Check #3: Fire Inspection Checklist

<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/O-9Ps_QZc6k" width="400"></iframe></div><br />Check #3: Be sure your fire extinguishers are being inspected annually and serviced every six years

Check #3: Fire Inspection Checklist

Check #3: Be sure your fire extinguishers are being inspected annually and serviced every six years

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Home Renovation List

<div id="article-content"> <p>Home renovation should be divided into two separate categories, want and needs. So before you consult a home improvement contractor sit down and make a set of lists. One list of what type of renovations you want done on the house and a list of home improvements this old house needs the most. There's no since in doing a kitchen renovation if the roof above it leaks. You don't want to do a wiring upgrade if you can't afford to upgrade the electrical service. You shouldn't tile the bathroom floor if the joist and subfloor needs replaced. Sure I want to renovate the kitchen, but I need to put the much needed roof over it. Will my home improvement budget allow both? This is true with the wiring need and the bathroom floor need.</p><p>After you get a list made and find out what funds you have available. Consult a renovation contractor. He will go over your list and of wants and needs and most likely do his own inspection of the areas that you want renovated and give you suggestions in the areas that should be renovated first. Your home improvement contractor will make a bid most likely on each item on the list and bundle it with a total renovation cost. When you get this bid take your time and decide which items that should be done first incase the funds run short. With a bid from a license contractor your bank may loan you the extra you need to complete your home renovation needs. There is actual grants through the state if you qualify you could receive a low interest loan. Some of these loans are like one percent. Most likely the County Treasures office can tell you where you can get a grant application.</p><p>If you are doing a major home renovation on an old house that requires replacement doors and window replacement. And maybe the roof should be replaced and the old house could really use some siding. This amount of work will catch the eye of any home improvement contractor. Most contractors will give you low bottom price bids just to get all of this work as a bundle. By bundling you have one renovation contractor to deal with instead of two or three. And most likely your home renovation could be more than half way done before you even have to cut a check.</p><p>Sometimes there is thing that's been needing attention for a long time. Like an interior door that might need a little attention or tweaking. Sometimes builders will trade small adjustment jobs they have the tools and skill for. Say for something like, you cleaning up the area around the house after they strip off the old shingles, stuff like that. Or you might paint or stain the trim on the new windows or doors if they would fix some minor things that needed fixing. Of course this would be labor for labor. Which is still a win-win for you, because it would probably cost a lot more to have a home improvement contractor come in to fix a couple minor things.</p> </div>

Home Renovation List

Home renovation should be divided into two separate categories, want and needs. So before you consult a home improvement contractor sit...

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Check #2: Fire Inspection Checklist

<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/O5J-bWfdoz8" width="400"></iframe></div><br />Check #2: Make sure you are storing items in accordance with the fire code.

Check #2: Fire Inspection Checklist

Check #2: Make sure you are storing items in accordance with the fire code.

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Floor Lamp Lighting Tips

Floor lamps can act in a variety of different ways within a room, as they are very functional lighting applications. Recently floor lamps are being lumped into the "task lighting" category because these lamps are often used for a particular function, which inevitably leads to a reduction in the overall lighting demands within a household. With that being said, a floor lamp is an excellent way to reduce energy costs within a house. By turning off overhead lights and turning on the floor lamp, energy usage is decreased and the house becomes just a little more "green".<br/><br/>Majority of floor lamps are the traditional 3-way socket and need a 3-way light bulb as well. There are also models that will use incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs or halogen bulbs as well depending on what part of the house the light will be used in. With the idea of task lighting and “going green” in mind, a low-voltage light bulb is often used. With the use of these low-voltage light bulbs there can be up to a 40 percent saving in light energy used within the house.<br/><br/>The standard floor lamp is composed of two parts, excluding the light bulb of choice. The lamp base and the lampshade are the two main parts of a floor lamp and these are held together by a harp and finial. The style of the base will often come in a number of different styles depending on where in the house the lamp is to be incorporated. In order to choose the right floor lamp for a particular room it is important to first analyze the carpet color, wall color or color of other furniture already found in the room. The floor lamp base can sometimes be adjustable in height, which may also affect where it can be placed within the room as well.<br/><br/>The lampshade is the other functional piece of the floor lamp that needs to be taken into consideration when incorporating a floor lamp into the home décor. Like the base, it comes in a variety of different styles, shapes, colors, sizes and is composed of a number of different materials. Again, like the base, the type of shade should depend on the décor of the room in which the lamp will be placed. Unlike the base, there are some functional considerations as well. This has to do mostly with the amount of light the shade is going to let through. Is the lampshade going to shade eyes completely from the light bulb, is it going to let through and illuminate the room upward, or is the floor lamp going to be used as a reading lamp and illuminate the room downward for optimal reading? For things such as task lighting where the floor lamp will be used for only reading, it may be advised to have the shade point the light downward instead of lighting the entire room by pointing upward. With this task in mind, the translucency of the shade is not as important as if the light was going to be used to light the entire room.<br/><br/>Choosing the right floor lamp is dependent on a number of factors. Most importantly, it needs to be determined the main function of the lamp before the lamp is picked out. Task lighting is something that has recently come about and floor lamps are some of the best tools that can be used to reduce energy costs in this regard. A floor lamp can act in a variety of ways and is always a positive addition to a room, whether it is for reading or just to add a new flare to an old room.

