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Earlier this week, Texas A&M cornerback Elijah Blades announced that he was opting out of the 2020 college football season. It was a bit of a curious move as the NCAA has ruled that this season does not count toward eligibility.

Blades was set to be a senior this coming season but, with the NCAA rule, he still could have returned for a fifth year in 2021 due to this year not costing anybody elibility. Because of that, there did not seem to be a clear reason that the 6-foot-2, 180-pound defender was opting out. In making the announcement on social media, Blades said that he planned to return for the 2021 campaign in Aggieland, so the opt-out did not seem to be in preparation for a transfer, either.

On Thursday afternoon, Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher held his weekly press conference via Zoom. He was asked about Blades' decision and cleared things up a bit.

"I wouldn't say I was surprised (by the decision)," Fisher said. "You wish they were there but you understand the things that are going on and that's between us...Elijah was just coming off a shoulder surgery. He had practiced most of the practices, almost the whole time. We'd give him a little break. He was coming back. He would have been full-speed here shortly. But, there's other issues and things going on."

Texas A&M is entering the season with a battle for the starting job at both cornerback spots. Four players were in the mix in Blades, senior Myles Jones, junior college transfer Brian George and true freshman Jaylon Jones. Blades and the elder Jones are the lone players with experience and both started a year ago. That number is now down to pretty much the three players competing for the two spots.

"It doesn't help depth but, at the same time, some of our younger guys are really playing good and we feel comfortable with what we have," Fisher said.

"There's open competition," he added. "We're getting ready for the first scrimmage this weekend and those guys have all done well and continue to do well."

Blades played in seven games a year ago before missing the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. He finished his shortened season with 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three pass breakups.

In the class of 2019, Blades was a four-star prospect when he signed with Texas A&M as a junior college transfer. Originally from Pasadena, Calif., he played his junior college ball at Arizona Western C.C. Blades was actually a longtime Oregon commit before switching to the Aggies right before the Early Signing Period.

Texas A&M had another member of the secondary opt out this week as well, though he was not expected to be as big a part of the depth chart as Blades. Fourth-year junior safety Derrick Tucker announced on Tuesday evening that he would be foregoing the season.

"I know Tuck's said he's going to step back and do a lot of things for Black Lives Matter, which is tremendous," Fisher said. "Because, like I say, there's things out in the world right now that he thinks are very important and we think are very important and giving him the opportunities to do that."

Tucker played in four games a year ago before asking to be redshirted. The NCAA allows players to see action in up to four games now and still preserve their redshirts and, with Tucker not seeing a ton of playing time, he wanted to save his. While others that made the same request transferred in the offseason, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder returned to Aggieland this fall.

Tucker actually made seven starts as a true freshman in 2017 after coming in as a four-star recruit out of Manvel, Texas. He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week that year after his performance against Ole Miss when he had 14 tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and an interception. He also had double-digit tackles against LSU. However, Tucker took a step back as a sophomore in 2018. He saw action in 10 games but did not start. He finished the season with 27 tackles and a pass breakup, a year after recording 55 and 5 of those, respectively.

As for both defenders, Fisher says both should be back on next year's roster.

"We expect both those guys back," he said. "There hasn't been anything to the contrary to say they wouldn't be back....We love those guys and we'd love to have them back."

The lone other Aggie to opt out of the season is third-year sophomore quarterback James Foster. The former four-star prospect from Alabama was third on the depth chart a year ago. He is currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal but chose to stay in Aggieland this fall.

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Fisher sheds light on decisions of Blades and Tucker to opt out - 247Sports

With its Wagnerian orchestral soundtrack, exceptionally low camera angles, and sweeping shots of white marble columns reaching up toward the heavens, last weeks Republican National Convention served as an answer to the question, What would happen if the producers of The Apprentice did a remake of Leni Riefenstahls Triumph of the Will?

Which makes sense, given that two of Trumps former reality show producers were brought onboard to help direct the event. The resulting spectacle could not have been more different from the previous weeks Democratic National Convention, which, by contrast, had all the production values of a local cable access show from the late 1970s.

