Improving Your Home’s Appeal; Outside and Inside

Improving your home’s appeal both outside and inside is the best way to get the feel of a new home without the move.  But if you’ve decided that it’s time to upsize or downsize your living space, then creating that WOW factor is important to selling your home.  So whether you need curb appeal improvements or interior improvements, Home Services Link is to help with your window replacement, roofing, painting, flooring  and remodeling needs.

Replacement windows fall second on the list behind additional insulation for reducing your energy bill. The current turmoil in several major oil-producing countries will be having a dramatic effect on energy costs and you might want to minimize the impact on you. A whole range of replacement windows are available these days in a variety of materials and colors.

Replacing windows is one of the best upgrades you can make to your home. Replacement windows are normally far more energy efficient than the windows in your home today, so you begin saving on your energy bills immediately. Replacement windows also return far more of your investment than most other home updates; more than 80% according to CNNMoney. The impact of replacement windows is immediate: they enhance the value and visual appeal of your home while efficiently maintaining the comfort of your home. By making this simple and cost-effective improvement to your home, you will reap the visual and financial rewards for years to come.

With the wide range of temperatures we experience in Greater Cincinnati, replacement windows provide tremendous energy savings. It’s estimated that windows and doors are responsible for up to 40% of our home’s heating and cooling cost. That’s right, nearly half of your utility bill literally “goes out the window”! According to ENERGY STAR, window replacement in Cincinnati can save you more than $300 a year.

Many older homes have single pane windows, windows with just a single piece of glass in the sash or window frame. Unfortunately, glass is a pretty terrible insulator. The “R”, or insulating, value of a single pane of glass is lower than the “R”  value of snow. Good quality double- or triple-pane replacement windows will easily improve the insulating value by up to 4 or 5 times.

A study by a well known consumer organization found that the most satisfied replacement window buyers were those who had their windows installed by a professional window replacement contractor. HomeServicesLink helps you take the guesswork out of selecting a Cincinnati window replacement company. Don’t be lured in by the too good to be true ads you might see on TV. Our contractors are expert in helping you select the best replacement windows for your home and budget, and are carefully screened to make sure that you are satisfied with the quality and value of their work.

Now that the Cincinnati summer heat is here and the rains have stopped, it is time to get on with the regular exterior maintenance of your home. Many people just look at the paint, peeling or just an oxidized chalky look, to determine if they need to paint this year. Granted those are important for the curb appeal of your home but the more critical item to look at for the longevity of your siding, trim and windows is the caulking.

Properly applied caulking prevents the moisture from getting inside the protective envelope on the exterior of your home which then rots your trim or window frames and causes paint to peel from your siding. Also note that not every opening should be caulked. Some openings are intended as weep holes to let moisture out that does get through the barrier. Use a professional to get the best and longer lasting result for your money.

Probably the second most important point for getting a quality paint job is the surface preparation. If you don’t have excessive peeling many times this is just a simple pressure wash to clean the surface. Peeling will require scraping back to a point where the paint is still bonded to the material. Many times the peeling is the result of improper paint use like covering old oil based paint with a latex or acrylic paint without the proper primer/bonding agent. This peeling can go on for many years even with good preparation as the old paint break loose unless it is sanded down to the base material which is an expensive and time consuming option. Again a professional will use the proper materials to get you the best result.

Another curb appeal must is your roof.  Whether you need repairs or a replacement, your roof needs your attention.  Your roof makes up an extremely important part of a house’s structure and appearance, protecting the house and its contents from the elements along with presenting attractive curb appeal. Roofing technology has come a long way in the last few years. It is no longer just the color of a 3-tab shingle to choose from. Lifetime shingles, wind resistant shingles, breathable roof deck films instead of felt paper, ventilation systems, ice guard, storm guard, starter strips and ridge caps are all elements of the roofing system to evaluate to get maximum protection for your dollars.  Know the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of roofing. If you would like to learn more about roofing and hiring a contractor visit our roofing page for more informative tips to make your roof replacement project a success and your home the envy of the neighborhood.

Once you have finished with the outside of your home for curb appeal you might consider sprucing up the interior of your home.  Install or clean your carpets and flooring, remodel the kitchen or redecorate.

