hawaii renovation 24 october 2010

AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED BY OAHU PUBLICATIONS, INC.

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HAWAIIRENOVATIONBIA-Hawaii Remodelers

2 | HAWAII RENOVATION | OCT. 24, 2010 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED BY OAHU PUBLICATIONS, INC. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

BY KAREN NAKAMURA

The Building IndustryAssociation ofHawaii’s 54th annual

BIA Parade of Homesshowcased an array of newhomes to educate con-sumers on the latest eco-friendly technology, trendsand Hawaii BuiltGreen en-

ergy innovations in resi-dential construction. Sincebuying a home is one of thebiggest investments of yourlife, keep the followingchecklist handy.

1. Get a Free copy of yourcredit report. Visitwww.annualcreditreport.com

2. Reduce your con-

sumer debt. Pay downcredit card balances.

3. Assemble a cash downpayment.

4. Research mortgagecompanies. Shop aroundfor the best interest/pro-grams.

5. Get pre-approved by alender.

6. Figure out how much

you can afford.7. Think of features that

are important to you.8. Create a checklist to

serve as your roadmap forbuying a home.

9. Narrow down whereyou want to live. Check outschools/neighborhoods.

10. Seek out a real estateagent to help with buyingyour home. Compare serv-

ices of different agents andlook for good personalchemistry

11. Shop for homes.Check comparable sales inthe neighborhood.

12. Ask the seller about ahome warranty.

13. Sign the purchasecontract.

14. Complete all mort-gage loan application re-quirements.

15. Apply for home-owner’s insurance.

16. Order a home inspec-tion.

17. Set a closing date andknow what the closingcosts will be.

18. Do a final walk-through of the home.

19. Sign escrow closingdocuments and mortgagedocuments. Provide anyadditional deposits neces-sary to close.

20. Receive your keysupon recordation of yournew home.

Watch for the winner ofthe BIA Parade of Homes’$10,000 Shari Saiki InteriorDesign Service and meshFurniture Grand Prize in afuture column. Visit bia-hawaii.org for tips andtrends from the buildingindustry that will enhancethe quality of your life.

The 2010 BIA Parade of Homes Grand Champion Winner “GentryHomes Ltd. Haleakea” by Gentry Pupukea Plan B.

Homebuyertipsfrom the 2010 BIA Parade of Homes

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As everyone startspreparing for theholidays, you have

some time to prepare yourhome before your lovedones are over to celebratethis special season. HawaiiHardwood Flooring(HHF) would like to sharea few ideas for home im-provement projects tospruce up your abode.

One way to rejuvenateyour wood floors is to re-finish them. HHF is offer-ing dustless sanding andrefinishing, which are theperfect choices to give aquick new look to yourexisting flooring. Thecompany cares about theindoor air quality so its

professionals use a vac-uum system that elimi-nates 95 percent of thedust during the sandingprocess, thus bringingbeauty to your home andindoor air quality to yourfamily!

For the do-it-your-selfers, HHF carries Fort-ane Adhesive andMoisture Vapor Barrier,two proven products toensure a great flooring in-stallation. The companyalso offers flooring sun-dries from sandpaper, un-derlayment, finish andputty to help completethe flooring job.

Another option to getthe floors ready for the

holidays is the installationof HHF’s High QualityPrefinished EngineeredFlooring. The flooring hasa 4-millimeter wear layer,a variety of colors and ismanufactured for Hawaii’sunique climate. The com-pany locally stocks this en-gineered and solid woodflooring line and has ac-companying stair treadsand transitions.

HHF also offers lami-nate flooring packages,starting at $6.50, that in-clude the removal of exist-ing carpet, laminate, labor,underlayment, transitionsand wall base moldings.HHF also will transformthe area without delay.

HHF is introducingHawaii’s Interior DesignCenter, showcasing cabi-nets, granite counter-tops, doors and a freshnew outlook to help youon any other projects inyour home.