What was more surprising was the music itself. Gone were MAGA rally favorites like the Rolling Stones You Cant Always Get What You Want and Neil Youngs Rockin in the Free World. Was it possible that, for the first time in four years, Trump was finally yielding to the demands of the numerous artists whove railed against his use of their music without their consent?

That question would be answered during the conventions fourth and final day. But first, to put all of this in perspective, its worth taking a brief detour to consider the history of Trumps battles with these musicians and the legal issues surrounding them.

The best-known case is Trumps use of the Stones You Cant Always Get What You Want at the close of rallies in which hes just assured his overwhelmingly white audiences that he will, in fact, get them everything they want and more.

Trump has been doing this for four years now, during which time a sizable portion of his audience must have picked up on the contradiction. So why keep doing it?

One likely reason is that Trump and his followers enjoy nothing more than trolling their perceived enemies. Another is the fact that Trump is as tone-deaf when it comes to music as he is with everything else. This is, after all, the president who taunted Black Americans by asking What have you got to lose?... a question he subsequently directed toward coronavirus victims in an effort to sell them on hydroxychloroquine.

Meanwhile, back in the realm of music, there was the Midwest rally that Trump held just hours after a white racist walked into a synagogue and opened fire on the congregation. While the rest of the nation grieved, Trump got his followers to get up and dance to Pharrell Williams Happy.

Williams lawyer responded with a cease-and-desist order that conveyed his clients outrage:

On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged nationalist, you played his song Happy to a crowd at a political event, Williams lawyer wrote. There was nothing happy about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday, and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.

But Trump, as hes proven time and again, has a fondness for insulting dead people, and that routinely bleeds over into his campaign music. Tom Pettys family decried the use of I Wont Back Down at Trumps June 20 Tulsa rally. George Harrisons estate sent their own cease-and-desist letter after Trump appropriated Here Comes the Sun. The surviving members of Queen, dismayed by his use of We Will Rock You, did the same on behalf of themselves and their late singer Freddie Mercury.

Trump, as hes proven time and again, has a fondness for insulting dead people.

The reason Trump has continued to get away with all this involves the blanket licensing agreements that music licensing organizations like BMI and ASCAP make with political campaigns and the venues in which they hold their rallies.

Both organizations let artists fight their own battles until this past June, when the two organizations unexpectedly warned Trump to stop using You Cant Always Get What You Want, as well as any other Rolling Stones songs, during his rallies. According to BMI, once an artist issues a cease-and-desist letter, any future use constitutes a breach of contract.

And so it was that, on the last night of the Republican National Convention, the gathering of unmasked supporters on the White House lawn were deprived of the upbeat anthems theyd come to know and love.

Still, Trump could not resist showing one last sign of disrespect, which he directed at a deceased artist whose estate and publisher had both turned down the RNCs request to play one of his best-known songs at the convention. During the closing ceremony, the singer Christopher Macchio came out on the White House balcony to serenade the president and his entourage with a semi-operatic set that featured Leonard Cohens Hallelujah, a recorded version of which had also been played moments earlier as fireworks exploded over the Washington Monument.

Apart from its title, Cohens borderline vicious ode to God-knows-what was an inexplicably bizarre addition to a medley that included classical-crossover fare like Ave Maria and Nessun Dorma. This is, after all, a song with lyrics like Ive seen your flag on the marble arch / Love is not a victory march / Its a cold and its a broken Hallelujah.

According to the White House, Trump makes all of the final decisions when it comes to which songs are played at his events. But that doesnt mean he actually listens to all of them.

So what happens next?

For now, at least, Trump has managed to keep from using the Rolling Stones as his walk-off music. Instead, hes replacing it with his fans second favorite rally song, which is, wait for it, the Village Peoples Y.M.C.A. Theres something almost endearing, given the racist and homophobic underpinnings of Trumps campaign, to see MAGA supporters joyfully getting down to the racially integrated and flamboyantly dressed groups ode to intimate male bonding.

But Village People leader Victor Willis is not amused, as he conveyed in a recent Facebook post directed toward Trump:

I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies, especially Y.M.C.A. and Macho Man, following the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter marches, he wrote. Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.

