Keep Older Americia Safe

As a handyman I have noticed a great deal of seniors living in their own homes.
In fact, 95 percent of seniors, aged 75 and older, prefer to stay in the privacy of their own homes, which exemplifies the need for home safety education. With this in mind, I would like to inform you of some simple, yet effective ways to increase the safety of seniors as daily routines like showering and cleaning the home become increasingly dangerous.

The two rooms that seniors spend most of their time in are the kitchen and the bathroom. Here are several tips and projects for these rooms to help keep our seniors safe.

For the kitchen:
· Fixed rugs: double-side tape or suction cups will securely fasten area rugs to the kitchen floor, where water and food are commonly spilled, creating slippery surfaces,
· GFCIs: replace existing standard outlets with ground fault circuit interrupters to reduce the risk of electric shock, and
· Hazard rack: construct an accessible rack to store a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and telephone for any unforeseen injuries.

For the bathroom:
· Hand-held showers: let seniors divert water from the existing shower head to one they can hold in their hand,
· Grab bars: allow seniors to grab onto a secure surface while entering/exiting the tub and using the toilet, and
· Elevated toilets: are positioned two to five inches higher than a standard toilet, putting less stress on seniors’ legs.

Another major concern is the risk of fire related deaths. Each year, more than 1200 Americans sixty-five years old and older loose their lives in home fires. The risk of fire related deaths is almost three times greater for people sixty-five and older. This can be contributed to slow reaction time in emergency situations, not only due to age, but various medications that may decrees their ability to make quick decisions.

Many seniors live alone, so practicing good house keeping and fire safety plans are even more important to help prevent the risk of fire related deaths. Here are some easy steps to help make a safer home environment:
· Install smoke detectors in all hallways and bedrooms
· Dust and test smoke detectors monthly
· Change batteries in smoke detectors annually
· Have at least one CO detectors
· Avoid the use of extension cords
· Keep space heaters three feet away from combustibles
· Have and practice a home escape plane
· Never smoke in bed
· Never leave smoking materials unattended
· Dump ashtrays into an old coffee can and never into the home trash can
· Avoid cluttered rooms and hallways
· Don’t use interior keyed dead bolts
· Keep cooking equipment clean and free of grease
· Never leave cooking unattended

In addition to good fire safety practices you must be prepared if you are caught in a fire situation. Since the large number of home fires happen at night it is important to be prepared to escape from your bedroom. Besides having an escape plan, you will need a back up plan if you are trapped in the bedroom. Here are some simple tips:
· Keep a pair of eye glasses on the night stand, so in an emergency you can see what you are doing
· Have a telephone in the bedroom
· Have a whistle or some kind of portable noise maker to help rescue people locate you in the case of a fire

Remember practicing good fire safety can save a life.

“Call Your Handyman and take a Senior Citizen Fishing”

Hang Me On the Wall

When did wallpaper get its start? The Egyptian papyrus is the earliest known form of paper and was believed to be introduced around 4000 B.C., Who’s to say they did not hang it on a wall. What about the Chinese? It is believed that they glued rice paper onto their walls as early as 200 B.C. In the mid 1400’s well-to-do Europeans commissioned artists to paint paper for their walls, including King Louis of France. The earlier hand painted wallpaper was hung on the wall much like a painting, so it was portable and could be moved from castle to castle. Finely in the late1500’s a guild of paperhangers was established somewhere in France. Where ever its origin, wallpaper did not become available to the general population until the invention of the printing press.
Sorry about the history lesson, I was trying to lead into this wallpaper question:

Question:
What is the best way to remove wallpaper from a ceiling? The previous owner of our house wallpapered everything, including the ceiling, and I’m not sure how to get it off. I guess I’m looking for the easiest way to remove it without killing my neck in the process.

Answer:
Sounds like you have quite a project on your hands. The easiest way to remove the wallpaper from the ceiling would probably be to use a wallpaper steamer. You usually can rent one through a local hardware store or paint store. However, depending on how much the rental cost is and how much wallpaper you have to remove, it may be more cost effective to purchase one.

Before you start, pick a corner or edge of the wallpaper and try to peel it off by hand or with a wallpaper scraper. Depending on how old the wallpaper is, it may peel off easily and you won’t have to worry about getting a wallpaper steamer. But if it doesn’t peel off easily, then I would say stick with the steamer. Just be careful when using a steamer though, the steam can get very hot!

