Bulkheads are handy but let in a lot of cold air and moisture.  Insulate from within around your bulkhead in the late fall and seal with a moisture barrier film.  In the spring you can open it back up for easy access.

Chimneys need to be maintained to work efficiently.  Make sure to clean you chimney every year and to check the flashing around the chimney opening on your roof.  Good home maintenance can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Driveway sealants help protect your driveway from widening cracks and growth in those cracks that can shorten the life of your driveway.  Do it in the fall when the weather is cooler, but before the frost.  The cost of sealants over years is still less than the cost of a new driveway or significant driveway repair work.

Energy in your home eats money.  Use space heaters in rooms where you sit instead of central heat in the fall and spring months, install storm windows or use inside films and curtain to cut window leaks, and use compact florescent light bulbs both in and out.

Fire!  I have already talked about maintaining your chimney.  But, you also should  check chimney linings every two years, check your attic for exposed wiring every year, and buy new fire extinguishers every 6 years.  Then the only fire that you’ll have to content with is what warms your feet.

Gardening is a great activity and improves your home’s curb appeal, but it can get expensive.  How about filling your beds with roadside and native plants?  They can be dug for no cost except to your back, and they are hardier, already perfectly matched to your planting zone.  I love all the blueberries, too, in my front yard—easy picking when I want a pie and helps with the bird feed costs.

Heating costs can be cut with automatic set thermostats.  Set the temperature at 68 degrees for the day and 55 degrees at night and dress warmly.  Keep your curtains closed on cloudy, cold days and open for passive solar effect on sunny days.

Irrigation and watering your lawn and gardens is expensive, especially if you pay for city water and you use electricity for delivery of water to the outside.   Drip irrigation is more cost effective than sprinklers. Sprinkled water goes into the air first and can blow away, while drip irrigation concentrates right at the root of plants and shrubs for the best soaking.  And, rethink the need against the cost of fountains and ponds.

Just plan simply for additions.  First, a simple rectangle will cost less for foundation work than a more irregular shape.  Second, think about your neighborhood.  You want to step up in comparison to other houses around you so additions can be good, but if you oversize for your neighborhood, you may have trouble recouping your cost if you sell eventually.  Also, be careful your addition does not overpower your lot size.

Kitchen remodeling will give you great return on your costs.  However, updates do not have to include expensive replacements.  Think about painting your cabinets and save.

Lights!  Turn them off when not in use.  And, you already know about using compact florescent lighting both inside and out.  But, you can have motion sensitive outside lights and also motion insensitive nightlights inside. To reduce electrical costs for landscape lights, plan carefully by placing lights where there will be most effective, or use solar energy or energy saving lighting fixtures.

Mortgages for your home can be hard to find and re-mortgaging is always a question when interest rates go down.  For re-mortgaging, plan to stay in your house another 7+ years on average to make it worthwhile.  One tip for saving on mortgages, in general, is to put down 20%; another is to check the overall cost of the loan.  That figure is more important than the monthly payment.  A rule of thumb is to plan to pay off your home mortgage by age 65.

Neighbors lend a helping hand and can help you save money.  Rent lawn and construction equipment together and share costs.  Swap tools and labor.  There are even neighborhood programs for saving on groups solar projects.

Options for saving on home insurance are out there.  For example, make sure you have replacement cost insurance, not cash value.  If you need to replace a furnace, for instance, you want the present-day value to break even, not what a used, furnace may cost.  Also don’t over insure.  You’ll have your land in most every circumstance so why insure for its value?

Pennypinchinghints.com is a great site to use for home-saving ideas.  This site has a little bit of everything with big savings ideas.  The site also has freebies, deals of the week, and tackles many topics from homebuilding to college savings and from buying shoes to making investments.

Quick sales of houses are harder today, but there are some tips to make sure your house sells.  Clean, paint, and mow.  Also declutter by clearing counters and shelves and knickknacks. Also think about negotiating for a dual realtor’s fee—the regular 6% if your realtor sells but 3% if another agency sells; that increases incentive.  You can even try selling your home on your own.

Roofing improvements now save you energy and money.  Until 2016 you can recoup 30% of your costs on your existing home to replace asphalt and metal roofs up to $1500 with Tax Form 569.

Sealing can save!  Silicone sealing is used to address air leaks inside your home in smaller places.  Check around incoming cable and phone lines, around your mail chute and around your vents, like dryer vents.

Taxes on your home and property can be reduced.  When market values go down, so should your property taxes.  Make sure to ask for re-assessments.  Also use the Homestead Exemption and save 20%. Everyone qualifies so apply with your county assessor in February.  And, take advantage of all the other exemptions out there on widows, veterans, minor, etc.  Check with your state government to find out what is available to you as exemptions vary state to state.

Utilities can cost you a lot.  Turn off water when brushing your teeth and on only to rinse.  Unplug your TV and computer at night.  Clean your furnace yearly to increase its efficiency, and try alternative heating like pellet stoves.

Varmints can cost you money.  Save on exterminating costs by keeping mulch away from your foundation.  Don’t feed the birds (and squirrels), and use cornmeal to kill ants—not Orkin.

Water savings can be realized by turning your water heater temperature back to 120 degrees in the summer and by using a 2 gallon per minute show head.

Xtra savings are possible when buying a house if you buy in December and not in the summer.  Also negotiate based not on what comparable house have sold for but what they will sell for now, and never tell your realtor what you will pay; realtors find a way to push you upward.

You net good money return on your home when you buy newer appliances, increase closet space, add a garage and/or work space, and fence in back yards.

ZZZZZ….Now you can sleep soundly knowing the little things you do to save around your house can save you big $$$$$$$s.

