Replacing windows can be very expensive, especially if you have to replace all of the windows in your home.  Most homes will have ten to twenty windows including the bathrooms. Some windows are much more expensive than others. For example half moon windows on top of a large bay window will empty your pocket book quickly.  Some consumers just want to get it over with at one time and will replace all of the windows at once, while others will replace them only as they are needed. We fall into the latter group since we like to limit our capital expenditures as much as possible.

If you are purchasing a new home, you need to pay attention to the type of window that is being installed. Avoid wood framed windows. Even though they are a little less expensive, there is no need to paint PVC windows and no need to replace them. Most new homes come with low maintenance windows, however you do need to check in your agreement specifications to confirm. Read the rest of this entry »

Garage door openers are one of the best inventions for homes. With a garage door opener you no longer need to get out of your car in the rain or snow to open your garage door, just press a button and presto it opens or closes. We have had a garage door opener for some time and will have to replace ours pretty soon. The existing one is on its last legs and I can only repair it so many times. Read the rest of this entry »

Many new homes are being built with gas fireplaces instead of the old stalwart wood fireplace. Many consumers who have owned their homes for several years are converting their wood fireplaces to gas as well. Why are they doing this?  They are making these conversions simply because of the ease of use and also the almost immediate comfort that a gas fireplace can provide. Instant on, instant heat and no mess along with not having to store wood for the fireplace are just a couple of the attractive benefits of a gas fireplace. Read the rest of this entry »

Eco-Friendly hot water heating systems have become “kind of a big deal” in the last few decades, as more and more families and corporations are finding ways to help the planet AND save money. Using eco-friendly energy systems is such a win-win-win endeavor once you get past the intial investment spent on the technology.

Today we’re focusing on solar powered hot water heaters, evacuation tubes, and of course tankless water heaters. Tankless water heaters usually still use some kind conventional energy source, but nonetheless, they are much “greener” than the conventional water heaters.

It was the purchase of our Toyota Prius that got me thinking about other ways I can really stick it to the oil and coal companies. The cost of some of these domestic solar water heaters can really get up there, but still I want to look at getting it installed in my house. I’m also not sure how well it would work in Calgary, Alberta. We don’t get as much hot sun as the warmer climates get. I see there are solar water heating systems that can be used for colder climates as well.

Along with all of these interesting questions comes the another one – which brands of solar hot water heating systems actually work as advertised, and which ones DON’T??!! Below is just a small list of solar water heater brands. Keep in mind there are other brands we talk about here, on our Ec0-Friendly Water Heater Mini Site

List of Solar Water Heater Brands

• Dux
• Bosch
• Lowes (whatever brands they carry)
• Home Depot (whatever brands they carry)
• Ronas (whatever brands they carry in Canada)
• Helio-Pak
• Quality Smith
• Siddons
• Solex
• Sun Volts

Do Want An Active OR; Passive Solar Water Heater?

From what I have read on the Internet, there are two main types of solar water heating systems – the Active system, or the Passive system. What each system does I don’t know, but you can read allot more on the site we’re promoting today. A quick definition that explains the difference between an active system and a passive system, would be this;

Passive solar energy systems use the architectural design, natural materials, or absorptive structures of a building as an energy-saving system. The building itself serves as a solar collector and storage device. An example would be thick-walled stone and adobe dwellings that slowly collect heat during the day and gradually release it at night. Another example of a passive solar energy system is a greenhouse. Passive systems require little or no investment of external equipment.

Active solar energy systems require a solar collector (a device used to store energy) and controls linked to pumps or fans that draw heat from storage as necessary. Active solar systems generally pump a heat-absorbing fluid (air, water, or an antifreeze solution) through a collector.

That quote was found on the Enotes site (thanks!)

Now What About DIY Solar Water Heating Systems

So what about it? Lots! That’s what!!! You can find oodles of information on DIY (Do-It-Yourself) solar water heating systems. Just use the magic of Google, Yahoo!, or Bing to find out more. You can even have a VERY basic system made from bottles if you want, which you can see in the inset picture here, or read about it here. Needless to say, it can be done yourself, if you have the time, basic resources, and a little bit of money to seed the project.

For plans, instructions, and diagrams on how to build your own solar water heating system, I would go to this page at builditsolar.com

It looks like a whole bunch of fun making solar systems to heat up your water supply. Kind of feel like Swiss Family Robinson book (or movie). Always thought it would be fun to make a home by myself in the woods. Creating tools, and creating little inventions to make your life better, easier, and more comfortable. Anyway…..I digress.

Some of the kits that I found to be easy to setup would be like the $1000 dollar DIY solar water heating system. This is of course on the same web site. See this $5 dollar solar water heating system too!!

Then there is the commercial brands that you can install yourself, or have a company install for you. A perfect example would be the Helio-Pak Active Solar Water Heater System, which you see even more details on at the Solardirect.com site. We have a seperate page just for the Solar Direct Company as well if you are at all interested in their solar water heating product lists.

No matter how you slice it, “going solar” is very exciting, and worthwhile in so many ways. You can see from the DIY rescources online that the people of our world, with the use of the Internet, are taking it in their own hands and creating solar water heating systems for themselves and not waiting for companies like Lowes, Home Hardware, Home Depot, Ronas, Sears, Wal-mart, or Canadian Tire to produce and sell.

Ok. This a follow-up to my post Trafficmaster Resilient Slate Flooring by Allure.

My wife Betty and I started on a Friday morning removing our furniture, home theatre system, carpet and underlay from our living room. By Friday evening our floor was down.

Here are some pics of the finished floor. Click to enlarge! 

On the Saturday morning we did the baseboards, cocked them, and painted them. Little tip here just in case you are  replacing carpet and underlay with Trafficmaster planks.

When you remove your carpet and underlay you will notice your baseboards are way too high on the wall. After you have layed your Trafficmaster floor you still see the baseboards are too high. Don’t go through the hassle of removing the baseboards and replacing them, and don’t worry about buying new baseboards. Just leave the old one where they are.

Then go down to the hardware store (Home Depot….whatever) and buy some molding to nail on the bottom of the original baseboards. Mask – cock – and paint all one color. No-one will ever know that it’s not one baseboard. High reaching baseboards seem to be “in” these days too, so it’s all good.

We moved our furniture back in and by Saturday night we were finished. I did allot of Internet research first and made a phone call or two using the 1-800 # provided on the back of the Trafficmaster boxes.

I thought we have to use underlay……we did not.

I thought we would have to remove the the baseboards……we did not.

I thought it would take all weekend to install the floor……it did not.

This was easy to install from beginning to end, and I highly recommend Allure for your new flooring project. We bought the Allure flooring at Home Depot.

We just bought the fake slate plank flooring by Allure. This is the infamous resilient plank flooring that looks fantastic and is very easy to install. This is actually one the first DIY projects my wife are reaching out on. I’m not a real handyman around the house, although I’ve always been confident I could do a good job when the time came.

So now I have to shut-up and put out. My wife found this TrafficMaster flooring at Home Depot (of course), and she was impressed by its rating on some of the DIY home improvement shows.

So the first thing I’m doing is removing the old carpet, underlay, etc. Then I think I’ll put a very thin underlay used in most laminate jobs. Then we’ll install the Trafficmaster Chocolate fake slate.

One thing I notice is the that after the the underlay and carpet is removed, there is a one inch drop-off from the old flooring that meets with this room. Have to look into this. I’ll be making a video and taking some pictures of the install.

Will update this as we go along.

 Home Theater

Home theater systems are commonplace these days. It wasn’t long ago when it was a novelty to see even a 3.1 surround system in a friend’s home. Now it’s normal to see at least a 5.1 surround sound speaker system in the average family home.

The rage these days is a full fledged home theater system, with a 7.1 speaker configuration , an HD (high definition plasma/LCD flat screen, and wireless rear speakers. Many people don’t really care about high definition big screens, or even rear speakers, but yet other consumers want nothing but the best. It all comes down to how much TV you watch, and how expensive a system you can afford to buy.  

Home Theatre Systems – Cheap or Expensive?

The price of home theater systems has dropped considerably in the last decade, so you’re not going to be stuck with a big investment for a darn good system. If you need to have a “big name home theater system “, you can dig deep into your bank account and empty your wallet in the blink of an eye. You can spend up to $100,000 or more if you get into the highest end home theater systems. Here we’re talking about the average consumer level systems.      

Bose is on the expensive side, while Panasonic is on the cheap side. Philips is in the “dirt cheap” category. JVC, Sony, Goodmans, Yamaha, come in the middle and all in between. We recommend you go down to your local home entertainment dealership, and ask to experience their home theater show room demos. Keep in mind that these show-rooms are build specifically for a perfect audio visual experience. You are not likely to get this kind of high end level sound in your living room, which has various obstructions and dimensions unlikely to be conducive to a home theater application. However, you’ll still end up with great sound and picture if you buy some decent equipment. 

Below is short menu of home theater systems for you to review:

• Bose Home Theater Systems
• Sony Bravia Home Theater Systems
• Onkyo Home Theater Systems
• Goodmans Home Theater Systems
• Panasonic Home Theater Systems
• Philips Home Theater Systems

Best of luck finding a good sale/deal on your desired home theater system. Thanks for coming by to visit. 

Water Softeners

Water softener and and treatment systems are installed in residential and commercial buildings en masse. There are many reasons for this and we will be discussing all of these reasons on Zazbot.com.

When you buy a water softener you want to make sure that you have a quality unit installed as this affects the quality of water your family consumes on a daily basis. Standards are quite high for companies who manufacture water softeners throughout the free world, so you should not have any problem purchasing a safe system.

The most popular water softener and residential reverse osmosis systems are manufactured by companies such as Culligan, Kenmore, McCLean, Whirlpool, Kinetico, Waterboss, and General Electric. All of these water softer brands compete online and off-line for your business.

When you choose your water softener there is a basic set of criteria you need to adhere to, starting with the size of your home (assuming were talking about your personal or residential water supply). You have to take into account how badly contaminated the water supply is in your neighborhood or area. Depending on if have use a city water supply, or a well water supply – this will determine what kind of system you will install. All of the above mentioned water softener providers have systems specifically designed and created for the rural and/or city applications.

When you narrow down your focus as far as which water softener you want to buy, you must either call the manufacturer, hardware store, or department store, and tell them your exact needs and requirements. Usually, their staff will know exactly what you need in your home or business, and they will give you specific information on what they can do for you.

At Zazbot.com we only provide a listing of the more popular residential and commercial water softeners. Below you will find a menu of links to our various water softener information pages. We encourage you to shop around and educate yourself as to the different water purification, water treatment, and water softener systems available in the modern market.

You can find a vast amount of good information online before you even have to call a particular company regarding purchase. You can educate yourself so much so that you will be very well-equipped to ask the right questions and get the right price. Best of luck with purifying and softening your water.