Save yourself the work and aggravation “Call Your Handyman and Take a Kid Fishing”

Fence Me In

As a handyman I would often get calls for wooden fence repair or replacement. When I think of fences, I thing of country or suburbs, but I found my biggest market for fence repair and replacement was in the inter city. Many of the city homes have small areas to fence and wile custom fence is more costly then premade fence sections, clients would chose the more attractive custom fence. After giving them a price on pre-made fencing and a price for the custom fencing that they really wanted, most chose the custom fencing, because with such a small area the difference in price was not that much. You still have to sink and grout the fence poles with any wood fences, so that part of the cost remains the same. Okay well that is something to consider.
Here is a fence question I received:

Question:
We just bought a new puppy and would like to put up a wood fence to keep the little guy safe and prevent him from running into our neighbors’ yards. However, my wife and I are having a debate over which side the posts should face, toward our house or toward our neighbors’ houses. I feel that the posts should face out toward our neighbors, but my wife says the posts should face in.

Answer:
Your wife is right; the posts should face your home as opposed to your neighbors. In fact, in many residential communities, this is a requirement. The reason behind this is that you are choosing to put up the fence, not your neighbors; so they shouldn't have to look at the less attractive side just because you wanted to enclose your yard.

Even if this is not required by your city’s building codes, it’s the neighborly thing to do! Plus, it will help your property look better when viewed from the street. It will also help any new neighbors to the area know that the fence was put up by you and not the previous owner.

"Call your Handyman and take a Kid Fishing"

WARM AND COZY

Any handyman will tell you that maintenance and upkeep is important for the safety of your investment in your house. They will also tell you that it is important for the safety of your family. The winter offers more of challenge in maintenance and safety issues that your handyman can help you with.

By now Old Man Winter has come to visit most of us, and we are all prepared for his stay, right? Okay, don’t answer that. Let’s take a look and see how prepared you are. The first place to start is your heat system.

If you have not given your furnace a fall tune up, it’s not too late. Changing the filter is a good place to start. If you change your filter monthly, you will save money on maintenance, not to mention you will have healthier air in your house. If your heating and cooling system share common duct work, you may have dampers that need to be adjusted for seasonal changes. If you are not sure if you have them or not, or maybe you are not sure how they need to be adjusted, ask your service tech to show you were they are. Mark the settings (winter) and (summer) so that you can make the correct seasonal changes. Learn about your heating system and what type of maintenance you and/or your service tech need to perform on it. This will save you money and inconvenience.

It is wise to have your heating system serviced every fall, and your cooling system serviced every spring. But, during heating months, it may be necessary to call your service tech if you experience any of these flowing symptoms:

Chronic headaches or flu-like symptoms
If your forced air system makes rumbling or strange noises
If you notice your furnace coming on for only a short period of time before shutting off, then coming back on several times to reach the set temperature (short cycling)

Take care of your heating system and it will keep you warm and cozy.


There are countless ways you can save energy, which also means you save money. Here are some winter tips that can help do just that:

Caulk around windows and doors.
Check for air leaks around doors (both sides and bottom). It may be necessary to replace weather-stripping or bottom door sweeps.
Seal leaks in seams of any exposed duct work.
Keep the dampers closed on wood-burning fireplaces when they are not in use.
Set your thermostat down to around 62 degrees at night or when you are gone for the day.
Open the curtains and let the sun warm the exposed rooms.
Insulate any exposed hot water pipes from the hot-water-tank.
Repair dripping faucets (hot water leaks cost you).


Remember that regular and seasonal maintenance of your house will save you money and protect your investment. Deferred maintenance is your home's worst enemy.

Truss Uplift

As a handyman I receive a great deal of questions having to do with cracks in drywall or plaster. In many cases these cracks only require cosmetic repairs. It is important to know what is causing the cracking before you start cosmetic repairs. You don’t want to have to make the same cosmetic repairs in two or three months.
Here is a question about a common cracking issue that often makes homeowners think they have a structural problem:

Question:

Recently my husband and I purchased a three-year-old ranch house. The house is beautiful and very obviously well maintained. However we have noticed a crack in the ceiling of the living room at the corner of the wall that separates the living room from the family room. On the other side of this wall is the family room, where there is a crack in the ceiling against the same wall. The cracks are not very wide, but they do run almost the entire length of this center wall, on both sides.
Our concern is this wall runs long ways down the center of our house, does this mean that our house is settling? Is our house going to fall down? Is this a major structural problem? What can we do?


