HomeAdditionPlus.com Monthly
Newsletter
Home Improvement
News for the DIY Homeowner
November 21, 2010
Edition: 0061
HomeAdditionPlus.com
November 21, 2010 Newsletter
Newsletter Topics
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Latest Happenings
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Lead Paint Testing
and RRP Certification
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Deck Flashing
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Garage Door Seals
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Cement Backerboard
versus Greenboard
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Completion Escrow
Accounts for Landscaping and Driveway Work
-
Porcelain Tile
versus Travertine Tile - What are the Differences
Latest Happenings
The weather here in New Hampshire has continued to be excellent for outdoor yard
work and exterior house maintenance projects. I’ve continued to do minor
exterior house paint jobs, replace more deck lattice, and rake a heck of a lot
of leaves. Man, those Oak tree leaves just seem to hang in to the very end of
fall.
I’ve also continued to work on my large web development project for
HomeAdditionPlus.com. The project code name is “HomeSight”. I’ve enlisted the
resources of an entire web development team and expect to officially launch it
this coming January. If you have a recent or planned home remodeling project and
are interested in participating as a Beta site user to test out the “HomeSight”
features when they become available please contact me.
As usual, I’ve also been very busy writing new articles for HomeAdditionPlus.com
and New Hampshire’s Weirs Times newspaper. My latest articles include topics
such as lead paint testing, building decks, bathroom remodeling, tile
comparisons, completion escrow accounts, plumbing repairs and much more. Listed
below are just a few of the key articles that I have written in the past month.
Lead Paint Testing and RRP Certification
Older homes offer historic charm, classic looks, and unique attributes often not
found in new home construction. However with older homes comes increased care
and responsibility when it comes to renovating, repairing and painting them. In
particular, any home built before 1978 may have lead paint in, on, or around it.
Consequently contractor renovation, repair, or painting of a home built before
1978 is required to first undergo Lead Paint Testing and use RRP Certified
Contractors if paint surfaces are to be disturbed. For more information see my
full article on “Lead Paint Testing and RRP Certification”
Deck Flashing
Deck flashing installation is an extremely important part of deck construction.
As a matter of fact, the leading cause of catastrophic deck collapses is the
failure in the connection between the deck ledger and the house. Failure between
the deck ledger and house connection is typically caused by either the lack of
deck flashing or the improper installation of it. The connection between the
house and deck must be protected from water intrusion with deck flashing. For
more information see the full article on “Deck Flashing”.
Garage Door Seals
Garage door seals play an important role in preventing cold air, wind driven
rain, snow, dust, rodents, snakes, and insects from getting into your garage. A
garage door threshold seal helps to keep the contents of your garage cleaner and
drier. In addition, it helps keep your garage warmer and more energy efficient.
In some cases garage doors may have garage door seal weather stripping attached
to the bottom of it. In other cases garage door threshold seals are attached to
the garage floor just underneath where the garage door closes. For the full
story see my article on “Garage Door Seals”.
Cement Backerboard versus Greenboard
Cement Backerboard and Greenboard drywall are often misunderstood by do it
yourself homeowners. They are not interchangeable and are designed for specific
applications. Cement backerboard is a type of wall or floor sheathing that is
specifically engineered for wet or heavily moist tile environments, such as
ceramic tiled shower stalls. Greenboard drywall, on the other hand, is designed
for damp areas such as on bathroom and basement walls. See my article on “Cement
Backerboard versus Greenboard” to learn more.
Completion Escrow Accounts for Landscaping and Driveway Work
Should Monies be escrowed for work to be completed after a house mortgage
closing? I am in the process of building a new home and the home is not expected
to complete until the dead of winter. Consequently the landscaping and driveway
will not be completed until spring when the ground has unthawed. Since the
closing will be in February I am debating asking the builder or my lending bank
to set up a mortgage escrow account or completion escrow account to hold back
the monies necessary for completing the landscaping and driveway. What are your
thoughts on this? See my article on “Completion Escrow Accounts for Landscaping
and Driveway Work” to find out the answer.
Porcelain Tile versus Travertine Tile - What are the Differences
Porcelain tile and Travertine tile both offer their special brand of beauty to a
kitchen, bathroom or entranceway. There are a number of key differences,
however, between porcelain tile and Travertine tile that a homeowner should
carefully consider. One of the main differences between porcelain tile, versus
Travertine tile, is that porcelain tile is a manmade product where as Travertine
tile is a natural stone product. See my article on “Porcelain Tile versus
Travertine Tile - What are the Differences” to learn more.
Other New Articles to Check Out
As always, if you have any specific
home improvement questions or would like to see specific new home improvement
related content send your questions to me at mark@homeadditionplus.com.
Again,
good luck with your DIY home improvement projects and Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark
J. Donovan
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