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Republican National Convention sheds new light on Trump's use of music without artist consent - Colorado Springs Independent

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) As scientists at Colorado State University lead the state in monitoring COVID-19 outbreaks through raw sewage testing, the university confirmed they have seen a spike in coronavirus in their testing of on-campus dormitory wastewater.

Last month experts at the university told CBS4s Dillon Thomas the virus is traceable through raw sewage days before the carriers show symptoms, if they show any symptoms at all.

The university is currently partnering with multiple municipalities from around the state, from Pueblo to northern Colorado, to monitor levels of COVID-19 in raw sewage. By doing so municipalities can better forecast outbreaks of the virus. The same mentality was applied to the Fort Collins campus, where the university is now testing individual dormitories.

A spokesperson for CSU confirmed they have increased testing at three dormitories on the campus after noticing a spike in COVID-19 being shed through waste. They also increased testing among employees who work in the northeast corner of the campus due to a spike in levels in wastewater.

The staff has focused their dormitory testing on three dorms, specifically looking in to one wing of one of the dorms, and two other hallways. The university did not provide information on which dormitory, or building which faculty were in, were the focus of their further testing.

The university has already administered more than 9,700 COVID-19 tests since students returned to campus weeks ago. Most of those, around 7,400, were completed upon move-in by freshmen.

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Spike In COVID-19 Shed Through CSUs Wastewater Prompts More Testing - CBS Denver

Provided by The Big Lead Kirk Herbstreit

The first College GameDay of the year came on Saturday. The crew had a lot to address; Lee Corso expressed his belief that college football shouldn't be played until Spring 2021, quite a declaration to come on a college football pregame show.

They then addressed the issues of social injustice and racism in the country that have demanded America's attention in the months since we last saw college football on TV. In a very emotional segment, Kirk Herbstreit started to cry when he talked about the injustice the Black community faces in this country and how frustrating it was that there are still people out there who refuse to acknowledge the problems that are deeply embedded in every part of our lives.

This is really something to see. Herbstreit's pain is evident, and the importance of addressing this issue on every national stage is impossible to overstate.

Watch. Listen. Work for change. That's what we have to do, and we cannot relent. Herbstreit reminded us all of that.

Video: Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Social Justice and Players Protesting (RADIO.COM)

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Social Justice and Players Protesting

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Kirk Herbstreit Sheds Tears on 'College GameDay' Discussing Racism in America - MSN Money

Dean Geddes I&M Staff Writer @DGeddesIM

ThursdaySep3,2020at11:35AM

(Sept. 3, 2020)Paul Judy calls Oswald Tupancy one of the islands greatest golfers, foremost philanthropists and a bit of a mystery.

I just thought he had such a fascinating history, and its a story I hope all the citizens from Nantucket who benefit directly and indirectly from his (philanthropy) know, Judy said about the subject of his recent book,The Life and Times of Oswald Anthony Tupancy: Golfer, Investor, Benefactor.

Tupancy grew up in modest circumstancesin Detroit and moved to Nantucket in 1928 at the age of 21.

Over the next 50 years he accumulated enough wealth to donate to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation one of the islands most popular open-space properties, Tupancy Links on Cliff Road, as well as establish the Tupancy-Harris Foundation, which over the years has donated millions of dollars to nonprofits across the island.

To read the complete story, pick up the Sept. 3 print edition of The Inquirer and Mirror or register for the I&Ms online edition byclicking here.

Click hereto sign up for Above the Fold, The Inquirer and Mirrors twice-weekly newsletter, bringing you both the news and a slice of island life, curated with content created by Nantuckets only team of professionally-trained journalists.

For up-to-the-minute information on Nantuckets breaking news, boat and plane cancellations, weather alerts, sports and entertainment news, deals and promotions at island businesses and more, Sign up for Inquirer and Mirror text alerts.Click Here

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Book sheds new light on philanthropist Tupancy - The Inquirer and Mirror

Several months ago, a rumor that Josh Duggar lives in a warehouse with his wife and six kids spread like wildfire on social media.

For critics of the Duggar family, the report seemed almost too good to be true.

After all, few celebrities -- and perhaps no reality stars -- are as widely-despised as Josh, who molested four of his sisters and was assisted by his parents in covering the act up for over a decade.

The online legion of Josh haters wanted the news to be true -- wanted to believe the predator was finally paying for his crimes -- but it seemed so unlikely.

