Category: The most important DIY tips & tricks from Top Rank

TR Stop Burning Wood Pellets

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During these times of fuel price volatility, it’s important to keep a close eye on the relationship between fuel prices. Any homeowner who uses a wood pellet stove to supplement their gas furnace could be losing money and not even know it


fuel cost comparison,effective cost,wood pellets,natural gas,fuel efficiency

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I recently updated the Fuel Cost Comparison Chart at Alternative-Heating-Info.paving and the results were surprising. As of 3/20/06 it was actually cheaper in Metro Boston to heat with natural gas than with wood pellets!

During these times of fuel price volatility, it’s important to keep a close eye on the relationship between fuel prices. Any homeowner who uses a wood pellet stove to supplement their gas furnace could be losing money and not even know it..

If you can use a calculator, you’re only minutes away from figuring out which fuel is the cheapest to burn at any given time.

When you compare fuel heating costs make sure it’s apples to apples. The standard quantity used for comparing residential fuel costs is 1,000,000 BTUs of fuel heat content.

Cost To Burn Wood Pellets

Since a wood pellet stove needs only 125 lbs (1/16 of a ton) of pellets to generate 1,000,000 BTUs, divide the cost per ton by 16. At $198 a ton for wood pellets it costs $12.38 to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

Cost To Burn Natural Gas

The price per therm (look at your gas bill) of natural gas in Boston is $1.1813. When you multiply that by 10.30 (10.30 cubic feet) it costs $12.17 to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

It’s easy to see that natural gas heat now costs about $0.21 less per 1,000,000 BTUs than wood pellets.

Here are the quick fuel cost comparison formulas for wood pellets and natural gas:

Price per ton of wood pellets divided by 16 = Cost to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

Price per therm of natural gas x 10.30 = Cost to produce 1,000,000 BTUs.

The quick formulas are useful only for comparing natural gas to wood pellets since their fuel efficiencies are similar.

If you are comparing fuels with different efficiencies, all you have to do is find the coefficient of the fuel efficiency percentage rating. Please don’t run screaming out the door because I said coefficient. Just divide 1 by the percentage’s decimal equivalent to obtain the coefficient.

For example: The fuel efficiency rating for natural gas and wood pellets is 85%.
If you divide 1 by .85 you get a coefficient of 1.18. Now plug this into the quick formula to obtain the effective, or true cost, of the fuel you are burning.

Wood Pellets: $198 divided by 16 x 1.18 = $14.60

Natural Gas: $1.1813 x 10.30 x 1.18 = $14.36

By expanding the quick formula to include the effective cost calculation, the spread between the two fuels has now widened to $0.24.

Assuming fuel prices don’t go crazy, you could save as much as $75 during the remainder of this heating season by switching from wood pellets back to natural gas.

When prices do change, you have armed yourself with two simple, yet powerful tools to help you quickly and confidently determine when one fuel is more cost effective than the other.

These are the coefficients of commonly used percentages

TR Steps On How To Make Perfect Curtain Rods

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While redecorating your home’s interior is an expensive project, there are some simple ways for you to cut costs just by making some items yourself. For example, did you know that it is possible to make perfect curtain rods that look great and save you money? If you think that making curtain rods will be too difficult or time-consuming, you may want to think again. In this article, we’ll give you all the necessary steps on how to make perfect curtain rods. You may be surprise…

For the best Excavation Boston company, call Top Rank Roofing and Masonry.

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TR Steel Garage Building Plans: An Easy And Savvy Solution

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A steel garage is a perfect addition to any home. Steel garage doubles as a shelter for your vehicle, storage for tools and equipment, and can even serve as a working space for a do-it-yourselfer. Steel garages have become a favorite among savvy homeowners, as they are flexible, easy to build and very affordable. With a steel garage, you can store one vehicle or even a truck or a boat, even though you cannot accommodate a guest apartment or an office there. In any case, you c…


garages,steel garages,metal garages,garage plans,garage building,storage

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TR Steam Carpet Cleaning Equipment

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Ever wonder what kind of equipment your carpet cleaner will use. This article will explain the various kinds of equipment that steam cleaners use.


