Smart Ways to Make Windows More Energy-Savvy

Smart Ways to Make Windows More Energy-Savvy

Article From HouseLogic.com

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Technology eventually will give birth to smart windows that adjust to the weather. But until that blessed event, here are tips on how to make your windows more clever and energy-efficient.

 We thought double-paned windows with low-emissive coating were pretty intelligent ways of letting in light and keeping out heat in summer. But it appears that window IQ will jump in a few years with the help of nanocrystal technology (http://www.npr.org/2011/11/28/142848063/tenergy-saving-possibilities-of-smart-windows?sc=17&f=1001), which lets panes adjust to the weather.

A flick of a switch will enable these "smart windows" to let in solar heat in winter and keep it out in summer, dramatically reducing energy bills that cost home owners $40 billion a year.

These smart windows are probably about three years away from the mass market, and a mass market price is even further off. Until then, put on your thinking cap to figure out how to reduce high energy bills during the hottest and coldest months of the year.

Here are a few HouseLogic ideas that we think are pretty smart.

          •Repair windows (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/windows-doors/save-money-repairing-windows/) that have cracked sashes or foggy insulated panes. Investing a few dollars and some sweat equity in these DIY projects can save you the cost of new windows, plus cut down on energy bills - maybe $20 annually for each repaired window.

          •Aesthetic as well as practical, window coverings (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/windows-doors/save-money-energy-efficient-window-coverings/), like honeycomb shades and plantation shutters, boost the insulating value of your windows.

          •If your windows are rattling, make baffles by cutting pine strips to fit inside the framed glass. You can secure the strips with finishing nails and wood glue. Caulk and paint the strips to match the original window and block air leaks.

          •If you want to go for the whole magilla and replace old windows, it's pricey - $500 to $1,000 per window. But the cost can be defrayed by energy savings over time, local and federal tax credits, and the added value to your home. If price isn't your concern and you live in an extreme climate - or you're adding a sunroom (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/windows-doors/sunroom-window-options/), you could opt for triple-paned windows filled with insulating argon gas, which really boost efficiency. Those are more expensive than standard windows by about $500.

What smarts things have you done to make your windows more energy efficient?

http://www.bonniehicks.com

"Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this.  Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS."

10 Ways to Boost Curb Appeal

10 Ways to Boost Curb Appeal 

Do you have listings that desperately need help in the curb-appeal department? If so, Mike Aubrey of RE/MAX Metropolitan Realty in Gaithersburg, Md., has solutions that can spruce up any home exterior.

Here's an excerpt featuring Aubrey’s 10 Ways to Boost Curb Appeal:

1. Take a fresh look. After living in a house, it’s easy – and convenient -- to stop noticing what needs fixing. For sellers in denial, Aubrey, known for his tough-talking approach to real estate, shows the seller pictures of competing homes, and says: "Buddy, if I were a buyer picking which home to see, yours would come in last."
2. View your house as a portrait. Create a composition where everything – hardscape, softscape, entryway, exterior walls and roof -- works together. Have the big picture before you proceed.
3. Green up the grass. If it’s brown, or has bald spots, fix it. While you’re at it, prune, weed and clean up the rest of the yard.
4. Fill flowerbeds. Plant flowers and shrubs that will look good now and later. That is, after summer annuals go, have something in planters that will bloom or change color in fall. Tier planters so taller shrubs are in back, smaller ones in front.
5. Refresh paint. If you can’t afford to paint the whole house, at least repaint the trim. Make doors and windows pop. "If a buyer walks up to a door that’s beat, they think, ‘This is a project house.’" That can kill a deal.
6. Color it carefully. Pick a palette that conforms to the neighborhood yet sets your house apart -- a fine but critical line. "Neutral isn’t the same as boring," says Aubrey, adding, "Don’t be that house where people drive by and say, ‘What happened here?’"
7. Revisit your approach. Design a welcome path from street to door, which should be the focus. Punch up walkways and driveways. If replacing them with good-looking pavers is out of the budget, add a stone or brick border. Fix or replace uneven or boring walkways.
8. Add polish. If your outdoor light fixtures look weathered, or your door handle looks worn, repaint or replace them. Shiny, new metal makes people say, "Oooo."
9. Tend to the little small stuff. Simple details like new address numbers, a new doorbell, a handsome mailbox and a fresh doormat say you care.
10. Add an element. A pediment over the entry, an upgraded front door, a cover over the porch, or some columns can add major drama for less money than you’d think.

