I was staying overnight in Glasgow, waiting for a flight. It was a spanking new hotel. The room was very small. If I were leaning toward obese, I would have been disappointed, but I was okay with small. I had everything I needed. A comfortable bed, good room temperature, lovely natural light with a view, […]

Manufactured, composite, laminate, engineered; there are a lot of terms thrown around to label this type of finish flooring. There are a few manufacturing techniques available. The categories of choices are Engineered, Domestic, Exotic, Handscraped, and Stained, and all are not the same price, but close. You may be able to afford something exotic such […]

John Mansville AP Foil Faced Rigid Foam is a popular insulation applied to the exterior of an otherwise fiberglass insulated stud wall. At 2 inches thick, it has an insulation value of R-13. Added to an R-10, fiber batt insulated, 5.5 inch stud wall, you can achieve an R-33 wall. But you will need extension […]

Dow has a line of rigid foam board insulation in a number of thicknesses from .5 inch to 3 inches, with various ways of being joined at the edges. There is a board with grooves to be used for wrapping neatly around curved surfaces. With 3.5 inches of Ownes Corning’s CoreBond spray in foam between […]

They are called “On Demand Boilers” and they begin heating the water at the moment you turn on the faucet. The rest of the day, no energy is being consumed keeping a tank of water up to temperature. It makes sense. Winterizing a house is easier too. You don’t have to empty the water tank. […]

The minimum R-value for a LEED certified, energy efficient home is about to reach R-30. In a conventional stick framed home with 5.5 inch studs, fiberglass doesn’t offer this level of insulation. Many add 2 inches of rigid foam insulation to the outside of the studs. This works. You can achieve an R-35, but you […]

As it happens, your refrigerator is one of the three largest consumers of electricity in a small home. A new refrigerator that is Energy Star rating compliant will require roughly 400 kwh/year. At regional rates, that might range between $50 and $100 per year on your electric bill. A 20 year old refrigerator could consume […]