Feeling A Cold Draft In Your Home? Here’s Where It’s Coming From!

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As a homeowner, is there anything worse than feeling a cold draft in your house? It’s annoying for a couple of reasons – the obvious one being that you feel chilly all the time. As a result, you feel inclined to turn the heating up high, which leaves you with staggeringly high energy bills. So, that’s pretty damn irritating as well!

Why do drafts happen? It’s usually down to a breach in your home that’s letting cold air in. Firstly, ensure that all the doors and windows in your home are tightly shut. If you still feel a draft, it means there’s a problem somewhere. More often than not, it will be down to one of these things:

Windows

Yes, even when your windows are closed, drafts can still come from them. For one, many windows have a little gap that you can open or close to let air in and out. In summer, you have these open to air out your home. If they’re still open when it’s cold, you’ll feel a draft – so close them.

Now, the only possible reasons for drafts from your windows are cracks around the edges or problems with the installation. If your windows have been installed incorrectly, there could be spaces between the panes and the rubber sealant, causing a draft. Here, you will need a window replacement to seal everything up and remove the draft.

If you see gaps around the outside of the window, you can fill them up with some sealant. If this doesn’t work, replacing the windows might be necessary for this instance as well.

Doors

Likewise, drafts can come from your doors. Mainly, this is when there’s a gap between the door and the doorframe. Look at any doors leading to the outside of your home and check for these gaps. They’re shockingly common – particularly in flats – but you can easily prevent drafts.

All you need to do is purchase draft excluders that fit around the door and plug up the gaps. They’re easy to get ahold of, and you can install them yourself without any help. Now, the gaps are plugged up and no air comes through them.

Electrical sockets

That’s right, drafts might be sneaking their way through electrical sockets. Wind and cold air from outside might find their way into your home through cracks and gaps around your electrical sockets. If this is the case, use a rubber sealant to fill the gaps around the sockets, plugging them up.

If that fails, you might need to reinstall your sockets, meaning they are fitted correctly and don’t have any gaps that keep reappearing around them.

The good news is that most drafts come from one of these three things, and it’s not hard to identify the cause. Furthermore, fixing these problems is straightforward in most cases, so it’s not going to demand massive investments. Even if you do have to spend money replacing or re-installing things, think about the cash you save on your energy bills without having cold drafts in your home.

Removing Pests in a Proper Fashion: What You Need To Remember

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Pests are one of the biggest issues that we all have at some point. But many of us don’t know how to deal with the problem effectively. There are many do’s and don’ts of pest control, so it’s important you know the best methods and the order to do them in.

Try Prevention First

Many people think that they need to go in all guns blazing. But when it comes to pest control for mice or any critters, prevention is always key. For example, if you start to remove sources of water, shelter and food, this stops making your home so attractive to any pest. Make sure that you close off places where pests would like to hide. If there are spaces around your pipes, use steel wool, and cover any holes using wire mesh. Additionally, get rid of clutter. Removing things like stacks of newspapers and cardboard means that it’s not so attractive to pests.

Using Pesticides Safely

Pesticides are very effective, but you have to remember that you’ve got to keep your pets or children away from any areas where pesticides have been applied. After you take preventative steps, you need to use bait as a first line of defense. The best thing for you to do is to very lightly apply pesticides. But also remember that there are low-risk pesticides, and make sure that you use ready-to-use products where you can.

Dispose and Transfer Pesticides Properly

You need to read the labels to make sure that you are disposing of the pesticides and the containers. You should also make sure that you do not transfer pesticides to other containers. Because if you start to mix pesticides with other chemicals, this could unwittingly cause a reaction. When you are using chemicals, make sure that you are safe to use them indoors. When you are getting rid of any pest, you’ve got to follow the instructions properly. Many people get frustrated that they have an infestation at home, so they think they should apply more pesticides or pet spray, but using more is not better. If you use too much, it could endanger you and your family’s health.

When in Doubt, Call the Experts

The fact is that when we’re dealing with pests, we’ve got to know our options. One of the best things you can do is to learn about the pest you have, which will give you the options available to control them. Certain pests are attracted to certain parts of the home, and if you are unwittingly leaving out piles of newspaper and it’s like a red rag to a bull, this could mean that once you get rid of any of these items, you won’t need to go any further and use dangerous pesticides. Pest problems can be overcome, but it’s about making sure that you do your research first, and understand the best options to control them. As frustrating as it is to have pests around the home, we have to remember that a little bit of research goes a long way, and we shouldn’t let our emotions cloud our abilities to deal with the problem.

