News
As the White House continues to try and boost the economy several plans have been presented as part of the ongoing stimulus and one of them has been coined "Cash for Caulkers".
On the surface it seemed that the "Cash for Clunkers" program was a huge success and yes it did capture America's imagination like no other government program has in years and produced a surge in new car sales while getting some pollution spewing cars and trucks off the road. But at what cost? There are some reports that the "Cash for Clunkers" program only resulted in a limited amount of new car sales and each one of those sales was subsidized by the government.
Regardless of what you think of that program the latest attempt to infuse the economy is another homegrown program. The "Cash for Caulkers" is an ingenious way to kill two birds with one stone. Provide jobs for the thousands of out of work contractors and construction workers as well as help homeowners save money and energy in their homes.
Jetson Green has tipped us to BuildingGreen's Top 10 list of green building products for 2009. They breakdown their choices with a brief description, why it's green and what level of LEED credit relevance it's been awarded.
One of our favorites is the Pozzotive Plus CMUs and Concrete Brick from Kingston Block.
Pozzotive Plus concrete masonry units (CMUs) and concrete facing brick are manufactured using up to 30% post-consumer recycled glass as a portland cement substitute and an average of 50% post-consumer recycled masonry aggregate from local sources in the Northeast. The recycled glass pozzolan (with the tradename Pozzotive), made by Empire Resource Recycling, LLC, is ground to about 15 microns (a finer powder than portland cement) and used in place of the cement, saving about one ton of CO2 for every ton of cement replaced.
Pozzotive Plus CMUs have been made with up to 90% recycled aggregate, though 50% is typical. Compared to conventional CMUs and brick, Pozzotive Plus products require less energy to produce, are stronger, and have greater moisture and chemical resistance, according to the company.
Tomorrow is your last chance to win this Energizer Swivel head light. Remember you can post a comment and Tweet the contest to double your chances of winning.
Don't wait till the last minute and enter today.
According to some reports the housing market is beginning to rebound with some areas reporting an increase in prices. But with inventory still at record levels the recovery isn't near.
"House prices have risen in recent months after a long plunge, according to the National Association of Realtors and the S&P Case-Shiller national index. Fewer Americans owe more than their property is worth, according to a report this week from Zillow.com.
But a full-fledged housing recovery will remain elusive until the market can absorb all the houses and apartments that were built during the housing boom. And on that front, progress has been slow.
About one in seven housing units was vacant in the third quarter, according to the Census Department. This year has registered the highest reading since the government began collecting such data in 1965." - via CNNMONEY
More Home Building News:
Builders Downsize the Dream Home - WSJ
Bidding Wars Resume - NYTimes
With so many online outlets to share our "status" we are often tempted to overshare especially when it comes to travel or vacation. Your "trusted" network on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are not as secure as you may think. Web savvy crooks don't have to work very hard to match up locations with those who announce their intentions of leaving their home for the holidays.
We've outlined these additional tips to our Holiday Home Security article that are great to keep in mind before leaving on vacation.
1. Do not announce on your answering machine or voicemail that you will be on vacation. Tell important family members and friends that you'll be gone and then you won't need to announce to anyone that calls that the house is empty.
2. Do not setup any email auto-reply with an out-of-office notification. Again this announces to the world that you are gone and the convenience of leaving a return date makes it even easier for crooks to figure things out.
3. Re-think your status updates. If you must make a status update to your social media profile (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) about your holiday plans, leave the dates and locations out.
Charles & Hudson is honored to be selected by Martha Stewart Living and eBay to participate in their Great Gift Challenge Sweepstakes which launches today. By entering the Challenge anyone has a chance to win a $1000 eBay gift certificate.
To help kick off the Challenge Martha Stewart and eBay sent over some eBay Bucks to shop with and my job is to spend it wisely at various price points in hopes I find the perfect gift on eBay for a do-it-yourself friend or family member.
I've been an eBay member for quite awhile and typically end up buying more than I sell. Knowing that I can usually save on tax and many merchants offer free shipping, I'll often look to eBay before buying from a brick and mortar retailer. The merchant ratings also make me feel much more secure when purchasing as opposed to who you may come across on Craigslist.
This weeks Great Gift Challenge kicks off at $25.
Laura and I have been thinking of a way to thank our neighbor Jens who often looks after our house when we're out of town and we know his favorite hobby is gardening. A common gardening hand tool didn't seem quite personal enough but we settled on two gifts that any gardener could really use, a pair of sturdy knee pads and a gardening apron.
We just received the December 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine which will be the last.
The holiday gift guide highlights some interesting product and the Hi/Low which we are always a fan of, doesn't disappoint. But Met Home always went deeper than other home design mags as they offered a lot of cultural information such as food, film, theater and art.
We've rounded up our favorite tributes to the magazine so you can commiserate with fellow readers.
Met Home:: from apartment dwelling beginnings to modern luxury living, ends - BeachBungalow8
Met Home is Where the Heart Was - Eco Salon
Metropolitan Home Closes Its Doors - ShelterPop
No Shelter For Shelter Books - Caitlin Kelly
Today is Veteran's Day and regardless of your political leanings we are all Americans and should take a moment today to reflect on the sacrifices our fellow Americans have made and continue to make for our freedoms and those of our brothers and sisters around the world.
If you choose to read on the following is an excerpt from President Obama's speech at Fort Hood which underlines the gravity of the war we are in and the faith we have in our troops to meet this challenge.
The demand for fixer-uppers in NYC has never been that high but as inventory has grown and the competitive prices for move-in ready apartments continues to swell, more city dwellers are considering renovating old dwellings.
If the buyer is in a comfortable living situation and doesn't mind waiting to renovate or moving in at a later date then they are in the ideal situation to take on a fixer-upper. Often times these buyers want an apartment done their way and even if they bought a place that was finished they'd invest money in tearing out a countertop and putting in what they like so they figure why not do it once the right way.
Hachette Filipacchi will cease publication of Metropolitan Home with it's December 2009 issue.
2 Years ago PointClickHome.com launched as a first of it's kind online hub for ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home and HOME Magazine. HOME Magazine folded last year and now Metropolitan Home will be gone.
Met Home was our favorite of the three shelter magazines. Although it was deemed luxury home design, they always included a Hi/Low feature and an issue dedicated to renovation. Hachette recently redesigned PointClickHome.com and prominently highlighted their two magazines.
What will be become of PointClickHome.com? With only one magazine in the stable will they just re-org under ELLEDECOR.com which currently resides under the PointClickHome?
We recently interviewed Anne E. Collins who is the online editor of PointClickHome.com and hope that she and her team will come through this process unscathed.
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