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Homebuilding Basics

Evaporative Air Conditioning vs Traditional Air Conditioning: 4 Reasons To Choose Evaporative Cooling

evaporative-cooling

Air conditioning is expensive, power guzzling, germ breeding, and completely necessary in some climates unfortunately. Evaporative cooling, as the name suggests, is a device that cools the air through the evaporation of water. Traditional air conditioning operates using refrigeration. This differs from evaporative cooling which uses vapor from water to lower the temperature of the air. It works by sucking in hot dry air, passing it through a wet pad which then evaporates and passes the … [Read more...]

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What Is A Home Energy Audit?

home-energy-audit

What is a home energy audit? A home energy audit, also known as a home energy assessment, is a series of specific tests and inspections performed by a certified professional to determine where your house could be more energy efficient. We recently had a free home energy review, not the same thing as a home energy audit, performed on our home by a representative of Home Energy Solutions. He came to our home and performed a complimentary 15-point inspection. It wasn't a full scale home … [Read more...]

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Great Gifts For Dad For Christmas

Ben-Franklin-workbench-via-American-Workbench

What are some great gifts for dad for Christmas? I'm a dad with decent handyman skills and I can give you some ideas that you may not have thought of before. Yes...socks, underwear and slippers are decent stand-by's, but it's never at the top of our list. Deerfoams are comfortable (I'm guessing) but don't buy them for us unless we've made a mention of them. We know you are more creative than that and probably just ran out of time and options. I know. I've been there. I've been out on … [Read more...]

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Choosing the Best Types of Insulation For Your Home

types-of-insulation

Are you trying to decide on the best types of insulation that you might want to add to your house to save energy and money? The market is full of all types from simple to uniquely engineered, and it pays to know the difference between all of them. According to the U.S. Dept of Energy (DOE), most types of home insulation fall into 1 of 9 forms.  That makes for some difficult decision-making, unless you are up to speed. Those 9 forms are: Blanket: batts and rolls Concrete block … [Read more...]

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How To Read Window Labels

window-labels

Selecting new windows for your home can be a dicey affair unless you know what how to decipher the labels that you see on window products. What do all of those numbers and phrases on the window labels mean? It's important that you understand them and can compare them to different manufacturers' windows when you are shopping for your project. The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is the organization that provides a form of standardization for all new windows sold in the U.S. and … [Read more...]

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How To Increase Home Energy Savings

home-energy-savings

Everyone wants to know different ways in which to save money. Homeowners have a particular advantage over renters as far as what you can do to improve home energy savings because you have a vested interest in your property. That doesn't mean that renters can't do some of these things, but they will have to live with the fact that whatever improvements are made (assuming the landlord approves your improvements prior to implementation) will stay with the condo, house or apartment. There are … [Read more...]

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Pros and Cons of Indoor Hot Tub Installations

indoor-hot-tub

What kinds of things do you need to keep in mind if you want an indoor hot tub in your house? You could practically drown in the tidal wave of information available on hot tubs, if you allowed it. I aim to scale things down a bit and just focus on the basics and the most important information with a fun twist. I have to ask...why would you want to put your hot tub inside of your house? Just a few steps outside of the house is the best location for the hot tub. Why? You're outdoors under … [Read more...]

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Stream Movies and More To Your TV via Power-line Networking

DSCN1968

I wanted to stream Netflix movies to our new flat-panel TV. I thought I had it all figured out until I had a conversation in November 2010 with an experienced tech geek that worked in the Best Buy home theater department that suggested I go with power-line networking rather than Wi-Fi. I had already purchased the flat-panel TV with all of the needed inputs, and then some, and thought all I needed to do was buy a Blu-Ray (BD) player with built-in Wi-Fi and I would be good to go. Technically, I … [Read more...]

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MaP Toilet Ratings

toilet-ratings

  Buying a new toilet might not be as easy as you think. There are several things that you should take into consideration before you open your wallet. Otherwise, you could be flushing your hard-earned cash down the toilet, as it were. There are a few questions you should be asking yourself before you head to the store to make your purchase. The list of possibilities seems lengthy once you start to really research the toilet that is right for your household: Do I want an elongated … [Read more...]

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How To Build Safe Rooms

tornado image by ccarlstead on flickr

Severe weather has been on the rise and it made me think about what options a homeowner has regarding safe rooms, a.k.a. storm shelters. As you are probably aware, it's not necessarily the wind that will harm you, it's the debris that the wind picks up and hurls perilously through the air that you have to watch out for. That's why it's a smart move to build a safe room either during the construction of your new home or have one built into your existing home, especially if you live in areas … [Read more...]

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