Posts Tagged ‘home repair’

How Much Damage Can Termites Do?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

You may be surprised to know just how much damage termites can do. But you have to remember that while a single termite might be only eight millimetres (a third of an inch) long, a colony or nest can hold between several hundred and several million termites.

Most of this number will be workers and their job is to go out and get enough food for all the residents of the colony. In general, they search for cellulose material, but in practice that could be your home, especially if it is made primarily of timber. Not that they will not eat their way through other materials too.

Plastic, soft metals like lead, and even concrete are no actual barrier to thousands of determined termites. But they would rather wood. Some species prefer dry timber and others would rather damp or rotting timber. However, do not think that you will necessarily see termite damage at a glance. Often termites will eat their way into the end grain of a piece of wood and then work their way up through the centre of it.

This part of the timber is the newest growth and, I imagine, the most tender to a termite. Anyway, they will gnaw into the centre of, say, a floor joist, and make a walk-way or gallery through it to the next length of timber. So you may not know that you have termites until they have so undermined your floor that you fall into the cellar one day.

This is why, if you live in an area where termites are known to be active, you should have your house checked over or sprayed at least once a year. Just because you have not seen a termite or any termite damage, does not mean that you have not got termites. Not by a long chalk.

There are three major types of termite: the damp wood termite, the dry wood termite and the subterranean termite. As you can see, no matter what state the timber in your house is in, there is a termite that will eat it. By far the nastiest of these is the subterranean termite and by far the nastiest of those is the Formosan termite. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are safe from the Formosan termite because you do not live in China. They are all over Asia and in the USA as well.

Subterranean termites, living underground, are evidently much harder to see. Not only that, they are either very clever or very introverted, because they build walk-ways or tubes of earth from the exits from their underground colonies to the nearest bit of timber. This helps them go unnoticed, unless you know what you are looking for, and then, when they have reached timber, they will burrow into the end grain and they are off, eating their way into the very structure of your home.

Within no time at all all the timber support beams, purlins, rafters and joists could be hollow shells of wood. One serious gust of wind or a heavy snowfall and that could be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently concerned with pictures of termites. If you are interested in this or if you are wondering: What Does A Termite Look Like?. Please go to our web site now for further details.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

What Is Termite Damage?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

If you own residential or commercial property in a warm to hot country, them I am certain that you have heard of the risk of termite damage. However, do you know which signs of termite damage to look out for? Do you know how quickly you can go from not having a problem to having a large infestation? And do you know how long it will take a major infestation of some termites, notably the Formosan termites, to make your property dangerous?

If you are not aware of the answer to these questions, then you have two options, either to learn quickly or hire in an expert. In regions of termite activity, it is suggested that every property is inspected at least once a year. There are about fifty species of termites in the USA, so it is not an easy task to identify which species you have.

Having said that, subterranean termites are the most awful and the Formosan subterranean termites are the most awful of that bad bunch. They can live in colonies of between several hundred and several million and if a million Formosans decide to dine on your house, then you will have to react very rapidly indeed.

Naturally, you do not want to lose your own building to a termite infestation, but neither do your neighbours, so you have a moral duty to eradicate any termite colonies on your property. So, why should you suspect that you have a termite issue?

Since termites eat wood, amongst other things, the best thing to do is look for timber damage around your house. The basement is a good spot to start. Do not be concerned about what type of timber, inspect it all, since there are termites that like dry wood, termites that like damp wood and termites that will eat anything.

If you think that a piece of timber has or is being eaten, use a screwdriver gently to attempt to break it open. if you see white insects that look like ants, you have termites. Sometimes, flying termites swarm too., but so do ants.

Termites are white because they rarely see the sun, they do not like light, so they build so-called galleries to walk through. These galleries can be through a length of timber or they might use chewed wood to make galleries leading to where they want to go. For, example pencil-like galleries may hang off the underside of your floorboards to the ground or be attached to concrete walls.

These tube-like galleries can be abandoned or active. Snap a few and see. If they are brittle they have been abandoned, but that does not mean that the termites have departed.

Sometimes, the tubes are constructed of earth and this is a very bad sign, because it means you have subterranean termites, probably under your house. If you knock these galleries off the walls, they will leave marks called etchings, which will be evidence of termite activity until the house is knocked down, for anyone who knows what they are looking at.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently concerned with Termidor termite treatment – a termite killer. If you are interested in this or if you are wondering: What Does A Termite Look Like?. Please go to our web site now for further details.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Useful Car Information That Might Help You

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Most of us start to panic when we realize that there is something wrong with our cars. The problem is that as most of us are pretty ignorant about what is going on under our hoods, we tend to panic and mostly, unnecessarily. The next 5 problems are ones that all drivers should be aware of.

