Metal Roofs for Beginners

Your roof is one of the most important parts of your house, as problems with your roof can end up causing damage to a variety of other parts of your home. While most people are familiar with shingle roofs when it comes to home roofing options, there are actually a few different roof types available. One that is gaining a significant amount of popularity in recent years is metal roofing, due in part to its extreme durability and resistance to environmental factors that can damage traditional shingles.

Once upon a time, metal roofing was largely made up of flat panels which seemed more at home on businesses or other non-residential structures. The material has come a long way since then, however. Modern metal roofing often mimics the look of shingles or tile roofs, adding a unique beauty to your home while also conveying a number of advantages over other materials.

Advantages of Metal Roofs

There are several benefits to choosing a metal roof. While the full list of advantages will differ depending on the type of metal roof you choose and where you live, here are some of the most common ones:

• Longevity: Traditional asphalt shingles have a life expectancy of around 10 to 15 years on average, though some may last up to 20 years or more under ideal conditions. Metal roofs, on the other hand, have a life expectancy closer to 70 years.
• Customizability: When choosing shingles, you’re limited by the color options and layouts that are available at the time of purchase. Metal roofs are often paintable to give you a wider range of options.
• Fire Resistance: Unlike shingles, metal roofs will not ignite in the event of fire or lightning strikes. And contrary to myths, they do not attract lighting to your home.
• Energy Efficiency: Because metal roofs reflect UV rays, they tend to stay cooler than other roofing materials during the heat of summer. This can result in less radiant heat buildup, which in turn will reduce your home cooling costs.

Metal roofs also typically contain a significant amount of post-consumer recycled material and can themselves be recycled instead of scrapped once they are replaced. This is a great benefit for those who want to have more control over their environmental impact.

Installing a Metal Roof

When it comes to installing a metal roof, things are a bit more complicated than they are for traditional shingle roofs. The additional work required is worth it, though, as it helps to ensure a leak-free roof that will last for decades.
Most of the time, the existing roof is stripped off completely and the underlying sheathing and flashing are inspected and replaced as needed. Additional plywood or similar materials may also be installed if necessary to provide a firm backing for the metal roof. A waterproofing underlayment is also added to the entire roof deck, along with slip sheets that go between the underlayment and the metal itself so that the metal will be able to move slightly as it expands and contracts.

The roof itself is installed in panels, with polyurethane sealants used to adhere to the metal and allow for movement and expansion as the weather changes. The edges of panels are crimped together to ensure a leak-free fit, providing seams that blend in naturally with the pattern of the roof. Chimneys and other edges are sealed around, and the eaves are capped to prevent water from getting behind the panels at the edges.

Do Your Windows Need Service?

Windows are one of the most important features of your house. They let in light, let in fresh air, and can have a significant impact on the overall look of your rooms. With that said, windows do require a bit of maintenance from time to time. Most of the time, it will be simple things like cleaning the windows and checking window screens for damage to make sure that your windows are still operating in tip-top shape. Occasionally, though, you may find that your windows require a bit more service to keep them from showing wear and other damage over time.

If you aren’t sure what sort of service and maintenance your windows might need, don’t worry. A lot of homeowners are somewhat in the dark about proper window maintenance, and the amount of service your windows need depends on a lot of factors including their age and the climate where you live. To help ensure that your windows get the attention that they deserve, here is some info on proper window maintenance and how to tell if your windows need additional service.

Window Service

There are a number of types of service and other maintenance that your windows may require from time to time. Some of these are simple, such as periodic cleaning on both the inside and the outside of the window. Some maintenance operations are a bit more complicated, however.

When checking your windows to see if they need service, there are several things that you should check for. Open the windows to make sure that they’re operating correctly, taking note of any difficulties that you have or if they seem to stick at any point when opening or closing them. Inspect the windows for any signs of visible damage, both to the panes and to other components such as the frame, muntin sections, or the sill. Look for signs of water getting trapped in between panes in double-paned windows, and also feel around for drafts or signs of leaks. You should also pick a quiet time to listen for a few minutes near the windows to see if more noise than usual seems to be getting through. Any of these issues will require correction, and the sooner you identify them then the easier that service will be.

When to Service Your Windows

Unless something obvious like a rock striking a windowpane happens and causes physical damage to one of your windows, it can be a bit difficult to tell when your windows actually need service. Since you don’t have time to constantly check over your windows, it’s a good idea to check them at least a couple of times per year. You can usually make the most out of these maintenance checks by doing one early in the spring when temperatures are starting to rise after winter, and again in late summer or early fall as temps start to drop again. This will alert you to potential problems caused by the intensity of winter cold or summer heat and preps you for seasons with a lot of rain, drafts, and other issues.

With that said, it doesn’t hurt to give your windows the occasional once-over as well. Clean them or at least wipe them down once a month, checking for any obvious signs of problems as you do. You should also do a more thorough inspection if you notice drafts, louder noises, or signs of leaks near the windows. You don’t have to go in-depth with your windows during these periodic checks unless there’s some sign of trouble, but even just a glance every now and then can do wonders for early detection of problems.

 

Improve Your Home’s Organization!

Organization is an important part of keeping your home clean and tidy. Unfortunately, organization doesn’t always come easy to homeowners. It may be that your home just lacks the storage solutions that you need to effectively organize, or your house simply isn’t large enough to effectively contain all your family’s stuff. Maybe there is enough room, but the way your rooms are laid out makes things a bit difficult. Whatever the reason, you might feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle with organization and that it never lasts as long as you’d like.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to getting your house organized, but there are some things that might help. Not all of these suggestions are likely to fit your specific situation, but a few might point you in the right direction to start getting a better grip on your home’s organization. Even if the individual suggestions don’t fully apply to your home and its layout, they still might give you ideas that will help you get your home’s excessive disarray under control.

Adjust Your Storage Methods

There are a number of things that you can do to help improve the storage options in your home. Here are a few suggestions:

• Don’t organize spices or dry goods items based on their names; sort them based on frequency of use instead. This lets the things that you use most often be near the front of your storage and those things that are less frequently used can go in the back or on a harder-to-reach shelf.
• Label folders, boxes, and any other long-term storage containers. You should also avoid having a catch-all or miscellaneous option; put things where they go at the start, instead of dealing with an ever-growing pile in need of sorting.
• Use dividers to improve organization in your drawers, allowing you to store multiple types of items together without causing a significant amount of clutter.
• Install hooks for coats and set up a container to hold shoes near your main entryway, then make sure that members of your household use both. This will help prevent those shoes, jackets, and coats from ending up strewn all over the house.

It’s also important to note that the solution for running low on storage isn’t to simply buy extra storage containers. If you’re running low on storage space, sort through what’s currently in storage and see if you can pare things down before adding additional storage.

Out With the Old, In With the New

A big cause of clutter and running low on space is buying new and upgraded products while still holding on to the items that they’re replacing. This doesn’t mean that you should only own one jacket or a single purse, of course; it makes sense to have multiples of some items, so long as the older items are still actively being used. If you buy something with the clear intention of replacing something else but that something else is still sticking around unused, though, then there may be a problem.

Electronics are the biggest culprit here; if you get a new phone or tablet, you should sell, donate, or give away the old one instead of sticking it in a drawer to take up space. The same goes with clothes that are damaged or threadbare, purses or backpacks with broken straps or other damage, and all those other items that you tell yourself you’ll get fixed eventually but never do. Go through all your old items that haven’t been touched for 6 months or more and see what you can get rid of. You should also get in the habit of prepping old items for donation soon after picking up a newer model.

Garage Doors for Convertible Spaces

When you think of a garage area, most likely the first thing that comes to mind is a place to store your car or other vehicles. You might also picture some shelving or storage on some of the walls, but for most people, the garage is largely a single-purpose structure. It doesn’t have to be this way, however; for an increasing number of homeowners, the garage is becoming a multipurpose room with easy access to fresh air, light, and the outside in general via the garage doors.

