We suggest Simonton Vinyl Replacement windows to all our customers. They are very energy efficient and work flawlessly. I will show a customer a lot of the times how I can open the window with ease with my pinky finger. It's hard to say how much you will save on your energy bill. There are a lot of factors involved. If you currently have a well insulated home and low energy bill you probably won't save that much. If your home isn't that well insulated and large energy bills it will show up more there. I use the example of my grandfather alot. He replaced his windows with Simonton about 10-15 years ago. They have a small 3 bedroom ranch and were having utility bills of $3-400 a month. They replaced the windows and the bill came down to $100 a month. If you are having a hard time keeping your rooms cool in the summer and warm in the winter, you will see a drastic difference in your comfort level along with the power bill. Another reason we offer Simonton is the affordability. We typically install a 5050 replacement window turnkey around $400 per window. Of course there are reasons this can go up, but typical install is on average this price. I would suggest going to simonton.com and searching for an experienced installer in your area. Hope this helps! Good luck with your search. 

Great insulation plays a key factor in energy savings. There are many different options available to increase the energy efficiency of your home.  James Hardie Siding is specifically designed for the climate in which it is installed. Whether you live in a climate with freezing temperatures, snow & ice or a climate with high humidity, heat, and rain; James Hardie has a siding product built for your homes specific needs. Technology has changed tremendously over the years so homes built 15- 20 years ago may have been installed with what was considered cutting edge at the time. Window replacement and the new technology that windows have now can save a great deal of energy costs. A good product that we can recommend also would be the Mezzo Vinyl Window or Integrity by Marvin Windows. These are high performance windows that are engineered to provide outstanding energy efficiency. Major appliances such as heating and A/C units can also offer great energy savings. 

Be certain that this is something you plan to use for years and years as the ROI on homeowner-specific improvements are not very high.  Budget for the concrete work involved is usually around $15-20K alone, not including the poles and painting.  If you plan to sell your home in less than 10 years or would need the court for less than 10 years, don't do it.  A new upgraded entry way, minor kitchen update, interior room/living space addition or new Hardie Board siding will give you a much better return on investment.

Check out this Houzz site for ideas http://www.houzz.com/outdoor-basketball-court

Do you have a budget? This would be the first question I would ask which also relates to your potential. You are looking at 15-20k typically.

Then are you looking at concrete or a rubber base?

You should find someone more competant, the major appliances should be on their own breaker (furnace on a 20a breaker and gas tankless on another 15 or 20a). It can be normal to spread out the circuit recepticals in a few rooms so if a breaker trips in a room there would be another receptical in that same room on another breaker so your not left in the dark. Also the panel should be properly labled. Good luck.

Here is a fairly good article on the subjecct.

"Radiant barrier spray-on paint is essentially liquid foil. While not all radiant barrier paints are the same, basically they are made by grinding pure aluminum into a fine powder and then mixing it into clear paint. Once the clear paint dries the aluminum powder forms a layer of aluminum.

The best radiant barrier spray spray is only available to commercial contractors, and is an environmentally safe, water-based low-e paint called HeatBloc-75, Radiance e.25 or Lo/MIT. When the paint is installed correctly, it will reflect about 75% of the radiant heat and can be a very good product.

Getting good results with radiant barrier paint assumes a couple of things:

The rafters are being sprayed completely (this usually costs more when you get an estimate).

The paint is being applied with the correct coverage (many contractors put it on either too thin or too thick).

The paint is not diluted. There are some contractors (even large ones who advertise heavily) that will cut* the paint with water in order to extend the coverage. *Cutting is when water is added to paint; it is cheating to cut costs.

As a result, the true effectiveness of radiant barrier paint installed by many contractors is really only about 15-40% reflectivity. The typical consumer can’t tell the difference between a good installation and a poor job without testing.

Radiant barrier paint spray is not a good Do It Yourself (DIY) project. The fumes are noxious, you must use a VOC respirator, a high-end airless spray rig, the proper size spray tip, and the proper pressure to get correct coverage and eliminate clogging. Forget about painting with a roller because it is impossible since there are thousands of nails sticking through the roof deck; additionally, using a paint brush to manually paint it on would take forever. Most people who try to do it themselves will actually blow too much paint and the material cost alone will be over $0.30/ft. With the cost of radiant barrier foil only being less than $0.13/ft, it’s obvious it is not only a better product, but a better deal.

Different Brands of Paint & Testing Results

reflective coatings comparisons chartMany companies have developed radiant barrier spray paint. In fact, none are true radiant barriers since they all reflect less than 90% of the heat which is the definition of a true radiant barrier; technically they are reflective coatings. Below is a chart with some test results by RIMA (Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Association) which did independent testing on all the different radiant barrier paints.

Notice that the best paint still emits 22% of the radiant heat, compared to only 3% for radiant barrier foil. Some paints claim to be award winning, although what award they are receiving still remains to be identified or significant.

Additionally, the paint tests were conducted on perfectly smooth samples, applied under laboratory conditions; these conditions are different than your attic. Your attic is made up of porous wood that loves to soak up paint instead of keeping it on the surface to create a smooth, shiny film, which would be required to be fully effective. In order for paint to come close to the tested emissivity rating, the wood surface must be primed with a primer/base coat of paint first.

Why You Should Use Radiant Barrier Foil

The main reason you should consider the foil over the paint is because with the paint you are basically counting on the product to deliver results, while with the foil you are simply needing the person (which may be yourself) to get the installation done. So long as the foil is installed somewhere between the roof/rafters and the insulation, it will reflect 97% of the radiant heat.

This is indisputable; radiant barrier foil works!

Furthermore, it is actually difficult to install the foil wrong. This is the main difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. You can assure that reflective foil will work; while you can only hope that the reflective coating is installed correctly. We do not sell or install radiant barrier paint; we only sell radiant barrier reflective foil insulation because it is the best.

The problem occurs when reflective paint is put on too thin or when water is added to the paint/an inferior cheap paint is used. Then what? Then the customers do not get the results or the cool attic they are promised.

To offset this disappointment, some companies have resorted to doing things like giving away free solar fans. Sure, if you put an attic fan in the attic it will decrease the attic temperature and could even get it close to outside temperature; however, it doesn’t matter what kind of fan it is, a fan will not stop any radiant heat transfer. A cooler attic is nice, but what we really need to do is reduce the temperature of the insulation. For more information, read our article about air temperatures versus surface temperatures and how they affect your home.

If the tue does not leak when it is sitting full of water, try looking at the seal around the fill spouts and on/off handles.  We see a lot of leaks in those areas in tubes that are 15 or more years old.  

We just had sod installed at the office here at Crown Builders in Charlotte, NC.  The landscaper told me to water each day for 15 minutes the first 10 days.  From 10-21 days after install water every other day.  After 3 weeks and beyond cut the lawn as needed.  It should be fairly well rooted and can take normal wear and tear. Give it 1" of water each week.  Apply balanced turf fertilizer 6 weeks after install.