Homes Plus
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HOMES PLUS 14 APRIL 2013 Springtime home improvement tips for knowing when it's time to replace products on your home OW HUGE CARPET SALE! W Swing into Spring ✔ Carpet ✔ Padding ✔ Installation CARPET SALE ALSO SELECT LAMINATE & VINYL FLOORS ON SALE ONE LOW PRICE Carpets & Vinyl of Waukesha 262-544-9022 1-1/2 Miles South of I-94 on Hwy F 1596 E. North St. Hwy F 231513001 www.carpetsandvinyl.com original decaying wood door with a Therma-Tru fiberglass door and trimmed it out with long-lasting PVC millwork from Fypon," says Clement. "We also replaced older windows with ENERGY STAR qualified vinyl windows from Simonton Windows and added a new polymer slate roof from DaVinci Roofscapes. These are all man-made products that add more life to our house. Plus, we're saving more on our daily energy bills because of the incredible features of these products. "Another important aspect to consider when it does become time to replace key products on the home's exterior is to look at upgrading and taking advantage of newer, more aesthetically pleasing products that are on the market. That's what we did with the high-performance, low-maintenance products we selected. Our product choices not only make our home more livable right now, but also more add value to the home and make it more 'sellable' when it comes time for us to put the house on the market." Tips for evaluating your roof ■ Using either a ladder or binoculars from across the street, look for problem areas, such as missing or broken shingles, along with roofing tiles that may be "flap- ping" in the wind. These are all indications that a new roof may be in your future. ■ Check the sides of your roof. The southern exposure weathers significantly faster than the other sides of the roof, so make sure to carefully examine this area. Also, shallower pitches weather faster than steeper pitches. So again, if your roof has a shallow pitch – like a shed dormer – make certain you can clearly see it to get a true indication of the condition of your roof. ■ If you have a real cedar roof, consider your geographic location. Many West Coast homeowners are proactively replacing these wooden roofs with fire- and impact-resistant polymer shake roofs. Along with helping protect the home from potential wildfires, these roofs oftentimes come with a homeowner insurance discount. Tips for assessing your windows ■ Evaluate the functionality of your current windows. If you have condensation between glass panes, the windows are hard to open or close, your energy bills are soaring, or if there are drafts coming in around the window units, then it's time to seriously considerreplacement windows. See REPLACE/Page 15 231405005 Submitted photo (HIT) – Quickly-emerging Springtime weather means it's time to evaluate your home's exterior. Owning a home means giving constant attention to the building products that go into protecting the structure of your house. While we'd like to believe items like our roof, siding and windows will last forever, that's not the case. Mark Clement, co-host of the national home improvement radio show MyFixitUpLife, offers a variety of tips for knowing when it's time to replace products on your home. "The first thing any homeowner needs to understand is that every element of your home's exterior, from the top of the roof down to the front entry door, will eventually need to be replaced," says Clement, a professional contractor in Pennsylvania. "The key is to know when the time is right to invest in new products for your home. This means an ongoing evaluation of your home's current products, researching new product options and contacting professionals for support." Clement points out that replacing older products with newer, more energy efficient and longer-lasting products is a sound investment for homeowners. "We have a 100-year-old home and just replaced the