What tips would you add to this list of 10 Ways to Boost Curb Appeal?

http://www.bonniehicks.com 

Aubrey’s tips appeared in the Sept. 10 syndicated column, "At Home with Marni Jameson." Jameson, a columnist and author of "House of Havoc" and "The House Always Wins," interviewed Aubrey for the piece, which appears in more than 30 U.S. and Canadian newspapers reaching over 7 million readers each week.

© 2010 RE/MAX, LLC. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

7 Hot Home Improvement Trends that Make Your Home Work for You

7 Hot Home Improvement Trends that Make Your Home Work for You

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Home improvement trends embrace energy efficiency, low maintenance exteriors, and double-duty space. 

Trend #1: Maintenance-free siding

We continue to choose maintenance-free siding that lives as long as we do, but with a lot less upkeep. But more and more we’re opting for fiber-cement siding, one of the fastest-growing segments of the siding market. It’s a combination of cement, sand, and cellulosic fibers that looks like wood but won’t rot, combust, or succumb to termites and other wood-boring insects.

At $5 to $9 per sq. ft., installed, fiber-cement siding is more expensive than paint-grade wood, vinyl, and aluminum siding. It returns 78% of investment, the highest return of any upscale project on Remodeling magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report.

Maintenance is limited to a cleaning and some caulking each spring. Repaint every 7 to 15 years. Wood requires repainting every 4 to 7 years.

Trend #2: Convertible spaces

Forget “museum rooms” we use twice a year (dining rooms and living rooms) and embrace convertible spaces that change with our whims.

Foldaway walls turn a private study into an easy-flow party space. Walls can consist of fancy, glass panels ($600 to $1,600 per linear ft., depending on the system); or they can be simple vinyl-covered accordions  ($1,230 for 7 ft. by 10 ft.). PortablePartions.com sells walls on wheels ($775 for approximately 7 ft. by 7 ft.).

A Murphy bed pulls down from an armoire-looking wall unit and turns any room into a guest room. Prices, including installation and cabinetry, range from $2,000 (twin with main cabinet) to more than $5,000 (California king with main and side units). Just search online for sellers.

And don’t forget area rugs that easily define, and redefine, open spaces.

Trend #3: A laundry room of your own

Humankind advanced when the laundry room arose from the basement to a louvered closet on the second floor where clothes live. Now, we’re taking another step forward by granting washday a room of its own.

If you’re thinking of remodeling, turn a mudroom or extra bedroom into a dedicated laundry room big enough to house the washer and dryer, hang hand-washables, and store bulk boxes of detergent.

Look for spaces that already have plumbing hookups or are adjacent to rooms with running water to save on plumbing costs.

Trend #4: Souped-up kitchens

Although houses are trending smaller, kitchens are getting bigger, according to the American Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey.

Kitchen remodels open the space, perhaps incorporating lonely dining rooms, and feature recycling centers, large pantries, and recharging stations.

Oversized and high-priced commercial appliances—did we ever fire up six burners at once?—are yielding to family-sized, mid-range models that recover at least one cabinet for storage. 

Since the entire family now helps prepare dinner (in your dreams), double prep sinks have evolved into dual-prep islands with lots of counter space and pull-out drawers.

Trend #5: Energy diets

We’re wrestling with an energy disorder: We’re binging on electronics—cell phones, iPads, Blackberries, laptops--then crash dieting by installing LED fixtures and turning the thermostat to 68 degrees.

Are we ahead of the energy game? Only the energy monitors and meters know for sure.

These new tracking devices can gauge electricity usage of individual electronics ($20 to $30) or monitor whole house energy ($100 to $250). The TED 5000 Energy Monitor ($240) supplies real-time feedback that you can view remotely and graph by the second, minute, hour, day, and month.

Trend #6: Love that storage

As we bow to the new god of declutter, storage has become the holy grail.

We’re not talking about more baskets we can trip over in the night; we’re imagining and discovering built-in storage in unlikely spaces--under stairs, over doors, beneath floors.

Under-appreciated nooks that once displayed antique desks are growing into built-ins for books and collections. Slap on some doors, and you can hide office supplies and buckets of Legos.

Giant master suites, with floor space to land a 747, are being divided to conquer clutter with more walk-in closets.

Trend #7: Home offices come out of the closet

Flexible work schedules, mobile communications, and entrepreneurial zeal are relocating us from the office downtown to home.

Laptops and wireless connections let us telecommute from anywhere in the house, but we still want a dedicated space (preferably with a door) for files, supplies, and printers.

Spare bedrooms are becoming home offices and family room niches are morphing into working nooks. After a weekend of de-cluttering, basements and attics are reborn as work centers.

I hope these "7 Hot Home Improvement Trends That Make Your Home Work For You" gave you some useful ideas!  http://www.bonniehicks.com 

"Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this.  Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS."