It is that time of year again: time to start heating the house. Many of us hold out as long as possible, but the old put on a sweater or grab a blanket routine will only last a few more weeks at most! Our lovely fall weather cant last forever.

Many people, especially homeowners living in older homes with outdated heating systems or poor insulation, find there is something to be desired when the heat kicks on.

Inefficient heating systems struggle on two levels. First, they dont do a very good job keeping the house steadily warm and second, they cost more to run. A forced-air furnace or a boiler can be replaced without remodeling your home. However, during a major remodeling project, the mechanical equipment can be relocated as well as replaced, and the ductwork can also be reconfigured to add more ceiling height to some areas.

If you are adding square footage during a remodel, this will change the requirements of the heating system. Heating systems are designed based on the size of the house. A loose rule of thumb is that one forced-air furnace generally handles about 2,000 square feet. If you are expanding beyond that, a second unit may be required.

One of the most important parts of the heating system in a house actually has nothing to do with the mechanical heating unit. It's the insulation found in the home.

In a new home, insulation is added in the walls, attic/roof, under concrete slabs and in crawl spaces. Older homes were built with far less (or no) thought as to how to insulate these areas, so part of every remodeling project should be to update the overall energy efficiency of your home as much as possible.

Insulation is rated in R-values. R-value is the measurement that tells you how well your insulation will resist heat flow or heat transfer. The higher the R-value, the better the efficiency. The governments energy conservation recommendations for R-values depends on climate and varies by ZIP code.

For most of Utah, the ceiling is recommended to have an R-value of 38, the mass wall R-value should be 19 and the floor R-value should be 30. Washington County, with its warmer climate, requires less insulation, with a required ceiling R-value of 30, mass wall R-value of 8 and floor R-value of 19. Up north in the Cache County, the numbers are slightly higher to combat the colder winters, with the recommended ceiling R-value of 49, mass wall R-value of 19 and floor R-value of 30.

Adding insulation to an existing house can be a do-it-yourself project for the ambitious homeowner or you can hire a professional insulation contractor. Either way, the first step is determining the extent of the existing insulation not an easy proposition. If you have a brick home built before about 1950, there is essentially no insulation in your walls. Houses from the 1950s and '60s have minimal insulation. In the 1970s, efficiency became more important, though the technology of insulation has obviously improved over the last 40-some years.

Adding insulation to the older masonry home has to be done by adding rigid insulation to the exterior and resurfacing the house with another exterior material, such as stucco or cement fiber board; on the interior, you essentially need to build an new stud wall, add insulation and add new gypsum board (sheet rock).

The rest is here:
Renovation Solutions: Tips for energy efficient homes in winter

Coming across a little pocket of literary joy in the Broadmoor-Broadway Village Neighborhood is a bit like discovering a special hiding place or a secret clubhouse.

But the Little Free Library in the timeless Tucson neighborhood is no secret. Its one of more than 15,000 tiny libraries and one of about a dozen in Tucson that are part of the worldwide Little Free Library movement, created by lovers of books and builders of community.

In Tucson, neighborhoods are creating their own little public libraries places where neighbors can gather, drop off a book and take one home. The motto is take a book, return a book.

The movement started in 2009, when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard, with a sign that read Free Books. Neighbors and friends loved it, and he built several more and gave them away.

Today, the number of registered Little Free Libraries across the world grows daily, overloading the map at the nonprofits website, littlefreelibrary.org

Among the newest additions is the Broadmoor-Broadway Village Little Free Library, which was planted in a neighborhood pocket park Sept. 21, said Joan Thomas, who spearheaded the project with neighbors and her daughter, Debbie Weingarten, who maintains the library as steward. The neighborhood is southwest of Broadway and Country Club Road

This all started a year ago, Thomas said. I was walking with a neighbor and we got on the subject of this box with books and what a fantastic idea it was for a neighborhood.

After months of research and conversations, she got in touch with Meg Johnson, who helped start a Little Free Library in Tucsons Garden District Neighborhood a couple of years ago.

With tons of information and motivation, Broadmoor neighbors first looked in thrift shops for a cabinet they could repurpose. The perfect cabinet appeared as neighbors launched a remodeling project and donated a kitchen cabinet to the effort.

Tapping into the talents of neighbors, the project took on a life of its own. Neighbor Ryan Brown, a woodworker, took a plain kitchen cabinet and created a weatherproof Little Free Library, adding an attic space, Thomas said.

