Feb/100
How to Make Better Use of your Space With Loft Ladders
Storage is in limited supply these days, especially at home. Fitting a loft ladder can give you that much needed extra space to store things, as well as even giving you the option of converting the loft space into a room.
Many people seldom think about daring to climb up into the dusty area at the top of their house, only venturing into the loft when either throwing up some more junk or the Xmas tree until the next year. As a result, many people miss out on using this excellent space as an effective storage or living area.
As moving house more prohibitive in a recession and with everyone making cutbacks, installing a loft ladder makes logical sense. Doing so saves spending on exorbitant estate agent fees, removal costs and all the hassle associated with moving house.
Boarding out your loft is the first step. Doing this can also be done professionally, with the floorboards screwed securely to the floor, just as in the rest of the house. You can use real hardwood, laminate or one of the many quality options available. Your loft really can be as comfortable as every other room in your house.
Once your floor has been fitted, you can then move onto enlarging the actual loft hatch if needed, and then fitting a loft ladder to fit. Installing a proper loft ladder will pay dividends, as when you are climbing up and down regularly, you need something secure and safe, designed for continuous use.
If you are feeling like you really want to splash out, you could even consider installing a complete timber stairway up to your loft.
Loft ladders have different working loads, and in the UK, British standard regulations apply. As an example, a basic economy ladder would have a working load of 100kg, ranging all the way up to a heavy duty ladder with a load rating of 160kg.
When you project is complete, you should have a loft ladder that fits the loft hatch entry point perfectly. Many builders did not consider that people might want to convert their loft into something other than a dusty storage area. Having your loft converted really can add value to your house and give you a practical space to live in.
Enlarging a loft hatch can be done at the same the ladder is installed, with the option to even relocate the hatch to a more suitable position if it awkward.
You may be unlucky enough that the house builder installed the loft hatch opening in either the bathroom or even a cupboard. In this case, moving the loft hatch is not a problem and is preferable to squeezing through an uncomfortable space or angle.
When choosing a loft ladder or loft hatch, you also have the option of having fully insulated timber or a fully insulated UPVC hatch fitting.
To ensure that your loft ladder doesn't lead upwards into a dark room, another option you could also consider is installing roof lights or velux windows which will give natural light, also giving you better ventilation. As always, seek prior permission from local planning authorities before going ahead.
Grab more space from your house without having to build an extension. Find out more about Loft Ladders and how they can give you access to your rarely used loft.
Sep/090
Skills you Need to Rehab a Home
Drywall/ Plaster Repair When rehabbing old houses, cracks and holes in the plaster are common. Often, holes in ceiling plaster are the result of water infiltrating either from the roof, or from a split plumbing line. Holes in walls are often the result of vandalism, but could be the sign of more serious foundation issues. Once the root cause is fixed (see basic water repair section) cut a square area and replace with inch drywall. Once your piece is cut, secure it with multiple drywall screws, mud the gaps, tape, re-mud then sand to a smooth finish.
Basic Water Pipe Repair Many of the foreclosed homes that I encounter have sat over the winter and the cold weather has burst water pipes in the basement and walls. Usually the hardest part of the repair is finding all the leaks. You do this by turning on the water, listening for falling water, then visually inspecting where the water is coming from. Once you find the leak, cut out the old section of pipe and cut a section of new pipe to replace it. Rough up the end of the old and new sections of pipe with your sandpaper. Apply flux to each section of pipe and to a coupler that will be used to join the pieces. Put the new section in place. Heat the coupler with your butane torch and apply solder around the edges of the coupler. The flux will melt creating a vacuum inside the coupler and drawing the solder inside. Once it is sealed all the way around, allow the solder to dry and move on to the next leak. If you are worried about using a butane torch on this project, ask your hardware professional about Shark-Bite fixtures.
