Placer County (Auburn, Colfax, Loomis)Home Repair Help

Andrew Twidwell — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:50:41 +0000

Placer County Home Repair Help

Have you been holding off on home repairs due to the recession? Putting off things like broken sewer lines, leaky water heaters, faulty furnaces or air conditioners?

Keeping your home in good repair connects you with your community as it helps to reverse deteriorating trends in neighborhoods, creates jobs locally, and revitalizes the business climate.

Lately, technicians at ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat and Air have seen a dramatic drop in simple but necessary home repairs. This might end up costing you; studies have shown that deferring maintenance can be more expensive in the long run. Ultimately, these repairs must be made.

You may not be aware that there are many programs available for low to moderate income household to move forward with needed home repairs. Each year Placer County (Auburn, Rocklin, Cool, New Castle, Loomis, Colfax) applies for various State and Federal grants from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program, and other grant programs. Placer County then provides these funds, in the form of low-interest loans.

If you are a low or moderate income homeowner who is a resident of unincorporated Placer County (Auburn, Rocklin, Cool, New Castle, Loomis, Colfax) living in a single-family home, town house, or condominium, which is your primary residence, you may be eligible for a low-interest loan of up to $150,000.

There are two ways to pay back the loans, either amortized loans that begin after completion of construction and continue for a 20-30 year term, or deferred loans, as long as your housing payments don’t exceed 30% of your income. After five years, the income will be reviewed. Seniors could also be eligible for a longer deferment.

Why not check into these programs? It helps you, and it helps the neighborhood and community. For more information, visit this website: www.easyasabt.com or call for more information at 530-886-8700.

Low Flow Toilets, Do they Really Work?

Andrew Twidwell — Wed, 26 May 2010 03:14:58 +0000

Low Flow Toilets, Do They Really Work?

The federal government decided that after 1994 toilets shouldn’t use any more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Manufacturers had to comply, but by most accounts their early efforts were a flop.

That was a decade and a half ago. The redesigned low-flow models that followed work as well or better than older models that used as much as 7 gallons of water per flush. There is, in fact, a joint U.S.-Canadian evaluation program called Maximum Performance (or MaP) that uses soybean paste encased in latex to see just how well these low-flow toilets work. And most of them work very well. Test results are easily accessible on the Internet.

High-efficiency toilets use even less water than standard low-flow models, some as little as 1.1 gallons. Dual-flush toilets, which have separate flush modes for solid and liquid waste, are another water-saving option. The differences in performance may seem trivial, but switching from a standard to a low-flow toilet can save thousands of gallons of water per year. If your thinking of switching that old WC in your Auburn or Grass Valley Home, give us a call; 530-272-9120 in Grass Valley or 530-886-8700 in Auburn and surrounding areas.

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Placer County (Auburn, Colfax, Loomis)Home Repair Help

Low Flow Toilets, Do they Really Work?