Floor Lamp Lighting Tips

Floor lamps can act in a variety of different ways within a room, as they are very functional lighting applications. Recently floor lamps ar...

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Check #1: Fire Inspection Checklist

<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-YA0tkX0ejY" width="400"></iframe></div><br />Check #1: Make sure your fire sprinkler system is regularly inspected.

Check #1: Fire Inspection Checklist

Check #1: Make sure your fire sprinkler system is regularly inspected.

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A Home Buyer's Guide on What to Ask a Home Inspector

<div id="article-content"> <p>Home inspection is a very important part of buying a home. Many people who forgo this end up buying homes that turn out to be lemons. They end up paying more for repairing hidden issues in the house than they expected. In other cases, the hidden issues of a house renders the house uninsurable. For example, people who don't know that the house they bought had a mold problem would probably get a hard time getting approved for a home hazard insurance. Not only is this a risk on you and your family's safety, it's also going to dramatically pull down the resale value of your house.</p><p>Getting the services of a house inspector will ensure that you have a professional looking over things that you're not familiar with. Finding somebody with sufficient professional training will help you spot things that you won't be able to spot on your own. However, there are home inspectors who may not exactly fit the bill of a competent house inspector. To make sure that you hire somebody competent, it's best to keep a few things in mind, especially during a home interview.</p><p>Does the inspector seem like he knows what he is talking about? <br/>A great way to go about this is to look around on the internet for articles about home improvement. Find out what things home inspectors usually inspect and ask relevant questions about them. If a person is truly a professional, you'll get an impression that he's talking sense and that he knows what he is talking about. Ask about specifics that every home buyer should ask inspectors in order to gauge whether or not this person can truly deliver as promised.</p><p>How long does it take for the inspector to finish the job? <br/>Be wary of big promises. It's understandable that you want the inspection to be done in a timely manner because you want the home buying process to move along. However, home inspections usually take around 3 to 4 hours. Unless your home inspector brings along a team of professionals, having one promise that the inspection would be done in an hour or less could be an indication that you need to look for other inspectors who will do a more thorough job.</p><p>Ask whether the inspector has insurance. <br/>There's something called an "errors and omissions insurance". It would be strange if an inspector doesn't have this because in some states, having this kind of coverage is mandatory. If you live in a state where it's not mandatory, it's still a better idea to go with an inspector who carries this type of insurance.</p><p>Ask whether the inspector is comfortable if you tag along the inspection. <br/>You should be able to see how a person inspects your future property. If the inspector is very hesitant about having you around, maybe you should rethink the choice and look into other services.</p><p>Ask what kind of report you'll get. <br/>Ask for a sample hard copy of a report that the inspector will produce after the inspection. This will give you an idea about what kind of report to expect. You should also ask the inspector if he can adjust the report to accommodate your preference, like adding a narrative along with a checklist of things that he checked in the house.</p> </div>

A Home Buyer's Guide on What to Ask a Home Inspector

Home inspection is a very important part of buying a home. Many people who forgo this end up buying homes that turn out to be lemons. T...

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How to Use a Fire Extinguisher

<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xDxIq65PmzA" width="400"></iframe></div><br />Fire Safety Coordinator Jill Childers of the Vacaville Fire Department demonstrates how to use a fire extinguisher.

How to Use a Fire Extinguisher

Fire Safety Coordinator Jill Childers of the Vacaville Fire Department demonstrates how to use a fire extinguisher.

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