One thing we love to do at the end of the year at Rosie on the House is to look back at what has appeared on our Web site to see how many of our readers actually clicked on the blog – the main article for the week on the front page.
Of course, an individual Rosie on the House Web site itself gets almost 70,000-page views every week as readers sign on to look at all the help we offer including recommendations to homeowners on what Rosie-certified partners to hire to repair or remodel their homes, answers to frequently asked questions about houses in Arizona and their special problems, videos on home repair and maintenance, or podcasts of past programs. Those are just some of the possibilities. Every Tuesday, though, you should find a new lead article or blog that will also be discussed on air on the following Saturday.
As always, you’ll find that on our Web site we primarily talk about topics that are particularly important to Arizona homeowners. As our partners, employees and regular listeners know that’s because we’ve always specialized in being “every Arizona homeowner’s best friend.” This week we revisit the five most popular blogs from 2018.
#1 | “Should You Replace Your Air Conditioner?”
This blog first appeared July 7, in the heart of the hottest season of the year for Arizona. It’s never surprising to the staff at Rosie on the House that homeowners are interested in air conditioning, of course. During the question-and-answer part of our program all spring and summer, many listeners phone and write to us about their problems with cooling and air conditioning. Read More About Air Conditioners Here
#2 | “How Can I Cool Off My Garage?”
This popular article went up on the Web site on May 5. The main point was: Installing an AC or evaporative cooler in your garage could help drop the summer temps in your garage, but be sure to insulate the garage first if you want an AC or cooler to work efficiently. Even if you cool off the garage, however, that won’t improve the level of air conditioning you have to do inside your house itself. But you can cool off the garage so that you can use a workbench or store important keepsakes and holiday decorations or work on your car. Read More About Garage Insulation Here
#3 | “Six Ways Pavers Can Save You Time and Maintenance”
It was a must-read for many homeowners because pavers are a low-cost solution for redoing the patio, sidewalks and driveway in a yard. Special thin pavers can be laid on top of an existing patio, for example. If you break one, they’re easy to replace, and you can even park heavy trucks on top of a paver driveway without doing damage. Read More About The Advantages Of Pavers Here
#4 | “Outsulation”
We discussed whether homeowners could cool off their houses and lower their power bills by adding more insulation inside exterior walls. As we explained: In the typical stucco Arizona home built since 1980, builders have already started adding an extra layer of insulation into the walls of houses. Insulation ratings went up because of the use of 1-inch high-density rigid foam sheets as well as due to better ways of installing these materials during the building of the houses. So, in a way, many homes do have “outsulation.” Other older homes, like those constructed from concrete blocks, can improve insulation by injecting foam into their walls. Read More About Outdoor Insulation Here
#5 | “Five Urban Pests and How to Handle Them”
Although anti-termite articles are always well-read on our Web site, this article is all about five special kinds of pests frequently found in Arizona: javelinas, rabbits, woodpeckers, coyotes and mule deer. Although you want to discourage them, you might not want to harm them. In many cases, they are protected by law. As Arizona Game and Fish officials told us: Urban wildlife may be choosing your yard for two reasons: access to food and their comfort level around humans. So, control them by restricting access to food sources and making them feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. Read More About Urban Pest Control Here
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