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Latest Articles
When to Replace Your Heater
Consider the number of damages the heating unit has so that you will know right away if you will need to buy a new one or not. You better replace...
on Jan 16, 2021
What To Do When Your HVAC System Breaks
You must want your furnace to operate perfectly to keep you warm during the cold winter months. For this reason, you need to take care of your...
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What You Should Know Before Getting Custom Fly Screens
Aside from enhancing the look and feel of your home, custom fly screens can also elevate your level of privacy, protection, and elegance of your...
on Jan 13, 2021
Choosing the Right Heating Unit for Your Home
It can be very tempting to buy cheap heaters. When you look at these models, you may not get what you are looking for. It may only be a matter of...
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How Will You Repair A Broken Heating System
When you have an Internet connection on your mobile phone, you can just Google the furnace repair professionals near you. We all know how it would...
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Popular Articles
When to Use a Brush, Roller or Sponge Brush
Brushes are a good choice for painting trim and woodwork. They are also useful for cutting in the edges around the top and bottom edges and corners...
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When you have the exterior of your home remodeled, you are investing, time, energy and convenience into the project and you want to make sure that...
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Homemade headboards can add a lot of personality to any bedroom. They can be coordinated with existing furniture and room decor or they can be the...
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Follow these steps for diagnosing and troubleshooting Gas Fireplaces repairs. For the average DIYer, this may seem intimidating, depending on the...
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First Time Home Buyers Beware of These Hidden Repairs
by Diane Clarkson on Aug 6, 2013
You want a home, but you don't want to buy a money pit. Unfortunately, it's a constant battle against depreciation with real estate. Roofs leak and sag, electrical wiring frays, plumbing leaks, and appliances break. That's why you need to do a little research before signing on the dotted line.
Windows
Windows are a huge investment. They're also one of the most common replacements needed in an older home. Windows, especially single-paned units, leak like a sieve. Before you buy a home, check out the window situation. Open them up, check the balancing systems, check for internal seal failure, and make sure there are no obvious drafts when the window is shut.
Balancing systems in older windows are of the Caldwell design. A hollow tube with a spiral-shaped piece of metal is what keeps the window open. The spiral balancer is prone to bending and is often responsible for a partial failure of the window system.
The glass pack on many double-paned windows is sealed with an aluminum spacer and silicone. The metal between the panes of glass doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the glass - causing permanent seal failure when temperatures on both sides of the window are significantly different. For example, in the summertime, your A/C may keep the interior glass surface cool, but the outside glass surface may be hot. The outside glass wants to expand, while the interior doesn't (at least, not to the same extent).
The result? The aluminum spacer that separates the glass panes can't hold the glass pack together. Once the seal breaks, condensation forms on the inside of the glass pack and the unit must be replaced. It's an expensive job, so make sure you don't have to pay for it.
Roofing
Roofs leak. It's a fact of life. Eventually, every roof needs to be replaced. Check the attic for signs of moisture or leaking. Ask whether the roofing has been replaced. If it has, don't assume that the old shingles have been pulled up. Some contractors simply lay down new shingles over the old ones in an attempt to save the homeowner some money.
Unfortunately, this can cause premature failure of the roofing system since old shingles may be retaining moisture. Worst-case scenario - you'll have to rip up everything, including the decking, and build a new roof.
Taste The Water
Homeowners who have design their house can customize a filtration system before the foundation is ever poured. However, if you're buying a used home, you don't have much of a choice. You get whatever comes with the house.
Taste the water. Even if you're buying within city limits, not all municipalities are the same. Some add chlorine. Others add chloramines. Still, others add fluoride on top of the chlorine treatment. The amount of chlorine and chloramines varies, and can adversely affect the taste and quality of your drinking water.
The only way to get rid of chloramines is to add a special water filter to remove the taste - a potentially expensive investment - best to know what you're getting into before committing to the entire house.
Diane Clarkson has extensive experience in real estate. Her articles mainly appear on homeowner blogs.
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