Archives for September 2014

Four Factors for Choosing the Best Heating/Cooling System

Whether it’s time to replace your old air conditioning system or install one for the first time, it’s a project that will result in year-round comfort for your family. Installing a new system is not cheap. It will likely cost several thousand dollars. But because the efficiency of most new systems has increased so much over the years, the system you choose will likely save you money in heating and cooling costs over the long run.

“Getting what you need at the outset will ensure that you don’t need to purchase upgrades later on,” says California system installer Ron Hassebroc.

Hassebroc offers four factors to consider when choosing a new central air conditioning unit:

The BTU measure – The British Thermal Unit (BTU) measure affects the system’s ability to cool. The higher the BTU rating, the more powerful and quick the performance. The BTU measure you need is based on the size of your home, its insulation and other factors – so while a low BTU rating may not efficiently cool your home, choosing the highest BTU may be a waste of money and energy. Rely on the expertise of the salesman or installer to determine the BTU measure you need.

The Seasonal-Energy Efficiency Rating – Known as the SEER rating, this measure helps ensure the system will work at peak efficiency, providing the best use of BTUs for the lowest price. DO look for the highest SEER rating possible – and choose an Energy Star unit, since their SEER ratings are typically 14 percent higher than competing models.

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values (MERV) – a higher MERV rating means your unit’s filter works better, trapping more dust and other airborne particles. Ratings are on a 1 to 12 scale. While 12 is ideal, offering the best air purification on the market, anything above nine is still very clean.

Installation costs – These can vary depending upon the existing ductwork in your home and the size of the unit you have selected. Get estimates before you purchase a new unit. When factoring installation costs, you may find that a seemingly more expensive model will actually cost less overall if installation is included in the price.

A Closer Look: Kenwood

Deciding where to buy a home and where to live your life is easier when you know the area. In the first of an on-going series, let’s take a look at a neighborhood in the heart of Fort Walton Beach – Kenwood.

Located off of Beal Parkway, between Mooney Road and Racetrack Road, Kenwood is centrally located to everything you might want or need in Fort Walton Beach. The neighborhood offers the best of both worlds – coastal living and city life.

Coastal Living

You move to the Emerald Coast for any number of reasons: job transfer, military career, vacationer-turned-local, you name it. The reasons go on and on. You stay on the Emerald Coast for one reason – the coastal lifestyle.

Kenwood gives you a taste of the Emerald Coast without living on the beach. Waterfront properties and bayou-front properties, thanks to Don’s Bayou and Garnier Bayou, abound. Fishing, boating, kayaking, and canoeing are just some of the possibilities.

City Life

Because Kenwood is located in between two busy roads within Fort Walton Beach, you’re close to everything you need – shopping, restaurants, schools, and work. Military families love Kenwood because of it’s proximity to Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field.

Not many neighborhoods back up to a golf course without golf course prices, but in Kenwood, residents live close to the Fort Walton Beach Golf Course, a 36-hole city golf course. Good rates, beautiful greens, and close by – what’s not to love?

For Families

Kenwood Elementary is the closest elementary school with an annual enrollment of 608 students. Kenwood is a family-friendly neighborhood and a great place to raise your family. According to GreatSchools.org, reviewers love Kenwood and have many fond memories of their years at the school. They even wish they could send their own children to their beloved Kenwood.

As your children grow, they’ll attend Pryor Middle School and Choctawhatchee High School (lovingly known as Choctaw), home to the Green Indians! School pride abounds in Fort Walton Beach, no matter where you live. A friendly, but longstanding rivalry between Choctaw and the Fort Walton Beach Vikings, means school spirit is easily found, and Friday nights during football season are fun for everyone.

There are so many great places to live on the Emerald Coast. Kenwood is a great neighborhood with so much to offer!

Making A Color Statement: Hot New Interior Color Trends

No matter your budget or time constraints, says Hollywood interior designer and set consultant Stephan St. Orang, nothing can change the mood and beauty of your home more significantly than interior paint and lighting.

