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: Winter Maintenance Checklist

February – Winter Maintenance Checklist

By Sean | Published: January 29, 2010

Ahhh February, we are now in the second full month of winter and many people in the northern states and elsewhere are starting to feel run down from a lack of sunshine. If you are starting to feel this way may we suggest that you get out, go visit some friends, go for a walk
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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 Consumer Awareness, Safety; Your House - Working & Living Safely | 11 Comments

January – Mid Winter Maintenance Checklist

By Sean | Published: December 29, 2009

Welcome to the start of a New Year, and the first full month of winter. This is the time of the year when many individuals try to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with a list of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead of adding to your list of resolutions, we are just simply going to
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Posted in Maintaining Your Investment | Also tagged Maintenance Checklist, Monthly Checklist | 5 Comments

December and the Winter Holiday Maintenance Checklist

By Sean | Published: November 28, 2009

Welcome to the first month of winter, which actually starts on the 21st of this month. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas, New Years or whichever holiday(s) you observe. Seeing everyone is basically scrambling to get ready for all the office Christmas parties, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas
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Posted in Maintaining Your Investment | Also tagged Holiday, Holiday Planning, Maintenance Checklist, Monthly Checklist | 5 Comments

Labor Day Safety