Friday, June 21, 2013

Twelve Tips to Making a Home Energy Efficient

Making your home more energy efficient can help to reduce high energy bills, improve comfort and help to protect the environment. Here are twelve tips to become more energy efficient and save money.
  •  Invest in a cool gadget like a programmable thermostat. Set thermostats at 78°F in the summer and 68°F in the winter. A programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.
  • Install Low-flow shower heads: Simply by installing low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators ($10 to $20 each), you’ll cut your hot water consumption by 25% to 60%. 
  • Insulate Your Hot Water Tank: If you have an older tank, and especially if it’s located in an unheated space, wrapping it with an insulating blanket is a cheap and easy way to reduce costs.
  • Insulate Exposed Hot-Water Pipes and By insulating your hot water pipes and heater, water will arrive at the faucet 2 to 4 degrees warmer, which means you won’t have to wait as long for it to heat up, thus saving energy, water, and money.
  •  Use LED's in your recessed ceiling lights, stairwell lights and inconvenient fixtures. It’s an 80% energy
    savings over incandescent bulbs, the LED bulb life is up to 50,000 hours longer than CFL's.
According to Georgia Power, residential heating and cooling systems account for as much as 52 percent of your home’s energy use.  This means a poorly maintained heating and air system can increase your energy bill dramatically.

  • Change your air filter regularly.
  • At a minimum change the filter every 3 months, but during heavy use months (summer & winter) check your filter every month to see if it is dirty enough to change.
  • Have heating and cooling systems professionally serviced once a year to keep them running as efficiently as possible.
  •  Seal your heating and cooling ducts. Gaps in joints and at plenums can cause your heating and cooling bills to increase by as much as 30% and can allow air contaminants to enter the home.
  • Make sure all air registers or floor vents are clear of furniture so that the air can circulate freely. If your home has radiators, place heat-resistant reflectors between radiators and walls. In the winter, this will help heat the room instead of the wall.
  •  Install a properly sized ENERGY STAR qualified ventilation fan in the bathroom to control moisture in the air while you shower or bathe, as well as control mold and mildew growth. Run your fan for 15 minutes after showering.
  •   Install insulation in your attic. This is a fairly easy DIY project that will really make a difference in your energy and comfort of your home.
Improving energy efficiency is an important first step for homeowners interested in green remodeling. To find out more on home to becoming a more energy efficient home, and qualify for energy tax rebates go to the Energy Star website.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Outstanding Mediterranean Style Home For Sale in Ardsley Park, Savannah

Listing Details
501 E. 56th St.
Price: $675,000
MLS #: 107572
Bedrooms: 4
Baths:3.5
Living Area: 3368 Sq. Ft.

Call Don Callahan at :912-441-4416 to see if this property is still available for a showing.

Live Like A Queen In Historic Ardsley Park

This outstanding Mediterranean Style home in Ardsley Park is nothing short of breathtaking with designer-styled details and craftsmanship throughout. The living room has a cozy custom window seat, that has built in storage nooks, and a gas fireplace with Mediterranean styled tiles. Mosaic tiled archways separate living areas and dining room. All of these rooms glow warmly with beautifully designed Mexican tile floors. All common areas, living room and dining room have Oak wood framed French doors that lead out to the central courtyard and/or pool area.

You'll Love Spending Time In This Incredible Kitchen
This remarkable gourmet kitchen boasts custom cabinetry with hand-wrought in-lays and pulls, beamed ceilings, high-end light fixtures and even a Dutch door leading to the courtyard. Counter tops are a tasteful mix of quartz, granite and butcher block. There are Thermador stainless steel appliances throughout. Warm terracotta ceramic tiled walls surround you as you work with the center island butcher block counter. Stylish modern touches like a built-in cappuccino machine and separate wine room add a first class feeling to this exquisitely designed kitchen.

Fantastic Upscale Bedrooms
The main floor bedroom features a kitchenette, full bath with jetted tub and separate shower with French doors opening to the pool area. The master bedroom upstairs has en-suite bath featuring outstanding custom tile work and beautiful ceramic vessels. The bedroom includes a separate sitting area as well. The other bedrooms are gracious in style and scale with touches like window seats, beamed/vaulted ceilings, double closets and more. 

