Exterior and Interior Home Maintenance Check Points for Spring

Along with warm weather comes the eyesore of winter wear and tear on your home. Before it is time to plant your flowers and trim your shrubs, take a closer look at the exterior elements of your home. Tuck pointing – or the lack there of – is something that I noticed this season on my own home. When it comes to expansion and contraction, cement feels all the pain. Think of pothole season.

This spring I am working on an exterior home checklist. It may help those of you who don’t know quite how to deal with handyman issues. If you are not capable of doing these things yourself, hire a professional to help. Ask a neighbor for a recommendation. There is nothing worse than feeling used and abused by a handyman!

Hopefully this checklist will assist you in when you are hiring help:

• Check cement for cracks. Temperature changes can implement cracks. Simple cement caulk can mend smaller cracks.
• Use sealants to protect decks, porches, railings and fences from the blistering sun and heat. This also improves their appearance.
• Install ceiling fans to circulate cooler air and help reduce air conditioning costs.
• Clear outdoor drains of debris.
• Clean fireplaces and chimneys using a professional chimney sweep.
• Inspect the roof for wear and tear.
• Service AC unit – coolant levels should be checked.
• Inspect basement and crawlspaces for water damage.
• Check and maintain indoor/outdoor plumbing. Extreme temperatures can cause leaks.
• Evaluate insulation within your home and replace if necessary.
• Clean clothes dryer exhaust duct, damper, and the space under the dryer.
• Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Change batteries in smoke detectors.
• Clean lights and glass fixtures, especially on outdoor lights. Keeping these clean will ensure optimum light output.

The good news is that although you may have “Spring Fever” now, if you follow a few steps on the list above I can assure you that you will have a happier, longer and more relaxing summer!

What are your Spring cleaning tips? Is there anything I missed that you feel is vital to check and keep up on?

How to Pick Your Drywall

If you have been reading my articles, you may have discovered by now that I am a bit of a “do-it-yourself-er.” I have had experience in selecting drywall in my professional life and now in my own bathroom. The difference is now I get to hang it myself!

My husband and I had some difficulty with a leak in our chimney, which caused some semi-severe water damage to a bathroom in our home. Selecting building materials can be challenging if you are not sure what to purchase. Drywall comes in all different thicknesses, sheet sizes and variations of paper components.

I discovered this wonderful product that worked perfectly for the situation that we had with the water damage. Typically, the drywall panels have a thick-paper wrapping that protects the gypsum core from impact and abrasion damage. But the paper readily absorbs water and can transmit it to the gypsum inside the panel. When this happens, the panel loses its rigidity and either falls apart or it becomes very mushy. For example, the drywall used around this utility sink should have been the special water-resistant drywall. Instead, the homeowner has had to initiate damage control by sealing the peeling-paint spots on the wall with clear urethane.

Green backerboard drywall has been in use for the past 25 years and many manufacturers have their own take on the components used to create the product. We were lucky enough to have time to research as we tore out the existing plaster months ago to allow the wall cavity to dry out as much as possible. We found this product to use and my oh my was I happy! Not only was it going to resist the spread of a mildew problem, it was light weight for lifting and installing overhead on the ceiling.

1/2″ Gold Bond® BRAND XP® Gypsum Board with Sporgard ™ was developed as an improved moisture resistant board offering the same advantages of a traditional moisture resistant board with added mold resistance in the core and paper. XP Gypsum Board panels consist of a specially treated, fire resistant, gypsum core encased in a heavy mold/mildew/moisture resistant, 100% recycled, purple paper on the face side and a heavy, mold/mildew/moisture resistant, 100% recycled, gray paper on the back side.

I highly recommend considering this type of drywall in rooms that contain plumbing fixtures: bathrooms, utility rooms, laundry rooms, kitchens etc.

Next, it is time for installation!

Mold Remediation: First steps to recovery before it even happens

I may not be a disaster recovery specialist, but I do know a few things when it comes to water damage. The mainstay statement that I will never forget is that water takes the path of least resistance. Yes, it can be an absolute nightmare. I remember my very first attempt on a job site that had suffered severe water damage during a flood. I took one look at the disaster and though “Where do you begin?”

If you have experienced a basement flood or maybe even a cracked foundation that suddenly creates a new faucet in your home that you can’t turn off, run! The flood gates have officially opened! Guess what? The worst part is that the towels and a mop are only the beginning to the multiple steps in taking care of the problem.

I learned my lesson the hard way when my husband and I had the pleasure of dealing with this animal (also known as water) in our basement. I had gone downstairs to take clothes out of the dryer before going to work that rainy morning. I suddenly felt cold, wet feet and immediately got chills up my spine.

I HIGHLY recommend that everyone who is reading this take a trip to the hardware store this weekend and purchase a sub pump. This model is a little bit more expensive than the one we bought but it will save your life when you least expect it! The final race to the store during a downpour where sub pumps and shop-vacs are flying off the shelves is not the ideal time to get one.

Sub pump to the rescue! We sectioned off the area in our backyard where the water was sitting and attached a hose to the sub pump to take the water away from the house. Running an extension cord to it for power, we made sure that the sub pump was submerged in at least 3” of water at all times and played WAR with the Rain Gods for the rest of the day! By hooking the pump up outside (BE VERY CAREFUL MIXING ELECTRICITY AND WATER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS), we managed to keep the water from entering into our home.

The storm eventually stopped and we were able to begin clean up. Remember when I mentioned my very first experience with flood damage at a client’s home? Well, I have never been more grateful for the lessons I learned there! Here is a list of things that I recommend preparing for:

1. Those old beach towels that you never thought you would use suddenly come in extremely handy.

2. Get out that old dehumidifier and pray that it still works.

3. Oh yeah, don’t forget the shop-vac! More often than not, this water isn’t pretty so suction is extremely important!

4. Simultaneously call a professional Disaster Recovery Specialist to come out and assess the damages as well as your home owner’s insurance agent. Depending on the severity of your damage, you may consider filing a claim. Both professionals that I listed will have different numbers on their paper when it comes time to pay so be sure to compare their notes!

5. Don’t forget to tell the Disaster Recovery Specialist that you may need a series of air blowers and an air scrubber. These are key ingredients to ensure proper dry out and may need to run for days, even weeks, depending on the nature of your damage. Your insurance agent may come with a moisture detector. Make sure that someone has one on-site within 24 hours. These devices will measure the moisture content in the air as well as the affected areas on the walls, floor, furniture, etc. Be sure that you take a reading in an unaffected area in your home to compare the percentages of moisture. Take dated notes and keep record. This will help you with your claim in the end.

6. Air blowers and air scrubbers are key ingredients in salvaging your home from any mold growth. An air scrubber takes out all of the impure and excess moisture in the air, wall surface and potential mold spores that will begin to grow. Air blowers are like giant hair dryers that sit on the floor and are just as noisy (imagine having a dozen going at once).

Bottom Line is…

Every case is unique in its own way and there is no way of determining how bad it will be until it happens. But by following my steps above, hopefully you will be on a better path to recovery long before the word “MOLD” has to come into the picture.