Ways To Keep Your Home Comfortable and Warm This Winter

Winter will be here before we know it. It always seems to sneak up on us every year. Creating a warm and comfortable home can be challenging for many, especially as the temperatures drop. Keep reading to discover inexpensive ways to help with this problem.

Reverse the Ceiling Fans

Almost every room in the home has a ceiling fan. These fans help move air around the house to combat stagnant summer air, but they can benefit you in the winter as well. Reversing the ceiling fan is a surefire way to help keep your home warmer during the winter, and it costs you nothing. The motion pushes the warm air back down to the living space. This tip is especially helpful for homes with high-sloped or cathedral ceilings.

Stop Door Drafts

You can make door snakes and place them in front of doors to stop drafts. Find a long thin sack, like a sock, and stuff it with dried beans, rice, or peas. It needs to be heavy enough to stay in place. You can also use scrap fabric to sew a homemade door draft, allowing you to quickly say goodbye to cool breezes.

That said, if your home is incredibly drafty, this could be a sign you need to update your house’s insulation. Insulation is one of your home’s greatest defenses against the outside elements.

Change the Furnace Filter

This task may seem like it won’t change much, but it’s an easy way to help save you energy and keep the dust levels down in the house. Before changing the filter, ensure you have the correct size replacement on hand. You can find the right size on the furnace or the original filter. Ensure you’re changing it monthly to keep the system running efficiently and effectively.

Open Your Curtains and Blinds

Letting the sunshine fill your home during the day is an inexpensive way to warm your home. The sun is a natural heat source, and it’s free! When the sun starts to set, close up the shades to block out the cold air.

You can also invest in thick curtains to prevent cooler air from sneaking in. The thicker fabric will help provide a cozy and warm environment.

Keeping your home warm in the winter doesn’t have to be a challenge. Use the above ways to ensure a comfortable and warm house all winter. You and the family can snuggle under the blankets and enjoy the best the season has to offer.

How to Hire A Home Restoration Professional That Helps You Save Time and Money

Accidents happen, and many of them are things we can’t control. Luckily, you can always bounce back with the help of home restoration professionals who will make the restoration process smoother and easier for you, so it’s less hassle.

A home restoration professional is a person who specializes in repairing and restoring homes. A home restoration professional can be an architect, designer, contractor, interior designer, or another tradesperson.

Home restoration professionals are responsible for the house’s structural integrity and ensuring that it is safe for habitation by residents. They also need to ensure that any repairs made to the property are aesthetically pleasing and complement the style of the rest of the house.

A home restoration professional can help repair many types of damage in your home.
They include:

• Structural damage to the foundation, walls, and floors

• Water damage from burst pipes or other sources

• Fire damage from electrical wiring or other sources

• Mold and mildew from water intrusion or other sources

• Damage from pests such as rodents, insects, or birds

It is essential to know that not all home restoration professionals are the same. Make sure you research each one before hiring them.

Here’s a checklist of what you need to do to pick the best one:

The right professional will be able to restore your home and make it a place you want to live in again. But if you choose a bad one, they might not do the job well or even finish it.

Choosing a good professional is essential because they are the ones who will be handling your home and making it livable again. If you choose someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, your home might be more damaged than before.

This checklist is here to let you know what you need to do to have better chances of picking the best home restoration professional for your home.

Examine the company’s insurance coverage and licensing

A home restoration professional is a person who specializes in restoring homes natural disasters have damaged, as well as fires or other events.

Before you hire a home restoration professional, it is vital to make sure the company they work for has the appropriate licensing and insurance coverage. The company should be licensed and insured to restore homes in your state. They should also have liability insurance to cover any damages while restoring your home.

That will help avoid any legal or financial problems for them and you.

Validate their services by checking the reviews from previous customers

It is imperative to check reviews from previous customers before hiring a home restoration professional. This way, you will know if their services are worth it and if they can do the job right.

While it is true that many people leave reviews for products or services they have never used, it is not the case with home restoration professionals. These people work on your property, and you can’t just hire them without knowing what they can do. That’s why you should always ask for their reviews before hiring them.

