Saving money around the house

One of the older services (electric) you especially want to get rid of if you have the means would be the 'Federal Pacif' panels with the 'Stab Lok' breakers. Those breakers have a bad habit of not tripping when they are supposed to. I don't like taking the covers off of those as i have had the breakers pop right off at me when removing the covers. So much for the 'lok' in the 'Stab Lok'...

There are others, both those are some of the more scary as far as breakers / panels go.

Come to think of it, they can all be a little scary, depending on who 'worked' on them last.

 

The metal roofs are more expensive, but the benefits are a reported 50 years (on average, i believe) life expectancy as compared to the asphalt shingles which are typically nearer to 20, may a little more for a so called 40 years shingles. For the record, i don't see any asphalt shingle giving you 40 years in our climate.

What helps off set the additional $ in your case is that with the wood shingles, you would have to add the cost of the plywood roof deck over the spaced plank prior to a new aspahlt roof anyway. Helps bridge the $ gap between the meatl and asphalt.

 

How old is the home? What square footage is your home? Single family? Gas or electric dryer, oven, do you have or plan on getting central A/C?, ...planning on adding sf-age within the next 20-30 years or do you thing the size of the home will stay more or less the same?

Things to consider.

A typical single family home in the event a 100 amp service is wanter in my area is around $1200.00 About $700 would be towards the service equipment (ie 'Main panel') and about $500 for the service cable bring power in from where connecting to the homes exterior, assuming the service is fed above ground. (Via utility pole)

Depending on your intentions, maybe 15o amp more fits your needs. Think future needs and resale when considering taking the bigger hit for a bigger service. Remember that service will likely last 20+ years, so you'd rather not underestimate. Kind of like buying the single can and thinking you should have gotten the extra cab, or buying the prerunner and thinking you should have gotton teh 4x4.

 

I just bought two cases (thats 288 rolls) of toilet paper from a janitorial supply warehouse...its cheaper. wifey dont like it as good as Cottonelle tho. lol

 

Yeah, I think I need to renew out Sam's Club membership or snag a family member's so we can stock up on bulk things. Problem is I can get generic brands of a lot of things elsewhere in smaller quantities for less/unit.

I'm going to start turning off computers and as many other things as I can at night to see if that helps. According to this site http://www.getenergysmart.org/Resources/Tips.aspx "Use an advanced power strip for convenience; that way all of your computer accessories are turned off by one switch (even in sleep mode, your computer may cost you $105 a year)." That works out to be $8.75 per month. And my computer is never in sleep mode so maybe double that? Plus the second PC and laptops? Worth a shot I suppose.

 

Electric Company didn't have to do anything.

 

My house was 50 years old. It's a stucco rancher and is 1157 sq. ft. I just had central air put in within the last year. I agree, I'd rather have the 200 amp rather than regret it later.

 

I agree with Hot Tamale... I put a 200 amp service in my barn 5 years ago and still don't have it full of breakers. A barn is different I kow, but I still don't know what plans I may have down the road as far as welders etc. later on.......No one says you have to fill it up with breakers right away.....you can always add breakers.....

 

Another thing I had installed is a Beckette heat manager. Difficult for me to explain exactly what it does but here's the link www.becketthm.com
It's supposed to reduce your energy consumption for heating by a minimum of 10% in the first full year of operation. If it doesn't they will refund the purchase price of the product. Mine ran around $420.

 

After receiving a PM from hoosiertaco (which I greatly appreciated) it would seem the heat manager is not a great idea. Really won't end up saving you any money. Just wanted to let you all know to skip that idea, no sense of anybody else getting ripped off.

 

Started a thread to enlist the resources of our TW HVAC members to help everyone out.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/21632-home-building-hvac-q.html