While a house fire may be one of the most preventable disasters to happen to a home, a wildfire can be one of the least preventable on a small scale. Prevention of wildfires requires that a large number of people do what they can to make sure that the wildfires that do start are not manmade, but this awareness is only just now starting to catch on. When the fire is creeping toward your home, you are not likely to care what caused it, only what you can do to slow it down and in fact, there are a few different things that you can do to minimize the damage.
You may enjoy living in a more rural area, but you are at a disadvantage when it comes to wildfires because this is where they begin. One of the bad things about living in a rural area is that fire departments are not as prevalent, so the response to your home may not be as quick as you need it to be.
If you are contemplating having a home built for you, have it made of fire-resistant materials. Houses with an exterior made of brick, stone, or even metal will resist catching on fire much more than those that have exteriors made of wood or vinyl siding.
The most important exterior surface of your home is the roof. This is the largest surface area on the exterior of your home and it should be made of fire-resistant materials instead of the traditional wooden or oil-based shingles. Everyone knows that oil catches on fire very easily, so if you live in an area that is prone to wildfires, you may want to have another roofing material put on your home. Something else to do with your roof if a wildfire is nearby is to wet it down with the garden hose. This will give a little extra protection against the firebrands that are being carried in the air by the wind. Wetting the exterior walls of the house and wood decks is also a very good idea.
Do not allow any dead vegetation to build up in the yard. This includes grass cuttings, sticks, dead plants, and leaves. If a wildfire starts before you have a chance to get these dead organic materials cleaned up, all you can do is soak them and the rest of the yard with water via the hose and hope for the best.
Trees should also not be located close to the house, especially if the branches hang over the roof.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Nevada Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors companies across the united states.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Hiring a Contractor to Build Your House
When you want to build a new home, you have to go through quite a few things to get it just right. You have to find the property that you want the home built on, find out what the cost of running electricity and water to the property will cost, as well as telephone lines, among other costs. Figuring out just what kind of home you want to build is also a problem, particularly if you are not the only one that is going to be living in the home. After you do all that, the next step is hiring the right contractor and determining what kind of materials you want the home built out of.
Select at least a few different licensed contractors to choose from first and get three or more different bids. This will give you a few options and will give you a general idea of how much it will cost to build your home. Make sure that the contractor’s license is current and that there has not been any claims filed against it. Get a list of references from each of the contractors you are considering and call as many of them as you can. Visit their homes and ask if you can view the property and determine the quality of the work. You should not worry about this too much, since most new homeowners really enjoy showing off their new home. Ask if they have had any problems with mold or water damage due to faulty construction and factor this into your decision on whether to choose that contractor.
When asking for a bid on a building project, you should give every contractor that you are considering the exact same set of building plans and materials. Giving them different sets of plans will be pretty pointless, since you only have the money to build one home (we assume).
When you finally do choose a contractor, you need to ask when they will be able to start and about how long it will take them to complete the project. Also obtain copies of any insurance policies that they have (and they should have them, if not, do not hire them) and store them in a job folder that you will use to keep track of payments and other important project-related information, such as a copy of your contract.
The bid on the project should be broken down to each specific aspect of the building of the home, such as the framing of it, the electric system, the plumbing, installation of drywall, molding, and etcetera.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Nebraska Flood Damage cleanup and other states and cities such as
New York mold remediation companies across the united states.
Select at least a few different licensed contractors to choose from first and get three or more different bids. This will give you a few options and will give you a general idea of how much it will cost to build your home. Make sure that the contractor’s license is current and that there has not been any claims filed against it. Get a list of references from each of the contractors you are considering and call as many of them as you can. Visit their homes and ask if you can view the property and determine the quality of the work. You should not worry about this too much, since most new homeowners really enjoy showing off their new home. Ask if they have had any problems with mold or water damage due to faulty construction and factor this into your decision on whether to choose that contractor.
When asking for a bid on a building project, you should give every contractor that you are considering the exact same set of building plans and materials. Giving them different sets of plans will be pretty pointless, since you only have the money to build one home (we assume).
When you finally do choose a contractor, you need to ask when they will be able to start and about how long it will take them to complete the project. Also obtain copies of any insurance policies that they have (and they should have them, if not, do not hire them) and store them in a job folder that you will use to keep track of payments and other important project-related information, such as a copy of your contract.
The bid on the project should be broken down to each specific aspect of the building of the home, such as the framing of it, the electric system, the plumbing, installation of drywall, molding, and etcetera.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Nebraska Flood Damage cleanup and other states and cities such as
New York mold remediation companies across the united states.
Information on Water Damaged Paper Materials
When you have a large amount of books and papers in your home, knowing how to salvage these items in case of a flood or hurricane is a good idea, especially if these items are old or of any particular sentimental value. Most cellulose-based materials react basically the same way to water: they absorb it. But, depending on what exactly the material is made out of, how old it is, and what condition the paper was in before it was submerged into the water. Knowing as much as you can about your book collection, particularly if it contains antique books or other paper materials, will help you be able to save these items should a catastrophe occur.
Some materials can absorb anywhere from 10 percent all the way up to 200 percent of their original weight in water. Any papers or books that were made before the year 1840 can absorb some fairly large amounts of water, up to around 80 percent. These older materials are also very sensitive to mold growth after they have been under water for some time.
The majority of the damage to books is the block of papers that make up the pages of the book becoming partially or wholly detached from the binding of the book. This happens because the water that was absorbed by the papers and the cardboard binding causes them to swell up and the glue used to bind them together no longer holds the pages in their intended places. This is usually noticed once the materials have already started to dry out by themselves and the humidity in the local environment falls under 70 percent.
If the books that you own are old and are made of leather or vellum, these can usually be salvaged as long as you use some carefully controlled drying techniques. Very old leather and vellum materials should not be mixed up with other newer materials of the same nature, since new leather covered books are usually chemically treated in some way.
When you start trying to dry out your books and papers after a flood is over with, the first thing that you need to do is try to stabilize the area as far as humidity. The humidity should be lowered to around 65 percent and any standing water that still exists in the home should be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. If the humidity outside is lower than it is inside, opening the doors and windows should also help.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Montana Flood Damage Cleanup
companies and
Water Damage Restoration" companies across the united states.
Some materials can absorb anywhere from 10 percent all the way up to 200 percent of their original weight in water. Any papers or books that were made before the year 1840 can absorb some fairly large amounts of water, up to around 80 percent. These older materials are also very sensitive to mold growth after they have been under water for some time.
The majority of the damage to books is the block of papers that make up the pages of the book becoming partially or wholly detached from the binding of the book. This happens because the water that was absorbed by the papers and the cardboard binding causes them to swell up and the glue used to bind them together no longer holds the pages in their intended places. This is usually noticed once the materials have already started to dry out by themselves and the humidity in the local environment falls under 70 percent.
If the books that you own are old and are made of leather or vellum, these can usually be salvaged as long as you use some carefully controlled drying techniques. Very old leather and vellum materials should not be mixed up with other newer materials of the same nature, since new leather covered books are usually chemically treated in some way.
When you start trying to dry out your books and papers after a flood is over with, the first thing that you need to do is try to stabilize the area as far as humidity. The humidity should be lowered to around 65 percent and any standing water that still exists in the home should be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. If the humidity outside is lower than it is inside, opening the doors and windows should also help.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Montana Flood Damage Cleanup
companies and
Water Damage Restoration" companies across the united states.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
