On September 5, 1882, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America's first Labor Day parade. Originally, it was viewed by many not only as a means to celebrate their accomplishments, but also as a day to air their grievances, discuss strategies for securing not only better but also safer working conditions for everyone. Fast forward, a hundred plus years and many simply see Labor Day as the end of summer and the start of football seaso

Hurricane Season - 5 Steps to being prepared

Today is the start of Hurricane Season that has been predicted to be busier than usual. Based on the ocean temperatures and the changing weather conditions, they might just be right this year. With that in mind, below is our 5 steps to being prepared. If you happen to own pets, we added an additional bonus step just for them. While this list is geared for those faced with hurricane evacuations, this is a good list for anyone that may be in areas that maybe affected by ea

September and Early Fall Maintenance Checklist

Summer is slowly winding down; the dog days of August are quickly going to fade into a distant memory as the leaves start changing. The kids are back in school, which gives you some time to make sure that your home is ready for the winter. Why worry about it, fall doesn't officially start until the 22nd right? Well starting next month, you are probably going to end up wanting to use your heater for the first time this season when the Average Minimum Temperature at night

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – Roofing

Knock, knock – Hello? Hi, I’m Mike & we were just looking at your neighbors’ roof and thought we spotted some damage to yours, would you mind if we performed a free roof inspection? It will only take a few minutes, you see we do lots of insurance repair jobs and most of the time we can get you a completely new roof and it won’t even cost you a cent. Really, why that sounds great. (Man, this must be my lucky day)… What’s even better is we have contrac

Renovations & Insurance - What is covered & what isn't

The idea that an article like this was needed was made abundantly clear to me on a recent project I completed. This project required us to completely remove and reframe an existing roof, while leaving the existing walls & floors untouched. During the consultation phase of this project, we covered all the normal items like material choices, options, budget, contractors insurance, the necessity of them reviewing their insurance policy, etc... They were quite shocked on

25 Conservation Tips & Tricks

In our last article, “Energy Efficiency vs. Conservation – what is the real issue?” we covered plenty of the issues that involve your actual house while it is being worked on. While we have also had several articles on making your house more energy efficient, money saving tips & tricks, air sealing, green cleaning, and many others, we have not had an article on just conservation. In order to rectify that, and seeing everyone likes top ten articles, etc... we wo

Energy Efficiency vs. Conservation – what is the real issue?

I have to admit, I was originally confused by some of the attitudes or opinions given about those in the Energy Efficiency fields. I grant you that there are quite a few individuals in the green community that are five cans shy of a six pack, but the following quotes come from some of the “respected” experts. One of my favorite quotes is, “What an awesome presentation! I called Energy Efficiency fanatics "the Sith Lords of Green building"!” Another one is, “T

Designing your Dream Kitchen – One common mistake you can easily avoid

Wow, what in the world is that? Well, before we get to that, I would like to first thank Bill Conley from Northwest Kitchen & Bath in Tacoma Washington for allowing us to repost these pictures. These are pictures he took at a homeowner’s house that wanted a new kitchen. She had apparently spent a lot of time reading articles on kitchen design and she followed one of the best pieces of advice we can give anyone – create a mock up. I have to admit, I am impressed b

Tag Archives: Consumer Awareness

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – Roofing

By Sean | Published: August 23, 2010

Renovations & Insurance – What is covered & what isn’t

By Sean | Published: August 1, 2010

ENERGY STAR: Can it and should it be saved?

By Sean | Published: April 6, 2010

As many of our regular readers know, we have long supported and still recommend purchasing ENERGY STAR® rated products. Unfortunately, though there have been some issues that have popped up lately that have caused many groups and individuals to question if the program is more fiction than fact. On the flip side, we have some people
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Posted in Goverment Programs | Also tagged EnergyStar | 4 Comments

A match made in heaven?

By Sean | Published: April 1, 2010

Happy April 1st AKA April Fool’s Day — You know when someone told me about this program; I thought they were trying to play an early April Fool’s Day joke on me. They then faxed me the letter & I could not help but laugh. TREX and ServiceMagic join forces, oh boy, what a match
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Posted in General Articles | Tagged Consumer Awareness | 4 Comments

Should your Contractor carry General Liability Insurance?

By Sean | Published: March 7, 2010

Back on January 8th, I was surprised to get a phone call from Cullman City Licensing. I can see who is calling, and remember wondering – what did I forget to sign the form or the check? Nope, they were requesting a copy of my General Liability Policy. Did I miss something in the directions?
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Posted in General Articles | Tagged Consumer Awareness | 16 Comments

Warning; this book may shock you or possibly start a fire

By Sean | Published: January 11, 2010

This book may cause a fire or severe shock

To be fully honest, I laughed when I first saw this, but now I am getting more and more upset as I keep looking into this and the more I think about it. Before we go into what has gotten my blood boiling, let me start from the beginning. I have been kicking around the
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Posted in Safety; Your House - Working & Living Safely | Also tagged Fire Safety | 3 Comments

What matters the most to you – the Fixture’s or the Foundation?

By Sean | Published: January 9, 2010

As a contractor, it constantly amazes me how people seemingly could care less about items that truly matter or will even pay them dividends down the road. Unfortunately, some people never listen and / or seemingly forget that conversation later on when they get there first electric bill, or the traffic noises seem just a little bit louder than at
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Posted in Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling / Renovations | Also tagged Guest Article's, Kitchen Remodeling, Kitchen Renovation, Money Saving | 12 Comments

Preventing or fixing frozen water pipes

By Sean | Published: January 5, 2010

The Alabama Department of Health has issued the following warning via press release: Prolonged period of cold weather ahead prompts warnings to take winter precautions. While the press release mainly brings up the elderly and methods of preventing hypothermia, I recomend that anyone who will be working or spending periods of time out doors should
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Posted in Maintaining Your Investment | Also tagged Safety; Your House - Working & Living Safely, Winter Maintenance Checklist | 11 Comments

Another hotel, another city – Why?

By Sean | Published: December 7, 2009

Well, here I am sitting in another hotel room. Why? Two words – Continuing Education; this time I am down here in Montgomery to take a three-day class on Weatherization. Back in October, I was in Indianapolis to take a government mandated Lead class and to attend the Remodeling & Deck Expo. Then there were
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Posted in General Articles | Also tagged Education, Lead Regulations, Legal Requirements | 9 Comments

In case you missed it; October is National Energy Awareness Month & a quick primer on the Energy Tax Credit

By Sean | Published: October 10, 2009

Ok, I admit it, I had no clue and this is its 22nd year of it being observed. Obviously though I am not the only one, as one site that lists all the different “National Fill in the Blank Month’s” has over 30 listings just for October and not one of them is about energy.
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Posted in Goverment Programs | Also tagged EnergyStar, Money Saving | 4 Comments

Labor Day Safety

Hurricane Season - 5 Steps to being prepared

September and Early Fall Maintenance Checklist

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – Roofing

Renovations & Insurance - What is covered & what isn't

25 Conservation Tips & Tricks

Energy Efficiency vs. Conservation – what is the real issue?

Designing your Dream Kitchen – One common mistake you can easily avoid

Tag Archives: Consumer Awareness

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – Roofing

Renovations & Insurance – What is covered & what isn’t

ENERGY STAR: Can it and should it be saved?

A match made in heaven?

Should your Contractor carry General Liability Insurance?

Warning; this book may shock you or possibly start a fire

What matters the most to you – the Fixture’s or the Foundation?

Preventing or fixing frozen water pipes

Another hotel, another city – Why?

In case you missed it; October is National Energy Awareness Month & a quick primer on the Energy Tax Credit

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