As a home owner/renter you can increase the efficiency of your heating system by doing a few fall tune-ups. The heating unit itself should not be tampered with. If you feel that your heating system is not performing to past standards call a licensed heating specialist. Gas, electric, and oil burning units carry high voltage and could impose a serious injury or health hazard. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Air Filter Replacement Changing the air filter is a simple fix. The purpose of a filter... more

Here are some do’s and don’ts to help keep your hardwood floor looking like new: Enemy Number 1: Water Regardless of its finish your floor will quickly lose its luster if exposed to water. More serious damage is also possible including warping and other problems. DO: Wipe up any spills immediately with a soft, dry cloth, starting at the edges of the spill and working your way toward the center. DON’T:... more

Nelson Hardwood floors have come a long way in the last quarter century. We are now seeing hardwood floors in kitchens, baths, and utility rooms. In choosing a floor, you need to know what types of wood you have to work with. Hardwood floors are healthier than wall-to-wall carpeting. They keep down such allergy-producing matter as dust, pollen, and animal dander. Installing hardwood floors can greatly increase... more

The average U.S. household spends over $1,300 per year on their home utility bills for heating or cooling. Unfortunately, a large part of that energy is wasted unnecessarily. We Americans waste, through poorly insulated windows and doors, about as much energy as we get from the Alaskan pipeline every year. The typical home loses over 25% of its heat through its windows. However, by using a few simple inexpensive energy-efficient... more

Retro Fit Radiant Heating Into Your Older Home Imagine yourself curled up at home on a typical cold, rainy Northwest autumn afternoon. You put your feet to the floor, expecting the usual bone-chilling arctic freeze. Instead, your toes touch a warm surface that radiates gentle heat up toward your limbs like asphalt on a summer night. This is radiant floor heat. Another plus to radiant heating is that it can be installed... more

This is Part 2 of a two part series on patching, sanding, and sanding a wood floor. In Part 1 we began a floor repair for three boards. After the floor was stained, dents in these boards had become apparent and had to be removed. Without using any topnails or damaging any nearby boards, the offending boards were removed and replaced. Now it’s time to sand them down and stain them to blend in with the original floor. The key to any good stain job is the right sanding job. This repair is no... more

This is Part 1 of a two part series on patching, sanding, and sanding a wood floor. Whatever the circumstance, the time may come when you need to replace some boards in your home’s hardwood floor. Unless refinishing the entire floor is a possibility, the only option you may have is to replace the damaged board and blend the repair into the rest of the floor. Part 2 will cover sanding and staining. The following steps explain how to complete a small floor repair and when complete the repair... more

When choosing a contractor to work on your home, the one universal bit of advice is: Interview three contractors and choose the middle bid. The reasoning behind this theory is, supposedly, that the highest one charges too much for his services and the lowest one underbids and then asks for more money later. The middle bid, however, is just right. Maybe. If this theory is universally accurate, all you have to do is follow its formula, confident that everything will be all right, and relax happily-ever-after... more