Read more here:
Fun little libraries popping up in Tucson neighborhoods

By Erin Wygant | Published 8 hours ago

While students jog through the many side streets in the quiet neighborhoods of Chapel Hill, the beat in their headphones pushes them past generations of history, though they might not realize it.

In 1793, when University plans were drawn, builders laid out the town meaning the two were and still are very much connected. Chapel Hill is a community where homeowners blend with college students and where residential and commercial life meet along Franklin Street.

The Widow Puckett House on East Franklin Street is one such example. Formerly a widows boarding house and an occasional classroom, the first chancellors residences central location has made it an important player in the Universitys history. Current owners Ann Stewart and Randall Roden take great pride in the story behind their home and said theyre eager to share it with anyone interested.

I feel a real responsibility to learn as much history of the house, to add to it and pass it on, Stewart said. This house has so much history that interesting things happen all the time.

The couple has compiled a list of past owners, including Jane Puckett, the widow for whom the house is named. She housed notable tenants whose names are still visible on the walls.

The students lived upstairs in the attic, and most of them signed their names in candle smudge to the ceiling and now have buildings named after them like Venable, Phillips and Spencer, Stewart said.

The houses history is also constantly evolving with donations from visitors.

People give things to this house all the time, said Stewart, pointing to a picture of the entire University faculty seated in the side yard of the house during the 1870s.

When people leave, one of the things they remember is the town. It is one of the things they come back to see, Roden said. They like to see the same places, and while they come to visit the campus, they also come to see the town and historic district that looks like what they remember.

Read more:
Historic Chapel Hill homes rich in University history

Take a classic 1922 house in one of Charlottes oldest neighborhoods, simmer for 84 years, season with a once-in-a-century hurricane, add liberal measures of neglect and trash, garnish with a prime location on a corner lot and voila! A tasty fixer-upper to whet the appetite of fearless DIY practitioners.

And visitors can see the transformation for themselves during the annual Elizabeth Home and Garden Tour Oct. 11-12.

In 2006, Erik and Michelle Dagenhart had stalked the 2,500-square-foot house at 2134 Greenway Ave. for a couple of years and had a vision for it. It had survived Hugo despite extensive damage, had good bones, and was in the leafy Elizabeth neighborhood the Dagenharts loved. By the time it finally came on the market in 2006 they couldnt pass it up.

With Michelle acting as general contractor and their architect friend and neighbor Andrew (Woody) Woodruff serving as their design adviser, the Dagenharts started a complete renovation. A lengthy cleanup came first, followed by demolishing parts of the house affected by cats and smokers, shoddy work on previous maintenance projects and trees growing through the floor.

When we bought it, it was straight out of Amityville Horror or the season finale of The Hoarders, Erik recalls.

The couple were committed to doing much of the work themselves. Erik, a principal in an Atlanta-based commercial lightning protection firm, explains, I just hate the thought of giving somebody else money to do something I can do myself. Its not just to save money, although times were tight while we were in the middle of remodeling. My dad was a big do-it-yourselfer, so I give him a lot of credit for this mindset, even though Im mostly self-taught.

The Dagenharts hired contractors for the framing and roofing, plumbing and HVAC system. The couple did the remaining 70 percent of the work to remodel and expand the house to its present 3,600 square feet.

Wraparound porch

It wasnt all smooth sailing. There was a lot of trial and error. To learn how to wire a four-way switch, for example, Erik turned online to YouTube.

The family which includes twins Sam and Livi, now 13 moved into the 400-square-foot detached garage apartment for the last eight months of the construction phase. They moved into the house itself in 2008 while the finishing work continued. Erik, who manages his business from home, and Michelle, a director at Wells Fargo who was working only part-time then, had flexibility to juggle their jobs with their house projects.

Go here to read the rest:
Home on the Elizabeth tour showcases couples hard work

Lets start by considering some of the most recent statistics (2011 and 2012) from the FBI about the almost 2 million burglaries that occur in the United States annually.

Most of them almost 75 percent occur in residences not stores or offices. And most happen during the day, perhaps when residents are out of town, at work or out running errands.

So if you dont want to become a target for a burglar, you ought to start thinking about how a burglar thinks when looking at your house. What follows are 30 suggestions for securing your home and property.

Your doors

--Remember a burglar wants to spend less than 60 seconds getting into your house.

--Add a dead-bolted security screen door to the front of your house and to back doors that has tamper-proof hinges with non-removable pins.

--Of course, you want good lighting on your walkways, but you might also want to install motion sensor lights.

--You need a solid core or solid wood front door with a deadbolt that has a one-inch throw.

