Here is a great winter checklist for your home. courtesy Lennox.

Home Maintenance Checklist for Fall and Winter

General guidelines for keeping your home warm and efficient:
Have a qualified HVAC professional inspect your home’s ducts and cooling equipment.
Set your thermostat to 68°F when you’re at home and awake, and as low as 60°F when you’re
asleep or awake.
Clean or replace furnace filters every month.
Clean chimney and check to see if your fireplace is working properly.
Seal air leaks in the attic, basement and crawlspace, and also around windows and doors.
Insulate inside of windows with heavy-duty, clear plastic sheets.
Check your attic for proper insulation. (The U.S. Department of Energy suggests a value between
R-22 and R-49.)
Close curtains or shades at night and keep them open during the day
Clean windows on the south side of your house to maximize sunlight exposure.
Weather-strip doors that lead to cold or outside areas.
Wrap and insulate waterlines to prevent them from freezing.
Repair leaky faucets.
Extra steps you can take to save energy:
Install a programmable thermostat, so you can preset temperatures for different times of the day.
Insulate the water tank and first six feet of hot and cold water pipes connected to the unit.
Lower the temperature of your water heater to 120°F (for every 10-degree decrease in temperature,
you may save 3% - 5% on your energy costs).
Install rubber gaskets behind outlets and use switch plates on exterior walls.
Install low-flow showerheads.
Things you can do to improve air quality and reduce potential health risks:
When adjusting clocks, change batteries in smoke alarms, as well as radon and carbon monoxide detectors.
Consider a ventilation system to increase air circulation inside and add a healthy dose of fresh air.
Clean water-damaged carpets and materials, or consider replacement.
Reduce the potential for buildup of allergy-causing pollutants by keeping your house clean
Take special precaution when operating fuel-burning appliances to avoid leakage.
Store and dispose of household chemicals in a safe manner

Green Kitchen Renovations

Wenge wood Kitchen ceaser stone tops

Kelowna kitchen renovations these days are becoming more and more common place. Homeowners are realizing that they can stay in their home and have that dream kitchen they have always wanted.


If you stay with the same layout for plumbing and electrical a kitchen renovation can be quick and painless. Keeping the same layout also allows you to spend money on nicer cabinets rather than paying for expensive plumbing, venting, or electrical work.


Green kitchen renovations are a real possibility these days with many products readily available. Let’s divide the work roughly in two,

one half being the new cabinets and counter tops, the second half being the disposal of existing cabinets, and any modifications to wiring or plumbing, drywall etc. (Please note that new plumbing and electrical work requires a permit. Not getting one could render you liable should a problem occur. )

First the cabinets. There are woods available that are considered to be environmentally friendly -- these would be used for doors and facings. Examples could be pine beetle wood, Wenge, (looks like ebony) or woods from as common as birch, alder, walnut and cherry from sustainable forestry operations. The big “green wood” gaining popularity now is bamboo. There are coatings for the wood that are also green. These coatings may contain no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), or be clear without additives and tints.

Second, inside the cabinets. Some manufactures offer products that are made with bamboo or other renewable resources. Finally, the counter tops. These can also be green. Some options include:


● Recycled glass (looks like ceaser stone)
● Composite compressed paper (sounds strange, but looks amazing)
● Recycled aluminum
● Reclaimed wood

The Renovation
Looking at the work around the cabinets, have your contractor make sure that all wire or copper plumbing pipe, drywall, and wood scraps are separated and recycled. The old cabinets can be reused for storage in garages, workshops etc. Place a free ad in Castanet or a local classified service and watch them walk out the door. Remember a great way to be green is to reuse and avoid the energy required to recycle. Reusing and renewing should be your first choice.

This might all seem a bit daunting, so hire a contractor that cares about our planet. At Greenwave Construction we will guide you through the process of green kitchen renovations in a friendly helpful manner. We are the only smart choice for your project.


David Federici
Greenwave Construction
Kelowna, BC
(250) 575-2690
http://www.greenwaveconstruction.ca/
Email

We take the home work out of home improvements.