Advice
12 articles about houses in this climate, written by the people who work on them. Humidity, pollen, hail, clay soil and mild winters make Triangle houses fail in specific ways, and generic advice misses most of it.
ELECWhy your breaker keeps tripping
A breaker that trips is doing its job; the question is which of four faults it is protecting you from.
HVACWhen to repair your AC and when to replace it
Five things decide whether an air conditioner is worth repairing, and only one of them is the price of the part.
ELECWhen a panel upgrade is actually required
Two of the four reasons to upgrade a panel are safety, one is capacity, and the fourth is that somebody measured rather than guessed.
ROOFHow a storm damage insurance claim actually works
A roof claim has three parties with three different jobs, and most of the trouble comes from a contractor promising to do the insurer's part or yours.
OUTDOORChoosing decking material for North Carolina humidity
The board you walk on matters less than the framing under it, and every material on the market fails the same way if the ledger is wrong.
HVACWhat a maintenance visit actually covers
A maintenance visit is a measurement exercise, not a cleaning, and the numbers are what tell you what is about to fail.
BUILDPermit timelines in Wake County, and why your job has not started
The permit itself is cheap and quick to file; the wait is approval and inspection scheduling, and it belongs in the plan rather than in an apology.
ROOFFive signs of a roof leak before it reaches the ceiling
A ceiling stain is the last symptom of a roof leak, not the first, and the earlier signs are all visible from inside the house.
BUILDWhat a kitchen remodel really costs in the Triangle
Cabinetry and layout decide most of a kitchen budget, and moving the sink costs more than almost any finish you can choose.
OUTDOORA seasonal home maintenance calendar for the Triangle
A maintenance calendar written for this climate, where the enemies are humidity, pollen, hail and clay rather than deep frost.
HVACHow to prepare your home for a service visit
Ten minutes of preparation is the difference between a job finished today and a second visit next week.
OUTDOORWinterising an irrigation system in the Triangle
Our winters are mild enough that people skip this and cold enough that skipping it breaks the backflow assembly.
Would rather just ask?
The questions page answers the specific ones, and the office answers the rest. Neither costs anything.