--Make sure all your doors have bump-proof locks. In bumping, a burglar inserts a special key into your lock, strikes it with a hammer, and presto, pins in the lock move slightly so the door can be opened. If your locks are more than a few years old, you should replace them with newer technology to thwart bumpers.

--Install wide-angle peepholes in doors with no adjacent windows.

View original post here:
Rosie on the House: Heres how you can think like a burglar thinks

Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) September 30, 2014

Arcbazar announces an online design crowdsourcing platform for home remodeling.

Renovated attics can be cozy and charming special spaces, while adding to the home square footage and resell value. These spaces are full of hidden potential to create extra bedrooms or bathrooms, additional living rooms, offices and studios, or maximizing storage areas. However, vaulted layouts can be daunting to remodel and decorate and this is a challenge that requires a clever design. Many homeowners need help to remodel and personalize this great space canvas. Arcbazar comes to the rescue with an innovative crowdsourcing approach that let homeowners connect with architects around the globe for out-of-the box creative design.

Arcbazar,a Cambridge- based start-up company helps transforms the concept of home renovation by providing access to creative online design. Arcbazar runs international architectural and interior design competitions. Each project is launched online and designers worldwide compete and submit solutions for the new space. Clients can then choose the solution they like most based on their initial evaluation criteria. We want to bring high-end design to everyday small-scale home remodeling projects. We want our clients to be able to create their dream spaces in an easy, affordable and fun way, says Imdat As, founder of Arcbazar.com. Hundreds of clients around the globe have already used Arcbazar for successful home remodeling, landscape and interior design projects. We have helped clients renovate great kitchens, bathrooms, living space, basements, or outside patios, balconies and landscapes.There is no small or too big home project.

Julien G., from Wellesly, MA, was "looking for a design for the attic on a 100 year old house" that he would like to convert into an office working as well as an additional space for guests. Julien run a competition on Arcbazar and received 14 proposals, ultimately opting for a design from an architect in New York. Arcbazar's beauty is the choice it offers to clients, coupled with high quality and affordability. Clients love to visualize the end-result of the renovation and this is priceless. Recently Arcbazar has also introduced a new estimator tool that gives clients an instant quote for their remodeling projects.

To view Julien's project and know more, please visit http://www.arcbazar.com.

About Arcbazar Arcbazar.com, Inc. is the first-of-its-kind online crowdsourcing platform for architectural design projects. The company connects clients with designers worldwide, and allows clients to run competitions for their remodeling, home, commercial and interior design projects.

Read more here:
Attic Remodel: Creating Fabulous Spaces with Online Design

Provided by Networx.com

How can you prepare for a healthier, energy-efficient, and money-saving winter? Take care of your HVAC ductwork by cleaning, repairing, and insulating it as necessary. Proper attention to the air duct system is an easy, inexpensive step toward improved air quality and more efficient heating. Why not take care of this task now, before winter's cold sets in?

Clean

Routine vacuuming or dusting of your HVAC registers is important, but cleaning further inside the ductwork is not necessary on a regular basis. However, there are certain circumstances that warrant cleaning the interior of your ducts ASAP -- for your health's sake. If you see mold growing inside your HVAC ducts, it is essential to clean the system to avoid allergies, asthma, and other breathing problems. Occasionally vermin or insects will make their home inside the ductwork; have the pests removed pronto and the ducts thoroughly cleaned. During home remodeling, the duct openings should be well covered. However, if any debris from lead paint or asbestos, or large amounts of dust, has entered the ducts, they must be cleaned urgently. Finally, if you find that unpleasant odors, animal hair, or other contaminants are coming into the ambient air via your ductwork or a household member is suffering from an unexplained respiratory illness, persistent headache, or rash, duct cleaning is strongly advised.

NOTE: Never use a steam cleaner on your ducts, as you do not want to introduce large amounts of moisture into the system. While you can clean the surface and ends of ducts yourself using a rag lightly dampened with bleach solution, you will not be able to reach as far as a trained serviceperson armed with a professional duct-cleaning machine.

Repair Leaks

Your duct system can leak due to either holes in individual duct pipes or poor connections between pipes. These leaks may reduce the heating and cooling ability of your HVAC by up to 20 percent, while at the same time increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Even worse, they might backdraft life-threatening gases such carbon dioxide from your furnace or other appliances into your living space.

Leaks can be difficult to find since the ductwork runs through small hard-to-get-at areas such as crawl spaces. To try to track down sources of leakage, turn the HVAC thermostat to "on" instead of "automatic." This will allow you to feel for escaping hot air as well as visually inspecting the ducts.

