Home Warranty-Nicole
By: Jen Lysak
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Home Warranty-Nicole - Video
Your grill (and whats on it) may be the star of your next barbecue, but your house and deck could get less-than-rave reviews if their finishes have faded, notes Consumer Reports.
More manufacturers are promising greater longevity with long warranties that cover the cracking and dirt most homeowners gripe about. Paints that brush on without priming first and a stain you can roll over wet wood are time-savers, whether you hire a pro or do the job yourself. Roughly 25 percent of homeowners paint their own house, and 75 percent do the deck.
Ace Hardwares Royal Exteriors now rivals Home Depots Behr and Lowes Valspar, two of Consumer Reports top satin and semigloss paints. As with the Behr and Valspar, both Ace paints have a lifetime warranty and endured the equivalent of nine years outdoors without cracks. And at less than $30 per gallon, they cost up to $11 less. But the home center brands proved to be better at fending off dirt and mildew.
Home Depot is also facing tougher competition among the solid color deck stains that last longest and sell best at stores. Benjamin Moores Arborcoat Solid Deck and Siding, $46, looked better than Behrs Solid Color Waterproofing Wood Stain after two years of tests, and it fared just as well after three. But the Behr still wins in the war against dirt and mildew, and it costs almost $20 less.
But if you think youre fully covered by lifetime and other paint and stain warranties, think again. Outdoor testing shows that some paints and stains with similar warranties perform very differently.
Pick a paint based on your project. Flat and satin are what most people choose for siding, and semigloss adds sheen and contrast for trim. Among stains, solids hide the beauty of the grain in exchange for longer life; clear finishes show it all, but usually last no longer than a year. A smart compromise: Semitransparent stains, which show some of the grain and can still look good after two years.
Heres what else to keep in mind as you're shopping:
Consider the store. Most of the best paints and stains that Consumer Reports tested still come from Behr, making Home Depot your one-stop shopping destination if youre doing your house and deck. Its tests also found that the Glidden Premium Satin sold at Home Depot is generally a better bet than the Glidden Endurance Plus at Wal-Mart, though the Wal-Mart product is self-priming.
Plan around promos and sales. Youll also save year-round by buying 5-gallon containers instead of the usual gallon cans.
Protect yourself. For houses built before 1978, any painter you hire must be trained in lead-safe practices and certified by the Environmental Protection Agency. If your deck was built before 2004, it could have been made with chromated copper arsenate, which contains arsenic. Hire a pro who can safely contain and remove flaking finishes and potentially harmful sanding dust.
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Consumer Reports Shop Smart: Spruce up your home and deck
Virtual Tour: 13 Carrol St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
13 Carroll St - Home Warranty Help with Closing Costs!!! Come view this home before it #39;s gone. A 3 bedroom colonial on a quiet street, across from playground, near hospital, schools shopping....
By: Troy James
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Do-it-yourself work accounts for 37 percent of all home remodeling projects in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau.
The growing popularity of cable television channels with programming dedicated to home improvement including HGTV and the DIY Network, as well as the financial pressure of the economic downturn, may be inspiring home owners to take on home fixes and decorating challenges on their own.
However, it is important that homeowners consider the safety risks, time delays and hidden costs before attempting DIY home improvements.
Remodeling industry professionals report that about 30 percent of their work comes from fixing DIY debacles.
A homeowner should consider the worst case scenario of a DIY project and ask, "If this happens, would I be able to fix it?"
If the answer is no, a professional remodeler is the right choice.
Consumers are cautioned not to take on more than they are capable of doing both in terms of time and skill. There are relatively simple home projects that professional remodelers believe can be completed by DIYers such as hanging pictures, interior painting, caulking and changing door knobs and cabinet pulls. Homeowners with the correct tools and a higher skill level should be able to tackle some aesthetic work such as installing crown molding.
But here are some of the factors homeowners should consider before undertaking a DIY home improvement project:
DIY projects often take longer than expected, and trying to complete a project in the evenings or weekends could mean living with a home in disarray for weeks or months.
Hiring a professional means you will have a contract with a completion date and that the remodeler will bring in whatever help is necessary to get the job finished on time - and to deal with any unexpected issues that come up.
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House Calls: DIY project drawbacks
Call Kurtis What To Do Before Buying A Home Warranty Sep 19 2012
Find out more on these stories and more at http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/category/call-kurtis/ Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/CBSSacram...
By: CBS Sacramento
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Call Kurtis What To Do Before Buying A Home Warranty Sep 19 2012 - Video
FREE 90 Day Home Warranty - Premier Home Inspections - Conroe, Spring, Houston
You need more than just a home inspection; you need the professionals you can depend on even after the job is done. That #39;s why we back all of our inspections...
By: Lawrence Waidhofer
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FREE 90 Day Home Warranty - Premier Home Inspections - Conroe, Spring, Houston - Video
Published: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 8:25 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 8:25 p.m.
A two-bedroom home on Candlewick Street sat empty for years after the owner died and then Burger arrived in July, neighbor Robert Hall said. I knew she didnt belong there, Hall said.
The Volusia County Sheriffs Office arrested Burger, 68, on charges including fraud and forgery on July 17.
Officials in Deltona, where thousands of homes have fallen into foreclosure, have found at least four instances where its water department started service for suspected squatters. The City Commission recently approved a rental verification ordinance designed, in part, to prevent that.
Some Volusia property managers say squatting has become an ongoing problem, and while they are generally loathe to see more regulations on landlords, they say a rental verification process, like the one in Deltona, is needed.
So far this year, Burger showed up in two separate sheriffs reports five months apart.
Investigators said two movers complained in February about Burger after they carried all of her belongings from a home on Yellowbird Avenue into a U-Haul, drove it to another home and then were asked to break into the home for her.
The movers refused, then asked to be paid.
Burger led them around town, paused at one intersection, then whipped a u-turn and drove at a high rate of speed before eventually telling the movers by phone she wouldnt be paying them, the report states.
Investigators discovered she had filed for adverse possession a legal maneuver whereby squatters can try to take possession of unclaimed property after seven years on the Yellowbird Avenue home. They told her she was under criminal investigation for staying in the home and removing items from it that likely did not belong to her, a sheriffs report states.
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Deltona cracks down on squatters
1225 Collington Drive | Stan Partin
Take a Virtual Tour : http://fusion.realtourvision.com/tour.php?tourid=777232 referrer=youtube.com Hard to find Cary townhouse under $130000 especially an endunit. Interior was just painted...
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Landmark Home Warranty - R-22 (Freon) and R-410A (Puron)
What is R-22? And what is R-410A? And why should you care? Since 1987 the EPA has been phasing out R-22 (commonly called Freon), the coolant most frequently ...
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Landmark Home Warranty - R-22 (Freon) and R-410A (Puron) - Video
The Perfect Home for YOU!
For more details: http://www.visualtour.com/showvt.asp?t=3392574 107 Cherrywood Ct. Jacksonville, NC 28546 $141875, 3 bed, 2.0 bath, SF, MLS# 155441 Are you looking for a home in...
By: Tracy Dougherty
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The Perfect Home for YOU! - Video