 | A Panelized Home: Blissful Bathrooms
In 1742 when Thomas Gray wrote "...where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," he couldn't have been referring to building a house.
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 | Accessible Solutions: Bath and Toilet Room Plans and Finishes
Daily hygiene is critical to the health and well-being of wheelchair users. Accessible bathroom design is therefore a critical component of a residential project.
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 | Accessible Solutions: Bathroom Fixtures
Bathroom fixtures can pose unique accessibility hurdles.
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 | Adding Tile Accents
Preparation, planning and a few tricks of the trade make easy work of installing decorative tiles.
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 | Asbestos In Your Home
Once a common element in a wide range of building materials, asbestos is now known to be a serious health risk. Before you start a serious remodel on an older home, study these facts from the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Lung Association.
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 | Avoiding Flood Damage Protecting Your Property
Flood protection can involve a variety of changes to your house and property–changes that can vary in complexity and cost. You may be able to make some types of changes yourself. But complicated or large-scale changes and those that affect the structure of your house or its electrical wiring and plumbing should be carried out only by a professional contractor licensed to work in your state, county, or city.
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 | Avoiding Flood Damage: A Checklist for Homeowners
Are you looking for ways to protect your home from flooding? There are many things you can do, depending on the flood hazard in your area, the characteristics of your property, and the zoning and building codes in your community. Some methods are fairly simple and inexpensive; others will require a professional contractor.
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 | Base Cabinet Installation Basics
The right techniques make cabinet installs a straightforward process. Here, some tips from the pros to make installation a level and plumb job.
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 | Choose Your Lot Wisely
The money and time spent on site investigation is an excellent investment, and good insurance against trouble later on, when the foundation really counts.
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 | Choosing a Water Heater
The first step in choosing a water heater is to determine the appropriate fuel type. Natural gas, oil, and propane water heaters are generally less expensive to operate than electric models. If you are considering electricity, check with your local utility company or electricity supplier to see if they offer off-peak electricity rates. If available, heating your water during off-peak hours will save you money.
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 | Concrete Countertops
Concrete has come into the kitchen bringing warmth, custom colors, and sophisticated personalized looks. Custom concrete countertops can be embedded with sea shells, marbles, or metals, imprinted, custom colored, and polished to a smooth matte or glossy finish for high-end, handcrafted appeal.
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 | Demand Water Systems
Demand water heaters (Tankless or Instantaneous) are common in Japan and Europe. They began appearing in the United States about 25 years ago. Unlike conventional tank water heaters, they heat water only as it is used, or on demand.
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 | Distributing Water Around the House
Keeping up with the flow of things in and around your home's water system.
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 | Don't Be Afraid of the Water
A primer on drinking water, hard water and problem water concerns and solutions.
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 | Drainage, Wastewater, and Vent Systems
The task of removing water and waste in the belongs to the DWV system.
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 | EnergyWise House: Energy-Efficient Water Heating
Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 14 percent of your utility bill.
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 | Heating With Water
Heating with hot water is becoming increasingly common in the United States as more and more homeowners recognize the convenience, versatility, and cleanliness of hot water heat.
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 | Heating Your Home with an Active Solar Energy System
Active solar heating systems consist of collectors that collect and absorb solar radiation and electric fans or pumps to transfer and distribute the solar heat in a fluid (liquid or air) from the collectors. They may have a storage system to provide heat when the sun is not shining. An active system may be more flexible than a passive system in terms of siting and installation.
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 | Heating Your Swimming Pool with Solar Energy
Swimming pools provide a great way to exercise and beat the summer heat. Building and maintaining a pool, however, also means relatively high costs added to your household's budget. There are several ways that you can reduce operating and maintenance costs, lower water consumption, and conserve heat if you heat your pool.
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 | Home Fire Sprinklers
Children and the elderly are especially at risk in home fires because they are less able to escape when fire strikes. One way to protect those who cannot escape quickly, and at the same time protect your home and belongings, is by installing sprinklers.
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 | Home Maintenance Checklist
Here's a simple bi-annual "Top to Bottom" checklist to keep your home in shape year round.
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 | Indoor Air Pollution - Biological Pollutants
Biological contaminants are all around us—molds, pollen, pet dander, the list is long. However, with a little preventitve maintenece they can be kept at a healthy distance.
