Summer 2010

June's house of the month is a glimpse of the future It's a demonstration house that contains just about every high-tech bell and whistle currently on the market. Which of them will make it in the long run? Only time will tell, but it's more than academic to check them out in a real-life situation, which is the idea behind the Cleantech house in Beverly, Mass., open for tours now and for sale later. Check it out at http://www.bruceirving.biz/houseofthemonth.html

For house geeks, check out the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "@home" website: http://athomenation.org/. Lots of good tips and links for everything from historic homes for sale to insurance programs to folks' house baby pictures, including those of yours truly: http://athomenation.org/pg/photos/album/1669/northern-maine-boathouse.

If you're thinking of replacing your windows (and you know I have strong opinions about that*), putting new windows into an addition, or upping the energy-efficiency of your original windows, make sure your contractor knows about the Department of Energy's volume-discount program for highly efficient triple-pane windows and start-of-the-art Low-E storm windows: http://www.windowsvolumepurchase.org/

And on the self-promotion front, I've been getting a lot of calls lately from from people considering the purchase of a house and looking for a second opinion. They're falling in love with the place, but want a blunt assessment from someone with no agenda.

Most of the houses I've visited for assessment are being bid on by multiple parties. When we put dollars and time to the tasks needed to make the house work for my clients, more than half of my clients swallow hard, realize that they really want the house, and go into their bid determined to get it. A few, however, see that the project is way bigger than they thought and walk away, a bit disappointed but breathing easier.

If you know someone looking for a second opinion on a house purchase, please consider passing my name along.

And finally--having nothing to do with home renovation--is my strong recommendation that you check out my sister's killer goats' milk caramel, made painstakingly by hand on her small farm in Vermont. It's award-winning, its organic, and it's unbelievable on ice cream:http://www.fattoadfarm.com/.

* But don't take my word for it. Here's a link to some 15 scientific analyses that say that replacement windows are a bad idea in most cases: http://historichomeworks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1600