Worlds Design

When you want to build a new home, you have to go through quite a few things to get it just right.  You have to find the property that you want the home built on, find out what the cost of running electricity and water to the property will cost, as well as telephone lines, among other costs.  Figuring out just what kind of home you want to build is also a problem, particularly if you are not the only one that is going to be living in the home.  After you do all that, the next step is hiring the right contractor and determining what kind of materials you want the home built out of.

Select at least a few different licensed contractors to choose from first and get three or more different bids.  This will give you a few options and will give you a general idea of how much it will cost to build your home.  Make sure that the contractor’s license is current and that there has not been any claims filed against it.  Get a list of references from each of the contractors you are considering and call as many of them as you can.  Visit their homes and ask if you can view the property and determine the quality of the work.  You should not worry about this too much, since most new homeowners really enjoy showing off their new home.  Ask if they have had any problems with mold or water damage due to faulty construction and factor this into your decision on whether to choose that contractor. 

When asking for a bid on a building project, you should give every contractor that you are considering the exact same set of building plans and materials.  Giving them different sets of plans will be pretty pointless, since you only have the money to build one home (we assume).

When you finally do choose a contractor, you need to ask when they will be able to start and about how long it will take them to complete the project.  Also obtain copies of any insurance policies that they have (and they should have them, if not, do not hire them) and store them in a job folder that you will use to keep track of payments and other important project-related information, such as a copy of your contract. 

The bid on the project should be broken down to each specific aspect of the building of the home, such as the framing of it, the electric system, the plumbing, installation of drywall, molding, and etcetera. 

Houston Flood Damage Cleanup

Your laundry room, basement, and roof are almost as likely to have water damage and leaks as your bathrooms and your kitchen are.  So, what can you do about it? 

Check your washing machine hoses often for moisture around the ends of the hose and signs of cracking or weak spots.  The hose should be replaced as often as is necessary, but this shouldn’t be more than every three to five years. 

The water heater in your home can pose problems, as well.  If there are areas of rust on the tank or wet areas in the floor nearby, you might have a leak on your hands.  Hot water heaters should be located in the lowest level of your home possible, preferably the basement, and always next to a floor drain.  If it has to be installed on upper floors, it should be installed inside a large drain pan and the water directed to a drain in the floor.  This way, if it begins leaking, it won’t damage your floors or any area of your home on the next floor down.

Your air conditioner collects condensation and each one should have a drain pan line to direct the water collected by your air conditioner. 

Outside your home, any low spots around your house’s foundation should be filled in so that water drains away from the house and not toward it and end up seeping in through any flaws in the structure.  Caulking around windows and doors should be inspected; if it is cracked or missing anywhere, it’s best to remove it and completely re-caulk it.

The area round your roof should be draining properly and if it’s not, water seeps into the wood and causes it to rot.  A leaky roof can be a definite cause of water damage and is another thing that is not uncommon.  Keep your gutters and downspouts free from leaves and other debris that can prevent the water from leaving the roof efficiently.  Don’t walk on your roof unless you have to for repairs and it could be wise to invest in a roof preservative to help limit the amount of water your roof sponges up.  Wood soaks up water pretty easily and if you want to prevent water damage to your home, it’s a good idea to get a sealant for wooden areas of your home that are exposed to the elements.

Orlando Emergency Water Restoration

I hate mold and you hate mold, but unfortunately it’s something that we all have to deal with on a daily basis. It lives either outside on the ground or inside our homes in the walls eating away the internal structure. You have no doubt seen it living on foods in your kitchen that have spoiled, perhaps on fruit or in jars of grape jelly. It is unsightly and also unhealthy. So, what is mold exactly?

Mold is a fungus. It lives both indoors and outdoors and there is not much that you can do to escape it. It is truly almost everywhere humans are and are not. They typically come in the colors of grey, blue, green, brown, black, and red and even more. While they are definitely unsightly, what most people do not realize is just how unhealthy living in a home contaminated with mold can be.

Mold living in your home can cause all kinds of medical problems and which one you will end up with is a matter of chance. You never know which condition mold will hand to you. It has been known to cause allergies and to aggravate people who have asthma and other respiratory conditions and also to cause skin rashes, damage to the central nervous system, and problems with vision.

The people who should be the most concerned with mold are the elderly, small children, pets, and those who have a weakened immune system. These tend to be people who are pregnant, who are HIV-positive, or are recovering from a surgery, especially a major one. They should take special care and if mold is found in a home, anyone fitting these descriptions should relocate until the mold is removed.

Mold also does damage to the internal structure of the home, eating the wood, sheetrock, carpet, and anything else that is organic. The sole job of a fungus such as mold is to decompose organic material such as dead plants and dead animals.

If you suspect that mold lives in your home, it is highly suggested that you purchase a mold testing kit and test your home for mold yourself. Follow the instructions exactly or the tests will be of no use. Send the tests off to be analyzed by a mold laboratory and when you receive the results back, if they are positive, contact a professional mold remediation company.

