Fall Home Improvement (September 2022)

WHY YOU SHOULD PLAN AHEAD THIS HEATING SEASON

STATEPOINT

Between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sky-high oil and gas prices, a significant pellet fuel supply shortage is likely this winter season. Industry experts say you should plan ahead and secure your fuel now for the cold winter months. The good news is that, currently, there is plenty of sup ply to stock up.

As Tim Portz, executive director of the Pellet Fuels Institute explains, Rus sia is the second largest producer of wood pellets globally, supplying more than 2 million tons to global markets in 2020. But sanctions and restrictions due to the invasion of Ukraine have required U.S. pellet producers to fill the gap.

What’s more, the sticker shock Amer icans may experience this winter when reviewing their energy bills will likely have many switching to pellet heating in search of a better deal, and those with multiple heating options may start opt ing for pellets, putting extra demand on potentially short supplies.

“Wood pellet demand fluctuates year to year, however with heating oil, natural gas, electric and propane pric es at near historic highs, we could see record sales of pellets in 2022-2023,” says Portz. “Consumers will need to be savvy. To ensure their annual supply is secured, they should stock up now.”

Wood pellets are used as primary or secondary space heat in more than 1 million homes nationwide. Pellets are

a renewable, clean-burning fuel made from the waste streams generated by the manufacturers of products like dimensional lumber, hardwood flooring, wood pallets and cabinetry. Although supplies are strong right now, pellet producers are highlighting the impor tance of keeping inventory moving through the system.

With the capacity to produce more than 1 million tons of wood pellets each year, Lignetics Group, the largest resi dential wood pellet manufacturing com pany in the United States, notes that taking advantage of the surplus while it lasts will allow producers to run at full throttle and build inventory before usage begins to outpace production in the depths of winter.

Because pellets are competitively priced nationwide, consumers who opt for this method of heating will save hundreds of dollars over the course of a winter season compared to heating oil or propane, and thousands of dollars com pared to electric heat.

“Many have already turned to wood pellet heating and many more are expect ed to do so amid the current energy cri sis,” says Brett Jordan, CEO of Lignetics Group. “However, these consumers will need to take their wise choice a step further by being prepared. Fueling up now on your normal pellet supply will mean being able to take advantage of this sustainable and cost-efficient option all winter.”

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BY DIANE COWEN

Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON — Maria Cabanillas and Kris Grif fith are doing everything they can at home to be kinder to the planet. They use solar panels as fuel, tend a massive vegetable garden, capture rainwater for irrigation and make their own fertilizer by composting.

Much of their motiva tion is health focused, since they both work in the Texas Medical Cen ter; Kris as a health care administrator and Caba nillas as an endocrinology oncologist.

When they built their home in 2018, energy effi ciency and reducing their carbon footprint was their guiding principle, but the way they live in it is full of thoughtful details about taking care of their little patch of the planet.

Earlier this month, Hines announced it would take all of its buildings worldwide to an opera tional net zero carbon footprint by 2040. Net zero might be impossible for homeowners not used to calculating the complex ities of how products are made or how their energy

needs are fulfilled, but there are plenty of things they can do to tread more lightly.

For Cabanillas and Griffith, the list is long. Their solar array includes eight storage batteries in their garage and 24 solar panels on the south and west-facing parts of their home’s roof. As evidence of its impact, their electric bill ranged from $105 to $115 a month last sum mer. Their previous house — similar in size to their current 4,000 square-foot home on the same lot

— was built in 1938, and had a monthly electric bill of $600 to $800.

Kenny Marks built his Southampton home in 2017 to be energy effi cient, with high-quality windows and doors, insu lation with a high thermal rating and 50 solar panels on his roof. Electric bills average $500 a month for his 5,500-square-foot home and swimming pool, dramatically lower than the $1,200 to $1,400 per month for his previous house in another neigh borhood.

His motivation was the same as Cabanillas’ and Griffith’s — he was interested in helping the environment, and lower electric bills are a very nice bonus.

‘It all adds up’ Architect Kathleen Rear don of RD Architecture designed Houston’s first LEED-certified home using principles that have guid ed her career: creating a tight envelope with good insulation and windows and an efficient HVAC system. For those new to

Hunting Widow?

the green building world, LEED is a global certifi cation program that pro motes sustainability and a healthier environment by rating residential and commercial construction on materials used, waste, transportation and indoor air quality.

