Old Homes Can Have Problems With Stair Noise

Oh yes the common problem of squeaking stairs in an older house. This could become very frustrating and annoying as you walk up and down the stairs. There seems to be one or two stair treads that are always squeaking. That annoying sound as you walk as softly as you can on your way down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to grab a quick snack.

The number one cause of squeaking stairs is when the nails used to fasten the stair tread to the stair strainers has worked its way loose. Over time as the lumber shrinks in the stair treads and the stairs stringers. You will start to develop a separation or a gap between the stair tread and the stair strainer.

The stair stringer can shrink as much as 3/8 of an inch in just a few years. I was building a home and went to measure the stair stringer that was 11 1/2 inches wide originally. Then I measured it after two months outside in the summer sun it now measured 11 1/16". I was amazed that the lumber could shrink that much in such a short period of time.

As the stair stringer shrinks it starts to pull away from the plywood or hardwood stair tread. As it starts to separate from the stair tread the nail will stay in its original position until the stair tread starts to put pressure on the nail eventually lifting it up a little bit higher than its original position.

As you step on the stair tread the squeaking sound you hear is the nail rubbing against the stair tread. There are a few ways to fix a squeaking stair tread. If you have access to under the stairway you can apply some adhesive along with a 10 inch 2 x 4 under the stair tread and attach it to the stair stringer.

First apply adhesive to two sides of the 2 x 4. The adhesive will be used to glue the stair tread to the stair stringer. You can use screws to screw the new 2 x 4 onto the side of the stair stringer.

If you cannot access the underside of the stairs and you have carpeting you can actually locate the stair stringer and drive a 2 inch screw through the carpeting in to the stair stringer. This will pull the stair tread down and will not allow it to rub up against the nail making that awful sound of a squeaking stair case.

If you have a finished wood stair tread you will not be able to screw through it into the stair stringer without damaging the finish on tread itself. It will be easier to access the stair stringer from below somehow and apply the 2 x 4 with the adhesive to stop the stair squeak.

You can apply these methods to as many stair treads that are squeaking without taking apart the entire staircase and rebuilding it.

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 stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Stair Building

Fixing Your Leaking Toilet

Let me explain how a toilet works. First when you go to flush the toilet a little arm pulls a rubber flapper up and lets the water drain into the toilet bowl. The water draining into the toilet bowl forces the old water out along with the number two or number one waste and extremities.

If the toilet sounds like it is running there is a good chance that the seal between the rubber flapper and the plastic rain at the bottom of the toilet is broken somehow. The sound you are hearing is water running around this ring and in to the toilet bowl.

This leak is actually causing no damage to the toilet itself but is wasting water. Hence the water bill will be a little higher if you don't fix the leaking toilet. The best way to find out if this is actually your problem is to take the toilet tank lid off. Then stick your hand down into the toilet bowl and press gently on the rubber flap.

If the water stops leaking or starts running faster this is your problem. Turn the water off to the toilet. There will be a shut off valve on the wall under your toilet bowl in the bathroom. After you turn the water off removed the plastic flap and examine it.

You will be looking for a warped toilet flap or of some sort or grooves on the flapper itself. Take the toilet flapper down to your local home improvement store and buy a new one. Go home and replace the new toilet flapper and this should solve 90% of your leaking toilet problems.

There is one more thing it could be. With the toilet tank lid off, check to see if water is overflowing into the little round plastic pipe. This plastic pipe should have a small hose running from the float valve assembly into it.

If the water is over flowing from the toilet tank into this little plastic pipe you will need to adjust the float.

First thing you will need to do is while the toilet is running lift up on the float lever arm. If the water stops you can simply bend the metal arm of the float lever. The purpose of bending the arm will force the float deeper into the water there for stopping the water from rising over the small tube in the center of your toilet.

There are few parts to a toilet and most parts can be purchased at your local hardware or home improvement centers. Toilet repairs like this can be made simple and the parts used to replace are inexpensive.

Happy Toilet Repairing.

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 House 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 Some Great Plumbing Ideas

Driveway Raised Creating Problem

"Resistance is Futile" - Life Lessons From Star Trek?

