Installing replacement windows is the, single, most important investment that you can make for your home. In fact, a replacement window will actually pay for itself over and over again, and the savings will start accumulating the moment that they are installed. Replacement windows will, effortlessly, keep your house cooler in the summer months and warmer throughout the winter season, and therefore reducing your energy cost. In addition to lower utility bills, replacement windows will also increase the resale value and overall look and comfort of your home. No matter how you look at it, you can not lose when it comes to installing new replacement windows.

If you are considering installing new replacement windows, you may also qualify for the U.S. 2009-2010 energy tax credit. All you have to do is purchase a qualifying replacement window and you could recieve a tax credit up to $1,500 on your 2009 or 2010 federal income tax return. Replacement windows that qualify for this tax credit must have a U-Factor equal to or below 0.30 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) equal to or below 0.30 in all climate zones. This credit is only available on replacement windows installed before December 31, 2010.



If you live in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Radford or in the New River Valley, and you are considering installing new replacement windows, you can contact Profixes Home Repair and Maintenance of Virginia for your free, affordable quote. To contact Profixes, visit our website Profixes.com

If you have condensation in your home, you have a serious problem. Condensation that accumulates on your home’s windows can cause damage to your window sills, drywall, flooring; and worst of all it will damage your wall studs.

I won’t go into all of the reasons here as to how humudity, temperature and more lead to condensation, but, instead, I will just get to the point and show you a few solutions that will help you rid your problems.

Turn on your properly ventilated exhaust fans when cooking and showering. If you don’t have properly ventelated exhaust fans, have them installed. This shouldn’t cost you more than a few hundred dollars, and these few hundred dollars could save you thousands. The steam created from cooking and showering can put excessive moisture in the air and lead to killer condensation.

If you have bare earth exposed in your crawl space, this will also contribute to condensation accumulating inside the house. If this is the case, you need to have a plastic vapor barrier or ground cover installed. 6-mil, black plastic will do the job and will effectively keep moisture from the bare earth out of your home.

It is also important to be sure that you have enough foundation vents to provide adequate ventilation to the crawl space. This will keep the temperature regulated in the crawl space and help prevent excessive moisture. If your home has old foundation vents that you have to open and close by hand, I recommend replacing them with automatic foundation vents. Automatic foundation vents will open and close on their own, under the necessary temperatures

If you have a vapor barrier and foundation vents in place, the last thing you need to do is make sure that your floor in the crawl space is properly insulated.

Last but not least, make sure that your attic is properly ventilated and insulated.
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Building permit requirements will vary from town to town, so it is very important for anyone planning home repair or improvements to become familiar with the requirements before any type of construction begins.
In the Town of Christiansburg, a building permit is required when:
• A dormer window will be added to your house. *
• Attic pull-down stairs are going to be installed.
• Before you plan to relocate stairs.
• Before you build a roof for a deck, porch or patio. * **
• Before you build an above grade deck, porch or patio. * **
• Before resurfacing a driveway with changing the curb cut. **
• Before constructing a new driveway. **
• Before constructing or excavating a basement under an existing dwelling. *
• Before constructing an entrance into a basement. *
• Before constructing a masonry fireplace.
• Before building a masonry chimney for a wood stove.
• Before installing a prefabricated fireplace. Note: manufacturer’s instructions on fireplace must be submitted as plans.
• Before building or removing partitions or finishing a basement. *
• Before constructing a retaining wall longer than four feet. **
• Before building a brick or privacy wall. * **
• Before installing pre-manufactured storage shed or building. **
• Before building a storage shed or building. * **
• Before building storage shed that will be attached to a carport.* **

*Building plan also required. **Plot plan also required.

To obtain a permit in Christiansburg, visit: Christiansburg Town Hall,
100 East Main St.,Christiansburg, VA
To learn more about the permit and inspection process in Christiansburg: http://www.christiansburg.org/index.aspx?NID=81

Central Vacuum systems only have one drawback: The vac replacement bags are hard to find. You can find bags for regular, upright vacuum cleaners just about anywhere, but you will have to search everywhere to come across one in Christiansburg, Radford, Blacksburg or anywhere else in the New River Valley. If you are lucky, you might find one to fit your vac model at some little vac shop, but the chances are better that you will not.
Sure, the vac shop people will offer to order you some, but you can bet that you will be paying big money for them. Why pay them to order the bags for you when you can order them yourself, just as easy, for a lot less money.
If you have a Nutone or Beam Electrolux Central Vac System, simply order your bags online. All you need to know is the model number, make or series of vac that you have installed, and all of that information is located on the unit or canister. Central vac bags can last a long time, so one small order should do you for a while.
Order your bags online >>>>



An inch or two of water on your basement floor can be nightmare, especially if your basement is finished and is being used as a living area. Water will destroy your carpets, drywall and baseboards and serve as a catalyst for mold infestation. These types of water damage can be costly and difficult to address, but these problems are only minor when compared to the damage that water is inflicting to your home’s structure.

