Fall Home Improvement Guide

FALL 2012 • Window Tinting • Sun Rooms • Gutter Shelters • Roofing • Storage Barns • Pest Control • Post Frame Buildings • Heating and Air • Landscaping • Lawn Equipment • And More!

PAGE 2 C

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012

WINTER HEATING TIPS ENERGYWISE HOMES Stay Warm We’re in for a cold winter, but you can keep frosty weather outside. Usethese energy saving tips to stay warm and comfy in your home while keeping your heating costs down.

Natural Light... Only Better BEFORE

Save Money The average family will spend over $1,300. on utility bills this year. About half of that will go to heating and cooling the home.

The rest is spent on water heating, refrigeration, lighting, cooking and appliances.

You can reduce your energy bills by ten to fifty percent by using a few inexpensive energy-saving measures.

Think Comfort Comfort tip number one: Keep drafts out!

A small leak around a door or window can be the equivalent, in terms of air flow, to removing a brick from the side of your house and letting the wind blow through.

Seal those gaps and keep winter winds on the outside. Make sure all your doors and windows shut tightly. Check for leaks, and replace old weather stripping or caulk. To find out where cold air is seeping into your home, light a stick of incense and carry it around the house. Hold it up to window frames, door sills, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and any possible air path to the outside. Watch the smoke to see where air leaks are occurring. This trick works best on a windy day. Your best investment of the year could be a simple caulking gun, which costs less than ten dollars. By sealing all the gaps around doors and windows, your foundation, and places where pipes pass through the walls, you can save a bundle on your heating bill this winter.

Thermostats Instead of unbundling from all your many layers when you come indoors, try keeping your house at a temperature where you will feel comfortable with a sweater on. Keep your thermostat set to 70 degrees, or lower, during the day. Set your thermostat to lower temperatures at night, or when you are not at home. 65 to 69 degrees is comfortable for most people at

AFTER

• Blocks 99.9% of all UV Rays • Reduces Glare & Reflection • Reduces Fading - Protecting Your Possessions From Sun Damage • Saves Energy - Lowering Heating & Cooling Bills • Lifetime Warranty • Meets Energy Star Standards

www.vista-films.com

1313 First Avenue (Next to 1st Ave Collision Center)

(812)424-0510 1-800-578-0510 night. Try reducing the temperature to 55 or 60 when you are away from the house for more than a few hours. A five degree reduction in temperature setting for an eight hour time period can save you up to twelve percent on your energy bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to reduce the temperature while you are away at work, and to reduce it a little less while you are asleep at night. If your thermostat is not programmable, put a little hook in the wall beside it.

Hang you keys on the hook, and that will help you remember to turn down the temperature when you leave the house. You’ll also always be able to find your keys.

Windows If you want to make single glazed windows function like new double pane glass, you can provide and inexpensive “second pane” by covering the inside with tight fitting plastic sheeting. Window kits are available at discount or hardware stores. Make sure you do

your caulking to seal any air leaks around the windows first.

Window Shades Use your window shades and drapes to maximum benefit. Keep shades closed at night to conserve heat. During the day, open shades on sunny windows to take advantage of passive solar heating. It also helps to keep south facing windows as clean as possible. You can use Venetian blinds or mini blinds to block out the cold while still letting light in. Think of the cold air as a heavy liquid flowing down off your window panes. Angle your blinds to block the flow by tilting the slats at a 45 degree angle to the window glass.

Heavy drapes or quilted roman shades make great winter window coverings. If they cover an area larger than the window itself, they are also adding insulation value to your walls.

Humidify Your Home Add humidity. Humid air feels warmer than dry air. Increasing the humidity of your home also helps you resist winter colds and moisturizes dry skin. Operating a room humidifier will make you feel more comfortable. If your heating system has a humidifier, make sure that it’s functioning properly. You can also add humidity by keeping house plants. Plants clean the air and add moisture to it at the same time.

Putting trays of water on top of radiators also helps. So does leaving the bathroom door open after a shower, to let that warm steamy air circulate through the house.

Heat Zones If you’re not using a room, don’t heat it.

Close off vents to rooms that are infrequently used, and shut the door.When you do need to use the room, just open the vent for the time you are in there and keep your sweater on. [Note: Don’t try shutting

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012 vents if you use a heat pump as this could harm your heat pump.]

