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If you’re currently living in a small one-bedroom place and have only a few items to move then you can easily accomplish this on your own. But, if like many others you live in a slightly larger place you will find that it is easier to hire a professional moving company to help with the moving process. You might not know this, but moving home is somewhat of an art. Fragile items need to be treated as such and if you do not have the right equipment this can be a stressful time for you and your family.

Professional movers are skilled in packing items to ensure minimal loss. Skilled movers will know exactly how much weight can be placed on each box and where these items would need to be placed inside a van. Additionally, if you are moving heavy items you could seriously injure yourself if something should go wrong.

Choosing the right removal company

The items in your home are everything you own. These items are valuable to you and you need to make sure that you have the right people for the job. Whether you require the services of small van removals or a larger company you can rest assured that the right business to help you with your move is out there.

Start by researching companies in your area. Ask friends and family members who have made use of removal companies for referrals and check online ratings for companies. Once you have narrowed your search down to at least three companies, you need to call each one and ask for a quote. You will need to be honest with the company and tell them exactly how much they will need to move. Ask whether they will include the use of packaging material in the quote. Once you have settled on a company you need to book their services and pay a deposit.

Company briefing

As mentioned before, you must brief your removal company properly. The chosen company needs to know the following:

• Items which may be specialized packaging; this will include antiques and highly valuable items
• Items that may be harder to move than regular items such as pianos and large cabinets
• Large furniture items such as wardrobes which may need dismantling on the day
• Loose carpets, rugs, and curtains
• How many items you will be moving yourself
• Where the items will be going into their new home

Getting insurance

One of the key things you need to ask when signing up for a removal company is whether they have the right insurance for the job. Ask the company what would happen if they arrive at the new property but cannot unpack items. Ask about delays on their side and if they are covered for it. Always check to see if the company you have hired has the right removal insurance and what the limitations are. If you have a large number of high-value items you need to make sure that these will be covered should there be any damage.

Old windows will often beget the need for installing windows that are brand new. That’s because you can’t live with failing, aging windows for too long, otherwise, you will begin to feel the effects that come with them. These include a loss of energy efficiency, an inability to prevent precipitation from seeping in and damaging your interiors, and poor aesthetics that can significantly reduce the curb appeal of the home.

You may even detect vulnerabilities in your old windows putting them at risk for being easy targets by thieves and intruders who have plans for robbing your valuables. Not to mention that your windows are designed to allow natural sunlight to enter the home to liven it up and illuminate your living space.

Since you rely on your windows to do so many things for you and your home, it just makes sense to be sure that they are performing to the best of their ability. This is not intended to suggest that just because your windows are old they’re going to give you problems. Many homes have older windows that function properly and maintain their looks long after the homeowner may have expected them to fail.

But we here at Olympia Window want to offer homeowners some words of warning as to the potential issues that can easily crop up as windows age and begin to break down. These tell-tale symptoms of malfunction can be something relatively simple to repair or it may require an entire replacement of the window.

Yet no matter what the diagnosis may be for your particular situation, it pays to address the situation as early as you can. The longer you wait, the worse the problem can become and, above all, the more it can cost to fix. So if you find that your old windows are showing the following obvious signs of age, you should take action immediately to rectify the issue.

Broken Panes

Cracks or fractures in the glass of your window is an eyesore and it poses several potential threats in the form of higher energy costs and possible damage to the interior of the home. Busted window glass can be a real problem, yet one that isn’t always dealt with in a timely fashion.

That’s due, in large part, to the fact that most homes have windows that contain multiple panes. So if one of them breaks or shatters along the exterior, the interior panes are barely keeping the wind and rain from getting in, but that’s about all they’re doing.

What you’re losing out on (besides living in a home without broken windows) is the ability to prevent leaks of your climate-controlled air from occurring on a routine basis. That’s because multiple panes are designed to keep your air from seeping out through your windows as they provide multiple barriers to prevent air from escaping.

After all, windows are poor insulators. Yet when one of those panes is broken, that leaves one less barrier for the air to get through. These leaks can reduce the energy efficiency of the window in question, while also giving the water a way to get inside your home. Rain and snow can get in through a busted pane and cause serious amounts of water damage.

Compromised seals

It’s not just broken panes of glass that can compromise the operational integrity of a window. The seals of a window can also begin to fail, leaving them just as weak and vulnerable as if a pane were shattered. The seals of the window can break down over time due to corrosion and excessive wear and tear.

