Are your doors inviting in the winter winds and wasting your energy and money? Here’s a simple way to find out.

Stand outside the closed door on a dark night and shine a flashlight all around the edges of the door. Inside is your assistant and wherever he/she can see any light seeping in, that’s where the cold winter wind can enter.

Keeping the wind out is a breeze. One easy-to-install option is door sets, such as those made by Frost King. Door sets can be nailed around the sides and top of exterior doors. They not only stop the draft, but they also cushion the door to prevent slamming. Door sets are especially good for older homes since they can compensate for warped jambs or sagging doors. Sets come in a variety of materials, colors and finishes.

Drafts can also be reduced by applying self-sticking weather-strip tapes of foam or rubber, or by nailing on strips and gaskets made of felt, vinyl, rubber or metal.

Don’t Let the Cold Sneak In – Here’s the Bottom Line on Sealing Doors

Don’t overlook insulation problems that are at floor level. The area under your doors can be a major problem spot. Use the Special Delivery Test on every door–even those in unheated areas such as basements, garages, attics or storerooms.

Take a sheet of stiff paper and if you can slide it under your doorway you’re inviting cold air, rain, dirt and insects to come right in.

To remedy this, install a new door threshold which seals the opening and even improves the door’s appearance. Frost King has many easy-to-install thresholds available in different styles, colors and finishes. Instructions and all the necessary screws are included.

Or get a door bottom which is even easier to install and seals the openings at the bottom of the door. Bottoms are either screwed, nailed or stuck into place. All are adjustable to compensate for uneven doors or floors.

Saving Energy Isn’t a Pipe Dream – Insulate Those Least Thought About Areas

It’s time to make some home improvements that will keep you cozy this winter and help slash your energy bills. Insulating some rarely thought of areas can have surprisingly satisfying results.

Consider insulating pipes, ducts and water heaters for maximum efficiency and minimum energy loss. It’s easily done.

For example, Frost King’s tubular foam pipe insulation is pre-slit to slip onto copper or iron pipes of various diameters. On hot pipes, it cuts wasteful heat loss. On cold pipes, it stops sweating and helps prevent freezing.

Frost King also has fiberglass, fiberglass/foil or self-adhesive plastic foam/foil insulation for hot and cold pipes and ducts. And pick up a vinyl-backed fiberglass water heater blanket that saves energy as it makes your water heater more efficient.

Garage doors are another major source of energy loss. Frost King has heavy-duty kits that seal and cushion the bottom of the garage door and kits that seal out drafts from all around it.

Don’t Blow Your Money on Energy Bills – Use a Kleenex to Help Seal Drafts

Take the Tell Tale Tissue Test and let an ordinary facial tissue help you avoid household drafts.

Make a low-tech “draft detector” by taping or clipping one end of a tissue to the bottom of a wire hanger. Hold the hanger by the hook and take this “instrument” to windows, air conditioning units, electric outlets and switches–if the tissue flutters, air is entering and you better fix it.

The easiest and most popular draft solution is self-sticking weatherstrip tape. These tapes are available in four forms: open cell foam, which is a highly compressive foam for indoor use that can seal vary narrow openings; closed cell foam, a versatile waterproof product that’s a little firmer high-density sponge foam; a very firm foam that can also be used on car trunks or boat hatch covers EPDM rubber; a premium weatherstrip that won’t harden or crack, even at 40 degrees below zero.

Door sweeps and door bottoms are easy to install and provide protection from drafts and weather on ill-fitted doors. Door sweeps and door bottoms, also called door shoes, are used as a means of blocking wind and weather along the bottom edge of a door that fits improperly in its frame due to house settling, or when a door is too short for its frame.

Door sweeps are installed on one side of a door to keep out cold drafts. Door sweeps should be installed on the inside bottom edge of doors that swing into the house, and on the outside bottom edge of doors that swing outward.

