Steps to Take in Emergency Plumbing Situations

Problems with your faucets, fixtures and pipes can range from mundane annoyances to true plumbing emergencies. When it comes to dealing with serious problems, taking swift and appropriate action can be of paramount importance.

Take Action Immediately

Serious problems with your plumbing system can result in extensive damage throughout the home. Failing to deal with the situation at the earliest opportunity could end up in more extensive damages and higher cleanup and repair costs. Taking action at the first sign of a problem is of the utmost importance for ensuring that a plumbing emergency is able to be dealt with effectively.

Contact a Professional

Trying to identify and correct the underlying problem on your own could result in the loss of valuable time. Few homeowners have the plumbing experience as well as the specialized tools that may be required in order to determine the source of the problem, stop the flow of water or to repair and replace the necessary plumbing components. Calling for help at the earliest opportunity is always the best approach to take.

Try to Contain the Problem

Once a plumber has been called, your next step should be trying to contain the problem as much as possible. Shutting off the flow of water at the source can limit the scope of any potential damages. Moving items away from the affected room or area or using a mop or towels to keep pooling water from spreading can go a long way towards ensuring that cleanup and repair costs are less likely to get out of hand.

Deal With Cleanup Quickly

Standing water and moist surfaces can easily lead to a mold or mildew infestation within the home. Once the underlying problem has been found and corrected, ensuring a swift cleanup should be your next concern. Removing standing water and doing what you can in order to dry out any items, materials, or surfaces that were affected end up making a world of difference. Fans, heaters and other special cleanup equipment may be required when dealing with the aftermath of a true plumbing emergency.

From calling in the professionals to ensuring that cleanup efforts can be done as soon as possible, knowing which steps to take when dealing with a plumbing emergency can make a world of difference. Taking quick and effective action to deal with a plumbing problem can go a long way towards protecting both your home and your household budget.

What To Do When Your House Starts to Crack

Cracked drywall and other signs of structural damage within the home are never an issue that property owners can afford to take lightly. Knowing what to do when your house starts to crack could end up making a world of difference.

Take Action Quickly

Failing to determine the source of a crack as quickly as possible could be nothing short of a disaster. Homeowners who choose to ignore the problem or who fail to take effective steps to address it could soon find themselves faced with more extensive damage and much higher repair costs. Documenting the crack thoroughly, inspecting the home for additional cracks, and calling in the professionals at the first sign of trouble are all steps that should be taken without delay.

Look for Additional Damage

A damaged foundation can place considerable strain on drywall, supports, and other construction materials. While a single crack can be caused by physical damage to a wall or other interior surface, a damaged foundation can typically cause multiple cracks throughout the home. Taking a look around the house and carefully inspecting walls and ceilings for other cracks and signs of visible damage can be well worth the time and effort involved.

Document the Damage

Documenting any cracks that appear within the home would be to your advantage. Taking a few photographs and writing down details about cracks measurements or the date when they first appeared can provide foundation repair professionals, ones like the people who can be found at Du-West Foundation Repair, with valuable information. Being able to accurately determine when structural problems first arose or knowing how long it took for cracks to grow in size can make determining the nature and scope of the underlying problem much easier.

Call a Professional

Few home and property owners possess the tools and technical skills needed to assess the state of their foundation or to conduct any repairs that may be required. Experienced professionals who are able to provide both comprehensive assessments, as well as quality repair services, often prove to be an indispensable resource. Should you notice a crack or have any concerns regarding the state of your home's foundation, calling in professionals is often the best approach to take.

A damaged foundation can undermine the structural integrity of the entire home and taking swift action to deal with the situation will be crucial for ensuring that repair costs do not get out of hand. Knowing what to do when your house begins to crack is never an issue that should be left to chance.  

The Design Benefits of Having a Beautiful Roof

Believe it or not, your roof can do wondrous things for the aesthetic and style of your home. In fact, with a bit of vision and creativity, you can use bold colors, textured roofing materials, and existing features to enhance your roof and accentuate your home’s design. Scan this guide and delve into some simple methods that can help you make the most of your roof.

Architectural Elements Accentuate Exterior Features

The architectural elements of your rooftop may not be something you think about often. But the truth is, features like the pitch and general shape of your roof can dramatically enhance your home’s curb appeal, value, and overall style. It doesn’t matter if you choose tile, slate, or asphalt, either.

