Ready for the Big Game? Plasma, 1080i, LCD, DLP?

They say that nearly two and a half million people are considering a major HDTV purchase before this years Super Bowl football game on February 4th. That's a lot of plasma and LCD televisions and a lot of people, I'm sure with a lot of questions.

If you're one of the many considering a purchase for the big game, you want to check out our Home Technology blog. We've got a lot of advice prepared on plasma versus LCD and some installation tips. Even if you're not buying for the football game, 2007 is turning out to be the big year for high definition television purchases as the prices continue to fall and new technology is improving an already nearly perfect picture.

Confused about 1080i or how high your plasma screen should be? Here are a few related posts for you:

• How High Should You Install the Plasma TV?
• Plasma versus LCD
• Advantages of Plasma
• Front Projection TVs
• The BEST Rear Projection HDTV
• Plasma TV Installation

And, if you've already bought your Hi-Def TV from Costco, and need someone to install it for you, then go ahead and post your project for free on our Home Technology page.

Charles and Hudson: A DIYer Web Magazine

I wanted to provide a little "link love" to a site that I just stumbled across. It's a blog called Charles and Hudson and it's a great resource for those interested in tips, techniques, tools, and design ideas in home improvement and repair. They cover a lot of categories and offer up advice and links on everything from drywall repair or installing a circuit breaker to holiday design ideas.

The site has been around since 2005 and has topics on repair, remodeling, design, restoration, real estate, tool reviews and tips, and build-it-yourself. They've been scouring the Internet, coming up with great ideas, as well as useful blogs and websites, that can help keep you informed. And, as we all know, knowledge is power. The more you know before you start on any remodeling or repair project, the more likely you are to succeed.

It's an excellent resource and a site you'll want to bookmark and keep handy before you begin your next DIY project.

Interior Design Trends for 2007

We always know what's going to be the latest trend and which product will be the new "must-have" each year. When it comes to home improvement and remodeling, it's no different.

What is different is that most renovation projects you do in your home will last much longer than the latest clothing trend or cell phone. When you redo your kitchen, you're going to be stuck with it for quite some time...

However, a new coat of paint, some accessories, and some window treatments can completely change the look of your room - for just a few hundred dollars - and if you don't like it in a few months... you can always change it again.

If you're interested in hiring an Interior Designer for even more help -- post your request with ConstructionDeal.com.

We've got a plethora of information on Design Trends for home this year. Check them all out:

2007 Home Design Trends has a new look at what's hot!

Wendy, over at the Spacelift Blog, has some insights into the coming 2007 trends in interior design. She talks about what's going to be hot in color choices (Color), comfort choices (Atmosphere), sustainability (Building) and touches on luxury products that could be trending your way... if you're rich (Luxury. Elevators?!)

To touch on a little of her insight (she's an Interior Designer in Omaha), she talks about new colors for '07 - oranges, greens, and blues. She mentions that these colors have been hot in fashion and you may have been seeing them in magazines and in stores but that it takes a little while for trends to move over to the interior design world. She predicts blues, greens, and oranges will be the "must haves" for this year.

I also like her idea of homeowners going for a more comfortable style. As people have rushed, in the recent past, to expensive materials to fill their kitchens and baths, it's nice to know that the stuffy or formal is fading away.

I've got an article on our Kitchen Remodeling blog that talks about Jumbled Kitchens - which is about homeowners who are looking for a mix of materials in their new kitchens. They don't want a solid row of kitchen cabinets that are all the same size and all the same color. They're mixing it up for a more comfortable, European flair. Mixing wood with steel, adding quartz counters alongside a bamboo counter, or maybe even putting a marble center in the middle of a hardwood floor.

Whatever you do with your interior design this year, please don't renovate or decorate just to "show off" like some do just to get a picture of their living room in a magazine. It always looks forced and overly formal. Untouchable. You want to strive for whatever makes you happy and whatever lets you and your guests feel comfortable in your own home that will be the latest and greatest for 2007.

Finally, consider ConstructionDeal.com for any home improvement, decorating and design professional that you need. We've got a network of over 65,000 service pros, contractors, and designers to help you.

And it's all free for you to find a quality pro!

