Whether you’re planning ahead, in the process of moving, or have already moved into your new home, these three tips will help you get settled.
Category Archives: Homeowners
Common house problems and how to solve them (Infographic)
For first-time homebuyers, there can be nothing as scary as the prospect of home repairs. Whether it’s a leaky faucet, a drafty door or a crack in the basement wall, any sign that a house needs repairs can cause new homeowners’ hearts to sink. Although there are many home repairs that are easily within the DIY capabilities of even the most inexperienced homeowner, there are many others that should be handled by a professional.
5 Home renovation projects to take on this summer
Whether you want to update your home, customize it, or integrate smart technology into your design, you can’t go wrong these high-value home renovation projects:
Getting your AC ready for summer
But that doesn’t mean you have to surrender helplessly to rising cooling costs. Continue reading
5 Tips for buying an AC unit online
The lifespan of an air conditioner is 15 to 20 years, depending on how often it’s used. But chances are you’re going to need to replace your AC unit at one point or another, and when you do you’ll probably have some questions. For example, is buying an air conditioner online safe? Or is it safe to buy a second-hand or refurbished AC unit? We asked a 25-year veteran of the HVAC industry all of the important AC questions so you don’t have to.
We spoke to Erik Bryan, a licensed HVAC contractor and owner of NewACUnit.com, and asked what you need to know about buying an air conditioner online.
Remodeling 101: Placing the toilet in your bathroom renovation
As many homeowners know, a bathroom renovation rarely entails just changing a few tiles and calling it a day. Even the simplest projects have many details and moving parts, creating a domino effect of one choice impacting another. One of the most important choices you can make during your renovation is one that can be easily overlooked: the toilet placement. And as if it’s not difficult enough, tile installation, vanity location and shower door choices can all influence your toilet placement. Use these tips to get your space construction ready.
Spring cleaning: Optimize your cleaning time
According to The Maids, spring cleaning typically takes at least four hours per 1,000 square feet.
“You can clean virtually any house in about four hours a week. I learned this when I had a residential house cleaning business,” says Sherry Hewins. “The keys to being able to clean your house are organization and consistency.”
Although you don’t have to spring clean your home every weekend, getting organized and optimizing the task to make the process more efficient should help keep it as short and sweet as possible.
How to secure your smart home devices
Smart home devices are quickly becoming the norm, with IT research firm Gartner predicting consumers will have 5.2 billion internet-connected products in 2017 – an average of four devices per household.
“The connected home is coming to fruition and it’s coming now,” says Yonomi co-founder and CEO Kent Dickson.
We’re using smart devices to control the lighting, temperature and ambiance of our homes, to lock our doors and watch for intruders, to feed and play with our pets. There seems to be a smart device for every conceivable home need, but how secure are these devices?
“The biggest issue with smart devices in the home is that many can be accessed directly from the internet,” says Bruce Snell, Cybersecurity and Privacy Director at Intel Security, adding, “Securing the smart home requires that you think a little more about security than you may have in the past.”
What can you do to secure your smart home tech?
5 Smart gardening tips from the experts
Whether you have an indoor garden or large backyard, smart gardening will help you save time, money, and design the best possible garden for your environment.
We reached out to gardening experts for their best gardening tips:
How long will your home and everything in it last? (Infographic)
A well-constructed home can last for hundreds of years. But maintenance, climate and home innovation can all impact how long the components of that home stay useful. However, eventually things wear out, so with help from the National Association of Home Builders we’re going room-by-room to tell you how much time you have before you’ll have to replace different parts of your home.