Posts in category 'Home Improvement'

To be fair, I'm not expecting you to actually read to your home. There is also no need for it to go to college and learn Latin. What we're going to talk about today is making your home a little smarter by adding some technology to the mix. The objective is to make our homes (and the systems therein) work "for" us and not just be a monthly channel for outgoing money. Last week I watched myself turn off a lightswitch (in a room nobody was actually IN) and heard myself say "Is anybody in here? I guess not. I'll turn off the light". Just like I had heard echoing in our home as a teenager. It turns out we really DO become our parents. ( Happy Father's Day, Dad!)

It is no secret that HVAC is one of the more expensive systems in a home. We certainly see our share of temperature extremes in N...

Click Here to Read More...

To be fair, I'm not expecting you to actually read to your home. There is also no need for it to go to college and learn Latin. What we're going to talk about today is making your home a little smarter by adding some technology to the mix. The objective is to make our homes (and the systems therein) work "for" us and not just be a monthly channel for outgoing money. Last week I watched myself turn off a lightswitch (in a room nobody was actually IN) and heard myself say "Is anybody in here? I guess not. I'll turn off the light". Just like I had heard echoing in our home as a teenager. It turns out we really DO become our parents. ( Happy Father's Day, Dad!)

It is no secret that HVAC is one of the more expensive systems in a home. We certainly see our share of temperature extremes in New Hampshire and having both systems functioning is pretty important to one's comfort. This is especially true for those of us who work from home. The installation (and subsequent programming) o...

Click Here to Read More...

I'm guessing you can see my smile from where you're sitting. OK, I'm not THAT excited about spring cleaning, but I'm not NOT excited. To be fair (for my Letterkenny friends) it's not so much that I love cleaning. It is mostly the fact that we can open the windows and doors and refresh the stale air we have been stuck with all winter. Combine that with a healthy dose of cleaning and decluttering and you have the makings of a happy author. Today I'd like to talk a bit about some of the cleaning tasks that are better left to the pros. Just like roofing, sheetrock and insulation when building a home; these tasks are "possible" for you and I but will have a much better result if we let the smarty-pantses do what they do best.

First out of the gate is upholstery. We recently had a guest stay...

Click Here to Read More...

I've spent the last two weekends working on the lawn. To be fair I have also spent a decent amount of time hiking (snowshoeing actually!) and cycling. I mean, I'm not a crazy person! A man's got to have some fun. For me, escaping into the woods or out on the road is exactly what the doctor ordered (and keeps ordering!). But when those adventures were over, I was looking forward to attacking the yard and getting things cleaned up for this summer. Everything we are going to talk about today is valuable information (IMHO) whether you are planning to sell your home or just looking forward to some quality time spent in the yard with warmer weather. Let's get raking!

Although these statistics come from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, they are still impressive. 79% of consume...

Click Here to Read More...

I have just had the pleasure of moving into a new space. I've actually been in this house for over a year now, but have migrated to a new room. It is much brighter (more windows) and much larger (with a bigger closet!). Since I'm finally feeling a bit more settled, I decided it was time to do some "nesting" and decorating. I've had some pictures stowed away in storage as well as some cool ideas on paint scheme. Now that we've got the spring cleaning out of the way (you DID clean last weekend, right?!) we can move on to making our spaces more our own. Let's get started.

A few years ago my girlfriend and I went to a really cool furniture store while visiting friends in Fort Collins, CO. It was all very cool "rustic" furniture and we even found a few perfect pieces for our home. The one m...

Click Here to Read More...