Everyone knows you need to change the oil in your car on a regular basis, every 3 months (3,000 miles) if you’re diligent or you might wait to get to 5,000 miles? As few of us are skilled mechanics, we tend to take our car in for routine maintenance following the published schedule. So what’s different when it comes to maintaining your home?
We’ll show you the numbers. The key message here is maintaining your home is one of the best investments you can make. Where most cars will depreciate to near zero in less than 10 years, your home will appreciate with consistent maintenance and timely repairs.
Comparing Cars to Houses
Where there are a handful of car manufacturers there are a few large construction companies and 1,000s of independent builders. Car manufacturers use dealer networks to sell their cars, and the dealers provide maintenance and repair services. Very few builders offer similar home maintenance and repair services as the business model for new construction versus small jobs is quite different, i.e. months versus hours.
People and especially home owners are too busy with work, commuting and family commitments to devote enough time to home maintenance. Unfortunately when routine home maintenance is deferred too long, the resulting damage requires repairs that are far more costly. That’s why numerous handyman franchise businesses like Mr Handyman are popping up, to help home owners protect their single largest investment … their homes. What’s missing is a published schedule of home maintenance tasks, similar to what car service departments post on their walls. We hope to provide you with an owners manual, i.e. checklists right here, so please let us know if there’s a specific home maintenance checklist you feel is missing.
Budgeting and Scheduling Your Home Maintenance
When it comes to setting a budget for home maintenance, the general rule is to set aside 1 to 2% of the purchase price based on the age of the home. In addition to routine maintenance like an annual heating/cooling system tune-up, money also needs to be set aside for replacing major systems and appliances as these can be costly, i.e. a new roof can run $5,000 to $25,000 depending on materials used and roof size/complexity.
Articles on budgeting for home maintenance and repairs have little hard data. That’s where we can learn from car maintenance data using AAA’s 2010 survey, Your Driving Costs. Using a medium size sedan like a Ford Fusion driven 15,000 miles/yr cost, the cost is $8,430/year … yikes. Now let’s compare maintenance costs for a car versus a house:
Total Car Cost for medium size sedan driven 15,000 miles/yr
Total House Costs with mortgage of $200,000, 30 yrs at 5% interest plus operating costs and ownership from Consumer Expenditures, US Dept of Labor April 2009.
Car Costs
House Costs
Total Annual Cost
$8,436/yr
$20,564
Operating Costs (gas & tires for cars; utilities for houses)
12.88 cents or 23%
$3,477/yr or 17%
Maintenance (operations & housekeeping supplies for houses)
People are talking about green but what does it mean? Maybe you’ve heard about going green, living green, green homes, green building, green remodeling, green building materials, green architecture, recycled products, green cleaning products and the list goes on. The challenge is figuring out what these words mean and more important, how home owners can prioritize.
Basic Green Concepts
To start, it might make more sense to explain some of the concepts behind the green movement. Green relates to resources. For example, bamboo is a green material because it grows faster than the useful life of most products made from bamboo. Bamboo is a popular choice for flooring and you can also find bamboo cabinets for your kitchen or bathroom.
Green can also refer to the processes used to manage resources. Remodeling often involves removing an existing structure, i.e. kitchen cabinets. By reusing these cabinets in your garage or donating them to your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, you are extending the useful life of the cabinets which reduces demand for new cabinets. Recycling materials is green because it reduces the use of raw materials to replaces these products.
When purchasing products for your home, thinking green means thinking about the materials that went into making the product. These resources fall into 3 categories: renewable, non-renewable and perpetual resources.
Perpetual Resources - are resources not affected by human use, i.e. sunlight and wind.
Renewable Resources - are resources that can be replenished using renewable processes, i.e. growing corn because you can grow a crop, harvest it and grow another crop in the same place.
Non-Renewable Resources – are resources with a fixed supply, i.e. coal, oil and natural gas. They may be replaced but it will take 1,000s of years.
Protecting the Environment
Most of us take our natural habitat for granted and we can’t. the world’s population is growing and we need to protect our fresh groundwater, clean air, land and soil, trees. The question is how? You can simply start thinking about how your actions affect the environment.