“This is the year to look for color combinations that take their zing from nature,” St. Orang maintains. “You need only to take a nature walk to find surprising combinations that are vibrant, dynamic and that harmonize with one another in a joyful or pleasing way.”

Break away from the safety of neutral whites, greys and beiges, so popular in the last few years of economic uncertainty, with bold and optimistic color combinations like these, he suggests:

• Spring forest ambience – Wake up bedrooms or living rooms with walls of forest moss or leafy green and accent with splashes of yellow, vibrant pink and lavender in pillows and other accessories.
• Sense and sensibility – Begin with an exuberant rush of bold color, such as walls of rich copper-orange to create a sense of warmth. Add calming accents of cool blues and light yellows to create a cheerful and uplifting space.
• Earth and sky – Create a look of stylish, airy elegance in the dining room with walls of blue accented with darker wood trim. Add a soothing pale blue ceiling to soften the formality and accent one wall with a weathered, artistic stencil pattern to add visual interest.
• Spiced life – Add interest and cheer to a rec room or home office with an unexpected pairing of natural pewter on the walls and a pop of persimmon on the ceiling. Or stick with a more neutral ceiling and make creative use of color by painting a wide swath of your favorite hue along one wall to create an interesting backdrop for favorite works of art.

Upcoming Events and Festivals on the Emerald Coast

Image courtesy of Jazz Guy via Flickr

The weather is slowly but surely turning to cooler mornings, less humid days, and a crispness in the air that signals fall is approaching. While the beach is still a great place to go, this is the time of year to leave the confines of your air conditioned home and take advantage of the September and October activities along the Emerald Coast.

Bikers Blast for the Past Motorcycle Poker Run

Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida, Valparaiso

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Two poker runs in one – an 85 mile trip or a run within a 10 mile radius. Cars are welcome, too!

Learn more.

Hispanic Fest 2014

United for a Good Cause

Sunday, September 21, 2014; 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Emerald Coast Convention Center, Okaloosa Island

Celebrate the Hispanic culture. Listen to Hispanic music, try different foods, meet local vendors, and much more!

Learn more.

Destin Beer Festival

Benefiting Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation

Saturday, September 27; 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Wine World, Destin

Try local brews and help an organization that helps local children in need all at the same time!

Learn more.

36^th Annual Destin Seafood Festival

Friday, October 3 – Sunday, October 5

Destin Harbor, Destin

Come out for the most anticipated festival of the year in Destin and celebrate part of what makes the Emerald Coast an amazing place – the seafood!

Learn more.

4^th Annual Emerald Coast Duck Regatta

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Village of Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin

Benefits the Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast

Enjoy the water in a new way – with a duck race! A fun day for the whole family, there will be activities, prizes, and much more.

Learn more.

6^th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Kite Festivals

Saturday, October 18 – Sunday, October 19; 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

HarborWalk Village, Destin

A free weekend of events that include kitemaking, kite flying, and in the evening, Kites with Lights, as kites light up the sky over the water.

Learn more.

When you start to think that all the fun is over because the summer is ending, the tourists are leaving, and school is back in session, think again. The Emerald Coast comes alive at this time of year. There is something for everyone!

 

 

 

14 ways to make your home more secure!

ConsumerReports.org By Susan Feinstein

More than 2.1 million burglaries were reported in the United States in 2012. That’s one every 15 seconds, according to the FBI, proving just how easy it is for burglars to gain entry. But before you make a big purchase on a security system, take a good hard look around your home. A few simple, low- or no-cost measures will significantly deter a would-be thief from targeting your home.

“The goal in home security is to make it so that the casual burglar will be deterred,” Chris McGoey, an independent security consultant in the Los Angeles area, said. “It’s impossible to make your house perfectly secure, but there are low-tech measures that will do 90 percent of the job.”

Choose a coming weekend and go over these 14 steps—which range from low-effort, no-cost chores to more-involved, pricier projects—to improve your home’s security.