Ventilating Fans Don’t overuse kitchen or bathroom ventilating fans. Turn them off as soon as they have done their job, or put them on timers to limit their operation to fifteen minutes at a time. A fan can draw out an entire houseful of heated air in about an hour.

Heating System Keep your furnace air filter clean, clean, clean. A dirty or clogged filter can make your furnace and fan work harder, which costs you more. You’ll be warmer for less money, and breathe easier, if you clean or replace your furnace filter often.

Check the filter at least once a month, and more often if you have a lot of dust. Make sure it gets cleaned or replaced at least twice this winter. Keep registers or radiators dust and clutter free. Make sure that they are not blocked by furniture, drapes or carpeting. If your home has radiators, make a trip from room to room bleeding trapped air from each radiator as you go. You can also increase the amount of heat that goes into a room by placing a heatresistant radiator reflector behind the radiator, between the radiator and the exterior wall. Check air ducts in your attic or basement. Make sure that there are no leaks, and that the ducts are well insulated. You can seal leaks with duct tape, but make sure that it is UL (Underwriters Laboratory) approved. You may want to seek professional help for making major repairs to ducts or installing insulation. Keep in mind that heating and cooling systems in the United States emit about half a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. By following these energy saving tips, you are helping to reduce the effects of global climate change Hot Water Warm water feels wonderful, but it can be costing you more than you think. A typical household spends 14 percent of their energy bill, or about $200 a year on hot water. About half of this is used to wash your body (showers and baths), and about a fourth is used to wash your clothes. You can re-

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

duce your water heating costs by using less hot water.

Do this by installing low flow showerheads and fixing leaky faucets.

When doing laundry, try using warm or cold rather than hot water, and try to wash one large load rather than several small ones. If you use a dishwasher, you can reduce the amount of hot water used by scraping, instead of rinsing dishes before you load them into the dishwasher.

Make sure you dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, and avoid using the

“rinse hold” option.

When shopping for a new washing machine or dishwasher, look for the Energy Star label.

Energy Star products are certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use less energy than other products, cost less to operate and help protect the environment. You an also save energy by reducing the temperature in your water heater.

If the water coming out of your tap can burn you, it is far too hot for safety and for most household needs. Try setting

the thermostat on your water heater to 115 degrees. You can save money by making sure that your water heater and pipes are well insulated. Ready made kits are available at hardware stores and building supply stores. Be careful not to cover the thermostat. If you have a gas or oil water heater, be careful not to cover the water heater’s top, bottom, thermostat, or burner compartment. Consider heating your water with solar energy. Solar water heaters can be great investments,

even in our cold climate.

Attic Insulation Much of the heat escaping homes is lost through the attic. Be sure to close off any attic vents or fans during the winter and check on how well the attic is insulated. You should have at least nine inches of fiberglass batting to achieve the minimum recommended R-30 value for our area.

A local study found that increasing the level of insulation from 2-3 inches (R5) to 8 - 14 inches

(R30) can save 95 to 145 dollars per year for every 1,200 square feet of ceiling area. Lay batts or blankets between joists or trusses with the vapor barrier facing your living space.

You can add additional insulation without a vapor barrier over existing insulation, if needed.

Fireplaces Make sure your heat isn’t going out the chimney. If you have a fireplace, remember to close the damper tightly when it’s not in use.

Having the damper

open is just like having a full sized window wide open all winter long. Shut outside vents too. If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue. When you are using a fireplace, keep in mind that while it seems cozy and warm, it is not an efficient source of heat for your house. The heat in your home goes right up the chimney with the smoke.

To minimize this, close the doors to the room with the fireplace, and lower the thermostat or turn off heaters. If your fire-

PAGE 3 C place has dampers in the bottom of the firebox, make sure that they are open, so that the fire will use outside air rather that the warm air from your home. If you don’t have an outside air source for the fire, open the nearest window about an inch while the fire is burning. You can greatly improve the efficiency of your fireplace by installing tempered glass doors and a heat-air exchange system that blows warmed air back into the room.

PAGE 4 C

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

5 Organization Tips for Walk-In Closets Walk in closets allow you plenty of room for your personal belongings. They also add appeal when trying to sell your home. A cluttered closet, however, is not of value in either case. Here are 5 organization tips to be sure you get the best use of your closet.

1. Add Dividers The top shelf is rarely used because everything falls together when you try to pull something down. By adding dividers, your items will stay together and not tumble over every time you reach for an item.

