What Qualities Should a Good Handyman Have

Handymen are hired to perform occasional domestic repairs or minor renovations. From caulking tubs to fixing fences, and from hanging blinds to putting up wallpaper, good handymen should be able to perform any small job, repair, or maintenance you require. What else makes a good handyman?

When you first begin to look for a handyman, you need to consider the services that you want performed. Do you need yard work or carpentry? Repairs or painting? Whoever you hire depends a lot what you need him to do. Good handymen offer many different services and can perform all the services advertised. Not all handymen are created equal, and some have more expertise or experience in certain areas than others. If you need someone for a plumbing repair project, it's not a good idea to hire someone who is more experienced in yard work. So from the beginning, ask prospective hires what kind of background they have.

Second, the person you hire should have all the necessary tools to complete the job. Remember that if he has to rent tools, that will be reflected in the final price. When this happens, not only are you paying him to complete a project, but you are also paying for equipment that he should already have. Of course, handymen come across the occasional special project for which they have to rent a specific tool. But they should have every tool necessary to complete jobs they do on a regular basis, especially the jobs they advertise. For example, a handyman who advertises roof repair should have a ladder--otherwise, you would have to wonder about his ability to complete the job correctly if he doesn't even have the right tools in the first place.

A third and final consideration is experience, and with that, age. Exercise caution when hiring young workers. Even people who have been in the home construction business for twenty or more years profess to not know everything. Make sure that as you hire someone with the advertised skills to complete your job, you check out his credentials and past work experience. If possible, find out how he has dealt with unforeseen problems in the past. Not every project is the same, but it does pay to do your homework before committing to someone you are unsure of.
In summary, a good handyman has a winning combination of the right tools, expert knowledge, and necessary experience to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Jason Locke Construction (http://jasonlockeconstruction.com) provides experienced and honest handyman service in Livermore. Visit the website today to discuss renovation ideas and to get a free consultation. Rachel Spohn is a freelance writer.

Power Saving

Property owners are looking for more ways than ever to "DIY", tackling their own home improvement projects to save money and boost property values. One of the best projects doesn't require power tools and will have a huge impact - on your electric bill. Here are a few things you can do this weekend to save hundreds of dollars this year.

1) Compact fluorescent lights (CFL) - you might be tired of hearing about them but a 14-watt CFL is as bright as a 60-watt incandescent bulb, uses 75 percent less energy, and lasts ten times longer. A 4-pack costs under $10 but likely represents nearly $800 in lifetime savings.

2) Exterior lighting - If you can read book outside at night, you're probably wasting energy. Switch out 60 watt candelabra (mini) bulbs for 20 or 40-watt ones, and 60-watt standard bulbs with 14-watt CFLs.

3) Electric hot water heater - Does your hot water heater and pipes feel warm to the touch? Insulate them and cut power use up to 25 percent. Carefully wrap the copper hot water pipes with tubular polyethylene insulation or insulated pipe wrap ($6 for 25 feet). Water heater blankets go for around $20 and can be installed with duct tape and a pair of scissors. Just make sure you don't cover the access panels.

One day of sweat equity and a $50 investment could pay for itself within two months, and keep returning guaranteed savings for years to come. These days, that's even better than your IRA! This project can be done this weekend and before you know it, you will be saving a lot of money.

Dusty Lindemann is a handyman in Northern Virginia with the group, http://shirlingtonapartments.com

Are Resistance Piers Right For Your Home?

The resistance pier belongs to a family of foundation repair products that are sometimes referred to as micro piles, push piers, or steel piers. These foundation repair products are driven hydraulically into the soil using the structural weight of the building as a reaction force.

A friction reduction collar is attached to the lead section of pier pipe. The purpose of the collar is to create an opening in the soil that has a larger diameter than the pier pipe. This dramatically reduces the skin friction on the pier pipe as it is driven into the soil and allows the installer to load test and verify that the pier encountered firm bearing stratum or rock that is suitable to support the design load.

Resistance piers like other steel piers are an end-bearing pier that does not rely upon nor requires skin friction to produce support. Each pier is field load tested after it is installed. The piers are able to develop a factor of safety because the piers are installed and load tested individually using the maximum weight of the structure as the reaction force. The ability of the system to develop significant factors of safety comes from the different methods used between pier installation and load transfer during restoration.

The piers are driven individually and the entire structure works as the reaction; but during load transfer hydraulic cylinders are placed at multiple locations thus reducing the load on each pier to only the design working load. A building with substantial construction and rigidity can develop greater pier factors of safety than a weaker structure. A quality resistance pier system, incorporating a synchronized lifting system, is the first step towards fixing your structures failing foundation.

About the Author:

Jeff Tully invites you to view his website http://www.myfoundationrepairs.com if you are having any foundation issues including bowing walls, cracks in your foundation or any type of settlement issue. On this website you will find the truth about foundation repair methods and what you should expect. There are many misconceptions about foundation piers or tie backs, get the straight answers here

This site was designed and built with the homeowner in mind is the only true source for foundation repair and waterproofing information. From determining if you really have a structural issue to hiring an engineer or foundation expert, you will find the answers on my site

How Do I Build a Sunroom?