1. Hold a household meeting

Make home security a habit, with every member of the household—including kids—agreeing to a routine that should include such simple rules as:

• Use door and window locks. It costs nothing and takes little energy. Make it a habit to lock every door and window when leaving, after entering, and before bedtime.
• Do not open the door to uninvited or unwelcome visitors.
• Close and lock the garage door.
• Secure your home even if you’re doing work around the house and yard.
• Use your alarm system all the time, even when you take a quick trip to the store or visit next-door neighbors. (Learn about important alarm contract clauses.)

2. Call on the police

Many municipal police departments offer complimentary home inspections. An officer walks through your home and recommends simple, cost-effective changes to tighten security.

3. Organize a burglary

This is a fun, useful exercise to do with a trusted neighbor or friend: Allow your neighbor to roam through your house for three minutes, find as many small valuables as possible, and remove them from your house. Let the ersatz burglar demonstrate how easy it is to find valuables. Then hide them from real burglars. That might mean buying a small safe that bolts to the floor, renting an off-premises safe-deposit box, or stashing jewelry and cash in unorthodox places. You can return the favor for your neighbor.

4. Remove the ‘hidden’ house key

The key under the mat, inside the mailbox, beneath a rock—everybody hides a house key. Problem is, burglars know your hiding places. Instead, give it to a trusted neighbor.

5. Place keys and garage-door remotes in a smart spot

Don’t leave car and house keys and remotes near the door or otherwise visible inside your house. Secure them inside a cabinet or a drawer to keep them hidden.

6. Add foreboding signs

Post security-company signs or window stickers near all entryways—whether you have a security system or not. Maybe you have signs/stickers on hand from a previous contract with a security firm, or maybe you can get some from a friend. In addition, post a few “Beware of Dog” signs in visible spots, say at the front of the house or on a gate to the backyard.

7. Lock up the ladder

Don’t store a ladder outside. A burglar, perhaps posing as a handyman or contractor, could use it to gain access to a second-floor window or balcony.

8. Light up the outdoors

If you don’t have them already, buy and install outdoor lighting with infrared motion sensors and install one near each point of entry. Replace any burned-out lightbulbs and put your porch lights on timers. Find the best bulbs for outdoor uses.

9. Install timers

When you leave for work or appointments or go on vacation, you can create a “someone’s at home” look using timers on lights and TVs. No surprise, there are lots of gadgets available. Fake TV, for instance, simulates the flickering lights of a television, and from outside, it appears that someone is watching TV.

10. Secure air conditioning units

Unsecured window air conditioners could provide an easy entry point for a crook. Use an air conditioner bracket, sliding window lock, or corner braces.

11. Eliminate hiding spots

If your shrubbery is too tall, bushy, or not well spaced, you’re providing a nice hiding spot for a potential burglar. Trim and prune plantings.

12. Check windows

Are the window locks operable? If not, get them fixed or replace them. Also consider installing aftermarket window locks, which let you open the window a few inches while still keeping it secure. Another alternative is to use inexpensive window-break alarms. Check our home window buying guide.

13. Assess doors

Okay, so you’re probably not going to be able to install new doors by yourself over a weekend. But you can inspect your front, side, and back doors. Replace hollow (read: low-quality and easy-to-breach) doors with solid-core (made of wood or metal) or metal-clad doors. Check our buying guide for entry doors.

Sliding-glass doors have a latch to close them but are often an easy point of entry for burglars. To make one more secure, place a wood dowel cut to size or an adjustable safety bar in the interior floor track, or consider adding a floor bolt.

Electric garage doors are not a common point of entry—as long as they are closed. “I can drive you down almost any street in America and find a garage door that is open and the inner door is unlocked,” McGoey says. “Homeowners have to treat all the doors like the front door and close it.”

14. Replace weak locks

Locks are the weakest point on a door. Make sure you have a grade 1 or grade 2 dead-bolt lock that penetrates the door frame. It’s not necessary to get one at a specialty locksmith; these can be purchased at a big-box home store. The strike plate—the stationary piece that the bolt enters—must be heavy duty, made of solid metal or brass, with six three-inch-long screws that penetrate the door jamb and the door frame. Check out our door lock buying guide and read about the $10 part that will make your door lock safer.