Show Notes: Haunted Houses, Pests and New Roofing – On the House

Show Notes: Haunted Houses, Pests and New Roofing

By on October 28, 2017
Halloween Electrical Safety Tips

October is drawing to a close with Halloween and haunted houses that come complete with mice and a leaking roof. If your home scares you, we are here to give you a hand filled with homeowners candy better known information.

Thank you to our guests:

Scott Turner with CR Marble & Granite, Inc.

http:/www.crmarbleandgranite.com

Samuel Dang:  FX Cabinet Warehouse

http://www.cabinetswarehouse.com

 

 

Just In Time For Halloween: 

How To Live In A Haunted House

You just moved in, and now you have really bad feelings about the place. Chances are the place could be haunted. You may be frightened, but don’t be. Here are some tips that can help you cope with the ghost’s presence.

    1.Take a well-built guard dog like German shepherd with you into the house. The reason? Dogs easily detect the presence of the spirits. It will be daring to you also with the dog. 

  1. Remind yourself that before you move anything into the house, walk through the entire place.Doing this will give the ghost(s) a chance to scope you out, and accept your presence in ‘their’ home.
  1. Remember:before moving all of your stuff into the place, move in as few items as possible at first. This will avoid riling the ghost(s) to the changes going on during the transition from former occupants.
  1. Keep in mind while moving furniture or other objects in, be alert for any feelings you may have about where an item should be placed.If you can make a ghost happy by placing a chair in a particular place, it could save you lots of trouble later on.
  1. Try to relate to the ghost by talking about what life may have been like in the house (if it is an old house), and try to do something former residents would have done in the house while they lived there, like eating some meals in a formal dining room, or listening to period music from the time the house was built.
  1. Try to talk about big events that would have happened while past owners would have been living there.For example, on October 29 of a year, try to talk about how past residents would have felt about the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression (if the house is old enough). 
  1. Avoid the area the ghost is in, if (s)he is in one particular place.Try using the room as a storage area and leave the ghost alone.
  1. Try to spend a night in the place.Some ghosts try to communicate with the living through dreams. Allowing the ghost to get its message to the living may put an end to the haunting and send the ghost on its way.
  1. Accept the ghost.While this may be difficult for some to do, most ghosts will leave you alone if you acknowledge their presence. 
  1. Accept the ghost.While this may be difficult for some to do, most ghosts will leave you alone if you acknowledge their presence.

https://www.wikihow.com/Live-in-a-Haunted-House

 

 

7 Tips For Getting The Best Deal On A New Roof

 Use these tips to make sure the cost of a keeping a solid roof over your head is no higher than it needs to be.

 Buying a new roof isn’t cheap. The average national cost of a new roof installation is about $7,000, with most homeowners spending between $4,785 and $9,359, according to data from Homeadvisor.com.

Costs vary depending on where you live, the type of materials you use, and whether or not you have other home improvement work that needs to take place alongside the roof replacement. Following are seven steps to getting a good deal on keeping a solid roof over your head.

  1. Know what you need — get an inspection. If you are unsure about whether you really need a new roof — or are thinking of simply repairing the roof you have— an inspection can be useful. Roofing companies can also make this assessment, but you will have to be confident that you’d get an unbiased opinion from them, as they might have an interest in selling you a new roof.
  1. Find out if the roof is under warranty. Your roofing inspector might also be able to figure out which manufacturer’s materials were used for the roof.
  1. Decide whether to repair or replace. Assuming you don’t have any warranty coverage, you’ll need to decide whether to repair or replace the roof.

Calculate how near the roof is to its natural “end of life.” You should be able to get that information from your roof inspector or the warranty information. If the roof still has 10 or 15 years left in it, and the cost of the

repairs is   relatively inexpensive, it might be worth doing a repair. Just make sure you’re not throwing money at a temporary fix to a problem that soon will require a complete replacement.

  1. Get multiple quotes

 

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/7-tips-for-getting-the-best-deal-on-a-new-roof/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=email-2017-07-09-am&utm_medium=email&subscriber=yes

 

 

Fall Tip: Get Your Generator Ready For Winter

With winter just around the corner, it’s a good idea to start preparing for it by making sure that your standby generator is in great working condition to keep the heater on during those chilly months. Just like your car’s engine, you don’t want it sitting idly for too long and chances are it hasn’t gotten much use in the last few months, aside from its weekly exercise routine. You’re going to want to make sure that you are preparing your engine for the possibly power outages that come with the cold season. Remember, if your standby power generator doesn’t work during an emergency, then you wasted thousands of dollars for no good reason.

