Murray and I never go on the roof and while we often talk about upgrading our landscaping, paint or other exterior decorations, we never talk about the roof. But your roof is one of your homes most important elements and it deserves attention. 

If you're like us, read this and add a few notes to your 2012 calendar. 

Most experts agree that one of the best ways to avoid roof trouble is to inspect your roof twice a year:

In the Fall, for sun damage and in the Spring for Winter damage.

By doing this, you will be able to identify any problems early, before you start having leaks. If you have asphalt shingles (petroleum based material covered with sand-like granule), look out for a roof surface that is not smooth and the edges of the shingles are curled and warped.

Check for crooked shingles. Scan the roof for any shingles that may have been lifted by the wind or are missing altogether. Bumps can indicate that the roofing nails below have become loose. Look for bald spots where the mineral granules have worn away With tile or slate, individual tiles can chip and break and require replacement. Also check in the valleys and in the flashings around the chimney and vents.

Check for broken seals along the flashing's edges and for rust spots in the metal. Check rafters and the underside of the roof for dark wet spots. These are signs of rot and will need to be replaced. Climbing into your attic or onto your roof to inspect your home can be very dangerous. For that reason, we urge you to be very careful, be fit enough for this activity, or use the services of a professional contractor to conduct a close-up roof inspection.

I thought you might be interested in this discussion of how your home can be a powerful influence on your emotions and if it such a force, how do we create an environment that makes you happier?

Take a tour of your home. Grab a pen and a piece of paper.

Start from outside the front door and notice your mood. Are you feeling tense or relaxed? Are you happy - or anxious, angry, or depressed?

As you walk in, do you feel relief, excitement, anxiety, dread, joy, or despair? Briefly write down your feelings.

Continue to pay attention to your emotional reactions as you walk through your entire home even those places that make us feel uncomfortable. As you enter each room note how your mood changes. Perhaps the soft light and scented soap in your bathroom make you feel relaxed, but you tense up when you near the disorganized pile of unpaid bills in your home office. Maybe you love the thought of snuggling into the soft cushions on your living-room couch, but you feel gloomy as you approach the darkness of your bedroom closet.

Give each area of your home a number representing how you feel in that space.

If your breakfast nook fills you with bliss, give it a score of +10. If an area is disgusting, it gets a -10. If you feel nothing at all about a room, it gets a score of 0. If a room is okay but not great, it may get a +4, and so on. Pinpoint the problems. Go to the lowest number on your list. Imagine standing in the designated space, and scan it slowly with your mind's eye. Observe how your mood reacts to different elements of the room.

Sensory elements are everything you experience physically. Start with the visuals. How do the room's colors, lighting, and patterns make you feel?

Touch things, are your modern chairs are hard and cold, you'll never be able to fully relax in them.

Don't forget the smells and sounds.

Utility: Is it convenient to do whatever you need to do there?

Organization is about order and chaos. Is your space too tidy, or too cluttered? Either merits change.

The Fix!

Once you've identified your least favorite part of your least favorite area of your home, write out a list three adjectives that describe your less than delighted assessment of it. For example, your kitchen might be "disorganized," "cluttered," and "crowded." Perhaps a corner of your family room is "stark," "unremarkable," and "boring." Then list an antonym for each one. For instance, an obvious antonym for disorganized is organized. For boring, you might use exciting. Now think of objects would suit the space and would cure your antonym. Kitchen items that fit the word organized might be drawer dividers and ceiling-hung cookware racks might come to mind. If the antonym for a stark family room is comforting, you might want to add big pillows and homey wallpaper. Focus your attention on the objects, colors, and lighting you could use to transform the room.

Bring in one thing that makes you happy, and you'll think of ways you can complement that object. Transforming one area of your home from an emotional downer to a source of uplift has a double benefit: It cheers you up, and it reminds you of your capacity to create places that shelter you emotionally as well as physically. By recognizing that you have the power to change one small space, you can move on to make sure that your whole home brings you happiness and satisfaction.

There are plenty of ways to improve the value of your home whether you want to sell up or just invest some money into the place that you live.

Of course building an extension is one strategy, but that isn't exactly practical or affordable for the majority of people. So here are 5 alternatives which won't cost quite as much and can quickly add a little bit of value whilst at the same time making your home a little bit nicer to live in.

1. Redecorate

This is one of the simplest ways to quickly reinvigorate your home if it is looking a little bit shabby. You are never going to make a fortune just by painting a few walls of course, but if your decor is looking a little shabby, a fresh lick of paint can make your house a whole lot more salable and it will certainly pay for itself in terms of the cost.

2. Update the Exterior

Curb appeal really does matter and if the outside of the building is out of date or run down it could knock significant value off of your house, so consider putting right what you can, make sure your windows look solid, clean and are in fitting with the type of home (sash and case windows go great with cottage style homes) - replacing them if needed, make sure your guttering is all in place and consider re-painting your front door if needed.

3. Redo the Garden

Just as can the outside of your house, having a shabby and unkempt garden can cost your house a significant amount of money. Tidying up your garden doesn't have to be expensive, just having a well kept lawn and keeping it free from weeds might be all you need - but a nicely landscaped garden certainly wouldn't hurt.