Relax in Style in the Extend Living Space Outdoors

Pool and courtyard areas offer a sophisticated mix of sanctuary, sun and shade. The large saltwater pool is re-surfaced, tiled and coped. There is new Paver deck and a Polaris pool cleaning system for a worry free pool maintenance system. The tremendous patio area has a handsome pergola for a shady respite, a blissful fountain wall and outdoor speakers for relaxation as well as entertaining. 

See More Pictures of this property here.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Savannah Midtown Neighborhoods Have It All

Midtown Savannah has some of the most sought after neighbors to live in. Baldwin Park, Ardsley Park/Chatham Crescent and Parkside are the neighborhoods considered midtown and are all in a historic district.  Ardsley Park/Chatham Crescent was developed beginning in 1910 as two adjacent planned subdivisions, a twentieth century variant of  General Oglethorpe’s original city plan. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is a center mall lined with palmettos starting at The Savannah Arts Academy and ending at Tiedeman Park. The neighborhood borders Victory drive, a main artery through Savannah that goes out to Tybee Island. North of Chatham Crescent, on the other side of Victory Drive is Baldwin Park which was originally the northern portion of Chatham Crescent. Baldwin Park is a narrow strip running from Waters Ave. to 40th, and then to Price. At the northeast corner of Baldwin Park (Waters & Victory) is Savannah’s Beaux-Arts styled Daffin Park. Bordering the southern side of the park is the nationally registered historic Parkside neighborhood, literally named because the community borders Daffin Park. Parkside is lined with majestic oak trees draped with Spanish moss and large sidewalks offering a short walk to Daffin Park.

Convenient Midtown Has It All 

From midtown there is esay access to historic downtown Savannah, and Forsyth Park.  The Truman
Parkway which takes one out to the south side of Savannah is a hop skip and a jump to get onto. Victory drive, with its beautifully canopied Spanish moss covered oak trees, runs to Daffin Park, Grayson Stadium, the soon to arrive Whole Foods, and Petsmart. Just past the new Whole Foods store is Victory Square Shopping Center (Victory and Skidaway) which hosts Home Depot, Target, Stapels a movieplex, and numerous places to eat. Continuing on Victory Drive, or Rt 80, is Wilmington Island and then on to one of the 10 best beaches on the eastern sea-board, Tybee Island.

What Are The Homes Like?

In the Ardlsey Park/Chatham Crescent Area the architectural styles are interpretations of almost every revival and eclectic style popular in the early twentieth century. They are predominantly one- and two-story, single family homes, many of which have free standing garages in the rear. Baldwin Park abuts the earlier Victorian neighborhoods and many of the lots were the first to be sold in the Chatham Crescent neighborhood making much of the style Victorian and Craftsman in nature. The houses in Parkside are mostly one- and two-story brick-and-frame dwellings built between 1914 and 1947 and feature a variety of architectural styles that include Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, and English Vernacular Revival. Along Victory Drive which divides Baldwin Park and Chatham Crescent are mix of Colonial Revival and Federal styled homes and mansions, some quite grand with large columns and impressive architectural details.

What Schools Are There?

Savannah Arts Academy - Programs: Art, Computer Science, Fine Arts, Dance, Music, Special Education: Gifted Students, Vocational Education: Health, Phys Ed
Windsor Forest - Programs: Art, Computer Science, Drama, Journalism, Literature, Music, Vocational Education: Agriculture Education, Drivers Ed, Health, Special Education: Gifted Students, Hearing Specialists, Mentally Challenged, Advanced Placement in: Science, Social Studies, English, Math
Herchel V Jenkins - Programs: Art, Computer Science, Social Sciences, Economics, Fine Arts, Music Theory, Vocational Education: Agriculture Education, Health, Phys Ed, Special Education; Emotionally Challenged, Mentally Challenged, Speech/Language Pathologists, Advanced Placement in; Science, Social Studies, English, Computers, Math
St. Vincent’s Academy (Catholic) - Programs: Art, Choral, Music, Computer Programming, Economics, Humanities, Fine Arts, Vocational Education: Health, Phys Ed, English, Advanced Placement in: English
St. Andrew’s School (Private) - Programs: Art, Photography, Band, Choral, Computer Science, Fine Arts, Literature, Statistics, Trigonometry, Vocational Education: Phys Ed, Advanced Placement: Math, Foreign Language,  Special Education : Gifted Students

Looking For Homes in Midtown?

If you are interested in looking for homes in the midtown area, click on the link. Our website offers free MLS searching for the home that fits you.