You Don’t Need the Most Expensive System

It’s possible to protect your home by leaving the lights on. You already knew that because you do it already, but it goes to show that you don’t need the most expensive system in the world in order to keep burglars outside. A fancy alarm system with extra features will obviously be a better choice, but ultimately you should go with what you can afford.

The Police Won’t be Listening

If a burglar breaks into your home in the middle of the night your alarm won’t be causing police officers in the local station to jump out of their seats. That is because they won’t even know the alarm has been triggered. You or your neighbor will still need to make a phone call. Don’t think you can hide under the bed and wait to be rescued if you get woken up by an alarm in the middle of the night. Make sure the system you purchase has a feature to automatically notify the authorities.

You Need to Switch it On

You wouldn’t believe how many people buy a security system only to leave it turned off all the time. There is no excuse and if you’re too lazy to turn it on it will be a waste of money. When someone has had one too many false alarms they sometimes decide they would rather take their chances with a locked door. Only buy an alarm system if you’re going to use it.

Everyone will Hate You

We just touched on this, but I think it’s important that you realize how much you will annoy some people. Hate is a strong word so maybe it’s too strong a word to use, but when you’re out and your alarm goes off you won’t be able to do anything until you get home. Your neighbors are going to have sore ears and it’s even worse when your alarm goes off in the middle of the night.

You Should do your Homework

Don’t let someone tell you what to buy for your own home. You can definitely listen to a professional because they will be able to give you good advice, but you need to do your homework so you’ll know what they’re asking you to buy. If you don’t read up on something before spending thousands of dollars you’re a little crazy.

Alarm Systems are NOT Impenetrable

Once your alarm is set up you should be able to feel safe, but you still need to realize your home isn’t 100% safe. Have you ever seen the movie, Ocean’s Eleven? If a couple of guys can break into a casino safe they can break into your home. I’m not saying professional thieves are going to pay you a visit, but as long as you know your security system isn’t impenetrable it’s fine.

Pets could be a Problem

If you have any pets at home it could be a problem because they will be running around and it’s obvious they will walk into the path of motion sensors. If you have a new alarm system they are much better at dealing with pets, but that doesn’t mean you will never have a false alarm. As long as you know that you’ll be okay.

Toilet tank, apple, sock.  That’s all we know.

We never got to the bottom of this photo. This may have been the work of a toddler.

Rot Behind Window Wrap

When wood window frames begin to rot on older homes, it’s common practice to have the frames wrapped with aluminum to help protect the wood underneath and to give the windows a nice clean look.  This is a perfectly acceptable repair, but only when there is still some wood left to attach to, unlike what’s shown above.

When you see windows wrapped with aluminum, give them a little push to make sure there is something behind the aluminum.  If there’s a lot of give, there may be a problem.  Click this link for a short video clip showing rotted aluminum clad windows at a home inspection.  Aluminum clad windows are different from aluminum wrapped windows in that they were originally made with aluminum cladding instead of behind field modified, but the procedure for identifying rotted wood behind them is about the same.

Load Bearing Can

As far as we could tell, that was a can of wood putty holding up the corner of this laundry sink.  This would fall under the category of ‘improvised repair’, or ‘temporary repair’.

Hazardous Disposer Wiring

Not only was the disposer leaking, not only was the disposer not properly grounded, not only were the wires not protected, but the disposer was leaking on to the open spliced wires.

For more info on defects that home inspectors find with garbage disposers, click here.

Wall Repairs

“Hey honey, weren’t you going to fix those holes in the wall under the bathroom sink?”

“Put a sock in it.”

If you missed it on Saturday, check out the Home Toolbox broadcast below with Derek Smith, the founder of HomeSpot HQ, as the featured guest.

Front-Access Toolbox

This well-built steel toolbox has a clever front-access panel. It certainly makes accessing the lower compartment easier.

Unique Swiss Army Knife

If you’re looking for a utility tool, it doesn’t get much more convenient than a Swiss Army Knife. But this knife is not ordinary knife. This beauty is carefully carved from sterling silver and features all the tool you’d expect from it’s predecessor. However, this knife carries a hefty price tag of $595.

Router Table

For the most crafty of dads this gift can open up a lot of possibilities. A router is essential for woodwork so this is the perfect gift for creating custom tabletops and cutting forms into boards.

Hanging the Picture Perfectly

Hanging picture, shelves, mirrors, and other objects on the wall isn’t always easy when it comes to alignment. Innovative Tools Inc decided to do something about it and came out with the HangPerfect. This simple tool makes aligning a picture easy with great results.

Gift Card

Still stumped? The fail-safe way to go is a gift card to your dad’s favorite home improvement store. It won’t have quite the same personalized touch, but it’s still a great present!

More Father’s Day Gift Ideas

If you didn’t find the right answer here, try checking out the HomeSpot HQ Pinterest boards. There are all sorts of pictures, projects, and ideas that can help you find some inspiration.

