http://local.smart-homeowner.com/ Smart-Homeowner provides innovative solutions for creating efficient, healthy, eco-friendly homes, as well as local service contacts. 120 en-us Articles@DirectoryM.com Articles@DirectoryM.com http://local.smart-homeowner.com/ Smart-Homeowner provides innovative solutions for creating efficient, healthy, eco-friendly homes, as well as local service contacts. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Images/Image.aspx?Site=customDarkBlueWAdSense_en-US The Nokia 9290 combines phone, fax, e-mail, calendar and imaging in a handheld unit. Americans communicate today in two parallel ways: their landline service at home and their wireless service on the go. Some people in Boston, however, are deciding to simplify their communications by doing away with the landline and relying entirely on cell phones. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Going_Wireless_at_Home_Boston_MA-r1198756-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Going_Wireless_at_Home_Boston_MA-r1198756-Boston_MA.html The time was when garages, mimicking the stables of earlier years, were built separate from the house in Boston. That changed after World War II, when architects began including garages in the house structure. Attached garages make life a little more convenient for homeowners, but they also have an unwelcome effect: They can, and frequently do, pose a health hazard for the home's occupants. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Garage_Maintenance_Boston_MA-r1198755-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Garage_Maintenance_Boston_MA-r1198755-Boston_MA.html Corn gluten meal has gone from byproduct to wonder product in Boston. Researchers at Iowa State University in the 1980s were studying how effective a corn byproduct would be as a fertilizer. In the process, they realized the product acted not only as a growth stimulator, but also as a weed inhibitor. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Natural_Herbicides_Humble_Roots_Boston_MA-r1198754-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Natural_Herbicides_Humble_Roots_Boston_MA-r1198754-Boston_MA.html Thirty years ago I was teaching physics at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and living in an old farmhouse. In winter, the best that could be said of my 1809 farmhouse's uninsulated walls was that they slowed the wind to a moderate breeze. Many were the nights my wife and I couldn't keep a candle lit and took to our bed for survival in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Houses_That_Really_Work_Boston_MA-r1198753-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Houses_That_Really_Work_Boston_MA-r1198753-Boston_MA.html A site plan showing the best places for windbreaks and shade trees in much of the U.S. We all know that trees improve our lives in Boston. They make our homes look better, clean the air and make outdoor activities more pleasant. Yet not everyone knows that trees also provide financial benefits. Properly located, they can cut a home's annual heating and cooling bill by as much as 25 percent. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Saving_with_Shade_Boston_MA-r1198752-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Saving_with_Shade_Boston_MA-r1198752-Boston_MA.html There are plenty of choices in Boston when it comes to replacing the air filters in your home comfort system. A visit to a home center may produce a half dozen or more different filters that could be used, ranging in price from 49 cents to $15. Their effectiveness varies widely, too. So which is the right one? The primary reason for a filter in your furnace is to protect the equipment. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Choosing_the_Right_Furnace_Filter_Boston_MA-r1198751-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Choosing_the_Right_Furnace_Filter_Boston_MA-r1198751-Boston_MA.html Non-wood sidings have captured the majority of the residential-siding market for two reasons: lower initial cost and less maintenance. No one in Boston disputes the unsurpassed beauty of natural wood sidings, but one also cannot deny their generally poor histories in retaining finish coatings. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Keeping_Clapboard_Healthy_Boston_MA-r1198750-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Keeping_Clapboard_Healthy_Boston_MA-r1198750-Boston_MA.html Plants are the pollution fighters from mother Nature. If people in Boston can plants some houseplants within their houses, under their windows, they will discover how important it is to have them. Here are 10 pollution-fighting houseplants you can choose from. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/10_Pollution_Fighting_Houseplants_Boston_MA-r1198749-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/10_Pollution_Fighting_Houseplants_Boston_MA-r1198749-Boston_MA.html Since its earliest days, America's relationship with wood has been marked by determination and innovation. Faced with thick forests, the first settlers cleared the land, used the logs for building and launched the American timber industry. It's not surprising that wood was the first export from the Jamestown settlement in 1607. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Engineered_Wood_Boston_MA-r1198748-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Engineered_Wood_Boston_MA-r1198748-Boston_MA.html Why does paint fail? Many factors can affect the performance of a paint job, including the nature and condition of the substrate and the surface preparation; the conditions under which the paint was applied; how well the paint was applied; and of course the paint itself - its type and quality. Here are some things to take into account the next time you tackle a project. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Painting_Tips_Boston_MA-r1198747-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Painting_Tips_Boston_MA-r1198747-Boston_MA.html Imagine the convenience of windows that automatically adjust to changing light, growing darker when it's bright outside and lighter when the sun goes down in Boston. That's the promise of electrochromic windows, which use light-control technology to regulate the amount of illumination passing through their panes. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Smart_Windows_Boston_MA-r1198746-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Smart_Windows_Boston_MA-r1198746-Boston_MA.html Anyone living in a cold climate has seen ice dams - those sparkling bands of ice that form along a roof's edge in the heart of winter. While they may look beautiful in Boston, they can be quite destructive. Ice dams develop when snow on the upper part of the roof melts. Water runs down the roof slope under the blanket of snow and re-freezes into a band of ice at the roof's edge, creating a dam. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Busting_Your_Ice_Dams_Boston_MA-r1198745-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Busting_Your_Ice_Dams_Boston_MA-r1198745-Boston_MA.html Acrylic: A type of synthetic polymer used as the binder for high-performance, water-based paints and caulks. Alkyd: A synthetic resin used in oil-based paints. Alligatoring: A scaly pattern that appears on paint due to the inability of the paint to bond to a glossy coating beneath it. It can also be due to the application of a hard coating over a soft primer, or (with oil-based paint) because the wood was re-coated before the undercoat was dry. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Painting_Glossary_Boston_MA-r1198744-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Painting_Glossary_Boston_MA-r1198744-Boston_MA.html There's nothing like talk of an energy crisis to get people pondering their insulation. Whether it's stuffed into an attic crawlspace or sandwiched into the cavities of a wall, the yardstick most people use to measure insulation is R-value. The more Rs you've got, the better equipped you'll be to ride out the next energy drought. But even for those well-prepared homeowners who can recite the R-va... http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Understanding_R_Values_Boston_MA-r1198743-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Understanding_R_Values_Boston_MA-r1198743-Boston_MA.html Should deck boards be installed bark side up or down? The answer: Install it best-side up, whichever it is. Think you know the facts? Read on... The overwhelming majority of our homes are made from wood. Even masonry and steel homes contain wood. As homeowners in Boston who are involved in countless home projects, we spend much of our time cutting, shaping, nailing and painting wood. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Truth_about_Wood_Boston_MA-r1198742-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Truth_about_Wood_Boston_MA-r1198742-Boston_MA.html Cordless tools, wireless phones and laptop computers are just some of the devices that work better and longer as battery manufacturers in Boston produce increasingly more powerful rechargeable batteries. As good as they are, however, the advanced chemistry of these batteries makes them toxic to the environment when their life is done. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Safer_Way_to_Toss_Batteries_Boston_MA-r1198741-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Safer_Way_to_Toss_Batteries_Boston_MA-r1198741-Boston_MA.html You may not have heard of arc fault circuit interrupter breakers in Boston, but you will. AFCI breakers are a new safety device designed to help prevent fires caused by damaged or worn electrical wiring. According to the National Fire Protection Association, problems in either a building's permanent wiring or cords feeding power to electrical equipment cause nearly 43,000 fires each year and kill some 370 people. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/No_Fault_Fire_Protection_Boston_MA-r1198740-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/No_Fault_Fire_Protection_Boston_MA-r1198740-Boston_MA.html The problem with swimming pools is what goes into them. To keep them safe in Boston, you have to add chemicals like chlorine, which not only detract from the swimming experience but cost serious money as well. Europeans, however, are increasingly turning to nature for an alternative. "Natural pools" aren't kept clean with chemicals. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Letting_Nature_Clean_the_Pool_Boston_MA-r1198739-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Letting_Nature_Clean_the_Pool_Boston_MA-r1198739-Boston_MA.html When you give someone directions to your home in Boston, you usually throw in a description, but you probably don't describe the windows or the security system. You describe the exterior walls — usually the most notable part of any home. Siding is in fact the biggest exterior component of almost any home, usually covering more square feet of surface area than the roof, windows and doors combined. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Best_Selections_in_Siding_Boston_MA-r1198738-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Best_Selections_in_Siding_Boston_MA-r1198738-Boston_MA.html Few parts of your house in Boston are exposed to the elements as completely as the roof. The roof has to rise above anything the sky throws at it - rain, snow, hail, ultraviolet radiation. Its surface suffers the extremes of temperature, in many places reaching 120° F in the summer sun and falling well below zero in the winter. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Roofing_Revolution_Boston_MA-r1198737-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Roofing_Revolution_Boston_MA-r1198737-Boston_MA.html The fastest-growing market for solar water systems in Boston is swimming pools. Last year, about 95 percent of the square footage of all solar collectors shipped to U.S. markets were for swimming pools. And there are good reasons why the number is that high. Solar heating systems for swimming pools can be very cost-effective. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Heating_System_for_Pools_Boston_MA-r1198736-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Heating_System_for_Pools_Boston_MA-r1198736-Boston_MA.html These days it's hard to imagine a kitchen without a microwave or a family room without a VCR in Boston. Whatever the age or size of a home, technology has become an integral part of a comfortable, enjoyable and convenient household. But your house can be smarter still. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Automating_Your_Home_Boston_MA-r1198734-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Automating_Your_Home_Boston_MA-r1198734-Boston_MA.html When I go into my local building supply store in Boston to buy lumber, the first thing I'm asked is whether I want "white wood" or "green-treated." Over the last few years, my home projects have been a deck, a privacy fence for the back yard and low retaining walls in my garden. For these projects, I want the wood to last a long time, so I've bought green-treated lumber. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Persevering_Without_Peril_Boston_MA-r1198733-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Persevering_Without_Peril_Boston_MA-r1198733-Boston_MA.html You don't have to live in California to worry about electrical power. All over the United States, power authorities are straining against high consumer demand. Brownout conditions or unannounced outages may become more frequent in many locales. Why are computers so susceptible to sudden power loss? Most of the components in a computer are solid-state and unaffected by power dropouts in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/UPS_Systems_Boston_MA-r1198732-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/UPS_Systems_Boston_MA-r1198732-Boston_MA.html To troubleshoot household, appliance or automotive wiring, you can buy all sorts of devices: receptacle analyzers, continuity testers, circuit finders and voltage testers. Or you can buy a multimeter in Boston. These multi-talented little devices are widely available for as little as $20 in both analog (swinging needle) and digital form. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Multi_Talented_Multimeter_Boston_MA-r1198731-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Multi_Talented_Multimeter_Boston_MA-r1198731-Boston_MA.html To Malcolm Wells, May 14 is Underground America Day, a holiday he invented in the 1970s. Observance of UA Day isn't widespread among the 3,000 other owners of underground homes, but Wells doesn't really care. 'The point is that this is still a good way to build a home,' said the 75-year-old architect from Brewster, Mass. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Homebuilding_the_Offbeat_Way_Boston_MA-r1198730-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Homebuilding_the_Offbeat_Way_Boston_MA-r1198730-Boston_MA.html QUESTION:I've read a lot about dangerous chimney problems in Boston - fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, to name just two. How often should I have my chimney cleaned? http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Fixing_Chimney_Problems_Boston_MA-r1198729-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Fixing_Chimney_Problems_Boston_MA-r1198729-Boston_MA.html Using modern power tools to cut, shape and sand wood, you can create useful and beautiful projects in Boston. You'll also create wood dust - probably lots of it. Ranging in size from the relatively large wood chips that might shoot out the back of a thickness planer to fine dust from sanding (with some particles smaller than one micron), this dust is more than a just a nuisance - it's downright dangerous. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Busting_Your_Shop_Dust_Boston_MA-r1198727-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Busting_Your_Shop_Dust_Boston_MA-r1198727-Boston_MA.html Question: The rotating ball faucet in our master bathroom has developed a stubborn leak. The faucet seems to be in fine shape otherwise; it matches the rest of our single-lever plumbing fixtures, and to be totally honest - I don't feel like replacing the entire faucet just yet. Can you tell me how to repair it in Boston so I can get a few more years out of it? http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Fixing_Leaking_Rotating_Ball_Faucets_Boston_MA-r1198726-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Fixing_Leaking_Rotating_Ball_Faucets_Boston_MA-r1198726-Boston_MA.html Good ventilation is important to your comfort and safety in Boston, as are a reliable heating system, smoke alarms and a dry basement. It will help to protect the occupants from irritating pollutants and potentially dangerous gases like carbon monoxide. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Ventilation_Discourse_Boston_MA-r1198725-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Ventilation_Discourse_Boston_MA-r1198725-Boston_MA.html You can place your weather sensors on a rooftop or in your backyard garden in Boston. Over the course of history, weather has played a major role in how people survive in the natural world. Climatic conditions like droughts, storms, hurricanes and tornadoes have all had dramatic effects on our environmental experiences. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Home_Weather_Stations_Boston_MA-r1198724-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Home_Weather_Stations_Boston_MA-r1198724-Boston_MA.html Considering the importance of the foundation, the dearth of attention it gets is amazing. An excavator digs a big hole in the ground; a bunch of plywood panels are assembled into a form, and the form is filled with a slurry of gray mud. For many homebuilders in Boston, the excitement of construction begins when the first piece of wood is bolted to concrete. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Functions_of_the_Foundation_Boston_MA-r1198723-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Functions_of_the_Foundation_Boston_MA-r1198723-Boston_MA.html You can say that tools say a lot about the society that made them. A society produces more of just about everything as it advances (tools included), and in turn, it uses more tools to continue advancing in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Drilling_Foundations_Boston_MA-r1198722-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Drilling_Foundations_Boston_MA-r1198722-Boston_MA.html Planting a tree or shrub is a highly unnatural act in Boston: "There is no comparable process in nature - no growing plant is heaved up, transported some distance, and then replanted in a totally new environment," assert Kim Tripp and Allen Coombes in their Complete Book of Shrubs. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Planting_Trees_and_Shrubs_Boston_MA-r1198721-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Planting_Trees_and_Shrubs_Boston_MA-r1198721-Boston_MA.html When a shallow leaching trench freezes in very cold climates, the gray water will back up in the switching chamber and spill into the secondary pipe that flows into a deeper trench in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Removing_the_Wrinkles_of_Gray_Water_Reuse_Boston_MA-r1198720-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Removing_the_Wrinkles_of_Gray_Water_Reuse_Boston_MA-r1198720-Boston_MA.html A lot of today's exterior siding, trim and accent materials promise ease of maintenance - and many tell you that you'll never have to paint them. And even if a new paint job isn't necessary, maybe you'll want to shake up the look a little bit. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Paint_by_the_Numbers_Boston_MA-r1198719-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Paint_by_the_Numbers_Boston_MA-r1198719-Boston_MA.html Caulking and weather-stripping begins at construction and continues throughout the life of the home in Boston. Done properly, it can be extremely effective and economical. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Smart_Energy_Savings_Boston_MA-r1198718-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Smart_Energy_Savings_Boston_MA-r1198718-Boston_MA.html Home systems can be basic or elaborate, but they all succeed in giving listeners a surrounded, sensual sound experience, whether it's used to enhance a home-theater experience or for music - or both in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Sound_System_to_Inspire_Audio_Adrenaline_Boston_MA-r1198717-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/A_Sound_System_to_Inspire_Audio_Adrenaline_Boston_MA-r1198717-Boston_MA.html Each house was judged on 10 criteria to determine which most efficiently employed solar energy for heating, cooling, hot water, lights, appliances and even charging an electric car in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Energy_Boston_MA-r1198716-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Energy_Boston_MA-r1198716-Boston_MA.html As discussed in the previous installment, a building foundation performs a surprising number of tasks in Boston. The four critical tasks are to: Bear the weight of the building loads, Anchor against the forces of wind and earthquake, Prevent vertical motion due to frost, and Isolate the building from ground moisture. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Foundation_Options_Boston_MA-r1198715-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Foundation_Options_Boston_MA-r1198715-Boston_MA.html While replacing pipes may not be on your top-10 list of things to do in Boston, it will become very important when it takes an hour or more just to fill up the bathtub. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/When_Good_Pipes_Go_Bad_Boston_MA-r1198714-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/When_Good_Pipes_Go_Bad_Boston_MA-r1198714-Boston_MA.html It can be a homeowner's nightmare: radon. If you have radon in your house, however, a little know-how and legwork will go a long way in determining the best way to get rid of it at the most affordable price in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Ruling_Out_Radon_Boston_MA-r1198713-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Ruling_Out_Radon_Boston_MA-r1198713-Boston_MA.html The manufacture of fiberglass insulation is an improvement upon slag wool, which comes from steel mills. Volcanoes started it all with rock wool. When most people think of home insulation, fiberglass almost always comes to mind. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/All_About_Foundations_Boston_MA-r1198712-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/All_About_Foundations_Boston_MA-r1198712-Boston_MA.html If you garden, you should fertilize. And when you fertilize, the fertilizers you choose will be either organic or synthetic. Organic fertilizers are those derived from natural (plant, animal or mineral) sources, subject to minimal processing in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Organic_Fertilizers_Boston_MA-r1198711-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Organic_Fertilizers_Boston_MA-r1198711-Boston_MA.html Homeowners can be an obsessive bunch. They think it's good sport to drive around new, upscale subdivisions and study siding in Boston. It's fun to see how that Victorian reproduction has mixed natural-colored, hand-split shakes with ivy green, half-round shingles. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Evolution_of_Vinyl_Siding_Boston_MA-r1198710-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Evolution_of_Vinyl_Siding_Boston_MA-r1198710-Boston_MA.html Don't forget that some of these siding materials can be used together" like stucco and engineered wood trim in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Aside_From_Wood_and_Vinyl_Boston_MA-r1198709-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Aside_From_Wood_and_Vinyl_Boston_MA-r1198709-Boston_MA.html CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) - The most common digital technology in which information is digitized, assigned a unique code and spread over the entire bandwidth available to the phone in Boston. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Language_of_Cellular_Technology_Boston_MA-r1198708-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/The_Language_of_Cellular_Technology_Boston_MA-r1198708-Boston_MA.html Back in the mid-1970s, my father had a solar water-heating system installed on our house in Memphis, Tenn. The neighbors thought we were "with it," but like so many solar water systems back then, the equipment was unreliable. We ended up with little more than a flashy piece of junk on our roof. Solar has come a long way since then. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Water_Heating_Boston_MA-r1197909-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Solar_Water_Heating_Boston_MA-r1197909-Boston_MA.html Imagine finding free energy on your property, so much of it that you'd never run out no matter how much you ran your furnace and air conditioner in Boston. Now for a surprise: There's a bonanza like that beneath your home right now, courtesy of the sun and the earth's massive ability to store heat. It's called geothermal energy, and it can be pumped out of the ground almost anywhere in the country by anyone willing to spend a relatively small amount of money to do it. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Home_Energy_Boston_MA-r1197908-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Home_Energy_Boston_MA-r1197908-Boston_MA.html Paying attention to details can save you energy, hassles and money. When it comes to buying windows, we can be awfully shallow. Whether for a new home or a remodeling project in Boston, we usually select our windows - casement, awning, double-hung or fixed glass - for their looks, not because they provide a tighter seal or the best natural ventilation. Convenience is important, too, as demonstrated by the fact that an entire industry has been built around the tilt-out window that allows us to clean the glass without climbing a ladder. http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Windows_at_Home_Boston_MA-r1197907-Boston_MA.html http://local.smart-homeowner.com/Windows_at_Home_Boston_MA-r1197907-Boston_MA.html