So your looking to sell your house, one of the biggest things you can do before anything else is get the home inspected. Once you receive your home inspection list don’t be discouraged, there are going to be a lot of things on that list. The inspectors will usually spend hours looking through every inch of your house, they will find faults, no house is perfect. The thing to keep in mind is that you need to bring the home up to good condition, not perfect-brand-new-in-the-box condition, just good condition.

Before the inspection takes place do your own inspection. Some simple things to look for are:

• Appliances
• Lighting
• Garage Doors
• Window Operations
• Outlets (Specifically GFI’s)
• Operation of Doors & Locks

Fix all the things you can before the inspection and then have the inspector come in and do their job.

Once completed start going through the list and you’ll begin to see a lot of simple to fix items that you missed during your own inspection. Start with those items and then work on to the bigger ones. Or, if the bigger ones are too big for you, call in a contractor to take care of them. Fix as many items as possible. If your budget is a little tight always fix the most important items first. These items will include:

• HVAC
• Mold & Mildew, if any
• Roof
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• Drainage

Always keep all receipts and records of any other inspections or fixes that you have done while living at the house. This will show potential buyers that you have always done routine maintenance on specific items. Examples are yearly inspections and adjustments on furnaces, hot water heaters, and AC units. Also keep records of any warranty work that was done for appliances.

A good book that I recommend for anyone that is about to have their home inspected or for anyone that wants to do some fixing up around the home is “How to Operate Your Home by Mr. Fix-It“. This book goes over a great deal of information for every home owner to know about their house. It has solutions for common problems and recommendations for maintaining your home.

What’s worse than the feeling of putting a nick, dent, or scratch on a freshly painted wall? It happens all the time when moving in or out of a new home or if you have kids running around, sooner or later (most times sooner) your bound to end up needing touch-ups.  If you have a flat paint you stand a fair chance of painting over the scratch and not being able to notice it, semi or gloss paints for-get-about-it, you’ll most likely have to re-paint the entire wall.

Those days could be coming to an end as it looks like a couple of scientist at the university of Illinois have devised a way to make self healing paint.  When scratched the paint has the ability to fill in the scratch on it’s own.  Sounds like a perfect fit for the housing industry right? Well not quite yet, the paint currently leaves a rough texture so it’s not ready for smooth walls but hopefully with a little refinement we might see something similar start to show up in an exterior application where a perfectly smooth surface isn’t always necessary.  I can see the day where having to refinish your deck would be a thing of the past, and minor hail damage just “fixes” itself.  Looks like the future may be closer than we think…….  now who’s working on color changing paint?

Follow the link to read the entire very technical article found on the [Technology Review, photo credit: Paul Braun]

Now that we all have our Christmas Tree’s up it’s a good time to talk about tree safety. Here are a few tips to follow to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Always make sure the tree has plenty of water

Make sure to check the stand every day and fill it up when needed. If the tree is not properly hydrated it will dry out which will signifintly increase the fire hazard.

Keep the tree away from heat sources

Never place the tree near the fireplace, heater vents,  room heaters, or your entertainment system (TV, DVD player,audio components, etc.). All that heat will dry out the tree faster thus making it less safe.

Tree Lights

Make sure you are using the proper lights for your tree. Never use outdoor lights indoors and vice-versa. Check the lights for any damaged sockets and frayed wiring, if found you should fix or replace the set. If using an extension cord never use more than 3 sets of lights per cord. The cord should never be running across any walk ways (even if under a rug) and should always be along a wall. The final thing about lights, make sure you turn them off before you go to bed.

Ornaments and Decorations

Always use a step stool when placing ornaments on higher parts of the tree. Keep the smaller stuff up higher in the tree so it wont become a choking hazard to children and pets.

For everyone out there that has cats and needs some advice on how to keep them out of the tree try keeping orange peels under it. Apparently cats hate oranges from what I hear. Also keep a spray bottle of water around and spray the cat when he tries to get near the tree.

Just wanted to let everyone know of a great show on the DIY Netwok. It’s called “Cool Tools” and it highlights some of the newest tools on the market for contractors and homeowners.  They have been airing a “Top 25″ episode that counts down the best of the best, we even featured some of the items in our Annual Gift Giving Guide.  Check below for the schedule and channel you can find the DIY Network on.

Showings (Directv)

Saturday 12-6 @ 12:00pm; Monday 12-8 @ 11:00am; Tuesday 12-9 @ 7:00pm & 9:00pm

Channel Listing (Minneapolis Market)

DirecTv ch. 230; Comcast ch. 121; Dish Network ch. 111

It’s that time of year when everyone makes their list of favorite gifts to give and receive.  Please read on for a few things we think would make great gifts that will get used year round. I’ve broken the 1st annual JWC gift guide down into three categories for ease of use.

Stocking Stuffers: Gifts under $10.00

• Mini Maglite Flashlight: A classic gift that never goes out of style
• Stripped Screw Remover: This is a must have around at all times
• Rapid Edge Utility Knife: Comes with a serrated blade so it stays sharp longer

Gifts For All: Up to $200.00

• Digital Protractor $135.00; One handy tool for hanging crown moldings and trim.
• Home Owners Manual $24.95; Great book that covers most homeowner questions.
• All weather extension cord $49.99; Stays flexible in the coldest MN temperatures.
• Gorilla Rack Shelving $30.00 – $90.00; you can never have enough storage space.

He/She’s Been Good All Year!: Gifts Over $200.00

• Magnum Paint Sprayer $299.00; pair this will the roller attachment and you’ll make quick work of all your painting projects
• Makita Drill Combo Set $299.00; read our review to find out why we like this set so much.

OK, OK, It’s by no means the “Be All, End All” gift giving guide of the year but cut us a little slack, it’s our first try, and after all it is the Holidays.  And on that note, Everyone at the JWC team would like to wish you and yours a Happy & Safe Holiday Season this year and a big thanks to all of our new and existing clients.