Answer:

From your description of the problem, what you have is a typical case of Truss Uplift. This is not the first time I have had this question. To explain this, I will have to give you a brief explanation of your roof structure.
To start your roof structure is a truss type. To put this simply, the frame for your roof and the frame for your ceiling are all connected, this makes a truss. These trusses are spaced about sixteen to twenty-four inches apart, to span the length of your house. The top wood of the truss is called the upper cord, to that your roof sheathing and shingles are attached. The wood that runs along the bottom is called the lower cord, to that your ceiling is attached.

Trusses structurally span the entire width of the house, there for they require no load-bearing wall in the center. The center wall that divides your rooms is a non-load bearing wall, the lower cords of the trusses simply pass over the wall.

Now getting back to your problem “truss uplift”. This type of cracking or separation while being unattractive it does not usually indicate a structural problem.

Since the trusses are all one unit connected together to form the ceiling and the roof structure, as the parts cure and shrink all parts of the truss is affected. The wood starts drying and shrinking the attachments that hold the top cord to the bottom cord, causing the bottom cord to crown or rise up in the middle. This causes the ceiling to raise and lift from the center wall, thus causing the cracks between the wall and the ceiling.

In your case, since the house is three years old, the moisture content of the truss members is at a stable level, and will not get worse.

Cosmetic repair of the cracks should take of this problem. In most cases a paintable calk and some paint is an easy and inexpensive cure.

Call your local handyman to evaluate the best repair methods. In some cases a floating ceiling trim offers the best cosmetic repair.

While major and persistent cracking may indicate structural problems, in your case the cracking is a common and normal occurrence in new houses. With new construction it is likely to have slight settling and shrinkage of building materials, which will cause some slight cracking in your drywall mainly at the corners of openings.

Is Metal For Me?

As a handyman I find that we are expected by our clients to have answers for all kinds of construction questions, even questions on new construction. A professional handyman knows that not only do we make repairs, handle maintenance and update work, we also offer knowledge and good council.

Here is one example of the type of questions I am asked:

Question:

We are having our new house custom-built by a well-known builder in our area. We are in the process of deciding a roofing material for our house. We live in an area that in the past has been plagued with flash fires. Our builder recommended that a metal roof would be a wise choice in this area. This makes sense but our concern is not only the added cost but also aesthetics and longevity. Can you please share your thoughts on this mater?


Answer:

Metal roofs have proven themselves to far superior in resisting fire damage from blowing embers in the case of flash fires. But besides fire safety, metal roofs have come a long way aesthetically. They are made to look like tile and wood roofs to the point it is hard to tell the difference from the metal version and the real thing. Most metal roofs come with a fifty-year warranty, and some advertise a lifetime warranty. Most metal roofs prove to be very heat resistant; this can help save energy cost over the long term.
Have your contractor supply you with some different samples of these roof coverings, and be sure to read the manufactures data and warranties on the products you like.

"Call Your Handyman and Take a Kid Fishing"

Cure for the Common Cold

‘Most of us have something in common this time of year; yes, it's cold weather. Cold weather can be detrimental to our homes, if we are not prepared. We cannot stop the cold from visiting, but we can prepare some cures to prevent costly repairs and discomfort of this common cold.

Recently, I experienced a cold weather disaster to my rental property. When I talked to my insurance agent I was surprised to find out the extent that cold weather has on costly repairs. My agent told me that it is not unlikely to have cold weather related insurance losses mount to over a billion dollars a year.

In my case, I found out the hard way that during severe cold, your house temperature should not fall below sixty-two degrees, even when no one is home. The exterior walls of your house are commonplace to house water pipes. To keep the pipes from freezing inside the walls, you must maintain at least a temperature of sixty-two or sixty-five depending how severe the cold gets in your area. Pipes that freeze usually burst. This is not good. I know too well. It is a good idea to check for water pipes that are exposed near exterior walls in basements or crawl spaces. These pipes should be insulated; this is an inexpensive cure for a costly problem.