If you keep doing the same thing, can you, your children and the generations to come keep doing the same thing? Something as simple as using the new grocery bags will mean you’re no longer wasting the raw materials that go into paper or plastic bags. Here’s how you’ll know if what you’re doing is sustainable.
Sustainable processes cannot use non-renewable fossil fuels like coal and oil.
Sustainable processes cannot reduce supplies of fresh water or topsoil.
Sustainable processes must leave stocks of fish and other wildlife as rich and varied as they were before the process started.
The intent of sustainable design is to eliminate any negative environmental impact through our actions. It will affect how products are harvested and/or manufactured, packaged and brought to market. Sustainable design ideally will require no non-renewable resources and have minimal impact on the environment. It will affect our homes from their design to the building processes and materials used. Today we take electricity for granted. Tomorrow our homes will become self-sufficient, generating the electricity we need. That’s why there are tax incentives for solar and wind energy producing products today, to spur research and development to achieve this goal.
Wondering where new home products come from? Some are driven by goverment standards like higher efficiency for windows and doors based on European standards that through the US industry into an uproar. Many come from commercial construction, ultimately working their way into residential construction.
Times Magazines 50 Best Inventions of 2009
(Here’s what’s coming for your home!)
$10 Million Lightbulb (#3) – was the first submission in the US Dept of Energy’s competition for an LED (technology beyond today’s CFL lightbulbs) contest to find an LED alternative to the 60 watt lightbulb, which accounts for 50% of the US market.
Title the Smart Thermostat by Time (#4) – the EnergyHub Dashboard, connects to your home systems, i.e. think furnace, and appliances and displays how much energy (gas or electric) is being used, andhow much it’s costing you. Then you can decide what steps you want to take to reduce usage and/or upgrade to more efficient systems.
Coming soon, Solar Shingles (#13) – expected to cost (10-15%) less than traditional solar panels, they’ll also be easier to install. 10% to 15% less than traditional solar panels and will be cheaper and quicker to install.
The Bladeless Fan (#21) - looks pretty cool and functions much the way air circulates in an attic. Air is pulled in through vents in the base (soffits) and pushed out by an impeller (Wikipedia) over a circular airfoil-shaped ramp that creates a steady stream of cool air, and because there are no blades, it’s safer.
In school we had to do research, write papers and more as that’s the life of a student. Hopefully most home owners have fond memories of school after a few years and realize that life is a journey and we’re always learning something new. Few of today’s home owners know much about home maintenance which is why I’m writing this blog, to help you learn more about making the right decisions for your home and family.
The world today looks nothing like the one we grew up in. Just think about all the electronic gadgets surrounding us. It’s hard to remember life without a computer, a cell phone, a microwave or central air conditioning (for most of us?).
Smart Buying Tips 4 Home Products
While homes and the materials they’re built with aren’t changing as quickly as technology (and we’re thankful for this), there are lots of new products being introduced. It’s wise to stay abreast of these new products as some day you’ll be deciding on a new roof, hot water heater or a new deck in the backyard.
Rather than try and describe every new product when it arrives locally, I decided it made more sense to give you a checklist of things you should think about when it’s time to research one/more products for an upcoming project around your home.
Resource Efficiency – means considering how effectively a product (and it’s packaging) uses recycled materials like the new carpeting made from recycled plastic bottles. You can also look at the materials used to create a product and whether they’re sustainable resources like bamboo which grows twice as fast as wood. Lastly you should consider products that are built to last a long time, i.e. where moving parts are made from metal versus plastic.
A story I often share with customers is about Kohler, a well know plumbing brand. I tell clients when you buy a Kohler toilet at one of the box stores, it comes from China and the parts inside are plastic so they aren’t going to last long, nor can you find replacement parts easily if at all. Kohler toilets that you buy at a plumbing supply store come from Kohler, Wisconsin and the parts inside are metal … and I think you get the message.
