Benefits of Underpinning - Construction Tips

In the construction world, underpinning is a process in which you strengthen and also stabilise a foundation of a building which could be potentially dangerous if no action was taken. What are the benefits of underpinning a building or structure the building really need the work doing to it? These maybe a few of the question you may ask yourself if a surveyor tells you that your building needs underpinning. A few of the reasons and benefits you should consider are as follows...

1) The existing foundations are not strong / stable enough - underpinning will correct these problems.

2) The use of the building has changed - Possibly you have changed the purpose of a building, maybe from a house to a shop - underpinning will allow the building to take more pressure.

3) The soil properties that the building lies upon have changes - there could have been some movement in the ground, perhaps through subsidence - underpinning will help strengthen the building in this case.

4) New buildings or structures added to the surrounding area. If a new house is build next to an existing property, then underpinning maybe needed to strengthen the first property.

5) Land cost has increased. If the price of land increases by a great deal, it maybe cheaper to use underpinning with a view to improving the existing property (perhaps adding a new floor) rather than purchasing more land.

As you can see, there are many different reasons why you should consider underpinning rather than neglecting the reasons for using it.

Underpinning foundation Engineers
Underpinning foundation

Double Floor Joist

Stair Lighting Problems

Walking up and down the stairs in the dark could become a safety issue. If the stairs in the house are not that old, there should be a light switch at the top and a light switch at the bottom of the stairway. This is a three way switch and is designed to allow you to turn the stair lighting on as you walk up the stairs and then turn the stair lighting off, once you've safely reached the top of the stairway. And vice versa as she walked down the stairs.

If you don't have a light switch, there are motion sensor lights that are battery operated and can be installed easily in the stairway. These lights can provide you with peace of mind, while protecting your family from accidents.

Stairway accidents are nothing to joke about, I lived in a two-story house with four other people and was the last one to fall down the stairway. None of us got seriously injured and the stairway was built to meet local building codes and was inspected by a building and safety inspector. The stairs were built correctly and the stair lighting was no problem, but people still fell down the stairway and it always happens in the evening.

During the day time there were two windows that let plenty of light into the stairway and in the evening the stairway became quite dark, rarely was the stair lightning ever turned on. This could have been outright laziness but nevertheless, it was rarely used and eventually became a safety issue.

Lighting your stairway might not end all of your problems but it can and some of your problems. There are plenty of stair lighting systems available on the market today and some of the battery operated stair lighting systems can be installed by most homeowners.

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Drywall Joint Water Damage

5 Reasons Not to Have a New Roof Installed Over an Old Roof

So you need a new roof and are trying to decide whether or not to try and save some money by having the new roof installed over an existing layer of roofing. This technique is quite common in many areas and many roofing contractors don't see any problem with this method and have no problem trying to sell homeowners on a lay-over or go-over as this technique is called. They are wrong.

5 Top Reasons A Lay-Over Or Go-Over Is A Bad Idea When Re-Roofing

1.) Areas that have or had leaks can't always be addressed properly

There is a good chance that your old roof had some problem areas including possible leak spots, whether you noticed them or not. Without tearing off the old roof and properly identifying these types of trouble spots and determining where the leak was coming from and traveling to it is impossible to tell what areas of your roof may need some special attention.

2.) Any rotted wood under the existing roofing will only get worse

There could be areas that have rotted wood hiding under the old roofing. These rotted areas need to be identified and replaced before a new roof is installed. Obviously if your roofing contractor is only doing a lay-over roofing installation then these rotted areas will remain covered up and only get worse as the years go on. Also the nails holding down the shingles in areas with rotted wood cannot properly do their job and you have a much higher risk of shingles blowing off in those areas.

3.) Eaves, rakes and valleys need special treatment

This is a big one. The eaves, rakes and valleys of your house need special attention when your home's roof is being installed. This is especially important in colder climates like Massachusetts, where we are located. In the winter time the eaves of your house are under attack by Mother Nature, whether it is through ice dams, snow build up, or just the constant freezing and thawing that occurs throughout the winter season. When a new roof is properly installed the roofing contractor needs to put new aluminum drip-edge around the entire perimeter of your roof.

