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Does it feel like your household is constantly arguing over the thermostat? Maybe someone is always insisting the living room is as cold as an icebox, while someone else is complaining of an unbearably hot bedroom. These thermostat wars are incredibly common, especially in larger homes with multiple floors. If you’re tired of constantly adjusting the thermostat just to keep everyone happy, it may be time to consider upgrading to an HVAC zoning system. Instead of forcing your entire home to stay at one temperature, zoning allows you to customize comfort levels in different areas of the house. That means fewer [...]

Summer is my favorite time of year!  I enjoy hosting friends and family and have designed a great backyard entertainment area that makes it easy and fun.  However, the area of my house that gets the most wear and tear during the summer is the bathroom closest to my backyard. This room gets a lot of use so keeping my plumbing fixtures in tip-top shape is high on my list of priorities. Take it from the Coop, just a little ongoing preventative maintenance can head-off an inconvenient malfunction.  Of course, that’s easy for me to say since I’m a plumber by [...]

It’s finally warm outside! You open the windows and let fresh air circulate throughout your home.  At first it feels exhilarating.  You take a deep breath and revel in the sweet aroma of springtime.  But now, a few hours later, you feel hot and sweaty.  So, what now? You do what most people do at this point -- turn on your AC!! Fast forward a couple of hours later:  you still feel hot and sweaty and now, you’re also feeling anxious and irritable.  It’s dawned on you that there’s something terribly wrong!  Your heart sinks because you realize that your AC [...]

As the weather starts to warm-up, folks like me are itching to plan ahead for good times to come this spring and summer.  It’s been more than a year since many people visited with family and friends due to COVID-19, and I really miss grilling for a crowd and hosting boisterous pool parties.  It’s very exciting that (hopefully) we may be in the homestretch of the pandemic. I’m feeling very confident that this summer I’ll be back entertaining, and that’s why I’m preparing my home in advance for social gatherings instead of social distancing.  I know that more parties will put [...]

Yesterday, I performed a routine plumbing preventative maintenance at the home of a longtime customer named Diane.  A few years back, Diane moved to North Carolina due to a job transfer and now rents out her house because she plans to move back in a few years.  Diane continues to use Cooper Mechanical for all her heating, cooling and plumbing work to ensure that her systems are well-maintained while she’s away. Shortly before Diane left, I replaced a leaky water heater located in her basement. Luckily, Diane discovered the leak before it got really bad.  Like most customers, she had lots of [...]

You’ve had a garbage disposal for years and have never had a malfunction – no matter what you cram down the drain – until now.  Well folks, it’s 2020, need I say more? Every year during the holiday season, we get a multitude of calls from panicked customers who have accidentally clogged their disposals.  Take it from the Coop, remember my rule of thumb when throwing garbage down your disposal – when in doubt, throw it out!!  If you think you probably shouldn’t push that food item down the disposal, then don’t do it!  Even if it appears to clear the [...]

As the days get cooler and you turn on your heating system, it’s also important to turn on your whole house humidifier.  Don’t have one?  Take it from The Coop, read on…this information is for you! Although many homeowners are acquainted with humidifiers and understand that there are benefits to having one, many people are hazy on just how important a humidifier can be to your health and the well-being of your home. The EPA suggests maintaining a relative humidity level between 40-50% inside your home.  When humidity drops below this level, you may become aware of clues that signal a [...]

Buying your first house is very exciting, although it does come with a certain amount of trepidation.  Now that you’ve parted with a big chunk of your life-savings, how do you keep your home in good condition, maximizing your comfort and enjoyment while at the same time safeguarding the value of this important investment? Take it from the Coop!  Don’t wait for issues to become emergencies before addressing them!  Tackle home maintenance projects on an ongoing basis, one project at a time. You’ll learn that these projects don’t take over your life or empty your wallet, and you might even find [...]

We’ve all been through a heck of a time during the last few months, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Besides the obvious gravity of the situation, we’ve all had to modify our lifestyles, one way or another, in keeping with the “new normal.” For many DIYers who love to tinker but seldom have the time, this has been a great opportunity to address all sorts of things around the house.  Over the last few months, when I haven’t been helping Cooper Mechanical customers with heating, cooling, and plumbing projects, I’ve spent my time repairing, cleaning, and replacing everything on my [...]