The variety of flooring choices available these days makes picking one almost overwhelming. You have the traditional carpet, hardwood, ceramic tile, vinyl and laminates along with some greener choices like cork and bamboo. Each has its own benefits and downside. Work with a reputable flooring provider to make sure you are getting a product best suited to your traffic patterns and environment. It is equally important that you have a qualified installer for the particular product you select. Many people claim to be able to install ceramic tile and many can for a simple installation but you want experience to make sure you have the proper subfloor and based to avoid cracked tiles and grout. Even more critical is the floor in a shower. There are good and there are better ways to install a shower mud pan. We at HomeServicesLink can provide you with very capable installers and providers. 

What about a makeover to your kitchen this year? You have several different options available to you with varying price ranges. You could consider a tune-up with new doors and front facings for your cabinets as a less intrusive way to spruce up the room or complete cabinet replacement. Maybe you just need new countertops to give it that fresh look. A variety of materials are available these days. What about the flooring or a tile backsplash. Whatever you chose to do, make sure you employ insured, quality contractors to complete your project. It will show in the finished product and you will experience less stress as well.

Nothing makes a home more desirable these days then a new kitchen with all the bells and whistles (well maybe good schools and neighborhoods are more important!).   And most new homeowners either look for a home with a great kitchen or desire to renovate their kitchen at some point during the home ownership experience.

The kitchen home renovation process can be grueling, but if done correctly, very rewarding.  You can, indeed, avoid some of the grueling aspects of the kitchen renovation process by hiring the right contractors.  It’s possible to avoid major pitfalls while remodeling your kitchen, but only with the right team.  Home Services Link can help you pick the right contractors for your project and make sure everything goes as planned. Let us know if we can help get you started on a kitchen project.

Maybe you just need some advise on how to make your space truly yours or create the perfect environment for potential buyers.  Simple redecorating can help.  It may be adding color to your interior walls, sprucing up your floors or rearranging furniture for a more user friendly space.  HomeServicesLink has the right decorating professional for you.  Just contact us and we’ll do the rest.

So get started now and make your home all that you want and need!

How Would You Know? Warranties and other little known items

Did you know if you use some method other than steam cleaning for your carpet your warranty may be voided?

What about applying tinted film to your windows?  Usually voids the warranty as well.  Did you purchase or were you provided a home warranty with your home?  Have you tried to use it?  What about that “lifetime warranty” the contractor included in his sales pitch to close the deal?  So how do you sort out the fact from the fiction?

Let’s start by dealing with the “lifetime warranty”.  First of all I coach the contractors in my network to not offer lifetime warranties because that is a long time to stand behind their work.

Providing the legal maximum, I believe of 10 years should be sufficient.  Too many factors come into play over a lifetime that they have no control over.  Think about it – the term is frequently used by companies but there is no standard definition for the term

Therefore, the concept means something different to everyone.  That works for the marketers exploiting the term, but not for you, the consumer.

A good place to start is what lifetime does the warranty cover?  The purchaser’s?  The manufacturer’s?  The product’s?  The answer is, it depends.  The duration and applicability of a lifetime warranty depends solely upon the person or company who is offering the warranty.  A consumer’s expectation of that warranty  is completely irrelevant.

Home warranties can be tricky as well.  Usually these days one is included in the transaction of purchasing a home.  It has a deductible for each claim, as well as, limitations on what will be replaced and usually requires specific service people to do the work, not the people you might want.  Make sure you read the fine print to know if an items replacement value is depreciated over the normal useful life of an item.  That several thousand dollar furnace may not be covered if it is beyond its useful life.  My mother has a warranty service for her retirement home at the cost of several hundred dollars per year.  It gave her peace of mind but when her refrigerator needed to be replaced, they only provide a white appliance.  She needed stainless steel for which she had to pay extra.  Economically it made more sense to save the annual premium and purchase new items when they fail.  A home warranty may be right for you.  Just make sure you read all the fine print before signing.

Product warranties can be just as tricky.  They usually stipulate how something must be maintained to be covered.  So how does the average homeowner know what to do?  The key is purchase quality items from reputable businesses so as to minimize the possibility of a warranty claim.  If a claim does need to be filed, a reputable business will usually stand behind their work because their reputation is important.  Remember the old saying, “You get what you pay for”.  Shopping purely on price usually brings problems.  There is a local business called Home Services Link that screens contractors for homeowners checking background, insurance and monitors performance over many jobs to establish a longer term performance trend increasing your probability of a quality job.

