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Now that Spring has arrived, homeowners are beginning to spruce up the outside of their homes, including maintenance to their decks and fences. A question that wood restoration companies get asked all the time – “What stain should we use on our deck?” With so many color choices and brands available, it can be overwhelming.

Because wood decks and fences are costly investments, it is important to protect and maintain them with a quality sealer – one that is both eye appealing to the homeowner as well as effective in preventing mold and mildew from forming and causing the wood to rot from the inside out. Deck cleaning professionals choose to use primarily oil-based, semi-transparent stains which penetrate deep into the wood to protect it from checking, splitting, warping, and graying. Most water based products do not get into the wood’s grain because they form a film on its surface, which is then subject to peeling from the natural dry/wet cycles of the wood.

After your deck is thoroughly cleaned and brightened, make sure that you apply a quality sealer such as Ready Seal or Wood Tux Wet. Both of these sealers get deep down into the wood and contain heavy fungicides and pigmentation, which will prevent mildew growth and the wood from graying due to UV exposure. These stains will last for 2-3 years and will only need to be lightly cleaned by a power washing company, with the re-application of the same product, versus a full restoration of the surface which includes stripping the existing stain followed by a large amount of sanding.

Deck cleaning and sealing can be a large investment. However, if you do not properly protect your wood surfaces with a quality sealer, you will quickly realize that replacing warped, cracked, or rotted wood will be even more expensive.

The primary function of a housewrap or building paper is rain penetration control. It is not air infiltration despite what the manufacturers say. The energy aspects of housewraps are vastly overstated.

They have been embraced by builders for this function as can be evidenced by their market penetration. Yet their critical role in building durability is under appreciated and not marketed. It has been a triumph of marketing over physics.

The problem with building papers in general and house wraps in particular is a loss of water repellency. Contaminants referred to as surfactants (”surface-active contaminants”) either raise the surface energy of the house wrap or building paper or lower the surface energy of the water allowing the “wetting” of the housewrap or building paper surface by water.

Once wetting of the house wrap or building paper surface occurs, material pores in the house wrap or building paper become filled allowing transport of liquid phase water across the house wrap or building paper via capillarity or hydrostatic pressure (gravity).

Water soluble extractives in wood such as tannins and wood sugars in redwood and cedar are a type of surfactant that contaminate the surface of house wraps and building papers raising their surface energy.

Detergents and soaps are another type of surfactant that contaminates the surface of water, lowering its surface energy. Both result in the liquid (in this instance “water”) being able to “wet” the surface (in this case the building paper or house wrap).

The surface energies of either the liquid or surface or both are altered so that the surface energy of the surface becomes greater than the surface energy of the liquid. Back-priming or back-coating wood clapboards and trim helps to isolate the surfactants in the wood from the house wrap or building paper surface.

Similarly, providing airspace between wood trim and clapboard vinyl siding using furring or some other spacer (”cedar-breather”) reduces the quantity and time liquid phase water is trapped in the exterior of the wall assembly thereby reducing the potential of surfactant movement.

Where wood is concerned, both back-priming and airspace are highly recommended. Where stucco is concerned, stucco should never be installed in direct contact with any of the plastic based house wraps.

Stucco can “bond” or adhere to the house wrap surface altering its surface energy thereby allowing house wrap pores to become “wetted” and subsequently establish capillary flow. Another issue with stuccos is many have additives that improve workability and freeze-thaw resistance. These additives are typically surfactants.

A drainage space between stucco and building papers or house wraps is essential to control liquid phase water penetration. Bonding typically does not happen between stucco and building papers.

However, with most stucco applications applied over building papers, insufficient drainage results. It is recommended to use at least two layers of building paper under stucco in order to allow some drainage between the two layers.

Even better is to provide a spacer between the two layers of building paper by using a textured building paper or a building paper with granules or cork adhered to its surface thereby creating a space.