Hold the sweep against the door, matching it flush with the bottom of the closed door frame. Screw one end of the sweep into the door, but leave the screw a little loose to allow for adjustment. Move the sweep up or down as needed and screw the second side into the door. Open the door completely to be sure the sweep clears the floor for the entire swing of the door. Check to see that the sweep closes securely in the frame. Tighten the screws and screw the sweep into the middle of the door bottom for added security.
Door bottoms or doors shoes are installed in much the same way as door sweeps, except door bottoms straddle the door’s bottom edge completely. Open the door and slide the door bottom onto the door from the open end. Adjust the door bottom and screw it into both sides of the door on one end, leaving the screws loose for adjustment. Complete the adjustment, check for obstruction, and screw the door bottom on securely at the other end and in the middle (or wherever the door bottom has pre-drilled holes).

When adjusting door sweeps and door bottoms, expect that they may not sit level on the bottom of the door. To achieve a good seal and adequate weatherproofing, door sweeps and door bottoms may need to slope downward (particularly in older homes where frames are no longer level).

For additional weatherproofing, apply weather-stripping or spring-metal strips along the sides and top of doors for a more weather-resistant seal.

Weatherproofing with stripping and door bottoms saves energy and money by not allowing precious heat to escape through drafty door frames and increasing the demand on heating systems. Additionally, weatherproofing doors and windows saves energy during warmer months by more effectively conserving the air-conditioned air. Weatherproofing a home makes it a more comfortable, efficient place in which to live.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/doorsweeps#ixzz125KWnCxc

Here are eight home improvements you can finish by Labor Day that will pay you back. Each costs less than $1,000 and should require less than a day’s work. Take a look.

Replace Sinks and Faucets

Estimated Price: $400 (sink), $150 (faucet) 

For home buyers, “the kitchen is king,” says Paul Cardis, chief executive of Avid Ratings, which conducts an annual survey of more than 20,000 first-time home buyers to determine design preferences. “For those looking to spruce up their house, the kitchen is the place.” 

You can replace a kitchen sink and faucet yourself in a matter of hours. Be sure to seek out low-flow faucet aerators that can reduce water usage by 30%. (Energy-efficient features, specifically, are a “must have” or are “really wanted” by 88% of home buyers these days.) You can expect to recoup 70% to 80% of the cost of kitchen-remodeling work when you sell your home. 

Add a Backsplash

Estimated Price: $14 per 12-by-12-inch tile 

The easiest way to add pizazz to your kitchen is with a new backsplash. You can go from country to modern in a snap with a variety of options for finishes and colors. To save money, time and frustration, consider the peel-and-stick tile options now available. “They’re aesthetically pleasing and will do the job if that’s all you can afford,” says Fredda Weisbard, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, Fla. “It’s an inexpensive Band-Aid for updating your kitchen.” The messier grout-and-tile approach will add $50 to $100 more in related supply costs but will appeal more to prospective buyers. 

Install Vanity Cabinets & Toilets

Estimated Price: $200 (vanity), $250 (toilet) 

Even relatively minor updates to your bathroom can produce a return on investment of 172%, according to HomeGain.com’s 2009 Prepare-to-Sell survey of 1,000 real estate agents nationwide. Because toilets fit neatly over existing plumbing, they’re surprisingly easy to install. Look for modern water-saving models that will both save on your water bills and appeal to energy-conscious buyers when it’s time to sell. If you’re feeling creative, save hundreds of dollars by using an old dresser as the foundation for a new vanity. Simply cut out room on the top to hold a basin sink and to connect pipes. 

Paint a Room

Estimated Price: $30 per paint can 

It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do to immediately transform any room in your house. Keep in mind that lighter shades generally make a room feel larger; neutral shades will appeal most to potential buyers. “Buyers won’t be able to look past [bold] colors and see the rest of your home,” says Weisbard. 

You’ll earn a 250% return on your investment in freshly painted interior walls, according to HomeGain.com’s survey. Just be sure to test colors — Home Depot sells 8-ounce sample cans of paint for $3 — before buying the full batch of paint needed for the room. Limit costly mistakes and spills by splurging on drop cloths and painter’s tape. 

