The Value of Roof Inspections

Similar to routine car maintenance checkups, scheduling a roof inspection is an important part of prolonging the life of your roof. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t schedule routine roof inspections as they do for their cars.

It’s not necessary to have annual roof inspections performed, but it is recommended to have it done every two to three years to make sure it’s in good shape. Roofs are one of the most expensive repairs homeowners make and a new roof costs thousands. That’s why it’s important to make it last as long as possible.

Why is a Roof Inspection Necessary?

Roof inspections act as a form of preventative care. Roofing contractors typically offer them for free as a way to get more work. What’s important is that you find a trusted contractor who won’t try to create work for themselves when problems don’t actually exist. Also, make sure they’re licensed.

Regardless of your location, roofs are exposed to a lot of different weather conditions. Whether it’s heavy rain, hail, snow, wind, or hot and cold temperatures, roofs take quite a beating throughout the year.

Homeowners living in areas prone to receiving tornadoes and hurricanes should definitely make sure their roofs are in good shape prior to and after a big storm hits. An inspection before a storm will help prevent more damage from occurring. If there are leaks or damaged shingles and you haven’t noticed, a big storm will certainly expose them and by then it’s too late. Additional damage has occurred and the price to fix it has climbed.

Getting a roof inspection is a good idea if you’re considering repairs or installing a new roof. It’s crucial that you don’t just take the advice of a single contractor. Gather the opinions of several before making any final decisions.

Common Problems with Roofs

Roofs may look fine to the average homeowner, but a lot of problems that arise with roofs happen below the surface. Some of the most common problems associated with roofs include:

  • Leaks and holes
  • Ripped or missing shingles
  • Roof discoloration and deterioration
  • Loose or damaged flashing
  • Depressions that cause water collection

What an Inspection Should Include

A thorough roof inspection should take some time. Make sure the contractor walks around the home, on top of the roof, inside the home, and checks inside the attic. Some contractors have special equipment and may take pictures as part of the inspection. Ask what they plan to do so you know what to expect.

Routine roof inspections help determine the structure of the roof, its projected life span, and whether repairs need to be made. Inspectors should be able to detect damage from storms or branches, areas susceptible to leaks, shingles that need repairing, and the overall structure and function of the roof.

If it’s been a few years since your last roof inspection, consider scheduling one as soon as possible. Don’t wait for the next big storm to hit. Treat it as preventative care and you’ll likely avoid those costly repairs in the future. Once again roof inspections are usually free so it doesn’t hurt to have your property checked out.

Chad Siemer writes about a number of home improvement topics for several websites, including Keeping You Dry Roofing.

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Lesser Known Tips To Help You Sell Your Home

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Tidy your home, move some of the clutter away and always keep your home looking ‘show-room-ready’ on the off chance that someone will turn up for a last-minute viewing. These are very common tips you’re told from the very start when you first decide to pack up and sell your home. But what about the tricks you don’t get to hear about so much? We’ve uncovered some lesser-known, yet invaluable house selling tips you may not have come across before.

Learn Which Rooms Sell

What’s the most important and saleable room in the house? That’s right, it’s your kitchen! A remodel of your kitchen will work wonders on your selling potential and it doesn’t have to cost you the earth. Look into updating the cabinet doors, or freshen up the room with a lick of paint. Think about how you can make it look more spacious. Buyers know themselves how expensive a kitchen can be to re-decorate, so if they see yours and hate it; it could knock thousands off their offer.

Build up some interest

Imagine that you’ve seen a rail of beautiful coats in a sale, but no one else seems interested – would you buy one? Maybe.  But you can’t say it wouldn’t cross your mind as to why no one else is taking an interest. Buying a house is much the same thing, except on a much bigger scale. With houses, buyers are all vying for the same types of property, but only one person can get each house. Competition is fierce, so you need to make sure your house is the main contender. Consider asking your friend to pop over while you have another visitor round, to pretend they’re interested in buying it. Build up a ‘buzz’ around your house, and don’t forget about marketing it yourself online.

