You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June, 2008.
Source: Money Magazine — Josh Garskof
It’s one of the best investments you can make in your home. And the best time to put it in is the dead of winter.
Nobody thinks much about air conditioning this time of year. Heck, depending on where you live, your heat may already be on for the season and your flannel pajamas pulled out of storage.
But if your house doesn’t have central air, or if the system you have is about 15 years old (and therefore probably nearing the end of its life span), you should get the job done this winter. Not only will it automatically raise the value of the property, but you’ll snag an iceberg-size seasonal discount.
Winter is a slow time for contractors. “In December we’re trying to find enough work to keep our crews busy, so our pencils are a lof sharper,” says Robert Wilkos, general manager of Peaden Air Conditioning in Panama City, Fla.
How sharp? Like many contractors around the country, Wilkos typically knocks 10 percent and sometimes as much as 20 percent off his wintertime bids. That’s a savings of up to $3,000 on the $6,000 to $15,000 central AC costs. Read the rest of this entry »
Source: Southern Living April 2008
You’ll save money and water if your system is working well. Here’s what to look for.
Each year at start-up, take a close look at your irrigation system – you could be losing water and not even know it. Check out the potential problems below to see if your system could use some fine-tuning.
Symptoms of Poor Maintenance
- erosion or water runoff
- swampy area
- obstruction of spray pattern
- dying plants
- water spraying on the street or sidewalk
Problems with Sprinkler Heads and Valves
- valve leaking
- head clogged
- head leaking or broken
- plants blocking sprinkler
- rotor or impact heads are not rotating
- head pushed too far into the ground
- head tilted or spraying in the wrong direction
- sprinkler spacing not providing head-to-head coverage on the lawn Read the rest of this entry »
Source: Money Magazine
Cosmetic fixes that can put a prettier face on a plain-Jane home will pay for themselves – and then some.
Subtract Flaws:Assuming the house and yard are already well maintained, job one is to get rid of unsightly blemishes left by a penny-pinching builder or the misguided remodeling efforts of previous owners.
- Replace the garage doors. The most prominent facial feature of many homes is a pair of big garage doors – which all too often are flat, lackluster slabs of steel or vinyl. Trade them for more visually appealing doors with moldings, windows or an old-fashioned carriage-house look ($2,000 to $5,000 a door, including labor). See designerdoors.com and clopaydoor.com for examples.
- Remove Sliding. Sometimes ugliness is only skin-deep. “Peek under dreary aluminum, vinyl or asbestos siding and you may find well-preserved wood clapboards hiding underneath,” says Asheville, NC architect Jane Mathews. If so, remove the siding, repair the old wood and give the house an attractive paint job ($10,000 to $20,000). If not, you could paint the siding or replace it with fider cement siding, a no-maintenance product that looks like real wood ($15,000 to $25,000).
- Lose the funky railings. Swap out bad porch or stoop railings – such as black iron bars and chunky pressure-treated decking components – for visually interesting banisters and spindles that are worthy of their prominent placement at the front of the house ($1,000 to $3,000). Read the rest of this entry »
Source: Southern Seasons Magazine
As we enter the summer months we idealize afternoons outside in our backyards, shaded by lush trees and surrounded by beautiful flowers. But with recent droughts and expected hot temperatures out picturesque summer may not be as easily achieved as in previous years. There are ways, both inside and out, to ensure a beautiful and relaxing summer, even in the midst of inevitable landscaping water restrictions and droughts.
Indoors
- Since toilets account for 27% of indoor use, install low-volume toilets. Before 1992, toilets used between 3.5-7 gallons of water per flush. Now, toilets use 1.6 gallons of water or less.
- Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes.
- Install a tankless water heater into your home. Instead of wasting water to heat up with a standard water heater, a tankless water heater warms water at a rate of 2-5 gallons per minute and can even save up to 60% on your energy bill.
- Greywater, which is water runoff from showers and sinks, comprises 50-80% of residential waste water. By incorporating a greywater system into your home, greywater will be captured and reused to flush toilets.
Outdoors
- Familiarize yourself with your city or state’s watering restrictions. If you’re allowed to water, check your sprinklers to determine how much water they place in the landscape and adjust sprinklers so that only your lawn is being waters and not the house, sidewalk or street.
- Consider implementing the Xeriscpaing method of landscape, which incorporates local plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate. This will minimize losing water to evaporation and run-off.
- Make sure to water your lawn in the early morning when temperatures are cooler and winds are lighter to minimize evaporation.
- Buy a rain gauge to track how much rain or irrigation your yard receives. Check with your local watering agency to see how much rain is needed for your area – you just may be able to skip an irrigation cycle or two.
- Choose to irrigate your trees, shrubs, and flowers with a water-efficient drip irrigation system. Watering at the roots is more effective and efficient.
- Install rainwaiter cisterns to capture rainwater that can then used to water your lawn.
Source: North Atlanta’s Business Post
Metro Atlanta was named the best for relocating singles by Relocation industry group Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation at its yearly Global Workforce Symposium.
Atlanta joined New Haven, Conn., Madison, Wis., and Nassau, N.Y., as the BEst Cities for Relocating Singles among U.S. metropolitan areas.
Using statistical profiles of the largest 100 U.S. metro areas, focusing on criteria most relevant to singles, the rankings reflect the probability of a smooth transition and a successful relocation.
For a fourth year, ERC and Primacy have joined Sperling’s BestPlaces to identify the cities with the most to offer relocating singles. Using statistical profiles of the largest 100 U.S. metro areas, focusing on criteria most relevant to singles, the rankings reflect the probability of a smooth transition and a successful relocation.
Unique among numerous quality-of-life city rankings, ERC/Primacy Best Cities surveys measure factors that impact a newcomer’s experience during the months immediately after a transfer.