Next they need to apply a 3 foot wide section of ice & water barrier around the perimeter as well as in any valleys on your roof. Then they can begin to install the new roofing. Without tearing off the original roofing there is no way to properly install the new drip-edge or ice & water barrier. On a lay-over type of roofing install, the roofing contractor is counting on the existing products on the home's roof to still be up to par and be able to handle the winter conditions. All too often the old products fall short whether it was because they have outlived their lifetime, were sub-par to begin with, or maybe they were never there to begin with (all to often the latter is the case with ice & water barrier).

4.) Extra roofing weight is no good for old rafters

One of the more obvious problems with a lay-over re-roof is the added weight of the extra layer of shingles. On most newer homes this is not an issue, however many older homes have rafters that are considered undersized by today's framing standards. It is not uncommon to see 26 rafter systems on many of these houses. Now in most situations a 26 rafter is undersized to begin with and you certainly don't want to be adding the weight of a new roofing layer on top of an old roofing layer to these already undersized rafter systems. With newer roofs using 210, 212, engineered trusses, etc. the weight isn't always as much of an issue.

5.) Shorter roof life expectancy

Most responsible roofing contractors agree that a lay-over roof will decrease the new roof's lifetime by about 25%. This fact alone means that any money you might have saved by doing a lay-over, as opposed to a tear-off and new roof install, was only a short term savings. In addition, you now have 2 layers of roofing that will need to be removed the next time your roof is done and that will also add more cost to the job

Tear-Off Then Re-Roof Is Always Superior

Well, I just gave you 5 very good reasons to tear off your old roofing and then install your new roof. Yes it can be cheaper in the short term to do a go-over on your old roof, but, in the long term it will cost you more. We never recommend this technique to our customers. We always recommend completely tearing of the old roofing, fixing any underlying problems, then installing a fresh, beautiful new roof that will outlast any lay-over roof as well as better protect our customers' homes.

Josh Johnson is part of the team at BCI Contracting, Inc., a Massachusetts roofing contractor, and he would be happy to provide you with more information about their roofing, siding, and seamless gutter installation services if you visit the website. You can also visit Josh's roofing blog which focuses on the roofing and siding industry, particularly in Massachusetts.

One Foot Square Colum Base

Replace & Repair Leaky Bathroom & Kitchen Faucets

Everyone dreads having to repair anything in the bathroom, because oftentimes, the solution involves more than a bottle of Liquid Drain-O and a flush of cold water. Also known as "leaky bathtub faucet," this refers to any major clogging problems, a drop in water pressure, or a bathtub faucet leak.

A certified plumbing company should come in and do an inspection and fix any major problems after giving you an estimate of the damage. If left unattended, the problems bathroom faucets can lead to are more than just inside the bathroom. There have been lawsuits and even divorces over the neglected leaky bathtub faucet. Overall, neglecting to fix your bathroom faucet will lead to a higher water bill (with less water pressure!) and further damage to supply pipes and your entire bathroom function ability. This can even sometimes result in pipes inside the walls to leak and cause water spots throughout the walls.

Here are some tips on how to replace and/or repair a bathtub faucet, bath shower faucet and bathroom sink faucet:

Pry off the cap of the bath faucet if you think there is less water pressure coming from the faucet. Unscrew the handle to get deep inside the faucet to check if there is any blockage you need to remove. Clean the aerator if necessary, which is the small piece at the tip of the spout that can get blocked over time. After cleaning all the parts, put back together and test to see if there is any improvement. This applies to any bath faucet you have in the house, from the kitchen faucet to the single-lever bath faucet.

If you are having a leaky bathtub faucet, get the bathtub faucets make and model and to a Home Depot or any hardware store to purchase the appropriate bathtub repair kit. Remove the bath faucet's existing ball, packing and springs and replace them with the new ones in the kit.

