House Design

When it comes to furnishing the deck or patio, wrought iron patio furniture is one of the most popular choices because of its characteristic strength and classic style.  Through the years excellent surface coatings have been developed to protect the iron from rusting. For years, the best estates of Europe have owned outdoor furniture made of wrought iron.

The art of wrought iron has long been used for outdoor decor and living. The ornate chairs, tables, gliders and other furniture provide convenience and comfort for patios. They come in several colors, but traditional colors are black or white.

People can make the wrought iron chairs more comfortable by placing soft cushions in them.

Full Article…

Where I do inspections, I have the great joy of going into a lot of crawl spaces. People think I’m joking when I say that I “save the best for last” but I really do like the crawls. I have only been stuck six or seven times, but I have gotten out okay.

Some of the crawls are what I call “belly-crawlers”, where you never get onto your hands and knees. On the other extreme is the “cathedral”, where the house is built on a hill-side and one end of the crawl is hands-and-knees low, but the other is so tall you need a ladder to pull insulation around the perimeter and plumbing penetrations.

One of the most common questions I get is, “Do you see a lot of snakes?

Full Article…

Heloise

Here’s a hint from Heloise, the grande dame of housekeeping wisdom: If you want a career you’ll love, find one that presents constant challenges.

True, that tip has nothing to do with a tidy home. But after more than three decades, it’s still the secret to what keeps the columnist happily coming to her keyboard. Her “Hints From Heloise” column is syndicated in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and internationally, appearing seven days a week.

Full Article…

With temperatures dropping below zero here in the Northeast I thought it was fitting to write about Frozen Pipes. Each year thousands of homes are damaged by frozen water pipes. As ice expands inside of a water pipe it acts like an incredibly strong jack that causes most water pipes to burst resulting in damaging floods.

Preventing  frozen water pipes in your home should be a top priority if you live in a cold climate. Damage resulting from a frozen water pipe can cost hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. Preventing your pipes from freezing isnt that difficult if you know where the trouble spots might be located.

Full Article…

Hi all, Linda Facci here. Ive whipped up some free printable wine tags for you, which will be great for wine-and-cheese parties, Thanksgiving dinners and holiday get-togethers.

Most of my family prefers beer, but I like my wine. So, if I’m going to host a holiday party, thats the beverage of choice. How do I get my family and friends to learn a bit more about this fine drink ? I make it simple and fun with descriptive wine tags.

To make the tags, I researched some of the more popular red and white varietals, jotted down their pronunciations, and added a short general description:

Download the tags (youll need Adobe Reader), cut them out, and punch a hole in the top. T

Full Article…