Quick! Find the Solar Tube (in the Photo above) From an energy and maintenance point of view, the perfect home is probably a cave: only one opening, deep underground or in the side of a mountain. But most people don’t want to live that way. So, modern homes have lots of (energy-leaking) doors and windows...Read More
The Case of the Downgraded Updated Windows What’s the difference between an “update” and an “upgrade?” Put it this way: it’s subtle enough that even lots of Realtors who should know better get it wrong. So, here are my definitions: An upgrade is a home feature that builders and remodelers charge extra for. Things like...Read More
In Praise of Solar Tubes While skylights (especially older ones) can be problematic, I can’t recall ever seeing a solar tube that leaked or otherwise presented a maintenance issue. On the contrary, solar tubes are a terrific, inexpensive way to introduce natural light into an otherwise dark(er), interior space. That includes hallways in ramblers (called...Read More
Want to know how much natural light a room — or an entire home — gets? Turn off all the lights. As my impressed open house visitors saw for themselves yesterday at 2275 Youngman, there’s practically no difference in how light the Kitchen (above) is with the lights on or off. The explanation? There’s a...Read More
Skylights vs. Solar Tubes From an energy and maintenance point of view, the perfect home is probably a cave: only one opening, deep underground or in the side of a mountain. But most people don’t want to live that way. So, modern homes have lots of (energy-leaking) doors and windows (now mitigated by triple-pane glass,...Read More