Unfortunately, you may not yet realize a seal has been compromised until you find visible evidence in the form of condensation developing between the multiple panes of a window.

Limited Functionality

A window is supposed to perform certain basic actions to continue working properly. It must open smoothly and shut tightly. There must not be any interruptions or malfunctions of these basic actions and, if there are, then your window needs to be checked out.

The methods by which you open or close that window can vary based on the type you own, this can also pose a potential issue in the successful operation of your window. Cranks fail, sashes get stuck, tracks become obstructed, there are many ways for a window to lose functionality.

Old windows may start to demonstrate these and other similar functionality problems and they need to be repaired or you run the risk of the problem getting worse.

When you are installing windows in your home for the first time, you don’t think about how they might break down. But, much like anything else you might install into your home, your windows can begin to show signs of wear and tear over time. This is particularly true for those windows that are subjected to extreme weather conditions and repeated use at higher levels than might be expected.

But when your window starts to leak, you may not even notice it immediately. While it’s true there could be some visual tell-tale signs of a leak due to discoloration from water damage, many leaks can be nearly impossible to diagnose because they manifest themselves as hairline cracks that could go unnoticed for months, even years.

So why do leaks happen and what can be done about the problem? The thing is, a window leak can come about from any number of causes. Yet no matter what the reason, the problem needs to be addressed quickly or you could risk spending a lot of money on your heating and cooling bills as well as repairing even minor water damage.

Here are the most common sources of window leaks and some of the ways you can prevent and even solve these problems if and when they do occur.

Installation

This may come as a surprise, but one of the most common causes of window leaks is lousy installation. A poor installation can lead to gaps between the frame and the house, leaving even a minuscule amount of space for air and water to seep in and out. If you let this persist too long, you will experience higher utility bills and you more than triple your risk of water leaking in during a storm.

When that happens, the water could soak into the wood, drywall, or even drip, and pool up under your carpets. All of these situations are bad and can cause your home to develop rot and mold.

Settling

This happens more often in much older homes as window frames can shift out of alignment over longer periods. It’s more common than you think and you may not even realize there’s a problem. But the natural shifting or settling of the frame can occur in the space of your home and when that happens, small cracks and fractures can develop.

This settling is so minor you may not even see any visible evidence of a crack or a fracture and you could be living with the issue for a long time. It might even require you to check if there is a leak with an infrared thermometer because without that you wouldn’t know it otherwise.

Condensation

This is common among double and triple pane windows where multiple panes of glass are placed side by side inside the frame with insulating gas installed in between. When a seal inside the window has been compromised, you will tend to find condensation developing in between the panes. You can’t wipe it away because it’s inside the window.

The condensation will go away but if you don’t solve the issue, you will continue to see that condensation emerge on the glass more often. What’s more, your internal seal has allowed the insulating gas to leak out and that has made the windowless energy efficient. So while the leak isn’t allowing water to get in, it has allowed air to escape through the glass much easier and that may be why your energy costs have increased.

Age

Finally, windows can start to break down due to age. It happens to the best of us. A window may not shut completely or a crank may start to fail, preventing you from opening or closing it all the way. When age is the culprit, there are a few steps you can take to solve the problem but you may need to replace the window sooner than later.

Preventing Leaks

First and foremost, the best way to prevent window leaks from occurring is to have your windows properly installed by a certified, reliable window installation contractor. Having them put in right the first time, will be your best bet to ensure that your energy-efficient windows remain that way for as long as you own them.

You can also select high-quality window products that are made from reliable components and water and stain-resistant materials.

Solving Leaks

It all depends on the reason for the leak. But in many cases, some nails, caulk, or weather-stripping may be all you need to seal up fractures and gaps in and around your windows. For more complicated problems due to broken internal seals and similar technical problems, you may need to have a professional come out to diagnose and repair the issue.

Window leaks are something you may not know you have in your home until it suddenly dawns on you that your energy bills have been steadily climbing to staggering levels. You are throwing money out the window and the first thing you want to do is stop it from happening.

Unfortunately, your problem may be harder to locate than you might think because a home can lack energy efficiency in several different ways. The windows are often the main culprit but you could be dealing with an assortment of problems. The window could have a crack in one of the panes, a seal could be compromised inside the window, the entire frame may have shifted and your window is now out of alignment with the space in the home.

The biggest challenge here is that your leak or leaks could be so minuscule and difficult to detect by the naked eye that you may never find the issue. But even though the leaks may appear so incrementally small, you are losing big bucks over an extended length of time.