Lighting

Lighting is far too often overlooked when it should be one of the most important house-selling considerations. How a buyer sees your home in that one quick nip around, is how they will envisage their lives in the property every day. No one wants to walk into a dingy house – no matter how tidy it is! Let as much sunshine in as you can. Keep the blinds up, turn the light around to put its focus in the center of the room, or even change some light bulbs to increase the wattage. These are some quick fixes you can take into account, but if you want to make a real difference – consider investing in some stylish lighting options. It doesn’t cost much and will be well worth the investment in the long run!
It’s the little things that count so try to think outside the box. Don’t just look at furnishings and the general look of the house either, check-in the nooks and crannies to see if you can spot anything that a potential buyer might not like – because this is what they’ll be doing too!

If you have any other lesser-known tips for selling houses in Orlando, be so kind as to share the juicy details in the comments section below.

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Organize your kitchen once and for all

No matter whether you are moving to a new place, remodeling the old or just want to redecorate things in your old kitchen you should finally put everything in its place, you’ll benefit from our few tips on how to successfully do it. In fact, as you already know, good preparation is half the work, and beautifully arranged things in the kitchen will attract you to cook more delicious and hot meals. Therefore, let’s go.

Throw or store everything you do not need

That is, take out all the stuff from the kitchen cabinets and pantries. What has not been used for years and you do not intend to use give to relatives and friends, donate to the Red Cross or store it in a rented storage unit. Admit it – when was the last time you used that old toaster and what on Earth do you need your two water cookers for?

Replace things that do not work

Electric stove for tea is in its place, but you have not used it for months because it just does not cook properly? Then it’s time to take them to get repaired or simply discard. If you really want to give it to get repaired, do it as soon as possible because you do not want it to take up space for another half year, and not be used.

Put similar things in the same place

Let the pan be placed with pans, pots with pots, plates with plates. This will all help you keep track of your dishes and they will be easily accessible in the heat of cooking.

Put the things you use often in places where it is easy to get to them

If you push them somewhere behind the shelves or even cluttered with other things, it is certain that you will forget about them and not use them, or you’ll go crazy every time you try to take them out from under the pile of other things. What you really need is to have everything you need at your fingertips.

Your working surface should be free

This part of the kitchen is very important, almost everything from chopping, mixing, and serving up dishes is done there. It is best for the cooking surface to be free, with no objects which are meant to be on it.

And certainly do not forget

Have a place to write notes about what to buy. For example, it can be a binary block with a magnet that you can hang on the refrigerator and you’ll be able to write household items that need to be purchased.

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The Eternal Debate: Should You Repair or Replace Your Roof?

Have you ever taken a good hard look at the state of your roof recently? Chances are, most people would check up on it only when leaks and considerable damage have already taken their toll.

In ideal conditions, roofs should be able to reach the end of their expected life spans without much damage. But as real-life goes, our roofs are constantly subjected to water damage, intense winds, and the risk of falling tree limbs. This kind of beating and 24/7 exposure to the harsh elements is enough reason why we need to inspect your roof every now and then.

What To Look Out For

Here are some of the things to look out for when inspecting your roof:

1. Damaged or missing shingles
2. Sagging roof deck
3. Signs of rot and mold, algae growth
4. Water leaks and trails
5. Visible holes

The decision on whether to repair or replace your roof is dependent on a number of factors. The first thing to consider is your budget. Can you afford to have your roof replaced? If your roof is less than two decades old, it is highly recommended to do repairs first, especially if the damage is not that significant. Minor repairs are often much cheaper and easier to manage.

You should also ask yourself, “How long do I plan on keeping this home?” The age of your current roof should be able to guide you on this. According to Elite Homes, roof shingles made out of asphalt can last anywhere from 15 to 30 years, while those made out of wood can last up to 30 – 50 years. Roofs made out of more durable materials metal, steel, tin, and aluminum can last at least fifty years.

Another important consideration is your future intent on selling your house. While replacing damaged or missing shingles with new ones is a relatively easy process, finding new shingles or tiles that perfectly match the old ones can be quite a challenge (unless you have some leftover shingles left from the previous roofing job). Mismatched shingles or tiles will look odd and can affect its appeal to future buyers.

Getting a New Roof

In some cases, replacing an old roof with a new one will be a more practical option, instead of settling for regular minor repairs. As an article on Bob Vila.com has pointed out, this decision is also dependent on the state of your current roof, the climate in your area, and the susceptibility of your house to hurricanes, typhoons, and other damaging events.

If ever you’ve decided on getting a new roof, you need to figure out if you need to tear off the old roof and install the new one in its place, or if you can just simply layer the new roof over the existing one. Laying a new roof over the old one is easier and cheaper, but some communities have rules in place regarding the number of roof layers that a house can have. For example, the International Residential Code limits only two roof applications for a house. It’s best to know these kinds of limitations first and requirements before starting on a re-roofing project.

