Jeff Wilson Everyday DIY Blog

Dozens of times each year the team at Ratzlaff Homes sells and installs fiberglass entry doors. What are the secrets to their success? According to project coordinator Jon Hassenfritz, they are aligning with a quality door manufacturer, communicating effectively with homeowners, and making sure their installation crews are efficient and knowledgeable.

How many times have you heard someone call out, “Close the door, you’re letting the cold air in!” This common refrain has been heard in households for years. Now, during October’s National Energy Awareness Month, experts at Therma-Tru offer tips on how to keep the cold air outside while keeping energy bills low.

Want to focus on creating an energy-efficient home? During October’s National Energy Awareness Month, experts at Superior Walls recommend starting from the bottom up.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of October as National Energy Awareness Month. Experts at Simonton Windows, ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Windows and Doors, Three Years in a Row” by J.D. Power and Associates, offer a variety of tips for consumers who wish to perform a window and patio door “check-up” to gauge the energy efficiency of these products in their homes.

Multiple national safety awareness campaigns in October are leading homeowners nationwide to focus attention on their windows and doors. Fire Prevention Week (October 7–13), Crime Prevention Month, and National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (October 21–27) are all being observed during the month of October.

Contractors installing windows in harsh environments know that durable hardware matters to homeowners. Simonton Windows, a leader in the manufacturing of vinyl windows and patio doors, has announced that stainless steel casement and awning window hardware is now available as an upgrade option on these popular styles – in all Simonton brand products.

For the sixth consecutive year, Fypon® has been named a leader of decorative mouldings and millwork by Builder magazine's 2012 Brand Use Study. Fypon earned the number one ranking in the survey of builders for the categories of brand familiarity, brands used in the past two years, and brands used the most in both the "Decorative Mouldings/Trim/Columns: Interior" and "Decorative Mouldings & Columns: Exterior" categories.

The students at Saraland High School in Saraland, Alabama, started 2010 in a brand-new building. Designed in a classic style by TAG architects, the two-story brick structure may look traditional, but it features an innovative E-Vent System from Fypon. Designed to combine an attractive moulding exterior profile with a functional eave ventilation system, Fypon’s E-Vent Systems feature a fiberglass screen behind the moulding to keep out insects while allowing maximum airflow into a building.

Year after year they sit on the sides or top of your home allowing air into the attic while preventing insects from entering your house. For those homeowners lucky enough to have no-maintenance Fypon urethane louvers, these important building accessories can be termed “lazy louvers” because once they’re installed, you can literally forget about them.

One of the fastest ways to add curb appeal to a home exterior is to surround the windows and doors with decorative trim. Contractor Steve Roth tackled this project while transforming a front porch and used decorative urethane millwork from Fypon to help the entryway and windows complement the overall look of the exterior.

Contractor Steve Roth wanted to give new life to an old porch, so he turned to innovative urethane products. To transform a decaying oriented strand board (OSB) ceiling, Roth first added Fypon polyurethane board panels to cover the entire ceiling and then faux beams and straps to create a lodge-style look.