Category: Guest Blog Posts

Tornadoes and Your Home: Five Measures To Prepare Your House

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Tornadoes cause terrible devastation across the United States every year. People are left homeless, and millions of dollars in damage is sustained. While all of the preparation in the world won’t save a home from a direct hit by an EF 5 tornado, there are ways to protect a home from damage from smaller tornadoes or from the wind damage from tornadoes that pass near the area of a home.

Foundation Anchors

When building a new home in an area that is prone to a high incidence of tornadoes, it is definitely worth the cost to install foundation anchors. Foundation anchors are bolts that are placed in the concrete foundation that come up through the frame of the home anchoring to the foundation. These bolts should be placed every four feet around the home’s perimeter.

Secure Roof Sheathing

If a home is in a tornado area, the roof sheathing material should be secured to a greater extent than is some other areas of the country. Along the rafters, nails should be spaced in the roofing plywood at six inch intervals. Nails should be placed at twelve inch intervals throughout the rest of the roof.

Use Hurricane Clips

In many homes, the roof is secured to the frame of the home by nails. This is weak protection for the roof in case of damaging winds. Hurricane clips attach to the frame of the house and the rafters. They provide ten times greater protection for the roof in the event of tornadic strength winds.

Secure Windows

In the event of a tornado, the winds will hurl debris for many yards at a high rate of speed. This flying debris can cause devastating damage and it can easily smash through ordinary windows endangering lives and causing damage to the interior of the home. Some companies now manufacture home windows that are capable of withstanding the force of tornadic winds generated by an EF 3 tornado. A company can provide a great deal of helpful information about tornado-safe window replacement.

Build a Safe Room

A basement or an underground shelter is the safest place to be in the event of a tornado. However, not every home has the luxury of having this type of safety. Homeowners can build a tornado shelter in their homes that will withstand a powerful tornado. These shelters are constructed using steel-reinforced concrete walls with reinforced steel doors.

These are just a few of the measures that homeowners can take to make their home safer in tornado country. Always heed warnings in the area, and take proper precaution.

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Home Inspection 101: How to Make Your Home Flood Resistant

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

There is plenty of damage that can be done to a home by even minor floods. People often underestimate the necessity of preparing their homes to resist flooding until it is too late. However, you can arm yourself with the information needed to secure your home from one of mother nature’s most sudden and dangerous actions. When you have the proper protection, you can count on avoiding rotting wood, ruined carpets, hardwood floors, or dangerous mold.

From the Ground Up

Elevating the home is one of the most effective ways to provide it with protection from flooding. When you elevate a house, it is recommended that you alter the base of the home as well for further protection. Fills or open foundations are ideal ways to keep your home steady while still allowing floodwaters to pass beneath them. For most homes, crawl-space construction presents the most viable option, utilizing piers to get the job done. Should this method not be available to you, explore the options that exist with pile construction. Where insurance for flood damage is concerned, this is the only option for protection that will actually lower your premiums.

Prepare From Every Angle

You can guard your home against flood waters by putting barriers around the structure. The earth itself, or masonry and steel walls can be very effective when it comes to redirecting floodwaters away from the home. This technique is most effective in shallow flooding plains. Small levees are easy to construct and can typically be made from local materials at a small cost. This approach can also protect more than one building. In urban areas, floodwalls can be constructed that take up less room when property space is limited.

Sealed to Satisfaction

Ensuring that your home or building is watertight goes a long way in offering protection. Known as dry proofing, this technique takes advantage of many different sealing techniques. Walls should be coated using specially designed compounds. Additionally, when floods are about to strike, vents and other exterior opening should be temporarily closed off and blocked by sandbags. However, according to Orlando water removal specialists, this technique should only be used for buildings that employ sound, slab foundations that are completely free of cracks and other types of damage.

Reduce Potential Damages

The home can also be protected against the need for water removal by engaging in what is know as wet-flood proofing. This technique is used to limit the damage done by flooding once the ground becomes saturated. Basements and below-ground areas can crack and buckle under underwater pressure. This method actually allows the water into underground areas to reduce the pressure while also replacing wood construction with materials such as masonry work that will not be damaged by the water.

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Landlord Money-Saving Maintenance Tips

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Being a landlord means having a lot to do on your plate. A lot of people who’ve never worked in this line of business often think the job of a landlord is to sit at home, cozily raking rent money his way. The truth can be quite different however, as there are many small tasks that need the attention of a landlord, otherwise the rental property may indeed suffer serious issues. The following tips will give you the basics of what you can expect when it comes to maintenance:

  • Exterminate!

You don’t have to think twice when it comes to pests and insects of all sorts. You know they’ll be a problem the moment they show up, so you must make sure you keep them contained and eliminated as quickly as possible, before they spread to the rest of the property or other homes or apartments. You should leave the task to a professional exterminator checking for any signs of pests on a three month period just in case.

  • Water damage checks

You should check for leaks on a rainy day at best, as this will allow you to see the leaks happen in real time, giving you a chance to note where they are for future fixes. You could also do that when the snow and ice of winter start melting and giving way to spring thaw. You should make sure you check any weak spots around roofs, walls and ceilings. You can also look under the sinks and water heaters for any possible leaks. The damage from humidity and water logging can be catastrophic, depending on the nature of the home itself, so pay heed to the signs at all times.

  • Check the grout and caulking

As time goes by, the grout between bathroom and kitchen tiles will crack, thus allowing moisture to sneak in and under the surface. You should always make sure you fix any holes or cracks by replacing the entirety of the grout and caulking in the affected area, so you will prevent possible water damage.

