A cutting-edge ‘green’ house spurs many questions

The Zero Net Energy Test Home at 6454 Woolworth Ave. is a partnership of the University of Nebraska Kiewit Institute, Green Omaha Coalition and Nebraska Flatwater Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Its purpose is to serve as a teaching tool and to inspire students to seek solutions to energy questions. Construction started in June and is scheduled for completion by August 2009.

Tips help ensure safe, secure holidays

For most Americans, the holidays mean turning on the heat and putting logs on the fire. What this also means is an increased risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tips can help prevent roof collapses after heavy snows

The Institute for Business & Home Safety offers the following engineering information to help home and business owners avoid roof collapses. The recent round of severe weather has resulted in roofs collapsing in several states.

Falling interest rates boost refinancing demand

With rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at their lowest levels in nearly four decades, homeowners are refinancing at a pace not seen in years.

Green homes attractive to buyers

(ARA) - Home buyers of all income levels are looking for environmentally friendly properties, according to a study taken by the U.S. Green Building Council and McGraw-Hill Construction.

Winter wake up for your basement

(ARA) – A few years ago you finished your basement. You put in all the hard work to make it a perfect retreat and lounge. But you haven’t done a thing with it since. So often, people finish their basements and then forget about any upkeep.

Create the Kitchen of Your Dreams

Without question, remodeling your kitchen is a daunting task. With the unlimited options in materials and styles, even those who are just starting to think about a remodel can begin to feel overwhelmed. The first step to putting such a project into perspective is doing your research.

Treasury officials consider plan to lower interest rates

A federal plan to reduce interest rates on home mortgages to as low as 4.5 percent could succeed in stimulating the housing market in the Omaha area and nationwide, local home builders and real estate agents said Thursday.

Family does all but haul out the holly when decorating

Erecting outdoor Christmas decorations need not be an ordeal of man versus electricity, of tightly knotted light strands and grumpy, growling family members. You should have seen the Sovas in Saturday’s gray, dreary cold. They made the task appear fun. Or at least bearable.

Beat the winter blahs with home decorating projects

For many of us, the return of winter means six months of snow, sleet and colder temperatures that force us to take cover indoors. Being stuck inside month after month can leave anyone a little bored. That’s what makes winter an ideal time to tackle easy, do-it-yourself indoor home improvements.