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 | Indoor Air Quality - Bathroom Remodels
Before starting your bathroom remodel or conversion project you should understand and address the various air quality factors that can arise during construction.
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 | Indoor Air Quality - Home Ventilation
If too little outdoor air enters a home, pollutants can sometimes accumulate to levels that can pose health and comfort problems. Likewise, one approach to lowering the concentrations of indoor air pollutants in your home is to increase the amount of outdoor air coming in.
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 | Install Durable Glass Tile With Epoxy Grout
Glass tile is known for its liquid appearance, color, and durability. With proper installation and epoxy, it will be virtually maintenance-free.
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 | Kitchen and Bath Caulking Tips
Simple caulking tips to keep water at bay.
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 | Mosaic Tiles
Top off a table with an easy and atttractive technique.
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 | Plumbing Basics
Understanding how your plumbing system functions will take some of the guess work out of planning your next renovation, or, at the very least, allow you to ask the right questions the next time you call a plumber to fix a leaky faucet.
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 | Power Showers
Shower towers use multiple sprays to make bathing a Niagara-like experience. Luxurious? Yes, but plan on a high hot water bill.
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 | Properly Handle Hazardous Household Products
You can reduce your use of hazardous household products by choosing safer, less-toxic products.
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 | Radiant Floor Heating and Cooling Systems
Radiant floor heating has been used for centuries. The Romans channeled hot air under the floors of their villas. The Koreans channeled hot flue gases under their floors before venting them up the chimney. In the 1930s, architect Frank Lloyd Wright piped hot water through the floors of many of his buildings. Some home builders' surveys have shown that, if given a choice, most new home owners prefer radiant floor heat over other types of systems.
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 | Reducing Lead in Your Drinking Water
Lead, a metal found in natural deposits, is commonly used in household plumbing materials and water service lines. The greatest exposure to lead is swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips and dust.
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 | Reducing Radon in Your Drinking Water
If you are concerned about radon and you have a private well, consider testing for radon in both air and water. By testing for radon in both air and water, the results could enable you to more completely assess the radon mitigation option(s) best suited to your situation.
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 | Remodeling Advice: Bathtub Installation
Bathtubs are both a functional and an aesthetic feature—and as much of a luxury purchase as a necessity. But before you buy a big new tub consider these important factors.
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 | Residential Solar Heating Collectors
Solar collectors are the heart of most solar energy systems. The collector absorbs the sun's light energy and changes it into heat energy. Solar collectors heat a fluid, either air or liquid.
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 | Residential Solar Heating Retrofits
Adding (retrofitting) a solar space heating system to your home is one way to combat increasing energy costs and to raise your home's market value. The two major types of solar retrofits are active systems (requiring mechanical energy and hardware such as pumps and fans to distribute heat) and passive systems (which depend on the natural circulation of a fluid for heat movement).
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 | Selecting a Water Heater
Many homeowners wait until their water heater fails before shopping for a replacement. Because they are in a hurry to regain their hot water supply, they are often unable to take the time to shop for the most energy-efficient unit for their specific needs. This is unfortunate because the cost of purchasing and operating a water heater can vary greatly, depending on the type, brand, and model selected and on the quality of the installation.
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 | Site Preparation
Proper site preparation is essential. Each step follows a natural progression through investigation, approval, and action until utilities, water, and sewer or septic are placed and a foundation is laid for the new home.
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 | Solar Water Heating
Solar water heaters, sometimes called solar domestic hot water systems, may be a good investment for you and your family. Solar water heaters are cost competitive in many applications when you account for the total energy costs over the life of the system. Although the initial cost of solar water heaters is higher than that of conventional water heaters, the fuel (sunshine) is free. Plus, they are environmentally friendly. To take advantage of these heaters, you must have an unshaded, south-facing location (a roof, for example) on your property.
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 | Surround Your Hot Tub with a Deck
Which came first - the hot tub or the deck?
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 | Take Lighting to Task
As people age, they need more light to perform basic household tasks. So, of all the types of lighting used in your home, none is more critical than proper task lighting.
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 | The ABC's of Tiling
A little layout sooner can save a lot of frustration later. You want to be sure the finished product looks as neat and regular as possible...and to save yourself unnecessary cutting and nipping chores that can double the time required to complete a job.
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 | What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a serious health risk—and it may be in your home. Educate yourself with this helpful asbestos fact sheet from the Environmental Protection Agency.
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