How to Secure Your Home Before Leaving for Vacation

Though you’re probably giddy with excitement to rush out the door and begin your vacation, it’s important to not let this blind you from taking the time to fully lock up. Follow these preventive measures to ensure your house is protected during your time off.

Shut Off Electronic Appliances There’s no point to keeping energy-sucking appliances such as the television, laptop, or other electronics on when no is using them; unplug these to cut back on your energy bill. A popular exception to this, though, is scheduling lights to turn on at specific times of the day as an attempt to make it appear that someone is home and ward off potential burglars.

Contact the Post Office Though you may be taking a break from work, the post office hasn’t. While you’re away, your mail is likely to stockpile up and possibly overflow. To prevent important documents from being stolen, contact the postal office to hold off from delivering your mail so that you can pick it up later when you return.

Keep Windows Locked Reduce the threat of break-ins and interior damage from weather by locking up windows on all levels of your home. Also be sure to cover windows with drapes or blinds so people cannot peer in and look into your belongings. If unsure about the performance of your windows or if they need to be upgraded or not, consult a professional at Wallside to discuss your options for replacement windows.

Clean Up Finish laundry, vacuum, and put all goods and appliances in their proper places before leaving. This way, when you return, you can enjoy the remaining time of your vacation without being burdened by chores.

Help from Friends and Family Prior to leaving, ask a reliable friend or family member to check up on your home every couple of days. Especially if you are gone for a significantly long amount of time, it’s reassuring to know someone is checking up on your property for any signs of suspicious behavior. Also, for those with pets such as fish or hamsters, ask a friend to feed it as needed. With other pets that require a bit more attention - like dogs and cats - it’s better to have them temporarily relocated to a friend’s house so that they can be watched and fed.

What to Look Out for When Inspecting Your Windows

The quality of a home’s windows have a direct impact on a multitude of factors concerning the aesthetic, energy efficiency, and ventilation. Although windows are specifically built in such a way to last for years on end, with time there comes the need for replacement. Listed below are some of the most commonly found defects incurred by home windows.

Cracks in Window Panes After years of wear from weather damage and general usage, cracks in home windows are bound to happen. If your windows’ glass has suffered cracks or damages, simply call or message a crew member from Wallside Windows to set up a free in-home estimate to assess the damage. We will evaluate whether it should be fine without help, if it needs repair, or if it needs to be replaced. If the harm is sizable to the point it will negatively impact your home’s energy efficiency, we will provide you with the next steps to to properly handle the situation.

Air Leakages or Drafts Summer breezes are nice; cold drafts that seem to come out of nowhere, on the other hand, are not. These pesky nuisances not only leak out precious home-generated air conditioning, but also lead to significant drops in home energy efficiency. If you have recently noticed drafts and think you may need a new set of replacement windows, contact Wallside for assistance.

Frame Damages Wood window frames are known for becoming withered with mold, mildew, and insect infestations. These damages require either a whole new frame or just a minor repair. Windows with vinyl frames - which Wallside designs itself in its own factory - however, are largely resilient to rot and other damages that tend to inflict wood window frames.

Faulty Weather Stripping Weather stripping is used to insulate homes and control the temperature inside a home and defend against air leakages. With time, weather stripping withers and may need to be replaced. To find new weather stripping, visit your local hardware store and follow this guide to install it.

Sticky Track A properly functioning window should open and close with ease. When they don’t, it’s generally a result of a dirty window track that is probably filled with accumulations of filth and grime.

Why is Vinyl the Most Popular Type of Window Frame?

Vinyl windows are among the most popular selection as far as frames go. According to HGTV, “More vinyl windows are sold than all other types of window construction combined - about 67 percent of the residential window market.” However, the question remains, what is it about them that drives their sales to be the leading choice in the market?

First and foremost, the affordability of vinyl windows compared to other window types is staggering. Even though new windows are a long term investment, the fact that styles such as fiberglass or wood run at such high exceedingly high prices makes vinyl the most attractive candidate to choose.

Piggybacking on the importance of cost, a pressing part of owning a home is supplementing it with maximum insulation technologies so that as much energy is conserved as possible. Vinyl windows, especially Wallside’s which are designed with industry-leading insulation technologies, do a fantastic job at preventing energy loss. With energy efficient windows, homeowners can make great savings year-round.