carpet cleaning, cleaners, flooring, carpeting, floors, home improvement, home repair. clean floor

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Carpet steam cleaners use a variety of different carpet cleaning equipment. There are gas powered truck mounted machines, electric truck mounted machines and electric portable machines. This article will provide you with the basic differences between these machines.
The first machine is a gas truck mount carpet cleaner. This is one of the most common machines used in the carpet cleaning industry. This machine uses either the trucks engine or a separate gas engine to drive a vacuum blower and water pump. These machines have the capacity to provide the greatest amount of vacuum and the highest heat. They are the preferred piece of steam cleaning equipment because of their power, speed and efficiency. With this machine, the cleaner only needs to bring 2 hoses into your home. This eliminates the need to bring bulky equipment into your hose and decreases noise in your home.
Electric truck mounted cleaners are another type of carpet cleaning machine. They are similar to gas truck mounts but they use an electric motor to drive a vacuum blower and water pump. They are nice because they are a little more environmentally friendly and they are much quieter to run. They do not provide as much vacuum power as gas powered machines but do an adequate job. With this machine a cleaner also only needs to bring 2 hoses into your home.
The last machine I will discuss is a portable carpet cleaning machine. This machine uses electricity to power a vacuum motor and water pump. All of the equipment is located in a portable assembly that the cleaner will bring into your home. This machine is great for areas not serviceable by truck mounted machines like apartments and high rises. It does not provide as much power as the the truck mount machines but it has enough power to get the job done. The drawback of this machine is that the cleaner must bring it into your home and it can be loud and cumbersome to use.

TR Standard Coverage for a Home Warranty-What to Expect

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Home warranties have been around for years. However, until recently, home warranties were a well kept secret. Today, home warranties are much more common and are steadily rising in popularity. Although now, many people just don’t know much about home warranties including what ‘standard coverage’ is for a home warranty and what they can expect for coverage from a home warranty.


Home Owner Warranty, Home Buyer Warranty, Home Seller Warranty, Homeowner Program, Air conditioner Repair, Furnace Repair, Appliance Repair

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Home warranties have been around for years. However, until recently, home warranties were a well kept secret. Today, home warranties are much more common and are steadily rising in popularity. Although now, many people just don’t know much about home warranties including what ‘standard coverage’ is for a home warranty and what they can expect for coverage from a home warranty.

A home warranty is exactly like the warranty you have on your appliances for the most part. It works similarly, some things are covered and some things are not. When you buy a new dishwasher, you check out the warranty before you purchase it to see what is covered by the warranty and what isn’t. You wouldn’t purchase a dishwasher without a decent warranty – so why would you purchase a home without one?

A home warranty can be purchased by either the buyer or the seller of a property. For the seller, a home warranty is used as a sales feature that will help secure a higher price for the home. For the buyer, a home warranty is used as a safety net for older homes so that any major repairs are covered.

For the most part, you can expect some standard coverage from your home warranty. Be forewarned though – it’s important to read all the details of the home warranty before you sign up for it.

Most home warranties will cover:

  • The air conditioning system
  • Central heating unit
  • Duct work
  • Electrical systems
  • Ceiling fans
  • Plumbing systems
  • Water heater
  • Refrigerator
  • Built in dishwasher
  • Built in microwave
  • The oven or range
  • Garbage disposal unit
  • A built in trash compacto
    This is based on ‘standard coverage’ for an average sized home, less than 5,000 square feet. However, when you are choosing a home warranty, it is important to discuss all the intricacies of the policy with the agent before you sign up. You need to know if anything is left out of the main list above and why. Quite often, you will find that the garbage disposal or trash compactor isn’t covered with the warranty.

    Home warranties vary in price from state to state and from company to company. However, you have to weight the cost of the home warranty to that of any repairs that may need to be done after you’ve moved into your home. If the seller is offering a warranty, it’s usually a good deal. If the seller of the home you are purchasing isn’t offering a home warranty, then you may want to purchase one.

    It can be quite costly to replace major appliances and in many cases, having a home warranty means that you don’t have to worry about those upfront costs. Let’s look at some examples of costs to replace major appliances in your home.