He had been getting away with everything his entire life, and it was almost impossible to imagine that justice would be served in 2020, of all years.

But it seems like this hellish trip around the sun has offered us a sort of consolation prize.

Last week, TLC inadvertently confirmed that Josh lives in a warehouse by shooting a scene in an "unused" storage shed.

Viewers were able to match the decor to photos that Josh's wife, Anna Duggar, took at home and posted on Instagram.

It turns out the shed isn't so unused after all -- in fact, it houses a family of eight.

It's a complex situation, and even for those of us who think of Josh as a monster masquerading as a family man, it's hard to celebrate too much.

After all, Josh isn't suffering alone here -- he has a wife and six kids living in the windowless shack right beside him.

Fortunately, the conditions are not unsafe, and there's no reason to believe that Josh's kids are going without proper food or healthcare.

It's still sad, but it's not hard to see how some fans have decided to chalk this up as the latest in a long line of amusing embarrassments for Josh.

Thankfully, the man is unable to defend himself, as he has no social media presence.

However, Josh's long-suffering wife is doing her best to accentuate the positive and send a message to fans:

Our ever growing family might be poor, she seems to be saying, and yes, I'm married to a child molester -- but gosh darn it, we're rich in spirit.

Anna doesn't post pics of the entire family very often but she posted the photo below after church services on Sunday:

"This photo definitely belongs in the expectation vs. reality filebut we had fun trying to take a family pic at church today," she captioned the photo.

"Hope yall have had a wonderful Sunday!"

With the little one up front picking his nose, this is probably not the kind of pic that Anna would have posted under normal circumstances (the Duggars aren't known for their sense of humor).

But she's desperate to do a little image re-building these days following the latest humiliation

Of course, as many commenters have pointed out, the photo was very conspicuously not taken outside Josh and Anna's home.

In fact, Anna has never posted the exterior of their warehouse -- it seems she might not be ready for that particular conversation.

We can't say we blame her.

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Anna Duggar Lashes Out: Yes, We Live In a Storage Shed! But We're Happy! - The Hollywood Gossip

Similarly people will do big things in an attempt to keep love alive. They will plan and hold huge, expensive weddings and elaborate honeymoons. They will go on big trips or at least an expensive dinner for their anniversary. And then in between the big, elaborate, and fancy, they will do very little to keep love alive.

Much like it doesnt make sense to install a water heater and not keep the pilot light lit, it doesnt make sense to do everything people do to get married, including changing names, addresses, adding kids and adding debt, to simply not keep the simple light of passion alive. Especially when that is the easy step.

I will be honest that Im not the best at paying my gas bill. Although Ive never had it shut off from lack of payment, it has been late a few times as I get busy doing other things and forget to pay my bill. Luckily, theres a due date or I may not ever pay it at all.

Similar to me needing to take the time to pay my bill to keep the flame on, we all must take the time to do the small things to keep the flame of love alive. Each day before work I make the bed and hang the bath mat over the shower door. These very small acts of love help keep the flame lit in our relationship.

Each day my wife asks me how my daily run went. While her day would certainly go on without such information, her simply asking helps me know she cares and helps keep that little flame lit.

The great thing about keeping a little flame lit is it can be used to produce large amounts of heat. As one wisely said, You cant fan the flames of romance if you havent kept the pilot light lit.

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Keepin Love Alive: Light it Up - Scottsbluff Star Herald

In the early 1950s, two countries led the world in the development of solar hot water heater systems (SHWS): Israel and Australia.

Based on technology pioneered in California and Florida in the 20s both countries were developing integrated tank models: water is heated pipes in 2-3 sqm of dark copper plates behind glass (the absorber), that then flows to and from a tank mounted horizontally above the absorber.

As water in the absorber is heated by the sun it rises up the sloping panel into the tank, at the same time drawing down cold water into the bottom of the panel to be heated; a closed loop or thermosiphon. Simple and self-regulating, easy to manufacture, at first it appears a very elegant solution, and given the plentiful sunshine in both countries it seemed a no-brainer that this technology would be widely developed and implemented.