Protect your life timeâ??s investment such as your home. In times of a disaster, theft, flood, subsidence, collision etc if your building gets damaged, such a policy will help you claim compensation for repair or reconstruction. If it is protection of your items then you can claim compensation for its replacement.

Is content insurance covered in buildingâ??s insurance?

No, if you apply for building policy, it only protects the structure of your building and not the items inside the house. However, it covers the fixtures and fittings inside the house which are not part of content insurance.

Can content insurance be a part of buildingâ??s insurance?

Although, content is not covered in buildingâ??s cover it can be combined along with buildingâ??s insurance. You can take a combination of content insurance and building insurance together in order to avail of some discounts. But, one building policy will not cover every thing. For this, you must apply for a combination of the two policies.

What is new for old policy?

It is simple, you can get a policy which will help you make a claim for the whole of the reconstruction cost. You can rebuild your house if it is completely destroyed and get the whole price reimbursed from them. It offers enough solace even in times of a catastrophe!

Can you cover all the items in the house under the content policy?

Not all, certain things like fittings and fixtures inside the house are covered under buildingâ??s policy. Your carpets, paintings etc can be covered in the content policy but not the fixed wooden flooring. Therefore, anything that is movable can be covered under this but not fixed ones like your taps, fittings in the kitchen etc.

Almost everyone who has a mortgage will be required to have a homeowner’s insurance policy to cover damage to the property itself as no lender wants to own a property that requires major structural work. Remember, when an insurance company discovers a foul play in your dealings, it cannot compensate you what-so-ever making it very important for you to submit relevant information. Therefore, provide them all the accurate information about the building, tell them what your house is worth, do not underestimate or overestimate the price of your house. If you tell them more, thinking that you will get more money as compensation, then you have mistaken. Instead you will end up paying more premiums every month if the cost of the house is more. They will pay you a compensation that is worth your building and not more.

The scene is set; the grass is green, the summer sun shines down warming our bodies and souls, inspiring us to get out there and have some fun. For some this includes playing the odd game of tennis or two in the grounds of their property. This is seems is where the problem starts; the game goes well at first, you imagine yourself on centre court at Wimbledon, the crowd cheers, you frenetically send the ball reeling back to your opponent and then “smash”, the ball connects with the kitchen window and then back to reality. It really can be as simple as that.

It is estimated that during the month of July claims on house insurance for broken glass rise by 76%. Indeed this is echoed in a report by Halifax, who have stated that last summer they saw a substantial rise in the number of claims put in for broken glass and domestic breakages.

It is thought one in ten of us will invest £500 or more in our gardens this year totalling a grand figure of £56 million. With this in mind it is prudent to be just that little bit careful when deciding to become a sports star in your own back garden.

With the recent frequent rainstorms besieging the country it may be the last thing on your mind but I imagine you probably can’t wait to get out there and enjoy your garden as soon as the first bit of sun comes your way. Continuing in the same vein, be careful to secure any sports equipment you have stored in your gardens as at this time of year incidences of burglary increase massively and many a home insurance claim is made against garden contents.

Remember when retiring to the house in the evening to tidy away anything left out, secure any storage facilities and lock all gates and entrances to the garden.

Remember; if you do get carried away with the whole Wimbledon and tennis issue, please be kind to your house and be careful when playing. If it’s possible move as far away from the house and structures such as greenhouses as you can. If you do decide to have a game or two, good luck and enjoy your summer.

Read more on Suburban Journals

Times Chronicle/Glenside News community calendar
Click here to submit an event to The Times Chronicle/Glenside News calendar for publication.

Read more on Times Chronicle & Glenside News & The Globe

Progressives Criticize White House, Democrats
Progressive activists who helped elect Barack Obama president complained on Monday that the administration and congressional Democrats have been too timid and too willing to compromise.

Read more on Fox News

A steel framed house construction is prefabricated in nature. All the materials are cut and labelled for the convenience of the customer by the manufacturer. Then they are sent to the home owner, contractor or builder along with the plan. These framing system are very easy to put together. The frame is put together simply by screwing together according to the indications of the manufacturer.

Options are available to choose from Standard House Plans or Customizing according to homeowner needs. Some of the benefits of steel metal homes are that the steel won’t mould, catch fire and is termite resistant, these are the three things which causes the highest house maintenance cost.

It addition to the resistant against most types of damage, steel houses are much more durable than traditionally built homes. Steel houses sustain strong winds caused by Hurricane and tornado. The steel frames would not rot or mould, in case of water damage from the storm. If you are constructing a new residential house or new building in a hurricane prone area then you should construct a Steel Frame house. Buildings made from steel would save millions that are being spent after the damages from hurricane & tornado.

Steel metal houses are much safer, durable and much quicker to build. Prefabricated steel metal home would save half of your labour fees. In addition, the materials worked out of the same price and sometimes cheaper than the materials used in the standard home construction.

Most importantly the Home Insurance of a steel house is lower than traditionally build house which saves you a fortune over the years.

It is hard to image why a new home owner would not consider choosing steel for construction. Steel home will save money and time. And provides you with a safer home structure, saves over home insurance, saves thousands of dollars spent over house maintenance and saves house from damages during hurricane and tornado.

Read more on Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance

Volta Extends Gold Mineralization Further South At Its Kiaka Gold Project
Volta Resources Inc. announces the drill results from the next completed sections at its Kiaka Gold Project, located approximately 120 kilometres southeast of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.

Read more on CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance

N.S. house fire suspicious, police say
A house fire in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley has been deemed suspicious by the RCMP.

Read more on CBC Nova Scotia