Another analogy that might be useful in understanding some of the concepts involved is one of being inside of a tent during a rainstorm and pushing your finger against the inside of the tent surface creating a leak by both compressing and tensioning the fabric altering its surface energy.

Dirt and dust can also affect house wrap performance. Think of a fabric that is “Scotch Guarded” to be water repellent that subsequently becomes dirty. The fabric must be cleaned to remove the contaminants and retreated to reestablish water repellency. Don’t let you house wraps become muddy or dirty.

The average person driving down the street seeing sign after sign littering the telephone poles promoting $200 windows could only conclude that a new window cost $200. After seeing several signs of different colors and with different phone numbers, all new windows must cost $200. Let’s explore what a $200 window really cost.

A $200 window is a base model that is used to attract price shoppers in order to get a salesperson in their home. Generally the salesperson is honest enough to inform you that the window is a piece of garbage and that a good window will cost at least $400+.

Let’s assume that the sales person is not honest. When you add on Argon gas and a single layer of Low E to meet the energy codes the price jumps to a little over $300. When the sales person finds that your install is not a “basic install” your price will generally jump another $50-$75 which brings your total to a little under $400. So now we can conclude that a $200 window cost a little under $400.

At this point my article should end, I answered the question correct? Well not really, cheap windows are just cheap windows and are made by companies that make cheap windows. Cheap “vinyl windows” are made of vinyl that is mixed with used plastic.

These windows will always began to fade and discolor, the surface begins to chalk like cheap plastic lawn chairs and the material falls apart. The glass is generally a single strength glass which cracks very easily letting cold air in and creating a hazard. The frames are never sturdy and they will sag due to the weight of the glass this prevents the frames from contacting the weather stripping properly.

The life span of a cheap window is around 3-5 years before they fail. But wait, the sales guy said that they have a lifetime warranty. A warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind the warranty. There are over 600 names brands of windows in the US today, how many can you name? Window companies make a ton of money making cheap products and changing their names every few years in order to avoid warranty issues.

In case you have not put the pieces together yet, a $200 window is actually a $400 window and it will fail in a few years. Once you replace the $400 windows you are at $800 per window.

The question now is how long do you want your replacement windows to last before you need to replace them again? Hopefully you will only want to replace them once in your lifetime. So, how about asking the “$200 window company” for some really good windows?

Let’s take a look at the integrity of a company that sells crappy products. Their marketing is illegal in most areas, they litter telephone poles, place flyers under your windshield and call your home even if you are on the do not call list.

They offer prices that are low in order to pull a “bait and switch” once they get in your home. They generally have not been in business in one area long enough to answer any warranty complaints. Is this the type of company that you want to buy your product from?

You might need to reread this again to understand how a $200 window turned into an $800 window, it’s hard to stomach! If you are going to spend $800 on a window, please only spend it once in your life!

Replacing a flooring system and not installing new floor registers that match the new floor is an unsightly mistake, yet easy to overlook.

If you are a homeowner, then you will have to hire a flooring contractor at some point, to replace or cover up the carpet, vinyl, hardwood or some type of flooring in your home.

And when you do, make sure you get all of the accessories that go along with the new floor, as well as match the scheme of the house and/or room where it is being installed.

One of the most common mistakes that degrade the intended look of a room is replacing the flooring and reinstalling the old floor registers.

You may be surprised to know that 75 percent of the floors that are replaced each year get accessorized with degrading old floor registers, instead of new decorative floor registers to match the scheme of the rooms.

Before I get into the selection process, I want to point out how and why this happens.

When most of us need work done to our homes, the first thing we do is pickup the yellow pages or go to some sort of online phone book and look for someone we think can do what we need, schedule an appointment and wait for them to show up.

Even though this works for some people, this is not the best way to get a professional job done and done with all the right products. Simply because most of the businesses listed in the phone books are contractors, not decorators or designers and only care about giving you what you want not what you need.

The best choice is to visit a local flooring center so you can view a larger selection of products and get ideas from their decorators on how to match accessories, like floor registers, to the actual flooring you are going to have installed.

