I am developing a new model to better help homeowners care for their home and am seeking input.  The survey takes about five minutes to complete and can be found at this link.

The purpose of the survey is to help me research a new business model I am developing.  This model is specific to those that own their own homes and how they handle their maintenance and repair needs.  The  survey is a beginning step in helping me prove (or not) my theory.

Please follow this link to take survey.

If you use social media, please click on the buttons below to share this survey with your networks.

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Below you will find excerpts from my interview with James Williams, CEO of Skan Technologies (www.skantechnologies.com).  I met Jim via a Linked-In group we were both members of online.  He was gracious enough to take part in this interview.

James Williams, WurkPads Creator

CHUCK:  Tell me a little about your background and what it is that you do today?

JIM:  I am owner of Skan Technologies, LLC.  I started Skan Tech as a way to bring my ideas from the drawing board to the market.  Most of my ideas revolve around ergonomics and efficiency.  Whenever I am doing something my mind naturally starts spinning in the background looking for a better way to achieve the desired end result.  If I have an idea I write it down or make a voice note on my phone.  Tinkering in my shop is one of my favorite hobbies so I’ll make a prototype out of junk I have laying around and see if there is any future for the idea.  The downside of this is that I tend to save old vacuum cleaners and other broken stuff.  Fortunately I have plenty of space behind my shop in Alaska to hide my stuff so our house doesn’t resemble a hoarder’s domain.  Of course starting up a product development company is not cheep so I still commercial fish in Alaska 4-5 months a year to augment our income.  I started fishing for crab (Deadliest Catch) back in the ’80s when Dutch Harbor was the wild west and the Elbowroom gained it’s reputation.  Now I primarily fish for Halibut.

CHUCK:  Where did you come up with the idea for WurkPads?

JIM:  Tension on the Fishing Vessel Kilkenny was high during the summer Shelikof Straits Scallop season so we decided to take a break for a week.  I used this time to begin work on an out building on our property in Homer, Alaska.  I was putting in the sub floor, hating the latest set of kneepads that I had purchased because the strap kept biting into the back of my thighs and calves.  The idea for a strapless kneepad had been circulating through my grey matter for some time and on this day it surfaced again.  “How can a get rid of this freaking strap” kept spinning in the background.  I was blinded by the bright light that came on in my mind and immediately went to my shop to tinker.  I had some old suspender clips and foam from work I had done on the NeckAid project so I pulled my utility knife out of my tool belt, trimmed out an oval, and after modifying the suspender clips, attached them to the edges with pop rivets.  Voila, a strapless kneepad was born.

A prototype of the WurkPads

CHUCK:  How long did it take you to get from prototype to product available for purchase?

JIM:     A long time.  The light that seared my retina came on in June of 2006 and I told myself that I was going to steamroll this product to the market as fast as humanly possible.  We received our first run of 1500 pair in August 2010.  Not exactly steamrolling.  The winter of 2006-07 I refined the hand-tooled prototypes and got them into the hands of tradesmen.  My parents were building a house at the time so we had a few sets on the site for the subs to try.  Of course there were issues with the crude prototypes but we had an overwhelming thumbs up from those who tried them.  I searched for a company to help engineer and produce the product and came across GID (www.gidcompany.com).  The product development time line was agonizingly slow since Jim Grimes and I are both perfectionists.  I would tell him what I wanted.  He would come up with a better solution than my idea.  We would get a prototype made.  I would test the prototype. I would make suggestions based on field tests that I performed.  We would make another prototype.  etc.  Grimes and I are both strong headed but once the wax is cleared from the ears we both are open to alternative view points and solutions.  The collaboration was synergistic.

CHUCK:  What types of professionals are using the WurkPads?

JIM:  Carpenters, plumbers, tile guys, utility workers, handymen, landscapers, gardeners. We have a few large corporations that offer it in their PPE crib. We are working on getting it to the Air force and National Guard.

CHUCK:  I heard the WurkPad will soon be available in the big box home improvement retail stores, when will that happen?

JIM:  We have gotten the green light from one of them.  When the buyer saw the product he said that it “screamed quality” and wanted to keep the quality standard for their high volume purchases.  We are negotiating the deal this week.  I imagine it will be available from the big boys sometime in 2011.  In the meantime product can be purchased from Skan Tech’s website (www.skantechnologies.com).  You have to see the user video on the site to appreciate the product.

CHUCK:  Any plans on the drawing table for new products?

JIM:  Yes.  There are several… if your readers want to see them they’ll have to sign a non-compete agreement or look for them on the Skan Tech website in hopefully less than 4 years.

CHUCK:  Any advice you can offer a ‘wanna be’ inventor?

JIM:  It’s not for the faint of heart.  Write your ideas down and test them out if possible.  Treat it as an expensive hobby and maybe you’ll make some $ down the road.  Get a good patent attorney.  I can recommend one.  Even if you think you know what you’re doing legal counsel is still a must.  There are a lot of scams out there that just want to take the inventor’s money and never really put any effort into their ideas.

To learn more or purchase a pair, go to www.skantechnologies.com.   Jim has offered a $5 discount to my readers to  purchase a pair of WurkPads.  Click on ‘Contact’ on the top menu and send me a request for details.

