Along much of the country's coastal regions, big storms are an unwelcome yearly visitor but don't let stormy weather keep you from enjoying living in some of the most beautiful areas in the country. Some people will tell you that storm-proofing your home is an unnecessary expense. It's true that not all storms reach the hurricane or tornado level of destruction, but why not play it safe and be prepared?

You don't have to feel trapped or suffocated in a small room. Many homeowners are opening up these rooms with windows. In a cost conscious world, they're doing more with less. Undersized rooms can turn into charming additions to the house if you add the right windows.

One of the most important areas in your home where you can reduce the flow of your heating or cooling dollars is through your windows. If you are looking at buying a new home this is an area that is well worth taking a good hard look at so that you know just what kind of heating bills to expect come winter time.

If you live in a high risk area for flooding, you need to be aware of the following precautions and home maintenance tips to better prepare yourself in the event of a flood. The first step, however, is to determine if your home is indeed at risk.

Once drained, the muck at the bottom is shoveled out and the pool is given a day or two to dry before returning and testing it out. At SkateandAnnoy.com, they even feature an article with extensive details on how to effectively drain a pool. Once the boys return for their reward, they generally go from house to house, only indulging in short skating sessions to avoid attracting attention.

Weatherizing and home energy auditing is fastly becoming a habit for energy-efficient homeowners. Here are 5 steps to weatherizing your home.

Signing a contract can be quite intimidating if you don't have a lawyer on hand to guide you along. Perhaps it's this intimidation factor that leads people to not read their contracts thoroughly. They see legalese and their eyes glaze over. They sign the contract without reading it, assuming that the terms are fair.

The cost of metal roofing is much higher than that of other roofing materials. When the lifespan of metal is taken into account, however, the overall cost of the metal roof ends up being a much better investment. Think of the cost in materials and labor for replacing a conventional roof every 15 years, compared with once every 60!

As the days grow shorter, you may be thinking about the future evenings spend curled up in front of your cabin's fire, with a cup or two of coffee, hot chocolate, or cider. Now is the time to be ensuring that your winter will be a cozy one, free of problems for your cabin as it faces the cold and inclement weather of the coming seasons.

Your preparations for winter should be well underway or finished, but if you have not made any improvements to your home or purchased the items that will give you a warm winter, do not delay! If you start now, there's still time to get yourself squared away.