Even with competitive prices and impressive insulation abilities, these perks lose their weight in value if they call for extensive upkeep. Luckily, with vinyl replacement windows this isn’t the case. They’re known for helming some of the sturdiest material so that dents, abrasions, and other outside threats do little to nothing when it comes to imparting visible damage.

A common woe of homeowners who own other window styles other than vinyl is the recurring need to paint their windows. Doing so can be a drawn-out process with  complications such as possible chippings or mildew (for wood). This brings us to another advantage of vinyl - they rarely, if ever, need to be painted! Often times, manufacturers will pre-paint them so that you can gauge how they will match your home before even purchasing them.

Sources: http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/windows-buying-guide

Tips for Keeping Bugs Out of Your Home

Particularly during the spring and summer seasons, the weather entices people to open up their homes to invite the cool outside breeze in. As a result, insects see this as a prime opportunity to take advantage of the constantly opening and closing doors to nestle up in the safe confines of our homes. Here we examine how to defend your home against these creepy crawlers.

#1. Use Screens As previously mentioned, the nice weather encourages open windows to promote cool airflow and the rich smell of nature. As nice as this is, it also creates an entrance for flies, mosquitoes, and other annoying insects to attempt to take up residence in your home. The first mode of action to take against this is to make sure that all of your windows are equipped with a securely fastened screen. If there are any rips or tears, make sure to either replace or repair them.

#2. Fill and Seal Openings Survey your home for cracks, damages, or gaps in any of the windows, exterior doors, and walls. Check crevices where the wall meets the floor and see if there are any signs of pesky intruders. Apply sealant or caulk to any hole or gap that an insect could possibly crawl through. If you’re windows are damaged and need replacing, browse through Wallside’s replacement windows or visit our contact page to learn how we can help.

#3. Don’t Leave Food Out Bugs, like any other creatures, are attracted to food. The main reasons they’re drawn to our homes is to find protection against adverse weather; however, second to that, they aim to feast on our neglected leftovers. The easy solution to this is to wash our dishes as soon as we finish eating, clean the sink, and vacuum up crumbs throughout the floors and other areas we eat. Lastly, to lessen the chance of a surprise bug during sleep, don’t eat in bed!

#4. Declutter Trash The outside of our windows tend to collect with leaves and other waste. This serves as an appealing safe ground for insects to take up camp and possibly eat away at your window. Enact regular upkeep of the area outside and inside your window to dissuade them from coming around.

#5. Fix Water Leakages Inspect areas of your home’s plumbing that may leak such as under the sink, the bathroom, ceiling, and other spaces that are prone to leakage. Remove these leaks as soon as you can because they are hospitable environments for a variety of insects.

Spruce Up Your Bedroom With These Window Treatments

For years, interior designers have attested to the major influence that a room’s design and color scheme have on people's’ mood and overall well-being. Because of this, it makes sense to give a ample attention to a home’s design and layout. A great way to go about doing so is to garnish the bedroom windows with treatments that complement the existing theme and colors. Get your inspiration flowing with the decorating process by taking heed of the ideas below.

Blinds Adding blinds to your bedroom window provides all-encompassing control over natural lighting to prevent yourself from being awakened by the sun. There are many different types of materials of blinds ranging from wood, plastic, to bamboo. Each of these materials promote a varying degree of light blockage and price range. Additionally, blinds come in horizontal or vertical styles; if you’re worried about cats tampering with them, opt for vertical blinds as cats tend to be less interested in toying with them.

Shades Shades are similar to blinds in their ability to manipulate the inflow of light. With a simple pull of a cord, shades act like a blanket that can scroll up and down. Their sleek appearance is known for exuding a relaxed tone; additionally, they come in a variety of colors and fabrics that can be easily used to match furniture or the color the room is painted in. Bedroom shades are especially useful for accommodating space for a plant to rest window-side while also letting a sufficient amount of light in.

Drapes In all aspects of a home, the drapery renders the most creative freedom to experiment with patterns, fabrics, and color styles. Ranging from lush velvety linens to simple yet firm cottons, there are endless opportunities for beautifying your room with draperies. When using thick, weighty curtains that cover the entire window, exterior sounds - in addition to light - can be cut out to a significant extent.