Drain Repair Clogged drains are a very common problem. When a working drain gets clogged, Draino or a quick snake will often do the trick. If that doesn't work, unscrew the drainpipe and inspected for clogs. In a vacant house, a clog can become impenetrable. If you encounter such a clog, you need to cut it out and replace that section of drain. Once the clog is cut out, cut a similar length of PVC pipe to replace it. Either connect the new pipe to the old with PVC connectors or with a fernco connector. If you use the PVC connectors make sure that you clean the old pipe thoroughly and apply PVC cement to ensure a proper seal. Many plumbers apply pvc cement or pipe dope even if the pieces they are putting together are threaded.
Replacing Light Fixtures When I am working on electrical fixtures, I like to turn off all power to the house. If this is not feasible or if other people need power to perform other work, I just turn off the circuits one by one as needed. Be sure to check the wires with a voltage meter to insure the power is off. Remove the old fixture by unscrewing the wire nuts or by cutting the wires. Strip off a section of the wire casing and attach you new fixture with wire nuts. Be sure to tape off any exposed wire with electrical tape. Since each fixture will come with its own set of instructions, be sure to read those instructions thoroughly to insure proper installation. Electricity can cause severe injury if you do not follow instruction implicitly.
Window Installation Carefully remove the old window. Be sure not to damage the old wood frame and the window sill. Once the window is removed place wood shims on the exterior of the sill and level the shims. Secure the shims. Place the new window in the opening. Place more wood shims along the sides at the top, middle and the bottom. Once the sides are secure, make sure you can easily open and close the window. Fill the gaps around the window with expanding foam insulation or fiberglass insulation.
Refinishing Wood Floors I rent a lot of the homes that I rehab. If I re-carpet, I will probably have to o it again after the first tenant moves out. If I refinish the hardwood floors, I can re-rent it over and over without much hassle. Remove all of the tack strips, staples, nails and quarter round molding. Once the floor is clean, run your drum sander with the grain of the wood. Working a drum sander is a lot like working a self-propelled lawn mower. It is very important that you keep the drum sander moving at all times though. If you leave it sit it will quickly eat into the floor. I start with 36-grit sandpaper, then 80-grit, and then 100-grit. Once the main body of the floor is sanded, do the edges with an edge sander using the same grits of sandpaper that you used on the main floor. When all the sanding is complete, sweep the floor, and then vacuum the floor. After vacuuming, I like to lightly mop the entire floor. Allow the floor to dry then apply a stain of your choice. Allow to dry then coat with 2 - 3 layers of polyurethane. Replace the molding.
Laying Tile The key to a good tile project is a good foundation. Whether you are tiling a wall or floor, the foundation must be plumb or level and the surface must be flat. Once the old covering has been removed lay a product like Hardi-Backer, an extremely durable cement-based product. Begin tile installation by troweling on a thin application of mastic over a three to four foot area. Set the tile in place and push gently to secure the position. Place a spacer next to the tile and position the next piece. Continue in this fashion until the tiles are all in place. Allow the mastic to dry for 24-hours before grouting. If you are laying a natural stone tile (travertine, slate, marble) be sure to seal the tile prior to grouting. If you don't, the tile will appear hazy. Remove all tile spacers. Mix a grout color of your choice, push the grout between the tiles with a rubber float and clean up all excess grout.
Texturing a Ceiling Texturing a ceiling is one of the simplest jobs you will do on a home, yet it gives the room a finished look. Dip a texturing brush with a long (4 foot) handle into a bucket of top-coating mud. Push the brush into the ceiling in a random pattern. After it dries finish by painting with a white ceiling paint. (Note: This project can be messy. Either do it before you put your floors in or cover them completely. )
Painting a Room Be sure to prep the wall surface prior to painting. Do this by applying a thin coat of spackle to any pin holes or cracks, then sand to a smooth finish. Next, apply one coat of latex primer to the surface of the walls using a roller. After the primer dries apply your paint. Two coats of a flat paint will generally provide complete coverage. To edge the walls, apply painter's tape to the trim, and brush the paint onto the edges. After you have painted the edges, remove the painter's tape and you're done.