New or rejuvenatedflooring will be one ofthe best gifts you cangive your home and yourfamily this holiday sea-son. Feel free to stop byHHF’s showroom tomeet with a salesperson.The showroom is openeach day from 8:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m., and hasflooring to meet allbudgets and needs.

and theHolidays

OCT. 24, 2010 | HAWAII RENOVATION | 3

HAWAIIRENOVATION

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HAWAIIRENOVATION


There are differenttypes of solar tech-nologies available to

Hawaii homeowners andbusinesses. The two mostcommon solar energy sys-tems are utility grid-tiedand domestic solar hotwater (SHW) and photo-voltaic (PV) systems, ex-plains Donald “Boy”Akiona, co-owner of So-larPro with Michael Halli-nan.

Let’s look at the differ-ences.

“SHW modules are de-signed to take the heatfrom the sun and collect itinto a panel or collector

that acts like acooking plate or oven,”says Akiona.

Water is pumped fromthe home’s tank to the roof,then the solar heat is trans-ferred through small cop-per tubes located inside thepanel causing the tempera-ture of the water to rise.Once heated, the water isthen gradually sent backdown to the home’s tank.The optimal temperaturefor a solar hot water tank is145 degrees. This is to en-sure that you do not losethe heat you get from thesun.

According to Akiona,

solar PV systems generateelectricity automaticallythrough a few easy steps.Sun-light on the panel(solar module) excites theelectrons to generate DCcurrent. The DC current isthen transformed throughan inverter into AC elec-tricity. The AC electricityis then fed into your meterthrough a circuit breakerinstalled on your mainelectrical panel and is thenready for your consump-tion. The Grid Tie, PV Sys-tem means that it will beconnected to the utilitygrid at all times. This al-lows you to have as much

power as you need when-ever you need it regardlessof time of day and produc-

tion from your own solarelectric system. Both SHWand PV systems— alone or

in combination— will off-set the cost of your utilitybill.

“The staff at EnergyProrecommends starting withan SHWsystem to get animmediate 40 percent re-duction in your electricbill,” says Michael Halli-nan. “Once your reducedconsumption can be deter-mined, then EnergyPro cansize a PV system that isright for you in order tomaximize your savings.”

For more information,visit the EnergyPro show-room at 825 HalekauwilaSt. in Honolulu, or call 377-6686.

Solar hot water heating versus photovoltaic systemsEnergy Options:

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HAWAIIRENOVATION

It’s the weekend: Wouldyou rather spend itscrubbing and mopping

or going to the movies andmeeting up with friends? It’snot a tough question to an-swer for most people.

Cleaning the house cantake hours, or even days, de-pending on how much youneed to get done and howlong it’s been since the last“deep clean.” What mostpeople don’t know is how toclean efficiently, in a waythat saves time and gets thejob done quicker. The prosof the home cleaning busi-ness know how to prioritize,organize and lay out a planof attack that gets the jobdone not just quickly butthoroughly. The profession-

als at house cleaning com-panies like Merry Maidstypically clean multiplehomes a day, so resourcefulcleaning is critical.

Here are some of MerryMaids’ top techniques andtools for speed-cleaningyour house, room by room.If you start using thesecleaning tips on a regularbasis, your house will becleaner in less time, andmajor cleaning sessionswon’t seem so daunting be-cause your house will al-ready be in good order.

Here are a few time-sav-ing tricks:

• Straighten up the housebefore the cleaning begins.Clutter slows down your

cleaning. Gothrough thehouse room byroom and putaway items thatare lying out. Butdon’t sweepthings under theproverbial rug. Shovingitems in drawers and closetsjust to get them out of theway isn’t a good idea.You’re going to have to dealwith it again eventually —why not take care of it im-mediately by putting it in itsproper place?