If you have tried cleaning the parts and bathtub faucet and it still does not seem to improve the water pressure or the leak, you may need to replace the bathtub faucet entirely. Or the problem may be something more than just the bathtub faucet. Now is the time to call a certified plumbing company. The company can come in to repair your leaking bathtub faucet, changing bathtub faucets or do any necessary bathtub repair.

For more information visit: http://www.bathfaucets.info

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Dog Creates Remodeling Nightmare

How many homeowners normally leave their dog in the backyard or they have full time access to the backyard through a doggie door. You're probably wondering how can a little dog create a remodeling nightmare for any contractor.

This wasn't the case this dog was a large Labrador retriever and tore up everything in the backyard constantly. The house remodel we were working on was a two story room addition over a single story house. This job lasted around six months and the dog was a daily reminder of how much attention a large dog actually needs.

Let's start with the first item of value the dog actually destroyed. It was my favorite tool bags of course that I have taken care of for over five years and deeply appreciated the fact that they were broke in just the way I wanted them to be. Kind of like a baseball mitt that doesn't quite fit right because of how stiff it is until you break it in.

While the homeowner of course apologized and never even offered to replace them. Oh but after that he did mention never to leave anything lying around in the backyard. Lesson learned of course and never forgotten. Well to make a long story short this large dog could chew up tools, lumber, plumbing pipes, electrical wire and was even able to destroyed the plywood fencing we would use to keep him away.

I'm going to stop right there with the remodeling nightmare created from this dog in hopes that other contractors can learn from my valuable lesson. As a contractor you should never assume that a homeowner will replace any damaged or broken tools and materials.

As a homeowner with a dog reading this article, think about having a place to enclose the dog if necessary while remodeling work is done on your home.

I love being around dogs and other animals but sometimes a problem like this can make life extremely miserable for both parties.

Greg Vanden Berge has been building and remodeling for over 30 years and his information has proven valuable to most contractors and homeowners all over the world. He usually tries to write at least two articles a day on home improvement or remodeling problems.

Greg is in the process right now of working on a home inspection website that will revolutionize the home inspection business. He is also working on a book to help homeowners and contractors as well as other home related professions in dealing with the home inspection process.

You can visit the home inspection website currently under construction at Home Inspection Help

Insulation Damage

Remodel Bathroom Ideas - A Self-Help Guide

The idea to remodel your bathroom can come as an idea to augment your house value or simply to make it into the haven you have always wanted. Whichever reason is yours, to make everything you do to implement your remodel bathroom ideas fully realizable, you should look to these inexpensive and easy-to-install ideas.

When you remodel a bathroom, you can change aspects from lighting to fixtures. In the bathroom you want to have adequate lighting. Some ideas would be changing harsh lighting with staged lighting, or even lights at the vanity and near the bathtub. Changing lighting won't break your budget, as a lot of fixtures can be inexpensive. You can also save money by doing it yourself. Yet, know when to hire outside help, such as a local remodeling contractor. You can check yellow pages, and online to find one near you. All you need to do is Google "local city remodeling" and see what comes up.

When remodeling a bathroom you should always listen to the advice of your contractor on what type would be best suited for your project. You are paying a remodeling contractor to do the work, he/she should have the best knowledge of what will look the best with the decor and usage of such things as shower heads, faucets, lighting and other fixtures. Chances are he/she may also be able to get better quality and pricing on all fixtures especially if he/she is well established. Not to mention the contractor will also know what types will really increase the value of your home.

Buy more tiles than you believe you will need in order to line the floor, if not the walls. It will be far more costly and time-consuming to locate tiles that even come close to a replica of yours if you search for them years after buying the initial batch. For the duration of your homeownership, you'll probably require spare tiles if single ones are damaged. Also, excess tiles may be transformed into accent items for your bathroom, such as decorations by the light switches, bathroom tissue dispensers, mirrors, and even towel racks. Once again, the local remodeling contractors are experienced and will attend to these pre-planning items for you.

To gain more space in the bathroom replace your big vanity with a small pedestal sink. You can add more shelves in other parts of the room. A pedestal sink will take up less space and make your bathroom look bigger than before. Avoid filling up expanded space with items you will not use. Do you really need that many different shampoos? You should only need a small amount of space for these products like the top of the toilet or built in shelves.