“What I tell my clients is that many decisions in the design process can have a sustainable component to it. Let’s talk about them as we go,” said Reardon.

A longtime proponent of solar power, Reardon acknowledged it’s tougher to convince the main stream to spend money on it. “We’re raising aware ness, again, in a different kind of way to capture more people’s attention and say, ‘here’s the prob lem. We’re putting more CO2 into the atmosphere than our planet can han dle. The best way to help is reduce power consump tion,’” she said.

For homeowners who can’t spring for expensive solar panels, shifting to LED light bulbs should be a no-brainer, Reardon said. A fixture that used to use a 100-watt incan descent light will run just as bright with an 18-watt

LED bulb, meaning that the old incandescent bulb will use up to five times more energy. Since LED bulbs are cooler to the touch, they’ll put off less heat in your home, too. Other simple moves include buying clothes made of natural fibers and using them longer or donating them when you’re done with them. Even eating less beef helps, since a single cow in a single year can belch about 220 pounds of methane, a substance shorter lived than carbon dioxide but much more potent in the atmosphere.

Solar-powered LED pathway lights are one option to light up a walkway without adding more to one's electric bill.

Metro Creative Connection

WILLMAR’S ‘INCONVENIENT DOLLHOUSE’ FINISHES

IN TOP FIVE FOR ‘UGLIEST HOUSE IN AMERICA’

BY DONNA MIDDLETON West Central Tribune

WILLMAR — A Willmar house took home the dubi ous honor of the Not-So-Great Lakes region winner while competing on HGTV’s “The Ugliest House in America: Ugly in Paradise.”

The qualifications needed to win: ugly appearance, poor functionality and hideous design choices. The real-life Victorian dollhouse in Willmar edged out a lake house with a funky odor in Lake Elmo and a former church in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Comedian Retta took a road trip to five stunning des tinations and visited 15 unsightly homes nominated by their owners. Each episode featured three houses full of bad designs, ranging from linoleum-covered walls and carpeted bathrooms to epic odors and pest infestation.

The best part? Retta’s hilarious reviews of the cringe-worthy layouts and severely outdated styles.

The present owner said he bought the house at 204 Terrace Dr. S.W. a year ago. It is full of unusual custom touches everywhere. Many of the furnishings were included in the sale. There are built-in hutches, curios, art areas and more. An open-concept kitchen and great room with vaulted wood ceiling. There is a tea room, a private hot tub room, and unusual stairs.

The Willmar house finished in the top five, losing out to the House with No Privacy in Palm City, Florida. That home received a $150,000 makeover from design er Alison Victoria from “Windy City Rehab.”

The kitchen in 204 Terrace Dr. SW in Willmar holds a large array of cabinets and counterspace, but also incorporates a large mirrored space over the kitchen sink and green-painted crown molding and baseboards.

One of the bathrooms in the house at 204 Terrace Dr. SW in Willmar features a hutch top over the sink in place of a bathroom mirror, matching mirrors on either side of the shower door, and a burgundy lace shower curtain.

The house at 204 Terrace Dr. SW in Willmar was featured on Season 2 of HGTV's "Ugliest House in America: Ugly in Paradise." It placed in the top five, and was nicknamed the "Inconvenient Dollhouse."

Photos Contributed / Kristi Jo Block

EASY UPDATES FOR RENTERS:

TRANSFORM YOUR APARTMENT FROM DRAB TO FAB

When living in a rental, it can be challenging to make the space feel like home. While you may not be there long term, that doesn’t mean you can’t make it your own with some creative, non-per manent updates. Here are a few tips to make your rental feel more custom ized to you.

► Prepare and plan: With any rental proper ty, it’s a good practice to check in with your landlord before you make changes to the space. If you’re given approval to customize your rental, be sure to store anything

you remove and keep a list of any other physical changes you make in order to ensure your security deposit is returned when your lease concludes. It’s also best to research and purchase items that don’t cause damage to the wall.