• Work from a list. Thinklogically about where you’regoing to start and end,rather than bouncing be-tween rooms and floors of

the house. Prioritize whatneeds to get done andwhere it makes sense tostart. Doing so can help

keep you on track and giveyou the satisfaction ofchecking completed tasksoff the list. If you think ofother things as you’re work-ing, add them to the list andaddress them when appro-priate.

• Stay focused. Answer-ing the phone can breakyour concentration and mo-mentum, so make it a “donot disturb” time. It can betempting to start readingthrough catalogs and maga-

zines you’re putting in therecycling bin, but if youdon’t resist the urge, you’llbe dragging your chores outand cutting into your ownfree time.

• Set a time limit for eachroom. Merry Maids sug-gests setting a kitchen timerbefore you start each room.Every time you clean, keeptrack of your time and try tofinish cleaning each room alittle faster than the time be-fore.

• Choose a focal pointwithin each room as a be-ginning point. Whether it’sthe kitchen sink or the bath-room shower, giving your-self something to focus onimmediately can help moti-vate you to get started. Asyou finish one area, move tothe next in a clockwise di-rection.

• Use both hands. Finishone step with one hand, andthen begin the next with the

other. This not only willmake you work faster, but itwill even out the workloadso one arm isn’t doing all thework.

• Don’t backtrack. Goaround the room only once— a lot of time is often lostgoing over areas that havealready been cleaned. Justremember that you shouldsave the floor for last — ifyou disturb dust or debris asyou work, it’ll fall, and youcan pick it all up in your laststep.

• Don’t scrub. Let thecleaning solution do thework for you. Spray toughspots — such as a soapscum-covered shower wall— with cleaner and let itsoak while you clean some-thing else. You’ll make dou-ble use of your time andsave elbow grease.

For more clever cleaningideas, go to www.merrymaids.com.

How to get your house cleanin half the time

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save owners money

‘Plug-in’ kitchen,bath upgrades

HAWAIIRENOVATION


Oahu and Maui town-house, condo, andsingle-family home-

owners have a new cost-ef-fective/affordable, yethigh-quality kitchen and/orbath improvement optionavailable, thanks to a pio-neering licensed generalcontracting company —HPS Construction ServicesLtd. (HPS).

What is it? Just call it thekitchen and bath “plug in”revolution.

Throughout Hawaii atBig Box to neighborhoodhome centers, hardwarestores, and specialty housesand numerous naturalstone, tile, and flooring dis-tributors, there is nowready availability of goodquality, reasonably pricedoff-the-shelf items whichHPS has made a concen-

trated effort to source andinstall in high volume, highquality, yet popularlypriced.

To name a few: Pre-as-sembled kitchen cabinets,bath vanities with matchingtops and built-in sinks, pre-manufactured granite andother composition and lam-inate counter tops, tub towalk-in shower conversionkits including shower pansand wall waterproofingcomponents, medicinechests, replacement tubs,glass block shower anddecorative walls, showerdoors with floating handles,modern and efficient light-ing and plumbing fixtures,including remarkably low-price water-saving toiletall-in-one packages, andmuch more.

The best of these items

are not available at any oneplace, so before thedemo/remodel/upgradework actually begins, HPSoften “goes shopping”with its clients to help iden-tify which items are bestfor a given budget andwhere to get them.

The key to cost-effectivekitchen and bath improve-ments, according to GeraldPeters of HPS, is to reject no-tions that you have to movedrains and other plumbingor electrical, or sufferthrough drafting/plans andpermits’ cost and time agonyand frustration, to get a re-ally nice looking, modernand functional kitchen andbath.

“Cost-effective quality isthe 2010/2011 mantra andprobably forever”, says Pe-ters. “And, we have found,

this ap-p r o a c hseems towork finan-cial won-ders forthose whohave rentalpropertiesand units,many ofwhich are getting along inyears and have wear andtear. It helps landlordsmaintain/increase rentsand quality of tenants, andthus has an excellent invest-ment-to-payback period,along with reduced mainte-nance costs associated withletting a rental property de-teriorate until costs of dam-age repair like water leaksfrom fixtures, toilets,shower walls, etc. start torear their ugly heads.”

