People go for the food, to see the animals, to ride the rides, to people watch, for grandstand shows, and for all the latest and most unique products.

You can find green living products to improve or build your home, new designs of old stand-bys, the latest machinary for just about anything, and oh so much more.

This year Absolute Construction and Remodeling will be at the Minnesota State Fair and we hope you’ll stop by our display.

To get all the information you could possibly want including when and where to buy advanced tickets, visit the MN State Fair Official Website.

You’ll soon learn that this year the State Fair runs from August 27th through Labor Day (September 7th), and the Grandstand is celebrating centenial with the following line-up:

Thursday August 27th

BonTaj Roulet, Bonnie Raitt & Taj Mahal

Performing Alone and Together

7:30 p.m.  $36.50

Friday August 28th

Jason Aldean with special guest Eli Young Band

7:30 p.m.  $29.00

Saturday August 29th

Kidd Rock and Leonard Skynyrd

7:00 p.m. $66, $56 & $41

Sunday August 30th

Kelly Clarkson with special guest Eric Hutchinson

7:30 p.m.  $35

Monday August 31st

An Evening with Jackson Browne

8:00 p.m.  $38.00

Tuesday September 1st

Randy Travis with special guest Joe Nichols

7:30 p.m.  $32

Wednesday September 2nd

O.A.R. with special guests Slightly Stoopid and Brett Dennen

6:00 p.m.  $27.00

Thursday September 3rd

Casting Crowns with special guest Barlowgirl

7:30 p.m.  $30.00

Friday September 4th

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

7:45 p.m. $28 & $23

Saturday September 5th

REO Speedwagon, STYX with special guest 38 Special

7:00 p.m $34

Sunday September 6th

2009 Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest Finals

8:00 p.m. FREE with price of admission

Labor Day, Monday September 7th

An Evening with Jeff Dunham

8:00 p.m.  $38.00

I remember when regular gas was what you used in all your lawn mowers, boats, snow throwers, snowmobiles, ATV’s and other toys. These days unleaded gas is the new regular. From your engine’s perspective it isn’t as pure and has its own additives that can gum-up your carburetor.

You may know that you should winterize (or summerize) your gas engines with an additive like Sea Foam, but did you know that you should really be using these additives on a regular basis to help keep your carburetor clean and you engine running smoothly?

As you run any carbureted or fuel injected gas engine they build up carbon deposits. Adding a little Sea Foam to your gas will keep your engines running smoothly year around, even if they don’t run for months at a time.

If your lawn is like mine, and it has gone dormant, your lawn mower may be sitting for weeks before you use it again. If it doesn’t want to start, or is running roughly Sea Foam can help. You’ll need to clean out the gas line and possibly clean out the carburetor. If you can put new gas in that is best, and then treat that gas with Sea Foam.  Otherwise add it to the gas in the tank and cross your fingers!

Better yet, check out this Sea Foam How To You Tube.
Sea Foam is a brand name, and one that I am most familiar with, but there are other’s out there that can provide the same benefit. I do know that Sea Foam is EPA-registered and will not harm engine components, gaskets, seals, oxygen sensors or catalytic converters. It is a pure petroleum product that liquefies gum and varnish deposits, removing carbon deposits and freeing sticky valves.

Most boating stores, ATV dealers and hardware stores will sell Sea Foam and other gasoline additives.

If you use E10 Ethanol, check out the cautions at the Fuel Testers website.

Vote up to once a day. Voting ends July 20.

For over 20 years, Eureka Recycling has been Saint Paul’s nonprofit recycler. Under a long-term contract with the city, Eureka Recycling provides recycling services to Saint Paul’s homes and apartments. In addition, Eureka Recycling is a leader in waste reduction education and advocacy.

“We entered this contest to help fund our work to strengthen the grassroots movement of composters in the Twin Cities and to spread the word about the environmental benefits of making dirt, not waste.”