Doors are great. Not just because we need them to section off parts of the house or keep bugs and weather outside, but because they are simple mechanism that do a good job. However, as temperatures change and the soil shifts a house, doors can become stuck or crooked.

Loose Screws in the Hinge

Do you have to pull hard to open a door and push even harder to close it? The first spots to inspect are the hinges. Make sure each screw is tight and snug. If you try to tighten a screw and it keeps spinning, the wood hole is probably stripped. Use a longer screw to dig into more material. Hopefully this will solve the problem and the door will operate normally.

The Door is Crooked

If the screws are fine, visually inspect the gap on both sides of the door while it is closed. Is it even all the way from top to bottom? Or does the gap tend to get smaller as you approach one side. This crooked alignment is typically from a “sprung” hinge that has worn down over time.

Start the repair by popping out the pin of the top hinge (i.e. this assumes the larger gap is near the top). Use a pair of diagonal cutting pliers to gain leverage under the hinge pin and tap it up with a hammer.

Now grab a crescent wrench and place it over one of hinge knuckles attached to the door. The wrench should be perpendicular to the plane of the wall. With a firm grip, pry over the door knuckle over about an 1/8 of inch towards the face of the door. Do the same for each knuckle attached the door on this hinge (i.e. usually 2 or 3).

Next, grab some wood shims and place them under the far end of the door (i.e. away from the hinge side) to help align the hinge knuckles. Keep adding shims until they line up.

Place the pin back into the hinge about 90% of the way. Leaving the pin out just a little bit makes it easy to remove again in case the fix does not work. Try shutting the door. If it works, great! Hammer the pin in the rest of the way. If not, check to see if the gap has closed and repeat the process.

The Home Toolbox is a weekly show broadcast in Cleveland, OH on WELW 1330am and Internet streamed on welw.com. It covers all topics related to homes and homeowners.  The show is hosted by Bob Gallese, a Cleveland area home contractor.

A live stream of the show can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-home-tool-box.

It is important that you are familiar with the correct kinds of products to use on hardwood surfaces. You have the option of purchasing products or even creating your own.

Finding the Right Surface Cleaner

You want to be sure that you are aware of the kind of hardwood flooring you have in your home. This is essential to choosing the correct cleaner. Some cleaners contain ingredients that are harsh on surfaces while others provide a gentler alternative.

Combining water and vinegar is popular as a homemade cleaner. The two can be used as a cleaning agent for polyurethane floors. Though this is a method that works, prolonged use of vinegar on hardwood surfaces can begin to eat away at your floor’s finish.

You should clean waxed floors with a substance intended specifically for that surface. These products typically remove dirt while at the same time coating the floor with a new layer of wax.

When polishing your floors be sure to use those that are water-based. There are also advantages to using urethane-based polishes. These polishes dry fast and don’t leave a buildup on your floors.

Frequency of Cleaning

If you are someone with a family, the frequency that you clean your flooring may be significantly more often than that of a person living on their own. A variety of factors will affect how often you need to clean your floors. Not only kids, but your pets and environment all play a role in the condition of your floor. Some helpful ideas for maintaining the life of your flooring are:

• -Dusting your floor everyday
• -Being sure to use non-toxic formulas on your floors
• -Polishing your floor every two to three months

Maintaining the hardwood on a regular basis helps to prolong the life of your flooring. You can prevent scratches while at the same time preserving the finish of your floors.

When you see thousands of ants walking around inside your home it can be quite disturbing. I’m sure you will want them to disappear as quickly as possible, so we’re going to look at a few tricks you can use that will help you deal with them.

Seal Up Any Holes or Cracks

Look closely at an individual ant and you will appreciate how small they are. They don’t need a huge hole in order to get inside your home. The next time you see any ants walking around you should keep an eye on them and see where they’re getting in. Get a tube of sealant from your local hardware store and seal up the areas where they are getting in. It won’t mean you have won the war, but you will have won the first battle.

Clean Your Kitchen Properly

The kitchen is obviously the room they love the most because it’s full of lovely treats. If you don’t clean your kitchen properly it will end up overrun with ants looking for their next meal. Don’t leave any food lying around because it’s just laziness. If you don’t want to eat everything you cook you should wrap up the leftovers so the ants can’t get to them. You should also make sure you sweep the floor on a regular basis.

Attack Them With Soapy Water

Did you know that ants leave a chemical trail when they walk around? It means all the other ants will be able to follow in their footsteps and it’s why you end up with a trail of ants stretching from one end of a room to the other. If you put some soap in a spray bottle and soak the ants it will kill them, but it will also wipe out the chemical trail. This means more ants won’t come along after you’ve killed the old ones.

Create a Barrier

Once you create a barrier it will stop any ants from passing over it. Just remember that if there are already ants inside your home and you put up a barrier they won’t be able to escape. It will stop new ones from coming in, but if you don’t want any walking around you should wait until the old ones have disappeared first. Use cayenne pepper or cinnamon as a barrier if you have them in your spice rack. You can also wipe Vaseline around your windows and at the bottom of your doors.

