Are You Investing in Your Home This Year?

As I was reading the Angie’s List Company Connect newsletter this afternoon, I came across a surprising figure: 60 percent of members polled say they plan to invest more money in their homes this year than they did in 2008. Additionally, most members say they will hire a professional to do the work for them. Most also plan to pay for the work outright rather than to finance it.

More than 50 percent of the members polled say now is a good time to make these investments, whereas only 19 percent say it’s a bad time to spend on home improvements.

Of course, this is all according to a poll by Angie’s List. I want to hear from you. If you are a homeowner, do you agree with those who plan to take on home improvement projects this year? If so, what home improvement projects are priorities to you? Does it have anything to do with the slumping housing market?

Prevent Harmful Ice Dams on Your Roof

Did you know that many older homes are either without felt or have deteriorated felt between their slate and wood deck? This does not provide adequate protection during harsh winters. When there is a heavy snow accumulation on the roof, the warm temperatures from inside the house can melt the snow at the bottom of the accumulation causing water to run toward the eaves. As this water runs to the eaves, it refreezes because the soffits are unheated. This can result in an ice dam at the perimeter of the house. Subsequent melting can run into this ice dam and leak into the house behind the fascia board or through the roof decking if there is not adequate dripedge or high-back gutters along with ice and water shield around the perimeter.

The Durable Slate Company has been keeping homes safe and dry with reliable underlayments and high-back gutters for more than twenty years. This type of preventative maintenance is crucial to the upkeep of your slate roof and is a permanent fix. Make sure you rely on an experienced and trusted company to protect your home from this kind of damage.

Tim Carter talks about gutter ice, a similar problem, here.

Helpful information on insulation and venilation can be found here.

Stimulate the Economy while Creating Jobs

Old House Handy Man, Alan Miller, posts about historic preservation's benefit to the economy.

Miller links to a story from The Journal Record in Oklahoma City. The story quotes a study conducted by Preservation Oklahoma and says that historic preservation work generates $166 million in labor income, $243 million in gross state product, about $194 million in in-state wealth and $25 million in state and local taxes. We're on the forefront of a whole new way of thinking about our built environment. The sooner decision-makers embrace concepts like historic preservation, the sooner our economy will start to reap the benefits. What do you think?

When Life Hands You Lemons...

This article in Traditional Building strengthens our prediction that people are going to start looking at historic restoration as a more viable building option as the economy worsens and people continue to express their concern for the environment.

As the article so eloquently put it, "problems are opportunities" in this case. We're just glad people are now realizing it.

Taking adaptive reuse efforts to a whole new level

A mobile island floating on 250,000 recycled plastic bottles... You have to check out this unique collection of sustainable architecture:

http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/16/adaptive-reuse-recycled-architecture-2/

Restoring history at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Check out this great article about the beautiful Zion Lutheran Church in Akron currently being restored by The Durable Slate Company. It's written by Ann Kagarise at The Suburbanite.

http://www.thesuburbanite.com/communities/x1621233102