Fast forward 70 years: in Israel there is hardly a building that doesnt have some form of SHWS; in Australia less than 5 percent of houses have one. The big question is: if both countries started out with the same enthusiasm, technology and access to sun, why did Australia fail?

The answer is usually believed to be twofold: cheap energy and no incentives. Energy in Australia was cheap for ages, and a SHWS expensive (relative to an electric or gas storage heater). Payback periods of 6 to 8 years were considered too long; a really stupid argument, since no-one asks the payback period of a stone benchtop over laminate or a big window over a small one. Nevermind that a SHWS will continue to save money for decades, which the bench and window wont.

Another reason was a lack of government regulations or incentives to install a SHWS (as had been in Israel since the 70s). The few rebates eventually introduced were state or council-based, periodic and without mandatory installation requirements. No national co-ordination, confused information and poorly promoted (need we add that over 70 years the conservative LNP has been in power for twice the time of the ALP).

But the real failure, rarely acknowledged, was design: an integrated tank style SHWS is ugly, ungainly and difficult to install. The elegant idea of the original design was more than offset by the eventual clunkiness in appearance and the clumsiness of installation: great theory, terrible practice.No manufacturer made an effort to visually integrate a SHWS onto Australian roofs, rather the tanks were finished in bright aluminium or polished stainless steel, not coloured to match the roof. And adding insult to injury the manufacturers splashed garish signs across the entire tank; no other household product had this aggressive, not to say offensive, branding.

Add to this the impracticality of installation: north-facing roofs required just structural reinforcement, but any other direction needed extra structure AND a separate frame, uglier than the SHWS itself. The increasingly popular two storey houses also needed the SHWS craned in.In any event the plumber had to install multiple fixings to fix the panels and tank in place, and several penetrations for the hot and cold-water pipes and the booster connections. All this on our preferred terracotta or concrete tiles, getting more brittle with age, not to mention being on those fragile tiles for maintenance. Two generations of plumbers, the most expensive sub-contractor on site, became inured to the attractions of the SHWS.

Some Councils -like the then Leichhardt in Sydney - had a policy mandating a SHWS but prohibited them being visible from the street. This highlighted the contradiction facing homeowners: they wanted to be eco-conscious, but so difficult were the issues of aesthetics, efficiencies, approvals, frames and overshadowing they preferred not to install a system.But wait, theres more: in cold or frost-prone conditions the water can freeze and burst the absorber. The solutions, using a separate circuit of liquid with an antifreeze agent, or pumping warm water through on cold nights, increased the initial price and created other problems of failure. Hailstorms, common in coastal Australian cities (more than the Middle East) can wreck the panels laminated or tempered glass.

One of the most vexing problems was the booster: using electricity or gas in cloudy or rainy conditions. The booster wouldnt know when the sun was about to come out, or when the users were about to use the water, so the system defaulted to use energy to heat the water overnight in case there was early morning demand for hot water. Early morning sunshine (or owners showering late) meant the solar input would be wasted in a pre-heated tank. A later solution was to use instantaneous gas to heat only the water that was not hot enough.

Early issues were eventually resolved, but the design never suited Australian houses and conditions, and the public resisted installing them, so the potential for mass production to reduce prices was never achieved. Even more amazing, the manufacturers persisted with this design for over 40 years, spending more time seeking government rebates than looking at the design failures.Fortunately, two changes in technology improved the situation. About 20 years ago a better absorber, using evacuated tubes, that worked on a wider range of roof angles and orientations became common. The panels were still vulnerable to hail, but more efficient to eliminate the need for a bulky frame. Equally important, the tank was now separate from the panels, located on the ground and connected by a pump, where it was more easily installed and maintained, and where instantaneous gas boost could be connected.

More recently there has been an even more radical change. Hot water can now be produced by a heat pump motor. Like an AC set to heat, they are super-efficient: every kWh of energy input pumps out 4 kWh of heat (a coefficient of performance, or COP, of 4). Now if we add a PV panel system, then the energy for the heat pump, and thus the hot water, comes for free.

Technically this is a solar water heater but more efficient than the traditional types, particularly if the heat pump is set to run when the sun is out and the PVs are working, and the back-up has a COP of 4 when its not. The installation is easier: the tank and pump are on the ground near the kitchen / bathrooms, and the PVs are more easily fixed and hail resistant than the older hydronic glass panels.

