You don't need to completely rewire your home to make it future-friendly. This holiday season, you can buy plenty of plug-and-play devices that will automate and app-control your home, and most of them cost $300 or less. They're great gift ideas for anyone interested in hacking their house, revolutionizing their bathing habits, reinventing their kitchen, or controlling connected devices with the tap of an app.

Above:

Chances are there's someone on your gift list that thinks they have everything. We're willing to bet they don't have a tray that beams all manner of egg-related data to a mobile app. This joint project between Quirky and GE is a 14-spot tray loaded with sensors and a AA-battery-powered Wi-Fi chip. That means it's able to tell you which egg to fry up next (the oldest one) and how many eggs you've got left simply by checking your phone at the supermarket. LED indicator lamps light up next to the oldest egg in the tray, and a light sensor keeps battery life in check by only using power when it senses the fridge door is open. The Egg Minder ($70) displays an egg-centric dashboard via the Wink app for iOS and Android, which controls other devices such as the Pivot Power Genius power strip and the Nimbus personal dashboard.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

If you're out buying groceries and somebody rings your doorbell, does it make a sound? Yes it does, but nobody could say for sure until the Doorbot ($200) existed. This Wi-Fi enabled monitor/doorbell initiates a video call from your front door to your smartphone whenever somebody rings your buzzer. Actually, it's more like half a video call: You can see them, but they can't see you. That makes it useful for talking to delivery men while you're away, answering the doorbell from your couch, or even screening your visitors. The mobile app mimics an intercom, letting you press a button to tell those kids to get off your lawn. The app side of the Doorbot equation is available for Android and iOS.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

If you know anyone who owns a few app-controlled home systems, here's a secret: Their smartphone is probably a mess thanks to all those disparate remote-control apps. Revolv's hub is a multi-protocol wireless receiver with a 65-foot range that also consolidates controls into a single streamlined app. In addition to cleaning up your app arsenal, it'll let you make presets that adjust several of your devices at once; one tap will adjust your lights, speakers, and thermostat to the perfect levels for watching a movie or getting work done. It also uses your phone's location services to automatically perform certain actions -- turn the lights on, flip on the air conditioning, or open the garage door -- when you're approaching your home. Revolv supports several devices in this gift guide, including Sonos speakers, Nest devices, Philips Hue bulbs, and Belkin's WeMo products. It only works with the iPhone and iPad right now, but an Android app is coming in early- to mid-2014 -- as is compatibility with more devices.

Image: Revolv Inc.

The Moxie ($200) is a full-service showerhead with a detachable 1.5-Watt Bluetooth speaker right in the middle of its spray nozzles, making it the most ingenious way to listen to music in the shower we've seen yet. The speaker is obviously water-resistant, but it isn't hydro-powered. You'll need to charge its internal battery back up periodically, and Kohler rates its life at seven hours per charge. The speaker unit's magnetic mount makes it easy to pop in and out, so you can use it as a portable speaker outside the shower too. It'll work with any Bluetooth-capable device that's up to 32 feet away, so you can even have someone else DJ from another room. There are two versions of the showerhead -- one that pumps out 2.5 gallons per minute and another that pumps out 2 gallons -- as well as five different color options for the speaker.

Image: Kohler Co.

Link:
Your Gift Guide to the Home of the Future

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) December 20, 2013

Window Genie has earned the service industrys coveted Angies List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of service provided to members of the consumer review service in 2013.

Window Genie is a locally owned franchise offering home services such as window cleaning, window tinting, pressure washing, gutter cleaning and more.

The owners, Mike and Karen Angle, have been servicing the surrounding Southwest Indianapolis areas such as Danville, Mooresville, and Plainfield since 2011. Were extremely happy to have earned this award. We think our team is excellent, it's really nice to have that recognized by our customers on Angie's List, Mike said. Our commitment to customer service will continue to be a priority at Window Genie Indy.

Only about 5 percent of the companies that Window Genie competes with in Indianapolis are able to earn our Super Service Award, said Angies List Founder Angie Hicks. Its a mark of consistently great customer service.

Angies List Super Service Award 2013 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an A rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade; the company must be in good standing with Angies List, have a fully complete profile, pass a background check and abide by Angies List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angies List. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. Members can find the 2013 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.

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Angie's List helps consumers have happy transactions with local service professionals in more than 720 categories of service, ranging from home improvement to healthcare. More than 2 million paid households use Angie's List to gain access to local ratings, exclusive discounts, the Angies List Magazine and the Angie's List complaint resolution service.

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Window Genie of Southwest Indianapolis Earns Esteemed 2013 Angie's List Super Service Award

A rain gutter is a narrow channel, or trough, forming the component of a roof system which collects and diverts rainwater shed by the roof. It is also known as an eavestrough (especially in Canada), eaves channel[1]guttering or simply as a gutter.

The main purpose of a rain gutter is to protect a building's foundation by channeling water away from its base. The gutter also helps to reduce erosion, prevents leaks in basements and crawlspaces,[2] protects painted or stained surfaces by reducing exposure to water,[3] and provides a means to collect rainwater for later use.

Rain gutters can be made from a variety of materials such as cast iron, lead, zinc, galvanised steel, painted steel, copper, painted aluminium, PVC (and other plastics), concrete, stone, and wood. More information on copper rain gutters is available.

