Installing a New Wood Fence Now Costs Homeowners Several Thousand Dollars on Average, Fresh Contractor Data Shows, With Vinyl and Aluminum Options Running Even Higher Per Linear Foot

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brown wooden fence on gray concrete floor

Installing a new wood fence now costs homeowners $3,270 on average, with most projects landing somewhere between $1,860 and $4,833, according to fresh contractor pricing from Angi. Material choice moves that number a lot: wood runs $10 to $45 per linear foot installed, vinyl runs $15 to $40, and aluminum climbs to $17 to $90 … Read more

Removing a Single Large Tree From a Backyard Can Cost Homeowners Well Over a Thousand Dollars, Fresh Contractor Pricing Shows, and the Bill Climbs Fast if the Tree Is Diseased or Hard to Reach

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a tree that has fallen on a house

Removing a single large tree (one taller than 60 feet) typically runs homeowners $800 to $2,000, and jobs involving disease, tight access, or nearby power lines can climb into the thousands beyond that, according to fresh contractor pricing from Angi. Overall, tree removal averages around $750 across all sizes, but that number is misleading for … Read more

Homeowners Installing Their Own Security Cameras Now Outnumber Those Paying a Professional for the First Time Ever, Industry Data Shows, With One Doorbell Brand Alone Holding Nearly Half the Market

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Close-up of a round dome surveillance camera installed on a speckled ceiling for security monitoring.

Homeowners installing their own security cameras and alarm systems have overtaken those paying a professional to do it, for the first time since tracking began, according to SafeHome.org’s annual home security industry survey. Self-installation now accounts for 49% of home alarm system setups, compared with 42% who hired a professional installer and 8% who moved … Read more

Replacing a Central Air Conditioning System Now Runs Homeowners Well Into the Thousands of Dollars, Fresh Contractor Data Shows, and Waiting Until the Unit Fully Fails Almost Always Costs More

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a white box with a vent

Replacing a central air conditioning system now costs homeowners an average of $5,977, with most full-system jobs falling somewhere between $1,400 and $12,500 depending on unit size, ductwork condition, and local labor rates, according to fresh contractor pricing from Angi. That’s a full-system replacement, the outdoor condenser, indoor coil, and often the ductwork that connects … Read more

Federal Safety Regulators Are Warning Homeowners Right Now to Move Generators and Grills Away From Windows and Doors Before the First Winter Storm Knocks Out Power and Tempts People Indoors

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a black and silver radio on a wooden table

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is telling homeowners to move portable generators and grills at least 20 feet from windows, doors and vents right now, before the season’s first winter storm cuts power and pushes people toward dangerous shortcuts to stay warm, according to a CPSC advisory. Portable generators alone are linked to roughly … Read more

Houseplants That Spent the Summer Outside Need to Come Back Indoors Before the First Cold Snap, Extension Horticulturists Warn, and Bringing Them In Too Late Can Kill Them Within Days

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green plant in white ceramic pot

Once nighttime temperatures dip toward 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the clock starts running on every houseplant still sitting on a patio or porch, according to University of Minnesota Extension horticulturists. Below that threshold, tropical plants that spent the summer soaking up outdoor light can suffer real damage in a single cold night, and the … Read more

Wasps and Yellow Jackets Get More Aggressive Every Fall as Their Colonies Run Out of Food, Pest Experts Say, and That Makes September and October the Most Dangerous Months for Stings All Year

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bee in mid air

More than half a million people end up in U.S. emergency rooms every year from wasp and other insect stings, according to the National Pest Management Association, and a disproportionate share of those visits cluster in September and October. That’s not a coincidence. By fall, wasp and yellow jacket colonies have grown to their largest … Read more

Clogged Dryer Vents Are Behind Thousands of House Fires Every Year, With More Than a Third Traced Directly to Lint Buildup, Yet Most Homeowners Say They Have Never Once Cleaned Theirs

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a white washing machine

Clothes dryers cause roughly 15,600 U.S. structure fires a year, according to UL Solutions, and “failure to clean” the machine is cited as the culprit in a full 33% of them, more than any other single cause. Those fires kill about 15 people annually, injure around 400 more, and cause upward of $100 million in … Read more

Roughly One in Fifteen US Homes Has Elevated Levels of Radon Gas, the Second Leading Cause of Lung Cancer, and the EPA Says a Test Kit Costing Less Than Twenty Dollars Is the Only Way to Know

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A grey house with a stone chimney and porch in Fort Myers, Florida

Roughly one in fifteen U.S. homes has elevated levels of radon gas, according to the EPA’s radon zone data, a colorless, odorless gas that seeps up from the ground and is the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, and the leading cause among people who have never smoked. The EPA estimates radon is responsible … Read more

Switching to a Programmable Thermostat Can Trim Roughly Eight Percent Off a Typical Heating and Cooling Bill, Federal Energy Data Shows, Yet Millions of Homeowners Still Never Bother to Program Theirs

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gray Nest thermostat displaying at 63

Switching to a programmable or smart thermostat trims about 8% off a typical heating and cooling bill, or roughly $50 a year, according to ENERGY STAR’s smart thermostat data. For the average American household, heating and cooling already eat up nearly half of the annual energy bill (more than $900 a year, per ENERGY STAR’s … Read more