See all Subjects on Post's

For those that are new to this blog stuff I wanted to point out how to see all the blog postings. Only the present monthly post's are on the page. To see all the posts on all the subjects look at the right side of the site and the Blog Archive. This will pull up all the subjects for you to add your information and considerations.

Interior Painting

Well painting the inside is similar to painting the outside except you have to be more precise and careful. The words precise and careful are not qualities that I am known to have in my abilities. So when it comes to painting inside the house I rely on a professional. I think they are born with the patience needed to tape, paint and deal with windows and molding.
I'm going to sound like a broken record but again I liked the work I got out of Eric the painter. He did a great job on our entry area including the staircase and the multiple Newel post's. Another positive is the equipment needed to get to the high ceilings in the entry and up the stair case. These are equipment purchases you make and then don't ever use again or, best case, try to use in 6-10 years but can't find all the pieces. Much of my comments about Eric are on the posting March 31, 2009 on External Painting that you can find in the archives.
Who do you use and what are your experiences? Let us know what experiences you have had so that all can learn.

RTQ Painting
425-922-3885
E. John Eikelman
"Eric"

Highland Park Purchasing Group

I have been talking to some folks about this concept of a purchasing group and how it might work. I would like to explore the possibility of this working for furnaces, Hot water tanks and why not roofing and windows?

Think about it some and get your thoughts down in the comments. I would be interested to know if anyone knows of a group who does this.

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Rodent control [and more] without a cat

Let's face it....we are surrounded by them everywhere you look. Highland Park is surrounded by woodlands where the wild things live. Mice, rat's, squirrel's, raccoon, moles, deer, bear and perhaps carnivore's of various types.

Just for the sake of home issue's I'll contain my comments to rodents, especially mice and rats. I had a problem several years ago with mice in the crawl space that expanded to the garage, walls and then the attic. This happened fast as once they have a foot hold and a litter or two things get going very quickly. I will tell you all that I know and what I do and look forward to your comments to learn more from you.

To find out if you have them, looking for the signs of them is the first step. Those little dark specks [tapered] on the floor are signs of mice and rats. Things that are chewed can be both food and other semi-soft material [wood/plastics/foams]. The soft stuff is chewed as they find nest material for their litters. They bear litters all the time and thus are quite prolific. More the reason to get on this problem if you have it and then maintain control all year long. The truth of the matter is there is a war with them and the cat's can't [or won't] keep up.

I would get some traps and set some in the garage and some in the attic. I used regular traps with peanut butter with lethal results. Other types are fine but you figure out what to do with a "ticked off rodent" when you get one. Maybe drive them over to Kalhanie for release? [sorry]... If you get positive results then set more traps and stay on this until you get no results. Then I deposit Decon type bait in my crawl space. If you never go down into your crawl and/or it's too small to actually crawl around in, then just put a 2 ft. x 2 ft. piece of plywood down there and throw the Decon on that from the access. Put some down every year as it's an on-going process. This seems to do the job.

I had a Pest Control service out once and learned that Garage doors that don't completely close are common entry points for rodents. A little lubrication on the roller wheels and a adjustment on the motor stops should correct that problem.

Trim trees away from the house as squirrels, rat's and others will use these as a way to enter your attic through the roof line. These are not holes in your roof but rather some natural gaps that the roof line and up-right walls can't close.

Check the screens on your foundation vents around your house. If they are damaged and holes exist then cover them with another screen to keep the varmits out of your crawl space.

Enough from me let's hear from you...

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Heating systems replacement and purchasing group

I have been educating myself about new furnace systems and almost pulled the plug on it this winter but didn't. I know that new systems are miles ahead of our current original systems in our homes. We have, for the most part a 1 stage, installed in our homes. This means that the burner fires and when it heats to a certain temperature the fan kicks in on 1 speed [1 stage = 1 speed], well basically that's it. Go to this web page for a super explanation of all the stages of furnaces.

www.barrongreenteam.com/2008/01/five-furnace-types.html

If this link works you will see a nice explanation of all the furnace types. I won't even attempt to present any opinion as of yet. What I would like to see is if several in the neighborhood are shopping for a new furnace then perhaps we can, as a group, contract with someone for a block deal. Come forth and agree that all buyers get the same price or discount, installed and at a significant savings. It would be a hoot to work our pricing down as a purchasing group. These type of businesses can be wheeler dealers and you never know what you are getting into. A group approach to this would be an opportunity to get significant savings. What do you think?