If water is making its way into your basement, there is a good chance that the same water is making its way into the home’s footings, which support the foundation and the rest of the house. When this happens, the water can over saturate the soil below the footings and cause the house to settle. Moreover, a house that is settling can lead to foundation cracks, doors that no longer work and more. Not to mention, it can lead to repairs that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Do not let this happen to you.

Do not be fooled by companies that simply offer to “waterproof” your basement. This will only address the problem of water entering your basement but will not address the problem of water saturating the soil below your footers. These so-called waterproofing companies charge thousands of dollars and are only capable of addressing half of the problem.

I have been in the home repair field for many years now, and in my experience, I have found that the leading cause of flooded basements is often simpler than the average homeowner realizes. All too often, clogged and poorly functioning gutters are the reason for flooded basements.

If your gutters are full of leaves, debris or whatever, they definitely will not be draining properly. In a heavy rain, all the rain that spills on your roof will simply over-shoot your gutters, fall down beside your house and pour down beside and through your foundation. To address this problem, simply clean your gutters and rinse away the debris.

Another thing to check for would be gutters with leaky seams. If you find any that are leaking, simply clean the seam and fill with 100% silicone caulking. If you have any gutter sections that are damaged beyond repair, do not be afraid to contact your local seamless gutter expert. In most places, seamless gutter contractors only charge $2-$3.00 per foot to install new gutters, and this price generally includes all materials and labor.


After your gutters have been cleaned and inspected for necessary repairs, the next thing to check for would be the gutter down spouts. Check to see if the down spouts are directing the rain water far enough away from your house. If they are not, this could also be part of the reason water is draining into your basement. If this is the problem, simply extend your down spouts by installing a few feet of 4” drain tile. This will effectively direct the water away from your house.

If none of the above will address your leaky basement problems, I recommend meeting with a qualified and experienced excavating contractor. It may sound expensive, but trust me, it will be much better to dish out a little money now instead of your entire bankroll in the future.

There are many steps you can take to prepare your home for the winter season, but one of the most beneficial and cost-effective ways is to plug all of the air leaks in the home’s interior and exterior. Most people don’t realize how much energy they are wasting each year due to these small air leaks.
You might think that a small hole in your siding, the size of a pencil eraser, couldn’t result in significant energy loss, but it can and will. Energy experts claim that the average home in the United States has enough of these small holes that, when compounded, will add up to a nine square foot hole in the home’s exterior. In other words, it is like having a three by three foot hole in your wall that is open year around: spring, summer, winter and fall.
One of the best ways to determine where your leaks are is to inpect your home on a windy day. With the help of a lighted incense stick, move around the home’s interior and check and common places such as around electrical outlet covers, recessed lighting fixtures, doors, windows, baseboards, and even cracks in the dry wall. The smoke from the burning incense stick will make it easy to determine where exactly the air is entering the house. As you move through your house checking for drafts, be sure to keep notes as to where they are so that you can easily return to seal them.
Now that you have found all of the areas where air is entering the house, the next thing to do is start sealing the leaks. Leaks around doors can usually be addressed with very little effort, by even the least experienced do-it-your-selfer. Simply purchase and install weather stripping around your door and install door sweeps.
As for windows, if they are older, single-pane windows, there will be very little you can do to to seal out the leaks, so you might consider installing new vinyl replacement windows or storm windows. When you take into consideration how much energy you are wasting with older windows, new replacements or storms can pay for themselves quickly. If you can’t afford to make these types of window improvements right now, there are other solutions that will stop the problem, temporarily, such as wrapping your windows in plastic. You can buy these window wrapping kits at nearly every hardware store and/or department store. These plastic window films are very easy to install and well worth the effort.
As for drafty electrical outlets, rubber gaskets can be purchased at your local hardware store and installed between the wall and electrical cover.
Most other leaks around the home can be taken care of with a simple caulking gun and a few tubes of any type of weather resistant caulking. If the area that requires sealing is concrete, brick, or block, be sure to use a masonary sealer. Masonary sealer can also be found at your local hardware store and comes in tubes just like caulking.



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