Turn off the HVAC and apply mastic sealant, metal tape (NOT ordinary duct tape, which doesn't last long enough), or aerosol sealant to repair any leaks or faulty connections that you discover. Especially large gaps may need to be filled in with insulation before using the mastic.

Insulate

Read more from the original source:
Take care of ducts now for greener, cheaper winter heat

in a fire, she now has a new home. American Red Cross volunteers wanted to help her, but instead, she's helping them. wdbj7 Mornin's Alison Parker is live at the Red Cross in downtown Roanoke with this woman's story. Angie Petty is lucky. She has a good job and homeowners insurance. That helped her rebuild her home. Petty's now giving back to the Red Cross -- a cause, that always needs help. Angie Petty was at the doctor. The kids, at school. Keaton the dog, caught in a house fire. sb 2 i had been working on remodeling the whole house over the course of 7 years, and a recess light caught on fire, caught the attic on fire, and pretty much destroyed the whole house. (9) In September last year, Salem fire crews saved the dog, but not much else. Old family portraits, treasured memories gone. sb 4 On the video tapes, i had some family members who had passed away, and that was the only place i had recordings of their voice, so that was hard to lose. (8) The Red Cross offered to help Petty get back on her feet. sb 3 It was really heart warming. i also had a huge outpouring from the community -- family, friends, neighbors, people i didn't even know. So it really touched my heart. (8) But instead, Petty recovered on her own. Now, she's the one paying it forward. sb 1 Angie Petty: Since then, I've been really in tune to other people in the area who have had house fires and really needed some help. (5) Next Saturday, Petty will hold an open house to raise money for the Red Cross. sb 5 They really help others that are in need, not only in fire situations but in floods, and other types of disasters. They're there, on call, ready to help, and i think that really makes a big difference in people's lives. (12) What she did learn from the Red Cross -- how to be prepared. sb 6 You never know when a disaster is going to strike. Whether it's a tornado, a hurricane a flood, a fire, you just don't know. So it's important to know who to call, and to have proper insurance, and have an escape route. All of those things are very important. (13) The open house is The open house is next Saturday -- the very important. (13) The open house is next Saturday -- the 27th -- from 1 to 5. Members of the Salem Fire Department and the Red Cross will be at Angie's home giving out fire safety and preparedness information. The kids can even explore a fire truck. All donations collected will directly support the Red Cross. This morning,

Read more from the original source:
Red Cross encourages families to prepare for cold-weather disasters

Tampa fire investigators are seeking the publics help and offering a reward for information into the cause of a fire at a northeast Tampa home this morning.

Tampa Fire Rescue units were dispatched at 6:30 a.m. to 9214 N. Hyaleah Road, north of Busch Boulevard and less than a mile east of Busch Gardens.

Fire crews found heavy smoke and flames consuming more than half of the single-story house.

Investigators say the fire originated from a bedroom that was vacant for remodeling, and the home was unsecured at the time of the fire.

The fire, which caused major damage to the roof and attic and resulted in $48,000 in damage, was under control in about a half-hour. Tampa Fire Rescue said.

An initial search by firefighters determined no occupants were inside the home, and no injuries were reported.

Anyone with information can report an anonymous tip online at the City of Tampas Fire Marshal website, or call (813) 274-7000. Rewards of up to $2,500 or more are available for information leading to the identification of arson suspects.

More:
Investigators seek tips into cause of Tampa house fire

Posted Sep. 2, 2014, 9:22 am Letter To The Editor

Dear Editor,

Just like your body, the urban fabric is continually renewing itself: buildings are continually torn down and new ones erected in their place in response to economic, demographic and political factors.

But some parts of your body, such as adult teeth, need to last a lifetime. Likewise certain buildings should last the lifetime of a City.

These significant buildings play an outsize role in the City's history, because of their particular architectural or historical impact.

Usually they get landmarked and afforded the highest level of protection. Santa Monica, a City of 51,000 units, has only 110 landmarked structures.

If these structures were evenly distributed in the City's 139 year history there would be less then one landmark worthy structure built every year. Its fun to guess which of the buildings being built today will be the landmarks of tomorrow?

But theres another more common and efficient way the urban fabric renews itself and that is to take existing buildings and with minor modifications repurpose them to new uses (e.g. adaptive reuse) avoiding their outright demolition and preserving their presence in the community.

This adaptive reuse provides benefits that are shared by residents and developers alike:

The greenest building is the one not torn down.

Visit link:
Letter To The Editor: The Magic Of Adaptive Reuse