► Enhance lighting: Brightening a space in a rental can be tricky if you have limited windows or ceiling fixtures that can’t be upgraded. Enhance your area by adding new table lamps and install ing lighting in sections that might need more illumination, like under cabinets or in closets. Secure push lights or rope lighting with a removable

adhesive like Duck Max Strength Nano-Grab Gel Tape, which provides easy mounting with extreme holding power. Nano-Gr ab’s double-sided gel adhe sion creates a clean look, with a removable grip so you can clean the space after you move.

► Create eye-catch ing walls in bathrooms and kitchens: Investing in high-end upgrades like new tile or flooring isn’t an option when renting, but reinventing the space with quality removable items is absolutely possi ble. Enhance your bath room walls or kitchen

RENTERS: Page D8

RESEARCHERS STUDY HOW URBAN TREES AFFECT ENVIRONMENT

BY FREDERICK MELO Pioneer Press

ST. PAUL — Everyone knows that trees provide shade. What may be less obvious are their contributions to evapo rative cooling. Think of tree roots draw ing water from the ground and pumping it to their leaves, which effectively sweat H20, cooling the air around them in the process.

How far does that cooling go in an urban environment that seems to be get ting hotter?

And how do trees impact storm water? As rainfall moves through their branches,

does it change chemical composition?

Rainwater effectively feeds trees, but do trees also feed rainwater?

Experiments in St. Paul parks

Those are the kinds of questions fuel ing a series of science experiments in four St. Paul parks. A team of interdisci plinary researchers from the University of Minnesota has outfitted 30 trees in parks across the city with a variety of sensors, rainwater and temperature gauges in a multi-faceted effort to better understand “transpiration,” or tree water loss, and to test rainfall filtered through

the tree canopy for nitrogen, phospho rous, carbon and ions.

As tree research goes, that’s fairly welltrod ground, so to speak. While these wouldn’t be unusual experiments in woodsier, more secluded environments, what sets these set-ups apart is that they’re situated by parking lots next to popular urban libraries, rec centers and outdoor ballfields next to busy St. Paul streets.

In other words, the city.

“City trees and forest trees are dif ferent,” said Xiating Chen, a doctoral candidate in the U of M’s Department of

Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineer ing, standing in front of a series of trees wrapped in aluminum-like sheathing by the Highland Rec Center. “City trees have more competition.”

The long-term goal, said Chen, is to bring together the disciplines of forestry management and urban storm water management under a single roof. Diana Karwan, associate professor of forest resources, said the experiments are part of the university’s long-term ecological research on “urban nature.”

Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press/TNS

Doctoral candidate Xiating Chen checks data in a data logger attached to an ash tree near the Highland Community Center in St. Paul on Monday, Aug. 22. Chen and other researchers from the University of Minnesota's Forest Resources program are studying how urban trees contribute to stormwater quality and mediate urban heat island effects in the Twin Cities. Specifically, they measure the amount of water trees use and the amount of rain intercepted by the canopy.

5 WAYS TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS WITH UNIQUE GLASS

STATEPOINT

While the func tionality of your home’s windows and glass doors is important, experts say you shouldn’t neglect to consid er aesthetics as well.

“No matter the architec tural style of your home, you have more choices than you may think when updating windows and glass doors,” says Ashley Ridenour, door and win dow marketing manager for ProVia. “Many of these options can add instant curb appeal, while also ele vating the elegance, beauty and style of your home’s interiors.”

According to Ridenour, here’s how to capture your unique personality when making this renovation:

1. Add glass doors: Create the perfect

personalized entry to your home by opting for a front door with special glass, along with comple mentary sidelites. Today’s top-of-the-line glass entry doors are not only beau tiful, they also provide UV protection, durability and energy efficiency for increased comfort. You can carry this inspiration to the back of your home as well — options abound for cus tomizing your sliding glass or hinged patio doors.

2. Enhance privacy: Privacy glass allows light to filter in, while maintaining a high level of privacy for your home. ProVia carries five styles of privacy glass offering different levels of obscurity, which can be fitted to a wide range of door and window models and styles.

3. Beautify with orna mental glass: Decorative

glass is created by precisely cutting, beveling, mitering and soldering glass com ponents into artistically designed patterns. Mim icking the handmade sheet glass of centuries past, the designs lend an elegant and vintage flair to ordinary door and window glass. Aesthetic imperfections like textural waves, stria tions and random air beads give each design its own unique visual character and charm.