Install Crown Molding

Estimated Price: $5 per linear foot 

Crown molding in your home compared with none in a similar home in your neighborhood could make a difference when it’s time to sell. “You may not get the money back, but it’s a feature that most buyers appreciate when looking for a home,” says Weisbard. “It’s a wow-factor feature. It stays in buyers’ minds.” 

Fair warning: Installing crown molding might be the trickiest task on our list. There’s a lot of geometry involved — along with a nail gun and a miter saw. Follow the “measure thrice, cut once” rule to limit waste. 

Get Organized

Estimated Price: $20-$500 

Improvements to a home’s functional space can be just as valuable as ones that make a home look better. Potential buyers like to assess space and storage area for their belongings when evaluating new houses. 

Focus your efforts on the garage, basement and closets, where you can declutter easily with clear storage bins or new shelving. 

Replace the Front Door

Estimated Price:$150-$500 or more 

As the first thing prospective buyers will see upon entering your home, a new front door will more than recoup your investment. Expect a fat 129% ROI on a steel door, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2009–10 “Cost vs. Value Report.” (Note that fiberglass models, which can cost three times as much, recoup only 65% of their cost.) 

Bonus: Buy a qualifying energy-efficient door and reap a tax credit of 30% of your cost (up to a maximum of $1,500 in 2009 and 2010 combined). 

Landscaping

Estimated Price: $300-$400 

Before your visitors (and prospective buyers) even get to the door, they’ll see the front yard. It’s a critical first impression that can change the way they view the entire house. “If the outside of your home isn’t appealing, then what does that say about the inside?” Weisbard says. 

You needn’t spend more than $300 to $400 in basic landscaping projects to produce $1,500 to $2,000 in added home value, according to HomeGain.com’s Prepare-to-Sell survey. Ninety-four percent of real estate agents who participated in the survey recommend landscaping work to sellers before they list their homes. 

Go for plants — whether they line your walkway or the front of your house — that add color and complement your house, suggests Bruce Butterfield, market-research director of the National Gardening Association. “People react to color emotionally.” Perennials will require less maintenance year to year, and hydrangeas in particular — Butterfield recommends the “Endless Summer” variety — will give you several months of blooms each year. You can pick them up for about $50 each, compared with $150 or more for a new tree, which will take much longer to mature.

 (source)

11332 NW Valros Lane, Portland OR 97229

The Wait is over! This custom craftsman home located in Cedar Mill has all the bells and whistles! Featuring soaring vaults and lots of windows for natural and abundant light. This home is a 10! The Main level living is 2281 SQ Ft and features a large master suite complete with custom Tiffany ceiling fan, gorgeous veiw to the private backyard, soaker tub, large separate shower, walk in closet, and beautiful travertine floors. The great room is expansive and open to the kitchen and nook. It features a stone gas fireplace and views to the outside deck and private yard. Chef’s will love this kitchen – over 19 feet long with a large granite Island and eating bar & nook. The kitchen features many upgrades such as custom alder cabinets, wine refrigerator, bosch double ovens, bosch dishwasher, 5 burner gas cooktop, built in desk, walk in pantry, butlers pantry, 16 x 16 travertine tile floors and all conveniently located adjacent to the great room and access to the backyard. This in an entertainer’s dream! To finish out the main floor there is a formal dining room with tiffany chandelier and travertine floors. The main floor den features wainscoting and plate rack and could be an office, sitting room, or small formal parlour. Last but not least, the main floor laundry room accessed from the garage features lots of cabinets, sink, and travertine tile floors.

The upstairs features 2 extra bedrooms with another full bathroom and a 18 x 15 Media/Bonus room/4th bedroom with lots of extra storage. In addition, the 3 car garage can accomodate your vehicles, work bench etc… you name it.

