Reprint Winterize your Cape Cod Vacation Home, By Peter Watts

Reprint by Peter Watts, Your Chatham Builder
508-776-2470

http:www.peterwattsinc.com
 The fall Equinox is a good time of year to start thinking about preparing your home for winter, because as temperatures begin to dip, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape through the winter.


Autumn is invariably a prelude to falling winter temperatures, regardless of where you live. It might rain or snow or, as David Letterman says, "Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." Did you know there is only one state in the United States where the temperatures have never dipped below zero? Give up? It's Hawaii.

Here are ten tips to help you prepare your home for winter:



1) Furnace Inspection

•Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.

•Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.

•Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.

•If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.

•Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

•Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.

•If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.

•Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.

•Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.

•Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

•Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.

•Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.

•Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.

•If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.

•Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

•If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.

•Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.

•Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.

•Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.

•Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

•Drain gas from lawnmowers.

•Service or tune-up snow blowers.

•Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.

•Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.

•Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

•Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.

•Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.

•Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.

•Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.

•Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

•Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.

•Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.

•Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.

•Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.

•Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

•Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.

•Drain all garden hoses.

•Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.

•Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.

•If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

•Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.

•Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.

•Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.

•Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.

•Don't automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.

•Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

•Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.

•Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.

•Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.

•Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.

•Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

Reprinted by Peter Watts, Your Chatham Builder

508-776-2470

http://www.peterwattsinc.com/

Strategies for Going Green in the Bathroom, HGTV Reprint by Peter Watts

Strategies for Going Green in the Bathroom

HGTV Reprint by Peter Watts Home Improvements



508-776-2470 
 
http://www.peterwattsinc.com
 
 

Follow these energy- and water-conservation tips for the greenest bath around.



By Rob Fanjoy

Redoing a bathroom is a big project, but going green can make it seem even bigger. With new terms to learn (e.g., VOCs, off-gassing) and new products to consider, it can be hard to know where to start. These tips can help you plan your strategy to ensure that you get the green bathroom you crave.



Cabinetry and Vanity Tops

Look for cabinets made from wheatboard or other low-VOC materials. Standard cabinets are made with urea-formaldehyde, which can off-gas potentially harmful VOCs for up to 15 years.



Vanity tops are similar to countertops, and engineered stone surfaces — such as DuPont Zodiaq, CaesarStone and Icestone — are popular choices. Recycled tile is often more popular as a vanity top than as a kitchen counter, since cleaning grout in the bathroom is less of an issue than in a food prep area.



Lighting

Use fluorescent lighting paired with electronic ballasts for maximum efficiency and performance. If a fluorescent bulb over your vanity just doesn't do it for you, look for efficient halogen options. "And try to include a window or skylight," says Sean Ruck, spokesperson for the National Kitchen & Bath Association. "Any natural light you can introduce, even from a tubular skylight, will dramatically lessen your dependence on electric light."

Ventilation

A vent fan is a must to remove odors, airborne irritants and moisture that can lead to mold problems. To be truly effective, a vent fan should be left on for at least 20 minutes after a shower, so consider a timer that will ensure it runs long enough to remove all the moisture. Look for versions of less than one sone (a sone is the unit of measure for the level of sound put out by a vent fan). If space and design permit, include an operable window for natural ventilation and daylight. Make sure the window is well-insulated.



Tubs and Showers

Choose recycled glass, ceramic or porcelain tile for shower surrounds. Thinner grout lines with unsanded, lightly colored (not white) epoxy grouts are easier to clean and less prone to mold and mildew. Acrylic and fiberglass are easier to maintain, but are less durable and less eco-friendly from a manufacturing standpoint. And maybe your old tub would look great in your new bathroom with some professional refinishing. "Many older tubs are wider and deeper, and while that may not conserve water, a lot of people find them much more comfortable," says Ruck.



Flooring

Tile and natural linoleum are often your best choices to hold up in a bathroom environment. Cork and bamboo flooring may be an option at least in some areas of your bathroom; just make sure they can stand up to water exposure. Stay away from vinyl sheet and tile products.



Low and No VOC Products

Many caulks, adhesives and sealants made for the bathroom include some sort of mildewcide or other mold-inhibiting compounds. These make it easier to keep your bathroom clean, which means you use less potentially irritating cleaning agents. However, many also include harmful VOCs, so look for the ones labeled "Low VOCs" or "No VOCs."

GOING GREENER

In addition to the ideas above, there are a host of other options for making your bathroom even greener. While these will add additional cost, they promise a significant return on investment.



Tankless hot water heaters — While these can add several hundred dollars to your bill, tankless water heaters use 20 percent less energy than traditional water heaters, paying for the extra up-front cost in just a few years.



Reclaimed fixtures — While these may cost less than new fixtures, the investment in time spent searching for fixtures to reuse can be significant. If you choose to have old fixtures refinished, ask the refinisher to use chemicals with low VOCs.



Composting toilets/waterless urinals — Not exactly mainstream in U.S. homes, these products are becoming very popular in green commercial buildings because of the water they save. Clivus Multrum manufactures composting toilets for the home and Kohler is now making residential waterless urinals.



Greywater recycling — These systems collect and filter water from sinks, tubs, showers and the laundry (called grey water) and re-use it to irrigate landscapes or even to flush toilets. These systems range from the very simple to the very complex and are not accepted by all code jurisdictions, so do your homework first.

Peter Watts Home Improvements

508-776-2470

http://chathambuilder.blogspot.com/