4. Loft Extension

This is a slightly more expensive job, but it is certainly cheaper than a full extension and if you happen to have a good sized loft an extra bedroom can actually add significant value onto your home. The key is to use the space effectively, don't leave yourself with a house that doesn't make much sense - like having 4 bedrooms and only 1 rest room.

5. New Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your house in terms of value, and if your kitchen is looking a bit old or un-inspiring, getting a new one can often add significant value. If you are able to fit the kitchen yourself you can potentially make a profit, but even if you have to pay someone else, you will probably add enough value to offset the cost of the investment.

Installing a security system may seem like a chore, but modern technology has made the installation process much easier. In fact, the set-up process for wireless systems may only take about 30 minutes at the most.

1. Buy a Kit

Most of the best security packages provide the essential devices for keeping the house secure. These are kits available for a lower price than if someone tried to buy every individual security component.

Standard kits come with a central panel and a number of security sensors to detect movement of the windows and the doors. They don't often come with state-of-the-art devices, such as glass-break detectors or passive infrared sensors. However, they usually have most of the essential parts that people will need to protect the house.

2. Use Wireless Sensors

Most of the earliest wireless sensors were often unreliable, because they wouldn't trigger the alarm even when it detected any movement around the doors and windows. The newest alarms are much more effective, thanks to revolutionary changes in wireless technology.

Every wireless alarm system now uses a central panel as a hub to operate the wireless sensors around the house. This panel can detect the battery life for each sensor around the house. This can actually save plenty of energy around the house, because it doesn't rely on as many wired sensors as the older security system models.

Each sensor only needs a lithium ion battery. Although it may seem like people are spending more than they should spend on batteries, they are actually cutting the amount of electrical energy they use inside the house. The battery sensors also help to prevent a person's home from experiencing a brownout due to an overuse of power.

3. Use a Manual Monitoring System

Although many security providers offer a home monitoring system, many of them are unwieldy and expensive to use. Many of the automatic systems could inadvertently use the phone line to call 911 for a false alarm. This could cause people valuable money, especially if people have a bad habit of tripping the alarms and forgetting the passcode.

Thus, people should instead purchase their own home monitoring system. Although it may seem like a hassle to string all the cords to a DVR (digital video recorder), it gives people more freedom to watch everything themselves. Rather than relying on a middleman in a monitoring station, people can watch all suspicious activity around the house from their own monitor.

Q-See's monitoring kit especially provides exceptional recording capabilities. The cameras can automatically record anything that triggers the motion detectors, allowing people to replay this material. The cameras may lack microphones, but the DVR still provides a big hard drive to save all the video data for future reference.

Although a do-it-yourself security might seem like a strenuous chore to complete, it pays off it the long run. A well-produced system will provide long-lasting protection to ensure that anyone's house is secure.

Often we run out of room in our homes to store or use all our stuff. If you're like us, you are going through a continual cycle of upgrading, trading, and recycling.

So if it turns out that you don't need your garage space to house a car, truck, or other vehicle, why not consider turning that additional space into the game room you've been dreaming of?

Both parents and kids can benefit from having a place to watch movies, play video games, and even knock off a round of billiards or air hockey away from the hustle and bustle of the heart of the household (the centralized living room/kitchen/dining area). And game nights with the guys will no longer leave the whole house stinking of cigars.

So if you've got plenty of reasons to build a game room, here are a few ways you can transform your garage space to suit your needs.

For starters, you need to clear everything out and do a massive cleaning. Even if you're the first owner of your current home you've probably been using the garage to house some toxic chemicals like automotive fluids, paint, fertilizer and pesticides (just to name a few). Since you probably don't want to be breathing in lingering fumes from these items, it pays to clean up any spills and really scrub the concrete before you lay down flooring. Once you've done this preliminary work you should have an energy assessment done. The technician will tell you which areas need to be sealed in order to keep pests out and hot or cold air in.

Now you're ready to start the fun part: decorating! If this is a man-cave, you'll likely want to install masculine touches from floor to ceiling. Dark wood planks or dark-colored carpeting are a good place to start and you can make the space (which is often rather spacious) a bit cozier with a wall color that is deep and saturated. Cool colors like blues, greens, and purples will provide the relaxing atmosphere you seek.

Of course, if this is also going to be something of a play room for the kids you should opt instead for a neutral color of carpeting (that will hide stains) and a brighter wall color.

Once you've got the foundation in place it's time for the finishing touches. You'll want to add furnishing, for certain, and if you have the space, comfortable and oversized pieces are surely the way to go.

This isn't a home office; it's a place to kick back! Leather is a good choice because it is modern and manly, but also because the kids are less likely to destroy or stain it than something plush. Now you just have to add the hallmarks of a game room (a felt-covered table for poker, a flatscreen TV with plenty of game consoles hooked up, surround sound, and maybe even a bar if it's just for the bros). Make sure to include storage for all of your media, poker chips and cards, and any other paraphernalia.

Although it's not like you're going to put up a collection of Peterbilt day cab trucks for sale, along with extra parts and tools, you'll likely have to do plenty of work to turn your garage into an awesome game room. So take the time to make a plan and before you know it you'll be holding ‘em, folding ‘em, and racking them up in your brand new game room.