Your Valuable Home

In our Replay today, Bud, who has been around home improvement contracting much of his life, talks about what’s wrong with the industry today, and what can be done to fix it. It’s once again time for the Bad Guy Bulletin with tips on scams to guard against like the recent flurry of Pay Pal hoaxes. The scammer’s goal is to get you to call and volunteer your information. Don’t do it. Even people wit...

In our Replay today, Kevin grills a builder local to our area on the proper and improper installation of building products. The Horror Story is about a homeowner who gave a contractor one-half of the estimated cost of building a shed. The contractor hasn’t been seen since. The lesson: beware contractors seeking excessive front money. When a home improvement project goes bad, it often tracks back t...

In our Replay today, Kevin and Ron discuss the planning and execution of a major ProVia® window project. In the Horror Story, this homeowner paid for a new roof and instead got new shingles installed right over the old ones...a major roofing no-no. In our Featured Segment today, we learn about ONE-PS, the neighborhood association model that has been working wonders in Palm Spring California. One-P...

In the replay this week, Pat Leach, talks about his Provia windows. In the Horror Story, a homeowner had a contractor fix wood windows with duct tape and paint. In our Feature segment, Sandy Smith, Home and Real Estate Editor of Philadelphia Magazine, talks about the state of the real estate market in Philadelphia and Beyond!

In our Replay today, with the help of New Pod City's Frank Sasso, we scam a scammer who is eager to flip off an estimate for a roofing job sight unseen and take a credit card number over the phone. You’ve got to hear this! In the Horror Story today, social media ads enable a scare tactic to make a roofing sale. In today’s feature, we do a fascinating interview with Chase Morrill, one of the hosts...

In our Replay today, we cover a credit card shakedown that’s not to be believed. Often subs hired by a contractor have a mind of their own. In this case, they also had the nerve to walk off the job. This is the second week in a row where we pick the brain of multiple award-winning interior designer, Donna Hoffman. Ever wondered if you should hire an interior designer? Donna will help you puzzle th...

In the Replay, we have a further discussion on the YouTube video on a more detailed installation of the windows for the Sugar Shack in Knoxville, PA! See video here: https://youtu.be/e5ZNj20TYP0 In the Horror story, Since the Trex show last week we continue with a Bad deck job, to a happy Trex ending! If you’re feeling dissatisfied with your home’s interior, and you have the urge to design-it-your...

In our Replay today, Kevin and Ron discuss the frenzy of Roofing ads on Social Media, what is their agenda? In the Horror story, a listener asks for advice on how to fix the BAD tile installation job they recently completed. In our Featured segment today, we talk with the Trex Director of Product Marketing about all aspects of Trex decking that make it the logical choice over wood and other compos...

In the Replay today, dad John struggles to get a contractor-created house of horrors under control. There’s a lot to be corrected, and Kevin works alongside John step-by-step to make it happen. In the Horror Story today we talk about BAD electrical wiring in a basement, and why it is so important to get permits! Finally, in our Featured segment architect Illya Azaroff gives us a a glimpse of how t...

In our Replay today, Morgen talks about the final touches of her whole-house renovation that began as a horror story. Kevin Kennedy helped turn things around. Today, it’s once again time for the Bad Guy Bulletin. Marc Fuber from the Bucks County DA’s office offers suggestions on the theft of Stephanie’s belongings by a New York moving company. (Steph’s story was in our 3/17/23 podcast.) Ron talks...

In our Replay today, Kevin offers valuable advice to a new listener ready to update her kitchen, family room and bath.  In the Horror Story, you’ll wonder how a flooring “pro” could do such a sloppy job. Continuous Load is an engineering principle that can help recently built homes withstand  strong winds...possibly even a tornado.  If your home was built to codes as they existed years ago, you ca...

In our Replay, Robin talks about the plan and progress regarding her basement and bath projects. In the Horror Story today...Is it proper construction etiquette for one contractor to offload trash into another contractor’s dumpster? No kidding! In our Feature, Matt Sanders from PEW Charitable Trusts reports on the initiatives four forward-thinking states – New Jersey, North and South Carolina, and...

