Your Valuable Home

In our Replay today, Deb recaps her kitchen and first-floor renovation. Our Horror Story has to do with windows improperly installed — a disaster waiting to happen. Don’t let this happen to you. Listen in as Ron interviews Kevin about why you should start planning now for any large home improvement projects you want to complete by Spring or Summer 2023. An addition, new windows, new siding — these...

In the Replay today, Brian walks us through part 2 of his kitchen and bath reno. In the Horror Story today, Kevin comes across an incredibly bad HVAC installation. The homeowners heard dripping and found water on their basement floor. Turns out the water was coming from the second floor...the improperly installed HVAC system. Look for photos of this OOOPS on this week’s Your Valuable Home Instagra...

In our Replay today, Kevin explains the renovations he has planned for his home on the Jersey shore (AKA, the beach), a family room redo, a gas insert, new flooring and ProVia stone. In our Horror Story, we report on a contractor who is remediating stucco in a development, and doing the job wrong. PLUS, this is the first of our once-a-month Bad Guy Bulletins, where we call out the creative ways th...

In the Replay today, Brian fills us in on the progress being made with his kitchen and bath re-do, including an innovative solution to capitalizing on unused space. It’s the third week of the month, so we’re back with the Bad Guy Bulletin. Lots of scams unmasked today. We’re joined by Mike Bannon from Bucks County Consumer Protection, Weight and Measures, and Kim, a listener who recently avoided a...

In the Replay today, Tom explains why he and his wife decided on ProVia Siding and he admires a siding job well done. In the Horror Story, still another contractor claims to be what he’s not on social media. We don’t have to tell you that more bad guys than ever are working overtime to separate you from your hard-earned money. In addition to rip-offs by unscrupulous contractors, email, snail mail,...

Mike wraps up his kitchen re-do point-by point. In our Horror Story today. Another contractor installed windows without flashing. No...the caulk didn’t help! CLARIFI is a Philadelphia non-profit that’s been on this mission for 50 years, helping “more than 750,000 families throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley...achieve financial resilience and positively impact their communit...

In our Replay today, Christine is lovin’ the fresh, new look of her home created by ProVia Siding, windows and a new ProVia door. In our Horror Story, a roofer’s subcontractor removed the old step flashing but didn’t replace it. A perfect reason to demand cell phone photos, if you have a new roof in your future. Marc Furber from the Bucks County DA’s Office joins us for the Featured segment today...

In our Replay today, Tish shares her and her husband’s Adventure in Downsizing. Be prepared to take notes and learn from their experience. In the Horror Story today, an “electrician” made Swiss Cheese out of a ceiling to install a few lights. Hard to believe! Our Feature today focuses on a culprit that can change your life: Lyme. Could the chronic condition of a family member or friend be the resu...

In the aftermath of hurricane Ian, our entire podcast today is devoted to a fascinating interview with Illya Azaroff, FA IA, an internationally recognized leader in disaster mitigation, resilient planning and design strategies. Illya is the immediate past president of AIA New York, elected to the AIA Board of Directors as a 2023-2025 at-large director, and appointed an AIA COP 27 delegate to atten...

Our Replay today is all about permits. When do you need them? Why can they sometimes be difficult to get? Our Horror Story today is about a not-so-handyman who had difficulty putting up one piece of drywall that fell down the next morning. In our Featured segment today, we talk with Mike Celucci, an Erie Insurance agent about homeowners’ coverage....particularly coverage for weather that seems to...

In our Replay today Phil, from New Jersey, purchased an adjoining lot with plans to build a B&B. Interesting idea! We get his initial thinking and offer some ideas of our own. Then, continuing with our series on the Southwest, Florida barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva, we speak with Ed, the head of an HOA in Captiva with responsibility for 68 condo units. The focus of the interview: the c...

In our Replay today, a listener is planning an out-side-the-box B&B on his large property in New Jersey. Our Horror Story and Feature are about how Florida residents are coping with their worst nightmare – Ian. We talk with Jack who has a home on Sanibel, We also talk with his daughter-in-law, Bronwyn, who with husband, Mike, moved their permanent home to neighboring Captiva this past August....