Water Damage

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Have you been thinking about remodeling your kitchen? These days, it seems that everyone and their uncle is redoing kitchens and baths in an effort to enhance home values in anticipation of the re-emergence of a benign if not strong housing market. Kitchens in particular are a focal point, as the average remodel runs around $60k – almost ¼ the value of the average home – and the return on this investment is generally solid, and often approaching 400 or even 500% for a truly spectacular room. The big question these days, particularly for the real estate investor, is what the preferences of buyers or tenants will be going forward: are they looking for the classic gourmet “chef’s kitchens” of the 90’s, or something newer?

There are some pros and cons about contemporary kitchens that any real estate investor in New York needs to consider. The pros definitely outweigh the cons, but do not necessarily make them a better choice than a more traditional style. On the plus side, contemporary kitchen designs are relatively simple, very attractive, durable, easy to clean, a pleasure to cook in, and undoubtedly reflect the NYC aesthetic – modern, sleek, cool, sophisticated. They also generally install quicker than a traditional kitchen, preserve more floor space, and create an open feel. On the flip side, some find contemporary kitchens to be cold. Materials for contemporary kitchens are generally more expensive than their traditional counterparts, and cabinets and appliances are often significantly more expensive not only because of the materials but because of the thoughtful design that has gone into producing them. What’s more, since much of the work is custom (though it doesn’t have to be) modern kitchen cabinetry can have a long lead time, making projects last longer, translating into a vacancy for the investor – though this isn’t an issue if the project is part of a larger renovation. Lastly, contemporary kitchens generally require the enlistment of a qualified kitchen designer – not a problem in NY, where there are many, but an added cost.

In the end, whether or not to jump on the bandwagon of contemporary kitchen design is a matter of whether one believes that the benefits of the design will add enough value to cover the costs. In almost all cases of new construction, it seems these designs pay off; but in renovation, choosing a kitchen design is often a shot in the dark.

Poorly setup guitars really make playing the guitar a bigger challenge. As if it is not an endless challenge itself. But why make it more difficult? As you probably know by know, the faster you learn to play brings you more personal gratification and desire.

What is ‘guitar setup’? Basically it means to have the specifications adjusted to the actual factory standards or your personal specs. Simply put, a set-up includes:
#1. adjusting the height of the strings over the neck
#2. making sure your frets are level or the same height all the way up the neck
#3. intonation
#4. adjust and lubricated all remaining components, in general.

The purpose here is to help you to have a guitar you can play to it’s max potential. Hopefully without confusing anyone or using unusual terms that don’t really mean anything to you. As a matter of interest, I have rarely handled a new guitar, especially Gibson Guitars, that are really poorly set-up from the factory. Realistically speaking, it it a real mystery as to why more time is not spent setting up the guitars at the factory.

The Fender and Squier line of guitars seem to be the best set-up guitars from the factory, especially the Artist Series and Custom Shop series, and sometimes they leave a lot to be desired. I don’t really want to beat down any brand of guitar, it is not personal.

That being said leads me into the fact that every guitar a guitar store unpacks should be set-up before it is shipped or sold. Due to many conditions, it is not realistic for guitar retailers of any type to set-up every guitar. With the low profit levels guitar dealers are saddled with, it is not economically possible.

Regardless of whether it is new or used, once your guitar is properly set-up and adjusted, you may not recognize it in terms of how well it plays and just as important, how excellent it now sounds. It does not matter what your feelings were in term of playability and tone, your mind will be changed and blown.

I got lucky, my teacher of many moons is not just a brilliant teacher, he is a bona-fide Guitar Hero. He has 51 years of playing, including a music education at Berklee School of Music. FYI, that is one of the top two leading music schools in the world. Period. Richard Mac plays at a level only achieved by guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson and other players in that class, although he clearly has his own vibe.

Back to the subject, my score from Richard, other than teaching me to be a pretty good player (always getting better) is all about guitar set-up. He is sick about having every one of his many guitars set-up before he even plays it. Since I am his disciple, I now set-up every guitar I own immediately upon arrival. Believe this, I bought an Eric Clapton Custom Shop guitar a few years ago and set it up immediately. Actually it was well set-up from the Fender Custom Shop, but It had to checked and set-up perfectly.

The point is that if you buy a Mexican Standard Stratocaster and set it up properly, you have a guitar that plays as good as an American Standard Strat at four to six hundred dollars less. Same thing with an Epiphone guitar. Why buy a poorly set-up Gibson Les Paul for a few thousand bucks when you can buy an Epiphone guitar for less than half that price and have a better playing and sounding guitar?

Lets get down to brass tacks. A good guitar set-up is less than a hundred bucks. Believe me, that is a steal. A lot of precision work along with some expensive tools go into a set-up. Not to mention the ‘love’ built in by the luthier or guitar maker. I spent a lot of my life rebuilding automotive transmissions, and anyone in the know, knows they are precise and delicate. Guitars take the same delicate precision and time to make right. Don’t take my word for it, cough up the bucks and at least try it.

Not mentioning the many upgrades possible would be a disservice to you. If you had designs on upgrading your pickups or adding a TBX active tone control, locking tuners or whatever you can imagine, this is a great time to do it. Like I said, you can change the entire vibe of your guitar by locating a well trusted guitar maker/luthier.

For more information and ways to get a good set-up, and other cool guitar upgrades or modifications contact Guitar Players Center for a competent luthier who has the experience. Point of importance, don’t just shop by price, not every guitar maker/luthier is the same. Get a reference first, it’s the ‘love’ that counts most, not the cost.