For example, if your home is suffering from fire damage, then you should look for a home restoration professional’s experience with home fire damage repair.

Some people have it on their websites, while others showcase it on their social media platforms. 

Check their availability and location

The availability of a home restoration professional is one of the most critical factors in hiring them. They can handle emergencies better and faster when they are available.

If they are not available, you will need to find someone else who can do the job. This hurdle can be difficult because there might not be many available professionals. It is best to find someone who is open and has the skills needed for your project.

If you have water damage at home, for example, and you wait until later to hire a particular home restoration professional, the water damage can attract mold and mildew into your home.

Ask about their process and quotation

The work process of a home restoration professional is what distinguishes them from other contractors. It also determines the cost of their services. The most common work process is to do an assessment and then give a quotation for the work. The quote will include all labor and materials required for the project.

When hiring a home restoration professional, it is vital to ask about their work process and quotation for their services. This step will help you determine if they are worth hiring or not.

The work process will help you understand what they will be doing to restore your house. The quotation is important because it will give you an idea of the project’s cost and how much it will take to get your home back in shape.

Request Schedule of Completion (Timetable)

Home restoration professionals have the training to provide a timetable for the restoration process. Requesting a schedule is essential because it gives you an idea of the time it will take to restore your home.

If you are not satisfied with the timeline, you can ask for an alternative.

This step is crucial because it will allow you to plan and prepare for the coming days without worrying about your home repairs. It will give you a sense of what will happen in the following days. It also helps you plan and prepare better while waiting for the home restoration professional to finish the repairs.

Conclusion

Nobody wants to have to deal with repairing their homes after an accident, but there will be cases when you need to, and that’s where a home restoration professional can help. By making sure that you follow the checklist above, you should be able to at least narrow down the home restoration professionals that can help you get your home back in working order.

What Does a Full Roof Restoration Include?

Your home's roof is one of its most important components. In addition to providing a crucial layer of protection, a roof also contributes significantly to the aesthetic appeal of a home. Sometimes, though, that appeal diminishes when your roof's appearance degrades due to age and weather. Fortunately, there's a process called roof restoration that can bring your old roof back to life. Here's what's involved in the process.

Cleaning

One common problem affecting different roof types is dirty streaks resulting from trees, leaves, and other natural debris. Cleaning these streaks can quickly restore the appearance of a roof. In most cases, a pressure washer is enough to get the job done. However, if soap and scrubbing are needed, a good roof restorer will put in the extra effort to help your roof look great.

Painting

For some types of roofs, a fresh coat of paint is necessary to create a like-new appearance. For clay tile, metal, and even some types of wood shake roofs, putting on a new coat of paint will improve the appearance and add critical protection to help prolong the life of your roof. Another great benefit of roof painting is that you can change the appearance of your home if you opt for a new paint color.

Repairing

Constantly exposed to the elements, a roof can develop small issues that can eventually lead to leaks and lost shingles. During a roof restoration, a contractor such as Top Ridge Roofing & Restoration can fix all of these problems. Nail pops, broken shingles, missing flashing, and other issues are fairly straightforward fixes that will protect the integrity of your roof and your home. Even if you're not planning a roof restoration, it's still a good idea to inspect your roof every few years to check for any issues.

Inspecting

Another important part of roof restoration is assessing the overall condition of your roof. In some cases, the contractors may discover that your roof is beyond restoration and needs to be replaced. An inspection may also reveal significant issues from past leaks in the roof sheathing, meaning the contractors will need to remove some shingles to replace the support structure underneath. A thorough inspection can provide peace of mind that your roof is doing its job.

Lower Cost

Unaware of roof restorations, many people opt to replace their roof instead of repairing it. However, when done correctly, a roof restoration can save a lot of money and produce similar results to those you would achieve if you replaced your roof. Therefore, if you're having issues with your roof, see if a roof restoration is a viable option so that you can have money to put toward other home improvements.