Home Maintenance · DIY There’s a sacrificial metal rod inside your water heater quietly rusting away so the tank doesn’t have to. Replace it on time and you can postpone a $1,500 replacement for years. Most people meet their water heater exactly twice: the day it’s installed and the day it floods the basement. In … Read more
Home Electrical · Protection A power strip protects your TV. A whole-house unit protects the wiring, the appliances, and everything you forgot was electronic. Here’s whether the upgrade is worth it for you. Walk through your home and count the things with a circuit board in them. The obvious ones: TV, computer, game console. Then … Read more
Home Systems & Maintenance A furnace quote is part equipment, part labor, and part things you’ll never use. Knowing the difference can save you a couple thousand dollars. There’s a particular kind of dread that comes with a furnace dying in February. The house is cold, the contractor is the only one answering the phone, … Read more
Home Systems · Water Heating The sales pitch says tankless pays for itself. The math says it depends. Here’s how to figure out which side of that line your house falls on. If you’ve shopped for a water heater lately, you’ve probably run into the same argument from two directions. The plumber points at the … Read more