But this morning I had a powerful now moment.  I was holding my 13 month old son, Knox.  He had his little head against my chest, tucked under my chin, and he was fully resting in my arms.  For those 3 minutes I experienced the fullness of now.

Those moments are everywhere around me, and I caught that one!

Do your now moments sneak up on you?  Do you plan them?  Do they happen with people? Alone?  In nature?  In your work?  In your cooking?  In your exercise?  In your play?

1. Open the windows to get fresh air / go outside
2. Get a head count – wake the kids up and make sure everyone is conscious
3. Turn off all sources of combustion (furnace, water heater, gas stove/oven, etc) The only appliance running was our water heater so I turned off the gas supply and then turned the second gas control knob to off.
4. We were pretty sure we were leaving but I chose to reset the alarm…and 3 minutes later it went off again
5. We confirmed our decision to go to a hotel
6. This morning I called my heating and cooling professional to come find the source
7. I called my plumber to price a new water heater (I’m pretty sure that’s the culprit – the oldest appliance in the house) and we’re due for a new one.  Preferably a direct vent water heater

Now there was one step I didn’t mention.  Step 4B was to go upstairs and google symptoms of CO poisoning.  Wouldn’t you know I instantly got a headache and my stomach felt queezy.   Carbon Monoxide is known as a silent killer.  It is odorless, tasteless, and essentially undetectable.  One possible signal that an appliance is potentially dangerous is that the flame is weak or lazy.

Two action steps that I am requesting of you:

1. Get a carbon monoxide detector and hardwired smoke detectors – all of which I prefer to have a licensed electrician install.
2. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

All of us would hope that it is more than just a place to torture our friends and families who love us enough to suffer through a visit with us.  This article gives a practical roadmap to increasing the qualitative value of your guest room.  This blog post is inspired by recently reading some of Sarah Susanka’s design books.

Here are some simple tips to having a fabulous guest room:

1. Stay in your guest room every once in awhile.  Is it comfortable in both summer and winter?  Is it quiet at night?
2. Many guests are very uncomfortable having to walk through public spaces to get to the bathroom.  My family is open about stuff like that.  But most people are not as free as we are.
3. The top of the bed doesn’t have to be the place you put the suitcase.  The floor is not an appropriate spot for Grandma to dig through her suitcase.  A 5 foot desk area could be a perfect place to open up luggage.  After all, if you’re only spending 2 nights, who wants to unload all your clothes into the 2 dressers (unnecessary) in most guest rooms.
4. Bedding – my parents and in laws would die with heat in the summer because we forced them to sleep with our fluffy 3″ thick down comforter we have on the bed.  We had overlooked the need for layered bedding.  Don’t forget a fan or alternative heat source if it’s not a normally comfortable room.
5. Think like a hotel – what is your favorite hotel to stay in?  Do what they do in your home.  Yes, now is the perfect time to schedule a trip to do some research.
6. Offer different thickness of pillows in the room and don’t have hand-me-down pillows.  Throw out the pillows from the 90s and buy new ones.
7. Two twin beds is roughly the same as a king sized bed so if you have to displace the kiddos for guests consider pushing together twins to make guests comfy.

We love having guests in our home.  These tips will help demonstrate our love more fully to those we invite into our homes.

Here is why I am willing to be uncomfortable 10 days out of the year.  It’s all about efficiency.  Most of our cooling systems are drastically over-sized.  What that means is the equipment kicks on and quickly returns our homes to our desired 70 degrees.  They short cycle on and off through out the day as needed.  Homes with over-sized equipment are often cold and clammy. 

Cooling equipment is designed to cool and also remove humidity from the air.  Moist air needs to be colder than dry air to feel comfortable.  If you have visited the both Southwest and the Southeast regions of the United States you know the difference between dry and humid air. To remove humidity we want our air conditioning system to have longer running cycles.

