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Port St. Lucie - Sebastian - Vero Beach St. Lucie, Martin, and Indian River counties (Treasure Coast)
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Old 03-18-2013, 06:23 PM
 
Location: Port St Lucie Florida
1,285 posts, read 3,596,796 times
Reputation: 408

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I am looking at several upgrades to the house that will be cost effective over 5 years; solar hot water heater, whole house generator on propane, on demand hot water heater, timer for hot water heater.

Ideas and suggestion. No windmills please.
Sid
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Old 03-19-2013, 03:53 AM
 
53 posts, read 121,377 times
Reputation: 33
Along with those ideas, consider improvements that will save on homeowner's insurance. Make sure you are getting every credit you are entitled to. We had a somewhat substandard roof attachment and was hit hard because of it. I had the foam adhesive sprayed onto the underside of the roof deck and my premium dropped by almost 50%.
If you have a lot of plants or a nice lawn, look at a well. We put ours in 1.5 years ago and it will pay for itself in another 6 months. After that time, it will be pure savings except for the little we spend on electricity to run it.
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Old 03-19-2013, 04:01 AM
 
Location: Vero Beach
910 posts, read 2,208,501 times
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Excellent advice, Monterey ! Question: Do most HOAs in gated communities allow you to put a well on your property ?
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Old 03-19-2013, 04:14 AM
 
Location: Port St Lucie Florida
1,285 posts, read 3,596,796 times
Reputation: 408
Thank you for the input on reducing my home insurance costs. I had forgotten about adding additional insulation. I do have a house alarm system and that has helped to reduce my insurance load.

Luckily I have a well and a sprinkler system and inherited some wonderful landscaping. One additional thing I was considering the feasibility of adding a hose faucet to my sprinkler system that will allow me to use the garden hose on potted plants and vegetables and not use city water. This month my water bill went up $20.00 and I feel it must be because I was setting up a vegetable garden and moving some plants around.
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Old 03-19-2013, 04:43 PM
 
Location: Port St. Lucie, FL
193 posts, read 403,882 times
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Don't forget to make sure that your window and door shutters are complete and correctly fit prior to when you need them. We did a google search on "How to install hurricane shutters" and reviewed several youtube videos. Quite instructional. Here is one of them:

Gold Coast Hurricane Shutter - Homeowner storm Panel Installation - YouTube (This is not meant to be an endorsement of any supplier.)
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Old 03-19-2013, 09:17 PM
 
361 posts, read 746,951 times
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DEFINITELY test your shutters!

During the summer we went around testing not only the amount of shutters we had but also that they fit correctly.

We found that our house was slightly redesigned. Example: Where the bolts on the house were around the windows in the front somebody had gone and added "concrete" window boxes completely covering the bolts.

We also found out that the panels for the window panes to the left and right of our door DID NOT FIT by 1/2". We had to call a professional to come and help us. He said misfit panels are a common mistake made by the builder "panel monkeys" (his words not mine)

It cost us $1,000 to fix the paneling on 3 windows + 2 doors. (Front door & Patio French doors)
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Old 03-20-2013, 05:42 AM
 
Location: Port St Lucie Florida
1,285 posts, read 3,596,796 times
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Home Security is also on the table for upgrades. My previous experience in New Orleans compelled me to use extreme caution 24/7, installing motion detection lights around the house, upgrading door locks, drilling and pinning my double hung window, adding a house alarm system, having a dog, a fence around the entire property including an iron fence at the front of the property and arming myself at all times.
Here my neighbors are much more relaxed an scoff at my house alarm and desire to update door locks. What is the security situation in Port St. Lucie and how much security is advisable in a non-gate neighborhood where I live. Everyone in the area is very nice and but old habits die hard.
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Old 03-20-2013, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida
4,507 posts, read 9,163,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaLark7 View Post
Excellent advice, Monterey ! Question: Do most HOAs in gated communities allow you to put a well on your property ?
no.... they have extensive sprinkler systems in place and don't want you messing them up.
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Old 03-23-2013, 01:16 PM
 
53 posts, read 121,377 times
Reputation: 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by 55Monterey View Post
Along with those ideas, consider improvements that will save on homeowner's insurance. Make sure you are getting every credit you are entitled to. We had a somewhat substandard roof attachment and was hit hard because of it. I had the foam adhesive sprayed onto the underside of the roof deck and my premium dropped by almost 50%.
If you have a lot of plants or a nice lawn, look at a well. We put ours in 1.5 years ago and it will pay for itself in another 6 months. After that time, it will be pure savings except for the little we spend on electricity to run it.
I failed to mention two more energy savings improvement that will also pay for themselves in a short amount of time.
The first was replacing the worn out AC unit with a 16 seer unit. Our old one cooled ok but was running day and night. The new 16 will cool the house much faster.

The second improvement is one that few people will ever consider. We removed the carpeting and had tile installed. The carpet was an insulator that kept the coolness from under the slab below the carpet. The tile lets the coolness into the house and it also absorbs the coolness from the AC and releases it slowly. The only downside is having to wear socks occasionally in the winter but it is a small price to pay for lower energy bills.
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Old 03-23-2013, 03:56 PM
 
Location: Port St Lucie Florida
1,285 posts, read 3,596,796 times
Reputation: 408
I would like to know more about the adhesive spray insulation. I have heard of closed cell foam and open cell foam and even sprayed cellulose but I do not know what is best. What are the factors that affect what to use. Like anything who does the work matters greatly. In another house with a huge attic I installed a radiant barrier to the underside of the roof rafters, very effective in keeping the heat out of the house and easy to do. Unfortunately the attic at the new house is not big and spraying may be the only way. Ideas please.
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