Despite 70 years of innovation water heating still produces as much greenhouse gas in Australian houses as the AC we have been discussing in recent weeks. Ten years ago, when I first wrote some of this critique in Architectural Review Australia, I called for more SHWS, saying:

Australia needs a coherent program to promote solar water heating for 95% of its dwellings, particularly in widespread suburbia that has access to sunlight on almost every roof. Ten years from now, travellers arriving by plane should remark on three things: the red terracotta roofs on the houses, the blue swimming pools and the black solar water heaters that are offsetting the energy demands of the former two.

The sentiment hasnt changed, just the technology to deliver it has: the black that I so ardently wanted is now PV panels on 2.2 million homes; it needs to be linked to heat pump hot water systems, storing energy in hot water, and then the last old-style SHWS can be taken down and consigned to the Powerhouse Museum.

Tone Wheeler is principal architect at Environa Studio, Adjunct Professor at UNSW and is President of the Australian Architecture Association. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and are not held or endorsed by A+D, the AAA or UNSW. Tone does not read Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Linked In. Sanity is preserved by reading and replying only to comments addressed to [emailprotected].

Original post:
Tone on Tuesday: On Solar Water Heating - Architecture and Design

A recent survey by LightStream found that despite the coronavirus pandemic, 73% of homeowners are planning to renovate this year. And these homeowners are planning to spend big money, too the survey found homeowners plan to spend an average of $11,851 on these renovations. These numbers might sound shocking in light of the financial hardships many Americans are facing due to the pandemic, but it seems the health crisis actually mightbe the reason so many are so motivated to renovate.

As a result of COVID-19 shutdowns that closed offices, businesses, schools and more, self-isolation has forced Americans to take a much closer look at their homes, Todd Nelson, senior vice president of strategic partnerships at LightStream, said in a news release. Many have clearly decided that renovation remains the right move.

If youre one of the many homeowners whos eager to update your home this fall, these are the best renovation projects to tackle.

Last updated: Sept. 3, 2020

Fall is the perfect time to give the exterior of your home a fresh coat of paint, saidJames Watson, marketing director at Omaha Homes For Cash, which specializes in house flips and renovations.

Summer months are too hot and paint tends to get runny with humidity, he said. Depending on where you live, winter weather is not conducive to painting your house. Fall temperatures and the lower humidity tend to make it the perfect time to spruce up the outside of your house.

The cost of the project will depend on the size of your home and whether you tackle it yourself.

If you are a DIY person, you can get the job done on an average-sized house for around $1,000, and the curb appeal and wow factor alone is well worth the investment, Watson said.

Now is the best time to prep your lawn for 2021, saidBryan Clayton,CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, which helps homeowners to find a lawn service provider.

Aerate and overseed turf to make sure youll have a great looking lawn next year, he said. Fall is the absolute best time of year to do this as the temperatures are cool enough for the seed to germinate and get established for the following year.

According to HomeAdvisor, the average cost to aerate a lawn is $130 and the average cost to reseed a lawn is$964.

Clear those gutters on the roof to avoid all kinds of problems, like wood-rotting along the roofline, Clayton said. Youll be glad you did.

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Your gutters should be cleaned one to three times annually, according to HomeAdvisor. The average cost to hire a professional to clean your gutters is $157.

If you live in an area that experiences freezing temperatures during the winter, now is the time to winterize yourirrigation system and pool if you have one, Clayton said.

The average cost to winterize a sprinkler system is $81, according to HomeAdvisor. If you have a pool, expect to pay between $150 and $300 for winterization, the company said.Paying for these services now could save you money in the long run.

Failing to get this done before your first frost could cost you thousands, Clayton said.

One of the best ways to prepare your home for the winter is to check out your roof and make sure there isnt any damage to be fixed or debris that needs to be removed, saidJesse Silkoff, founder of MyRoofingPal.

If there is work to be done, fall is a good time to take care of it.

If your roof needs repair, the cost of this project will depend on the scope of the work. The average roof repair cost ranges from$353 to $1,435, with a national average of $887, HomeAdvisor reports. Small roof repairs tend to cost between$150 and $400.