RELATED POSTS:
Kitchen Design Trends 2007
Remodeling Trends - The Home Office
From CNN: 5 Home Remodeling Trends

technorati tags: home trends, design trends, remodeling trends, kitchen trends, remodeling trends 2007, 2007 kitchen trends, kitchen pictures, kitchen ideas, color trends, design trends 2007, remodeling ideas, small bathroom ideas, small kitchen ideas, construction deal.com,kitchen and bath trends, 2007 trends

Wiki: How to Find a Contractor

This post has been permanently moved to http://contractorequotes.com/other/how-to-find-a-contractor/

How to Reduce Water Heating Bills

From RealEstateJournal.com: "When the days grow nippy, nothing beats a long, hot shower to warm things up. But at what expense? The Department of Energy says water heating accounts for 14% to 25% of the energy consumed in your home.

Here are tips from the department for reducing your water heating bills:

• Set the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees F. If you lower it by just 10 degrees F, you'll save 3% to 5%. For most homes, 120 degrees F, or even 115 degrees F, is sufficient.
• Consider getting a more efficient water heater for your home. Natural-gas-on-demand or tankless water heaters can save you up to 30% compared with standard natural-gas storage tank water heaters. Or, just buy a new energy-efficient water heater. It costs more up front, but you'll save over time.
• If you buy a solar water heater, you might be eligible for a tax credit or rebate. Look for details in the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy at www.dsireusa.org.
• Drain a quart of water from your tank every three months. You'll remove the sediment that lowers the efficiency of your water heater.
• Place heat traps on the hot and cold pipes connecting to your heater -- you'll prevent heat loss.
• Insulate your hot water pipes -- doing so can raise water temperature 2 to 4 degrees F."

Another tip not on this list - consider a water heater insulation kit. Kits come with supplies to wrap up your water heater and insulate it. Many are in cooler basements or outside altogether and insulation around the heater can improve efficiency.

RELATED POSTS:
Solar Water Heaters
Winter Has Come Early
Preparing your Home for Winter

If you need to find a local water heater company to install, repair, or maintain your water heating system - save time and money by posting your request for free with us. At ConstructionDeal.com, we'll match you with local Water Heater Experts who will contact you instead of searching and calling at random from a phone book.

How to Sell Your Home

How to Sell Your Home This Season - or, at least give your home a chance to sell. These months are usually the off-season for real estate sales and this winter a particularly bad time to try to sell with a depressed housing market.

According to Bankrate.com, winter can be difficult when showing a house because the days are shorter, greenery is in short supply, and weather can really be an issue.

Here are some of tips to help you sell your home over the next few months:

"There are good reasons for selling in the winter -- namely, less competition. But you still have to work hard to attract the best customers. It's all about home staging:

• Keep walkways and driveways clear of snow and ice. You may not have to mow the lawn or trim the shrubs, but in the winter, consider this duty your 'yard work.'


• Present a warm and cozy home. Make sure the temperature is comfortable and not too cool for visitors coming in from the outside. Turn on gas fireplaces if you have them.


• Show during 'high-daylight' hours and make your home as light as possible. Clean blinds and curtains and keep them open during daytime showings. Put the highest wattage bulbs in amps and fixtures, and turn the lights on when you show. And wash your windows -- even a little bit of grime gives the impression that the home isn't well cared for.


• Set the mood with a little soft background music and some pleasant smells. Light a few candles that give off a nice scent, such as vanilla. Just don't overdo it -- you don't want people to think you're trying to mask a bad smell.


• Ask prospective buyers to remove their shoes or slip on paper booties over them. Doing so shows buyers that you are proud of your home and take meticulous care of it.


• Emphasize the features of your home that make it a good place to live in the winter. If your roads are regularly plowed and de-iced, be sure to make it known."

Something else to keep in mind. It's a good idea to wait to show your house until AFTER the Super Bowl. Why? Well, it can be pretty difficult to get men up off the couch on the weekends to go look at a house - until all the football games are done for the season. Naturally.

RELATED POSTS:

Housing Bubble Humor

How to Beath the Bursting Housing Bubble

Publish Post

How NOT to Beat the Housing Bubble

Here's a tip - if you need to find a contractor to update any part of your home, you can avoid flipping through the yellow pages to pick a contractor at random - you can post your project on ConstructionDeal.com and we'll have contractors call you. Saves you time. And, with multiple bids, you'll also save money.

