The data is in and it looks good for home remodelers. Improvement spending is at the highest its been in about five years with 2013 on track to being the best year for home remodeling since 2005, with 182 markets in the Residential Remodeling Index surpassing previous peaks and 364 other markets expecting growth. Not […]
NY, NJ Keep Up Pressure on Rogue Contractors
On August 15th, the Attorneys General in both New York and New Jersey sent a message to 216 home improvement firms with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for alleged violations of state consumer laws. New York reached a settlement with 211 contractors, each of which ended up paying a fine of about $1500, […]
Size of New Homes Continues to Edge Up
The Survey of Construction (SOC), which is conducted by the Census Bureau and is partly funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), recently released data that suggests that the trend towards smaller houses which began in 2009 when the market fell has reversed itself. In fact, not only has the trend […]
Self-Taught MBA: Strategies for Communicating with Couples
While not typically what comes to mind when you think of couples therapy, conflicts from construction projects have been intense enough to create at least one counseling group that specializes specifically in helping couples through this time, as well as also offering advice to contractors on how to help couples anticipate the kinds of problems […]
Builders’ Sentiment Continues Rise
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 being the tipping point to mark where more builders are experiencing good market conditions than otherwise. For August, this index has increased to 59, which is the highest score in almost 8 years. Since June, the index has been above 50, showing […]
Housing Starts a Mixed Bag
Data recently released from the U.S. Census Bureau, working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, shows that housing starts for privately owned homes came in at a seasonally adjusted rate of 896,000 for July, which is 6% higher than predicted after the June results came in and a whole 21% higher than July […]
Getting Power from Solar Equipment When the Grid is Down
One of the biggest complaints about solar-electric (also known as photovoltaic or PV) systems is that the energy produced by them is still inaccessible when the electric grid is down. This can be understandably frustrating for people who have invested large amounts of money into their PV systems and still have to put up with […]
The Versatile Barn Idea
After attending a wedding in a restored barn, Dan Gregory was inspired to pen this article for touting the versatility and history of the barn structure for various purposes. It is said that the form of the barn comes from Roman basilica (or law court), though people are unsure whether the barn or the basilica […]
A Stupid—and Illegal—Way to Air Condition Your Garage
At the front of this article is a picture of a garage from Austin Texas with three air conditioning vents set up in it. There are a few mistakes in this kind of set up. The first is air conditioning the garage at all. For the average person who plans to use their garage as […]
Zero Home is the Most Energy Efficient House in America
To summarize home efficiency simply, Beth Buczynski of Earth Techling writes that efficient is better than not and more efficient is likewise better than less efficient. To that end, the Zero Home may be the best home there is. The Zero Home is a single-family smart home which is the first to be certified as […]