2. Stackable Baskets Use stackable baskets to place belts, socks, and other small items together so you can easily find them. This will reduce the closet too.

3. Arrange Your Clothes Place all of your clothes in order. Put all of your shirts together, skirts, slacks, etc. This not only looks neater, it makes it easier to see what you have when getting dressed.

4. Organize Your Shoes Shoes strewn across the bottom of your closet is messy, and they get all mixed up. Buy a shoe tree that can be placed across the bottom for easy access, or get a hanging shoe holder.

5. Clothes Hamper Last, but certainly most important, place a clothes hamper in your walk-in closet. This will make it easy to place your dirty clothes in when changing, and keep things off the floor.

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012

Here's How To Cut Your Home Energy Bills (NAPSI)-Think of the electric bills those poor souls living in much of the East Coast must have run up recently. Even if you didn't sweat through those record-breaking, 100-plus-degree days yourself, it should've been a reminder of the one thing every homeowner needs to know: If you really want to cut down on your own costs--and who doesn't in this economy?-look skyward.

To your roof, that is.

During the home-buying frenzy, one of the more popular statistics thrown around was how a roof represents about 40 percent or more of a home's "curb appeal" to potential buyers. That's still true. Less discussed, though, was how the components of the entire roofing system--particularly the shingles and proper attic ventilation--can actually save you big bucks year-round on both your cooling and heating bills.

"In the summer, I've seen some attics get so hot the shingles actually fry," says JoAnne Liebeler, former co-host of PBS's "Home-Time."

How hot might that be? Without the right intake and exhaust vents in your roof, shingles can reach temperatures hotter than 160 degrees.

"Moisture can seriously reduce the effectiveness of your insulation," says Liebeler. "That means higher energy bills--and who needs that?"

Okay, so now that you know why yours may be among the nine out of 10 homes in North America that have been needlessly feeding the utility companies' profits, here's what you need to do to fix it: Check the insulation levels in your attic. Find out the current building codes in your area and make sure that your attic contains at least the minimum recommended levels. Updating would immediately help maintain comfortable temperatures.

Embrace the new world of shingles. Liebeler is high on the Timberline Cool Series line of shingles from GAF Materials Corporation (www.gaf.com), North America's largest roofing manufacturer, which can shave another 7 to 15 percent, on average, off your air-conditioning costs thanks to its new reflective technology. Plus, since both the white and color shingles are Energy Star qualified--traditionally, only white got that nod--you could be eligible for a tax credit to boot. • Think ridge vents. They may not sound sexy, but they can help remove excess heat and moisture when installed on a roof's peak. The same applies to solar-powered, roof-mounted attic fans, which have a higher "sexy" factor. And remember that intake venting is required for your ridge vents to work properly.

In the meantime, you just have to get by the old-fashioned way: Close your shutters and blinds when the sun streams in.

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

PAGE 5 D

FALL 2012

• Window Tinting • Sun Rooms • Gutter Shelters • Roofing • Storage Barns • Pest Control • Post Frame Buildings • Heating and Air • Landscaping • Lawn Equipment • And More!

DECORATING TRENDS— Flooring Is Not Just A Fashion Statement (NAPSI)-Designer-inspired looks, rich embellishments and technological advances are changing the way people look at flooring.

Floors have become more than a surface to walk on. Today's residential flooring makes a statement not only of fashion, but also of homeowner philosophy that transcends taste and space.

For example, floors today feature recycled leathers and suedes, woods that are not merely "exotic" but also "green," self-cleaning ceramics, and carpets made from corn sugars.

Wood Flooring For wood flooring, tropical looks that are also environmentally friendly are the rage as manufacturers show an understanding of newly established environmental standards. Hardwoods from sustainable forests undergo natural staining and aging treatments that leave them looking much like their highly sought but endangered rainforest cousins. Unfinished vintage looks and high-gloss, piano-finish contemporary wood planks are also growing in popularity. Coconut palm floors resembling zebrawood are a new trend--and they are eco-friendly, durable and affordable.

Carpets and Area Rugs The ever-popular plush carpet appears in a wide variety of alternative and sustainable materials and styles, including a new, luxurious hemp weave that looks and feels like silk and a cozy "fisherman-style" wool weave rug that's like a sumptuous sweater for your floor.