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What To Do With Post-Owner Home Furnishing

Due to the high level of complexity of every home move, sellers are sometimes unable to handle everything. Once in a while, they will leave things behind in good conscience. As the current owner, how can you refuse? More than that, you have to understand even the smallest piece of home equipment makes a huge difference in the short-term improvement of your new property.

It is within your best interest to start upgrading and you are advised to begin as soon as you receive the legal formal right to inhabit the property. But sometimes there are twists and plans are difficult to keep. For example, you may be urged to transfer partial content of your old furniture to your new property, assuming signing up for the deal and receiving ownership won’t be opposed. In that case, speak to the removal company you already hired to redirect you to a selected suggestion of storage services, if they themselves do not support such a feature.

If you ask what kind of furnishing may be left behind, place yourself in the position of the seller, on one condition. You have to imagine you’re in a hurry, in excess or out of space, on a budget, on a time budget, or all of these conditions combined. Which of the pieces will you take and which will you leave behind? It’s close to reason that those that stay behind would presumingly be old and, in a way, way out of condition.

Should this situation ever occur, here is what you need to do? First of all, look at a property schematic. How many rooms are there and which is the one you will use the most? While so, one of the remaining rooms will temporarily be out of order. This is what you can afford as the closest thing to a storage room, in the absence of another plan, of course. Don’t bother cleaning or arranging anything. If any of the things that will be stored there need special handling, that’s the only excuse for spending your energy in excess. It’s okay to leave them just lying there as long as you like. After all, this is home.

Think about your location among populated ground, such as the cities. Location is key to determining proximate resources, possibilities that might come in handy upon need. For instance, if you live in a central area such as Finsbury, you might notice ownership doesn’t change much. Why? For once, this is a mid-city, not to mention a mid-capital, location. Rent and sale rates here are crazy. You might also expect other components of existence here to be sky-high and the same. Except for the service sector. On this occasion, the only possible help you might ask for derives from wanting to relocate swiftly. If that’s true, try out the removal services in Finsbury. They, as well as many other services within the chain, are to remain strictly affordable all across city territory. It’s the same with other services, like buyout centers. Guess what? You’re in the middle of the city. There are such all around!

When we mention furnishing, this isn’t only about wooden furniture craft. We are modern generations and what kind of home doesn’t have technology in it? Although previous owners will rarely leave anything mechanical behind, it’s possible to find things like old metal ovens, kitchen appliances, and other gathering rust and dust. Let me share with you a little secret. Do you recall what a brand new fridge or washing machine looks like? Precisely. On the outside, it probably sparkles. What you don’t know is that the biggest mass manufacturers produce their products with an unrecorded and undocumented expiry period.

This is a sales-marketing strategy that serves many purposes. In order to produce a product that has a short life, they don’t use microscopic chips that short-circuit the product’s functionality, therefore sabotaging its performance. They simply use cheap materials. This cuts down tremendously on raw material expenses. However, since the products have a short life, new designs are in demand, which forces customers to purchase the new improved versions. The cycle is endless. This technique multiplies profits several times over while passing undetected through the nets of legality. Usually, you won’t hear this anywhere because it’s kept a manufacturers’ secret, and any attempts to formalize it has been secretly pursued and destroyed.

As you can see, that trick has only been around since the beginning of large corporate branding and mass production, which means older products are therefore unaffected. Guess what? Some twenty-year-old ovens might easily outperform today’s creations. Is the equipment broken and not working? Worry not! Simply teach yourself to reverse-engineer basic household technology and skip the expiration date part. Finally, if you can’t even do that, simply sell the part or disassemble the whole thing and keep the ones that work properly.

The same goes for any leftover furniture. Use your imagination. Read guides and find inspiration to make custom creations of your own. If you don’t actually need a piece of furniture, but it happens to be in good shape, keep it and sell it shortly after. You won’t profit much but that’s the best it’s gonna get.

Household appliances are the most common things to abandon, like a hanger. It’s either they’re spacious but less than useful or simply dead weight. Once again, just like for the furniture explanation above, your call what to do with them. Either sell, keep and use, or modify/reverse-engineer. Make sure you have space in the storage room for these as they tend to be quite the nuisance just lying there in random places of your property.

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