather Awareness Week: Thunderstorms

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley declared Feb. 19-24 as Severe Weather Awareness Week to encourage people to make their own personal preparations long before severe weather strikes. On average each year in the US there are 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and an average of 2 hurricanes making landfall. “The key is readiness,” Governor […]