Your Valuable Home

In our replay today, we get Michele’s take on her recently completed total ProVia exterior makeover. In the Horror Story, a homeowner learns that the poor choice of a contractor results in a poorly installed patio door. In our Feature, Angel explains the latest improvements she’s made to her smallish, concrete, Mid-mod home, located where the northern boundary of Philadelphia meets the burbs. Ange...

In our Replay today, we arm you with questions few homeowners ask when selecting a contractor. The right answers can make the difference between a great job and a botcthed job. In our Horror Story Today...the contractor came to install a new roof and siding, and caused massive water damage. Was it worth it? Do you know if you have 2 X 4s for studs or the newer 2 X 6s. It makes a difference in term...

Today’s Replay is the first of two that offer sound advice on choosing a contractor for any type of home improvement project. It’s time for the Bad Guy Bulletin. There’s a pretty widespread scam going on. It involves roofers who knock on your door, claiming that you have hail damage on your roof, and they can re-do your roof at your insurance company’s expense. Sounds tempting, but beware. In our...

In today’s Replay, Kevin explains the proper way to install windows and why it’s so important. In the Horror Story, Kevin encounters a contractor who failed to get a permit and got caught. In our Feature, we again interview renowned architect, Illya Azaroff, about a current project underway in Oahu, Hawaii The KO’OLAULOA Resilience Hub is under development in a particularly isolated area of Oahu....

In the Replay today, Kevin riffs on the pros and cons of a drip edge. The Horror Story is about another botched window installation. Listen carefully, so you know how to spot a botched window installation, if it happens to you. In order to help you and/or your parents with the process of rightsizing to simplify life and age in place, take a few tips from Rosemary. She made the transition from a 5,...

In our Replay today, Ron takes us on a 15-minute journey through Palm Springs. This oasis in the California desert east of LA was featured in our Popular 2023 YouTube series, The Coolest Neighborhoods in America. Listen today, as Ron shares what he learned about Palm Springs during a recent trip to the epicenter of Mid-century Modern architecture and so many other fascinating things. Ron’s trip in...

In our Replay today, Ron gives us the inside story of his recent visit to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, the Martin House. FLW designed the house for a Buffalo, New York entrepreneur back when that city was one of the wealthiest in America. Among many fascinating features, the Martins became the first American family to a have a home with an open floor plan. In our Horror Story, t...

In our Replay today, we discuss the criteria for SUCCESSFULLY hiring a contractor. The Horror Story deals with sophomoric questions posted to Facebook by a siding contractor who should know better. The urban Doom Loop is a hypothesis developed by Professor Stan Van Nieuwerburgh from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. According to Professor Van Nieuwerburgh, Covid and the sudden r...

In today’s Replay, Kevin’s customer explains what sold her on ProVia windows. Our Horror Story is about a professional contractor Facebook account where they ask rudimentary questions that you wouldn’t expect from home improvement pros. Many first-time home buyers have been stymied by a persistent seller’s market. Now first timers in New Jersey are getting a helping hand in the form of a forgivabl...

In the Replay today, you can’t always take reviews at face value. Kevin cites one that praises an improperly done roofing job. Our Horror Story deals with a window installation that went off the rails – and the contractor attempted to justify it. In today’s Feature, we get reactions from realtors in North Carolina and California to the class action that changes the way agents for residential selle...

In the Replay, this homeowner can’t wait to get started on a whole new exterior featuring ProVia products. It’s again time for The Bad Guy Bulletin. We’re joined by both Marc Furber from the Bucks County DA’s Office and Mike Bannon from Bucks County Consumer Protection Weights and Measures. Both report on the latest scams, and Mike has great news for Pennsylvania residents: home title surveillance...

In the Replay today, Kevin reports on a window BOGO that is a definite NOGO. In the Horror Story, Kev spots a contractor scaffolding accident waiting to happen on a siding group’s Facebook page. Hope the contractor had worker’s comp. The subject of our Feature today is spring projects, featuring decks. Steven, a Trex product manager, explains the many reasons why Trex remains a leader in composite...

In the Replay today, Ron questions Kevin about the appeal of ProVia® products including windows, doors, and siding, among his customers. Three factors stand out: the ProVia warranty, appearance, and durability. Our Horror Story today deals with the replacement of a window that failed to meet HOA standards. As you can imagine, this caused much needless aggravation. The subject of our Feature today...