Vote for Eureka at : http://greeneffect.nationalgeographic.com/  Their video is the one pictured with the woman next to the black compost bin.

Eureka Recycling  is one of the largest nonprofit recyclers in the United States and a leader in demonstrating the best waste reduction and recycling practices not only for the Twin Cities metro area, but for the nation.

• Use a push mower or electric mower! They are quiet and don’t pollute. Keep blades sharp and oiled.

• Set your mower to mow high. Long blades of grass develop deep roots.

• Regardless of your mower type, dry tips on grass blades indicated that your mower blade is dull.

• Leave clippings on your lawn to provide nitrogen and moisture. Mow often.

• Use a hand weeder not herbicides. Develop a tolerance for a few weeds and weed when your tolerance is reached.

• Focus on the grass, not the weeds. Healthy grass makes it tough for weeds to thrive.

• Research has shown that corn gluten  meal (available at most feed stores like Fleet Farm) effectively prevent seeds from sprouting, including seeds from many weeds such as crabgrass, chickweed, and even dandelions. It is effective only against seeds, not existing plants. Annual weeds that are already up and growing will not be killed by products made of corn gluten meal.  To learn more check out this link.

• If you have compost available, spread a ½ inch on your lawn as a fertilizer.

Let your grass go dormant during the hot dry months (like now).  The Lawn Institute has some great tips including:

‘Summer dormancy is a perfectly normal response to the stress of heat and drought.  It is important to make sure grass is as healthy as possible before dormancy begins and not to stress the grass any more once conditions become unfavorable for growth.  Grass should be maintained slightly higher before and during drought.  Grass should only be mowed as needed and mowing should be preformed early in the morning or late in the evening with a sharp blade to minimize stress on the turf. ‘

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Xcel is required by Minnesota law to reach a 30% renewable energy mix, and wind power is one way for them to reach this goal. An average home uses around 500 kWh a month. Based on this usage, converting to 100% wind generated electricity will increase your monthly bill by about $3.50 a month, or the cost of one large designer coffee.

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Xcel Energy has made a committment to increase their wind resources to more than double their current capacity by 2020. If you live in Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota and have Xcel as your electricity supplier, you can sign-up to have wind power supply some or all of the electricity provided to your home or business. Click on Windsource® program to be directed to the Xcel site where you can sign-up and support wind power.

Increased demand for renewable energy will help push projects forward and ultimately reduce costs. While property owners do have wind rights that they can lease to companies like Xcel, the wind itself is free. We really should take advantage of that whenever possible.

Each summer since 1990 the Energy Fair has been held in rural central Wisconsin (Custer, WI this year).  For that weekend it becomes the global hot spot for renewable energy education. The Energy Fair is the world’s largest renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living educational event of its kind.

The Energy Fair has
* Over 270 exhibitors
* Over 200 workshops
* Mass transit offered from Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay/Appleton, Chicago and Minneapolis.
* Free hourly shuttles from Stevens Point
* Clean Energy Car Show
* Green Home Pavilion
* Sustainable Table Workshop Area
* Educator Workshops
* Hands On Workshops
* Food, entertainment for the whole family!

For mor info use this link:
http://www.the-mrea.org/energy_fair.php

Here are a couple links to where you can find this type of product (we used the first one, you need a header hose to go with it):

http://02a5830.netsolstores.com/rainweave22x-1-1.aspx

http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=177

We should all be conscious of water usage all the time, we only have so much clean water on this planet and that amount is shrinking as we contaminate it, and as glacial ice melts running into our oceans (it’s all fresh water, those glaciers). 

If we suffer a drought this year, there will be even more reason to conserve. 

There are a number of simple things that we can all do to conserve and use our water more efficiently, here are a few ideas:

·          Turn hot water down.  When you are running water for something – dishes, bath, washing machine, anything, if the water is too hot, don’t turn up the cold water – turn down the hot water!  You pay money to heat the hot water, so use less of that.