There are a lot of options available when it comes to converting a garage into some other space. To really get the most out of these conversions, you might consider upgrading or changing your garage door as well. The type of door that you have can make a big difference in the overall effectiveness of your converted space, so here are some things you should keep in mind when choosing your new garage door.

What Will You Use It For?

There are several ways that you could use a garage for something other than just storing your car and little bits of assorted outdoor junk. Common garage conversions include building a personal gym, making a craft room or other creative space, creating a lounge area that connects to an external patio, or even making a learning space for children who are learning from home. You might be surprised at how much of a difference some paint and the right flooring can make when it comes to a garage space!

Regardless of what you use the space for, you’ll likely want to change out the garage door to get the most out of the space. While having the option to open the door to increase access to your garage space is usually desirable, having a solid garage door probably won’t be ideal for the garage’s new purpose. That’s why it’s important to think about the actual purpose of the room, since that can affect the type of garage door you need.

Choosing the Right Door

There are a few different garage door options that you might choose depending on your needs. While some garage doors have small window spaces and that can be useful if you just want to add a little bit of light, garage doors made of clear plexiglass panels can provide much more light and a largely unobstructed view, which is ideal if you are using the garage space as a lounge area or have plants growing inside. Side-mounted garage doors that roll back along a side wall instead of the ceiling can also be useful, allowing you to control the size of the entryway if the converted area is being used more as a standard room. If you plan to decorate the door like you would any other wall, a single-panel garage door that opens without bending or rolling might be your best bet.

These are only a few of the options that are available when it comes to picking a garage door that meets your needs. Some options even work as add-ons that can work with many door types, such as a screen that allows fresh air and light in while the door is open but keeps out the bugs and other unpleasantness much like a standard screen door would. These sorts of add-ons provide even more possibilities and allow you to further customize your garage space to meet your specific needs.

Smart Kitchens, Smart Faucets

So-called “smart” devices are increasingly popular, adding new features and functionality to just about every room in your home. One room that you might not consider for a smart upgrade is the kitchen, but you should. There are a number of sensors and connected devices that can transform your kitchen into something special. One great option that’s often overlooked is the addition of a smart faucet to your sink.

While smart faucets aren’t as well known (yet) as other smart home add-ons such as smart lighting and smart thermostats, they can have a significant impact on how you use your kitchen. Not only can you turn the faucets on and off in different ways, but you can also have your smart faucets automatically save you money on your water bill. If you’re wondering whether a smart faucet might be a good addition to your home, read on for more info on just how these faucets can help you.

Smart Faucet Controls

One big advantage to smart faucets is that there are multiple ways to control the flow of water. In addition to standard handles or levers, many smart faucets contain features such as touch panels and motion sensors that allow you to turn the water on and off with little to no contact with the faucet itself. This adds convenience to using the sink in general, and can help keep your kitchen area clean if your hands are dirty or covered with batter or other substances that you wouldn’t want to clean off of everything later.

Depending on the model, some smart faucets can also be controlled remotely using apps or voice controls. In most cases, you can even pair the apps on your smartphone with digital assistants such as Alexa and the Google Assistant. This lets you control the faucet using Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, turning the water on and off as needed while doing prep work or otherwise getting things ready for the water.

Smart Water Usage

Another big benefit of smart faucets is the way that they help to control your water usage. The water-saving features of smart faucets help prevent wasted water by cutting off the flow when you aren’t actually using the sink. This keeps you from accidentally leaving the water running when you’re doing something that takes too long and can also help prevent drips and other problems that might occur when you don’t close a valve all the way.

Some smart faucets also let you track your water usage over time via their connected apps. This can make you more aware of how much water you’re using in the kitchen and may help you to ratchet back on your usage over time. Eliminating unnecessary water use will save you money and help the environment as well, and the awareness of how much water you’re using is a big part of cutting back on that unnecessary use.