    A furnace will cost between $1,250 and $3,500 to replace, plus any other work on the ducts and heating system that needs to be done at the same time. Air conditioning units run from $700 to $3,275 for replacement, and once again that number could be higher if there is any other work on the air conditioning system in your home that needs to be completed. An oven or a range costs anywhere from $700 to $2,000 to replace, and although you can install one on your own, or have the delivery guy install it for you, there may be electrical work that needs to be done when your stove or range breaks down. Refrigerators can start as low as $300 but rise up above $2,000, depending on the type of fridge you want. Built in dishwashers can run from $200 to $1,000, washer and dryer sets, from $200 to $2,000 each piece. A water heater can run you anywhere from $375 to $525, as well as any other work that needs to be done on the plumbing and water system in your home. One broken water pipe replacement and fix can cost $100 to $600, not to mention the damage that it can do to your home and your belongings.

    When you compare those costs to that of a home warranty, you can easily see that a home warranty may be a great idea when you are purchasing an older home, especially one that you don’t really know that much about yet. Always be sure to look into all the nuances of your home warranty before signing on the dotted line so you can be sure you are getting what you are paying for.

TR Stainless Steel Cleaner And Stainless Steel Polish Information

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Stainless steel cleaners and polish are divided into three categories. These three categories are stainless steel cleaners, stainless steel polishes and stainless steel polish cleaners. Each type of stainless steel maintenance product is used for a specific stainless steel maintenance task.


stainless steel polish, stainless steel cleaner, stainless cleaner, stainless polish

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TR Staining Reveals Wood’s Personality-And Yours

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Natural wood is widely considered one of the most appealing looks for a home. The possibilities it offers to create individual expressions are nearly limitless.


Staining Reveals Wood’s Personality-And Yours

For the best Excavation Boston company, call Top Rank Roofing and Masonry.

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TR Spring Cleaning Tips To Make The Job A Little Easier

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Spring-cleaning can seem like such a chore. You spend all day, or even a few days getting the entire house sparkly clean. As a busy mom, you will appreciate some of these cleaning tips that will make the job a little easier and faster. You’ll have more time to enjoy the nice spring weather outside.

Start out by taking a quick look through your cleaning supplies a few days before the big spring clean. Make sure you have plenty of paper towels and cleaning rags. If your mo…


spring cleaning

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Spring-cleaning can seem like such a chore. You spend all day, or even a few days getting the entire house sparkly clean. As a busy mom, you will appreciate some of these cleaning tips that will make the job a little easier and faster. You’ll have more time to enjoy the nice spring weather outside.

Start out by taking a quick look through your cleaning supplies a few days before the big spring clean. Make sure you have plenty of paper towels and cleaning rags. If your mop or broom is really worn out, this is a great time to invest in a new one. Check all bottles and containers of cleaning supplies that you like to use and see if you have plenty of them. There’s nothing worse than having to clean yourself up during your big spring cleaning to run to the store for a new bottle of Windex.

Get everyone in the family to spend some time with you the day before the big spring cleaning to pick up around the house. You don’t want to spend time picking up toys or washing dishes the next day.

Get up early and put on some comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Dress all the way down to your shoes and put your hair up. Take a few minutes to gather all your cleaning supplies and get going.

Tackle one room at a time. This works much better than trying to do 10 things at once. It will also give you a great sense of accomplishment to see each clean room.

Start at the top and work your way down. Use a broom or a mop with a soft cloth wrapped around it to get any spider webs and dust out of the ceiling corners. Dust the light fixtures. Keep working your way down cleaning counters, windows and windowsills, furniture. Finish by dusting the baseboards and giving the carpets a good vacuuming. Take the time to vacuum under the bed and move furniture to clean the floor under it whenever possible.

When you get to the bathrooms, start by spraying some all purpose or bathroom cleaner on all the appliances, especially anything that may have some build up on it, like the soap dish in the shower. Pour some Clorox in the toilet. Allow the cleaner to soak in while you get started on the ceiling, windows and counters. By the time you get around to the sink, shower and toilet, all you need to do is wiping them down and give the inside of the toilet a quick scrub with the brush.