I want the run cycles of the equipment to look like the Appalachian mountains, not the Rocky mountains.  I don’t want sports car speed; I want sedan-like efficiency.  I want to be happy 29 days a month and mildly disappointed on that one day a month I smash the pedal to the floor mat.  After all, a car can be sexy, but it would be wildly inappropriate if there were anything remotely sexy about HVAC.

If you’re hot on a day like today, just remember that this will pass in a matter of days.  When it’s time to upgrade your HVAC equipment do not get talked into larger equipment.  It is more expensive up front, and the short cycling can cause it to break more frequently than properly sized equipment.  Demand that guys like me make a scientific case for the things we specify into your home.

The path to both resource efficiency and comfort is to 1st change the energy load required to keep your home comfortable and then use the highest performing equipment you can afford [that is properly sized to your home].  I can help you walk down this path as far as you’d like to travel.

1) Don’t forget to close your windows and shades in the morning to keep in the cold air trapped inside during the day.

2) Change your furnace filter monthly or as soon as the light passing through it is reduced by particulates.

3) Keep your AC Condenser clear of plant material, level, and raised up off the ground at least a few inches. 

4) Cut the power at the breaker box and rinse the fins of the condenser when dirty.

5) Put a fan at the bottom of the stairs blowing cold air up to the next level.

Gifts from Woodcraft

1. Quick Cutting Corner Chisel $7.99 Practical, Time saving.
2. 10 piece Forstner Bit Set $18.99 Clean hole cutting.
3. Small Tool Care Kit $21.99 Help Dad maintain what he already has.
4. Magswitch Universal Magnetic Featherboard $59.99 Help him keep all his digits.
5. Fein MultiMaster Kits $209.99 This is a life-changing tool.

As always, anything Festool is an absolutely amazing (and pricey) gift.

Check out the Woodcraft Gift Finder Click Here.

Gifts from Lowes

1. Campbell Hausfeld 26 Gal Air Compressor w/ Wheeled Cart $339
2. AWP 12″ Monster Mouth Tool Bag $16.98 Everyone can use this.
3. Dewalt 37 pc Screwdriver Set – $14.97 Plus you  get a $10 gift card of your next $50 purchase.
4. Flat Pencil Sharpener $4.97 Includes 4 carpenter pencils.
5. Caulk Remover Tool $2.68  Makes re-caulking the tub easy.

Check out Lowe’s Fathers Day Gift Finder Click Here.

Enjoy finding gifts that speak to your father!  Have a great holiday.

The good news is people are starting to take hold of that dream again.  A few weeks ago we shared a story from the GR Press that housing starts were up 159 percent over last year at this time.  A really cool note about that is so many of those new homes were for 1st time home buyers.  It’s very exciting to think back to the joy of walking into your first home for the first time.  This Spring existing home sales were up almost 30 percent in response to tax credit incentives.  Our phone has been ringing steadily for new projects too!

“According to a survey from American Express, 49 percent of homeowners are making improvements to their house.  Nineteen percent are making repairs that can’t be put off, while 11 percent want to increase home value, and 5 percent are fixing up to sell.”

The new activity is different though.  Projects have been focused on making practical changes to beautiful custom homes versus making homes glitzy.  Project design has also become very personal for our clients who want to fix up versus trade up.  The clients who feel “trapped” by the recent housing market are using our expertise to wait out the market and we’re advising them in these ways.

What NOT To Do:

1) Don’t over improve for the neighborhood. This is one of those universal real estate laws like, “Location, Location, Location!”

2) Please do not try to remodel to make up lost equity.

Very few types of projects give an immediate dollar for dollar return on investment and at the moment market pressures are holding that return down.

What To DO:

1) Remodel to help your home better fit your lifestyle.

2) Make sure your home is clean & well-maintained & well-landscaped.  These efforts give you the best return on your investment.  It also makes your home much more appealing to potential buyers whenever that time may be.  This is the elbow grease of remodeling.  Easy to do, easy to hire it done.  We can help you with a checklist of items to have done.  Also, many of our clients choose to experience our Maintenance-Free Home program.

