Water Heater Strapping Video

Golden Gate ASHI
The Golden Gate chapter of ASHI has recently produced a video showing how to properly strap your water heater.
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Concern Grows Over Window Blind Safety

The New York Times
For the last 25 years or so, manufacturers of window blinds have installed safety features and offered tips to parents to try to minimize the dangers from their products. Even so, children like Angel continue to strangle on the cords with grim regularity, an average of one a month.
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GGASHI Water Heater Press Release

The Golden Gate Chapter of ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) has recently released their press release focusing on water heater strapping in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Virginia banker: Fannie, Freddie to play reduced roles in apartments

The Virginian-Pilot
Plans to restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sent shivers through the nation's home-building and home-finance industries. Owners and developers of apartment complexes also will feel the impact of any overhaul of the two government-owned lenders, a veteran mortgage banker said.
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Home improvements can be funded but options are limited

Los Angeles Times
The home improvement sector, already benefiting from spending on rehabilitating foreclosed properties, can be expected to get an even larger boost in the coming months from owners who have deferred maintenance during the recession and newly minted empty nesters who want to turn a bedroom into a home office.
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11 hot green building trends to warm up to

Building-Products.com
More people are going green each year, and there is nothing that will stop this trend. In fact, it is accelerating each year. As a result, expect to see considerable interest in green products that promote water conservation and energy efficiency, including fixtures and appliances, as well as energy-efficient windows and doors, certified wood products (either FSC or SFI) and recycled-content materials.
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Top 10 solar trends for 2011

Earth2Tech via Reuters
This year has turned out to be a boom year for the solar industry, thanks in no small part to lucrative government subsidies in Europe, particularly in countries such as Germany and Italy. New solar project installations shot up from 7.2 GW in 2009 to an estimated 15.8 GW in 2010, according to iSuppli. But analysts are predicting slower growth in 2011 because incentives in these key European markets are set to fall quite a bit. At the same time the U.S. market could grow faster.
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