In the Replay today, Susan shares the story of her new roof. And in the Horror Story, this homeowner was set to refer the contractor, until Kevin noticed issues with the job in photos the homeowner sent. Good catch, Kev! In today’s Feature, Matt Skroch, Project Director U.S. Public Lands and Rivers Conservation at PEW Charitable Trusts, fill us in on how western states are keeping motorists and la...

In the Replay, Christina Sasso talks about she and husband Frank’s plans for the refurbishment of a cottage on their upstate PA property. The cottage was formerly used to process maple syrup. Refurbishing begins with two expansive ProVia® windows to be installed by our own Kevin Kennedy. In the Horror Story, Ron relates how a routine water heater swap-out in his Philadelphia rental unit became a n...

In the Replay today, Mt. Pleasant Window and Remodeling Company provides testimony to the quality of ProVia windows. The company has been a ProVia dealer for about 40 years. In the Bad Guy Bulletin today, Stephanie reveals a widespread scam that involves a moving broker and a mover. She lost everything when she turned to these two companies to store her belongings before making a move out of New Y...

In the Replay today, Charla describes her bathroom re-dos. Our Horror Story today drives home the point that, bad a underlayment installation almost always results in a bad tile job. In the Feature today, PA realtor, Jeff Lavine, talks about alternatives to buying an already-lived-in home, which may be leaving a lot of prospective buyers in the lurch for one of three reasons: 1) You get there too...

In the Replay today, Kevin takes us to his house on the Jersey shore to Replay the renovation of a fireplace using ProVia® manufactured stone veneer. Visuals to be posted to Facebook. The Horror Story is about another dreadful siding and window job. The windows are new and they’re leaking. Surprise! All Your Valuable Home listeners with rental properties will want to hear what Matt White from Berk...

In the Replay today, Susan shares her satisfaction with her new ProVia® entry door. Next...a hardwood floor Horror Story that proves who you choose to refinish your floors matters a lot. The wrong equipment in the wrong hands can result in a mess throughout the house. In last week’s Your Valuable Home, Kevin and Ron were joined by three members of the Placemakers Guild in a brainstorming session a...

In our Replay today, Jess is back to finish our discussion about her new kitchen and bath. It’s our third podcast of the month, time for another Bad Guy Bulletin. Ron and Kevin are once again joined by Mike Bannon from Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures. As long as the Bad Guys stay at it, we’ll keep exposing the scams and shakedowns so you don’t get burned. To celebrate our upc...

In our Replay today, Jessica, a homeowner, shares the excitement of planning a high-end kitchen and bath remodel. In the Horror Story, Kevin shares the electrical and other issues a contractor who worked on Jessica’s house years ago left behind. This is a lesson in what happens if your contractor fails to get permits. Jessica Lautz from the National Association of Realtors and a good friend of You...

In our Replay today, Courtney walks us through her kitchen remodel and why she chose ProVia® for replacement windows. In the Horror Story, John Gallagher is back after discovering more problems with his daughter and son-in-law’s whole house re-do. Most people don’t know that Buffalo, New York has the greatest concentration of residences and other structures designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd W...

In our Replay today, dad, John, steps in to help Morgan and Conner take back control of their whole house reno. They told their story in our last previous podcast. In the Horror Story, dad does some detective work and finds many deficiencies in the job the contractor is doing for Morgan and John. In the Feature today, we explore the leafy, magical world of the Landmark district, Bungalow Heaven, w...

In our Replay today, a young couple suffers a bad case of contractor-itis when the renovation of their recently purchased row home goes off the rails. Kevin lends a hand to get the project back on track. In the Bad Guy Bulletin today, we’re again joined by Mike Bannon of Bucks County Consumer Protection, Weights and Measures who weighs in on a half dozen online scams and the downside of home warra...

In our Replay today, we talk with Pat, a customer of Kevin’s company, VSP, about why he chose ProVia® vinyl replacement windows. Horror Stories often result from contractors either not knowing the basics or simply ignoring them. In this case lack of a proper underlayment resulted in a siding Horror Story. In our “Coolest Neighborhoods in America” feature today, we zoom in on Medford Lakes in the s...

In today’s Replay, Deb talks about the finalization of her kitchen renovation. In the Horror Story today, Kevin intercedes (at the homeowner’s request) in a roofing job gone awry. The Coolest Neighborhoods in America is a five-week series ...a must for all YVH listeners who are fascinated by historically significant residential architecture and the way communities celebrate and preserve it. First...