Sacramento Plumbing 101

Sacramento Plumbing 101

Sacramento Plumbing 101
Know the Basics

Perhaps more than any other home system, plumbing may be the most critical.  We can light candles in a power outage or pull out extra blankets if there’s a temporary heating problem.  However, the pipes running throughout our houses serve the most fundamental of needs, to bring us water and help us maintain a clean and healthy environment.  Each homeowner should make it a priority to know the basics of how their system works and how to keep it working effectively.

Be proactive – in the event of a plumbing backup, a speedy response can make the difference between minor and major damage to your home and your belongings.  Get referrals for a plumber and keep that contact information handy.  Find out where your shut-off valves and clean-out are so you can begin to deal with a problem until the plumber arrives.  Investigate how your plumbing lines work and make a diagram.  This can be a very useful piece of information when you need to make repairs or hire a plumber.

Use equipment appropriately.  As a rule you should not flush paper heavier than toilet tissue, such as paper towels and hand wipes, down the toilet.  Even small items such as cotton swabs can clog the pipes.  Install screens over your sink, shower, and bath drains to catch hair and other debris.  The garbage disposal is a modern convenience that has heralded new problems.  First, not every piece of foodstuff should go into the disposal, such as meats and fats.  Fibrous foods such as celery and asparagus can get caught in the blades.  Second, the disposal should be run for an adequate amount of time, until you hear only the whirring of the blades without any grinding sound.  Occasionally run hot soapy water down the drain while the disposal is running to flush out the lines.  And of course never dispose of hazardous materials such as paint down the drain.

If you have trees on your property you have to be cognizant of the impact roots can have on your plumbing.  Over the years roots will most likely migrate into some portion of your sewage line, especially if there is already any kind of crack or leakage.  Replacing drain lines is a major undertaking: it is expensive and the project will require some level of demolition to access the line.  It is worth it to keep the existing lines operational as long as possible.  There are several options available to kill roots in your pipes, including homemade remedies, organic compounds, and chemical solvents.  Be aware that some municipalities have guidelines about using chemical treatments in the water lines.  Talk with your plumber and your local water treatment agency about acceptable solutions.

In the world of home plumbing systems, prevention is king.  Once your system is compromised your lifestyle will be suspended until it is fixed.  The more you are aware of stresses on the pipes, the better prepared you will be to keep them working efficiently and effectively.

Sacramento Deck Maintenance

Sacramento Deck Maintenance

Keeping Your Deck Clean and Inviting

For many Sacramento homeowners, adding a deck has become a very popular way to increase living space. However, after a few years decks begin to show the effects of weather and general wear and tear. A worn, splintered surface will house dirt and growth. With regular maintenance you can keep your Sacramento deck clean and inviting. As we come out of the winter months, it is a good time to ready your deck for outdoor living again.

Inspect and Clean the Deck
Begin by inspecting your deck for loose boards or protruding nails that need repair. Clean leaves, dirt, and debris from the surface and between the boards. You can blast out debris with water from a powerful garden hose nozzle or a power washer. (A power washer can damage wood if used improperly: follow directions closely or hire a professional.) Larger issues such as staining, mildew, and discoloration will require a more involved approach. There are several products from mild solutions to acid-based materials that can combat these problems. After you have applied the solution, scrub with a brush or broom. The harsher the chemical solution, the less elbow grease generally needs to go into the cleaning. Read directions and warnings carefully and use these products only as indicated. Once the solutions have done their work, thoroughly rinse the deck.

Seal the Deck
Sealing the surface adds a layer of protection from weather, moisture, and dry rot (allow a new deck to weather for a year with a new wood treatment before applying a sealant). First, thoroughly clean the deck and sand off old stain and paint so the wood will properly absorb the sealant. You can apply sealant with a brush, roller, or sprayer. Depending on the application method you choose, cover items that you cannot move, such as air conditioner units and shrubs, to adequately protect them. Some sealants will stain surfaces. Generally, a light misting will not seriously affect plants, but a direct coating can cause real damage. Research sealants to see if a water-based or oil-based one is the best choice for your deck. Some sealants contain stains to color the wood. You can also invest in a good quality sealant with ultraviolet sunlight protection to reduce sun damage. Depending on whether you choose a clear or a pigmented sealant, you will need to reapply it every one to three years.

Paint or Stain the Deck
If you have chosen expensive decking, take advantage of its natural beauty by using a clear or lightly stained finish. With more basic wood, choose a finish with a deeper colored stain. Though some people consider painting their decks, paint does not stand up well to foot traffic. Reserve paint for railings and banisters.

In general it’s wise to treat your deck the way you would any other flooring in your Sacramento home. Keep it clean and in good repair to extend its life and appeal. With proper maintenance and care the average deck can last several decades.