When you leak into the home, you are running your HVAC system longer than necessary, draining your wallet minute by minute, just so you can remain comfortable when it gets hot or cold outside.

Window leaks aren’t just costly, they can also cause damage to your home as these seemingly invisible gaps can let rain and snow seep into the home and cause some serious damage to wood, drywall, and flooring. That won’t be cheap to fix either. It might even mean installing windows to replace the faulty ones you have now.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Windows RVA of Richmond offers these tips on how to detect the source of a window leak to homeowners who are concerned they may be paying too much in energy costs for no good reason at all. These steps should help you track down those pesky leaks and do so without the need for calling a professional technician to come out and diagnose the issue.

Try these options first. If you still find that you’re having an issue finding the leaks in your home, then you can try calling a professional. But let’s try to avoid that first. So after you have looked in all the obvious areas like a crack in a pane or compromised caulk, here’s what you can do:

The Frames

One of the most common areas where leaks are found is the frames. So you’ll need to take a good look for any open gaps or fractures where the frame and the wall meet. Sometimes this isn’t readily visible to the naked eye so you can get a magnifying glass and pore over the entire perimeter closely.

If that doesn’t work, see if you can shake the frame. It shouldn’t move but if it does, even a little bit, you’ve found the source of your window leak. Fixing it could be as simple as using some nails and caulk to secure it back into place, just be cautious about ensuring that the frame is sitting flush against the space in your house.

Infrared Thermometer

If you’ve been shaking your windows but they’re not shifting at all, you may still leak but it’s well concealed. No worry though, you can try using an infrared thermometer. These handy little instruments are what the pros use to detect the smallest adjustments in air temperature near a window.

Using one of these will be able to alert you to those minute fluctuations in temperature from one area to another and that will be very helpful in pinpointing those tiny, invisible leaks.

Check the Entire Home

So let’s suppose you’ve found a leak in your bedroom window. Congratulations! You can get to work on fixing the issue. However, you may very well have more than one leak in your home to deal with. That’s why it’s important to check every window in your home.

This is critical for ensuring that your home is fully prepared against window leaks. Not every window is designed and manufactured in the same fashion and you may have assorted window types installed in your house. The truth is, all windows can leak, and just because some of them may function differently than others doesn’t make any of them exempt from an operational failure of some kind.

This goes for any type of window, whether you can open and shut it or not. Skylights are just as prone to developing a leak as your double sash or crank window.

The decision to opt-in favor of installing french doors is one you make only after you’re fully apprised of all the style choices that are available to you. The thing about french doors Denver is that you have a vast selection concerning window styles, types of glass, door materials, and of course, the color and size of the door you plan to install.
Many different styles are available to fit just about any size door opening. You can even have custom sizes created for those specific measurements that are often reserved for older homes.
French Door Configuration and Functionality

French doors are easy to recognize from their configuration. They are typically installed as a pair of doors that either swings out from or swing into the room where they have been placed. You can also find french doors that slide to and fro on a track, much like you might expect from a normal sliding glass door.
Because French doors are placed two aside and they open and shut together, you are usually afforded a much larger doorway through which to enter and exit a room or even the home to a deck or patio outdoors.
French doors that operate on hinges are the most traditional and you can find them installed in many areas throughout the home. Some homeowners like to have them placed in between two rooms for interior use, some will install them as a way to enter and exit the home in an exterior fashion.
Sliding versions are a little less common but they are no less useful as a way to beautify any entryway of the home either indoors or out. But while sliding french doors offer the same large, expansive entry through the doorway in which they are installed for a modern, contemporary aesthetic, some homeowners don’t like having the track laid across the point of egress through the doorway.
Sometimes you might even find french doors installed in a closet or storage area where you want some visibility inside.
French Door Style Options