By: Jim Bextermueller

Indian Hill Living, May 2011

Save Money. Keep Cool In Extreme Heat

Myths vs. Facts: Keeping your home cool in summer:

MYTH: Never turn your A/C completely off during hot summer months because furniture and other items in your home heat up when the A/C is shut off, creating more work for the system to cool the home back down.

FACT: Your system doesn’t work any harder when it switches back on after being turned off.  It just may take it longer than a short cycle to cool your rooms back down. If no one is in your home for more than eight hours, you can save money by switching it off while you’re out. Since, approximately half of your energy usage goes to heating and cooling your home, cutting back on how much your system cycles can save you money in hot summer months. Note: Depending on the outdoor temperature, it may take your system an hour or two to cool your home back down to a comfortable temperature, so be sure to plan accordingly – or use a digital thermostat to turn your system back on a few hours before you’ll be back home.  According to EnergyStar.gov, using a programmable thermostat can save the average household about $180 every year in energy costs.

MYTH: Keeping ceiling fans turned on all the time keeps cool air circulating through your home, reducing the need for the A/C to power on as much.

FACT: Ceiling fans only make you feel cooler when you are in the room with them.  So, you only need to have ceiling fans turned on when you’re in the room (blades pointed down in summer/up in winter).  While many people may think that it’s better to keep cool air circulating all the time – to make your cool air go “farther,” leaving a fan “always on” doesn’t present any energy efficiency gains. In fact, keeping the fans on will actually cost you money

MYTH: If you have a lot of glare and heat radiating on or through your windows in the summertime, you need to replace them.

FACT: Many times, you can reduce solar heat gain in hot summer months by treating your windows.  For these glassy areas of your home, you can reduce solar heat gain with awnings or trees shading them from the outside of your home, and you can also use drapes, blinds,  or solar film to shade them from the inside. Since the hot summer sun’s radiant heat on windows can increase the temperatures inside your home, treating them for shade can help you save electricity since your A/C won’t need to perform more frequent cycles to keep your rooms cool due to the added heat.

TOP 5 HOUSEHOLD TIPS FOR SUMMERTIME ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

1.      Setting your thermostat just a few degrees warmer at night can make a real difference to your electricity consumption – and your monthly bill during the summer months. According to the Department of Energy, you can save up to 10 percent on your heating and cooling costs by turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 percent for eight hours a day. What’s more, there are several programmable thermostats that make this an easy and automated task, including one that you can adjust by phone.

2.      Be sure that your fireplace damper is shut and sealed in the summer months to avoid losing cool air through the chimney. According to the Department of Energy, 14 percent of air leaks at home come through your fireplace.  So be sure that your damper is shut and completely sealed.  You don’t want all your cool air flying up the chimney this summer.

3.      Replace your A/C filters regularly. U.S. Department of Energy estimates that this can generate a 5 to 15 percent energy savings, not to mention improving the quality of the air you’re breathing at home.

4.       Pay attention to your outdoor A/C unit too. You can use a garden hose to wash the coils on your unit, and be sure that nothing is blocking its air follow, like bushes or shrubs.  One government study calculated a 2 to 4 percent capacity improvement just for cleaning the coils.  As much as we rely on this device to keep us cool all summer long, a capacity improvement of even a few percent per home can make a big difference if you think about the big picture.  When you think about the amount of electricity usage that goes towards air conditioning in Texas, we are talking about a significant amount of energy that can be saved in a year.

5.       Pamper the lint trap on your (electric) dryer. While it doesn’t necessarily cool you down in summer, keeping your dryer working efficiently can still save you electricity and money any time of year. According to Energy Star, cleaning the lint trap before each dryer load can save the average household about $34 per year.  It also enhances the energy efficiency of the appliance. You can also boost this by vacuuming out your dryer vent hose during your spring cleaning for the year.

As always, maintaining your HVAC equipment and home is important.  Contact HomeServicesLink to request service today for all your cooling and home repairs.