Indoor Air Quality - has to do with the chemicals and particles that are in the air you breath inside your home. Many of the materials used to construct your home, along with many furnishings give off chemicals that aren’t healthy. For example, paints have shifted from oil base to water, and are now moving towards low/no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). There are new products like drywall that resist moisture or inhibit the growth of mold.
Energy Efficiency – means buying products like double pane windows or an energy efficient hot water heater, to save energy. What isn’t efficient is buying a new Energy Star refrigerator for the kitchen and putting the old refrigerator in the garage for overflow. This happens too often as home owners forget to step back and look at the big picture.
Water Conservation – is more important from an environmental perspective unless you live in a state where water shortages are common and the cost of clean water is relatively high, i.e. California. There aren’t enough water sources to keep up with our population growth so products that conserve water are important. New front loading washing machines use less water but only when run full. Low flow toilets use less water with each flush. Low flow shower heads use less water but not if you add extra shower heads in the same shower. You can also pick climate appropriate trees, shrubs and lawn that use less water.
Affordability - is a personal decision as only you can prioritize family expenditures. These are tough decisions so consider not just product cost but also installation and maintenance costs for the life of the product. An inexpensive water heater might need to be replaced in 6 to 8 years while a medium quality water heater should last up to 15 years. A pressure treated deck might not be such a bargain when you add in the cost of staining and sealing it every 2 years.
When researching your products you should get manufacturers information including Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) test data and product warranties. You’ll also want to look for recycled and source data, durability and environmental information. Where available, certification by a government (Energy Star) or industry organization is really helpful. For example, the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label and Green Label Plus testing and certification to identify those carpets, carpet backings, cushions and adhesives that emit low VOCs
With all the hype about green, it’s hard to know what going green means. The concept is to reduce your impact on the environment, ideally to make it neutral. If you convert a natural material like wood into a building material like flooring, you want the floors to last longer than the time it takes for new trees to replace those cut down for your floors.
Let’s look inside your home for ways to reduce your impact on the environment, by reducing the number of trees used to build or renovate your home. There’s wood everywhere. Most homes are framed in wood although commercial steel framing is moving into residential construction. Your wood trim if painted is made up of small, finger-jointed pieces of wood (generally 6/fewer inches) which is a good thing. These pieces would otherwise go to waste (not really as they might become fuel for electrical generation just like wood chips today).
Wood Flooring Choices
Dining Room with Bamboo Flooring
Most of your cabinets (kitchen and bathrooms) are made of wood and wood continues to be the most popular flooring material. Let’s look at your different wood flooring choices:
Hardwoods – come come from deciduous trees (lose their leaves) like oak, maple, myrtle, hickory, elm and cherry. Hardwoods grow slowly making them more dense which people often think means they’re harder and that’s why they hold up well to food traffic.
Softwoods – come from conifers like fir, pine, cedar, and redwood. Softwood is usually less dense and contains more resin which affects how they burn.
Note: What determines if a type of wood is hardwood or softwood has to do with the way the wood fibers versus the actual hardness. This characteristic is most relevant to firewood and the heat given off by burning these woods.
Engineered woods – also known as composite or man-made wood include a range of products manufactured using combinations of strands, fibers, particles or veneers of wood along with adhesives to hold the materials together. These flooring products are often less expensive because they use less natural material.
Reclaimed or salvaged lumber – is now being promoted as the public focus on going green increases the acceptance and value to recycling these materials, much the way old barn siding has been treasured for years.
Renewable woods – include bamboo, cork and eucalyptus. These woods are renewable because they grow twice as fast as traditional hardwood forests, and even softwoods like pine. When installed and maintained, these sustainable wood species will last as long as hardwood flooring.
The renewable woods offer an exciting new option for home owners who want to make their homes more green. Most manufacturers are adding bamboo products to their flooring and cabinet lines. Cork is a great solution for home owners who spend lots of time in the kitchen as it’s cellular structure traps air providing a natural shock absorbing feel to the floor.
Shopping Tips for Green Flooring
When buying any flooring product, buy one that has very low VOC content. While your flooring material may be environmentally friendly, don’t forget to check the content of any stains, sealers or polish you apply to the floor.
