Do It Yourself Books

Today’s homeowners can have a much easier time doing those repairs that used to require calling a plumber, a carpenter, or electrician. Basic tips and instructions from minor to major undertakings can be found in a wide variety of do it yourself books. Every home should have at least one good one that deals with a range of subjects. They can help you learn to do the small things that can go wrong in the home before they can turn into bigger problems.

For example, a small leak from a bathroom pipe. Usually they start out small and progressively worsen. A drip around a toilet valve can eventually cause enough water damage to rot the flooring around the entire toilet. It will cause it to become unstable and slowly sink into the floor. This can be avoided if you know how to fix the problem immediately. Sometimes tightening a loose fitting or replacing a deteriorated washer will do the trick, but if not, even replacing an entire toilet is really not that difficult if you know how.

Do it yourself books tell you exactly what you will be getting yourself into before you start a repair. They will show in detail how difficult it will be and the tools you will need to do the job right. This will help you decide if it is something you are brave enough to take on yourself or if you would be better off to hire a professional.

Other than just small home repairs, these books can show you how to make improvements that will add to the value of your home. Things like adding exhaust fans to help prevent mold and moisture damage in your bathrooms. You can add sprinklers and soaker hoses to your lawn and plant beds. A deck or patio are very beneficial things that will allow you to enjoy them now while you live there and get additional pay offs if you sell your home later.

All in all you can not go wrong when you buy one or more of these great books. Whether for small repairs or some creative projects, they can be a small investment that can save you time and money in the long run, add beauty and value to your home and give your ego a little boost from just knowing that you really did it yourself!


Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.waterbasementct.info and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com

What You Need When Removing Mold

Nobody wants to have to remove the mold from their home, but if you live in an older house, then you may have to go through this eventually. Even newly built homes can have mold growing in them in certain areas if bad techniques were used or just poor quality materials. As long as the building codes in your area were followed by the contractor of your new house, there is nothing that you can do, even if the poor quality materials are the reason that mold exists. If the job was done “by the book”, then you cannot obtain any legal compensation. When having a home built for you, make sure you know that the contractor you hired to do it will do the job with good quality building materials and get references before even letting them start.

But, what do you do if you already have mold in the house? Well, you can probably clean up a lot of it yourself if you have a smaller mold problem. If you have experience in interior remodeling work, then you can tackle even a larger scale mold removal project on your own. Your insurance may even cover it, if it is due to another kind of damage that your homeowner’s insurance covers, like water leaks.

There is a certain amount of equipment that you will need if you are going to do this job on your own, though. Having a respirator is something that you will really need, especially if you are going to open up any walls. You can get a basic respirator from a hardware store, but if you are going to open up any walls, you will probably want a respirator that has a HEPA filter attached to it.

You will also want a few heavy duty trash bags to toss the debris in.

As far as some protective equipment that you can wear, heavy duty rubber gloves might also be helpful depending on what you are handling. If you are just scrubbing floors or walls, then you could probably get away with some lighter latex gloves. Some plastic disposable coveralls and covers for your shoes will help keep mold spores from getting on your clothes. Safety glasses might also be necessary.

As with your respirator, the cleanup job after all the debris is gone should be done with a vacuum that has a HEPA filter on it. This will release clean, filtered air back into your home instead of releasing the dust and mold spores like a normal vacuum would.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Florida water damage restoration companies and
Miami Water Damage Restoration. contractors

Water Loves Your Deck, Too

Barbequing and swimming in the pool in the backyard is a staple at many private homes across the country that are lucky enough to have both and anyone who has both those items is likely to want a hardwood deck built onto the back of the house for just this purpose. They look very nice and most homeowners will brag for weeks or even years about how much they love their deck and for good reason. Taking care of the deck either on the front of the house or the back is not too difficult, but if you neglect to do this, then you could be dealing with some serious damage later on down the road.

Waterproofing the deck attached to your home is very important if you do not want to have to replace parts of it later. Water does much more damage to wooden items left out in the elements than we might realize and it is important to make sure that as soon as possible after your deck is built (wait at least 30 days after construction), it gets waterproofed. You can do this or you can hire someone else to do it for you, depending on whether time or money is the most important factor. You may not have the time to do it or you may not have the money, but if you want to keep your deck looking good, you will have to sacrifice one or the other.

Applying a stain to the deck should be done before waterproofing, because the sealant that you put on it will not only repel rain, but also other liquids. Allow the stain to set the appropriate amount of time before applying the sealant.

Sealants for decks can be purchased at most hardware, home improvement, or department stores and applying them is a cinch. You do need to make sure that the whole deck gets cleaned first with a deck cleaner that you can also purchase at one of these places. This will be applied with a pump sprayer and allowed to foam up before you scrub it with a stiff bristled brush. Rinse it with a hose when you are done.

All furniture should be removed before you put the sealant on. For safety, you may want to sand down any sharp edges or splinters that may be sticking up, if you are doing this to an older deck that already shows signs of wear.

The sealant should be applied with a sprayer or a roller, depending on what the instructions call for. After you apply it to the deck, you need to wait at least a few days before walking on it so the seal is not damaged.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.