Even if you decide not to purchase from that store, at least you will have a better understanding of what you need so you can make sure to mention to the contractor that you want to have decorative floor registers installed to match your flooring.

Thankfully, this most commonly overlooked issue of installing new floor registers to complement your new flooring, is something anyone can do themselves. So if hindsight is 20/20, do not worry, you are not stuck with what you got.

This brings us to the issues of how to choose and install floor registers, heating registers, grates, grilles or what ever term you like to use.

Let us begin with the installation so you know how to choose the right sizes. All you have to do is remove the existing registers, usually done with a screwdriver, measure the length and width of the opening in the floor, and reinstall until you get the new ones.

Subtract 1/8″ to 1/4″(depending on how square the opening is) and this is the inside dimensions for the new floor registers.

You can now use these dimensions to choose and order your new floor grates.

As far as choices, there are literally hundreds of different styles and finishes to choose from. Pick colors or finishes matching each room, but try to stay with the same style throughout the house. This will keep each room coordinated together.

If you have some rooms of your home that you change the colors or decorations in often, it is best to select neutral colors to these room. Also make sure to take cabinets wallpaper and other decor in the rooms into consideration.

You may also want to look at replacing the air return grilles to match the look of your new floor registers. By following these guidelines, you can have a wonderful looking home interior that stands out in the crowd, and usually for less than $250 bucks.

Pressure washing can enhance the value of your home. No matter if you live in Chesterfield, St. Louis, or even in Indiana. It doesn’t matter where you live.

House washing in Chesterfield should be thought of as an investment, not a expense.  Increasing the value of your home in Chesterfield would be worth the few hundreds of dollars to see a few thousands of dollars in return with increased value.  This is very important if you are thinking about selling your home.

Some people that have pressure washing in Chesterfield done not only have their house washed with low pressure, but they have their decks restored, sidewalks cleaned, even their driveways washed and sealed. It’s important to think about all these aspects of pressure washing.

Any if you have those nasty roof stains in Chesterfield, we can safely remove those stains without damaging your roof, nor harming your plants. We also offer a free gutter cleaning in Chesterfield with any roof cleaning.

Grids on Replacement windows usually come between the glasses. This will eliminate any maintenance and upkeep on the grids. No more painting and worrying about grids falling off the window in the case of snap on grids. These types of grids were found on the wood windows and had pins to hold the grid in place. They are still available on some wood window lines.

The vinyl replacement window always has the grids in between the insulated glass. This can be accomplished in double and triple pane windows. There are various styles of grids to choose from. The most popular is the colonial grid pattern deriving from the colonial style house but can also be adapted to other traditional style homes. These look like squares and usually the number of sections increase as the window size get larger. These can be made in 3/8 or 5/8 inches and can be contoured or flat grid.

Another style of grids is the prairie design. These are around the perimeter of the window and are usually restricted to 2 lines around the replacement window sash. They are more common in brick and contemporary homes.

The other window grids formations are specialty designs. They can be etched in various patterns and caning in brass and lead is also available. In replacement windows Chicago we have found a growing market for these types of grids. Homeowners want to differentiate themselves from their neighbors and add curb appeal.

Pressure washing services are well-liked among homeowners today, as you already know your home is your biggest investment.  Finding a reputable pressure washing contractor can be a daunting task.  Always be sure to request what the pressure washers methods of washing are, so you’ll know what you can be expecting. 

You ought to also ask for testimonials, references, and proof of insurance. Soliciting for some before and after pictures of some of their work is a great way to see what level of quality their work is.  A couple of other factors to think about are how long the cleaning company has been in business and whether or not they do it full-time or only part-time. 

With somewhat low startup costs, there are many fly by night companies out there giving the industry a bad reputation. These types of companies come into the industry with extremely little knowledge and therefore their unethical methods leave a bad taste in the mouth of consumers. Just be sure to ask the pressure washing company the proper questions so you know you’re going to get an excellence pressure washing service.