-Use the sun to your advantage! Open your curtains and blinds during the day to help warm the rooms. As the sun beats down, it will warm up your home for free! Don’t forget to close them at night to keep the warmth inside.

-When using a dish washer, wash full loads only. Running two half-full cycles can DOUBLE the cost! Wait until your dish washer is full to get the most for your energy and water usage.

-Use the energy-savings options on your appliances. Many new appliances have energy-savings modes that you can turn on to help cut down on electrical and heating costs.  It is especially useful on dryers and dish washers.

-If you use a self-cleaning option on your oven, start the self-cleaning process directly after using the oven. This will help save money by using the heat that is in the oven from cooking to start the cleaning process rather than having to build up heat from room temperature.

-Lower your water heater to 120° or ‘low’. You will still have hot showers and clean laundry, and you will save money since the water tank will not have to work as hard to keep water at a higher temperature.

If you are in the market for new appliances, be sure to find the ENERGYSTAR® label before you purchase. In order to qualify for an ENERGYSTAR® rating, appliances must reduce energy and water usage by 10-50% compared to standard models in the industry. They may cost a little more in the beginning, but will save you more over time.

Unfortunately it isn’t always just that easy to tell when you door needs to be replaced.  By having gaps between the threshold and door, you could be losing as much heat as having a 3″ square hole in your wall! Here are a couple of tests that you can try on your entry door to check for energy efficiency issues, the dollar bill test and the flashlight test.

Dollar Bill Test:

Open your entry door and place a dollar bill on top of the threshold (bottom of the door frame) and close the door. Next, try to move the dollar bill to one side of the door and over to the next. Does it move, or is it a struggle? If it can move, that is a place where air can move freely in and out of your home.

Flashlight Test:

Have two people stand on either side of the closed door. One person will shine a flashlight around the perimeter of the door. The light will shine through any cracks or gaps in the seal. Can the second person see any? If so, it’s time to replace your door to increase the energy efficiency in your home.

These tips are just some of the interesting facts that you can learn from our owners, Tod and Todd during their videos, Home Improvement Tips with Tod and Todd. Although our series is done for 2011, you can still view all of the videos on our website by going to http://www.weathertightcorp.com/videos-page.php. All of the videos are sorted by projects, so scroll through the list to find the videos that have to do with projects that are on your to-do list.

Join us Black Friday November 25th from 11-3 for a Huge Showroom Sale and Craft & Gift Show. Featuring: overstock windows starting at $99, 18 months no interest/payments with 18 can donation to Hunger Task Force.

Craft & Gift Show: Avoid the mall and shop for gifts from some of the most popular gift suppliers. Vendors include: Lovely Bracelets, The Crafty Ones, Party Lite, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Grandma Vinny’s Cookies, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Dove Chocolates, Celebrating Home, Just Relax! A place to escape reality! Massage & Wellness, Modern Woodsmen, L’Bri, Fresco Art, Usborne Books, & Avon.

Thank you to Weathertight for a chance to share some information with their readers!

Among other things we are a painting contractor in Massachusetts and one of the most common questions we receive is  “what causes paint to peel on my house?”  Most people assume it was just done poorly last time, or “the last painter didn’t use primer”–we hear that one a lot! Sometimes that may be true, but usually it’s a much deeper problem.

If you have significant peeling paint it’s likely that you have 1 of 3 conditions:

1. A really old paint job:  Even a house that was properly painted every time will eventually start to peel especially in U.S. climates that see 4 seasons and varying amounts of moisture.  If your home falls into this category, you have 2 options:  Either paint more frequently (which is expensive) or bite the bullet and go with siding replacement.  The second option will pay for itself in 2-3 paint cycles and add resale value to your home.
2. A moisture problem: Moisture isn’t just a problem from the outside–although in many cases it is. Moisture can also be from an inside source escaping through the walls thus causing loss of paint adhesion.  Sometimes there are ways to correct or minimize this, but what’s causing it? Is it condensation from winter heat escaping through the walls? is it a leak? is it a moist climate?  No matter what the problem is, in most cases trial and error will not lead to a long-term fix.  I’ve witnessed countless people try gimmick after gimmick with the hope of solving this problem only to replace their siding after wasting lots of money.
3. Mill-glaze: When wood clapboard is milled, often the tannins from the cedar are heated by the saw blade which creates a waxy like surface that paint won’t adhere to. When installed smooth-side out, the glazed surface of cedar clapboards will often reject paint altogether and as you can imagine create a massive nightmare.  This problem will never be solved with paint and usually requires replacement of the affected areas.  Some painters will try to sand down the surface and re-paint.  Our experience has been, this is expensive and never works 100%.

Your best solution is to work with a trustworthy contractor who can go over all your options and make educated recommendations.  Study after study show that replacing your siding is a great investment if you plan on being in your home for a long period of time.

Join us for the Weather Tight Halloween Event. We will have safe trick-or-treat for the kids with prizes for best costume. For adults we will have free energy efficiency clinics where you’ll learn about r-value, heat loss vs. air infiltration, home energy savings tips, and much more. The first 20 customers will get a free home winterization kit (limit one per household).

The elite group is chosen by several different factors, including revenue, however Qualified Remodeler magazine expressed that most of the companies share common attributes that set us apart from our competition:

                -Excellent Business Acumen

                -Commitment to Customer Service

                -Insightful Sales Techniques

                -Strong Customer Loyalty

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank our customers and staff for helping us become the company we have grown to be over the past 25 years.  We are proud of being placed in the top 100 nationally, among companies that serve larger markets.

Join us for the Weather Tight Border Battle-25th Anniversary Event. We will have food and games for the entire family including hot dogs, chips and drinks for 25 cents each. There will be opportunities to get entered into our grand prize Green Bay vs. Chicago tickets for the game on Christmas night. There will also be opportunities to win other door prizes. In recognition of our 25th anniversary, we will be offering a selection of product upgrades for $25. Hope to see you there!

On Saturday, June 25th, Weather Tight will be hosting a donation drive for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund on from 10am to 2pm.

Visit our West Allis showroom located at 114th and Oklahoma Ave during the event and for $0.25 you can enjoy a delicious hotdog, chips and soda to celebrate our 25th anniversary! Nothing beats a whole meal for under one dollar and all proceeds earned will go directly to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

We will also have our overstock windows for sale and they will be on display in our West Allis showroom. These windows are discounted to sell and to top it off, 50% of all overstock sales will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund!

When you set an appointment for an estimate anytime during the day on June 25th, 5% of your project will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Don’t have a need for any additional remodeling projects? You can always stop in and enjoy great food and make a donation to the American Red Cross.

Remember, if you are unable to attend this event for any reason, you can call to set your appointment on Saturday, June 25th and 5% of your
project will still be donated to the American Red Cross –even if you do not attend the event!

Join us for Pounds For Pets on Saturday June 4th at our West Allis location. The event is designed to collect pet food for local animal shelters. For every can, item, or pound of food donated you will get 1% off your Weather Tight purchase up to a maximum of 20% off. The H.A.W.S mobile unit will be onsite with pets available for adoption. Elmbrook Humane Society will also be at the event sharing information about their organization. Bring your pet to enter in our Pet Fashion Show and Pet Contests. Our Brookfield location will have free dog leashes and frisbees available.