Roof and gutter damage are also major contributors to insurance losses and costly repairs to homeowners. Excessive snow and ice build up can tear off gutters and cause roofs to leak or even collapse. We cannot prevent all problems and catastrophic disasters. But here are some ways to help cure the “common cold" problems:

Ø Keep trees trimmed back at least ten feet from the roof
Ø Keep gutters attached properly
Ø Keep gutters cleaned
Ø Make sure that downspouts are properly attached and free of debris
Ø Keep attic vents clear (well vented attics will help protect your roof from damage due to “ice damming”)
Ø Make sure that the insulation in your attic is adequate for your climate (this will also help protect your roof from “ice damming”)


Take some time to talk to your handyman to learn what steps you can take to prevent damage to your house. Preventive maintenance is the best way to save you money on costly repairs. With house repairs, you pay now or later. I found that now saves you money over later.

Now is the time to protect your house from the common cold.

Make That Drip Go Away

As a handyman I receive a lot of how-to questions, and in most cases after I have explained how-to, I am asked if I will do the job. A professional handyman not only makes repairs in your home but also provides another valuable service, called "knowledge and good counsel".

Her is an example of questions I receive:

Question;
The faucet in the shower is not completely turning off, any ideas? The faucet is one unit, a plastic ball that you turn right for hot, left for cold and down for off. It is the down part that is not quite working.I would appreciate any ideas.

Answer;
It is time to rebuild that faucet. The first thing you need to do is to determine the brand name of the faucet. There are two basic types of faucets, a washer-type and a ball type. By finding the brand name of the faucet, you can go to the hardware store and purchase a rebuild kit.
If your faucet is a ball type, most of these kits have instructions with them. This is not a very hard job to do, but first you need to make sure the water is off. If there is an access door behind the bathtub, you will see two shut-off valves one for the hot water and one for the cold water. You will need to turn both of them off before you start to take anything apart. If you do not have the access door, but you have a basement, you will fine the shut-off valves under the bathroom area in the basement. If you do not have either one of these, you will have to shut off the main water line, and then shut off the shut-off valves over the water heater.

Remember making your own repairs can be rewarding, but know your limitations, making a bad repair can cost a lot more to repair than the original problem. Don't forget that your local handyman is just a phone call away.

"Call Your Handyman and Take a Kid Fishing"

Old Questions

As a handyman I receive a lot of questions from recent homeowners, especially homeowners that purchased older homes. Building codes have changed over the years, and wile an older home may not meet the current codes it does not always imply that the home is unsafe. But it is wise for homeowners to consult the experts and make the proper changes or safety updates. Her is a good example of the questions I receive from recent homeowners:

The Client wrote;
I recently purchased a mid-1950's home that has lots of charm and was well kept. It remains in excellent condition. After reading the Home Inspector’s report, I had some concern about the part that stated the presence of aluminum wiring. In addition, I was also informed that the wiring although appearing to be in good serviceable condition was not up to today’s standards, because it has “no grounds”. The Home Inspector also recommended that a licensed electrician evaluate the electric in the house. I know the house is old, but how much of a danger is this? Do I need an electrician? Is aluminum wiring a problem?
Can you clear this up for me?

My reply;

Based on what you told me, I don’t think you have aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring did not come on the market until the early sixties, and when it did it was all three-wire (the third wire was a ground). Since you do not have a grounded system, I think what you have is two-wire rag romex. This wire is copper coated in nickel. When the inspector looked in the panel he saw the shiny ends of the wire and mistook them for aluminum. The best way of telling the difference is to look for the ground wire, or look at the romex cover. If the cover looks like cloth than it is the old romex. Aluminum wiring is only found with plastic covering.

All aluminum wiring is not bad, only the single strand aluminum found in the lighting and outlet circuits. This single-strand aluminum would get hot and shrink, then get hotter and would cause a fire. However, almost all modern houses use large stranded aluminum wires for service entrance cables and major appliance circuits. The large wires have many strands of wire and have a zero failure history.
But it is not a bad idea to have older electrical systems evaluated by a licensed electrician to insure that they are safe.

Now about the two-wire system you have: although it’s adequate it does not offer the protection that the three-wire/grounded system offers. You do not have a big problem, but to be on the safe side have your local handyman install ground fault receptacles in the most used receptacles, such as the outside receptacles, and receptacles near sinks, this will make that two wire system safer. This is not very expensive and not very time consuming. Note; Handymen are governed by the local laws, and all may not offer this service.

“Call a Handyman, and take a Kid Fishing”