Home Improvement
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Why are municipal building inspections not enough?Nov 30, 2012 4:33 am - Q. Your articles often recommend that home inspectors be hired to inspect new homes. If a newly constructed home has just been inspected and approved by the building dep...
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Consider multi-piece bath in lieu of walk-in showerNov 25, 2012 4:02 am - Q. My husband and I are retired, and we’re thinking of removing our only bathtub. In its place we want to install a walk-in shower. But friends have said that we may los...
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Safety precautions for wood-burning fireplacesNov 24, 2012 4:00 am - Q. I just purchased a home that has a wood-burning fireplace. I was told to have the chimney inspected before building a fire. I’ll probably only use the fireplace for a...
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Heavy annual snowfall is bad for a flat roofNov 23, 2012 4:25 am - Q. I bought a second home in the mountains to use as a ski lodge and summer getaway. It has a flat roof, so I asked my home inspector if that would be OK in snow country...
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Looking for a ‘two-for-one’ plumbing dealNov 18, 2012 3:02 am - Q. I’m a big fan of your plumbing column. We have a classic 1950s ranch with one big pink bathroom that we are remodeling next year. We have a very long countertop with ...
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Radon is in all homes, but not at elevated levelsNov 17, 2012 4:00 am - A friend recently asked that I write about radon gas in the home and how it can affect the sale of real estate. Here is my experience with radon and radon testing: Radon...
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Home inspector missed settlement problemNov 16, 2012 3:17 am - Q. When we bought our home, our contractor was with us on the day of the home inspection. Both the home inspector and contractor inspected the attic but had different op...
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The new LED bulbs aren’t worth $50Nov 11, 2012 6:23 am - PALO ALTO, Calif. — Last year I visited Switch Lighting, a small Silicon Valley company that claimed to have built something revolutionary. Switch’s product: a light bul...
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Quilted barns draw attention to preservation, public artNov 11, 2012 4:00 am - When Nancy Fike first heard about a project in several Midwestern states that combined public art with barn preservation and the beauty of quiltmaking, she knew the old ...
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Agent exposed to risk if advising against home inspectionNov 09, 2012 4:05 am - Q. When our son bought his home, the Realtor convinced him a home inspection was not needed. She told him the owner was “Mr. Fix-it,” who maintained the home in perfect ...