All Phase Maintenance

What home improvement project gives the greatest dollar value return in today’s market? The “2008-2009 Cost vs. Value Report” compiled by Remodeling and REALTOR® magazines shows assorted projects with the estimated job cost and expected resale value. It also outlines the top 10 projects with the greatest payback. Looking over the list, exterior jobs that boost curb appeal lead the pack.



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

Quick quiz: How long would your home stand if you walked away from it tomorrow? According to Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us, a wood-framed home will stand approximately 125 years before it did not exist anymore. This animation presents how the home would be destroyed by time, the elements and insects.



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

There’s never been a better time to install energy-efficient windows. Due to changes in tax law with the passage of the new stimulus bill, energy-efficient windows purchased in 2009 and 2010 are eligible for a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, capped at $1,500. This is five times more tax credit than before. The law has some specific restrictions, which you can read at this page from Simonton Windows.



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

Contrary to my expectation, more than half of the foreclosures last year took place in 35 counties, accounting for 1.5 million foreclosures. The U.S.A. Today article has a fascinating map showing where the largest numbers of foreclosures are occurring. California, Arizona and Florida are particularly hard hit along with a few other localized counties scattered throughout the U.S., including Detroit, Cleveland and Washington, DC. How do things look in your area?



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

Forbes recently created their own version of a misery scale, based on economist Arthur Okun’s Misery Index and the Misery Score. The new measurement, called the Forbes Misery Measure, calibrates unemployment, personal tax rates, commute times, weather, crime and if toxic waste is dumped in your backyard. They looked at only the 150 largest metropolitan areas, all of which meant a minimum population of 371,000, to determine which American city is the most miserable. The results? The fourth …



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

Bamboo, coconut and wenge. Sounds like ingredients to some spicy tropical dish, right? They’re actually some of the materials the comprise Holiday Kitchens’ Robin Wilson Home eco-friendly cabinets. Holiday Kitchens Home cabinets focus on a sustainable manufacturing process; it uses computerized cutting methods to minimize wastes and excess wood to make cutting boards, sawdust for animal bedding and landscape materials. These cabinets are designed so that they have over 10 percent more …



Go to Source

// Category Home Improvement // Add Comment »

In this how-to video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows proper way to install a new storm window

// Category How-To and Repair // Add Comment »

In this how-to video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares his secrets for planting spring-blooming bulbs

// Category How-To and Repair // Add Comment »

It’s been capping casseroles and wrapping brownies for nearly 100 years. Check out
these other clever uses for foil

// Category How-To and Repair // Add Comment »

If you have a kid who loves helping out in the garden but you’re always brushing the dirt off their knees, a raised bed may be the perfect addition to your landscape

// Category How-To and Repair // Add Comment »