Some of the earliest signs of the present economic troubles appeared in the nation's housing industry.  Presently, new home starts (as indicated by permit activity) have dredged 25-year lows, and existing home sales have fallen even as they become seemingly more affordable amidst heretofore unseen devaluation.  As lenders tighten their practices, real estate finance has become markedly more conservative, decreasing the ability for many to obtain credit for purchases and improvements.

While the daily headlines emphasize these and other domestic economic problems, is it any surprise that

We are buying a 1922 stick built home.  In the back two bedrooms the walls are tongue and groove cedar planks.  My question is if we can remove the planks and reuse them as flooring else where in the house??
Thank you
Catie

Catie,

I certainly encourage all forms of recycling.  We should strive to make the most of our limited resources, and avoid waste wherever we can.

Generally, the most common forms of cedar, such as Eastern Red Cedar, may be used as flooring material.  Its color variation and grain patterns make it an interesting finish choice.

You should consider a few things regarding such

Hello,

We are remodeling a home in Midlothian and we are trying to come up with very efficient and eco-friendly technology to integrate into the home including, solar panels, radiant heating, water recycling, geo thermal heating, heat recovery systems and smart technology.

 Is there anyone out there selling these services in Central Virginia for one stop shopping that could provide a plan to achieve the highest efficiencies based on what is available.  We moved from England and it is much easier to find these services in London as they seem to be further advanced in eco-technology. 

 Let me

Who thought the interest in gambling would be so great that the World Series of Poker would be televised on ESPN?  Obviously, somebody's watching.

An interesting point in that regard, quoting Pug Pearson, 1973 World Series of Poker champion, made this observation about human nature:

"The real thing to know is that folks will stand to lose more than they will to win.  That's the most important percentage there is.  I mean, if they lose, they're willin' to lose everything.  If they win, they're usually satisfied to win only enough to pay for dinner and a show..."

I was thinking about this

One of my favorite entries was lost during some recent website updating, so I thought I'd re-post it here.  The theme appears to be more pertinent than ever as home values have taken a turn unlike that seen in previous years.  Read on...

Somewhere during early conversations with almost every client, we are asked something to the effect of "Do you think we'll build value with our proposed renovation?"

Naturally, I have had plenty of opportunity to build (what I think is) the proper response, which asks the homeowner to dig deeper regarding his or her definition of value.

From my perspective,