“And, for owners resid-ing in 20-50 or more year-old properties, whetherintending to stay or sell,kitchen and bath upgradeshave always been proven toboth significantly improvequality of daily living en-joyment, and to usually re-turn more than dollar fordollar on the investment inappraisal values,” Petersadds.

HPS says depending onthe level of change, and

whether there is currentwater or other damage,these upgrades can beachieved for $3,500-$8,500for baths, and $9,000-$15,000 for kitchens, as ageneral scope of pricingrange.

HPS Construction Ser-vices Ltd. is a member ofthe Building Industry Asso-ciation of Hawaii, and canbe reached at 847-4400,and at HPSconstructionservices.com.

Call 808-440-5098for address and time.

TRUSTED SINCE 1946

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www.AmericanElectricHomes.com

THINKING SOLAR?Come talk story with us!

11/06Kailua

All the popular roof-ing systems haveearned their spot in

the marketplace throughthe test of time. Yet, somemay not be right for you.

Maybe it’s beauty youdesire. “I just don’t want tolook like every otherhouse on the block!”

Or longevity. “I onlywant to reroof once more,and that’s it!”

Or budget. “I’m movingin three years and I justneed a guaranteed repair.”

Each of these valid reac-tions may lead you to adifferent roof. Here’sLeakmaster Roofing’sopinion, based on our 20years of working witheach major system.

Compositionn ShinglePros: Wide range of

pricing, proven work-horse, long manufacturers’warranties, most popularsloped roof, period.

Cons: Hot in the sum-mer, looks like every other

home in the neighbor-hood, can mildew.

Leakmaster’s advice:Ask for five nails per shin-gle, which protects againstblowoffs. Install roof ventsto cool shingles down. Getmildew-resistant shingles.

Rooff CoatingsPros: Lower price,

lower interior temps,seamless, no need for rooftear off, can be easilymaintained, no need toreroof.

Cons: Must be recoatedevery 10 to 15 years, pond-ing water can harm somecoatings, bright white can

be glaring. Leakmas-

ter’s advice:Ask for a“Full FabricReinforced”system onflat roofs.For pondingwater, spec-ify a coatingcontainingLipacryl, orSilicone. Onsloped roofs,you maywant a lighttint to cutglare.

M e t a lRoofs

P r o s :Longevity ofnew stand-ing seamroofs is ex-c e l l e n t .

Older styles can be main-tained indefinitely withprotective coatings.

Cons: Higher price,noisy in the rain, needsrod vents in sunny areas.

Leakmaster’s advice:Standing seam looks greatand can last a very longtime with its Kynar coat-ing. Holds its value.

Woodd ShakePros: Nostalgic old

Hawaii look, wood is goodinsulator, quiet in rain.

Cons: Pricey, needs reg-ular maintenance, canmildew quickly.

Leakmaster’s advice:Use stainless fasteners, getfactory-treated wood,shake quality can vary, sobe careful.

Leakmaster Roofing in-stalls and repairs all ofthese roofs, and more.Register for the company’s$20 Roof MaintenanceSpecial (normally $185) atLeakmaster.com.

Call 591-1900 for moreinformation.

proscons


HAWAIIRENOVATION

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of major roof systems

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$1500Tax Credit

Ending Now94-480 Akoki Street #4Waipahu, HI 96797

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HAWAIIRENOVATION


Home siding inHawaii has alwaysbeen an area of high

maintenance and highfrustration.

Sun, rain, humidity andsalt are constantly combin-ing their strengths to breakdown painted wood, vinyland aluminum siding.

Fortunately, moderntechnology has developeda new line of products thatlook great and are guaran-teed — in writing — tostay that way.