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Carpet Cleaning

I know there are a couple of ways to do this; Wet or Dry! This is also true of BBQ!

We use Wet and have good luck with it. I think it's easier to mobilize the dirt [or other bad stuff] in a fluid form and therefore a better transport system out of the carpet and down the drain. It's called hot water extraction and it works, I think, quite well. Water and a high suction system is good but also part of this equation is who moves the furniture and keeps leg caps from rusting a stain on your carpet as it dries. The better the suction system the better the system cleans and the less drying after the cleaning.

My local guy is:

Sammamish Carpet Cleaning
Chris Williams
425-392-0102
www.sammamishcarpetcleaning.com



Good guy and does a nice job. 20 years with him and never a problem. I've talked to him and he's supportive of Highland Park and considers us a automatic discount as he is the local guy.

Do you use a dry method? Please give us your comments on this method and how it's worked for you. Who do you use?


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Gutters and Windows

I wish you all the luck with this task. I hate doing it myself and prefer to hire it out. What I have found is that a couple of principles apply to these tasks.

1. Do the windows in the spring after the storms are done and all those drips and rain drops tend not to get on the window on an everyday basis and dry-up as a spot. A repeat in the late summer/fall again to clarify the view out your window. Forget about the late fall and through the Fall. It's a mess and will just get spots and smudges again and again.
2. Do the gutters in the early winter and perhaps again[it depends] if you de-moss your roof. This issue was talked about in the roof section in a previous blog post. When I de-mossed my roof my gutters filled with moss debris shortly after. This is "muck type stuff" as it cleans and all the small particles wash down into the gutter. Also the thing that has to be done is a insurance that the down-spout is clear and clean. A real pro will disconnect the down-spout as it's being cleaned so that the "debris" washes out and not into the side-sewer [in case you didn't know it your down-spouts are connected to the side sewer, so-called clean water that goes back to nature directly]
   

I really don't have anyone in particular that stands out in this field that I have used. I have had good luck with D&D Windows and Gutters for about $350. They tell me today that a blog special is clean windows, inside and out, gutters and downspouts for $275. I can tell you from being in the Medical field that you couldn't pay me to get up on a ladder to do that job. D&D has responded to a small issue that I have had in the past with good response.

D&D Windows and Gutter Cleaners
Office: 253-839-0525
Cell: 206-468-1161

Who have you used and what results have you had?


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Crawl space information

Crawl spaces? Who cares about this stuff? Who go's into their crawl space anyway. The answer is you should.

It has been known that although Bill and Carl Buchan built great homes, they "sub'ed" out many components to contractors. The heating contractors that started out in the first 50 homes built in Highland Park proved to be short on quality of workmanship. I found this out by getting into my crawl space to repair a sump I have access to it via this area. It was warm down there! Why was this?

The answer was some of the duct's where disconnected and some were broken into by rodents [another blog subject]. The insulation was sub code and not as effective due to the installation technique used in the late 80's. It was R-15 but smashed a little from the wire method to suspend it. It just so happened that I saw a truck on the road some months past with the name Clean Crawl Inc.

In a nutshell I had Clean Crawl Inc. inspect and confirm my findings of excess heat in the crawl space. I hired them to increase the insulation by adding another R-15, re-connect and repair the ducts [1 especially] and establish a new vapor barrier. What a difference that made to the warmth of the house and our heating bill. Right off the bat a decrease of $100/month! They did a fabulous job and it's a beautiful sight to see. I think another problem needs to be solved and that will happen when a new furnace arrives, before the winter of 2009. Check out the furnace blog in the future. For now I can give you the information to reach these people but others are good as well. I was happy with their service.

Clean Crawls
Kim Clark
425-864-6970

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