If you love the idea of being out side and enjoy the sun but you don't want to deal with bugs, hot or cold temperatures, or allergies, building a sunroom definitely makes sense. It's a great place where you can enjoy the feeling of being outdoors without having to deal with all of these problems. You'll find that a sunroom is a great place to relax and enjoy yourself and it will also increase the value of your home too. If you want to build a sunroom on your own, here are some simple steps that will guide you as you work to build your own beautiful haven.

Step #1 - Find the Sunroom Site - The first thing that you need to do is to find the sunroom site. Take a look at your home, the area around your home, and where the sun is most of the time in relation to your home. Usually your sunroom should face as close to solar south as possible so that you get sun in the room all day long. Once you have decided where to build the sunroom, you're ready to go on to the next step.

Step #2 - Come Up with a Design - Now it is time for you to come up with a great design for your sunroom. If you're not sure where to begin, then consider looking online or in magazines at some pictures of sunrooms to get a good idea of what you may want your sunroom to be like. While you'll want to think about the appearance of the sunroom, remember that you'll have to build it, so you want to think about how difficult it will be to build as well.

Step #3 - Pick Materials - Once you have a design in mind, you'll need to consider the materials. Many times when you build your own sunroom, it won't be quite as energy efficient as sunrooms that are professionally built. So, you'll want to make sure that you go with materials that are energy efficient.

Step #4 - Decide on Windows Carefully - The windows that you choose to install in your sunroom should be carefully decided upon. Make sure that you know how energy efficient your windows are going to be and you you'll also want to check out the U-value of the windows as well. Consider going with windows that are especially treated to keep out harmful UV rays from the sun.

Step #5 - Get Some Professional Help - When you decide that you are going to build your own sunroom, there are many things that you can do on your own; however, in some cases you are probably going to need some professional help. You'll need to have a professional help you with the plumbing and electricity installation, since you probably are not a professional with these skills. So, don't be afraid to have some professional help with these important parts of sunroom installation.

For lots of sunroom ideas as well as information on sunroom windows and related topics visit TheDiyHomeGuide.com

ICF - Insulated Concrete Forms - Method of Building Walls

There are several different methods used to build walls. This article will discuss the ICF method. We will look at the materials used in this method and then list the conclusions reached based on these materials. If you are standing inside the house, we will talk about the materials from the inside of the house to the outside of the house.

Gypsum Wall Board - this material absorbs water. The moist Gypsum wallboard can contribute to mold and mildew.

EPS foam - very good insulation properties. It is 'continuous and touching' which provides excellent energy savings.

Concrete - this material is poured in what is known as a 'continuous pour'. Even if the concrete is poured in lifts, the adhesive properties of concrete to itself allow the pour to be considered continuous. This material that goes from free flowing to rock solid is what provides the best-sealed envelope of a home.

EPS foam - very good insulation properties. It is 'continuous and touching' which provides excellent energy savings.

Cementious Finish - typically a fiber mesh wrap is applied to the walls and synthetic stucco materials are installed in two applications to get the requested look by the homebuyer.

Windows and Door openings - typically the openings are formed with 2x12's cut down to the width of the foam blocks and braced to accept the concrete pour. The 2x's are fastened with J-bolts that are placed prior to the concrete pour. An issue with the openings is that they have wood in the exterior walls in the areas where water has the highest possibility to enter the house. This creates the possibility, and likelihood, of water entering at these locations (the same as a wood framed house.) Remember, when the air is flowing thru the return air it is pressurizing the air which means 'additional air' has to come in the house. The window and door areas are where this air will come from, which allows water to get further into the wall, into the wood 2x bucks and farther away from the edges. This makes it take longer for the moisture to get out. When this occurs this will lead to the formation of mold and mildew.

Ease of construction - the trained skill level to build the walls of a custom home are similar to the skill level needed to build a concrete block home, or for a skilled carpenter to build a wood framed home.

Issues during construction - typical issues are proper bracing to minimize/eliminate concrete spills (blowouts) and bracing to keep the walls plumb (vertically aligned) and straight along the top of the forms.

The ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, contracted by the United States Department of Energy) after testing all 16 methods of construction proves the method of construction that Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) utilizes is the second best method of building a home (by approximately 9% less savings) in regards to energy savings. To confirm please view: http://www.ornl.gov/roofs+walls/research/detailed_papers/thermal/index.html

The ICF method exceeds all building codes for high wind resistance due to the use of poured-in-place concrete in the forms.