With the knowledge of various remodeling bathroom ideas from luxury developer Pendleton Homes out of Mclean Virginia you can re exam your own ideas and learn how to create your own remodel bathroom ideas. Pendleton Homes has great advice to help you with remodel bathroom ideas, these ideas also include pictures in which you may want to mix up a couple to make it look as if you were the one who had ther great remodel bathroom idea. Just learning a little might even make your new bathroom the envy of many and your sanctuary of pleasure.

As you consider remodel bathroom ideas, make sure that the lighting is appropriate. If you're thinking about upgrading your bathroom, something as simple as installing new steel fixtures, such as showerheads and faucets, can breathe new life into your old restroom. Start by finding a reliable agent, who will be able to assist you in completing the project. The luxury developer Pendleton Homes have great ideas to help you with remodeling options, these ideas also include pictures in which you may want to mix up a couple to make it look as if you were the one who had the great remodel bathroom idea.

Entry To Stairway Framing

Clawfoot Bathtubs - Many Styles

The claw foot bathtubs made an appearance on the markets in 1883. The Process of enameling cast iron was developed by Standard Manufacturing. This led to the design of the cast iron claw foot bathtub. This is the tub we all think of with the rolled over rims. The company has become know as American Standard Brands. Still a major producer of not only bathtubs, which they still produce, but the plumbing business as a whole has benefited from the technologies and developments of American Standard Manufacturing. It has been stated that three out of five of the houses built in the United States has some type of their products in the house.

With basically four different types of claw foot bathtubs, this gives a wide variety to choose from. The classic claw foot tub is probably what most people think of first. This design has one end rounded so when a bather is in the tub his or her back can be rested in the curved portion while taking a nice long relaxing soaking. The end where the feet would be is more squared with faucets and a drain. The next design will be the slipper tub. This is very close to the classic except for the curved back is extended higher and can also be used more as a headrest also.

Then the double ended and the double slipper tub add to the choices of design of the bathtubs. Each of these tubs have two rounded ends. The slipper tub will be more of a "U" or banana shape. Both of the ends are raised so either end can be used or the tub may be shared with another bather. The rounded ends will require the faucet holes to be drilled in the side of the tub.

And just to make things a little more interesting all four of these designs can be purchased without the faucet holes drilled anywhere. And all of the designs could have the faucet holes drilled on the rolled rim. This may seem a little confusing at first, but when the antique claw foot tubs was designed, not all houses had running water. Then as the water supply was introduced to the houses, some would be from the wall or the floors. All the tubs can still be fit with which ever type of claw foot bathtub faucet you may need. The tub wall mount will fit the tubs that have faucet holes drilled in the tubs. The deck mounted will fit the design of the holes drilled in the rim, and will make the faucet look as if it is sitting on the rolled over edge. The free standing will allow for the water supply to come out of the floor. There is the bathroom wall mount for the water supply to come out of the wall, but in some situations, this one can also be used for the tub wall mount.

For a modern update on the vintage look of the claw foot tub, check into the acrylic claw foot bathtub. This technology has allowed for a lighter weight design, and the touch of the tub is warmer then the cast iron. But a whirlpool or the jet air can be installed and it is not unusual for either of these to have a remote control. Another great upgrade for either the cast iron or the acrylic is to install the claw foot shower tub. This is the shower, and the curtain rod that is usually hung from the ceiling, so you can still have a stand up shower if you like. This rod will require two or three regular shower curtains, but more good news. There is also a claw foot shower curtain that is quite a bit larger then a regular shower curtain, so you can enjoy the shower without worry of making a mess on the floor where the water goes out between the seams and the cold air will come in.

With the decision the either remodel are to built a new house, consider the use of the vintage style clawfoot bathtub The cast iron clawfoot bathtub bring a feel of warmth and will certainly become the focal point of the bathroom. If you want a modern, up to date performance from the tub, the acrylic clawfoot bathtub can come equipped with a remote controlled whirlpool or jet air.

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