Hour 1
Hear what simple upgrades can help sell your home faster, why post anchors are crucial for outdoor columns and more.
Simple Upgrades to Sell Your Home Faster
To sell your house quickly and for the best price, consider making some simple upgrades.
- Tidying up your yard by mowing the lawn, removing weeds, and planting flowers can instantly boost your home’s curb appeal.
- Updating your mailbox and address numbers can also add a touch of sophistication.
- Sprucing up your fence with a fresh coat of paint or adding decorative features can create an attractive focal point.
- Installing security features like motion-activated lights or a smart doorbell can increase your property’s value and give you peace of mind.
- Updating your lighting fixtures and repainting in neutral colors can create a cohesive design scheme throughout your home.
- Adding built-in shelves and drawers to your closets can make them feel luxurious and spacious. Incorporating smart home technology can make your home feel modern and convenient.
- Replacing your kitchen cabinet hardware can give your kitchen a fresh and modern feel.
- Fixing or replacing leaky faucets can improve the functionality of your kitchen and bathrooms while enhancing their appearance.
- Finally, installing a kitchen backsplash can protect your walls from stains and give your kitchen a finished look.
With these simple upgrades, you can increase the chances of a quicker sale and get the best price for your home.
Read the full article from House Digest: Simple Upgrades That Will Help You Sell Your House Faster
Why Post Anchors are Crucial on Outdoor Columns
If you’re planning on building a deck or a porch, you’re going to need some sturdy columns to support it. But just attaching those columns to the ground isn’t enough — you need to use post anchors to ensure that they stay in place and remain secure over time.
Post anchors come in various materials, such as steel, galvanized steel, or aluminum, and they’re designed to be secured to the ground or a concrete slab using bolts or screws. Once in place, the post is then inserted into the anchor and secured with additional hardware.
Why are post anchors so important? Well, for starters, they prevent your columns from shifting or rotating due to weather, soil movement, or other external factors. Without them, your entire structure could become unstable, leading to potential safety hazards.
Additionally, post anchors help to protect your columns from moisture damage, which can cause wood rot and decay over time. By elevating the base of the column off the ground, post anchors help to prevent water from pooling around the base, which is especially important if you live in an area with heavy rain or high humidity.
And finally, post anchors can actually make your building process easier and more efficient. By providing a stable and secure base for your columns, you can avoid having to dig deep holes or pour large concrete footings, which can be time-consuming and costly.
So if you’re planning on building an outdoor structure with columns, be sure to invest in post anchors. They’re a small but essential component that will ensure your structure stays safe, stable, and secure for years to come.
Hour 2
Hear why charcoal venting systems by themselves aren’t so great, about a tough material to protect your home during a hurricane, how much spacing you should leave between deck boards and more.
Why You Shouldn’t Vent a Range Hood with Charcoal System Into the Attic
A homeowner wants to know: “Can you can vent a range hood into the attic if you use a charcoal venting system?”
First, let’s understand what a charcoal venting system is. It is an air filtration system that uses activated charcoal to absorb and filter out pollutants, chemicals, and odors from the air. The system traps and absorbs contaminants from the air, leaving behind cleaner and safer air to breathe. There are two types of charcoal venting systems — recirculating and venting to the outside.
The recirculating type circulates the air through a charcoal filter and into the attic. This type of system is almost worthless in removing hot, moist air from your house and is only good at minimizing cooking odors. On the other hand, venting to the outside removes the moisture and pollutants from cooking outside of the home through a duct system.
So, are charcoal venting systems that vent up into the attic worth it? The short answer is no. This is because the moisture and grease from cooking can accumulate in the attic and cause mold growth, structural damage, and other problems. This can lead to long-term health issues and damage to your home. Moreover, these systems only recirculate the air in the home and do not remove pollutants from the air.
To ensure that the moisture and pollutants from cooking are properly exhausted from the home and do not accumulate in the attic or other areas, we recommend venting the range hood to the outside of the home through a duct system. You can use a charcoal venting system in combination with this to get comprehensive air purification and odor control as well as moisture control.
Bullet-Proof Hurricane Protection for Your Home
When it comes to protecting your home from hurricane-force winds and debris, sometimes traditional plywood just won’t cut it. That’s where Kevlar hurricane window screening comes in.
Kevlar hurricane window screening is made from a durable, high-strength material. This material is commonly used in body armor, but has also been adapted for use in hurricane protection systems.
Made with a high-strength polymer fiber called Kevlar, these screens are incredibly tough and resistant to impact. In fact, they can withstand winds up to 140 miles per hour and even resist penetration from flying debris like rocks and tree limbs.
But not only do they offer superior protection, Kevlar hurricane window screening also allows for better ventilation and natural light compared to traditional hurricane shutters. Plus, they’re virtually transparent from the inside, so you won’t even notice they’re there.
Installation is also a breeze. The lightweight, flexible screens can be easily mounted on your existing window frames with a simple clip system, and they can be removed just as easily when the storm passes.
Kevlar hurricane window screening can be customized to fit any size or shape of window or door. This means you can protect your entire home, not just a few select areas. It can also be made to match the color and style of the building, so it doesn’t detract from the overall aesthetic.
Read: The 5 Best Options for Hurricane Impact Windows in South Florida
However, keep in mind no protection system is completely foolproof. Even with Kevlar hurricane window screening in place, there is still a risk of damage or injury during a severe storm. Therefore, take other precautions, such as evacuating if necessary, and follow all safety guidelines issued by local authorities.
Should You Leave Gaps in Decking?
A homeowner in South Alabama is in the process of constructing a deck using 5/4 pressure-treated lumber. He’s concerned about whether or not to leave gaps between the deck boards because of the area’s high rainfall.
He wants to know: “Should I leave a gap between the deck boards? The boards on my old deck didn’t shrink, and water would puddle up and not drain through. What do you think I should do?”
The amount of shrinkage depends on the moisture content of the wood you’re using. Most of the time, there’s a fair amount of moisture in pressure-treated lumber, which means when it does dry out, there will be some gaps.
Kiln-dried wood won’t shrink as much as wood with higher moisture levels, so since the previous deck had little shrinkage, it was probably built using that.
A general rule of thumb is to use a 12-penny nail as a spacer, which is usually about an eighth of an inch. That way if you have shrinkage it won’t create such a large hole that it would be dangerous to someone.
Typically, we recommend a gap of 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch for 5/4 pressure-treated lumber. To maintain consistency, use specialized tools such as spacers or shims to ensure consistent gap size between boards.
Watch: Leaving Gaps Between Pressure-Treated Wood Deck Boards
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Simple Solutions
Mini-Greenhouse for Starting Seeds — Make a cloche (super-mini greenhouse) for germinating seeds in pots and planters.
First, crosscut a 1-liter soda bottle (for a small pot) or 2-liter bottle (for a larger pot) in half. Discard the bottom half of each bottle.
Next, set the top half of the bottle over seeds in the pot to create a makeshift greenhouse.
The bottle will trap heat and prevent moisture evaporation. If the air inside the cloche gets too hot, simply unscrew the bottle cap.
Watch: How to Make a Mini Greenhouse from a Soda Bottle
Hinge Mortise Trick — Here’s an easy, accurate way to cut hinge mortises:
- Secure the hinge to the door with two screws for use as a cutting template.
- Align a wood chisel with the edge of the hinge.
- Then, strike it with a hammer to establish the outline of the mortise.
- Remove the hinge, chisel out the waste wood and then permanently screw on the hinge.
Watch: How to Cut Mortises for Door Hinges with a Chisel