Installing Your Smart Faucet

For the most part, installing a smart faucet is a lot like installing any other faucet. Depending on the faucet model, its smart features will be powered either by batteries or a nearby outlet; if the faucet is outlet powered, you’ll need to make sure that there’s a source of power close enough to hook the faucet up for it to work properly. Once installed, some smart features may require additional setup, especially if you plan to use the faucet with external devices such as an Echo or Google Home.

Does Your Tree Need a Trimming?

For some homeowners, trees are a major component of their landscaping. Trees can bring a lot of beauty to your yard while also providing shade and habitats for birds and other animals. Unfortunately, unkempt trees can be kind of ugly and in some cases may even be dangerous. If you’ve got trees on your property that are looking a bit shaggy or that have simply seen better days, here are a few things to consider when trying to decide if they need a trim.

Cosmetic Issues

When you’re trying to decide whether to trim your trees, the first thing that you should do is look at the general appearance of the tree. You can obviously trim off lone branches that stick out at odd angles, but there’s more to cosmetic considerations than just that. You should also look at whether there are many crisscrossing branches, greenery that is too dense and difficult to see through, or branches that are growing too far horizontally compared to the tree’s vertical growth.

Taking care of cosmetic issues like these are important for a number of reasons. They obviously make your trees look nice and improve the overall look of your landscaping, but these cosmetic trimmings serve other purposes as well. Periodic cosmetic trimming helps to prevent future damage to your trees, and also keep them from becoming so dense that other plants nearby have trouble getting enough light. Occasionally thinning out your tree’s branches can also make it easier to notice other problems with your trees as well.

Safety Issues

Beyond just making your trees look better, trimmings can also improve the health of the trees and an prevent potentially dangerous situations. Broken or dead branches can fall and potentially hit someone, so removing them before they have a chance to do so is very important. You should inspect your trees periodically to look for dead material, especially after large storms or heavy winter precipitation. Inspections are also important if you notice anything weird going on with the tree, such as leaves turning brown in certain portions of the greenery or sudden changes to the general shape of the tree.

There are other potential issues that can prompt a tree trimming as well. Missing bark or other signs of disease or insect infestation can be a big red flag, since this can lead to part of the tree dying and becoming a hazard. You should also keep an eye on any trees growing near electrical lines and trim them before they crowd the lines too much, since heavy winds or other severe weather could lead to the tree pulling down the line and creating a major safety hazard.

Trimming Your Trees

If you just have a few wayward branches to trim, you can usually trim your trees yourself with a few specialized cutters. Larger jobs may require bigger tools, and in some cases could even require a ladder or a crane to reach the areas that need to be trimmed. Be sure to wear a hard hat and other protective equipment even for small jobs, since the last thing you want is to end up hurting yourself while trying to make your trees safer!

What’s In Your Toolbox? Plumb Bobs, Levels, and Squares

There are a lot of tools in the world, and some of them have some very specialized uses. Sometimes these uses are pretty obvious; a hammer is used to hammer nails, and a wrench is used to tighten nuts. Even tools that you think you’re familiar with might surprise you, though; a hammer is a hammer, but do you know the difference between claw hammers and ball-peen hammers? What about all the different types of pliers that you might run across? Knowing exactly how specific tools are supposed to be used can help you to avoid errors and make finding the right tool for the job a lot easier.

With that said, here are a few pretty common tools that you might not know enough about to use effectively. Learning a bit more about them will help to ensure that you always have the right tool for the job and know exactly how it should be used (and more importantly, how it shouldn’t).

Plumb Bobs

The humble plumb bob can be a very useful tool. While at first glance it looks like it’s just a weight on a string, a plumb bob can tell you whether your work is truly vertical or if it’s leaning in some other direction. That’s not the only use of this helpful tool, however. If you’re building something that has an irregular shape, you can use a plumb bob to determine where its center of gravity is to make sure that it’s properly supported. When combined with an angular scale or a tool known as an inclinometer, you can also use a plumb bob to determine the slope of a hill or surface by comparing the measured angle to the vertical line created by the plumb bob.

