Thinking twice about renovating your home? It’s a common dilemma. You know your home needs updating and your roof needs replacement, but economic uncertainty freezes you from moving forward.

Unfortunately, homes don’t wait for recessions to end. Roofing wears out and severe weather strikes. So, there’s no time like the present to make smart improvements.

Consider these points before planning a major renovation.

1. Know Your Options

Want to save money on utility bills? Re-roofing — that is, installing a new roof over an existing one — is a surefire way to do that.

Re-roofing with quality metal materials — those that are coated to increase energy efficiency — can save you up to 40 percent on annual heating and cooling costs.

Even basic, unpainted metal roofs reflect more solar radiation than asphalt roofs. But low-glare metal roofs with certain colors and coatings reflect mostly non-visible, infrared and ultraviolet rays. These produce the most heat and cause the most damage.

A common question is, “How much does

Some people can revive just about anything in their home, but feel stumped when they encounter one particular material. Want to learn how to clean brass? Then read on!

Have you ever wondered, “Does brass tarnish?” If so, you probably haven’t owned anything that’s brass!

This building material, which is made from copper and zinc, may be beautiful, durable and resist corrosion, but it eventually tarnishes, according to Popular Mechanics.

Fortunately, when that happens, there is a solution.

Here’s how to clean brass: Place 3/4 cup of lemon juice in a bowl, add 1/2 cup of baking soda, mix well and submerge the brass pieces.

After about 30 minutes, scrub each piece with a scouring sponge until it’s shiny. 

And that’s it!

You can file this under “We practice what we preach.” I used this recipe to clean tarnished brass cabinet knobs, and it worked beautifully.

Let us know how it goes for you in the comments below!  

The latest advancement in power tools is the use of brushless motors. But what exactly is a brushless motor, and what are its benefits?

To fully understand this technology, let’s take a quick look at the existing technology: brushed motors.

How Brushed Motors Work

In a typical electric motor, there are permanent magnets (stator) on the outside, and a spinning armature (rotor) on the inside. The rotor contains an electromagnet. When electricity passes through the electromagnet, it creates a magnetic field inside the rotor that attracts and repels permanent magnets in the stator.

However, to make the motor spin 360 degrees, it’s necessary to change the polarity of the electromagnet, and a pair of brushes helps do that.

Motor brushes aren’t brushes at all, but small blocks of carbon connected to a compression spring. The brushes press against spinning electrodes attached to the rotor. As the electromagnet spins, the brushes change the magnetic polarity.

Brushed motors are reliable, relatively efficient and inexpensive to manufacture, but they have distinct limitations.

First, carbon brushes eventually wear out and must be replaced. As the motor

Keeping your lawn healthy, lush and free of weeds is no easy task. Proper lawn care takes more than just regularly mowing the grass. It’s crucial to fertilize turf with the right balance of nutrients, get rid of crabgrass and other weeds and prevent grubs from destroying your grass. To keep lawns looking pristine throughout the year, many homeowners hire professional lawn care experts to handle this part of property ownership. Lawn care technicians have the expertise to maintain your lawn and prevent and mitigate any issues affecting your lawn’s health. 

Choosing the best lawn care provider in your area can be challenging, though. You need to find a trusted lawn care company that has good recommendations and reviews from many satisfied customers. To help you with this task, our reviews team has evaluated top professional lawn care companies. In this comprehensive Loyalty Lawn Care review, we take a thorough look at the range of services this company provides, the value you’ll get for your