4. Turn to color: Give your home a beautiful boost of color with cus tom hand-stained window and door glass. At ProVia, in-house glass artists cre ate the design, and skilled craftsmen hand-apply the color fill to the glass. It’s an affordable way to get the timeless look of antique stained glass for your entry door, windows, patio doors

and even the glass in your storm door.

5. Opt for built-in blinds: Typically available in both white and neutral hues such as cream and tan, built-in blinds are another way to comple ment your home interior and add privacy. This is also a low-maintenance option for those who love a clean look — because the blinds are in a sealed and insulated glass unit, they remain dust free.

To learn more about cus tom glass windows and for additional design tips, visit provia.com/glass/windows.

“When it comes right down to it, windows don’t have to be purely function al. Before you make a selec tion, be sure to explore all of your options, and don’t be afraid to get a little dar ing,” says Ridenour.

Let us help you make your dreamsbecome reality.

From Page D3

Note to steak or dairy lovers: California researchers believe that feeding cattle a little bit of seaweed can reduce their methane emissions by 60%.

“It’s such a big world, and when we want some thing we think ‘How is this one little thing going to make a difference?’ The challenge is getting every one on board collectively to make one change, then another change and if everybody could do that, it would all add up,” Rear don said.

A long view

For Scott Frankel, co-president of Frankel Building Group with his brother Kevin, environ mentally conscious home construction is about tak ing the long view — creat ing homes they hope will still be standing a century from now instead of the kind that get demolished to make way for another. Some 15 years ago, the brothers started thinking about the environment and more eco-friendly building materials they could use. Now many of the homes they build are LEED certified.

“My brother and I start ed to look at this, and we started to figure out, if you want to talk about your carbon footprint, you have to think about your daily output as a consumer,” Frankel said.

“You are tearing down so many trees and using

RENTERS

From Page D5

backsplash using a prod uct such as Duck Brand EasyLiner Brand Remov able Adhesive Shelf Liners.

The sheets adhere directly over existing tile or paint

so much gas. The sheer amount of impact you have in building a house is massive, so the most important thing you can do is do it once. Acknowl edge Mother Nature and respect her on the front end, and build houses that survive and thrive.”

The Frankels choose eco-friendly and energy-ef ficient materials across the board. One example is polyurethane spray foam insulation — the kind that makes your home as well insulated as a Yeti cooler. It’s more expensive than other methods, but will lower your energy bill and help your air conditioning system last longer, Scott Frankel said.

“It’s a holistic approach to sustainable

and can be removed eas ily, which means you can choose from the wide vari ety of fashionable designs and trendy patterns as often as you’d like.

► Add some shower power: A quick, straight forward way to make an ordinary bathroom feel a bit more spa-like is

construction. That’s how we have less of an impact on the carbon footprint,” he said. “I don’t want to see trucks tear down a Frankel house. That would crush my soul.”

He said most home owners ask them about solar panels, but few are willing to take on the cost, which can be as high as the price tag of a fairly nice car and take 15 to 20 years to recover through lower energy bills. There’s good news, though: a 2019 Zillow study showed that solar panels can add 4 percent to the value of a home.

One way of reducing the cost of solar panels is to join a co-op such as Solar United Neighbors, where neighbors combine to

to swap out your show erhead. There are sim ple-to-install options that include everything from a large, flat rainfall experi ence to a handheld nozzle for ease of use. Best of all, they can be installed man ually without the help of a plumber and are simple to change, meaning you can

buy panels in bulk to save money for everyone.

Newer products

Frankel and contractor Rob Hellyer, owner of Premier Remodeling and a past president of the Greater Houston Builders Association, both said that while solar panels might be an obvious choice for generating clean energy, more attention should be paid to simpler things such as windows, doors and insulation to keep your house warmer in win ter and cooler in summer.

Hellyer noted a recent story published by zeroen ergyproject.org, that pointed out that 75 mil lion American homes, all built at least 30 years ago — are dependent on fossil

uninstall your new fixture and take your upgraded experience with you wher ever you go.

► Showcase your personality: Infusing a bland space with a touch of personality is the best way to transform it into a cozy, sophisticated living area. Add fresh pops of

fuels for energy, making green remodeling poten tially a $3 trillion market in the next decade.