Levels

When you look at a level, figuring out how to use it often seems like a no-brainer. Just line it up so that the bubble appears between the lines on the level, right? Unfortunately, this sort of reasoning is one of the leading causes of people using a level and finding out later that their shelf or other project isn’t actually very level.

Levels come in a lot of different sizes, and that’s not just because manufacturers want to cater to personal preference. When using a level, it’s important to have the level cover as much of the surface that you’re trying to level as possible. For a small picture, using a small level works great. For a large shelf or a storage unit with adjustable legs, that same level isn’t going to give you a complete picture. Using a level that’s close to the same size as the surface that you’re leveling is the best way to use one of these tools effectively, but if that’s not possible then you should check the level at both ends of the surface as well as the middle. You might be surprised at how much of a difference this can make.

Squares

The handy-dandy square (which ironically is often a triangle) is a very useful tool if you know how to use it. Its most obvious function is to show you whether a corner is 90 degrees or not, but that’s not all that it can do. Depending on the type of square you have and its size you can also use the square to make measurements, mark 45-degree angles (and often other angles) for cuts, determine whether a segment of a surface is flat or warped, and more. It’s also important to remember that just because a corner seems to be 90 degrees, that’s not always the case; using a longer square or checking multiple corners is the best way to ensure that your work is actually square.

This Year’s Tile Trends!

Tile is a very versatile material, offering strength and beauty while also providing color and decorative flair wherever it’s installed. Useful on both floors and walls, tile can really define the look of a room and can even be paired with other flooring and wall décor types to create complex looks from relatively simple materials. Tile provides something of a timeless look, though that doesn’t mean that it isn’t subject to decorating trends like any other material. If you’re curious as to what’s hot in tile at the moment, here are some of the biggest current trends out there.

Neutral Colors

Throughout the years, tile trends have covered just about every color imaginable. Deep browns and light tans used to be hot, and it seems like every few years monochromes and grayscales come back into prominence. Sometimes we even get bold and bright colors as the “it” trend. At the moment, though, a lot of tile trends seem to be gravitating toward more neutral colors. Tans, grays, and greens are especially popular within the last year or so.

The key to the popularity of these colors lies in how well light shades of brown, gray, and green tend to go with a variety of different decorating styles. Soft greens are especially popular lately and pair well with green, blue, and even brown shades in bathrooms, kitchens, and other rooms where tile is commonly used. While these colors are the most popular at the moment, other neutral shades including soft yellows, creams, and even pinks and blues are finding their way into more homes as the neutral color trend continues.

Hexagons Are Hot

Most of the time, tile comes in some variation of squares or rectangles. Even tiles with repeating sweeping designs or that are arranged to create vivid images tend to mostly be square. That may be one of the reasons that hexagonal tiles are so popular these days, since they really shake up convention while still offering an easily repeatable shape that captures the essence of classic tile.

Hexagonal tile is available in a wide range of options, including classic glossy ceramic tiles, marbled tiles, matte finishes, and even 2D images that repeat over the face of the tiles. Some hexagon layouts even use different types of hexagons to create a more complex pattern, combining classic hexagons with others that have two sides longer than the rest to create a remarkably interesting look overall. You can even combine hexagons with rectangular or square tiles to create very striking patterns on your walls or floors. The options are limitless, and they’re sure to catch the attention of any guests who see them.

Textures and Tile

While tile has often gone hand in hand with complex design work, a lot of emerging trends seem to be dialing back on that to keep things a little simpler. At the same time, more tiles are adding subtle bits of texture to make up for the lack of design complexity. This gives the tile more of a 3D look, allowing light and shadow to add subtle touches of depth without the need for a wide range of tiles in different shapes and colors to create complex patterns. This texture can mimic the look of natural stone, create flecked patterns on the tile, or even create ridges or waves that seem to flow from one tile to the next. These textured tiles are redefining what many people think of when they think of tile wall coverings and flooring.