4 Things New Homeowners Should Do to Prep for Fall and Winter
Fall is just around the corner, and not long after that winter will follow. This means that now is the time to start thinking about how you can prepare your home for what’s heading your way. For new homebuyers spending their first fall and winter in their new home, this preparation is even more important. You’ll want your new home to be kept as safe and protected as it possibly can be when that winter weather hits. The right changes can save you money as well as protect your home.
1. Prevent Freezing
Any system outside your home that uses water has the potential to freeze and cause you problems during winter. So, if you have an irrigation system in the garden, you will need to prepare it properly. You can manually drain them to remove any water. And you should do the same with any outdoor taps. When you prevent the water from freezing inside them, you also prevent the potential burst pipes that occur. You should also add pipe insulation to any pipes that are exposed to the cold during the winter months. This can also help to stop freezing and bursts.
2. Clean Out the Gutters
If your gutters are clogged up, it can cause you bigger problems in winter than it does the rest of the year. That’s why it’s so important to keep them clean and clear at this time of the year. The debris you find in the gutters will start to freeze. When this happens, it becomes impossible for water to pass through. So, you will get backlogs of water, which can cause water damage and leaks to appear on your roof. When you consider how easy it is to keep the gutters clear, there is really no excuse for letting things like this happen.
3. Seal Up Doors and Windows
You don’t want to let the warm air out and the cold air in during winter. If this happens, your heating bills will rise, and you’ll be throwing money away needlessly. But if you have gaps in the caulking that seals your doors and windows in place, this is what will happen. So, you need to make sure that you fill in any gaps before the cold weather really starts to take hold. Your home will feel much more comfortable if you do this, and you will save energy and money in the process too.
4. Inspect the Roof and Fix it Up
Your home’s roof is what protects it from the world outside. It’s something you should pay particular attention to as fall and winter approach. Start by carrying out a very simple inspection of the roof and seeing what there is to be fixed up there. If you can see any broken tiles or cracks that could let in water, they need to be fixed up as soon as possible. It’s easy enough to carry out simple repairs on the roof if you have the right tools and a decent guide to follow.
BUILDER:VOICE-CONTROLLED APPLIANCES HIT THE MARKET
Amazon Alexa and GE Appliances collaboration enables hands-free appliance operation via voice control.
Homeowners can now preheat their ovens, find out when their dishes will be clean, or learn if their clothes are dry without lifting a finger.
Utilizing Amazon Echo’s voice connectivity Alexa system, GE Appliance owners can use and control their smart appliances by simply stating a command. It’s the first Alexa skill to control a broad range of kitchen appliances including refrigerators, dishwashers, wall ovens, ranges, laundry and more.
“Voice connectivity has a big role in the Internet of Things, as well as in the home,” says GE Appliances vice president Liz VerSchure. “Integrating our connected appliances with Alexa will help make consumers’ lives easier, more productive and a little more fun.”
The Alexa skill built for GE appliances and Monogram products has a unique name, which is “Geneva.” Alexa device owners can use and control their GE Appliances products by simply saying, “Alexa, tell Geneva I want hot water,” which will tell the connected refrigerator to get hot water ready. A few other skills include:
• “Alexa, tell Geneva to turn on Sabbath mode.”
• “Alexa, tell Geneva to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.”
• “Alexa, tell Geneva to set the oven timer for 10 minutes.”
• “Alexa, tell Geneva to set the water heater to 110 degrees.”
• “Alexa, ask Geneva if my laundry is clean.”
Available today, all of the company’s connected appliances will integrate with all Alexa-enabled devices including Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap, Echo Dot and Amazon Fire TV. There will be more Alexa functionality coming soon, the firm says, including GE Appliances connected window air conditioners.
Upgrading your home gadgets? How about a $6,400 toilet or door that unlocks with a secret knock
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SALLYFRENCH
A $6,400 toilet with motion-activated seat. An $11,000 smart bed that automatically adjusts to your sleep positions and habits. These are just a few of the appliances that make up the modern “home of 2016,” at least according to the site Futurism, which says we are “well on our way” to the kinds of futuristic, technologically advanced households imagined in years past.
The site put together a list of the smartest home gadgets in each room. The total cost of outfitting your (currently not-so-smart) house with all of these products? At least $99,176 — though it should be noted this includes the price of a Tesla Model S TSLA, -0.80% ($69,900) in the garage. You can see the complete list here, but we pulled some highlights from their recommendations:
The Front Door
Traditional knocking is so 2015. Futurism’s recommended rig to make sure your front door is not only edgy but also highly secure, will cost you $598. Start with a $149 “smart lock” that can be unlocked with a secret knock the owner has chosen and recorded. Next step: the $449 Arlo wire-free security system, made up of several weatherproof HD cameras that can stream to your smartphone and send notifications when motion is detected.
The Living Room
You’ll definitely want to make sure the lighting in your living room is just right, so it’s handy that in 2016 you can buy a smart lighting setup, where you can dictate settings like “entertaining friends lighting” from your smartphone.