Few of Hellyer’s cli ents ask for eco-friendly products, but all of them appreciate products that are more durable — and that alone is a factor in taking care of the plan et. He cited engineered lumber as an essential part of remodeling, and engineered wood floors have surged in popularity. Products such as OSB — oriented strand board, made of wafers of wood that otherwise would be burned or thrown away — are great alternatives to plywood and keep wood debris out of landfills.

Hellyer, who lives in a 100-year-old building in the Heights that began its life as a pharmacy, notes that a lot of older homes in the Houston area are under insulated. Many that suffered frozen pipes in the February 2021 freeze might have fared better if they’d had more insulation.

Even the simpler fiberglass batts that you roll out in your attic or between 2x4’s in your walls improve energy efficiency. (Hellyer used these in his own home.)

Just pay attention to their thermal — or R — rating, getting a 13-23 R rating for walls and 30, 38 or 49 for the attic.

Tankless water heaters are gaining traction in home construction and remodeling because they produce an instant, end less supply of hot water. The most efficient models

are gas-fueled, so they contribute to your carbon footprint, and the electric ones take a big electric circuit and can be more expensive to install, so while they may fill a need, they’re not so friendly to the planet.

Lifestyle and choices

For Cabanillas and Griffith, their efforts are part of their lifestyle. They grow most of their vegetables in a garden that spans much of their backyard, giving extras to family, friends and co-workers. Composting provides dirt and highgrade fertilizer, and their rain tanks hold 1,350 gal lons of water that irrigate the plants. Griffith mows the drought-tolerant zoy sia grass in the front yard with an electric mower.

Already they’re planning their next round of crops; broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and potatoes were started in August, followed by onions, English peas and carrots in September.

Cabanillas’ sister lives six doors down and has chick ens and beehives so she provides them with eggs and honey whenever they need it.

“It’s hard for people who have an existing house to go back and put this stuff in,” Maria said. “You can get solar, sure, it’s just a little harder. Our house was built with the intent of having solar and rain barrels and less of a car bon footprint.”

(c)2022 the Houston Chronicle

color with lush plants in bright pots or vases. Wall décor like artwork, mac rame hangings or photo collages can add hues to empty walls and enhance the mood of a room. If your landlord is a little more flexible, painting an accent wall, hallway or even adding a stripe or

paint pattern into a bare space can bring your rent ed space to the next level.

Upgrading a rental loca tion doesn’t have to be daunting or complicated to complete. With the right products to help brighten up your temporary space, it’s easy to create a unique (and removable) look.

Metro Creative Connection

Many homeowners are beginning to consider lowering their carbon footprints by installing solar panels on the roofs of their homes and garages.

TREES

“We want to know what trees do to rainwater both ways — between the sky and the ground, and between the ground and the sky,” Karwan said. “As scientists, we’re learning how to modify our studies because people are all around us and interacting with this. If we were in the middle of the woods, the setup would look different. There would be wires all over the place.”

How trees impact the urban environment

The experiments are being hosted on small groupings of trees by the Highland, Linwood, Dayton’s Bluff and Orchard rec reation centers.

Instead of caution tape and cables running between each tree sending data back and forth, each tree cluster is tagged with a small plastic label bearing a QR code, which can be scanned by smartphone to direct visitors to an explanatory website.

Most, but not all, of the trees

in question are ash trees likely to be removed by the end of the researchers’ three-year grant. If their funding gets renewed, the researchers would then be able to conduct many of the same experiments in the same sites where the ash trees once stood,

offering compelling before-andafter comparative data that could shed even more light on how trees impact the urban environment.

Chen pointed to a “sap flux sensor,” or a pair of nodules or thermal probes hidden beneath

a sheath of aluminum-like material. The thermal couples are heated to different degrees, creating a temperature differ ential. When the temperature difference falls, that’s an indi cation of increasing water flow.

“It measures how quickly the

liquid is flowing through the sap wood,” she said. In other words, transpiration.

The 30 trees, which were wrapped in June, will stay that way into October, and then test ing will resume next summer. The scientists are also using storm water data already collect ed by the Capitol Region Water shed District at key outlets such as Como Lake to help inform their research, which is just one series in a growing catalog of urban ecology experiments involving everything from pol linators to watersheds. Another team of U of M researchers is studying tree species resilience at Crosby Farm Park in St. Paul.

