On the Wire - Home Improvement Month
To celebrate National Home Improvement Month in May, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) offers homeowners the following advice when planning a remodel:
- Don’t wait for summer. Finding the right design, choosing a professional contractor, and securing the necessary financing for a home improvement project can sometimes take months, so NARI suggests that homeowners who want to start a project by summer start planning now. Demands for home improvements are still on the rise, leaving quality contractors booked far in advance.
- Think your project through from start to finish. Careful planning of your home improvement projects will enable you to update your home, increase the value of your investment and customize your living space-all for a lot less than the cost of a new home.
- Look over your property carefully. What repairs are needed? What improvements would you like to make? Think ahead and determine your future needs. Professional remodeling contractors can help you in your planning by outlining options and discussing the improvements you can make within your budget.
- Be sure to review your homeowner's insurance policy and make adjustments for the added value of the work being done.
Most homeowners can handle routine maintenance projects and cosmetic touchups, but it’s recommended they consult with qualified professionals for larger remodeling jobs and major changes to the home’s structure.
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Ask Tom & Leslie - Great Garage Floors
This week’s question comes to us from Mark. “I am considering putting down a new floor over the concrete floors in my garage and breezeway. I'm thinking about hiring a company who which uses a ‘hybrid polymer’ as the new floor. The price is about $5.95 a square foot which amounts to $3,100 based on the size of my garage and breezeway. Do you have any experience with this type of flooring? Also, since it would be far less expensive to paint the floors, would you recommend the latter?”
Mark, hybrid polymers are blends of paint resins that bind well to cement and have very good UV and abrasion qualities. Applications are known as “overlays” and more commonly referred to “skim coats.” Overlays are useful when the original concrete surface is worn, however, using this on a surface that is in good structural condition is over-kill and very, very expensive.
You can probably do this yourself and save thousands of dollars. We recommend using an epoxy coating system such as Quikrete's Epoxy Garage Floor Coating Kit. Epoxy system kits typically include a cleaning/etching solution used to wash the old floor down and get it ready for the new finish, a 2-part epoxy mix that ensures quick, thorough, cures and superior adhesion. The kits also include color chips, colorful flakes that are spread over the epoxy floor when wet and which give it an attractive, textured finish when fully dry. Epoxy delivers a coating twice as strong as concrete for the toughest garage floor in one coat and costs less than 30 cents per square foot, or about 20 times less than the hybrid polymer you were considering. We’d recommend you do this yourself and save the money for some nice garage cabinets!
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Got A Question About Your Money Pit?
You can do-it-yourself but you don't have to do-it-alone. Getting in touch with us is as easy as 1 - 2 or 3!
- The toll-free studio hot line is 1-888-MONEY PIT. Find out when we broadcast in your area by checking out our website at www.moneypit.com. Each week we take dozens of calls, give great advice and offer callers a chance to win a terrific prize awarded to one random caller to every show.
- Call when it's convenient for you, 24 hours a day, same number: 1-888-MONEY PIT. A live person takes your call 24/7! So -- WHENEVER you have a home improvement question -- phone it in. Simply tell our phone screener your first name, and where you're calling from...and ask your question. We’ll get back to you with the answer – or even call you back during the show!
- Click here to email your question to us. We may read your email on the air and we also respond personally to many of the email questions we get.
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On the Air - Hidden Home Dangers
Coming up next Money Pit radio show – hidden home dangers… we’ll tell you why household accidents and injuries happen when you least expect them, because of items in your home that seem perfectly harmless. To find out where we broadcast in your area, or to download our hugely popular Podcast, click here.
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Cool Tools - Power Hedge Trimmer
Ryobi is adding four new lawn and garden tools to its popular One 18-volt tool lineup this spring. The addition of a hedge trimmer, sprayer, pole pruner and blower means consumers can now take the same battery they use in their drills and circular saws and insert it into four products that will help them keep their yards tidy.
Weighing in at just 5.2 pounds, the Ryobi One hedge trimmer offers gardeners and lawn enthusiasts the power of an electric unit, but without the cumbersome extension cord. The quiet, but powerful motor, drives an 18-inch blade at up to 1,200 cuts per minute. The dual action blades are able to cut branches up to 3/8” thickness. Homeowners will find this to be an ideal tool for shaping boxwoods, trimming forsythia and even maintaining small ornamental trees such as Japanese Maples.
The Ryobi One System allows users to insert the same 18-volt battery into more than 30 different tools and lifestyle products. The battery works with all current, past and future Ryobi 18-volt tools. All tools can be purchased without batteries and chargers, keeping the price of individual components affordable. As with all Ryobi One System tools, the hedge trimmer comes with a 2-year warranty and is available exclusively at The Home Depot and retails for $39.97, battery and charger are sold separately. For more information visit: www.ryobitools.com.
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Short Cuts - Important AC Info
What you don’t’ know about central AC systems could cost you! An improperly matched split AC systems can increase your power bills, and make you less comfortable. The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) wants homeowners who are buying a new high-efficiency cooling system to know that you SHOULD NOT make the mistake of only replacing the broken unit of your two-part system. It may be the less expensive option, but this short-term fix will cost you more money and frustration down the road. The two parts of a split air conditioning or heat pump system - the indoor (coil) unit and outdoor (condensing) unit -- are specifically designed to work together as a coordinated "team" to provide top performance and maximum efficiency and comfort.
According to ARI, replacing only one of the two units will not achieve a higher efficiency, and could in fact reduce the system's capacity and efficiency to cool a home by up to 40 percent. What this means is that the system may not be able to keep up with the thermostat setting and run constantly. This will result in higher power bills because the system will have to work harder and run longer to keep the house cool.
Consumers need to ask their air conditioning installers to provide proof that the split cooling systems they are installing are properly matched to achieve their certified energy-efficiency ratings.
ARI is offering consumers a free brochure that explains the importance of a properly matched system. To obtain a free "Perfect Match" brochure, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to ARI Perfect Match, 4100 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22203. The brochure also can be
downloaded for free from ARI's Web site at www.ARI.org and click on "Consumers."
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Copyright 2006 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.
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