Purchasing the right french doors leaves you with a myriad of options in terms of design choices. Since French doors are comprised of a significant amount of glass within the frames, many homeowners will utilize these types of doors as a way to bring more natural light into the room where they are installed.
But you do have some decisions to make as to personal preference, you can go with doors that contain flat panes of glass with or without grills. There are also the choices to go with lites in half or three quarter view choices, so more light gets into the room while maintaining some level of privacy from the outside world.
You have many choices as to the number of lites you can have installed in the door, with as few as one lite to as many as 12. Again, this will all depend on how much light you want to filter in the room while trying to keep some level of privacy.
The glass can also be frosted, which might diffuse your lighting and minimize your view through the doors but it does bring an increase in your privacy for the room where they are installed. This might be of greater importance should you decide to use the doors along the exterior of the home.
When it comes to sizes, your options are even more wide-ranging. Check out any hardware store website and you’ll find doors in all manners of sizes and shapes. Many standard french doors can be as small as one foot and six inches with subsequent sizes increasing to as much as three feet wide. Some doors can even reach six to eight feet.
But those of you who live in older homes with architectural styles that lend themselves to emphasizing strange or uncommon door sizes can find manufacturers who are all too happy to create custom sizes to accommodate those openings.
French doors that are being used for deck or patio access can come with one inoperable panel so that just one of the doors physically opens and shuts and the other one remains intact yet matches the same aesthetic of the panel that is functional.
Security is also something to keep in mind with french doors that are being used outdoors, though some homeowners may want to keep valuables under lock and key behind indoor french doors as well. In either case, many french doors come with special security measures such as three-point locking systems and other hardware that fortifies your doors for complete security, despite the use of glass that might be easier to shatter.

Whether you are adding an extension, building from scratch, or working on a remodel, an architect can offer valuable insight into your build. The architect can help make the project meet your needs and desires. Both commercial and residential spaces can benefit from the unique perspective of an architect. Here are some tips to make the most of using an architect.

Initial Consultation

Like any professional, you should have a first meeting or initial consultation where you can interview the architect and explain the project. Not every architect works well for every project. Consider what architectural planning services the firm does and whether they suit your needs before making the appointment. Once in the interview, discuss the deliverables, fee schedule, important pieces of the project, and the architect’s approach.

Design Phase

The architect comes to the project site to analyze the existing conditions. The design phase starts with a focus on the functionality of the design, the layout of the rooms, and the building’s interaction with the surrounding land. The architect may use photos to help the client envision the space and come up with ideas for the project. The design phase can take some time to complete depending on how much back and forth there is.

Documentation Phase

The architect makes 2D renderings of the approved designs. The client reapproves the new renderings and then permits are sought to begin the project. Most municipalities require the right permits before construction starts. This process can lengthen depending on the speed of the permitting department.

Construction Administration

Once you have your permits and an approved design, it’s time to find a qualified contractor. The architect may have some recommendations for you to interview. Some use a bidding process and others don’t. The contractor is typically determined before the permit processing is complete. The architect checks on the project during all stages as frequently as a few times a week.

An architect can help you reimagine your space and make the entire process go smoothly. Your new space is ready to be enjoyed.

If you know what you’re doing, there are many reasons to skip out on an overpriced trip to an automotive servicer. Buying and installing parts yourself saves you boatloads, and for many, it provides quiet refuge on a day off. If you’re interested in fixing your car at home, here is just some of the equipment you’ll need.

External Resources

For those without any formal auto repair training, you likely need help finding solutions before you try to fix your car’s problems. Luckily, plenty of reputable resources abound in the age of the Internet. Step-by-step resources such as AutoMD and YouTube videos will demonstrate in great detail how to make simple repairs. Your owner’s manual may also be of help.

Car Lift

Repairs as simple as an oil change will require you to get under your car. Keep your safety in mind by investing in a quality jack, ramps, or a car lift. Most cars come with a jack stored in the back, but a Dannmar car lift will give you more room to work with. If using a floor jack or ramps, be sure to secure your car in place with jack stands for your safety.

Handheld Tools

Every job you’ll perform on your car requires at least one of the following: pliers, torque wrench, adjustable wrench, screwdrivers, and a socket. Preferably, you need to own complete sets for these, as variations in sizes will give you more flexibility. While not tools per se, you’ll also need WD40, and a digital OBD2 scanner will diagnose potential problems.

Light

You can’t rely on always having clear skies. Make sure you have a dependable, constant source of light when working on your car.

Telescoping Magnet

Even experienced mechanics accidentally drop their tools in hard-to-reach places. Having an extendable magnet on hand can get you out of a tough jam with ease.

Additional Equipment

For oil changes, you need an oil funnel and pan for when you drain the oil. For any job, you’ll need a good pair of gloves. Keep in mind your gloves are likely to ruin with the amount of dirt and grime you come in contact with, so invest in high-quality disposable gloves.

Car repairs will cost you time and money no matter what, but DIY car repairs keep some money in your wallet while making you proud at the end of a long day’s work. With enough practice and the right tools, anyone can be an amateur mechanic.