The wide-ranging Minneapolis and St. Paul Metropolitan Area Long-Term Ecological Research Project, or MSP LTER, is funded by the National Science Founda tion, which is focusing on more than a dozen urban research sites in the Twin Cities and addi tional sites in Phoenix.

©2022 MediaNews Group, Inc.

Visit at twincities.com. Dis tributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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TRIED-AND-TRUE TIPS TO RELOCATE PLANTS LIKE A PRO

STATEPOINT

Whether your plants could stand a little more sun, a tad more space to grow, or you just want to redesign your backyard, transplanting plants offers them a fresh start.

“Tried-and-true methods will help you safely move your plants; all it takes is some know-how, elbow grease and a shovel,” says Jamie Briggs, director of marketing, Exmark, a leading manufac turer of commercial mowers and equip ment for landscape professionals and homeowners.

This is the driving idea behind “Back yard Smart,” free online explainer videos full of facts to answer your most com mon lawn and garden questions. The following strategies, which come directly from a recent “Backyard Smart” episode, will have you transplanting plants like a pro:

When to do it

Time of year matters. Perennials should be moved in spring when other flowers are in bloom and the days are cooler. Conversely, shrubs should be relocated in the fall — the cooler air and warmer soil make for perfect transplanting conditions. Never move plants in summer or winter. Hot weather, when plants need the most

water, can kill sensitive roots. Like wise, the cold, hard ground in winter makes it virtually impossible for plants to take root. Always transplant on cloudy, cool days to protect roots from the harsh sun and retain moisture in their soil.

Rules of thumb

To begin, picture a circle around your plant. You’re imagining its root ball — the mass of roots and packed-in dirt that help provide plants the necessary

nutrients and stability to grow.

For perennials, dig a circle at least three inches out from the plant’s edge. Shrubs are a different story. Instead of digging out from the farthest part of the shrub, first measure the circum ference of its stem. For every inch in stem thickness, draw the length from the circle to the stem a foot longer. If your shrub has a 2-inch-thick stem, measure a circle that’s at least 4 feet in diameter (or, a radius of 2 feet from stem to circle).

Now it’s time to dig. Always dig straight down, as digging too shallowly and at an angle can lead to damaged roots, which can stunt growth and ultimately kill your plants.

Once you’ve dug up your plants, knock a little dirt loose from the com pacted root ball. This enables roots to hang free, and encourages plants to take root in their new home.

Relocation

Always dig the new holes at the same depth as the existing ones. Planting too deeply can encourage water pool ing around the root system, effectively drowning your plants. Planting too shallowly has an opposite, but equally deadly, impact: it exposes the root sys tem to warmer weather and can dry it up. For an even easier reference when transplanting shrubs, the root flare — the area where the stem expands at the base — should be partially visible at the soil’s surface. Now fill the remainder of the hole with soil, water generously, rinse and repeat.

For more easy-to-understand approaches to making the most of your outdoor spaces, check out the Exmark Backyard Life site at exmark.com/back yard.

Now get outside and get moving — your plants will thank you for it!

WHAT EVERY HOMEOWNER SHOULD KNOW BEFORE MAKING RENOVATIONS

STATEPOINT

Your home is likely your most valu able asset, and you want to make sure you protect it with the right insurance. Did you know the cost to replace your home could be much more than it cost to build—and you could be on the hook for the difference?

Whether it would cost more to replace because you’ve made major upgrades that increased the value of your home or sim ply because the price of building materi als and labor has increased, you’ll need to come up with the additional funds or find ways to reduce costs. That’s why guaranteed replacement cost coverage, offered by insurers like Erie Insurance, is so important. If you experience a total loss of your home, this coverage allows you to rebuild it back to its previous size and specifications at today’s cost, subject to certain conditions.

To give you a better idea of the impor tance of insurance coverage that helps you protect the investments you make, consider the top three remodeling proj ects for the interior and exterior offering the best return on investment:

Interior

1. Refinishing hardwood floors. The main reasons consumers are refin ishing hardwood floors is to upgrade worn-out surfaces and to improve liva bility, according to the 2022 Remodeling Impact Report by the National Associa tion of REALTORS Research Group. At 147%, it also tops the list for the number one interior project for what homeown ers can recover on the cost of the project if they sell the home, based on estimates from NARI Remodelers and REALTORS.

