Articles about Home Improvement and Home Maintenance

Filing a Hail Damage Roof Claim with Your Insurer

If you live in an area that receives a lot of large hail during certain storms, your personal property and your home could be damaged during a storm. This is why it might be important for you to do everything you can to understand how the claims process works.

Photo of a roof on a house
This home’s roof looks picture perfect but sometimes hail damage is hard to identify. It’s important to have an inspector you can trust.
(more…)

Continue ReadingFiling a Hail Damage Roof Claim with Your Insurer

Quick Primer: Geothermal in Louisville KY

The movement of homeowners to “go green” by utilizing geothermal heating and cooling is becoming ever more common. However, there is still a large part of the population who doesn’t even know where to begin when it comes to tackling the concept of geothermal. So let’s lay some groundwork, peel back the layers of this 21st-century question of “To go Geo or not to go Geo?” and see if geothermal in Louisville KY is right for your home.

Geothermal Energy for the Home - Quick Primer: Geothermal in Louisville KY
As you can see from this graphic, there are several different designs for the underground loops.
(more…)

Continue ReadingQuick Primer: Geothermal in Louisville KY

Crime Rate Rising, Should You Invest in a Home Security System?

Bucking the national trend, the crime rate in Louisville, Kentucky isn’t weakening. According to CityRating.com’s analysis of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics, the violent crime rate for the Louisville metro area was higher than the average national violent crime rate by more than 45% for projected 2012 numbers. The website also reports that the property crime rate in the Louisville Metro was higher than the national average by nearly 58%. Clearly, learning the top home security tips can be crucially important.

Photo of a metal house lockbox
Protecting your investment is important. Get started with this basic security checklist.
(more…)

Continue ReadingCrime Rate Rising, Should You Invest in a Home Security System?

Louisville Remodeling vs. Louisville Redesigning: It’s All in the Planning

Homeowners tossing around ideas on whether to remodel or redesign their homes are in a great position to weigh the pros and cons.

Photo of a couple looking at a contractor plan for remodeling their Louisville home
Make sure to have fun with your Louisville remodel. Planning ahead and utilizing trustworthy experts makes it all possible!
(more…)

Continue ReadingLouisville Remodeling vs. Louisville Redesigning: It’s All in the Planning

Green Siding Options for Your Home

If you are going to reside in your home, or if you are looking for a contractor to do the work, you might consider looking into a type of siding that is good for the environment, or at least better for it than most siding.

Photo of a handsome couple sitting on the porch of their home.
More and more of today’s young people are considering green products for their Louisville homes.
(more…)

Continue ReadingGreen Siding Options for Your Home

Smart House Technology Now Affordable to the Masses

I’m sure there are many of you who thought we’d all have homes like The Jetsons by 2012. Am I right? Automatically open/close doors, conveyor belt indoor sidewalks, food dispensers that could whip up almost anything in mere seconds… well, the dream is still alive.

Photo of home with Smart House technology
Smart house technology can be as simple as a changing light setting at timed intervals, or as complex as controlling every electronic device in the entire home.
(more…)

Continue ReadingSmart House Technology Now Affordable to the Masses

The Latest in Home Security From ADT

Photo of a hand with boxes floating
Controlling the functionality of your home keeps getting more high-tech.

Advancements in technology continue to be the driving force behind new changes in home security. To completely protect your home today, there are many new options, like mobile products designed to provide more comprehensive home coverage than ever before. One well-known security company is ADT. They offer a complete suite of packages revolving around new devices and technologies that provide peace of mind about your home.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Latest in Home Security From ADT

Top 5 Finishing a Basement Ideas

As of this writing, there are 6,326 active listings for Single-Family Homes in Louisville, according to our MLS. Of those, 3,717 (58%) have basements. If your home currently has an unfinished basement, I’m sure you’ve thought about the prospect of finishing it and adding to your home’s usable space, right?

Photo of a gorgeous finished basement in Louisville
The idea of finishing a basement is great, right Louisville? It’s a less expensive way to add additional living space. Just make sure you make the right choices.
(more…)

Continue ReadingTop 5 Finishing a Basement Ideas

Does Solar Energy for Your Louisville Home Make Sense?

Despite powerful incentives like historically low mortgage interest rates, a surplus of home inventory, and bargain home prices, the Louisville real estate market remains sluggish. Without a great push in these final three months, there will be fewer homes sold in 2011 than there were in 2010.

Photo of Dan Hofmann in front of a Louisville home with solar panels on the roof
Dan Hofmann, President of RegenEn Solar, stands in front of a great home in The Highlands showing off the new thin film solar solution.
(more…)

Continue ReadingDoes Solar Energy for Your Louisville Home Make Sense?

Home Improvements To Avoid When Selling Your Louisville Home

A basic concept in marketing anything is having an item appeal to the most amount of people possible. This concept also applies to selling your Louisville home. The more appealing it is to the market as a whole, the faster it will sell.

Photo of a Louisville home with a beautiful pool
While a home with a gorgeous pool may strongly appeal to certain house hunters, it won’t to the bulk of Louisville home buyers. | Photo: Tre Pryor
(more…)

Continue ReadingHome Improvements To Avoid When Selling Your Louisville Home