Check your ductwork

Nobody likes to crawl underneath the house or through the attic. But sometimes, you just have to know what’s going on in those areas.

“A lot of homes have air leakage from their crawl spaces,” explains Kenny Bates of Myatt & Bates Heating and Air. “When you’re heating your house, the heat can leak out if the ductwork is faulty.”

Myatt & Bates works hard to educate homeowners about how to heat and cool more efficiently, thus lowering their power bill and enhancing comfort.

“Many homeowners are becoming aware of leaky duct work in their homes,” Kenny says. “That problem can make a real difference in their power bill. If it’s leaking 30 percent, for example, then it’s driving their heating and cooling costs up by 30 percent. That equates to raising their overall power bill by around 15 percent. We’re seeing that a lot.”

“It doesn’t make sense to keep buying a new unit when the ductwork is really the problem,” adds Stacie Bates. “The unit isn’t always the source of the problem. If you buy a 20 SEER (seasonal energyefficiency rating) unit and the ductwork is leaking 30 percent, then you are really only getting 14 SEER out of a 20 SEER system.”

Signs that your ducts may be leaking include a high amount of dust in the home, a constant draft and an unusually high electric bill.

With a few diagnostics, Myatt & Bates can check to make sure everything is working properly. Otherwise, you risk paying good money to condition air that is literally disappearing from your house.

Myatt & Bates
843-769-4771
www.myattandbates.com

Custom shutters built to last

Sam Wood understands the importance of window treatments that look great and last a long time. He and his partner, Mike Van Axen, co-owners of A Shade Above the Rest, have been in the business for eight years.

“Mike got into window fashion right after high school,” says Wood. “He left his previous company and we started this one together. He has 15 years of experience.”

At first, the new company wasn’t so different from everyone else.

“We started like a lot of others in the area, buying shutters from outside companies and retailing them,” says Wood. “Then we found a company in Atlanta that sold the materials.

“We started creating our own ‘poly’ [engineered wood] shutters. That was about two years ago.”

The change has been a good thing for both company and customer. With the shutters made in-house, there’s less turn-around time for clients. The shutters are also better suited for the individual home.

“We’re more flexible time-wise than buying a product from overseas,” says Wood. “We also know what will function best in your windows. We can modify the fit and paint the shutters at no extra charge. We do all the work ourselves.

“We have a large showroom, where potential customers can come in and test out the shutters, see how they work,” says Wood. “We sell a few wood shutters as well, but we make our own poly shutters. The material usually lasts longer; it doesn’t tend to expand and warp the way wood can.”

This winter, get that sun out of your eyes by contacting Wood and Van Axen—and tell a friend who needs new shutters. Check out the company’s website,

A Shade Above the Rest
www.ashadeabovetherest.com