home improvement: Curb Appeal Ideas
- 03/30/16 03:38 AM
Boosting curb appeal is easy with the help of colorful plants and functional furniture. Here are six curb appeal landscaping and hardscaping ideas, along with great curb appeal tips to help give you the best-looking house on the block. Gate A gate makes a real statement about your home. A gate can be many styles, but, if it's charming and attractive, it puts visitors at ease, inviting them to come in. Arch An arch, making the entrance to your front yard, offers instant cottage charm. Grow a flowering vine over it to create a beautiful, inviting focal point. Corner Garden A small fence or similar structure at the corner of the front yard provides an … (0 comments)
home improvement: Energy Saving Upgrades that Boost Resale Value
- 03/22/16 01:55 AM
Most homeowners would benefit from a home energy audit, especially those with older homes. An audit will uncover where your home is wasting energy and how to best remedy the situation. Remodeling your kitchen, bathroom or living room may add to your home’s resale value, but the following energy-efficient upgrades add value and save you money on your monthly utility bills - and you'll help the environment, too.
Replace Windows & Roofing If you have old, drafty windows with loose frames or gaps that let conditioned air escape, you're losing money. Replace them with energy-efficient windows. You will improve your indoor … (0 comments)
home improvement: Replacing Roof May Yield the Most in Resale Value
- 01/03/16 06:25 AM
The first "Remodeling Impact Report" from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) surveyed agents and remodelers to determine the resale value and owner satisfaction of various remodeling projects. The report shows which projects had the greatest cost recovery and calculated a "Joy Score" based on owners' happiness with the results of their project. The project that rated high both in cost recovery and a high Joy Score was a new roof, which has a 105 percent recovery of the average $7,600 cost and a Joy Score of 9.6 out of 10. The five projects out of the … (0 comments)
home improvement: 4 Leaf Removal Tools that Clear Yards of Fall Debris
- 11/25/15 07:07 AM
Just for fun, take an inventory of all the leaf removal tools cluttering your garage. If you’re like me, you’ve got a half-dozen rakes of different sizes and materials, a couple of blowers in various states of repair, and a couple of infomercial gadgets that promise to make annual leaf gathering faster and easier. In fact, you need only a few essential leaf removal items in your landscape tool collection to accomplish your autumn goal — removing the heavy leaves that smother grass and make your lawn a splotchy mess in spring. Fewer gizmos and more elbow grease help home owners remove leaves and … (1 comments)
home improvement: Fall Maintenance Checklist
- 11/10/15 09:45 AM
You’ll be ready for winter’s worst and head off expensive repairs when you complete this checklist of 10 essential fall maintenance tasks.
1. Stow the mower. If you’re not familiar with fuel stabilizer, you should be. If your mower sits for months with gas in its tank, the gas will slowly deteriorate, which can damage internal engine parts. Fuel stabilizer ($10 for a 10-ounce bottle) prevents gas from degrading. Add stabilizer to your gasoline can to keep spare gas in good condition over the winter, and top off your mower tank with stabilized gas before you put it away for the winter. Run the mower … (0 comments)
home improvement: How to Inspect Windows and Doors to Stop Leaks
- 10/21/15 02:44 PM
Take a close look at your windows, doors, and skylights to stop air leaks, foil water drips, and detect the gaps and rot that let the outside in. You can perform a quick check with a home air-pressure test, or a DIY energy audit. Luckily, these inspections are easy to do. Here’s how to give your house a checkup: How to Check for Air Leaks A home air pressure test sucks outside air into the house to reveal air leaks that increase your energy bills. To inspect windows and other openings: Seal the house by locking all doors, windows, and skylights.Close all dampers and vents.Turn … (3 comments)
home improvement: 7 Smart Strategies for Kitchen Remodeling
- 08/30/15 02:17 AM
Homeowners spend more money on kitchen remodeling than on any other home improvement project. And with good reason: Kitchens are the hub of home life and a source of pride. A significant portion of kitchen remodeling costs may be recovered by the value the project brings to your home. Kitchen remodels in the $50,000 to $60,000 range recoup about 68% of the initial project cost at the home’s resale, according to recent data from "Remodeling" magazine’s "Cost vs. Value Report." A minor kitchen remodel of about $19,000 does even better, returning more than 79% of your investment. To maximize your return on investment, follow … (2 comments)
home improvement: How to Make a Raised Garden Bed the Easy Way!
- 07/20/15 02:28 AM
Gardening Tip: Raised garden beds are a great idea, but most of us lack the skill or time to make one out of wood. That’s when cinder blocks come to the rescue! After you’ve got a level place to start your garden, the rest is pretty simple! Just place the blocks in whatever fashion you like, and line the bottom with cardboard or a piece of plywood. You can make the bed as big or as small as you want, and it can easily be rearranged later. Fill the holes with soil and you're ready to plant! What's really awesome about using cinder blocks … (4 comments)
home improvement: Can You See the Savings?
- 07/06/15 06:52 AM
Can You See the Savings?If you’ve considered changing your light bulbs to energy-saving LED bulbs but decided not to make the investment because the prices were too high, you might want to investigate again. The prices have come down considerably. An initial investment now will generate immediate returns through energy costs and because they last longer, you won’t need to replace them for years. The life of LED bulbs is projected to be from 35,000 to 50,000 hours compared to an incandescent bulb at 750 to 2,000 hours. For normal home use, a LED bulb could last more than 20 years. 80-90% of the energy … (3 comments)
Boosting curb appeal is easy with the help of colorful plants and functional furniture. Here are six curb appeal landscaping and hardscaping ideas, along with great curb appeal tips to help give you the best-looking house on the block.
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