In the Replay today, Caroline walks us through the many updates Kevin and crew have brought about in her house, one of the oldest in America. In today’s Horror Story, Kevin shares on bad window installations. In the Feature, our frequent guest, the multiple award-winning interior designer, Donna Hoffman easily shifts gears to suggest modestly priced decorating updates to heighten the appeal of a r...

In the Replay today, we interview Sean about his choice of new ProVia® windows. The look and the limited lifetime warranty, in particular, stood out in Sean’s mind. Also, the Bad Guy Bulletin is this week! In the Feature today, Matt C., one of the two Crypto Matts who keeps adding to our knowledge of the Crypto landscape, is back to facilitate our understanding of the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Cu...

In the Replay today, except for a few finishing touches, it’s a wrap for Dianne’s kitchen, featuring an expansive ProVia® window with built-in blinds. You can pick up pointers in this final interview with Dianne. In today’s Horror Story, a homeowner gets duped with a lie about siding. In the Feature today, Joe Bograd, a Re/Max Elite Realtor makes his client's properties stand out with a branding p...

In the Replay today, Kevin’s customer, Dianne, is ecstatic about her expansive, new ProVia kitchen window that provides a lot more light and a view of her beautiful backyard. In the Horror Story, Dianne shines a spotlight on contractors who fail to return homeowner calls. Not a great way to get business!!. In today’s Feature, the answer to the question posed above is: regional insurers who don’t...

In the Replay today, Kevin and Ron raise awareness of roofing companies promoting new roofs and citing hail and wind damage. They’ll even represent you in talks with your insurance carrier. Think twice before you fall for this. In today’s Bad Guy Bulletin, we tip you off to scams you need to avoid. In the Feature, as a follow-up to an interview we did on hazards posed by dead ash and other trees i...

In the Replay today, Dianne paints a picture of her new kitchen and its defining characteristic, a ProVia® picture window with built-in blinds. In the Horror Story, if you’re considering an HVAC split system, make sure the installer strings the tubes inside – not outside – the house. Wow!! And in the Feature, Matt C. and Matt P., two Crypto-savvy individuals who we call the CryptoMatts, join us th...

In the Replay today, Kevin and Ron reveal the scams, lies, and shaky sales pitches some contractors employ to get jobs. In the Horror Story, we cite a bad roofing job that led to a bad siding job. Today’s feature was prompted by Ron’s visit to his godson’s parent’s home, where he experienced the excellence of their refreshed kitchen. There was no need to change the basic footprint of the cabinets,...

In the Replay today, Kevin and Ron explain how a responsible home improvement contractor can make a positive impact on a family. It’s the third week of the month...time for the Bad Guy Bulletin, with contributions from Mike Bannon from Bucks County Consumer Protection, Marc Furber from the Bucks DA’s Office and Ron, whose mortgage holder was hacked by the bad guys. In the Feature today, Rebecca Ed...

In the Replay today, Kevin walks us through the renovation of a 300-year- old farmhouse. In the Horror story, Kevin discovers a new company on Instagram and their improper installation of windows and roofing. In the Feature, Jim Mailey, Senior Technical Training Coordinator from Simpson StrongTie, walks us through the products his company makes to bring about more resilience in the connections bet...

In the Replay today, Mike talks about his kitchen/laundry room project that Kevin is about to begin. Like all homeowners, Mike isn’t immune to contractor Horror Stories. Today, he shares one involving a siding job gone bad. In today’s Feature, Donna Butts, a frequent contributor and great friend to Your Valuable Home, joins us to share inspirational stories of people across generations helping eac...

In the Replay, Kevin is referred to a dissatisfied roofing customer to provide advice. In the Horror Story, Nissi explains the roofing nightmare no homeowner should have to deal with. In the Feature today, renowned architect and frequent Your Valuable Home guest, Illya Azaroff explains a scenario whereby a young family can buy and build a modest house that’s resilient, sustainable, and expandable...

In the Replay today, Kevin provides a progress report on major renovations his company is doing to a 300-year-old farmhouse. It’s again time for the Bad Guy Bulletin is our once-a-month segment devoted to exposing all sorts of scams and scammers. George Smart is on a mission “to document, preserve, and promote residential Modernist architecture.” He’s doing that in myriad ways, including hosting a...