Neutrals will also hold their place in plush flooring but the color du jour in carpet and rugs is turquoise, bringing a clean, fresh representation of water and sky into the home.

To add a bit of sparkle to your plush floors, a number of manufacturers have woven shiny tinsel into new carpets and rugs.

Laminates Giving American homes an international look for less, laminated floors

are made to look like exotic woods inspired by tropical varieties from Hawaii, Honduras and Africa. One new line of wood-look laminates offers a beautiful alternative to timbers that can no longer be harvested without harming the environment--and breaking the law. Homeowners can enjoy an exotic look underfoot without having to fear for the rainforests because of it.

Porcelain and Ceramic Tiles are now available in every color, texture, shape and size imaginable.

In fact, a rapidly developing trend in the category is to design your own.

Many companies are now offering completely customizable tiles in a wide assortment of materials and a rainbow array of colors. Many will even create custom dyes for consumers who send in swatches of fabric or paint to be matched.

Then there's this feat for your feet: A new tile line infused with antimicrobial protection that won't wash off or wear away provides a layer of defense from stain- and odor-causing bacteria.

Realistic Resilients The resilient category--which includes vinyl, cork and linoleum, among other surfaces--offers new looks that closely resemble travertine, limestone, concrete and slate but leave out the high price and high maintenance. New lines of rich-looking leather and suede tiles are made from recycled car seats and jackets.

Find Help To help you find flooring to suit your sense of style, the World Floor Covering Association website, www.WFCA.org, has answers to floorcovering questions. It also offers a product catalog and practical tips on manufacturing details, varieties and styles available, things to consider before you buy and how to prepare for installation, plus a database of retailers to help you find a store nearby.

PAGE 6 D

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

WINTER PLANNING What are we gardeners doing or thinking about in winter? To an extent, we are worrying about the present, though it might be wiser to dig those drains when the ground has dried out a bit.

If you have to be out there, make sure you are as comfortable as is possible in the circumstances. Put on plenty of layers of clothing; make yourself watertight; have several changes of dry gloves. If you must plant, be light in your touch and don’t compress the soil. Above all, don’t tread on and compact it, making it lose structure and air spaces.

Planning for the next year is, one might say, a good excuse for being inside and warm. You can get inspiration from browsing through catalogues and well illustrated gardening books. But to confine your planning to the winter is sheer escapism; it should be a part of the whole year’s thinking.

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012

Indeed, you can usually get a far clearer picture in summer, when it’s all actively in front of you, of what changes and improvements are desirable. That’s where the vital garden notebook comes in, capturing the brilliant thought that has come into your head and setting it down forthwith, before it is lost. The notebook should be small enough to be carried around or slipped into a pocket and it should have waterproof covers.

Always keep yourself on the rails by noting the date of any entry. It doesn’t matter how grubby and battered the book becomes. Read over what you have written within the next day and when you’ve come indoors. That way you can be sure to read your own writing and also to fix the place and occasion in your mind (it may be in your own garden or it may be in someone else’s).

Many improvements are just a question of minor adjustments, rather than outand-out planning. In fact, I’m not keen on plans, as the site always looks different once you’re on it. In a few weeks, you’ll be enjoying the appearance of one of the earliest daffodils, the little yellow trumpet, ‘Tete-a-Tete’. It is so small that there are many spots where it can simply be left to get on with its life, whether active or dormant, and will not be in the way.

Under a deciduous shrub, for instance. Look around you and think where else it might be nice to see some of it. Stock soon increases, so it won’t be long before you have enough to spread around. Then think, what would it be nice to see with this little fellow that would make a good companion at the same time?

My own answer, here, is primroses the unimproved wild primrose. You don’t have to (must not, in fact) dig it up from the wild. A plant is easily bought or grown from seed and will soon be large enough to be divided.The primrose is pale yellow; the narcissus, deep yellow and they are well contrasted in shape.

Anyone else to join the party? Well, what about some bulbs of the little Iris reticulata? Purple is wonderfully highlighted by yellow and again we have a different shape but a flowering season that coincides. And this iris can easily multiply if left undisturbed in the garden, as it never would were you growing it in a pot. To own whole clumps of it, thick with blossom, will be a source of great pride.

For a site, I am still invoking the protection of some deciduous shrub - it might be a weigela or a deutzia - which is itself doing nothing at this season, so that there is plenty of light beneath it.