·          Use shorter cycles. A shorter cleaning cycle in your dishwasher is often enough. Try using the “quick wash” or “china and crystal” setting, especially if you rinse the dishes first. Using the air dry feature also saves energy. The same goes for laundry. “Quick wash” or the “light” setting is often all that is needed.

·         Use only what you need. Your bathroom faucet is often used only for washing your hands and face.  Try turning those water faucets full open, then go under the sink and turn the hot and cold water valves one half, to three forth OFF.  You should have enough water to wash hands or fill drinking glass and not waste water.

·         Reuse water.  Whenever we shower or wash vegetables we waste gallons of water.  Place a bucket in the shower to collect water during your shower and in your sink when you are washing fruits and vegetables.  Then use that water for potted plants inside and out, or anywhere there is a plant in need of water.

Feel free to add your ideas to these and share with others!!!

The three most common categories that are reviewed when talking about green building are:

1. Energy Efficiency

2. Non-toxic materials

3. Reduced consumption (fuel and resource conservation)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

This category applies to everything from the car you drive to the roof over your head.  If you look at your monthly budget a good portion of it goes to gas for your car and your utility bill that cools and heats your home.  The price of energy, regardless of its form, is not going to go down significantly any time soon.  The only way that it will go down is if we explore alternate energy sources (wind power, solar power, fuel cells and the like).

In the meantime green building practices can help us reduce the amount of energy we need.

Energy Star ratings are a great place to start when you are looking at doors, windows, appliances and even roofs because they meet government standards for energy conservation. Although, if you are looking for tax credits associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (or the ‘Stimulus Bill’) beware that some windows with the Energy Star rating will not qualify after June 1, 2009.

Metal roofs are super energy savers, and may offer you reduced insurance premiums on your home owner’s insurance as well.  The metal roof we most often recommend is a Metro Roof Products GLAVALUME ® Steel.  These stone coated steel roofing systems create a strong, weather-tight, energy efficient cap to your home.

Part of owning a home is the regular maintenance a home requires. This maintenance can range from major appliance replacement to a new roof. Often home owners inherit items within their homes that are less than desirable. Items like inefficient and/or leaky doors and windows come to mind. Replacing these items is a major investment in your home that should ultimately pay off with energy savings.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (or the “Stimulus Bill”) has made changes to the energy efficiency tax credits available to Americans.

The biggest change is that the credits have been raised from 10% of the cost to 30% of the cost for installations put in place from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500 over this two year period. Along with that, the cap of $200 on windows has been removed.

It should be noted that some ENERGY STAR qualified windows will not qualify after June 1, 2009. It is important that you check to see if the windows you are considering installing will qualify for the tax credit. Absolute Construction and Remodeling Inc. can help you install qualified windows.

Looks like asphalt, but its not!

Did you know that metal roofs can look just like asphalt roofs and be significantly more energy efficient? This Metro Shingle roof is an example of how a metal roof can look like traditional asphalt shingles. Your savings don’t need to stop with a tax credit, you can get immediate savings to your heating and cooling bills with a metal roof.

ENERGY STAR Water Heaters, Furnaces and AC Systems Qualify for Tax Credit

Roofs and windows aren’t the only things that qualify for tax credits.  Everything from HVAC systems (furnaces and air conditioners), to water heaters, to insulation and even the car you drive can qualify.  If you’d like to learn more about how you can take advantage of the tax credits available, or if you are considering a new water heater, furnace or air conditioning system, contact Absolute Construction and Remodeling Inc.  The following website may also be of interest to you:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits 

If you are considering alternate energy sources for your home, please be aware that Absolute Construction and Remodeling Inc. has experience with geothermal heating systems. Geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters and solar panels are not subject to the $1,500 maximum tax credit. This is true for fuel cell, and small wind energy systems as well. In addition credits for these systems are available through 2016. These credits are especially applicable to new home construction and secondary residences where credits for ENERGY STAR roofs and windows do not apply.