The Bathroom
Now that the lighting is just right in your living room, you want to make sure it’s right on your toilet seat. The $6,400 Kohler Numi Toilet has a motion-activated seat, and ambient lighting with programmable colors and built-in speakers that connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth.
The Bedroom
Updating your bedroom for 2016 is going to be one of the biggest burns on your wallet. Futurism recommends you ditch your old bed for the $10,999 Craftmatic Model 2 Adjustable Bed, which has a “connected mattress” that tracks your sleep habits.
See the rest of Futurism’s home gadget recommendations here.
BUILDER CONFIDENCE JUMPS IN SEPTEMBER
HMI lands at highest level in almost a year.
The home builder association’s index of builder confidence moved up by six percentage points in September to a reading of 65, the highest it has been since last October, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Monday. The August reading was downwardly revised to a reading of 59.
All three HMI components moved higher in September. Current sales expectations rose six points to 71 and sales expectations in the next six months increased five points to 71 as well. The index measuring traffic of prospective buyers was up four points to 48.
The three-month moving averages for HMI scores gained in three out of the four regions. The Northeast and South each registered a one-point gain to 42 and 64, respectively, while the West rose four points to 73. The Midwest was unchanged at 55.
“As household incomes rise, builders in many markets across the nation are reporting they are seeing more serious buyers, a positive sign that the housing market continues to move forward,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. “The single-family market continues to make gradual gains and we expect this upward momentum will build throughout the remainder of the year and into 2017.”
“With the inventory of new and existing homes remaining tight, builders are confident that if they can build more homes they can sell them,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Though solid job creation and low interest rates are also fueling demand, builders continue to be hampered by supply-side constraints that include shortages of labor and lots.”
The index measures builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
THIS YEAR’S FOUR HOTTEST KITCHEN TRENDS
And the three fads to forget.
Open and dynamic kitchens that seamlessly blend with the rest of the home are at the top of home owners’ wish lists for 2016, according to the latest Zillow Digs Home Trend forecast, released today.
The analysis of popular photos on the real estate listing website and opinions of interior design experts revealed tuxedo or two-toned painted cabinets in complementary colors, hidden appliances, mixed hardware finishes, and wood paneling, like shiplap, are the biggest kitchen trends for 2016.
Home owners are starting to take bigger risks in kitchen design. The first trend to go? Matching cabinetry and hardware finishes. Owners now have their sights set on tuxedo cabinets, or two-toned painted cabinets where the top and bottom doors are painted in complimentary colors (such as navy blue and soft gray). Homeowners are also opting to mix hardware finishes for a more eclectic look in the kitchen. Mixed and matched beautiful hardware accents “look like jewelry for the kitchen,” said design expert, Jamie Beckwith of Beckwith Interiors in a news release.
Hidden appliances are also on the rise. Stainless steel is still popular, but for a less industrial and more streamlined look owners will choose to hide microwaves and refrigerators behind cabinet finishes. Wood paneling will also be in style as the popularity of the farmhouse kitchen style grows.
As quickly as these trends have picked up, three other design aesthetics have gone out of style. Homeowners will be trading in their speckled granite, short cabinets, and dark wood and paint colors for the styles above. Granite can stain and be hard to keep up with, and the speckled look is no longer popular. Instead, quartz, marble and even butcher block are rising in popularity. Tall cabinetry also gives kitchens the illusion of being bigger and brighter, so homeowners will replace shorter top row cabinets with ones that are flush with the ceiling and will choose light and bright paint colors over dark finishes to expand the open feel.
New Single-Family Homes Started in 2015 Have More Bedrooms
Recently released data from the US Census’ Survey of Construction (SOC) show that 10 percent of single-family homes started in 2015 have 2 or less bedrooms, 43 percent have 3 bedrooms, 36 percent have 4 bedrooms, and 11 percent have 5 or more bedrooms.
Three bedroom homes have consistently been the most common type of new single-family home built. However, the share of new homes with 3 bedrooms has declined, going from 54 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2015 (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Share of New Single-Family Homes Started by Number of Bedrooms, 2005 to 2015
On the other hand, the share of new single-family homes with 4 bedrooms and the share with 5 or more bedrooms have increased since 2009. The share of new homes with four bedrooms went from 29 percent in 2009 to 36 percent in 2015. Moreover, the share of homes with five or more bedrooms went from 6 percent in 2009 to 11 percent in 2015.
Figure 2 displays the share of new homes with 4 or more bedrooms by Census Region. In 2015, the Pacific region had the largest share of new single-family homes with 4 or more bedrooms (57 percent). Other regions with relatively large shares include the South Atlantic Region (55 percent) and the Middle Atlantic region (51 percent). In contrast, the regions with the smallest shares of new homes with 4 or more bedrooms include the East North Central region (33 percent) and the East South Central region (32 percent).
Figure 2: Share of New Homes Started with 4 or More Bedrooms by Census Region
The increase in the share of new homes with 4 or more bedrooms in 2015 may reflect the move by builders to focus on higher end, larger homes in the post-recession period.
However, recent data indicate that this trend started to reverse with new 2016 data showing that the median square feet of new homes declined. Growth in the number of smaller homes, such as townhomes, may emerge going forward in response to first-time buyers returning to the market.