Windows Hawaii, an es-tablished replacementwindow company, hasnow expanded its offeringsby becoming the Hawaiian

Islands’ distributor and li-censed installation con-tractor for Craneboardsiding.

Craneboard’s revolu-tionary, lifetime-warrantedproducts can update thelook of your home and putan end to the aesthetic andmaintenance headaches ofyears past.

Craneboard is a high-tech acrylic product thatlooks and feels like wood.

Its attractive productscome in a variety of stylesand colors and, best of all,never need to be painted.

However, don’t confuseCraneboard with the vinylsiding that you may have

seen in the past 10 or 20years.

Craneboard is an archi-tecturally designed prod-uct line that can coverwalls, eaves and over-hangs, as well as trim andfascia boards. Most impor-tantly, it won’t fade orchalk like vinyl.

Craneboard has in-cluded several unique fea-tures to increase the valueand performance of theproduct. Insulated backinghelps keep your homecool. Its patented solidbacking also includes Per-formguard to repel ter-mites and ants.

Revolutionary Smart-

Track technology, one ofthe product’s greatest ben-efits, allows your home to

breathe so that mois-ture vapor doesn’t gettrapped in the wallsand cause mold or dryrot. And for homeown-ers in Hawaii, that canmean peace of mind.

Craneboard has beentesting this product forseven years, and theproducts are alreadyinstalled on more than100,000 homes nation-wide. The companybacks its product with

the industry’s strongestwarranty, which includeslifetime coverage for the

original homeowner.So if you’re looking for

an attractive solution tothe fading, chalking andcracking, give Craneboarda look. You might be sur-prised by what you see.

Windows Hawaii is of-fering a limited-time set ofincentives for homeown-ers. The company also hasaffordable window pack-ages.

For more information,see exteriorportfolio.com.For a free, no-obligationestimate, call WindowsHawaii at 671-0808.

SidingHigh-Tech

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Sealants for Glass/StoneGlass Scratch RemovalAnti-microbial Coatings

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Ph: 853-2088 • Fax: 853-2058www.gcgchi.com

Have you ever hadany doubts aboutyour home’s electri-

cal system? Is your home’selectrical system more than50 years old, and is it prop-erly grounded?

While most people focuson the cosmetics of theirproperty, a home’s electri-cal system is often taken forgranted until an electricalhazard occurs. And that’s arisk no one should be will-ing to take, according to

Chad Matsumoto andBronson Apana, co-ownersof Alternative Electric inHonolulu.

“With all the house firesthat have recently been oc-curring on Oahu, an in-creasing number ofhomeowners are question-ing the safety of theirhome’s electrical system,”says Matsumoto. “If youever thought about havingyour system checked out,why wait any longer?”

Matsumoto offers a few

do-it-yourself checks thatcan be done before youeven call an electrician:

• Do you have loose out-lets in your home? Looseoutlets may lead to looseconnections, thus creatingan arcing effect. Arcingmay cause sparking and ex-cessive heat, leading to apossible fire.

• Have you ever had ro-dent problems? Rodentsmay chew away the insu-lation around your wiring,leaving the live portion

exposed.• Are there GFCI outlets

in your kitchen and bath-room? Today, GFCI outletsare required in these roomsbecause of their close prox-imity to water. These out-lets trip off when animbalance of current issensed, thus eliminatingpotential shock hazards.

• Does your home haveknob-and–tube wiring?This type of wiring wasgenerally installed beforethe 1960s. As time goes by,the insulation around thistype of wiring gets brittleand starts to fall off — leav-ing live exposed wiring.Today, most insurancecompanies will not opennew policy if the home hasknob-and-tube wiring.

• Do you have problemswith circuit breakers trip-ping off? Circuit breakersare a source of protectionfor your homes electricalsystem.