Water collected by a rain gutter is fed, usually via a downspout or "downpipe" (traditionally called a leader or conductor[4]), from the roof edge to the base of the building where it is either discharged or collected.[5] Water from rain gutters may be collected in a rain barrel or a cistern.[citation needed]

A rain gutter may be a:

A Box gutter is a deep gutter which is concealed within the structure of the roof.[5]

[7]

Cold forming technology exists to allow continuous gutters to be created, on site, in long individual lengths suitable to roof edge conditions, thereby reducing joints along the length of the gutter. These mostly joint free gutters are referred to as "seamless", and available in various shapes, sizes, and finishes.[8]

Rain gutters can be equipped with gutter screens, micro mesh screens,[9] louvers or solid hoods to allow water from the roof to flow through, while reducing passage of roof debris into the gutter.[10]

Clogged gutters can cause water leakage into the house as the water backs up. Clogged gutters can also lead to stagnant water build up which allows mosquitoes to breed and also allows grasses and weeds to grow in the gutter.[11]

Read more from the original source:
Rain gutter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Media Release

January 2014

DIY and gutter talk

Tis the season to be busy around the home with cleaning, painting and gardening high on the list of things to do while the weather is right. Tis also a good time to remember, that roadside gutters are only for the rain.

Greater Wellington Regional Councils Senior Environmental Protection Officer, Naomi Middleton says that there are a number of incidents each summer where staff are called out because home handypersons have tipped paint or other pollutants down stormwater drains.

Stormwater drains include the gully traps for rainwater that runs off your roof and down the spouting as well as the gutters and drains on the streets. Whatever goes down these drains passes, largely untreated, into streams, rivers and the sea, Miss Middleton explains.

Unlike wastewater drains from your kitchen, laundry or bathroom which run into the sewerage and through a treatment system, stormwater drains flow directly into our natural waterways. If you put paint or chemicals down these drains you are directly affecting a waterway or ocean near you as well as all the fish plants and birds and even humans that live or swim there.

So dont let the feel-good effect of DIY go down the gutter this summer. Follow the disposal instructions, clean your car on the lawn or take it to a car wash, clean paint brushes in the laundry sink or in a bucket that you tip somewhere in your garden and take household chemicals, to the landfills.

More information on saving our waterways is available on councils website http://www.gw.govt.nz/save-the-drain-for-rain/

ENDS

Read more here:
DIY and gutter talk

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday December 18, 2013, 2:08 AM

* State reaches settlement with owner of five companies accused of creating damage

New Jerseyans whose homes were intentionally damaged by a group of contractors during inspections and repairs have received restitution through a settlement reached between the contractors and the state Division of Consumer Affairs, the state Attorney General's Office said Tuesday.

Thirty-one homeowners received a combined $137,733.84 after being victimized by five contracting companies owned by a North Haledon man, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.

The state alleged AAA Reliable Inc., Old Reliable Construction LLC, A Safeway Construction LLC and A Safeway Improvements Inc. all owned or controlled by 37-year-old Sulejman Lita targeted senior citizens, offering them free inspections and low-priced repairs for problems found during inspections.

The state said company workers damaged chimneys, roofs and gutters before the inspections and coerced the homeowners into hiring them for expensive repairs.

One of the 31 homeowners, Daniel Sciarra of Riverdale, said Tuesday that he called Lita to clean the gutters of his home after finding an advertisement in a local flier.

Sciarra said that during the gutter cleaning, one of the workers damaged his chimney.

"He went up on the roof and he pulled on the chimney," Sciarra said. "Then he let go of the chimney and it fell over and he says to me, 'You need to get this fixed now.' "

Sciarra said he was suspicious and filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

See the original post here:
Victims of house-repair scam get their money back

Gutter Cleaning with the Tams

By: Shengyen Chang

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Gutter Cleaning with the Tams - Video

ReNew Your Gutters Charlotte Gutter Cleaning
Instead of buying new gutters ReNew them.We use a safe cleaning solution that cleans them to look New call for a free estimate Team Tusing 704-658-7646 http://www.T...

By: Thomas Tusing

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ReNew Your Gutters Charlotte Gutter Cleaning - Video

The Gutter Guys Gutter Cleaning Service - Marin County's Rain Gutter Cleaning and Gutter Repair Experts.

The Gutter Guys gutter cleaning service has been providing rain gutter cleaning and gutter repair to Marin County homes and commercial properties since 1996. The Gutter Guys gutter cleaners has cleaned gutters on over 4,000 homes in Marin County, most likely in a neighborhood near you! We pride ourselves on our expert gutter cleaner and downspout cleaning services, our first-class customer service, and our superior knowledge of Marin County - making our gutter cleaning and gutter repairs both fast and dependable.

The Gutter Guys gutter cleaners work around your schedule, providing gutter cleaning service so convenient that you don't even need to be at your property while we're on the job!

With The Gutter Guys gutter cleaners, our main concerns are your satisfaction and a job well done. We make sure that our rain gutter cleaning and downspout cleaning services match the beauty and precision of the Marin County homes and commercial properties that we are working on. By choosing The Gutter Guys, you are choosing the best in the business for long term home or commercial property gutter maintenance.

Call us for a FREE, no obligation assessment of your rain gutters and downspouts today!

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Marin Gutter Cleaning Services-Call Now-415-383-3131 Rain ...

Brentcleaners high level gutter cleaning

By: richard hajdu

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Brentcleaners high level gutter cleaning - Video

Gutter Cleaning Columbus Oh - 614-907-8144 / BBB-A Rated / Gutter Cleaning Columbus Oh
CLICK HERE - http://roofrevivers.com/our-services/gutter-repairsleaf-covers/ Providing Gutter Cleaning in Columbus Oh, Roof Revivers provides all gutter clea...

By: Roof Revivers

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Gutter Cleaning Columbus Oh - 614-907-8144 / BBB-A Rated / Gutter Cleaning Columbus Oh - Video