The roads we drive on today are covered in debris, and this can easily get lodged in the tires making a horrible noise that sounds like it is coming from the engine. There are many causes for engine noise, you will need to take it to a mechanic is it is a persistent knocking which lasts for longer than a couple of days.

One of the most common and easily fixable problems is that of squeaky brakes. This is generally caused by vibration between two of the components; the pads and the callipers, the callipers and the mounts or even the pads and the rotors.

There are other causes of that annoying squeak; possibly the shoes and backing plate, or shoes and drums. Once again, if it’s there for a while get it checked out at a garage.

Your car will have a ‘check engine light’ and some of us don’t even know it is there until it lights up! This is the computer telling you of a possible problem. Most of the time this turns out to be nothing serious, but you should take it straight to a garage if the light is red.

Another common problem is when the car starts pulling to the side while you are driving. This will probably be a simple of case of needing to be re-aligned. Watch out thought for it pulling to one side specifically.

We all want a smooth and comfortable drive, but sometimes that becomes very rough and bumpy. If you know it isn’t the road, it is more than likely your struts and shock absorbers.

Time is the key here. If you put up with it for a while before taking it to a garage, you may well end up having to have brand new struts and/or shocks fitted.

Enjoy more of this author’s advice on things such as used Kubota tractor parts and tractors for sale.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Home Heating Tips That Don’t Run Up A Huge Bill

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

It’s now the coldest time of the year, fact. We can feel the cold air even when ensconced in our living rooms with the heating on.

Cold winters and blustery storms leave me cold, literally! I’m at my best with the sun on my back. I know some think differently, but that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Whilst we are in the grip of this awful weather, I have a few ideas to pass onto you which may save you money while you stay warm,

Nothing is cozier than a fireplace when the weather is cold and wintry outside, unfortunately it tends to just heat the area right in front of it. A fireplace blower will distribute the heat evenly throughout the room.

The heat that the fireplace generates is blown throughout the room so it warms everyone, not just those sat in front of it. This means you can do without having your heating on at the same time, ultimately proving to be cost effective.

Getting into a freezing cold bed is never pleasant, and you tend to need the heating on full blast while you shiver. A heated blanket puts an end to the need for the heating to be on.

I find that once I’m in my heated bed and my body warms through, I get too hot so I turn the blanket time and drift off easily into a restful sleep. Others turn them off altogether; it’s entirely up to you which heat you are comfortable with.

A Draughty skylight works both ways; you lose the heat that you are paying for and gain the cold air you are trying to keep out. Fit a blind over the entire window to eradicate the problem.

All these tips will save you money as well as keeping you warm. So try one and beat the winter blues.

Check out more of this author’s work regarding topics like emergency exit only signs and photoluminescent fire exit signs.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Earning A Living Custom Wood Work

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

It is easy getting a profit doing custom patios all you need to do is advertise and wait for the calls to come racing in. Everyone wants to build up the value of their house and what better way than by extending in at the front or back, a patio is the best way to do this. With the right experience and tools you may bring in enough money to live off by building custom patios.

Whether at the back or front of the house patios are a luxurious addition to any home. They are great to host grills, relax and recline on a chair with a good book or even set up a workspace to complete home projects.

Only people with the relevant experience can complete these jobs, carpentry is a difficult trade and must be learnt to be able to make some money. Advertising with the local papers is the best way to go and do not take on more work than you can handle.

Making money also depends on how well you quote a job. Under quote and you loose money but over quote and you may not even get the job. Whatever you do be sure to get advice on quoting or take and experienced person along with you. Getting jobs is of course crucial to you making money so investing money in marketing especially locally should be the number one priority.

So the job has been given to you so the next thing you must do is order the equipment to arrive at the job and run over the plans with the customer. Make sure you both agree on everything so that they will not get you to do extra work for free. It is sometimes better to be paid a little upfront so that if they trick you, you still get away with something.

When the job is done well people will keep talking about you to their friends and this will give you free advertising. You can generate a healthy income just from building patios alone, sometimes you can charge up to ten thousand dollars per job if you are real professional.

The most important thing you want to achieve from this job is a satisfactory result so that you get paid and your business grows in order to do that you must finish on time and do a great job. To ensure you have enough employees make sure you have some friends on the side that can be called in case there is an emergency and you need their help. In conclusion it is hard working with wood especially in these large dimensions so be careful and do a professional job.

You can really get good 0 balance transfer to help you start your business with a 0% interest rate loan.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace