You’ve heard the story over and over the past few years – homeowners are choosing to remodel the space they’re in rather than risking a loss on the stodgy housing market. No matter the inspiration, remodeling can completely revitalize a home. But there’s still risk to be considered. Not just financial risks, but health risks — especially if you’re planning on remodeling an older home.

With so many hazardous chemicals and materials to factor, Calfinder.com takes a look at the big five every homeowner should be aware of whether they’re completing a project on their own or hiring a team.

Lead
Commonly found in homes built before 1978, lead-based paint is particularly threatening to young children. Ingestion can cause  nervous system damage, stunted growth and delayed development. Why would any child eat lead paint? Because it tastes sweet like candy.

Asbestos
In older homes, asbestos can sometimes be found the pipes, ducts and furnace insulation, flooring, cement siding, and spackling compound. Exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma, a devastating form of cancer.

Mold and Mildew
Anywhere there’s moisture and dark, warm surroundings, mold and mildew is likely to be found. Danger arises when sheltered mold and mildew are exposed to fresh air, releasing harmful toxins. Mold and mildew are common, but according to Calfinder.com, “If it’s black mold or it encompasses more than 10 square feet, a professional should be sought.”

Dust Build-up
Not as immediately hazardous as some material, large mounds of dust can form between walls and tucked away spaces. Goggles and painter’s masks are recommended during removal, along with fresh-flowing air.

High VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
A fancy acronym for fumes and contaminants, VOCs can show up in carpeting, paints, adhesives, coatings and other surfaces. They are marked by a strong odor. Removal is generally safe, but should be done with plenty of ventilation.

[Photo courtesy Merida Home Blog]

As summer is winding down, it’s time to start preparing for the fall and winter. One aspect you should focus on is how safe your home is. Small steps can pay big dividends. Here are some suggestions.

Have the right detectors in your home: We all know we should have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in our homes. What you may not know is that those units should be cleaned with a vacuum every month and replaced every 6-7 years. You should have one unit on every floor of living space in your home. And you should install an explosive-gas detector in the space where your mechanical systems live.

Door locks: Seems simple, but these can be easily opened using a trick called bumping where a special key and a well-placed bump can unlock a door. Look for door locks that have “anti-bump pins” to take away this threat. Consider upgrading to electronic keypad locks to remove the need for keys all together. It’s a great addition if you have children who must come home on their own and are prone to losing their keys. (Oh, wait, those are our kids.)

Security system and security cameras: If you have a security system, start using it. There is a statistic that says less than 50 percent of homes with systems get use those systems on a regular basis. Make sure doors have contacts and that windows are either contacted or there are motion sensors that can see movement. As far as cameras, go you can purchase Internet cameras that work off of your wireless network and allow you to see who is coming and going from your computer or even your smartphone. Those systems start at around $300.

Finally, a safe: You do not need to own the Pink Panther diamond to be in need of a safe in your home. A fire-proof and water-proof safe is a wise investment to hold important documents, passports, extra cash and, yes, jewelry. Just make sure it’s heavy enough and you have it bolted to the floor.

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Many communities along the U.S. East Coast have started to evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, which is expected to gain Category 4 strength this afternoon. Major cities like Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are located right in storm’s projected path,  leaving millions of Americans concerned about hurricane insurance, disaster preparedness and what they just might come home to should they choose to evacuate.

Fortunately, now more than ever, homeowners have access to building products and materials created to withstand extreme weather conditions, giving them a fighting chance against unforeseen catastrophes like Hurricane Irene.

Storms like Irene are why Marvin Windows and Doors offers its StormPlus products, which offer all the luxury and elegance Marvin is known for, but the brute strength to take on hurricane winds upwards of 140 miles per hour. For instance, the Impact Zone 3 products were created for coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast. All IZ3 products are tested to endure wind-borne debris and intense changes in pressure. As a show of strength, IZ3 products must endure an 8-foot 2 x 4 stud shot at 50 feet per second.

To better understand the importance of a fortified home and disaster preparedness, we recommend visiting disastersafety.org for tips on weathering Hurricane Irene and future storms to come. Among other things, they have created this video that shows what hurricane-force winds can do to a home whose windows break compared with a home whose windows stay intact.