Upgrading Your Sacramento Electrical Service

Upgrading Your Sacramento Electrical Service

Upgrading Your Sacramento Electrical Service
Power Your Home to Fit Your Lifestyle

The modern Sacramento home is filled with products that run on electricity, many that pull large amounts of power. However, older Sacramento homes often have fuse systems or wiring that cannot handle these growing electrical needs. Obvious issues, such as fuses blowing when using multiple appliances or lights flickering, call for a review of your electrical panel, as do major renovations such as kitchen remodels. And the evaluation of the electrical service is a standard part of the inspection before buying a new house. When you upgrade your electrical service – whether for a home purchase, a renovation project, or to address wattage problems – think beyond those immediate needs to other capabilities that you (or a future owner) might want to add someday. A little forethought now can save time and money in the future and ensure that your home can support your lifestyle.

Appliances

Refrigerators are getting larger, double ovens are increasingly popular, and the standard coffee machine is being replaced with the professional quality espresso machine. The contemporary kitchen needs several outlets to support the wide array of large and small kitchen appliances.

Home Entertainment

Family room, playroom, bedroom, recreation room – modern homes have cable or satellite television in most or all of those rooms. If you want to create a home theater effect – such as connecting the flat screen, the DVD player, and the gaming system to the surround sound stereo, you need to prepare the space to carry all that wattage.

Computers

With dad bringing work home, mom running her own business, and the kids having school projects due each week, each member of the family often has their own computer. At any given time some or all of the computers in your household can be running at once.

Ceiling fans

Ceiling fans reduce utility costs and give additional lighting options. With added wiring you can control the lights and fans separately to adjust the fan speed and turn off the light while letting the fan run.

Basement/Garage/Workshop

These spaces, once only storage and work areas, have also become additional living and entertainment rooms (think “Man Cave”). If you have to unplug the extra freezer to run your power drill, then it’s time to upgrade your service and reduce the chances of overloading your circuits.

Outdoor Areas

Adding outdoor features such as a spa, automatic sprinklers, or outdoor lighting will require more electricity.

Security system

Many insurance companies make security systems more affordable with significant policy discounts. If you take advantage of this opportunity make sure your system can handle the increased load.

Surge protection

The commonly used surge protection strips (multi-plug power strips) protect against small, daily surges to help your equipment work better and last longer. You can protect your entire house (including switches, outlets, and the circuit breaker box) against large surges with a whole house surge arrestor at the electrical panel.

Make it Smooth Sailing with Your Sacramento Contractor

Smooth Sailing with Your Sacramento Contractor

Make it Smooth Sailing with Your Sacramento Contractor
Setting the Ground Rules

Spring is on the horizon, the time when many Sacramento homeowners begin to think about new renovation and remodel projects. If you’re planning to hire professionals to do the work, one of the most important decisions you will make is choosing a contractor. Whether the work will take a few days or several months, the best way to keep the project sailing smoothly is to set clear expectations with the contractor from the beginning.

Start with a list of questions such as the ones below. And take advantage of your contractor’s experience – ask what arrangements have worked well or caused issues on other jobs.

1. Who will be in charge on the site? The contractor who negotiated the job is often not on site every day.

2. How often will you communicate with the contractor or site manager? It’s advisable to meet at the site daily to go over the goals for the day’s work and get an update of work completed or problems encountered.

3. What are the earliest and latest appropriate hours for working?

4. Which entrances should workers use themselves and to bring in materials?

5. Will you give keys to someone on the crew or will you be there to open and close the house each day?

6. Where will tools and materials be stored on the job site?

7. Which bathrooms on the job site may workers use? Are there any areas of the property that are off-limits to the crew?

8. Where may workers park? Consider your neighbors’ needs if trucks and cars will be parked on your street for many days.

9. Where is smoking allowed?

10. Who should communicate with neighbors if a situation arises when you are not present?

11. Are there any times that you will require quiet in the house (as during an infant’s naptime)?

12. If you are living in the house during the work, how will critical areas, like the bathroom and kitchen, be handled in order to minimize time they will be unusable?

13. To what level will the job site be cleaned up at the end of each day and for the weekends?

14. How will you handle the payments and scheduling for “change orders,” the virtually inevitable changes made to the initial plan as the job progresses?

15. Even with the most careful planning, problems with the job can arise. How will you resolve issues with your contractor?

Once you have established the ground rules your contractor is then responsible for communicating them to any worker who will come onto your property. It is also helpful to post a list of these rules in an easily accessible area so that everyone can see them. With a clearly communicated and written plan for everyone to follow, you can avoid what often become stressful and expensive disagreements. And you might even enjoy watching the transformation of your home into your new dream.

