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Selling Your Home

When I was a kid, my parents decided to sell the small brick home we lived in. Unfortunately, they didn’t receive any high offers for the house. Because I don’t ever want to experience the difficulties selling a house that my parents did, I’ve researched home improvements homeowners can make to add value to their properties before placing them on the market. A great remodeling project to undertake before selling a home is installing new windows. New windows can add value by improving both the appearance and energy efficiency of a home. On this blog, I hope you will discover the benefits of installing new windows in your home before attempting to sell it. Enjoy!

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Selling Your Home

Keeping Your House Warm In The Winter

by Jesse Henderson

As temperatures drop, many homeowners begin thinking about the great expense that goes into keeping a house warm. There are several things you can do to keep the temperature of your home comfortable without getting lots of bills that are uncomfortable. Read on for some tips.

Windows

Windows are the place where a lot of warm air is lost and cold air enters a home. According to energy.gov, drafty windows can make those heating bills 10% to 25% higher than they would be if they were replaced with energy-efficient windows. Beyond window replacement, however, there are ways to avoid air exchange at the windows. Adding caulking to immobile parts of the window and weather stripping will help keep cold air out. Covering the windows with tight-fitting plastic will also help. People who find this look unsightly can hide the plastic covering with tight-fitting insulating curtains that can keep cold night air out. Just be sure to open those curtains during the day to let the sunshine in to warm the house. Adding storm windows to your existing windows also can do a lot to stop air leakage in your home. 

Fireplace

People often think that warming their home with a wood-burning fireplace is less expensive than using a heating system. That's true as long as you're right next to that crackling fire. The problem with fireplaces is that they can suck warm air out of the rest of the house, leaving rooms that are far away from the fireplace cold. Consider installing a glass cover on your fireplace. The glass cover will let the roaring fire heat the room, but will block air from going up the chimney. It's also important to remember to close the flue when the fireplace isn't in use. 

Close Off Rooms

If there are rooms in your house that you don't often use in the winter, like a guest room, close that room off. Simply turn the heating element in that room off by closing a vent, close the door and cover the gap under the door with a door snake. By doing so, you're reducing the amount of square footage in your home that must be heated. Conversely, if there's a room in your home that you use often or that you'd like to keep especially warm, like an office or a nursery, shut the door when the room is not in use. Let the heat run normally during the day or night and when it's time to crank up the computer in the morning or put the baby to bed at night, that room will be cozy and warm. 

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