What to Consider Before Getting a New Fence

Your neighbors may be wonderful people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want them to be able to see into your yard, walk on over anytime, or getting confused about where exactly their property ends and your property begins. Fences are the perfect way to establish those well-needed boundaries. But whether you’re looking to replace an existing fence or want to put up a brand new one, taking the time to plan the project out properly will ensure the project goes smoothly.

Why Do You Want a Fence?

Before you get started, ask yourself exactly what you want your fence to do. Do you want a privacy fence to prevent neighbors from seeing into your yard or do you just want something that will establish your property line or keep your dog in your yard? What you want your fence to do will have a big impact on the type of fence you should have. If you just want something to establish your property lines and aren’t particularly concerned about privacy, a simple chain link fence could be just what you need. But if you want a privacy fence, you’ll have to get a taller fence that has very small gaps between the planks.

How Much Maintenance Do You Want?

The amount of time and effort you’ll have to put into taking care of your fence will largely depend on the type of materials you use for your new fence. There are lots of different options for fencing materials, so whether you want something that requires virtually no maintenance or don’t mind some level of upkeep, you’ve got lots of options to choose from.

Wood fences look very nice, but can be damaged by water over time and will have to be painted or stained every now and then. Vinyl and composite fences come in lots of colors and can even have a convincingly wood-like appearance, but don’t require the upkeep that real wood fences need. Chain link fences are another very low-maintenance option.

Do Your Research

Doing some research before you get started building your new fence can save you a lot of headaches in the long run. First of all, you’ll want to be completely certain you know exactly where your property line is. You may even want to have your property re-surveyed to be completely sure you know for where your property ends. You certainly don’t want to end up getting into a dispute with your neighbors because your fence was built just slightly over your property line.

Finding out what rules your city has regarding fences is also another essential step in the planning process. Many cities have rules about things like how tall fences can be and how far they should be from the property line.  Corner lots might have special rules to prevent problems with visibility. If you have to deal with a HOA, they might have very specific rules about what types of fences you can have, how tall they can be, or what materials they can be made out of.

If you hire someone to build your new fence for you, they’ll be familiar with the building codes in your area and will get any permits necessary for the job.

Neighbors

As a courtesy, it’s nice to let your neighbors know about your new fence plans. After all, it’s something they’ll have to look at, too, and you’ll want to make sure your new fence won’t have a negative impact on their home in anyway, such as by blocking a nice view. Plus, they may appreciate the warning that you’ll have people working in your yard so close to their property in the near future. And, of course, make sure the finished side of your fence faces outward so that your neighbors don’t have to look at unfinished planks of wood or support beams.  

Benefits of Having Ceiling Fans in Your Home

When you’re looking for projects to help improve your home’s value and make them more appealing to potential homebuyers, it’s easy to think of more significant projects like installing vinyl replacement windows, replacing your home’s siding, or fixing up your kitchen. But don’t overlook the simpler projects! There are lots of smaller, relatively inexpensive projects you can do around your home that can help add a little extra value to your home and make your home more comfortable. Installing or replacing ceiling fans is one of those projects.

Many homebuyers are interested in features that improve a home’s energy efficiency and ceiling fans can do a lot to help with that. Did you know that ceiling fans are an excellent way to cut down on your home’s heating and cooling costs? They’re not just for days when it’s not quite warm enough to turn on the air conditioner, they’re very useful all year long.

Ceiling fans don’t work by actually changing the temperature in the room. What they do is help the air to circulate in a way that will make it more comfortable to be in a room without adjusting the thermostat. Since warm air rises, setting your ceiling fan to rotate in a clockwise direction on a low speed in the winter will help push some of that warmer air down where you’ll be able to feel it. That way, you’ll feel warmer without having to turn the heat up. On warmer days, setting the fan to go counter-clockwise will create a nice cooling effect in the room so that you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your room without adjusting the air conditioner.

In addition to the heating and cooling benefits ceiling fans offer, they’re very practical for other reasons. Ceiling fans are excellent to have in kitchens and dining areas since the air circulation they create can help deter insects from flying around. And if your kitchen ever gets a little smoky while you’re cooking, a ceiling fan will help move that air out of the room. Of course, ceiling fans are also a great way to add a decorative touch to a room. Ceiling fans are available in a wide variety of colors, styles, and sizes so you’re bound to find an option that will look great in any room. If you’re planning to put your home on the market soon, one thing homebuyers won’t want to see is outdated light fixtures so if you’ve had your existing ceiling fans for a long time, replacing them with newer ones could help give rooms in your home a little facelift. Best of all, ceiling fans don’t have to be terribly expensive, either. There are some lower-end fans that cost around $100 or less, but most mid-range fans cost a few hundred dollars. You might be able to install a ceiling fan yourself, but if you are nervous about working on something so high up in a room, an electrician could be able to install it for you. Even if you go for the professional installation, it’s still a relatively inexpensive way to make your home more comfortable and make it more appealing to potential homebuyers.

What’s the Difference Between Single and Double Hung Windows?

When you’re shopping for vinyl replacement windows, you’ll find out there are a lot of different styles of windows out there -- casement windows, bay windows, picture windows, and garden windows, just to name a few. You’ll also probably hear a lot about double-hung windows, which are one of the most popular types of windows out there. But what exactly are double-hung windows and howe are they different from single-hung windows?

Even if you don’t know exactly what a single-hung window is, you’ve probably seen them many times. With a single-hung window, only one section of the window is moveable. The bottom half of the window can be opened and closed as needed.

While single-hung windows only have one sash that moves, double-hung windows have two operable sections. This gives you a little bit more control over how air circulates around your room. Since heat rises, being able to open the sash will help direct warmer air out of a room more effectively than a single-hung window would. On the flip side, if you wanted to get a little fresh air on a cooler day, perhaps in early spring or during the fall, keeping the top section shut and the lower section open will help keep warmer air in.

A big advantage of double-hung windows is that they can be easier to clean than single-hung windows. Both sections of double-hung windows can be tilted inward, making it easy to clean the exterior side of your windows without having to actually go outside. If you have windows on more than one story of your home, this can be a huge benefit since you won’t have to worry about having to get on a ladder to wash your windows from the outside. Some types of single-hung windows can also be tilted inwards for cleaning, but many single-hung windows don’t have this functionality.

Whether you go with single-hung or double-hung vinyl replacement windows, you’ll have the assurance of knowing that you’ll be getting windows that are very durable and are easy to maintain!

Do You Need Flood Insurance?

If you’re a homeowner, one of the best things you can do is purchase homeowners insurance. Your home is one of the most important investments you make in your lifetime and a homeowners insurance policy will help protect that investment by covering damages caused by things like fire and many types of weather damage. But when you hear the words “weather damage,” do you think that would include damage caused by flooding? After all, many floods are caused by excessive amounts of rain, so you’d think damage caused by them would be covered by your homeowners insurance policy, right?

Many homeowners are under the impression that flood damage is covered by their homeowners insurance, only to find out the hard way that it isn’t actually covered. Most homeowners insurance plans cover some forms of water damage but do not cover flood damage, so if you want to protect your home from flood damage, you’ll most likely need a separate flood insurance policy. Damage caused by flooding can be astronomically expensive. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the average claim for flood damage in 2014 was over $38,000, so purchasing flood insurance can help spare you from being hit with a massive expense.

However, there are a lot of misconceptions about flood insurance. Many people think they should only get flood insurance if they live in an area that’s at a high risk for flooding and that it’s a waste of money if your home has never flooded before. But the reality is that over 20% of flood insurance claims are made by people who live in areas that are considered low-to-moderate risk for flooding. Flooding can happen anywhere for a multitude of reasons, including excessive rainfall, rapidly melting snow, and construction projects in the area. Even if you don’t live anywhere near a body of water and never experienced flooding before, it’s still entirely possible you could find yourself dealing with a flood at some point.

If you live in an high-risk area for flooding, your mortgage company might require you to have flood insurance, but in most cases, nobody is going to require you to have flood insurance. But a lot of people are under the impression that they can’t get flood insurance or that flood insurance is very expensive. Virtually anyone can get flood insurance as long as they live in a city that participates in the NFIP. Like any other type of insurance, the price of flood insurance will largely depend on how much coverage you want to have and whether or not you live in an area prone to flooding.

Whether or not flood insurance is worth it is entirely up to you, but don’t feel like flood insurance is something that’s impossible to have. Just remember that it takes 30 days for flood insurance policies to become active, so be sure to keep that in mind if you’re looking to get covered in time for the winter thaw and springtime rainfall.

Fixing a Stuck Window

When the first warm, sunny day of spring arrives, one of the best ways you can celebrate is by opening up some of the windows around the house. After several months of cold, unpleasant winter weather, being able to open your windows and let in some nice, fresh air can be a wonderful feeling. But what if you go to open your window and aren’t able to because the window is stuck shut?

Stuck windows are a very common problem for homeowners. In the best case scenario, they’re annoying since you aren’t able to get the fresh air you want. But a stuck window can be a safety problem since windows can offer an escape route in the event of an emergency. The good news is that in many cases, a stuck window can easily be fixed.

Before you start trying to fix your stuck window, what type of window do you have and can you see what is causing it to stick? This may sound obvious, but make sure the window isn’t locked or secured shut in some other way. Dirt and debris in the track of the window can also make it difficult to open, so cleaning the track is a good way to help it open easier.

One of the most common reasons windows get stuck is because they’ve recently been painted in a way that allowed the window to effectively become glued shut once the paint dried. You’d be surprised just how strong paint can be when it’s dried, but this is an easy fix! All you have to do to is take a putty knife and run it along the edge of the window to break up the dried paint. You may have to do this from both the inside and the outside of the window. Depending on how badly it’s stuck, you might want to use a utility knife with a sharp blade and run it along the dried paint first to help break it up a little. If the paint has seeped in very deeply, you might also want to use a hammer to gently push the blade of the putty knife in even further. Just be very careful not to damage the window pane or the window sash when you do this.

Wood windows can be particularly prone to getting stuck. On humid days, wood windows can absorb some of the moisture in the air and swell, making them difficult, if not impossible, to open. If this is the case, you might be able to get some help from an ordinary candle. Simply taking a candle and running at along the track where your window slides can help reduce friction enough for the window to be able to move again. You don’t need to use any fancy types of candles for this; ordinary white, unscented votive candles will work perfectly fine.

If a window getting stuck has been an ongoing problem that doesn’t seem to have a discernible cause, you might want to consider having someone come out to look at your windows. Sometimes, windows can become difficult to open and close over time if the house has shifted and settled. If this is the case, having the window replaced might be the best solution in the long run. Vinyl replacement windows aren’t prone to problems like swelling and warping the way wood windows are so they could cause fewer headaches for you later on.