Even if you don't use ConstructionDeal.com to find a contractor fast - get as many quotes on a project as you can and go with the company that is the right fit for you and your budget.

technorati tags: housing bubble, housing market, selling your home, real estate, realtor advice,sell your house, increase curb appeal, curb appeal, staging, home staging, winter home sales,selling in winter, january home sales, february home sales, march home sales

Home Maintenance: Termite Troubles?

This post has been permanently moved to http://contractorequotes.com/other/home-maintenance-termite-troubles/

The Latest Kitchen Remodeling Trend

According to the Washington Post's article on 'The Hot and the Not' in home remodeling, the hot stainless steel appliance trend is on the way out.

The author of the book 1,001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home Mark Nash interviewed hundreds of real estate agents and the results were surprising.

The remarks about stainless steel appliances stuck out the most with me. Besides wanting a granite countertop, the next most requested item for any kitchen remodel is usually the gleaming silver, industrial look from those appliances. There is apparently a negative backlash to the stainless steel surface from many potential homeowners.

As much as people "love the look" of various additions to a remodeling project, it always seems to come back to function and maintenance. If it looks great but is hard to maintain, it can quickly fall out of favor. This may be what's happening with stainless steel. The surface is easily marred with fingerprints, especially in a heavily-used kitchen or a house with one or more children or even pets. Keeping something clean will eventually outweigh the value of the pure aesthetic appeal of almost any new product.

The author received a lot of feedback from real estate agents, "I'm hearing people say, 'I'm tired of it,' " Nash said. "They say: 'I don't have time to polish it. I have kids. I have dogs. It's too high maintenance.' "

While stainless steel appliances in the kitchen might still seem like a great idea for your kitchen renovation project, consider what the value of those items will mean to potential buyers in 5 to 10 years. Many of the those buyers may have already had steel appliances in their homes and are fed up with them. Think of some of the "hot" kitchen trends from as recently as the 90's -- many of those have fallen out of favor and are being replaced in today's modern kitchens.

Many of the agents, however, did say that stainless steel appliances are still a big item. They provide a "wow" factor and can still sell homes. Many love the neutral look they give to any style of kitchen - whether it's a sleek Contemporary kitchen or a French Country kitchen. One agent said, "'People here walk in and see that stainless steel, and it dazzles them,'"

I think it's important to weigh your options and your needs when it comes to deciding how best to renovate your kitchen. For you, having those gleaming steel appliance surfaces is worth a little extra elbow grease to keep them looking great.

RELATED POSTS:
2007 Kitchen Design Trends
Kitchen Design Ideas
Small Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

If you're interested in updating your kitchen and talking with a professional kitchen design company, post your request with ConstructionDeal.com. It's a fast, free and easy way to find a local kitchen company. Simply list your project details and kitchen experts will call you - no more looking up companies in the yellow pages and calling them at random! That saves you time.

And you'll get four quotes - usually in minutes. This gives you multiple bids. Many bids can mean you'll get the best pricing options. That saves you money.

technorati tags: kitchen renovation, kitchen remodeling, stainless steel, steel appliances,stainless steel appliances, kitchen companies, kitchen installers, kitchen cabinets, kitchen appliances, kitchen trends, 2007 kitchen trends, trends in kitchen remodeling, kitchen remodeling ideas

Demolition Contractors - Get 4 Bids from Local Pros

Need to knock down a wall in your home? Or do you need to knock down the whole house?

You could pick a demolition company from your phone book, or... you could use ConstructionDeal.com.

You'll save time - get 4 quotes instead of one or two. And demolition contractors will call you.

You'll save money - multiple quotes from demolition companies means you can choose the best price.

You'll get your project done. We'll match you to quality demolition pros the same day - at no cost. Simply submit a request and get 4 bids. It's that easy. And it only takes a few minutes. And there's no obligation to hire anyone.

Demolition contractors can knock down walls, a room, an old barn or garage, and even the house. They'll clean up and haul away all the demolition debris. And you'll be ready to build or remodel in no time.

Submit your project and get your demolition quotes now!

technorati tags: demolition, demolition_contractor, demolition_services, demolition_companies,home_demolition, house_demolition, wall_demolition
del.icio.us tags: demolition, demolition_contractor, demolition_services, demolition_companies,home_demolition, house_demolition, wall_demolition

Reducing Light Pollution

This post has been permanently moved to http://contractorequotes.com/other/reducing-light-pollution/