I confess, I used to watch Star Trek! Not that I'm a "Trekkie" by any means, but I did used to find the show interesting. My favorite character was Mr. Data - he always seemed to be the one to get them out of trouble, probably because he knew everything!

If you've ever watched the show at all, you'll probably be familiar with "The Borg" and their memorable phrase "resistance is futile". You know what? The Borg were actually right!

Most stress is created in our lives when we resist what is. When we try to fight against something that's happening because we don't like it. But the more we fight and struggle against it, the more stuck we become and the more stressed we become. Let's take a couple of every day examples:

You're late for an appointment. You rush out of the house, get in your car and on the road, and just as you get going on the highway, traffic comes to a standstill and you're stuck in a traffic jam. You get upset. You're late. Your boss or the customer will be upset with you. Tension mounts. Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure rises - this can't be happening. You're in resistance. But what does that resistance achieve? It can't change the fact that you're in a traffic jam. It can't make you move any faster. So what can you do? You can accept the fact that there is a traffic jam and that you're stuck in it. That's a fact. There is nothing you can do at this moment in time that will change that, so accept it.

When you accept that this is indeed the situation you find yourself in and there is nothing you can do to change it at this moment, it gives you the ability to relax. To stay calm. To breathe. It takes away all of the tension and stress. When you are in this calm state, you can think more clearly. Since you find yourself in this situation, what can you do? If you have your cell phone you can call the people you are meeting with and tell them of your situation so they know. You can listen to some music, or better still, some educational CD's that you keep in your car. Very often you'll find that once you've relaxed and surrendered the situation, that traffic will soon start moving again and you end up not being so late after all. But even if that doesn't happen it's okay.

Consider the alternative. You get upset, you fight, you resist the fact that you're in the traffic jam and you eventually arrive at your meeting, very late, very frustrated, and very angry. Will you be at your best in the meeting? This stress will most likely stay with you not only throughout the meeting, but throughout the day. You then go home and are upset with your family because you've had a stressful day and you're not able to let go of it. You may even find that you can't get to sleep because you're still thinking about what a terrible day you had. You just can't let go of it.

This can apply to any situation. Let's take another example: you're preparing a report that's due first thing in the morning. You've left it until the last minute and now you're rushing to get it done - so you're already stressed because you're under pressure. You work diligently on your report and now you're almost at the end when - the computer crashes. You realize you didn't save your work. You can't get your computer going again. You call technical support and are placed on hold for - who knows how long? This can't be happening. Why didn't you start the report sooner? Why didn't you save it? Why do these things always happen to you? Why is life so unfair? Why is everybody so incompetent that you can't get anybody to fix it when you need them to?

Does this sound familiar? Again, in this situation your blood pressure rises, your heart rate increases, you're upset, you're angry, you're worried. How can you possibly surrender this situation? It's terrible! Well, let's look again at the facts. You left preparation of the report until the last minute. You didn't save your work. The computer crashed. You can't get through to anyone to fix it right now. No amount of you jumping up and down, shouting, getting angry or frustrated is going to change any of that, is it? Acknowledge that. Accept that the situation is as it is. Getting upset won't change it. Once you can accept that these are the facts, this is what is happening now, and simply let go of trying to wish it were different or force the change, then the tension you feel will go away. You'll be able to breathe and become calm. Once you're in a calm state, then you can ask yourself the question - is there anything I can do right now that will change or improve this situation? Perhaps you can borrow somebody else's computer and start the report again. Perhaps there is somebody else you can think of who can get your computer working. Once you're in this calmer state of mind you might actually find that you get through to Technical Support and the situation gets resolved. You might even find that your document did not disappear thanks to document recovery in the program.

Most of us are extremely stressed. There is a great deal of research that shows that stress is the major cause of most illnesses, relationship challenges and so on. But we create most of it ourselves by being resistant to what is happening. When you can accept a situation as it is and be okay with it, that doesn't mean that you are giving in, that you'll never make any progress. Just the opposite in fact. When you give up the resistance, somehow you find that the ideas, resources, people - whatever you need to move forward just shows up. Instead of "making it happen" you're "allowing it to happen."

I encourage you to try this as you go through your day. Whatever challenges arise, simply accept them as they are. Stay calm, and allow the solutions to present themselves - without you trying to force the situation.