When it comes to preparing your home for the winter, you want it to be draft-proof, said Andy Kolodgie, co-owner of The House Guys. It is important to check the doors, windows and chimneys for air leakage. Depending on where you discover an air leak, you should consider adding a door snake if a door has a gap, caulking windows if your windows are not sealed properly or using spray foam if there is a non-visible leak such as a dryer exhaust vent. Blocking the breeze will prevent warm air from leaking outside.

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Kolodgie also said to double-check any openings in your attic.

Most people insulate the whole attic but forgo adding insulation on top of the opening to the attic, he said. Having that 9-square-foot area insulated is a worthy task to add to your winter preparation list.

The cost of these projects ranges from $20 to $200.

These draft-proofing methods wont add value to your home, but you will save a considerable amount in energy savings during the winter months,Kolodgie said.

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Sometimes caulk just wont cut it. If your doors or windows have gotten warped, now might be a good time to replace them.

Over time, wood can swell and not fit into the window or door frame properly, said Jen Stark, founder of the gardening and home improvement blog Happy DIY Home. When this happens, drafts come into the house and your energy bill shoots up as you try to heat the house.

Replacing your windows costs around $175 to $700 per window, and doors cost around $600 for the national average, Stark said.

These improvements can pay off when it comes to selling your home, she said.

Putting in new windows and doors to seal out drafts can boost your homes value by $8,000 to $10,000, and adding new exterior doors can boost your homes value by giving your home more curb appeal, Stark said.

It can be quite costly to install solar panel arrays to power your whole home. A cheaper alternative is to install a solar-powered water heater.

The solar panels used for a heater are smaller, simpler to install and easier to remove during roof maintenance, Kolodgie said. This is essential to do before winter, as you dont want snow on your roof for installation.

A solar-powered water heater including installation costs around $4,000, Kolodgie said. This will add minimal value to your home roughly $1,000 but there is a federal tax credit for solar panels and you will save money on heating.

Replacing your HVAC filter is a small project, but a worthy one,Kolodgie said.

These are inexpensive around $10, he said. Any amount of debris trapped in the filter will cause a decrease in airflow, creating an energy deficiency.

Although its more costly than simply replacing your filter, if your HVAC system hasnt been cleaned in the past 15 years, consider getting it serviced this fall.

There is a lot of dust and debris which will slow down the flow of the air and cause heat to escape in places where it is not efficient for your home, Kolodgie said. Further, doing this will also help if you are hypoallergenic.

Servicing your HVAC will cost about $100 and could save you from an expensive repair in the winter,Kolodgie said.

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The fall is also a great time to switch over your basic thermostats to smart thermostats, Kolodgie said. You can control your heat remotely and conserve more energy while youre away from home.

A smart thermostat such as the Google Nest or ecobee will cost you $200 and add the full value back into your home if you plan to sell before your version becomes outdated,Kolodgie said.

This is the ideal time to convert your garage into a functional living space that works for you, said David Cusick, chief strategy officer at House Method. With remote work more popular than ever and commuting becoming a thing of the past, homeowners are also looking to add more space as they live through lockdowns and quarantines. The garage is a great place to start.

Cusick said the cost will depend on the scope of the project. If you want to convert your garage into a full guest house with a kitchenette and bathroom, the project could cost up to $30,000. If it makes more sense for your needs to convert your garage into an office space, expect to spend around $5,000.

This kind of project can be costly and may require regulatory checks from your local building authority, he said. However, adding this extra space could increase your homes value by 10-15%. Moreover, you can rent out the space or put it on Airbnb to start making money immediately after the projects completion.

Find Out:What Homes Will Be Worth in Your State by the End of 2020

The fall and winter are filled with great food and drinks in the kitchen, so why not spend some time updating your cabinets and countertops? saidChris Gold, CEO and owner of Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis.

Not only will this project make your home more inviting for holiday guests, but it can increase the resale value of your home when its time to sell.

As a realtor, I know how much attention is put on the kitchen cabinets when showing a house, Gold said. If they are outdated or ugly, people instantly start talking about how much money and time it will take to replace them. If they are modern and new, people get excited and rave about how much they love them.