Sacramento Premises Liability

Sacramento Premises Liability

Sacramento Premises Liability
A Good Reason to Keep Your Home in Good Order

For many people, owning a home is the largest, longest-term investment in their lives. Homeowners spend countless hours and dollars to decorate and renovate. Beyond design and décor it’s also critical to identify problems with your property and take steps to repair and upgrade as necessary. From a financial standpoint, it makes sense to maintain your home well. Addressing problems while they are still small can prevent the need for larger expensive repairs. And issues that are not fixed tend to create additional, possibly even irreversible, problems that can affect your physical and fiscal well-being. However, there is another equally important reason to maintain your property that many homeowners often do not consider – “premises liability,” the liability on all property owners to keep their premises safe and free of hazards for other people.

The term “premises liability” refers to the legal obligation of the person who owns, possesses, or controls the premises as being the one responsible for any injuries arising from a condition of the premises. This means that as a homeowner you have a responsibility to guests, neighbors, and anyone passing through your property to make sure that there are no lurking dangers like shaky handrails or cracked sidewalks. If someone is injured because the homeowner failed to fix dangerous conditions or created unsafe conditions then the owner can be sued for damages. Neglecting proper home maintenance becomes not only a threat to everyone’s physical safety, but also to your financial security in the advent of a lawsuit. There are several rules involved with premises liability at the state and local jurisdiction levels. In California, premises liability is based on general principles of negligence and is controlled both by statute and case law. Research the relevant laws in your area to know your responsibilities and rights.

Several times throughout the year you should note any changes or deterioration to your property. You might conduct these mini-inspections at the beginning of a new season, to assess issues created by weather conditions such as rain or snow. To truly ensure that your home is properly maintained you can schedule regular home inspections by a licensed inspector. While the majority of home buyers insist on an inspection before a new purchase, most people do not have another inspection after they are settled in the house. However, your property will continue to succumb to the effects of decay, weather, and general wear-and-tear after you own the home as much as it did before. And just as you go to your doctor for yearly check-ups or take your car in for regular tune-ups, it makes sense to have a professional inspector evaluate the health of your home on a regular basis. For example, American Pride Home Inspection Service (www.sacramentoinspection.com) recommends that you have a yearly home inspection. With the information you’ll get in a comprehensive inspection report you can prioritize and budget for projects. When it comes to home maintenance, what you don’t know can hurt you – and your family, friends, and neighbors.

Get Organized

Get Organized
First Steps to Getting Your Home in Order

It’s mid-winter and everyone is spending a little more time indoors. Take this opportunity to tackle one of the most gratifying home projects – getting organized.

Having your space and belongings well-organized pays off in many ways. When you have a clear picture of where your things are you can put those items to better use and eliminate unnecessary spending. And think about the time you spend looking for your car keys, the checkbook, your child’s favorite shirt. When everyone in the family knows where to put the mail, hang their coats, and keep their school bags, it makes for a peaceful household.

Getting organized will take some time. Begin with one or two areas you are confident you can organize; working on even a few drawers is a good start. Many areas – clothes and linen closets, pantries, home offices – will benefit from efficient organization.

To design a useful and lasting organizational system, consider your personal needs. Do you forget about some of the things you own unless you can see them? Do you make better use of your belongings when things are visibly available? Or does it put you at ease when things are out of sight behind closed doors and in drawers? Answering these questions first will help you decide how you will use the space in your home. Storage spaces generally fall into two categories: “accessible or remote” and “open or closed.”

Accessible storage such as linen closets and kitchen pantries keep supplies close at hand for everyday use. Remote storage makes use of areas that are removed from living space. Attics and basements are common areas that hold things you only use occasionally such as holiday decorations, seasonal sports gear, and family memorabilia.

Open storage, including bookcases, shelves, and wall hooks, keeps things in site and easily identifiable. This option works well for keepsakes you want to display or things you reach for often such as cooking utensils. Closed storage clears the clutter of loose items such as clothes, shoes, and office supplies. In addition to traditional spaces like closets and cabinets, you can create additional closed storage with boxes under the bed or small containers placed under covered tables.

Note the different spaces available in your home and take a detailed inventory of the area you are organizing. This is the point at which you might discover some forgotten supplies (all those light bulbs you bought on sale and put in the linen closet because the pantry was full) or realize that you have unnecessary duplicate items (seven similar blue shirts in different places in your closet). Armed with content lists for drawers, shelves, closets, and cabinets, you’re ready to tackle the next step in the process – the actual sorting. You’ll find most items will fall into three categories: things to be displayed, to be used, and to be packed away. There are several organizational techniques and systems to meet every need. Look for upcoming articles on smart storage ideas for each area of your home.