Need To Hire A Contractor? Keep These In Mind

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There are some occasions during your life when you might need to hire someone. Depending on your circumstances, that could be a real estate agent, attorney, or even a plumber. As you’ll have to hire these rarely, you mightn’t know what to look for when doing so.

You’ll need to make sure that you get the right person for the job. After all, you’ll more than likely be hiring them for something important. While you’ll naturally be worried about price, there are a few other things that you’ll need to keep in mind.

That’ll be the case whether you’re hiring an immigration lawyer or an electrician. Keeping them in mind will make sure you get the right person for the job.

What To Keep In Mind Before Hiring A Contractor Or Agency

Make Sure They Specialize In What You Need

When you’re hiring a lawyer, plumber, or someone else, you’ll be hiring them for a specific job. You’ll need to make sure that the person you hire is the best one for the job. With attorneys, for example, there are multiple legal areas to specialize in.

These can range from criminal law to financial law and more. The same can also be said for many craftspeople and pest removal specialists. Keep that in mind when you’re comparing options.

How many experiences Do They Have?

Alongside specialty, you’ll need to determine how much experience someone has. That doesn’t just mean how long they’ve been practicing their craft. It should primarily focus on how long they’ve been doing their job well.

If you look back on a person’s experience, then each of the jobs they’ve done should be high-quality. Someone with several years of experience producing amazing results could be better-recommended than someone who has a decade of terrible results.

While one might be lower-priced, it could be worth choosing the one with better results.

Check Out Their Reviews

Reviews from previous clients or customers are the most effective way of telling how high-quality a particular contractor or agency is. The people who posted these reviews shouldn’t have a reason to lie, so you’ll have an accurate rating of how someone performs.

That could be more than enough to determine whether or not you should hire them. It’ll also let you know what to expect during the process. Do the reviews mention how communicative they are, for example? Did they perform the job well?

If they didn’t, did they fix their mistakes quickly? While you can find out much of this by speaking with the person you’re considering hiring, customer reviews will be much more honest.

Wrapping Up

Depending on your circumstances, you could be in a rush to hire someone. In that case, time is paramount, and you mightn’t be able to wait too long before hiring them. If you think certain things are going to come up, it’s worth putting the effort in to compare as early as possible.

There’s a large chance that you’ll need a plumber or electrician at some point, for example. Knowing which ones are best recommended near you before you develop any issues will ensure that you can make the right choice when a problem arises.

With that, you’ll be well-prepared to hire someone when you need them.

4 Harmful Pests Found Around Homes

Pests are a common problem that many homeowners face. It is essential to be aware of the pest infestation in your home because pests can cause serious problems for you and your family’s health! This blog post will discuss four harmful pests found around homes that need to be removed.

Spiders

Spiders can be a dangerous pest, especially if you have small children running around your home. These insects can bite and cause harm to humans; even though many of them are not poisonous, you can never be too sure. Some spiders cause terrible infections, while others do not pose any threat at all. Therefore, it is crucial that you speak to a professional to work on a plan for Spider Treatment. These pests need to be removed from the house immediately because of the potential danger they pose to adults and kids alike.

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Bees And Wasps

Bees and Wasps can be very harmful to humans and can cause severe injuries if you are stung. Not only that, but bees have been known to attack when their nest is being disturbed or threatened in any way, which means they may not wait for a person’s body language before attacking.

Harmful pests are found around your home all the time. Wasps can be very dangerous to have near a house with children running about because they might get stung by them without warning causing painful swelling and an allergic reaction in some cases. Wasps and bees should be removed by a professional immediately so that not only you but also your neighbors are safe from harm’s way as well!

Snakes

Snakes are extremely dangerous and can pose a threat to adults and children. While they generally avoid contact with humans, many will strike out when cornered or feeling threatened. This applies especially to young kids who like to explore the outdoors with snakes lurking about the grass and bushes.

Most of the time, people don’t even realize they’re around until one slithers across the lawn or worse; this is why it’s so important to take action as soon as possible so you won’t find yourself in such a harrowing situation! In addition, since most snake bites happen on arms or legs, removing these pests from your home before any altercation takes place should be a high priority since, without warning, their venomous fangs could pierce through the skin, causing serious injuries!

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are one of the most annoying and dangerous pests around your home. They are known to carry dangerous diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever. Not only do they bite you, but the mosquitoes also carry the germs that can cause these deadly diseases into your bloodstream through their saliva when they take blood from humans or other animals for nourishment.

In conclusion, understanding the dangers these pests pose to your health and wellbeing is extremely important, especially since you never know when one will attack! By contacting a professional for the removal of these pests immediately will help prevent any accidents from occurring, so take action today before they become a severe problem in your home!

Converting Your Garage To A Chillout Zone?