Best of all, this home is situated on a large and private lot backing to trees. The custom built deck and patio are great for entertaining or just relaxing in your own private oasis. The Yard is level, beautifully landscaped complete with sprinkler system and fully fenced. Look no further if you seek quiet and peaceful and yet minutes to downtown! In addition, this home is situated in the Beaverton school district and features, Cedar Mill elementary, Cedar Park Middle school and Sunset high school.

Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Feet: 3133
MLS #: 10065430
Price: $630,000

Give The Barbara Nelson Realty Group

a call at 503-803-0562

To help Realtors® understand HAFA and its guidelines, NAR has released a brochure about the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program and additional resources online, including government forms and guidelines, a video explaining the new federal guidelines, and frequently asked questions. Designed to help Realtors® explain the new program to homeowners, NAR’s HAFA resources explain how the program aims to streamline short sales and, in the process, save more families from foreclosure.

“The new guidelines and incentives as part of HAFA are a crucial step towards reducing problems with the short sale process, and Realtors® are ready to help make this new program a success,” said Golder.

Home prices

Some metros have it worse than others. San Diego has seen the greatest three-month drop in asking prices of the 27 markets Altos tracks, falling 7.3% between October and December 2009. In that city, volatility is the name of the game. Prices drifted upward for the first half of 2009, prodded by new sellers who were encouraged by modest bumps in pricing. But when fall’s seasonal slump hit, the trend reversed dramatically.

Although home prices are always weakest in the fall — they typically peak in the spring and hold steady through the summer — Altos’ numbers reflect an unsteady market in general. Its 10-city composite, which it uses as a proxy for the national market, shows a 1.4% drop since October. When stimulus measures like the first-time homebuyer tax credit (which expires in June) and historically low interest rates abate, the market could continue to suffer.

• Video: What’s depressing home prices?

“The combination of an expired tax credit and rising interest rates would be a catalyst for retesting the (January 2009) bottom,” says Mike Simonsen, CEO of Altos.

Behind the numbers
For our list of cities with the fastest-falling home prices, we used Altos’ January market update, which looks at asking prices, inventory and days on the market single-family homes — but not condominiums — in 27 of the country’s closely watched real-estate markets. It uses homes for sale in each city’s Metropolitan Statistical Area — a census-defined area that the federal government uses to collect statistics — for its data.

Charlotte, N.C., the city with third-greatest drop in asking prices (falling 4.4% to a median price of $248,543 in December), suffered from exuberant pricing early in the year. But the Wall Street collapse hit Charlotte hard, as it’s a financial hub that is headquarters to Bank of America Corp., among other major banks. Now the area’s housing market is suffering.

Miami is the only city of the 27 markets Altos tracks that saw asking prices rise over the last three months. Prices there were up 2% from October to a median price of $494,992. The reasons for this are mixed: While the numbers are somewhat promising, Miami’s good fortune is also a reflection of just how long it took for the hard-hit Florida housing market to regain its footing. And even with the recent upturn, it’s the city where homes sit on the market for the longest by far. Homes here stay for sale for a median of eight months. Not to mention that Altos’ analysis reflects only single-family homes — not condominiums, a section of the Miami’s real-estate market that has yet to stabilize.

Therefore, Miami’s upswing should be taken skeptically, says Simonsen. “Miami lagged behind everything else, and so is only now starting to feel the impact of the stimulus.”

But a decision on Jan. 7 by mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin backing some Miami condominium loans that they previously hadn’t touched might help rejuvenate sales.

In New York, tough real-estate laws mean that foreclosures take roughly six months to complete, and post-foreclosure sales don’t usually close for an additional four months after that. This has kept buyers away and hamstrung real-estate recovery in the area.

”In states with complex foreclosure laws, the recovery is clearly being delayed,” says Simonsen. “For example, there are investment funds that will buy in Texas and California, but won’t buy in New York because it takes so long to foreclose — and then you have to go to court.”

New York prices likely have much further to fall.

Although the rate of decline has mellowed from stomach-turning to gentle nationwide, these numbers show that any jubilation over a recovered real-estate market would be premature.

Click here to see Forbes’ full list of cities with the fastest-falling home prices.