Another good spot is around some hardy perennial, which takes up a lot of space in summer but retires to virtually nothing in winter. A number of hardy cranesbills come to mind. Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ would be ideal.

There is always a great deal of space around a single plant of this, in winter, and that space will remain vacant until well into May, by which time the bulbs will naturally be dying down and the primrose can put up with any amount of summer shade anyway.

You should surely be growing more snowdrops and there’s currently so much ground doing nothing where they’d be happy. For an accompaniment I always think that the marbled foliage of hardy Cyclamen hederifolium looks ideal as a background to them.

All this is just a start to the year but can go on in every week through the seasons. Plan now on paper for the summer by all means, and make lists of the plants you yearn to have, but be prepared for some major rethinking when that time actually comes along.

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

Great Wallpaper Projects Start With Prep (NAPSI)-Wallpaper has emerged as one of this season's hottest decorating trends.

And it's easier to hang than you think!

The key to successful wallpapering is preparation. Just follow these simple steps for an easy, beautiful wallpaper job: Select your wallpaper. Wallpaper is available in a wide variety of styles and colors-from elegant to whimsical. Your paint and decorating store or home center has a wide selection of patterns from which to choose. Or check out wallpaper manufacturer Web sites for the latest styles and trends.

Clear the room. Move furniture away from walls and set up a large table to work on. Be sure to protect the carpet and furniture from adhesive splatters and spills by laying down drop cloths.

Clean the walls. Remove dirt, grime, grease, old wallpaper adhesive and any other contaminants that may interfere with adhesion with a simple ammoniaand-water or soap-and-water solution.

Rinse clean and allow to dry. If there is existing wallpaper, remove it by scoring the wall with a PaperTiger® Scoring tool and applying a wallpaper stripper like DIF® Wallpaper Stripper. Available in concentrate and ready-to-use gel and fast-

acting liquid formulas, DIF penetrates with special enzymes and wetting agents that loosen any type of wallpaper and dissolve old glue regardless of the surface it is on.

Prepare the surface. Wallpaper needs a smooth, sealed surface to look its best, so before you hang your wallpaper, apply a coat of wallcovering primer, like SHIELDZ® Universal Wallcovering Primer.

SHIELDZ seals the surface and hides previous colors in one coat, creating the perfect surface for hanging wallpaper.

Priming also makes wallpaper easier to position, improves its adhesion, and makes it easier to remove at redecorating time.

Plus, SHIELDZ protects against the growth of mold and mildew under the wallpaper, so it is great for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and other high-humidity areas of the home.

You're ready to hang! Simply follow the wallpaper manufacturer's hanging instructions and before you know it, you'll have a beautiful room that reflects your personality and style.

For more tips on making wallpaper hanging easy-or advice on other home improvemen projects-visit www.zinsser.com or call 732-469-8100.

PAGE 7 D

Shutters: A Facelift For Your Home (NAPSI)-There are few do-it-yourself projects that make a statement quite like adding shutters. With a few hours of effort, it's possible to mount beautiful, expertly crafted shutters that add character and can help define a home's look.

Since the nation's founding, shutters have been an essential architectural element, protecting windows from storm damage, providing ventilation and offering charm and privacy.

"Louvered shutters on the upper stories could be angled downward to provide a view of activities below and provide a barrier against the rain," said Christopher Peeples, an expert in shutter history and owner of Vixen Hill, which manufactures quality cedar shutters.

Today, shutters are primarily a decorative fixture, supplying a finishing touch that enhances the architectural style of a home and adds that much-sought-after curb appeal.

Peeples offers several tips for

choosing shutters: • Even though you might choose wood shutters for their superior looks alone, they also tend to be stronger and more durable. Wood shutters take stain and paint applications easier and can withstand highly humid climates or climate changes.

• In hurricane climate areas, shutters can afford instant protection and eliminate the ongoing effort and expense of having to replace broken windows.

• When choosing wood shutters, look for quality rot-and-insect-resistant wood. The preferred choice is oldgrowth western red cedar (air-dried, not kiln-dried). Vixen Hill mills its own wood to ensure the highest quality.

• Louver thickness is a key indicator of shutter quality. The best louvered shutters have 3/8- to 1/2-inch louvers.

For more information, visit www.vixenhill.com.

PAGE 8 D

SERVING THE EVANSVILLE & TRI-STATE AREA • EVANSVILLETHRIFTYNICKEL.COM

SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2012