In the Replay, Courtney shares her kitchen expansion reno that gives her downstairs a “now” look. In our Horror Story, we debut The Bad Guy Bulletin, our once-a-month expose’ on shakedowns and scams from home improvement contractors and bad actors who use the phone, email and the post office to bilk you out of your money. Are EVs really the environmentally friendly auto option? We do a deep dive i...

 Our Replay today is about a home improvement project that can aid in planning yours. In the Horror Story, Kevin and his team find potentially dangerous wiring in the wall, while remodeling a kitchen. Lucky homeowner! In our Feature today, Leo Addimando, the CEO of Alterra Property Group, talks about how his company is capitalizing on modular construction to erect multiple build-to-rent buildings...

In our Replay today, Mike explains the plan for his kitchen and flooring re-do. Our Horror Story is about another job not so well done by a contractor. With the changes New Jersey has made in its Muni

In our Replay today, Kevin explains why your contractor may not be able to give you a solid estimate for a scheduled project. Supply chain issues for lumber and other building materials and products are causing headaches for contractors and homeowners. The Horror Story deals with a ridiculous window installation. If you’re house hunting, our Featured Interview with realtor, Jeff Lavine, will help...

This Your Valuable Home begins with Charla sharing the vision for her new kitchen. The plan includes removing a load-bearing wall, and some other nice touches that could aid in your own kitchen planning. In our Horror Story today, Kevin recounts the story of how a contractor’s lies in his social media got through unchecked. In our Featured segment, drinking water expert, Steve Wiley, explains how...

Leading up to today’s featured interview, Bernie, the roofer explains why there are shingle shortages of certain styles and colors in this lingering Covid environment. In the Horror Story, Bernie cites three or four problems caused by inept roofers, and how you can guard against them.  In the featured segment, Dan George, who was a listener favorite last week, is back to talk about Escape (tiny ho...

Our Replay today and our Horror Story are both about Mark and his bathroom re-do. Bathrooms can be difficult, and this one was. In our Featured interview today we speak with Alan Hubbell from DuPont Tyvek. Such a simple product, but it can keep you out of trouble. For example, Tyvek Wrap around a window cavity before the window is installed can provide you with many years of trouble-free installat...

In our Replay today, Lisa tells the story of her just-completed kitchen. The project included the relocation of her washing machine to the upstairs master bedroom. This outside-the-box solution facilitated the expansion of the kitchen. Split HVAC systems require a lot of tubing to be inserted into wall cavities. In our Horror Story today an installer got creative and ran the tubing on the outside...

Great question. Please join us as Your Valuable Home addresses the question and what it takes to revitalize a town from two different perspectives: The view of the professional planners and pros of related disciplines who make up The Placemakers Guild. Then on 5/13, singer, songwriter, and author, Dar Williams, joins the conversation and shares some of the wonderous transformations she’s experienc...

In our Replay today, Kevin explains to a homeowner how windows should be replaced to avoid causing damage to the surrounding stucco. The Horror Story today comes from Ann, a residential landlord, who reports on an alarming development at one of the HOA-run communities where she has a rental property….a $500 annual assessment against investor owners of properties in the community. In the feature, w...

In the Replay today, we discuss what it takes to make for a successful siding and window installation – and the difference it can make in the appearance of a home. In the Horror Story, Kevin reports on a basement remodel that included a kitchen and an electrical nightmare lurking behind the walls. In our Featured interview, we address the surge in multigenerational living brought on by Covid and t...

In our Replay today, we talk about wrapping up Leslie’s remodel to benefit her aging mom. This complex job included a kitchen in the basement, a chair lift, and the removal of a load-bearing wall. Our Horror Story deals with the DONTs of window installation in a stucco application. In our Featured segment, two executives from GAF, the company that set the standard for asphalt shingles in 1933 serv...

In our Replay today, we talk with Bob about his move to his fiancé’s small house and an innovative way to remake existing space for two work-at- home people. One bay of the exiting garage became a bar. The 400- square foot upstairs of the garage became Bob’s space. Maureen calls it the “doghouse.” If you’re leaning toward improving vs moving, you’ll want to hear this. In our Horror Story, you’ll l...