RENOVATIONS: Page D13

Proven energy efficiency. design flexibility.

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HOW TO APPROACH A BASEMENT REMODEL

METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

Afully finished and function al basement is a dream for many homeowners. Such a space, when completed, can serve as an entertainment space, a man cave, an artist’s studio, or any number of addi tional functions.

Despite their usefulness, finished basements are something of a rarity. In an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, the National Association of Home Builders found that only around 24% of sin gle-family homes built in 2018 have base ments. Homeowners who do not current ly have a finished basement but are con sidering such a project can approach the remodel with a few key factors in mind. Careful consideration of these factors can ensure the project is budget-friendly and worthy of homeowners’ investments.

► Investment value: Conventional wisdom among home renovation and real estate experts suggests that a base ment remodel is best if done to satisfy current inhabitants and not necessarily to appeal to prospective buyers once the home is put up for sale. Remodeling mag azine reports that a midrange basement remodel costing around $70,000 will provide a return of around $49,000 (or 70%) at resale. Though that’s not a poor

return on investment, homeowners who are remodeling a basement solely for the potential ROI at resale can find other projects that provide a greater return.

► Foundation: The foundation of the home must garner ample consideration before beginning a basement remodel. Certain foundation issues, such as soft concrete, cracked or curved outside walls

and cracks in the flooring, are indicative of significant issues with the foundation. These issues can be costly to address, and they must be remedied before the base ment remodel can begin.

► Existing space: Some homeowners may have bought their homes with par tially finished basements or even finished areas that they simply want to remodel.

In such instances, a pre-remodel inspec tion from a licensed home inspector can save homeowners lots of money and heartache over the long haul. Partially finished or even aging finished base ments might not have been renovated in adherence to codes, which could lead to costly violations down the road. An inspection in advance of a remodel can give homeowners an idea of what they will need to do to bring the basement up to code. Local officials also can provide a list of necessary permits and a detailed description of requirements to ensure the remodeled basement adheres to code.

► Soil: Soil surrounding the home should be tested prior to beginning the project. Radon is an odorless gas found in soil that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes can increase individuals’ risk for lung cancer. Radon can seep into basements and increase that risk even further if it is present at elevated levels in the soil surrounding a home. Radon tests are simple and inexpensive, and no basement remodel project should begin without first con ducting such a test.

Finished basements are valuable spac es. Homeowners who want to finish or remodel their basements should consider a host of factors before beginning the renovation.

2. Installing new wood flooring. The average cost recovered for this project is 118%. Surprisingly though, it was the number one feature home owners surveyed by Erie Insurance said they got when they bought their home but wouldn’t choose again. When asked why, reasons ranged from feeling the feature was not worth the money, to being tired of it or feeling the feature is outdated now.

3. Insulation upgrade. This is a pop ular project if you’re looking to improve

energy efficiency, and at 100%, it has a high cost recovery value.

Exterior

1. Roofing. Offering a 100% return on investment, most consumers upgraded their roof due to worn-out surfaces, fin ishes and materials.

2. Garage door. The top reason homeowners replace their garage door is having plans to sell their home in the next two years, according to the 2022 Remodeling Impact Report. This project may be well worth the cost, offering 100% returns.

3. Fiber cement siding. With 86% recovery on the cost of the project, upgrading siding due to worn-out

surfaces, finishes and materials is a solid investment.

If you’ve made any recent updates, talk to your insurance agent to make sure you have the proper coverage. To learn more

about guaranteed replacement cost cov erage, visit erieinsurance.com. This year, make home upgrades wisely. For peace of mind, be sure to protect the investments you make in your home. Shutterstock.com

Efficiency ratings from 95 to 98%

AFUE, AC SEER

Ratings from 13 to 20.

Save even more if you replace all equipment the same time!

WHAT TO DO WITH A HOME OFFICE AFTER GOING BACK TO WORK

TMETRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

he number of professionals working remotely skyrocketed in 2020, when businesses were forced to close their offices in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

As the world transitions from the pan demic phase to an endemic phase, many office workers also are transitioning back to their offices.