Gold recommends replacing cabinets and countertops, rather than just painting them, even though this is a bigger undertaking.

Sometimes [paint] can help, but most times it honestly makes them look worse, he said.

Gold said kitchen cabinets typically cost between $200 and $600 per linear foot, and the entire project is likely to cost between $4,000 and $6,000.

An unfinished or underused basement can be transformed into an entertainment space for your family and now is the time to take on this project, said Romana King, real estate expert and director of content for Zolo,Canadas largest independent brokerage.

As the days get shorter and the weather gets wetter and colder, we are all going to end up staying inside for longer and longer periods, she said. To help, homeowners should consider creating a dedicated entertainment zone such as a family room, den or multi-use playroom.

King said a basement is often the ideal area to create this space.

King acknowledged that this could be a major and expensive undertaking she estimated it will cost $60,000 to $70,000 but said the investment could be well worth it.

Homeowners will have the benefit of a communal gathering space where the family can either relax or let off steam, and between 70% to 75% of the costs will be recouped with the added value to the home, she said.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 13 Best Home Improvement Projects To Tackle This Fall

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13 Best Home Improvement Projects To Tackle This Fall - Yahoo Finance

Growing a great lawn should be like rolling down a hill. A deep green, grassy hill.

Easy.

Many readers will want to turn their attention to the grass growing under their feet, as chances are, it has not been growing much until recently. Our long, hot and dry summer was not exactly grass-growing friendly.

Once again, we come to the rescue.

The best lawn-growing weather of the season is now.

Even if it is dry where you live, there are some things that are consistent every September. Days get shorter, nighttime dew is heavy and generally, our evenings are cooler than they were just a month ago.

We grow great grass in many parts of Canada because we can. Which is why sod growing is a massive business.

Thickening an established lawn or starting a new one is much easier now than in spring.

Let us help you get started:

If weeds predominate, brown areas have occurred during the drought or bare patches appear for whatever reason (dog urine?) start by spreading a 6 to 8 cm layer of lawn soil or triple mix over the area. Rake smooth. Spread quality lawn seed at the rate of 1 kg over 100 m2 (2lb/1,000 ft2). Rake smooth again. Step on it or use a lawn roller, 1/3 full of water, to firm the seed and soil together. Water thoroughly.

Follow the same advice, above, but be sure the area is weed free before you sow the new seed. Double the seed rate.

Len Cullen, Marks dad and Bens grandpa, used to say that you could lay sod upside down in September and it would still grow. Mark knows this is true. Neither one of us recommend that you try it. Sod costs much more per sq. metre than seed but it is instant and this time of year it puts down roots in a hurry. Lay sod on a bed of quality triple mix or lawn soil that is at least 8 to 10 cm thick. The thicker the good soil, the better-quality grass you will grow over the long haul.

It drives us crazy to see fall lawn food featured for sale this time of year. Retailers are responding to consumer demand for the product in September. We are all for The customer is always right mantra. But this time, they are wrong. The best time of the year to fertilize your lawn is in late autumn, like October or early November. A couple of weeks before the snow flies. The reason for this late application of lawn food is to build up the natural sugars in the roots of the grass plants, boosting grass plant nutrients in preparation for the long winter ahead. Yes, winter is coming. But not for three or four months, so do not get your woolly socks out just yet.

Your lawn responds best to being cut at 7 to 9 cm high (two-and-a-half to three inches). The higher the better, as the longer the grass blades, the deeper the roots. And the deeper the roots, the more tolerant your lawn is of drought, overwatering, snow mold and disease.

Use a mulching mower if you possibly can. Returning the grass blades to the root zone of grass plants is what Mother Nature intended (yes, her again).

Speaking of Mother Nature therein is the point of the whole thing. We do not control the weather or the changing of the seasons. Nature provides all kinds of cues for us to do various jobs around the garden and right now, all the signs point to your lawn.

Someday, perhaps, humans will control the tilt of the Earth, day length and weather patterns. But until then the best advice we can give you is to follow natures lead.

Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster, tree advocate and member of the Order of Canada. His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen.com, @markcullengardening, and on Facebook.

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GREENFILE: The best lawn-growing weather of the season is now - The Journal Pioneer