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If you find that you don’t really need your garage to store your cars or you just find that it’s far too big for just one car, then a conversion is in the mix. Garage conversions are probably the easiest conversion of all. This Is because, unlike a loft or a living room extension, you don’t have to pull down any walls or implement the basics like a floor and lighting. Garages come semi-made and ready to be changed to a chillout zone. You have the lighting, the floor is hardy but the only things lacking are the walls and the interior. Here is what you can do.

The seating

Firstly, consider the seating for your garage. If you think that your garage is always going to be chilly, then you can consider a fabric sofa. Leather sofas are probably better because if there was a leak or flooding, they may not become as damaged as the fabric will. Not to mention, there’s far less maintenance that needs to be done with a leather sofa, than a fabric sofa which becomes smelly, wet, and dusty.

Barstools are a great option if you are going to fit some kind of station. Be it a workstation for your builds, engineering projects, or a real bar, barstools are versatile and provide affordable seating that can be easily moved around.

Building another floor?

Maybe you want your garage floor to still remain for your cars but you want a new floor to be a chillout area. Make sure you have a garage converting construction permit. The local authorities want to make sure that the garage structure will be safe, it’s being built properly, you’re using the right materials and the end state will not diminish the value of the property. You don’t want that either but local authorities don’t want homeowners to do builds that depreciate the neighborhood as a whole. The new first floor can be where you have your chillout area of sofas, air hockey, a bar, and or a cinema area for guests.

Ventilation and windows

Now that you are converting your garage into a chillout zone, you will need natural lighting. So choose where and how many windows you want for the area, so sunshine can filter in and brighten up the space. Not to mention the ventilation is now vital, so installing an HVAC unit can not only make the air nicer to breathe, because it’s less dusty, but it can also make it safer. Bear in mind you may still want your cars to be parked in the garage so any exhaust fumes to be collected and vented out of the property. Make sure the HVAC is accessible and not fitted to the ceiling where you will find it hard to adjust, clean, and maintain.

The garage is the perfect place to create a nice chillout zone, away from the noise of the home. It can be a great place to watch football games, relax with the boys and have your own private space when you want some peace and quiet.

Custom Building Tips for First Time Home Builders

A custom-built home is probably the best idea for new homeowners as it enables you to personalize the space to your liking. You can include anything and everything you have ever wanted in your dream home, from a grand piano to a hot tub. The possibilities are endless, allowing you to create your perfect oasis away from the rest of the world. Here are tips when carrying out the exercise.

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Choose the Contractor Wisely

The ease of work, quality, cost, and timeliness will depend on the contractor you choose. It is not a decision to be taken lightly due to how vital it is for your home. It would help if you exercise caution when selecting them by looking at their previous work, references, licensing, and insurance, among other things.

Doing so will prevent many problems such as dealing with construction defects, unreasonable timelines, lack of proper communication, and other issues.

Get the Necessary Permits On Time

Another reason to get a good contractor is that they will help you acquire the required documents. Construction permits, floor plans, and energy reports are necessary to enable the project to continue smoothly. The contractor may help you understand the paperwork needed to carry out the project and even organize how you’ll acquire it. It means one more task off your shoulders.

Get plans that meet all legal requirements in your state to avoid any hassles when you’re trying to move into the house. Ensure that there are no environmental or other land restrictions. You can ask for an inspection before starting the project to ensure that everything is according to law.

Put Your Ideas on Paper

You’ll need to effectively communicate your needs and preferences to end up with a custom home that portrays your style. The best way is by putting the ideas on paper through a floor plan showing the space’s layout. Do this with the contractor’s assistance for advice and also to enable them to understand your needs, style, and priorities.

You’ll need to accurately describe your requirements regarding finishing materials, colors, fixtures, and electricity, among other things. Doing so will ensure that everything is according to your liking. To expand on your idea, visit home expos, friends’ homes, and evaluate the problems faced in your current residence.

Include the Future in Your Plans

Failure to plan for your diverse needs means that you’ll have to change the home design or look for another residence at some point. Prepare for change by having extra space that quickly transforms into additional bedrooms, offices, and a gym.

The Budget

The price of building a custom home can be a headache when you don’t have a realistic budget. Consider all the costs and set some money aside for emergencies or unaccounted items. Also, consider different channels of accessing quick cash when you run out of funds.

Can you access a quick loan, borrow from friends or sell a valuable? Go through the budget with the contractor and understand the cost of each aspect of your home. As much as you may want to keep the cost low, don’t compromise on quality.

Patience, effort, and proper knowledge will enable you to achieve your dreams and, at the same time, create a great home. A custom build can be challenging to plan, but the results are worth it in the end. For people who have never gone through this process before, work with experts at every stage.

4 Home Improvement Jobs You Need to Do Before Winter Hits

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With colder months coming, it’s imperative that you look at what you will need to do to make your home comfortable for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, as the weather changes, you may not notice there may be a few issues until it’s too late, and you find yourself in a frigid house that won’t keep warmth while wreaking havoc on your electric bill.

So, to keep your home nice, warm, and cozy during the winter, there are four things that you can do that can help your home during the cold season and throughout the rest of the year.

Your Insulation

With the arrival of winter, homeowners are looking for ways to ensure that their homes stay warm for the season. Luckily, your home insulation will make a big difference in the temperature of your house and keep you warm all winter long.

Your insulation is key to preventing cold drafts from entering your home and heating energy from escaping from your house. Insulate your attic, walls, basement, and any other part of the house that has gaps around windows or vents.

In most cases, homeowners focus on insulating their attic during fall and winter. But, with the help of Crawl Space Insulation Installers In Kansas City or within your local area, you can fix a problem that will significantly impact heating costs throughout the year for the better.

Roofing Repair

Roofing repairs are one of the most important home care tasks during winter. A leaky roof can cost you a bundle because it makes your home susceptible to mold and mildew, which can lead to respiratory problems and even the growth of fungus in your living spaces.

There are many easy-to-make repairs that homeowners can do themselves. For example, one way to keep water from accumulating on your roof is to install gutters and downspouts.

However, if you’re not sure what kind of problem you have with your roof, hiring a professional may be the best way to go, as they will be able to diagnose the issue quickly and accurately.

Cleaning Your Gutters

Remember that weather can have a negative effect on your roof over time, causing it to deteriorate. Your gutters can help ensure that you get rid of any build up, so your roof doesn’t degrade, and you don’t have moisture getting into your crawl space and causing issues like dampness and mold.

A clean gutter prevents water from being redirected to the roof when it is poured off. This allows snow to melt rather than building up and dripping into your home. In turn, this keeps your energy bills low and helps improve your home’s insulation during winter months.

Your Heating Costs

As a result of higher energy costs, homeowners want to do everything they can to reduce their heating bills. One way that people can reduce their heating bill is by making sure they have a well-insulated home.

Roof repairs can help to keep heat from escaping through your roof, and well-insulated walls, windows, and doors will ensure that the heat stays where it belongs. As a result, you’ll use less energy and bring your bills down to a manageable cost. One less worry this winter season.

5 Ways to Secure Your Home

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Home security is a growing concern for many people who invest heavily in their household products and valuables. Unfortunately, burglars are also becoming more sophisticated; using new technologies, they are better able to monitor homes and break into them when they can be sure they are unoccupied. Here’s how to make your home more secure.

Lock your doors

We’re all familiar with locking our doors when we leave the house or go on vacation, but how many of us make an effort when we’re in the house as well? It might seem a bit counterintuitive to lock the doors when you’re at home, but it helps make your home secure.

You don’t want any surprises when you’re relaxing in your sitting room, a stranger in the house, for instance, so get into the habit of turning the key when you get home, and you can relax. Getting into this habit is also useful because it trains you to remember to lock up.

Landscape your garden

A house with a lot of trees and bushes outside is a burglar’s dream; it allows them to crouch beneath windows unseen and work away at the window frame or the door. It also provides some cover for them to escape if they are spotted.

You can eliminate this natural environment for burglars by landscaping your garden and ensuring there are no extraneous trees and bushes outside your doors and windows. Instead, position these features closer to the bottom of the garden.

Keep products out of sight

When scoping out a neighborhood, burglars look for trees and bushes outside windows to provide them with cover; the other thing they look for is the potential the property offers in terms of occupation and products available. So don’t put your products on display.

If you have an expensive television, computer, or sound system, make sure that you can’t see it from the street. If you happen to injure yourself with a product while you are moving it, consider applying for compensation with a product liability attorney and get what you deserve.

Invest in security

Nowadays, there are all kinds of security infrastructure you can invest in to protect your home. Everything from alarm systems to motion detecting lights will help keep your property secure while you are at home or on vacation.

It’s always a good idea to have a security system that triggers when you experience a break-in; these days, you can find security systems that also alert you while you are away, either by text message or phone call. Security lights are also an effective deterrent.

Make your home look occupied

One of the signs burglars look for when assessing a street is whether the house looks occupied or not. They might look for lights coming on and off, mail piling up at the door or letterbox, and general property maintenance.

If you’re heading off on vacation – even if it’s only for a few days – make sure you have your lights on timers so that lights come on and off regularly. You can also enlist the help of a neighbor to clean your letterbox of letters and your path or snow or leaves.