“While most electricalcontractors shy away fromrewiring older homes, Al-ternative Electric wel-

comes all type of electricalwork,” says Matsumoto“We are a full-service elec-trical contractor offeringsolar photovoltaics, newconstruction, rewires, ren-ovations, maintenancetrouble calls or just chang-ing a light or outlet.

Call 630-6741 or 285-3663


HAWAIIRENOVATION

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When looking for some-one to build yourhome, make sure you

settle on a general contractoryou’re comfortable workingwith.

To qualify that statement,after interviewing potentialcontractors, you should baseyour final decision on the con-tractor’s quality of recent proj-ects, as well as his knowledgeof building, his relationship

with sub-contractors and hisreferences.

Steven Wong of Island HomeDesigns (IHD) is a general con-tractor you can trust. He’s ontime for meetings, honest, com-municates well and finds solu-tions to problems.

Family and friends say it wasa brave task taking on a recentproject of tearing down an oldhouse and rebuilding it fromthe ground up. The house was a

virtual buffet station for ter-mites, with its foundationblocks literally floating over thedirt.

But Wong had no fear andwas determined to get thingsdone. He has a calm demeanorand is patient with customers.If he doesn’t know about aproduct, he researches it andprovides feedback.

The relationship with yourgeneral contractor is a partner-ship. Like a maestro in a sym-phony, general contractorsorchestrate the sub-contractors,every move.

Many residents don’t have theexperience to coordinate homeconstruction from the ground up.Let IHD be the one to help youget started.

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Look through any interiordesign magazine and you’llnotice one common theme

across all the featured homes: alack of clutter. No matterwhether the style is minimalistor maximalist, in the most beau-tifully decorated homes in theworld, you’re unlikely to seehairdryers and beauty productssitting out on the bathroomcounter. You might think thatit’s just a trick of styling for aphoto shoot, but with the rightstorage solutions, clutter does-n’t need to be a part of anyhome’s decor.

The first step to creating amagazine-ready, uncluttered

room is to assess which itemsyou need and which are takingup more space than necessary. Ifyou have an abundance of lo-tions, soaps and shampoos inyour bathroom, make a con-scious effort to use them up,until you have just one of each.Make sure that your stash ofgadgets isn’t too expansive, ei-

ther. If you have extras that stillwork, they can easily be do-nated.

Once you’ve gotten rid of theexcess, look carefully at howyou can make alterations toyour current bathroom that willbetter suit your needs and fit theitems you need to keep. One ofthe simplest ways to add extrastyle and improve the functionof your bathroom is to add newcabinetry. And with the ad-vances that have been made instorage solutions, you might besurprised how chic and efficientyour bathroom can become injust one step.

The best design ideas are

based on how people live, takinginto account the mundane taskspeople go through every day.For many women, styling theirhair is something that must getdone every morning, and alongwith that come tools likehairdryers and curling irons.These tools also involve hightemperatures and unruly cords.

It makes sense to not wantto put a hot hairdryer awayin a drawer right after usingit — it might damage yourcabinet or worse, be a firehazard. That’s why so manypeople end up leaving thoseitems out on the counter,causing unsightly clutter.Some creative thinking on

the part of cabinetdesigners might justmake your morningroutine a little lesscluttered. Cabinetsmade of glass andmetal can withstandthose hot tempera-tures, making themideal materials forbathroom cabinetsand vanities. Modelsfrom cabinetmakerRobern even includea dedicated hairdryer organizer within-drawer electricaloutlets and a place tokeep cords neatlytucked away.

Those who havesmall bathrooms —whether it’s a second

bathroom or a space-compro-mised master — know the has-sle of having to lean back toopen and close a medicine cabi-net door. One new innovationfrom Robern, ideal for de-clut-tering cramped spaces, is a med-icine cabinet with seamlessmirrored doors that slide up,rather than open out. Simplychanging out your existing cab-inet for these new models canmake your bathroom infinitelymore usable — not to mentionthe aesthetic boost it will getfrom the sleek glass-and-alu-minum design.

