With the GrainHome Improvement Tips and Tricks

Do you keep a home maintenance binder?

First, do you know what a home maintenance binder is?  When I was interviewing people for case studies for my book, The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Home and Saving Thousands on Your New House, I was surprised how many homeowners did not use these binders (and, for the most part, did not know what they were).

A home maintenance binder consists of all of your maintenance schedules, manuals for things like your furnace, air conditioning units, smoke detectors, and so on.  Typically, these manuals are thrown into a drawer somewhere and soon forgotten.  Did you know there are home improvement tips within these manuals?  Did you know that by, simply sifting through them, you can create a home maintenance schedule based on published suggestions?

To get yourself started, purchase a binder that is two or inches thick and purchase a package of pocket dividers.  Gather all of your various manuals for this, that, and the other thing.  Yes, the manuals for your home entertainment units and ceiling fans count.  This is the beginning of your home maintenance binder.  When broken down task by task, completing this is not as daunting as it may seem.

Winter may seem like it is far off, but it is actually right around the corner.  It is no mystery the fuel crisis is cause for adequate preparation for those living where winter hits hard.  There are a number of home improvements that can be performed in order to improve the efficiency of your home’s heating.

1. Do you have leaky doors and windows?  Be sure all the windows and doors are weather-tight.  If you are living in an older home, replacement windows may be a necessity.

2. Are you properly insulated?  Attics are typically where a lot of heat loss occurs, so be sure it is properly insulated.

3. Do you have a fireplace?  Heat loss can occur if the fireplace is not properly vented.

4. Is your foundation tight?  A foundation that is old and falling apart creates a set of problems most do not want to think about, including heat loss.

This is just the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended).  If you have a furnace that needs maintenance, filters that need to be changed, or a chimney that needs to be cleaned . . . as you can see, there are a lot of things that should be addressed before the cold weather hits.  Are you prepared?