A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that 59% of workers in the United States are now working from home all or most of the time, while 22% are rarely or never working from home. In 2020, 70% of workers were working from home all or most of the time, while 17% rarely or never worked from home. Those figures reflect that work life, albeit gradually, is returning to pre-pandemic norms.

As individuals find themselves going back to the office with increased frequen cy, they might be wondering what to do with their home offices. If space inside a home is at a premium, then repurposing a home office into a space that can be used more frequently is a great way to make better use of the existing square

footage. The following are some ways homeowners can transform home offices created during the pandemic into more useful spaces.

► Go back in time. Perhaps the easi est thing to do with a home office that is no longer needed is to return the room to its pre-pandemic state. Because the shift to remote work was so sudden, many homeowners were forced to turn wash rooms, breakfast nooks or areas of their basements into home offices. Returning those spaces to their initial functions can make a home feel less cluttered and add more room for residents to relax and get around.

► Create a new entertainment area. Many homeowners converted a spare bedroom into a home office during the pandemic. In such instances, guest beds and other furniture might have been moved into storage or even sold or discarded. Either way, that means the office was cleared of bedroom furniture. Now that the room no longer needs to be an office and now that homeowners have made due without the extra bedroom, the room can be converted into an enter tainment area. Swap out the desk for a foldout couch that can still accommodate

overnight guests when necessary. Then mount a flatscreen television on the wall and utilize the room as a gaming room for kids or a film room/man cave for mom or dad.

► Create an in-law suite. The pan demic separated families, as people living in different households were advised to avoid gatherings to stop the spread of the virus. Individuals with aging parents may have felt particularly heartbroken by this forced separation, especially if their elderly parents were living in nursing

homes that were stretched thin by staff shortages and other challenges. In the aftermath of the pandemic phase, fam ilies may want to invite aging relatives to live with them. Home offices can be repurposed into in-law suites so aging parents don’t have to confront the isola tion and loneliness many felt during the height of the pandemic.

As professionals return to their offices with greater frequency, they can trans form their offices into spaces they’re like ly to use more often.

5 EASY WAYS TO SAVE ENERGY IN THE KITCHEN

STATEPOINT

The kitchen is the heart of the home, it’s also a space where you can waste a lot of energy if you’re not careful. By making a few simple adjustments to your habits in the kitchen, you can easily cut your energy bills and do your part to help the envi ronment.

“The appliances you select for your kitchen have effects far beyond the food you eat,” says Peter Weedfald, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing at Sharp Home Electronics Company of America. “From the appliances you choose to how you use them, you can make a real difference in your energy consumption today.”

Here are a few ideas for getting started:

1. Keep it cool: Minimize the time you have the refrigerator door open. Cold air falls straight to the floor like water. The longer you leave the door open, the more cool air drains away and the harder your fridge has to work to replace it. Refrigerators that have pan try and freezer drawers help contain the cold air even when they are open. Keep frequently accessed items in the refrig erated pantry drawer so everyone in the family can help themselves.

2. Go small or go home: Whenever possible, opt to use your small applianc es. For example, the next time you’re reheating food, use the microwave instead of the stove or oven. According to the federal government program ENERGY STAR, microwaves use up to 80% less energy than conventional ovens.

3. Wash-up smart: If you find your self running your dishwasher before it’s full, it’s time to consider an upgrade.

Find a dishwasher that allows you to manage your load size. Features like the half-load option or Wash Zone setting available on Sharp’s Slide-In Stainless Steel Dishwashers will focus the water in one area when washing smaller loads to make every drop count.

4. Unplug: If you’re like most people, you use appliances like your toaster and coffeemaker for just a few minutes each day. Unplug small appliances like these

after you’re done to stop “vampire ener gy,” which is the energy consumed by items when they are plugged in but are not in use.

5. Make an upgrade: Today’s appli ances are generally more energy effi cient than older appliances, and there are a lot of energy efficient selections. According to ENERGY STAR, induction cooktops are around 5-10% more effi cient than conventional electric units

Does bathroom need a 80% OVER REPLACEMENT

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and about three times more efficient than gas. Bonus? Making the switch also means you’ll no longer be emitting greenhouse gasses associated with gas cooking. Learn more about smart, ener gy-saving appliances at sharpusa.com. To put a dent in your energy bills and reduce your impact on the environment, be mindful of your habits in the kitchen. Small changes can add up quickly.

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