Fireplace Inserts Are Now Outselling Brand-New Fireplace Builds for the First Time in Years, Contractor Data Shows, and It Comes Down to How Much Heat Actually Escapes Straight Up a Chimney

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Modern fireplace insert glowing with fire installed in a brick fireplace

Most traditional open fireplaces lose more than 90% of a fire’s heat straight up the chimney, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with much of the warm air already in the room pulled out along with it. That single number explains why fireplace inserts have become one of the fastest-growing categories in the hearth … Read more

Tankless Water Heaters Cost Nearly Double What a Traditional Tank Runs Upfront, Contractor Pricing Data Shows, yet the Break-Even Point Arrives Years Sooner Than Most Homeowners Ever Expect

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Modern tankless water heater mounted on a utility room wall

A tankless water heater typically costs between $3,000 and $6,500 fully installed, compared with $1,700 to $3,200 for a traditional 50-gallon tank, according to contractor pricing data compiled by C&C Air Conditioning, Heating, Plumbing & Electric. That puts a tankless system at roughly 76% to 103% more expensive upfront, which is close enough to double … Read more

Built-In Bookshelves Are Replacing Accent Walls as the Most Requested Living Room Feature This Year, Designer Survey Data Shows, and It Has Almost Nothing to Do With How Many Books People Own

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Living room with a floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelf flanking a fireplace

Ask a designer what clients are requesting for their living rooms right now and a surprising number will say shelving before they say paint, art, or furniture. Built-in bookshelves — the kind framed into the wall on either side of a fireplace or window rather than bought as freestanding furniture — are showing up in … Read more

French Drains Cost a Small Fraction of What Foundation Repair Eventually Runs, Contractor Pricing Data Shows, and Waiting Until Water Actually Reaches the Basement Wall Is How That Bill Explodes

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Contractor installing a French drain trench with gravel and pipe along a house foundation

A water stain the size of a dinner plate spreads across a basement wall, and most homeowners do the same thing: wait. Maybe it dries out on its own. Maybe it was just one bad storm. That instinct to wait is exactly what turns a manageable drainage fix into a five-figure foundation problem, and the … Read more

Dishwasher Pods Are Leaving Behind a Filmy Residue That Never Actually Rinses Away, Water-Treatment Research Shows, and the Detergent Brand You Buy Has Almost Nothing to Do With Fixing It

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Drinking glass with cloudy white film residue after a dishwasher cycle

The cloudy film left behind on glasses after a dishwasher cycle is made mostly of calcium, magnesium, and aluminum, according to water-treatment research published by Cascade, one of the largest dishwasher detergent manufacturers in the country. That detail matters because it comes from a detergent company essentially admitting that its own product isn’t the deciding … Read more

Stainless Steel Sinks Develop a Specific Kind of Rust Ring That Ordinary Cleaners Simply Can’t Touch, Metallurgy Research Shows, and Grabbing the Wrong Sponge Is Usually How It Actually Starts

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Orange rust ring stain on a stainless steel kitchen sink near the drain

Stainless steel only earns the “stainless” part of its name once it contains at least 10.5% chromium, the threshold that lets the metal form a thin, self-healing oxide layer on its surface that keeps oxygen and moisture from reaching the iron underneath. That layer is why a stainless sink can handle decades of dishwater without … Read more

Whole-House Generators Cost Roughly Ten Times What a Portable Model Does, Contractor Pricing Data Shows, yet Only One of the Two Actually Keeps the Lights On Through a Multi-Day Outage

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Whole-house standby generator installed beside a home

A whole-house standby generator costs about $5,160 installed on average, according to Angi’s contractor pricing data, while a portable generator typically runs somewhere between $500 and $2,000. That puts the real-world gap closer to two-and-a-half to ten times the price, depending on the size of the portable unit being compared, and it’s the reason so … Read more

Epoxy Garage Floors Have Quietly Become One of the Most Requested Upgrades in the Country, Contractor Data Shows, and the Finish Costs a Lot Less Than Most Homeowners Assume Going In

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Garage with glossy epoxy-coated floor and organized storage

Epoxy garage floors have become one of the most requested upgrades among homeowners tackling their garages, and the price tag is a lot friendlier than most people assume before they start pricing it out. According to Angi’s contractor cost data, professional epoxy flooring runs about $2 to $12 per square foot including materials and labor, … Read more

Terracotta Planters Are Replacing Plastic Ones on Patios From Coast to Coast, as Homeowners Chase a Look Nurseries Say They Genuinely Cannot Keep in Stock This Fall Season

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Patio lined with terracotta clay planters filled with fall flowers

Plastic planters used to be the default choice for anyone who wanted color on a patio without the weight, the price, or the cracking that comes with clay in a hard freeze. That default is slipping. Nursery buyers and industry researchers alike are describing a real swing back toward classic terracotta this fall, and the … Read more

Garages Have Quietly Become the Most Neglected Room in the Entire American House, Organizing Industry Survey Data Shows, and It’s Costing Homeowners Real Storage Space They’re Already Paying For

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Cluttered suburban garage packed with boxes and tools leaving no room to park

Thirty-six percent of American homeowners say their garage is so packed with stuff that they can no longer park a vehicle inside it, according to survey data released by CRAFTSMAN. Another 62% go further, naming the garage the single most cluttered space in their entire home, ahead of the basement, the attic, and even the … Read more