Courtesy of  Forbes.Com

Doctors without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) –> More than 2,000 patients have been treated so far at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) locations in Port-au-Prince. Teams are now focusing their attention on expanding surgical capacity, as needs are huge. More than 300 patients have been transferred from MSF’s Martissant health center to Choscal hospital, a facility in the Cité Soleil district, where they are expected to receive surgery soon. The rest of the medical staff on the ground are still responding to the hundreds of people at their clinics who need immediate first aid and more basic care for their wounds
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/?ref=main-menu 

 UNICEF –> UNICEF is rushing life-saving supplies into the hardest-hit communities in Haiti. UNICEF’s response, coordinated with other UN agencies and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent is aimed at the children and women, who are the most vulnerable in times of crisis. Children under 18 make up nearly 50 percent of the 10 million population of Haiti.
https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?idb=528174378&df_id=1621&1621.donation=form1

CARE –> CARE is deploying additional emergency team members to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, where the worst earthquake in 200 years destroyed houses and left thousands homeless. While the exact death toll from the 7.0-magnitude quake is not yet known, it is expected to be catastrophic. 
https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?5000.donation=form1&df_id=5000

Oxfam America –> Oxfam has over three decades of experience in Haiti, and we have rushed in teams from around the region to respond to the situation where our assistance is most needed. We are providing clean water, shelter and sanitation and helping people recover – your donation will go immediately to the most critical needs in Haiti, and we will ensure that every penny is used wisely.
https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3560&3560.donation=form1

The American Red Cross –> Donate by mail at P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013, by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org. Specify the intent of the donation. You can also donate $10 to the Red Cross via your cell phone. Text the word “Haiti” to the number 90999. The donation will be automatically charged to your cell or phone bill.

• Make sure your furnace is in good working order. Check that the furnace filter is clean, and replace it if it’s not. Make sure that the thermostat and pilot light are working properly and that the pipe bringing fuel to your furnace isn’t leaking or loose.

• Have your heating ducts cleaned. The ducts should be vacuumed every five years.

• Trim trees and remove dead branches. Ice, snow and wind could cause weak tree trunks or branches to break, damaging your home or car, or injuring someone walking on your property.

• Remember all of the leaves that fell off your trees in autumn? Well, a lot of them are still in your gutters. Cleaning them out will help prevent water from building up and freezing in the gutters.

• As long as you’re cleaning out leaves, make sure none are clogging your chimney. Install a screen over the chimney top after cleaning.

• Check the caulking around doors and windows to make sure there’s no cracking or peeling. Recaulking, if needed, prevents cold air from entering your home. Why pay a higher heating bill if you don’t have to?

• Keep snow and ice from building up around the bottom of the garage door so that it closes completely and doesn’t warp.

• Frozen water pipes can crack and spew gallons of water all over your home. You can prevent this by draining your outdoor hose bibs and by keeping your heat on even when you’re away from home.

• Keep the house warm. The temperature in the home should be at least 65 degrees. The temperature inside the walls, where the pipes are located, is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 65 degrees will not keep the pipes from freezing.

• Make sure steps and handrails are in good shape. Broken stairs and banisters can become even more dangerous when covered with snow and ice. Make repairs now to prevent someone from falling and being seriously injured.

• Get to know your plumbing. Learn how to shut off the water, and know where your pipes are located. If your pipes do freeze, time is of the essence. The more quickly you can shut off the water, or direct your plumber to the problem, the better chance you have of preventing the pipes from bursting.

• Take special care if you plan to be away from home. If you are not going to be in your home this winter for an extended period of time, have the water system drained by a professional to keep pipes from freezing or bursting. Also, hire someone to check on your home on a regular basis. That way, a problem can be fixed quickly, lessening any damage. Activity at your home also reduces the likelihood that it will be burglarized.

• Drain the gasoline from lawn mowers, weed whackers and other engines that won’t be used until summer. This lengthens the life of your equipment and helps avoid costly repairs.