Scare Them Away

We’ve talked about barriers an ant won’t cross, but there are also smells it doesn’t like and it won’t go anywhere near them. The good news is that you will love some of the smells and you won’t mind them around your home. Lavender is a big one they will stay away from. You can splash some oil around your room, plus you can grow it near the entrances to your home. Another one you might like is mint leaves, or you can buy dried peppermint to spread around

Feed Them Something

This is something you might not have been expecting. Instead of scaring them away you can actually kill them by feeding them something that can’t handle. If they eat dry farina it will expand their stomach and they will die. They will also fall victim to coffee grounds, so you can sprinkle some around where you think the ants will be.

They Should be Gone

Once you’ve used all of these techniques your ant problem should be gone. If it persists you might have to call in a professional because the problem must be serious. Try out the aforementioned tricks first and let us know what happens.

Featured image source: Flickr

1.  1.       Take a Look at Your Wardrobe

It is true that taking a look into someone’s wardrobe is like taking a closer look at their personality because your clothing is a great indication of your personal style.  Let your wardrobe give you an indication of what you are more likely inclined to buying and wearing. If  you traditionally wear more hippie chic based clothes then maybe your interior style should be bohemian chic.

1. 2.       Notice What You Envy

Being envious hasn’t been a good thing until now. If you walk into a friend’s house every time and envy their design taste, then you are on the right track to finding their style.  Next time you are at their house or at your favorite store, make a mental inventory of what things you are more inclined to lean towards and other things that you could live without; for example, you may love their coffee table but not like their sofa.  In this situation, envy is what will help you determine your design style.

1. 3.       Notice What You Despise

If you know that you hate straight angles and enjoy the look of a rounded table versus a square one, then you know that your style is a little more traditional.  Much how it is important to notice what you envy, it is equally as important to notice what you despise.

1. 4.       Mood Boards

Interior designers across the globe don’t use mood boards simply just to help their clients see the vision they have for their room but to help them see their own vision more clearly.  Create a mood board to help you piece together pieces that you like in order to see how they look in a unified setting (e.g. Pinterest). Don’t know what a mood board is?  A mood board is a board that has pictures of the furniture of the room, along with clippings of fabrics used for pillows, rugs, and window treatments.  Mood boards also include a minimal amount of statement pieces or accessories.

1. 5.       Magazines

Although it may sound like a cliché to turn to a magazine for design styles, they really are useful in helping give you the inspiration you need for your upcoming interior design project.  Much how you wouldn’t hire plumbers to design your home, you wouldn’t read a cooking magazine in order to look for design tips; Make sure you are getting the right types of magazines in order to get the job done. Skim through pages that offer you the incentive you need in order to pinpoint the specific design style you are leaning towards, and bookmark pages that offer you the right amount of inspiration.  Even if you are starting to lean towards a few contrasting design styles, why not subtly combine them all in order to create a room that fully represents you and your personality!

There is no doubt that home maintenance is important. It can keep a house in good shape, reduce the chances of a problem, and make it a safe place to live. But what about when things do go wrong? What’s the worst that could happen?

Water Heater Explosion

Although it is very uncommon, it is possible for enough pressure to build up inside the tank of a water heater and create an explosion. And this is not a small explosion by any means. This burst of pressure is so big that Myth Busters did an episode on its power. It literally blew through the ceiling and the roof of a “test” house after reaching 336 psi (pounds per square inch). For this unit it equated to 85,000 pounds!

So why did it fail? First you need to have a control failure where the temperature and pressure keep building. Then you need a faulty Temperature Pressure Relief (TPR) valve. When the pressure becomes more than the tank can handle, boom!

This sort of disaster should never happen. The biggest key is to test the TPR valve as a party of your monthly home maintenance checklist.

Gas Leak

Natural gas has become one of the most prevalent energy sources for homes. It is affordable, effective, and leaves less of a carbon footprint than coal or oil. But its excellent combustion properties also make it a possible danger.

Leaks that are left unattended will fill the room with gas and set the stage for a big explosion. Even a small spark (e.g. flipping a light switch) can trigger a cataclysmic disaster.

To combat potential dangers manufacturers add an unpleasant smell that is normally not found in natural gas compounds. It helps residents detect the hazard early and allows everyone to escape safely. Even if there isn’t an explosion, the gas can cause asphyxiation, so you shouldn’t try to solve the problem. Call for help after getting outside the house.

Dryer Fire

Although there isn’t much of a bang here, a dryer fire can certainly be destructive. Lint collected in the trap needs to be emptied after every load to remove the “kindling” from the potential fire. This light fluffy byproduct of normal operation is highly flammable and can start on fire with enough heat.

Aside from regularly emptying the trap, be sure to perform thorough dryer maintenance a couple times a year. This involves cleaning out the trap orifice, interior of the dryer, and exhaust vent with a vacuum. Lint is bound to creep into these places even with correct operating procedures.