Making Your Home a Healthier Place

Making Your Home a Healthier Place
Cleaning the Air in Your Home

Today most of us are aware of the dangers posed by pollutants in our environment. We read about smog, the ozone, and chemicals spewed by vehicles and factories. But research has shown that some of the dirtiest air we breathe is in our own homes. It is ironic that our homes now contain many of the irritants that we have worked so hard to reduce in the outdoor environment. Though a certain amount of dust and pollution is unavoidable, there are various measures you can take to improve the air quality in your house and make your home a healthier place.

Service the Household Systems

If the air ducts contain dust and dirt build-up then it stands to reason that the air they deliver will be dusty and dirty. Hire a duct cleaning service to clean out the air vents and ducts. The furnace filter also requires attention: change the filter regularly to keep the furnace running efficiently. You can dispense with the traditional filter and buy a more sophisticated one that is designed to trap small particles that affect breathing.

Invest in an Air Cleaning System

A professionally installed electronic air cleaner can extract thirty times the dust and harmful airborne particles as ordinary filters. The cost generally ranges in the hundreds of dollars, but these systems typically offer substantial results for easier breathing. On the less expensive side, you can buy portable units to clean the air in just one room.

Reduce Household Chemical Use

A significant amount of household pollution comes from everyday cleaning products. Although you are combating other allergens by keeping your home clean, you are contributing to the problem with chemical-laden cleaners and pesticides. Over time, even low levels of these compounds can affect the quality of the air in your home. Along with the wide range of organic foods and textiles in our stores today, there are also several earth-friendly alternatives to the standard cleaning products. Compare labels to find natural products that contain fewer toxic chemicals. When you must use stronger chemicals, do so sparingly and carefully.

Air-Out Dry Cleaned Items

Items that have been dry cleaned emit a number of chemicals that are used in the cleaning process. Before you put those items away with your other things, let them air out in a ventilated space, such as near an open window, and then cover again with the plastic bags.

Combat Common Irritants

Everyday nuisances such as dust mites, pollen, and smoke infiltrate most areas of the house. Containing these elements as much as possible will benefit everyone in the household, especially people with allergies and other respiratory ailments. Take simple steps, such as regularly dusting surfaces and replacing vacuum cleaner bags, to reduce the number of contaminants in your home.

Easy Bathroom Makeovers

Easy Bathroom Makeovers
DIY Projects Spruce Things Up

Bathroom remodels give homeowners a great return on their investment, both monetarily, when selling or refinancing a home, and in increased comfort and aesthetic value. Large-scale bathroom remodels require extensive planning, and costs can soar into the thousands of dollars. When you are looking to spruce up your bathroom quickly on a limited budget there are some small upgrades that can give you big bang for your buck. And most homeowners can complete these relatively inexpensive projects themselves in little time.

Vanity Makeover

As one of the largest and most visible bathroom pieces, the vanity can set an overall tone in the bathroom. Sand and repaint a tired-looking vanity to give it new life.

Hardware

Replace that outdated or broken cabinet hardware with new pulls or knobs. Stainless steel and nickel finishes give a contemporary feel. You can also paint old wooden knobs and pulls to match new décor.

Storage

To clear clutter and give the impression of a larger space get items off of the floor and into hanging storage options. Small vanities are often installed on the wall above the toilet. Larger étagère units also make good storage use of the space over the toilet.

Toilet Seat

Install a new toilet lid and seat. Replacing that cracked or worn seat with a shiny new one brightens the bathroom in a subtle way, and the installation process is fairly simple.

Paint

With bathroom walls covered by tile, mirrors, showers, and bathtubs, there are only a few square feet of exposed wall to paint. If you have outdated color patterns on tiles and fixtures, try matching those colors in contemporary pairs – for example, use chocolate brown paint with pink or peach tile and fixtures.

Porcelain Paint

Porcelain paint is a great way to spruce up tired, worn porcelain tubs and sinks. Touch-up kits are available online and at home centers and hardware stores.

Tile Stencils

Dressing up bathroom tiles is a fun way to showcase your style and an easy alternative to completely replacing the tile. Decorative tile stencils come in a variety of designs to complement many themes. Choose random tiles to paint or run the stencil design in a row around the shower or the top edge of the walls to give a line of visual interest.

The Little Things

Look around your bathroom for small ways to make it appear roomier. Use small throw rugs or get rid of them altogether – those swatches of color break up the floor space and give the illusion that the room is smaller than it actually is. Mirrors will reflect the room, making it look larger, and will also bounce light around the room, making it seem airy. Fold towels on small or double bars rather than using larger single ones. Coordinate accessories such as the toilet paper holder, wastebasket, toothbrush holder, and towel bars. Use a clear shower curtain or glass door to open up the room.