Here are a couple ways to protect your backup generator from the cold season that’s coming up quickly.

Check the Fuel

If your genset hasn’t been used aside from its weekly exercise (if it does it at all), you’ll want to make sure to drain the fuel tank and replace the fuel. You don’t want the gasoline to separate, which can occur if left sitting for too long. You can use a fuel stabilizer to the fuel and run the generator, which can keep fuel fresh up to 36 months.

This is also a good time to check your fuel supply. Do you have enough on-hand to get you through an outage? Whether it’s diesel, gas or propane, make sure you have enough stored.

Change the Oil

Even though old oil isn’t as bad for an engine as old fuel, it’s still a smart idea to get it out of there if you can. Many generators will not function properly, or at all, if the engine detects low levels of oil. To ensure the safety of your machine, check the oil whenever you refill the fuel throughout the year; if it’s looking a bit low, just add a couple quarts of oil. It lasts a long time and isn’t very expensive.

Replaceable Parts

In order to ensure that your standby generator is running at peak performance, it needs a clean supply of air for combustion. If your air filter is dirty it can slow down the entire engine which makes it less effective. Luckily, air filters are easily cleaned and replaced! Your owner’s manual will tell you how to locate it as well as how to properly clean it.

If your machine uses a fuel filter, check to see if it needs to be cleaned or replaced. Also make sure that the fuel line is securely fastened and not leaking.

Schedule Regular Maintenance

    It’s important to do what you can with your machine, but you don’t want to overexert yourself beyond your abilities. If you aren’t handy with engines, don’t look into fixing the carburetor, let a professional do it! While replacing the fuel and air filters is relatively simple, fixing the inner components of the machine is not. Schedule regular maintenance with a professional at least twice a year to ensure the longevity of your machine.

 http://www.econmatters.com/2017/05/5-tips-now-to-get-your-generator-ready.html

    

Fall Pest Prevention

Set mousetraps correctly: Snap-type mousetraps, when well placed, can be an effective way to rid your house of mice.

    Common mistakes are poor placement of traps and using too few of them. Place snap traps along walls in areas where you’ve seen the telltale brown pellets. The best technique is to set two traps, parallel to the wall, with the triggers     facing out. While mice can jump over one trap, they can’t jump two. Favorite baits of professional exterminators are chocolate syrup and peanut butter.

 Dehumidify and clean up cobwebs: You can virtually eliminate spiders in your basement by using a dehumidifier to maintain a 40 percent humidity level and vigilantly sweeping down cobwebs whenever they appear. Keep the basement window sills brushed clean too. In a matter of weeks, the spider population will die down significantly.

Secure your dryer vent: Check the condition of the damper.

Examine dryer vents to ensure the damper isn’t stuck open or broken off completely. Also check that the seal between the vent and the wall is tight.

      Check the condition of the damper

Examine dryer vents to ensure the damper isn’t stuck open or broken off completely. Also check that the seal between the vent and the wall is tight.

https:///pest-control/fall-pest-prevention-tips/view-all/

 

                                   

Let The Fall Sun Shine In!

Not enough natural light may cause mood-altering seasonal affective disorder in some people. Increasing the day lighting in your home will help make rooms feel brighter and warmer with these simple tricks.

Clean your light fixtures and bulbs. Dirty bulbs shed 30% less light than clean ones, says the U.S. Department of Energy. Add a dusty, dead-bug riddled cover, and you’ve got an automatic dimmer, whether you want one or not.

Get houseplants. NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America studied houseplants as a way to purify the air in space facilities. They found several plants that filter out common volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Lucky for us the plants can also help clean indoor air, which is typically far more polluted than outdoor air.

Give your windows a good washing. Don’t wait for spring; clean windows let more natural light into your home. Here’s a good window cleaning solution: 1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent in 2 gallons of warm water, 1 large sponge to soak the surface to loosen dirt and to scrub enough to wash it off. A squeegee, the tool that finishes things. The secret is to buy a good one — about a foot wide. And most important, one with a good fresh rubber blade.

Remove the window screens. The screen will catch and hold dirt, as well as cutting down on the light coming through them. Store the screens and put them back in the spring when it’s time to open the windows again!

 

 

 

                                                     

 

 

 

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