Thanks to MSN.com for this article

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

One third of Oregon schools are “outstanding” based on their reading and math scores, but one of every four high schools is “in need of improvement” because of stubbornly low test scores or graduation rates, according to new report cards the state issued today.

Most schools, including eight of every 10 middle schools, are stuck in the broad middle range, turning in a “satisfactory” performance, the report cards say.

View full sizeMichael Mode/The Oregonian

The 61 schools that are rated “needs improvement” won’t face sanctions from the state. A 2007 state law requires the Oregon Department of Education to impose “an accountability system of progressive interventions” for such schools, but that system is still being developed and won’t roll out until next year’s report cards are issued, said Jake Weigler, communications director for the agency.

For now, the only consequence a school faces for a poor report card is that a copy of the report — including details of why a school fell short — will be sent home to parents next month.

In contrast, under federal ratings, schools that serve a large percentage of low-income students must offer their students transfers or tutoring if they consistently fail to meet performance targets.

The Oregon Department of Education, which graded public schools using a single method for 10 straight years, changed its approach this year. The agency wanted to be more fair to schools and to put more emphasis on getting historically low-achieving groups of students to catch up, said Tony Alpert, director of accountability for the department.

Among the biggest changes: There are three rating categories, down from five; schools get credit for helping students show growth; and a school’s success or failure with its low-income, minority, special education and limited English students counts twice as much as its results with traditionally higher scoring groups.

Giving schools credit for helping their students grow helped boost the grades of more than 100 schools, including Walt Morey Middle School in Troutdale.

The middle school, part of the Reynolds School District, got about 80 percent of its students to pass state reading and math tests the past two years. But that wasn’t enough to earn it a top grade in a traditional school grading system.

Because the new report card takes into account Walt Morey’s success in getting students with weak reading and math skills to advance by leaps and bounds, the school earned an outstanding grade this year.

“I like that whole idea of growth,” says principal Tony Mann. “It reminds us that it’s about each individual child over time.”

In reading teacher Kevin McCann’s class, for example, students frequently gain two years worth of reading skills in a single year, thanks to intensive small-group help in addition to a regular English class.

The new rating system is tougher on low performers, particularly high schools. The number of schools rated lower than satisfactory nearly doubled — from 2.9 percent of schools rated low or unacceptable last year to 5.3 percent deemed “in need of improvement” today. The 61 schools got the rock-bottom rating primarily because of low test scores.

Among them were nine large metro high schools: Beaverton, Aloha, Milwaukie, Madison, David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds and most of the academies at Roosevelt and Marshall. Nearly all those schools would have rated satisfactory under the old system.

Beaverton High was deemed in need of improvement this year because it tested too few students. At Roosevelt and Marshall, graduation rates below 60 percent were the primary problem. At the other six schools, too few students passed state tests, particularly in math, with passing rates hovering around 40 percent.

At Aloha High, reactions to the new report card will be mixed, predicts principal Ken Yarnell.

“I respect it, and I agree with it in one respect. We love these kids, they’re super kids, and we need to help these kids from low economic backgrounds and kids of color achieve at a high academic level.”

At the same time, he says, “The label stinks. No doubt about it. To take anything as complex as a school, as learning, and boil it down to something that simplistic doesn’t cover it.”

The school was surprised by its low math scores last spring, he said, given the many interventions already under way, including a homework club and extended time for some students to learn algebra and geometry.

At the other end of the spectrum, one in five high schools was rated outstanding, roughly the same proportion as among middle schools. But more than half those high schools were given the top rating not because their achievement was high but because they registered such a big improvement from 2008 to 2009.

The new growth model, which calls for a student who is behind to get on track to catch up within three years, is not applied to 10th graders because they have nearly run out of time in which to catch up. So state officials decided that any high school that showed significant one-year growth in its overall scores would be moved up one tier in the ratings.

That happened to schools such as Centennial, Sunset, Grant, Franklin and Wilsonville, all of which posted sharply higher scores in 2009 than in 2008 and got rewarded with an “outstanding” report card.