Common practice says you get a home inspection when you buy a house. You do this to insure that the home you are buying is sound and there aren’t any hidden problems that will cost you $1,000s of dollars to repair. You want to know that the new roof is really new and won’t have to be replaced for another 20 years.
Some home buyers think they can skip a home inspection when they’re buying a new home, especially if they’ve been monitoring progress from the beginning. They also know there have been numerous inspections by the local building inspector which can create a false sense of security. There are lots of things that go wrong these days in new construction, as the builder aren’t on site all the time. Some problems are honest mistakes but often there are missing materials and/or skipped steps that aren’t easy to spot, especially when the home is completed.
One/More Inspections are a Must for New Construction
Here the 10 most common problems we find with newer homes. One clue is to look more closely at the work completed last, as that’s where everyone is scrambling to get ready for closing:
Deck Support Posts – Decks often go on last. We’ve had to jack up decks to dig holes and pour footings to give the proper support. When posts settle, you’ll find your deck/stairs sloping.
Window Flashing – Unfortunately new construction windows come with integrated flanges so you can’t see if the layering of the water barrier was done correctly. Water can pour into the house or seep slowly so watch for light brown stains near doors/windows.
Water Barrier – We’ve seen every type of problem here from patches of siding unprotected to an entire house with no moisture barrier protecting the wood sheathing under the siding.
Bathroom/Dryer Vents – A common problem is vents ending in the attic where moisture can support mold growth. We’ve also seen vents left in floor joists or flexible hosing cramped so dryer lint can’t escape.
Shared GFI Outlets – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFIs) are required near water sources, i.e. bathrooms and kitchen. They protect you by cutting off the flow of electricity if there is a problem. These circuits are supposed to be dedicated but we often find them shared.
Nail Pops – Drywall must be installed with the proper nails or screws to remain tight when walls and ceilings shift slightly as the ground settles. It’s common for a builder to come back after 1 year to repair nail pops but after that, the home owner has to deal with this nuisance problem.
Solid Framing – Drywall also shifts when framing isn’t strong enough. Make sure that plumbers, electricians and HVAC installations don’t compromise your framing when they cut away wood to install their systems.
Attic Ventilation – When home owners call about adding insulation, we also discuss ventilation. If soffit vents are installed but blocked by insulation, you’re likely to end up with rotted wood in the attic/roof.
Properly Sized Systems – Careful planning is needed for the right size heating and hot water systems. Plan ahead in case you’re considering finishing the attic or basement later.
Wiring for Electronics – Amazingly many new homes aren’t wired for the Internet, and I don’t mean just the home office. With home automation approaching, every room should be wired which is so easy during construction and difficult once walls, floors and ceilings are finished.
Common practice says you get a home inspection when you buy a house. You do this to insure that the home you are buying is sound and there aren’t any hidden problems that will cost you $1,000s of dollars to repair. You want to know that the new roof is really new and won’t have to be replaced for another 20 years.
Some home buyers think they can skip a home inspection when they’re buying a new home, especially if they’ve been monitoring progress from the beginning. They also know there have been numerous inspections by the local building inspector which can create a false sense of security. There are lots of things that go wrong these days in new construction, as the builder aren’t on site all the time. Some problems are honest mistakes but often there are missing materials and/or skipped steps that aren’t easy to spot, especially when the home is completed.
One/More Inspections are a Must for New Construction
Here the 10 most common problems we find with newer homes. One clue is to look more closely at the work completed last, as that’s where everyone is scrambling to get ready for closing:
Deck Support Posts – Decks often go on last. We’ve had to jack up decks to dig holes and pour footings to give the proper support. When posts settle, you’ll find your deck/stairs sloping.
Window Flashing – Unfortunately new construction windows come with integrated flanges so you can’t see if the layering of the water barrier was done correctly. Water can pour into the house or seep slowly so watch for light brown stains near doors/windows.
Water Barrier – We’ve seen every type of problem here from patches of siding unprotected to an entire house with no moisture barrier protecting the wood sheathing under the siding.