Linda Binns shows you how to be more successful in all areas of your life by working with your environment. Sign up for her free 9-step E-course at http://www.HarmoniousLifeChoices.com

Linda Binns is author of Feng Shui for Your Relationships: Changing Your Environment to Create Better Relationships. She has been a Feng Shui Practitioner, Author, Speaker and teacher for over 10 years. She has appeared internationally on television and radio and in local publications. Linda is also the founder of The Feng Shui Success Institute - which teaches in-depth Feng Shui training and practitioner certification.

Building Your Own House - New Homes

Most of us only dream of building your own home and living in it for the rest of our lives, well maybe not for the rest of our lives. My grandfather built his home when my father was nine years old and lived in it until he died. As a Carpenter and general contractor, I have always wanted to build my own home but never got the chance.

For anyone interested in building the home of your dreams, I found a few books on home building that seemed to be pretty helpful. I have been remodeling, building room additions, worked on track house framing for years and have done more home repairs than you could possibly imagine. I have found some of these books to be very resourceful and helpful, when it comes to solving some of the problems I run into.

When it comes to building the foundation, it's not just about pouring a concrete slab or footings. You need to run electrical conduit, plumbing supply and waste pipes, make sure the building foundation is square and level, and if you forget one thing, just one thing, you could find yourself in a world of hurt. I have worked on homes where the builder forgot to install electrical conduit and plumbing for a kitchen island. The contractor needed to saw cut the foundation and repair at it, during the home construction. This cost the building contractor around $4600.

Sometimes a checklist makes sense but where you get a checklist for building homes. Well maybe one day, I will try to make one. These home building books have been valuable resources to me for many years and have saved me grief and agony over simple things that often get overlooked.

It's a little overwhelming to even think about building your own home, if you don't have some construction skills. Construction knowledge can be gained through on-the-job training and by reading construction manuals. The best of both worlds would be to have both of these skills.

Construction knowledge can be gained or improved, over time with experience, combined with a couple of great books.

Home Building Books

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 has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more House Remodeling Pictures or home building ideas.

Wood Beam Repairs

Off Grid Living - How to Make Solar Panels

With so many different resources today becoming nearly scarce, it's essential that we do our part in trying to use less of our resources by living off grid. Turning to alternative resources can also help the situation. And when you're talking about power and energy, there are many other alternative methods out there that we can rely on.

For example, I'm sure you have heard of solar power before. Solar panels are built, which collect energy from the sun, and they convert that energy into power. Solar panels can power anything from something as small as a calculator to a massive house. Heck, there are even solar power cars out there too!

So, how can you make a solar panel that can power your house? Well, you would need a lot more than just a single panel, but it is possible to make your own solar panels. In fact, most of the materials you need to build them can be found at your everyday hardware store. It makes a great project for you or the whole family to work on.

Some of the general materials you need are things such as a car battery, sheet metal and metal tubing, copper sheets, and electrical wire. There are a few more things you would need as well, but those are just some basic supplies to give you an idea of what it will take.

You also need an excellent set of plans or directions to follow in order to make your solar panel as effective as possible. It's much easier to build something like this when you know exactly what you are doing.

Do you want to know where to find excellent step-by-step plans on making solar panels? Visit Earth4Energy to find out how you can get started building your money saving solar panel today!

House Preservation and Renovation - - Home Repair Tips

Owning your own home comes with several advantages. Aside from having the wonderful feeling of living in your own property, there's no rent to worry about and you're free to do as you please with it. Homeowners have their share of headaches of course- property taxes, insurance, the normal problems of aging of building materials and everyday wear and tear.

Maintaining one's home in order to keep its original looks and value takes dedication and a bit of money. A lot of folks get caught up in the daily grind and overlook the responsibility of home maintenance. A lot of beautiful homes have been lost after incurring irreparable damage due to neglect.

The more common forms of time-related problems are issues with the roof, plumbing and cracks in the walls. Missing or damaged shingles should be checked every six months along with possible leaks in gutters and downspouts. Holes in the roof should be patched up right away to prevent them from getting bigger and avoid water damage to your furniture and appliances.

Walls, bricks and woodwork should also be checked for deterioration. Cracks in walls are pretty normal due to earthquakes or settling in old homes. To ensure historical integrity, the materials used in repairing old homes should be the same as the original. Plaster is usually used for walling in homes with some age. Aside from settling, plaster gets cracked because of deterioration due to poor quality and water damage also.