Four Ways To Take Care Of Your Home Exterior

Our attention is often focused on maintaining the interior of the home, but we should not neglect its exterior as well. In the nice weather, the outside of your house is a nice way to enjoy the weather. It gives off a first impression, and it’s where you enjoy the first impression of your home. That is why you should pay the same attention you would your interior design.

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Here are some areas you should be focusing on:

Welcome To Your Home

If you want people to have a good impression of your home, you need to take good care of your door. Maintaining clean and tidy means keeping it presentable. A touch of paint or considering replacing it might be the best option for it if it’s seen better days. You should make sure that your door is easily identifiable by displaying clear numbers or your name.

First Impressions Count

Whenever people look at your home, the first impressions they have are those about your front garden. In order to make others aware that they have taken good care of their house, people strive to achieve a high level of curb appeal. It makes no sense to have a messy, cluttered, and disorganized front garden when you’re trying to make a good impression on potential customers. Make sure that lawns are mowed, edging is trimmed, and areas around walkways are clean and well maintained. You can give your walkways a new lease of life by using a power hose to clean them. This will prevent you from having to replace these walkways, thus saving you money.

The Bones Your House

Your home needs to be taken care of in several different ways. Regularly cleaning the gutters, keeping drains free of debris, and repainting chipped areas are all important. When it’s time to paint your roof, you should consider cleaning and caring for it well, so that it’s well-maintained. You should resolve any concerns you have as soon as possible. Any small repairs left unattended can be detrimental and cause further damage in the future. This should also include the roof over your head. It is often something that gets forgotten about until there is something wrong. You need to clean and use roof restoration when you need to.

Your Outdoor Living Space

It is easy to enjoy the good weather in your back garden, especially when it is warm outside. Dinners can be served al fresco, and you can entertain guests and family. It is essential, though, to have a garden that you can relax in and enjoy. Imagine your living space as a representation of your family, easy to maintain and welcoming. You can designate a separate area of your garden for your children and another for the adults. The presence of a seating area outdoors makes it easy to sit and enjoy nature. You may want to consider building a deck or paving area where you can make a comfortable area to relax.

Keep in mind that you also need to maintain the outside of your house. It’s an extension of your home, and you should treat it as such. Is there anything else you can share in the comments below?

5 Home Maintenance Chores For The Fall

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1 . Maintain your trees & shrubs

Maintaining your property will help you to create a safe and healthy space, to improve your home today, check out these five home maintenance chores for the fall.

As the summer comes to a close now is a great time to prune your shrubs and trees outside. You can prune your trees yourself, or hire an arborist to help you with this. Pruning a tree will prevent falling branches, which can be a hazard. Pruning is also important to keep a tree healthy. If you’re pruning a tree yourself, you can use the following steps:

You’ll need protective gloves, you might also want to protect your head and eyes.
If you’re cutting a stem, start above the healthy bud.
If you can cut a branch or bud that faces outward, (this will avoid branches rubbing together).
The cut should be around ¼ inch higher than the bud, if you cut too close this may damage the tree.

Clean out your gutters

As we move into fall it’s a good idea to clean out your gutters, doing so can help to protect your home from water damage. If gutters are clogged up with debris then the rainwater won’t drain away sufficiently. If water overflows here you may end up with leaks in your roof.

If your gutters are full of leaves and debris you might also find the pests make a home here! Maintaining your home will help you to keep the pests at bay.

Seal up gaps

When the weather turns colder it’s important to seal up any gaps. Mice can get through a tiny gap, so you could end up with an infestation. You’ll probably be able to seal small gaps yourself using caulk or spray foam. Once you’ve fixed all the gaps you won’t need to worry about pesky critters entering your home.

Protect your pipes

Before the weather turns cold you’ll want to prevent your pipes from freezing. To prevent freezing pipes you can purchase some sponge covers, and wrap these around your pipes. It’s also a good idea to insulate your water tanks. When you go out, make sure that you set your thermostat to at least 13-15C. Another thing you can do is to open the loft hatches and your cabinets.

Protect your house from mold

No one wants mold growing in the home, it’s unsightly and can cause adverse health effects. To prevent mold from growing, there are a few things that you can do:

You can use dehumidifiers to maintain the correct humidity levels.
Try mold cleaners in your bathroom, bleach will also do the trick.
Before painting your walls, apply mold inhibitors.
Check your pipes and fittings for leaks.
Contact a company that specializes in mold removal.

These five chores will help you to maintain your home and create a desirable living space. Whether it’s pruning trees or removing mold there are lots of ways to get ready for the fall.