Bathroom/Dryer Vents – A common problem is vents ending in the attic where moisture can support mold growth. We’ve also seen vents left in floor joists or flexible hosing cramped so dryer lint can’t escape.
Shared GFI Outlets – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFIs) are required near water sources, i.e. bathrooms and kitchen. They protect you by cutting off the flow of electricity if there is a problem. These circuits are supposed to be dedicated but we often find them shared.
Nail Pops – Drywall must be installed with the proper nails or screws to remain tight when walls and ceilings shift slightly as the ground settles. It’s common for a builder to come back after 1 year to repair nail pops but after that, the home owner has to deal with this nuisance problem.
Solid Framing – Drywall also shifts when framing isn’t strong enough. Make sure that plumbers, electricians and HVAC installations don’t compromise your framing when they cut away wood to install their systems.
Attic Ventilation – When home owners call about adding insulation, we also discuss ventilation. If soffit vents are installed but blocked by insulation, you’re likely to end up with rotted wood in the attic/roof.
Properly Sized Systems – Careful planning is needed for the right size heating and hot water systems. Plan ahead in case you’re considering finishing the attic or basement later.
Wiring for Electronics – Amazingly many new homes aren’t wired for the Internet, and I don’t mean just the home office. With home automation approaching, every room should be wired which is so easy during construction and difficult once walls, floors and ceilings are finished.
When you think about doing things around your home, they often feel big, overwhelming and expensive. That’s why we wanted to share ideas for some of the smaller features you can add to your home that won’t break the bank and because a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ll share our ideas with photos. Some of these we’ve installed for home owners, and others are ideas we think you’ll enjoy.
The first rule when buying a home is location. The second rule is … you don’t want to own the most expensive home in the neighborhood so you need to consider which features are most important to you. As you consider extra features, you also want to balance those that enhance atmosphere and those that provide functionality or cost savings.
Ceiling Fans Can Save You Money
In moderate climates, ceiling fans are an alternative to air conditioning. Where air conditioning is required, ceiling fans can reduce the number of months when you need to run the air conditioner … and ceiling fans will let you save on air conditioning costs WHEN you increase the thermostat temperature by several degrees. If you normally set your thermostat at 76 degrees in the summer, with a ceiling fan you can raise the thermostat to 78 or 79 degrees and be just as comfortable. If you forget to raise the thermostat then you won’t save money because your air conditioner will run just as much.
How Does a Ceiling Fan Lower the Temperature?
The ceiling fan never lowers the temperature of the air, so it won’t cool the room where it’s running. Ceiling fans cool people because the air blowing over your body increases the amount of evaporation from your skin, which is how we cool ourselves. You therefore need to be sitting under the fan or nearby so there is air blowing across your body. You also want to turn the fan on and off, just as you turn lights on and off when you enter or leave a room.
In the winter you can reverse the direction of your fan and it will blow the warm, ceiling air down. If the warmer air causes the thermostat to stay warmer, it will cause the heating system to run less and save you money similar to savings with your air conditioner. You have to be careful though as the air movement can also create drafts which might cause some people to raise the thermostat temperature and you’ll spend more for heating. It’s recommended that you run your fan on the lowest setting during the winter to avoid this problem.
Ceiling Fan Costs and Savings
How much you spend on a ceiling fan is based on personal preferences. Prices vary from $50 to more than $1,000 although we recommend with moving parts, that you buy a fan from a reliable lighting or electrical supply store. Double check when getting a fan with a remote control, as we’ve had customer situations where the fan did not work with the remote, causing much stress for the customer and our handyman technicians. Generally you can save about 15% of your air conditioning bill, which will vary based on where you live, your lifestyle and the cost of electricity. If your electric bills are very high, you likely have a bigger problem like inadequate insulation, need caulking around your doors and windows or possibly it’s time to get a more energy efficient air conditioner.
When you buy a ceiling fan, the best size will depend on the size of the room where the fan will be installed. Generally a small 36 inch fan will be fine for rooms up to 9 x 12 feet. For larger rooms you’ll want a larger fan – 48 inches for rooms up to 12 by 15 feet and a 56 inch fan for larger rooms. Long narrow rooms may need 2 smaller fans for effective air circulation.