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Replace Your Washing Machines Water Supply Lines

Here is a home maintenance tip that may save your house from getting flooded and all the damage that can cause.  Every few years, replace the water supply lines on your washing machine.  It will cost about $6 per hose and take a few minutes of your time.

Why should I bother?  Good question.  It just happened to someone I know and to me once a few years ago.  I was about to leave my townhome and I heard this faint hissing sound.  I wasn’t quite sure what it was until I discovered one of my washing machine water hoses had sprung a small leak.  I was lucky and able to turn off the water and clean up the water.  If this leak had occurred while I was away, I can only imagine what damage would have occurred.

The fact is these hoses are under pressure all the time, even when the washer is not being used.  Plus if you are on a city water supply, the chlorinated water helps to degrade the rubber material the hose is made from overtime.

What to do?

1. Purchase a pair of replacement hoses.  Approximate cost is $6 per hose.
2. Turn off the water supply at the back of your washing machine
3. Remove both hoses and have bucket handy as there will be water that is still in the hose.
4. Install your new hoses.
5. Turn the water back on and check for leaks.

This is a small repair most handy DIYers can do for themselves.  Put this on your todo list before you go away on a summer vacation.  So you don’t come back with water everywhere.

Happy Summer!

…

Many have heard about bad drywall (both Chinese and US made) installed in newer homes primarily in Southern US states.  Here is an update and guidance from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  See full report from CPSC.

Learn more and register here.

Details from site:

Expert Panel (Larry Zarker and Bill Asdal)
Moderated by Patrick O’Toole of Qualified Remodeler magazine and Tim Musch of Marketsharp
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Central, 12:00 p.m. Mountain and 11 a.m. Pacific
60 minutes

The Obama Administration is proposing a massive jobs creation bill that will inject billions into the home improvement industry – on top of the $1,500 tax credits that were part of the 09 Stimulus Bill.  This fast-moving legislation is changing every day and your team will need to be able to quickly turn on a dime once it passes into law. This session will give the latest news on the bill, which, in its present form would create $18 billion in homeowner incentives, $4 billion in retailer incentives and $2 billion for home energy audits.

Takeaways include:
1. An update on the status of the legislation
2. An update on any changes to the proposed program
3. Tips for preparing – where to get energy audit training.
4. And much more.

See more at CBS

Learn how to organize and start a handyman business.

I wrote about this earlier this year but feel it bears repeating. Get federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements to the your home. Improvements such as installing a storm door, new exterior door and windows and adding insulation can qualify.

For further details, please see the EPA’s Energy Star website

The highlights of the plan include:

• The tax credits that were previously effective for 2009, have been extended to 2010.
• The tax credit has been increased from 10% to 30%.
• The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500 for the two years (2009–2010). However, some higher ticket improvements now have higher maximums.
• The $200 cap on windows has been removed.

For installation of a storm door, exterior door, windows or insulation in the Triangle area, please visit www.CarolinaHandyman.com or in the Triad please visit www.GreensboroRemodelandHandymanSolutions.com

(The Triangle includes the North Carolina cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The Triad includes the NC cities of Burlington, High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem).

For discounts on home improvement products and services throughout the US, please visit our Special Offer page.

Additional home improvement tips can be found at www.HouseFixer.Info.

Info below from the city website  www.durhamnc.gov

Durham’s Toilet Rebate Program Now Available

Residents Now Eligible for $100 Rebate to Replace Water-Wasting Toilets with High-Efficiency Models

Durham, N.C. – Durham residents interested in saving water – and money – now have another opportunity thanks to the City of Durham’s New Toilet Rebate Program.

The program, sponsored by the City’s Department of Water Management, offers rebates valued at $100 when qualified water customers replace their existing toilets with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense-labeled, high-efficiency toilet models.

According to Vicki Westbrook, deputy director of the City’s Department of Water Management, if Durham residents replace just 3,000 toilets, the community can save nearly 21 million gallons of water per year, which makes choosing a WaterSense toilet an option worth considering.  “Toilet flushing makes up about 30-to-40 percent of all water used in homes. Older, inefficient toilets can use between 3.5 and 7 gallons per flush and are responsible for most of the water wasted in our homes. Recent advancements have allowed toilets to use 20 percent less water than the current federal standard of 1.6 gallons per flush, while still providing equal or superior performance,” Westbrook said.  “The WaterSense label certifies that the toilets meet rigorous testing for both performance and efficiency. Only high-efficiency toilets that complete a third-party certification process can earn the WaterSense label, which is why we’re requiring this as part of our rebate program.”

According to Westbrook, to be eligible for the City’s rebate, any toilet purchased must be a high-efficiency toilet, which uses an average of 1.28 gallons per flush, and must be on the EPA’s WaterSense list.   At this time, only single-family residential customers may apply for the rebate.  Any toilet which meets the criteria and is purchased after January 1, 2008, will be eligible for the rebate, with a limit of one per household.  Rebates will be applied as credits to customers’ water bills.  To apply for the rebate, residential customers will need to submit all of the following information:
• the original dated sales receipt for the toilet;
• a copy of the most recent water bill; and
• a completed Rebate Application Form.

Rebates will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, with one toilet rebate allowed per single family residential customer.  Approximately 3,000 rebates will be available during the first phase of the program.  The rebate form, a link to approved toilets, and more details are available at www.DurhamSavesWater.org or by calling the Rebate Center at 866-522-3806.