Courtesy of TXU Energy (07/20/2011)

Re-staining deck big job from start to finish

Courtesy of The Enquirer

Saturday, May 29, 2010

BY: Tim Carter (Ask The Builder)

DEAR TIM: I just bought my first home, and I have to discover how to stain a deck. I have so many questions. For example, how do you clean a deck before you start? Is there a difference between deck stains? Should I just paint my deck instead? Are there decks that don’t have to be stained? Jamie F., Nederland, CO

DEAR JAMIE: Let me start by saying that it’s impossible to completely cover this topic in the small amount of space I’m allotted. There are books written about all your questions and the one’s you failed to ask. But I can tell you that I’ll give you a crash course on cleaning and sealing a deck that will yield you great results over time.

Let’s start with selecting a stain. You can get at least two types of deck stain or sealer. One type is a penetrating finish that is designed to soak into dry wood. Other deck stains are formulated to perform much like varnishes or urethane. These products soak into the wood, but they also form a film on the surface much like a sheet of plastic wrap.

The problem with these film-forming deck stains is that they almost always peel when they eventually fail. The peeling is unsightly, and when you go to re-stain the deck, you must completely remove or strip off the old film. As you might imagine, this can be a tough job.

I prefer the penetrating deck stains and sealers that don’t peel when they fail. It’s easy to prepare a previously stained deck for re-coating if you have a penetrating finish on the deck.

You’ll next need to decide if you want your deck to be a color or do you want to have a clear finish. I happen to prefer colored stains that are a medium color of brown. Some people love a clear look that shows the natural color of the wood from the mill, while others happen to adore the gray look you see on weathered boardwalks or fishing piers.

The pigments used to color a deck stain perform a very important job. They help to absorb the ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun that bleaches out the natural color of wood causing it to turn gray. Some clear deck stains contain ingredients that also act as a sun screen much as the sun-screen lotions we put on our own bodies.

I tested the latest clear technology deck sealer last year and it failed miserably. The cedar wood I applied it to looked great for a month, then it started to turn gray. Within four months, my cedar wood looked like it was a neglected fishing pier it was so gray.

I complained to the sealer manufacturer and they sent me three different ones to test. I applied the products about a month ago, and I’ll know more by the end of the summer. I shot a video that’s on my AsktheBuilder YouTube channel that shows me applying these deck stains.

You need to clean all wood surfaces before you apply and deck stain or sealer. This cleaning process is meant to get rid of all dirt, weathered sealers or stains, and any damaged wood fibers that may be barely hanging on at the surface.

Many people promote the use of pressure washers when cleaning a wood deck. If you use too much pressure, the wrong tip on the cleaning wand, and/or hold the tool too close to the wood, you can cause serious damage to the wood. The enormous pressure easily erodes the soft spring wood that’s in between the darker bands of summer wood. To get the wood smooth again, you have to sand the deck. That’s a tremendous amount of work.

I’ve found that cleaning the deck with oxygen bleach is a less-aggressive method that works well. Don’t confuse oxygen bleach with household chlorine bleach you might have in a white plastic jug in your home. Chlorine bleach takes the natural color out of wood, it’s highly toxic to all vegetation and trees around your deck, and it can accelerate the corrosion of any metal fasteners and structural connectors.

Oxygen bleach has none of these bad characteristics. It’s a powder you add to warm water. The oxygen ions that are then released in the solution are powerful cleaners that deep clean the wood. It’s best to apply the oxygen bleach to dry wood so it soaks in deeply cleaning the wood.

I would never paint a wood deck. Just this past weekend I was on a friend’s wood deck that had been painted a few years ago. The paint was peeling off in many places, and as you might imagine, the deck looked horrible.

My friend asked what the best thing to do in this situation. Knowing that she didn’t have a lot of time or inclination to restore the deck to it’s original natural wood, I suggested she just clean the deck, let it dry, and then repaint it. I only said to do it this way because she then told me that in a few years they were removing the wood decking boards. My friend intends to replace the wood with synthetic wood decking that never needs to be stained or sealed.

Want to save time, frustration and enjoy your deck without all the sweat and work, contact HomeServicesLink and we’ll connect you with a screened, relaible and insured contractor to get the job done.