The first step in repairing cracks in walls of plaster is clearing them up and making sure dust and loose chunks of plaster are cleaned out. This can be done easily with a carpenter's 5-way scraping tool specially designed for this task. There are two steps to applying new plaster to cracks in old walls. Applying the base coat plaster to bind and fill-up the cracks, and the top coat finish for a smooth finish. In preparing the new plaster, make sure to follow instructions by the manufacturer to prevent back-jobs which can cause significant waste of time and money.

Another common and usually recurring problem in homes is the toilet bowl. Since these have a fair amount of moving parts, the necessity to do minor troubleshooting is quite expected. When the handle for the flush becomes tight or sticky, it's just a matter of cleaning the mounting nut (after accessing it by removing the tank cover, of course). A handle that is loose or one that doesn't flush means the chain is either too slack or has been broken. Remedy this by adjusting the chain, using different hole or replacing it in case of breakage.

When the toilet becomes clogged and a plunger won't help, it's time to call in the big guns. A "snake" otherwise known as an auger can reach inside the drainage deeper and unclog whatever is blocking the water and waste from being flushed.

A leaking toilet if left unchecked will inevitably flood your floor and cause expensive damage to your subfloor and woodwork. It could just be a problem with the bolts or couplings around and inside the tank. If after checking you can't find any problem with those, most likely the sealant around the base has to be replaced or worse, there's crack somewhere and you'd have to replace the whole thing.

If you encounter problems or remodeling issues that you think is way beyond anything you've experienced or read in those DIY manuals and videos, it might be a good move to look around for a good contractor. House and building contractors although more costly, can save you loads of time and effort as well as take care of issues with permits and such.

Jo is a writer for 'EBL Group Limited' (http://www.eblgroup.co.uk), a family managed, recognized and accepted house insurance repairs outworker stationed in Runcorn Cheshire. If you need home insurance repairs because of storm, flood, fire, malevolent or accidental damage or any other reasons or if you have house and commercial buildings upgrading needs then you should check out EBL Group.

Granite Countertop Cleaning

Using Home Safes For Added Family Security

Protecting your valuables with a home safe provides you with the security in knowing that its there to protect your irreplaceable items from theft or destruction. It gives you that piece of mind knowing that your money, important documents, firearms, jewelry, and family heirlooms will be safe even through fire or water damage.

It also protects the wandering inquisitive child, babysitter, housekeeper, etc, from stumbling upon items that you would rather they not see.

But you just don't go to any discount store to get your safe, then bring it home and plop it in your closet. There are some things to think about first, a bit of thought and planning.

What type of protection are you looking for? A home safe should protect your items from fire, water damage and theft. You can find safes that protect from any one, combination, or all. (You may still want to place some of your valuables in plastic bags just in case of water damage.)

What style are you looking for? A home safe can be anything from a small chest, file, wall or floor mount safe to a home or business safe or file cabinet. You will want to install it away from the master bedroom or closet - this is the first place a thief would look.

What size are you looking for? What are you trying to protect? Your home safe should be big enough to fit things like important documents (birth certificates, passports, social security cards, credit cards, wills, tax returns, business papers, insurance documents, photos, etc); digital media (CDs, DVDs, memory sticks, GPS systems, MP3 players, cell phones, etc), and valuables (family heirlooms, jewelry, cash, video/camera equipment, collectibles, etc).

The safe needs to be anchored in some way, so be sure you will be able to bolt the safe to the floor, permanent shelving or set it in concrete. After all, you don't want to make it handy for the theft to just pick up and walk away with everything all in one spot! It should have a tool resistant outer shell as well as a minimum of one-hour fire rating; most safes have a 20-minute fire protection. The lock should be U.L. approved.

Use your safe everyday so it becomes routine. Protect the safe code and change it occasionally. There are also models available that open using your fingerprint (very cool!).

To get more valuable free personal and family safety tips, go to http://MyFamilySafetyInfo.com/ Please also visit http://GuscleBerry.com/ for a variety of home, yard and garden decor and gifts, all at affordable prices along with bulk purchase discounts.

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