The new guard of smarterbathroom storage solutionsmakes it easy to update yourbathroom quickly. Streamlineddesigns bring your room intothe design-conscious 21st cen-

tury without having tocompletely renovate.And with innovationslike vertical sliding mir-rors, cold storage bath-room cabinets, built-innightlights and defog-gers and segmenteddrawers for keepingeverything straight,you’ll be able to cutclutter and create astylish haven in a snap.For more ideas aboutsophisticated storage,go to robern.com.


HAWAIIRENOVATION

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“I’m MICHAEL MITCHELLYour East Oahu Neighbor andGeneral Repair Specialist Who

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The holidays provide a greatopportunity to connectwith friends and family

and to celebrate the joys of theseason. Unfortunately, they arealso viewed as a time of opportu-nity for would-be burglars.

“Taking steps to protect yourhome during the holidays isn’tradically different from whatmost people should be doing the

rest of the year,”says ThomasLeman, a retired27-year veteranof the policeforce and crimi-nal justice pro-fessor at ArgosyUniversity On-line. Yet, accord-ing to the FBI,victims of bur-glaries suffered a

loss of $4.6 billion in property in2009 alone. “The problem,” saysLeman, “is that most people getlured into a false sense of secu-rity and tend to let their guarddown thinking that crime won’thappen to them.”

Just as the holidays seem tostart with the change in yourhome decor, so should your view

on safety. When it comes to holi-day decorations, modesty is defi-nitely the best policy, saysLeman. “While you may love thelook of a Christmas tree in yourfront window, expensive decora-tions on display can be a signalthat there are valuables insideyour home worth a criminal’stime. Gifts under the tree are themost blatant of these displaysand are a welcome invitation forthieves.” Leaving gifts tucked

away until the last possi-ble minute is a quick andeasy safety precaution.

Whether you arehome or out and about,take care to close andlock all doors and win-dows and set alarms.

“Given that most people haveextra valuables and gifts in theirhomes during this time, it’s agood idea to practice home safetywhether you’re there or not,”says Leman. USAA, a leadingprovider of banking, insuranceand investment services to themilitary community, advises cus-tomers to install tapered inch-

long deadbolt locks on exteriordoors to make it harder for awrench to twist the door open.Leman adds that a simple dowelplaced in a sliding glass door orwindow can be an inexpensiveway to secure those entrancepoints as well.

“Alarms or closed-circuitvideo surveillance systems are agreat and inexpensive way toprotect your home,” says Leman.

A well-lit and well-groomedhome not only shows well, butprovides an important measureof safety. “The better the lightingin your home and yard, the fewerplaces there are for criminals tolurk,” says Leman. USAA recom-mends homeowners use the “3-foot/6-foot rule,” trimmingbranches to 6 feet off the groundand shrubs down to 3 feet to min-imize hiding places for burglars.

While leaving the box for yournew 55-inch flat screen on thecurb will win you cool pointswith the neighborhood and thetitle of host of the next big foot-ball party, it could land you introuble with potential burglars.

“When it comes to big ticketitems and valuables, boxes on thecurb can be an advertisement forthe new valuables in your home,”cautions Leman. “Take the timeto break down boxes and recyclethem or put them on the curbover time and inconspicuously,”he advises.

If you plan on traveling for theholidays, you need to plan aheadfor home safety. Whether youopt to have a neighbor collectmail and newspapers or haveyour service stopped by callingthe post office and your neigh-borhood delivery person, be sureneither piles up at home. “Setyour lights and television ontimers,” suggests Leman, whoalso advises homeowners to havea neighbor park their car in yourdriveway intermittently to keepup the appearance someone ishome.

While keeping your home safemay not top the list of your holi-day “to dos,” taking a few extraprecautions can go a long way tomake sure your season staysmerry and bright.


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hawaii renovation 24 october 2010

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