Landscaping Most foreclosed houses have neglected exteriors. This is a key area in reselling or renting out your house. The exterior is the first impression people will get of your house. Most of the time, I remove all the overgrown 1950's era plants and replace them. If there are any good plants in the landscape, I try to remove them in a way that they can be re-used in the landscape. If they are too large to remove, prune them to improve their appearance. After removing the old shrubs, cultivate the bed and mix in organic materials like manure, compost or peat moss. Arrange your new plants on top of the beds. Once you are happy with the arrangement, remove any burlap or plastic and plant them. Be sure not to bury the root balls of shrubs. You want to plant the shrub with just a little of the ball showing above the ground surface. Follow spacing instruction on the containers so that your new landscape doesn't look like overgrown in two years.
Sep/090
Investment Rental Property
In the center of an economic crisis and with the chance of a recession looming in the close horizon people have began saving money wherever they can.
Credit has dried up, loans are being called in and properties everywhere are being foreclosed on a daily basis. Even though there is always a need for good homes that are listed at a good value, today's financial climate means people are more apt to to rent property than they are to buy it. This is a great time for prospective investors to consider investment rental property.
As with any property investment, rentals have to have extensive research into the market and a considerable financial commitment. Furthermore, the investor needs to be fully knowledgeable of the advantages and disadvantages of the kind of investment rental property he is trying to obtain. One family homes, for example, generate substantially less rent than apartment complexes but are much easier to buy and don't cost as much to keep up. Apartment complexes, on the other hand, generate more money but require that much more care and committal in order to keep their value (via repairs|fixes, improvements or simple every day maintenance|upkeep) and have a largely higher upkeep.
A house property or a condo on the other hand will bring in as the same amount as normal housing or more so but have the difficulty that the common property is co-owned and any problems the co-owners have with the tenant will at the end have to be fixed by the investor, as the property is legally his.
Investment rental property can be as easy or as complicated, as unstressful or time consuming as the investor makes it. By carefully studying the local market, prices, tendencies and being smart when mortgaging, an investor can stand to profit as much as he is able to commit to financially in this currently volatile economy.
Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes mostly about anti wrinkle eye creams. He's also an amateur wine enthusiast and has a website about wine aerators and other wine accessories.
Sep/090
Investment Property Financing
Our current financial crisis has led to a property fire sale as properties everywhere are being foreclosed. While this creates an excellent time to obtain homes or buildings as investments, the drying up of loans has made it somewhat more difficult to secure loans from banks or credit unions that are in the best interests of the person investing.
Investment property financing is different from financing a house. For one thing, it generally requires a higher credit rating. For another, the down payments seem to be to be considerably larger.
However, with a sufficient enough FICO, proper thorough research and enough knowledge of the today's market it is possible to obtain a fixed rate mortgage to cover the full investment of the property for 15 or even 30 years. Should this prove impossible, however, there are still a lot other ways to get investment property financing. In hard times like these, for instance, it is not uncommon for seller financing to be an option.
Seller financing is, at its center, establishing a separate mortgage with the person selling. If the bank's mortgage only covered 50% of the cost and the seller wants to, he can carry the other 50% as a his own debt and be paid in parts to be contractually determined by himself and the investor. It is even thinkable, in buyer's markets such as this one, to get seller's financing for all of the cost if a bank is not able to offer a loan. Should seller financing become inconvenient or impossible, other possibilities remain such as getting a home equity loan (using other property of the investor as collateral) or even receiving legal personal loans from someone else in order to cover the down payment.
The current buyer's market presents a unique and potent opportunity to buy investment property. The array of options available for investment property financing ensure that each investor can find a plan that is good for him or her as long as he is diligent and disciplined enough to do the research.
Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes as a hobby about wine filters . He's also an amateur wine enthusiast and has a website about wine aerators and other wine accessories.