This article has discussed the ICF method of building walls. It has described the various materials that are used. This article has also shown the problems and benefits that each of these materials can cause when building a house. The use of the ICF method of building walls only fails in 2 areas of building a home to prevent mold and mildew issues, which is the use of wood around openings and the use of a gypsum product (drywall) on the interior of the exterior wall. The 2 inches of foam and the drywall board on the interior is what accounts for the 9% higher use of energy than a wall with concrete in direct contact with the interior, such as the most energy efficient wall that utilizes the method referenced by the ORNL as concrete- insulation - concrete (CIC).

Are you getting ready to build a new home? Are you trying to build an energy efficient home? To get more information about building your next energy efficient home, visit http://www.allwallsystem.com, a "CIC" method of building.

New Versus Old Lumber - Structural Failure

During my 30 years of remodeling and building new homes. I have ran across quite a bit of structural framing failures. I find myself answering this question a lot when explaining to a homeowner about the structural failure I am repairing on their home, "Why Didn't They Use Better Lumber" or " Why Didn't They Use Larger Lumber." I really have a hard time answering these questions because I honestly don't know the answer.

However I can try to use some logic and reason to give these people an answer that seems to make sense to both of us. Why didn't they use better lumber, quite simply because, with most older homes that were built before the 1970s they actually do have better lumber. Now you're probably thinking how can these homes have better lumber when the lumber is old versus the new lumber used in a brand new house.

Most of the structural repairs I have made over the years has nothing to do with the lumber and whether it was new or old. A large number of these repairs were caused by neglect and poor maintenance.

The lumber in most older houses are from older growth trees. Some of these trees were extremely large and only the premium parts of the trees were used. The premium lumber is cut farthest away from the center of the tree. Now the larger the tree it makes sense that there will be more premium lumber.

A large majority of the newer lumber used in home construction comes from trees about 6 inches in diameter. Now you're probably wondering how can they cut a 2 x 8 piece of lumber out of a 6 inch tree. Of course they cannot, the larger lumber comes from larger trees.

Most 2 x 4's that are less than 8 foot long can be cut from these trees. This scrap or waste that comes from cutting these two by fours will now go into engineered building materials like particleboard, oriented strand board and engineered beams. Another name for an engineered been would be a paralam.

I hope you're starting to get the picture now when it comes to using new or old lumber. There are companies that are going into old logging rivers and retrieving old growth lumber. These were logs that sank to the bottom of the river's and were never retrieved because it was too costly.

The old growth lumber is quite expensive. Who's to say what problems we will happen in the future from the newer products created with modern day technology. When it comes to building houses it is not an exact science and as contractors we have been repairing the damage from poor engineering for years.

When I use the word poor engineering I am not pointing fingers at engineers. We now have more knowledge about home construction then we had years ago.

New versus old lumber, who wins the battle. Only time will tell.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Structural Repairs.

Replacing Solar Panel Systems at Home

Many people have the misconception that solar power is a relatively new concept in modern science. While it's true that solar energy has not been widely available for private use until recently, it has been used for decades in many applications. Believe it or not, the first solar home was built in 1939 by MIT. The experimental house was designed to provide solar thermal heating throughout the home, and it proved successful!

The first privately available solar panels became widely available in the early 1990s. These panels were simple mono-crystalline panels that had low efficiency and did not promise 20-25 years of reliable service. Instead, these panels lasted maybe 15 years at most and only covered about 25-50% of the average home's energy needs. Today, many homes that purchased these first panels need solar panel replacement. Luckily, with new technology, they will be able to keep their panels almost twice as long and maybe even get 90-100% of their electric needs from their new solar panels.

The very first thing any homeowner with solar panels should do is to assess whether or not they should replace the roof when they replace the panels. If this wasn't completed the first time around then it's probably time to replace the roof this time. This actually makes the installation process very easy and is the best way to ensure there are no leaks. If your roof isn't ready to be replaced, then installation is a bit trickier.

Depending on how long the panels have been on your roof will determine whether or not you can use the existing roof tile tracks that keep the solar panels attached. Chances are, you will have best results from your new installation if you uninstall the old roof tile tracks and use the ones deemed appropriate for your new panels. You may find yourself paying a little extra to ensure the old brace attachments are securely sealed and leak-proof before they install the new tile tracks.

For many new systems, your old inverter might work as long as your voltage output doesn't exceed your inverter's max input. Some solar companies may offer a nice discount on a new inverter if you're buying a solar package though, so weigh your options carefully. The same goes for your batteries. If your specifications match your old system then you can probably keep using your old equipment with your new system.

You'll be surprised at the efficiency of the new solar panels. Chances are, your electric bill will lower dramatically, as the efficiency of the new models has skyrocketed in the past few years. If you're a net-metering participant, you'll also see your earnings increase in the kWh you produce for your grid. Finally, replacing old panels is a great way to continue your positive impact on the environment. The initial cost of a new solar system may seem a bit much when compared to your old system, but it won't be as bad as a full-sized electric bill every month!

Philip Richards is an expert when it comes to solar power and has written extensively on the subject. Learn how he built homemade solar power at his residence. Or check out his blog on solar energy at http://HomeSolarBlog.com