3) Curb appeal – building on the previous point – is your house attractive from the curb?

4) Is your home missing amenities for your neighborhood?  Does everyone have a deck but you?  Does your home only have 1 full-bathroom?  Well, if your family would benefit from another bathroom today then adding a bathroom may make a lot of sense.  Do you have a mudroom?

5) His, Her & Kids Spaces – if your kids are already in high school then maybe it’s worth it to consider finishing the basement to keep those young adults as close as possible for these next few years before they’re off to college.  Also, most people have enough square footage in their homes, it just feels like they’re cramped because of poorly utilized space.  Repurposing existing space is the most high value design help we give our clients.  If everyone in a household has a space that reflects their unique needs, everyone’s happiness goes up.  That may mean a truly functional mudroom, home office, kitchen, master suite, or closet.  It’s sometimes just one pinched area of a house that can be addressed to make everyone’s enjoyment so much greater.

There you go, five considerations for a time like this.  Happy home improving!

Acknowledgments: I’d like to cite Brian J O’Connor / Detroit News Finance Editor whose story, “Home Fix-ups on the rise, but experts urge caution” was the take off point for this blog post and radio interview on West Michigan Morning News with Gary Allen & Steve Kelly on WOOD 1300.

Horizon

Thank you Randy Boss, Ottawa Kent, for sharing it with us.

What makes a toilet keep bubbling, when the shower is used, or water is going out of tub?  I have a video file of what is occurring, but I think it is too big to send to you.

A: Hi John,

Very common question and I’m so glad you asked.  I talked to my “gurgle expert” Don Somderdyke, Peter Somerdyke Plumbing, in Grand Rapids, MI 616-977-3377 and Don has this insight.

It probably is some sort of partial obstruction in the main drain line servicing the bathroom.  The assumption we’re making is that along with the gurgles/bubbles that the drain also slow drains.  Otherwise it could be a sag in the line that’s holding water.  In either case what could be happening is the drain water fills up the entire drain line and the air that’s in the line needs to find an escape route so it bubbles it’s way back up from whence the water came.  It also can create a siphon in the toilet causing it to bubble.

Next Step: Remove the toilet and snake/clear the drain line of any accumulated debris.  Sags in the line can only be fixed when the pipe is exposed.  In other words tearing up the floor or ceiling below and may not be necessary.

If you don’t do anything…at least you have a good idea of what’s happening now.  Take care John and thanks for the note.

Warmly,

Ben Thompson

ben@trhis.com

April 22 – Earth Day – Today the Environmental Protection Agency’s “lead paint law” goes into effect. It will have an impact on all pre-1978 homes. Many of you live in pre-1978 homes and we all know people who do.

The Renovate, Repair and Painting Rule will affect you when you go to paint, repair or remodel your pre-1978 home — unless you do the work yourself.  The rule states that contractors working on such homes must:

• Have their firm registered with EPA
• Have EPA-Certified Renovators on staff
• Use mandated lead safe dust-containment and clean-up protocols
• Document all compliance measures

Okay, okay, you say, but what does that have to do with homeowners? Here’s what.

• EPA will enforce the rule by shutting down home projects with non-compliant contractors indefinitely. Picture a stop work order on a demolished kitchen.
• When you sell your home, you are required to disclose known lead to potential buyers. If you can’t show that your work was performed by EPA-certified contractors using lead safe practices, the value of your home may be affected.

The rule will apply to any work that disturbs more than 6 sq. ft. of painted interior surfaces or more than 20 sq. ft. of painted exterior surfaces. That covers a lot of projects. But minor work and most energy improvements will be exempt.

The EPA will not carry out a public awareness campaign until later this year. Please spread the word to your friends. Ask before hiring any sort of contractor or painter:  Are you EPA Lead-Safe Certified? If you get a blank stare, get another contractor.  Many months ago we became a Certified Renovator with the EPA so we are ready to take the hassle out of your next project.