 | Newsletter |
| Newsletter |
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YOUR HOME IS A LIFETIME INVESTMENT, HOW TO KEEP IT !! Tips for Inside and Outside your home to keep your investment up! Putting time, energy and a resonable investment into your home makes sense. The return is great, the enjoyment immeasurable and results often valuable, too !!!
Reduce Drafts - Inspect weather proofing of doors for wear and tear. Heavily used doors may need the "SWEEP" at the bottom edge replaced every couple of years. Keep Your Chimney Clean - Certain kinds of firewood emit more cresote. It depends on how the wood has been cured. When there is a buildup of a quarter of an inch, it's time to clean the chimneny. Room Warm-up - Does a room feel a little cold or empty? Consider a chair rail ---- a piece of decorative moulding or a combination of mouldings that divides a room horizontally at about three feet above the floor. Depending on your color scheme elsewhere, paint all one color or use the rail to divide two colors. If you choose two tones, make the lower section darker. Preventing Laundry Room Floods - Washing machines are the main cause of flood damage in homes. A burst hose can release hundreds of gallons of water in no time. Replacing hoses with braided stainless steel water-supply connectors. Protect Your Deck - Most decks need regular maintenance of 2 types: CLEANING and SEALING. Decks that repel water --- water beads on the surface rather than soaking in --- still need cleaning to remove grime and mildew. Clean first, then apply selant if necessary. Oil-based sealants last longer. Sealant needs to dry overnight, so wait for a two-day window without rain and temperatures no lower than 50 o F. Mulch - It keeps weeds down, soil moist, and looks neat and attractive. It's a good idea to mulch twice a year, usually in spring and fall. Checking your doors, locks, and deadbolts - If you have sliding glass doors, get locks speciffically designed for them. The old trick of placing a dowel or broomstick in the slide channel is a useful backup, but no substitute for a lock. To keep your garage door and house doors from having rust or water damage, put one to two coats of paint a year to keep weather damaging from occurring. LandscapingOvergrown plantings provide great cover for thieves. PRUNE !!!!Some plants are natural burglar deterrents: PAINFUL, PRICKLY shrubs like holly bushes or thorny rambling roses near entry points could help. Create a charming pathway to your front door with stepping stones. Edge it with pots of seasonal plants and add soft, knee-level lighting year-round. |
