Dryer Not Drying or Taking Too Long
To Dry Your Clothes? (Part 2)

April 15, 2010

A dryer is meant to be placed against an outer wall and vented directly out of the building. If the location of the laundry room in your new home doesn’t allow for this contingency, extensive duct runs may be required to expel the dryer’s moist, hot air out of doors. Last week, we talked about [...]

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Dryer Not Drying or Taking Too Long To Dry Your Clothes? (Part 1)

April 6, 2010

Your brand new dryer—just installed in your brand new house—is taking forever to dry your clothes. What’s wrong? Could it be that the dryer and the dryer vent don’t match? A dryer is meant to be placed against an outer wall and vented directly out of the building. If the location of the laundry room [...]

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How to Save Water Beautifully

March 25, 2010

Only 3 percent of all water on earth is fresh, and 2 percent of that is frozen in icecaps and glaciers. Selecting low-flow fixtures helps preserve this most precious resource. Low-flow fixtures supply less than the standard 2.2 (sink faucet) or 2.5 (showerhead) gallons per minute and are offered by many companies, including Kohler® (www.kohler.com), [...]

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Breathing Easier: 7 Steps For Building a Healthy Home

March 18, 2010

Why all the buzz about building  healthy homes? What does it mean and why does it make a difference? Building a healthy home is about selecting products and procedures that minimize the infiltration of irritating gases and reduce the particles in the air we breathe. AN EFFECT OF A HEALTHY, GREEN HOME: To give you [...]

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How to Avoid Change Order Charges

March 11, 2010

How can you avoid (or at least significantly reduce) change-order charges? Plan, Plan, Plan the details during the design stage. If you’re building a custom or semi-custom home, thorough construction planning will take longer than the construction process. Be patient and don’t allow yourself to be rushed. I know you’ll be anxious to break ground, [...]

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Change Orders: The Home-Building Budget Virus

March 8, 2010

The bad news is that construction change orders often infect the home-building process with unexpected expenses, costly move-in-date delays, and mounting frustration. The good news? You can nip this virus in the bud with a little old-fashioned construction planning. First of all, what’s a contractor change order? It’s a document outlining the cost of items [...]

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Prevent Your Energy Dollars
From Going Up In Smoke

February 8, 2010

When building a new home, a simple smoke test can show where leaks exist within your heating/air duct work. For long term energy savings and maintaining a green home, a smoke test will make a major difference. Here’s how to do a smoke test:

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Aging in Place: Using Handles and Pulls to Make Your Life Easier

January 27, 2010

When you age, a simple knob turn can prove to be a frustrating challenge. Today, let’s look at a couple simple changes which will simplify your life. Handles (as opposed to knobs) on hose bibs, faucets and doors are much easier to operate, as are pulls (versus knobs) on cabinet doors. Another desirable feature of [...]

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Aging in Place Home Design:
Planning For Bigger Doorways and Hallways

January 6, 2010

New home aging in place planning should account for potential future needs. A prime example: design of doorways and hallways. Wider doorways and hallways make manipulation of a walker or wheelchair possible. The minimum width of a doorway for wheelchair access is 32 inches. The ideal is 36 inches. Wider doorways also make it easier [...]

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Ease Into Age With Your New Home

January 4, 2010

Are you planning to retire in your new home, or do you anticipate your parents becoming part of your household in the future? A full quarter of the population consists of Baby Boomers who are at least 50 years old, so these types of questions often arise during discussions of a building or remodeling project.  [...]

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