The right architectural design will help you define your home’s personality and accentuate its other exterior features, such as window shutters or a wrap-around porch. For instance, if you air on the side of understated and dignified, you can choose simple rooflines to express that style.

On the other hand, suppose you’re looking for something more extravagant. If so, you could opt for a more complex roof with features like cross-gables to demonstrate a more elegant aesthetic. Either way, considering your roof’s architectural features can help you accentuate and add style to all of your home’s exterior features.

Bold Colors Serve as Captivating Accents

Of course, we can’t discuss the design benefits of having a beautiful roof without mentioning the opportunity to play around with color. In decades past, homeowners were given a minimal array of rooftop colors to choose from.

But nowadays, boldly colored roofing is all the rage. Because of this trend, homeowners are exploring the possibility of using their roofs to create captivating and stylish exterior accents. With vibrant options like green and blue, people are finding innovative ways to coordinate the color of their roofs with other external fixtures. Inherently, roofs are quickly becoming an opportunity to create charming exterior accents.

In doing so, they’re making their home’s appearance more dynamic and cohesive. These roofing options aren’t just exclusive to traditional materials like shingle and slate, either. Even if you have a metal roof, you can enjoy the benefits of a brightly colored roof by simply painting your existing roof a new color.

Roofing Materials Add Style and Texture

The roofing materials that you use can significantly impact your roof’s design. For instance, shingles and slate can help you achieve a more classic and modest style. On the other hand, stucco-finish tiles can help you accentuate the look of a modern Mediterranean design.

Or, if you’re looking for a way to update your classic Victorian, you can try asphalt or metal roofing meant to look like wood or clay tiles. In any case, the materials you choose for your roof can help to add some texture while accentuating the stylish features your home already has. So explore the possibilities of different textures when you’re trying to figure out the design benefits of a beautiful roof.

What To Do With All That Holiday Garbage

Just when you have your home looking its best for the holidays, an eruption of gifts, food, and toys throws it all out of whack. Holiday get-togethers, even small ones, generate gift wrap, boxes, and leftovers everywhere.

How do you derive order out of this happy chaos? Here’s what to do with all that holiday garbage. In fact, if your sustainability skills need a boost, the holidays are a great time to pick up responsible waste management habits.

Trees and Other Organic Decorations

What came from the earth can usually return to the earth. Check with your local forest preserve agency or municipality to see if they run a tree recycling program. Many agencies designate a drop-off area where they’ll collect natural trees, garlands, and other decorative evergreen branches. They’ll run these through chippers to create mulch to use along woodland paths and in gardens.

Wrapping Paper and Cards

If paper and cards have flourishes like glitter, mini pom-poms, or plastic pieces, don’t put them in your recycling bin. The same is true for ribbons and bows; these can tangle up recycling equipment and ruin a bale of recycled material with impurities.

Save bows and ribbons to reuse next year. With greeting cards, tear off the part that doesn’t have any embellishments for recycling, and get crafty with the rest. Use glittery holiday scenes from greeting cards in glass jar centerpieces or cut them into jigsaw puzzles for the kids.

Leftovers

Reduce plastic waste by investing in reusable silicone food storage bags for leftovers. These can go in the dishwasher and come out clean to pack up the remains of next holiday’s feast. Of course, the best way to deal with leftovers is to eat them! Don’t store them for so long that the food goes bad and you have to throw it away anyway.

Boxes, Bottles, and Cans

Cardboard is recyclable, and you’ll get a lot more of it into your bin if you break the boxes down first. In fact, recycling a ton of cardboard saves as many as 17 trees!

Recycling centers can usually remove packing tape. What recycling centers don’t want is food waste. If you toss a can, carton, or bottle into the recycling bin without rinsing it out first, your good intentions may end up in a landfill regardless. Food residue creates impurities in recycled paper products, making them less attractive to buyers.

Lights, Foam Packaging, and Defunct Electronics

These can’t go in your recycling bin, but your local solid waste agency may offer an alternative option. City or county recycling centers will often accept holiday lights, Styrofoam packaging, and used electronics. If you took advantage of holiday deals to replace an old television, ask if you can drop it off at a recycling center in your area.

When you know what to do with all that holiday garbage, getting your organized home back will seem much less daunting!