  • Testing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

These devices must be checked on a regular basis to ensure they are in working order and capable of protecting the home in question. You should set up a testing schedule, such as the beginning of each month or the day of rent collection to inspect them. You should never underestimate the importance of these detectors, as they save lives and help prevent damage to the property and legal action. Detectors have lifespans, however, such as five years for CO detectors and ten years for smoke detectors, so change them if necessary.

  • Changing air conditioning filters

You should make sure you do that as well on a semi-annual basis. This will help keep the system working at top efficiency, saving money and the health of your tenants. Regular check-ups and replacements will ensure the air ducts are not contaminated, keeping them free from debris and insects.

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Quick Repairs: Five Home Projects You Can Get Done This Weekend

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

With a few basic tools and a little ingenuity, there are numerous home improvement projects that virtually anyone may complete within the space of a weekend. Transform a room indoors, increase storage, or make a backyard more inviting with one of these simple projects.

Create a Mudroom

Homeowners do not need much money or space to convert a foyer, or open wall into an area that not only provides storage space but also makes dressing or undressing outdoors more convenient. Paint, panel, or add trim to the wall, which differentiates the area from the rest of the home. Install hooks for backpacks, coats, and hats. Add a wall shelf for miscellaneous items. Keep rainy or winter weather gear out of sight with bins or baskets. Creative individuals might take the time to build a bench/box with hinged lid for storage. Add mats for wet footwear.

Face lift for the Kitchen

Remove all of the doors and the drawers from the cabinets. Depending on whether deciding to paint or stain the exteriors, doors, drawers and cabinet fronts, then require sanding or stripping. Damp wipe and dry the surfaces. Apply the paint or stain of choice. After staining, apply a suitable sealant. Replace old hardware as desired.

Spruce up the Bathroom

Besides a coat of paint, homeowners might install a new mirror or medicine chest and new light fixtures. If desired, splurge and add newer, more stylish faucets and a matching shower head. Just replacing old and outdated fixtures can bring new life into your bathroom without much cost to you.

Install Wood Flooring

Modern wood flooring comes in a variety of patterns and colors that easily enhance or change the appearance of any room. The quick snap-together design of newer products makes installation a breeze, and merely requires basic measuring and cutting tools to complete the project. If not planning on removing molding before floor installation, complete the look with shoe molding. While shopping for the flooring, purchase the recommended underlayment material as well.

Build a Planter/Trellis

Beautify a backyard space by constructing a simple combination planter box/trellis this spring, or summer. Use cedar, teak, or pressure-treated lumber for the box base. Cover the box and build the trellis from decorative bamboo. Depending on the size of your creation, place the planter against an exterior wall, or use it to create a privacy screen.

Before starting your weekend project, make sure that you have the tools to do the job.

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Home Maintenance: Things You Should Be Checking During The Winter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Home maintenance is extremely important year-round, but even more so during the winter months. With winter comes cold, freezing weather, snow, ice, and more that can cause additional damage to different areas of your home. By taking the necessary precautions and ensuring that you have done maintenance to your home before winter hits, you will be avoiding different common problems that may occur simply due to the weather Below are a few different things that you should be checking in your home either during or before winter to ensure that you will be able to live comfortably throughout the season with little to no issues.

Heating System Tune-Ups

The last thing that you will want to happen during the winter is for your heating system to stop working correctly. This may leave you with a cold house that can be dangerous when temperatures reach freezing levels. Take the proper home maintenance steps and take advantage of heating system tune-ups from professional HVAC technicians who know what they are doing. A tune-up includes a complete check of your furnace or heat pump to ensure that everything is clean and working properly. It also determines if there is any carbon monoxide leakage. This standard maintenance tip is highly important during the winter.

Roof Repairs

Before winter, you will want to make your way up onto the roof to determine if any repairs will need to be made. Some things that you should look for include loose or missing shingles. When snow, ice and freezing rain occur during winter, you may be dealing with major roof leaks and additional damage if the necessary maintenance is not done in advance. Other roofing tips include removing any leaves, pine needles and debris that can hold extra moisture on the roof during the winter. Those who have taken advantage of a real estate warranty may be able to receive their major repairs for cheaper than the regular going rate.

Cleaning the Gutters

Another part of your home that you will want to check before or during winter are the gutters. If your gutters are backed up and full of debris such as leaves, they may cause leaks within your home and ice dams to occur when the snow and rain simply have nowhere to go. Roofing, siding and wood trim can be damaged by blocked gutters. Regularly clean out your gutters and inspect for any damage to avoid problems in the winter.

Outdoor Faucets

Check to ensure that your outdoor faucets are turned off during the winter. While they may not leaking water, that does not always mean that they are turned off completely. Un-drained water in your pipes can lead to the water freezing as temperatures drop. This can cause the pipes to burst as the ice expands within them. Simply turn off the water valve in your home and disconnect your garden hose to check for remaining water and to allow it to drain from the faucet with ease.

Air Leaks and Insulation

If your home is prone to lots of icicles and ice dams, you will want to take the necessary precautions to prevent water from leaking into your home. Hire a professional to check for and to repair any air leaks found around your home and insufficient insulation within the attic of the household. Insufficient insulation can lead to ice dams which can cause major problems during the cold winter months.

Other home maintenance tips for the winter include reversing your ceiling fans, caulking around windows and doors, and diverting water away from your home. By taking advantage of these tips, your home is sure to be in tip-top shape this winter season.

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