It’s summer so it seems strange talking about updating your home to reduce your heating bill … which won’t start arriving for several months? If you’re using any type of air conditioning, central or room, the changes will also reduce your cooling costs. That’s because the techniques to insulate your home all focus on reducing the amount of air flow between spaces. There are 2 basic ways your home loses heat:
Conditioned air inside your home can leak to the outside, and be replaced by outside air which then needs to be heated or cooled.
Heat (or cooled) are can be lost inside your home, from air ducts that distribute warmed/cooled air throughout the house to hot water pipes (for plumbing and heating) that release heat stored in the water.
You can reduce your heating budget by installing more efficient heating systems and/or hot water heater so keep reading to see the range of products currently eligible for federal tax credits.
Federal Tax Credits End in December 2010
The Federal Tax Credits available through year end 2010, apply to your “principal residence“. The credit has a cap of $1,500 which covers all products installed from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. For each product, you need a Manufacturer’s Certification Statement, a signed statement certifying the product qualifies for the tax credit. Check the manufacturer’s web site or call them to get this documentation. All receipts and supporting documentation should be saved for your records although they do not need to be submitted with IRS form 5695, Residential Energy Credits.
Most products require professional installation. Some like insulation and weather stripping can be installed by home owners. The table below identifies which products can claim a credit for installation costs, i.e. labor costs for installing insulation are not eligible for the tax credit even though blown-in insulation should only be installed by experienced professionals.
Products that REDUCE Heat Loss
% Tax Credit
Install Costs
Expiration Date
Bulk insulation (batts, rolls, blow-in fibers, rigid boards, expanding spray, pour-in-place or spray foam in a can)
30%
No
12/2010
Home sealing products like weather stripping and house wrap, help reduce air flow
30%
No
12/2010
Any roofing product that meets ENERGY STAR qualifications for solar reflectance (achieved through pigmented coatings, cooling granules and other new technology)
30%
No
12/2010
All windows that meet ENERGY STAR qualification (U factor <=0.30 and SHGC <=0.30)
30%
No
12/2010
All doors, including patio doors, French doors that meet ENERGY STAR qualification as windows (U factor <=0.30 and SHGC <=0.30). Some garage doors may also qualify.
30%
No
12/2010
Storm doors/windows must in combination with the exterior windowver which it is installed, meet same the same criteria (U factor <=0.30 and SHGC <=0.30).
30%
No
12/2010
The following products focus on burning fuel more efficiently, and installation costs are eligible for the tax credit. There are also products like geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and solar energy systems that focus on harnessing energy versus using it. Their tax credits extend to 2016 and do not have a 30% cap on costs eligible for the tax credit.
Home Products That Burn More Efficiently
% Tax Credit
Install Costs
Expiration Date
Biomass stoves but not the hearth, stovepipe or chimney for a biomass stove
Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan, the fan or blower motor that blows heated air through the duct system. It may qualify even when your furnace doesn’t qualify.
30%
Yes
12/2010
Heat pumps (viable in moderate climates)
30%
Yes
12/2010
Central air conditioning; window air conditioners and evaporative coolers are not eligible
30%
Yes
12/2010
Natural gas, propane or oil hot water boilers that circulate water throughout the house via baseboard units, radiators or in-floor radiant tubing
30%
Yes
12/2010
Natural gas, propane or oil furnaces that use the combustion of fuel and air to create heat
Everyone knows you need to change the oil in your car on a regular basis, every 3 months (3,000 miles) if you’re diligent or you might wait to get to 5,000 miles? As few of us are skilled mechanics, we tend to take our car in for routine maintenance following the published schedule. So what’s different when it comes to maintaining your home?
The first rule when buying a home is location. The second rule is … you don’t want to own the most expensive home in the neighborhood so you need to consider which features are most important to you. As you consider extra features, you also want to balance those that enhance atmosphere and those that provide functionality or cost savings.
