Spider Writer

You have surely noticed that money-making article titles follow a pattern, called "seasonality" in business circles. In short, consumers buy (and read) about particular items at different times throughout the year. The most obvious season for buying is the holiday season, kicking off shortly after the Thanksgiving turkey has cooled down.There are, of course, many other shopping seasons, albeit shorter than the annual Christmas shopping frenzy. There are holidays galore and special events conveniently spread throughout the year, presenting shopping opportunities you many have never thought of. This

It was once the center of world attention, but today Canada's former 2010 Winter Olympics host city of Whistler, BC has become the focus of tens of thousands of Facebook users for the slaughter of some 100 unwanted sled dogs by their owners, Outdoor Adventures. These defenseless animals, owned by a tourism and outdoor adventure company, were mercilessly slain after the Olympic Games for business reasons.Prior to the horrendous slaughter of 100 Alaskan Racing Huskies, about one-third of its work force, Outdoor Adventures Whistler offered tourists a scenic 3 hour tour through the beautiful Soo Valley

Sealing up your basement and keeping moist air from getting in requires less de-humidification and saves energy, as well. Keeping basement doors closed, caulking windows, and sealing up cracks and holes in the wall will save money and energy. Insulating the basement wall with solid foam insulation panels is even better. The least and most reasonably priced thing one could do is to paint the walls with a coating especially made for basements.Ideally, basement humidity should be kept below the level that mold and mildew begin to grow, or 50%. Humidity levels below 40% can be uncomfortable for those

Once the electricity has stopped flowing, the internal bi-metal strip cools down and returns to its original shape. Now the circuit breaker can be reset by pressing the breaker's toggle back into the "set" position. It's easy to identify which breaker is tripped from the position of the breaker's toggle, on or off. There is also the appearance of a red indicator in the small window located in the center of some circuit breakers.With the power fully restores, the microwave and lights are now on again and you can get back to normal life. It would be a good idea to think about what caused the circuit

Image by pattie74_99 via Flickr When deciding on a home repair contractor, there are some basic rules are crucial decision makers. These include getting and checking references, getting at least three written estimates, getting a thorough description of the work to be done, verifying that the work is satisfactory, and being aware of the warning signs that the contractor isn't legitimate. A good way evaluate the need is by getting recommendations and references from family, friends, other...

Image via The results of last year's poll on home repair are in and the results are quite clear. Most homeowners stated that they were going to spend less on home repair (80%) than before. Others said that they were planning to spend just about the same on fixing up their homes. The outlook for the current year isn't much better. Incomes haven't grown, in fact, according to some economists, real income has been falling for quite some time now as the cost of health insurance continues to take...

Image via If your water heater isn't working, or isn't supplying enough hot water, you can troubleshoot it by looking at the few components most likely to fail. Naturally, a water leak is a sure sign of a problem. Luckily, however, leaks are caused by only a few components such as the water heater's thermostat or internal corrosion. Another suspect component is the T&PR valve, which releases hot water if the heater overheats its contents.. The Temperature and Pressure Relief valve releases...

In the old days, if you were going to attempt to repair your own plumbing, you would have to have a select set of plumbing skills and tools. If you lacked either one, you had to call a plumber to repair a leaky faucet or unclog a toilet. You had to know how to sweat copper pipe together and how to install faucets, traps, clean-outs, and mixing valves. Installing a toilet, or even fixing a toilet was usually out of the question. Image via Now-a-days, home owners are taking up the challenge...

This time of year, many homeowners with older homes are frustrated with the cold and the high cost of energy needed to warm them. Newer homes with vinyl clad windows don't have the same problem, because vinyl window frames have a better energy rating than either aluminum or wood frame windows.Of the two, aluminum and wood frames, aluminum frames are definitely the least energy efficient windows. Because they are a metal, the cold passes directly through them, making the windows the coldest places in the house, except the basement or an unheated garage. The only solution so far has been to either

The first question that needs an answer is "How are Practical Repairs different from any other kind of home repair?" The answer to that is clear when you consider what goes in to making any type of repair in your home. First, there has to be an awareness that something is broken and needs fixing.Second, the person making the repair has to have some level of background knowledege about how the various plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, and structural systems work to make a house a home.Third, one has know how to troubleshoot these systems and identify the source or cause of the problem.The

I have given in to creating Christmas Shopping Lists for all of those Do-It-Yourself people, like me. I think that a Christmas Shopping List should be tailored to the interests, or wishes of this special group of people that includes homeowners, for the most part.For instance, why browse a shopping list that includes clothes, toys, dishes and electronic toys when you can browse a list that has been pre-screened for all the best selling tools and accessories? If that's what you're looking for, check out the Tool Crib and the Christmas Shopping List at PracticalRepairs.com. It could just save you

Nowadays, hot water heaters come in two different types, gas or electric. Which one is used in the home depends mostly upon the availability and price of natural gas or propane, which can be more sparing than electricity. Some homes are adapting to solar hot water heaters, but overall, electric and gas hot water heaters are far more common.Both types of water heaters require very little repair once installed. Manufacturers recommend flushing water heaters at least once a year in order to remove any build of sediment at the base of the heater. This is an easy task to perform and an examination ...

It's the end of October and time to work on launching Practical Home Repairs , a web site for novice homeowners that need assistance in making basic home repairs, plumbing repairs and home electrical repairs.The site features basic repair tips for such things as leaky hot water heaters, clogged drains, toilet repair, how to fix a squeaky door hinge, installing a carbon monoxide detector and whether or not you should by a home with mold in it.Research into building this site shows the the majority of home repairs fall into the basic plumbing repair category, so that is where the majority of articles ...