We sure hope everyone out there is safe!

No matter where you live or what type of home you live in, severe summer storms can quickly put your home out of commission. Being prepared, even just a little bit, is the smart thing to do. Here is a checklist and some advice to make sure Mother Nature doesn’t leave you in a lurch.

Flashlights, batteries and a good old-fashioned, battery-operated radio. This is the most basic of basic needs when the power goes out and the best way to keep informed on what is going on. It’s a good idea to have at least three working flashlights in your home with fresh batteries and a spare set for each one.

Back-up power, another useful asset to have in reserve, comes in many shapes and sizes. Portable, gas-powered generators can keep pumps, refrigerators and some lights going when the power is out. It’s important to buy the right size, place it at least 10 feet away from your home and never in an enclosed area. Also, you’ll need proper-sized extension cords — 12-gauge minimum to power a large appliance like a refrigerator or small AC unit.

These units can range in price from $600-$1,500. Whole-house installed generators are the easiest ways to keep your home running.  These systems kick on automatically and can power most if not all of your home depending on the size of the unit. They typically run on natural or propane gas. They range in price from $4,000-$15,000 installed.

Food and water: It might sound a little apocalyptic, but this is an easy one to do. Keep a six-pack of water for each person in your home. That’s about a two to three day supply and allows you some breathing room. As for food, keep it simple and choose things that can last — again, for a two to three day supply. Granola bars, canned fruit and raisins are just a few examples.

These few steps can keep you prepared and ready, and the best thing that could happen is that you’d never need any of this.

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Happy Window Safety Week! Did you know that this exists? It’s “celebrated” yearly during the first full week of April and is sponsored by the Window Safety Task Force.

There are two main parts to window safety: falls and escapes. Improperly secured windows and children can be a dangerous combination. Additionally, windows can also be a main escape route from a home in case of disasters like fires. According to Window and Door Magazine:

“…there is another aspect of window safety beyond mitigating the risk of falls, and that is to preserve the function of windows as potential emergency exits. Fall prevention and fire safety concerns must be balanced. Note, for example, that while windows with guards, security bars, grilles or grates will likely prevent falls, the windows are useless in an emergency if the devices on them do not have a release mechanism as now required by the International Residential Code.

And that is the essential purpose of Window Safety Week–to heighten the awareness of what can be done to help keep homes and families safer from the risk of accidental falls, as well as from fires.”

We encourage homeowners to educate themselves about window safety. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Image courtesy of calignosus on Flickr

The days may have started getting ever so slightly longer, but we’ve got a lot of winter left and a lot of darkness. With the sun still rising late and setting early, it can be hard to find people’s houses in the dark. Is there anything more annoying than to circle around and around the block while peering at houses, hoping to find the location of your dinner party?

Luckily, there’s an inexpensive solution to this pet peeve! Via the Hardware Aisle, we found this Outdoor Soalr LED Address Plaque from Sarah Peyton. It’s powered by the sun, so you know it’s green. Never again will your guests (and more importantly any policecars, ambulances or fire trucks) need to wonder what exact numbers are on that address plaque.

Many people interested in interior design and home decor are familiar with the cool, modern style depicted in the photos you find in the likes of Dwell magazine. They often show off gorgeous, stunning examples of home design, but they don’t often reflect the reality of a kid-filled household.

The DIY Maven at Curbly explains the opposite problem: a home taken over by kids.

Is kid stuff taking over your place? Do you feel as if you’re living in the middle of a Toys R’ Us? Does it look as if your decorator is a seven foot tall yellow bird? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you might want to check out these very inspiring interiors from Design is Mine. They’re proof that you CAN keep your stylish sensibilities while living the kid-centric life.

Neither extreme — a potential kid-unfriendly ultramodern home or a messy kid-overrun home — is desirable. These tips might help you balance your desire to make your home (or at least the kid-oriented parts of it) fun, safe and stylish for your children.

For starters, consider this article on basic principles for kid-friendly design from Home re-Design Kaleidoscope, including this interesting observation:

Furniture for young children should be interesting for them. Their furniture should be safe, stable and relatively light to provide the opportunity for kids to perform various manipulations and transformations. For example, chairs can be transformed into cars and a bed can become a boat, etc. Easily transformed furniture helps develop kids’ imagination.  Kids like to dream of space voyages and adventurous driving trips.

The article also suggests leaving an “open corner” in a child’s room to allow plenty of comfortable, uncrowded space for playing with toys and giving school-age children a quiet space to read and do their homework.

Beyond the function of a space, designing for kids opens up a whole new world in terms of style. Consider a child’s room an opportunity to play with bright and bold colors you might not try elsewhere in your home. You could even add some home-grown design elements — perhaps something like the cardboard playhouse shown in the photo above. And the photo below reminds us that there’s no need to sacrifice true style in the interest of creating a perfect kid’s room.

As a parting note, we’ll leave you with the sentiment of designer Debbie Wiener, who advocates “enduring design” that will hold up to just about anything your kids might throw at it:

A glass door links the kitchen to the family room, which is turned out in a similar ready-to-rumble fashion. “We wanted a kid-friendly room with space to play and furniture and carpeting that’s basically indestructible,” Amy Mauser says. As with many of her projects, Wiener opted for a stain-resistant nylon rug and — her object of obsession — Crypton, an antimicrobial, stain-repellent fabric originally engineered for the health-care industry. “With over 20,000 [choices], ranging from velvet and chenille to damasks and Ultrasuedes, why would I source anything else when budget is a factor?” she asks.

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Most of us have heard warnings about unsafe chemicals in plastic bottles or that substances whose names we can’t pronounce are probably not good for us. What we’ve heard less of is specifically why, or what we really should avoid and what’s really not so bad.

That’s what researchers are for, right? Sherry at This Young House was kind enough to take the time to pick her brother’s brain to get the real deal on potentially dangerous (or not so dangerous) household chemicals. Her brother is an “almost doctor” studying chemistry at Columbia. Good for us!

A sampling of the exchange:

What’s your take on BPA in plastic water bottles and other household plastics? Most evidence points to the fact that these chemicals are to be avoided, if not only for their effect on humans but also for their effect on the environment. It’s easy to use stainless steel or glass drinking containers to avoid BPA and I can’t imagine a time in the next hundred years that any evidence would point to dangers in glass or stainless steel, so those are a much safer bet.

With each question, Almost-Dr. Dan gives us a detailed explanation of the chemistry involved, and the interviewer gives her take on what the means for you and some suggestions on how to take action. The topics they covered:

• BPA in plastic water bottles
• fireproofing chemicals used in many standard mattresses and pillows
• soaps and shampoos with sodium lauryl sulfate
• teflon
• grilling and dangerous carcinogens
• phthalates
• toxic ingredients in glues
• when in doubt, follow your nose

Be sure to give it a read.

Photo courtesy of tombothetominator on Flickr

For our readers in southern coastal regions, hurricane season is always a time for concern. And no matter your location, any sort of severe weather can be cause for concern. We might not be in the thick of hurricane season yet, but it’s never too early to begin your storm-proofing your home.

According to CNN.com’s Gerri Wilson, there are some relatively easy steps that can be taken to make your home as ready as possible for hurricane and storm season. Here are a few:

Get your things inside. Take all the furniture and other outdoor equipment you might have on your patio or deck and bring them inside when strong weather threatens. This also includes trash cans, grills, toys and potted plants. It’s important to keep them from becoming flying objects that can cause additional injury or damage during storms with high winds.

Check your trees. Checking for damage or disease in the trunk or major limbs of your trees before storm season hits is important. They may be near power lines or leaning too severely, which makes them more vulnerable during storms, so they should be looked at and the proper authorities should be contacted if damage or disease is seen. This is a step that could be considered now and it’s a significant step to be taken.

As for windows, Wilson suggests that if you live in a storm-prone area, you may want to think about installing impact-resistant windows designed to withstand flying debris. Marvin’s StormPlus windows and doors meet coastal impact standards and are available in a wide array of beautiful styles.

Photo courtesy of CoreBurn on Flickr