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Tips
Wall Cracks May Not
Indicate Foundation Problems
Normal fluctuations of
interior walls often cause problems. Wallboard is
fastened to the studs of the ceiling and walls and the
joints are taped and joined for finishing. Minor cracks
in drywall and some nail-pops are normal occurrences.
Slight imperfections, such as nail pops, seam lines, and
cracks not exceeding 1/8” are common. Repair cracks with
joint compound, sand and repaint. Repair hairline cracks
at inside corners with a flexible, paintable caulk.
Repair nail pops by resetting or replacing the nail in
the drywall. Place another nail 1” or 2” away in the
stud and hammer below the drywall surface. Cover the
areas with spackling compound and allow to dry
completely (second coats may be needed). Sand until
smooth and repaint. Wallpaper seams can become loose or
curl due to climate changes. Re-attach loose wallpaper.
10 Things That Make Your Home a
Target for Thieves
A home is
robbed every 14.6 seconds and the average dollar loss
per burglary is $2,119, according to statistics just
released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And
that's the good news because burglaries were down
slightly in 2010 compared to 2009. Sure you lock your
doors and windows when you're not home (you'd be
surprised how many people don't). But here are
ten things that you're
probably doing that make your home a target, and what
you should do instead.
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Is Your Chimney Leaking?
One thing
that brick chimneys, stone chimneys and fireplaces have
in common is that eventually most will require some type
of maintenance to keep a water tight seal. Leaks into a
chimney can cause unsafe heating equipment as well as
costly damage to the chimney, the appliances connected
to it, and to the building itself. Is your chimney
leaking? Are you experiencing water marks on the ceiling
or walls near your chimney? Is there water appearing in
the firebox? Similarly, are you experiencing cracks on
the exterior of the chimney which seem to keep getting
bigger or are bricks actually flaking off from your
chimney? Water is the common thread between all of these
problems (for the most part) and following
this
checklist
should help you to be able to arrest water infiltration
or prevent further damage.
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Good time for Home Inventory
The January
weather is a good time for most of us to catch up on
some of those "round tuits” (as in "one of these days
I'm going to get around to it") tasks. Keeping a current
home inventory is always a good idea and January is a
good time to note all those nice things you've added (or
deleted) since your last home inventory. Searching the
net for "home inventory software" will give you a choice
of plenty of reasonably-priced, reliable programs. Make
a room-by-room inventory of everything in your house for
insurance and replacement purposes. Take photographs or
video. Store the information in a fire-proof safe,
safety deposit box or digitally off-site. If disaster
does strike, the information will help you to remember
just what you had and to document insurance claims.
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NEWS
Pending home
sales continued to gain in November and reached the
highest level in 19 months, according to the National
Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index,
a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings,
increased 7.3 percent to 100.1 in November from an
upwardly revised 93.3 in October and is 5.9 percent
above November 2010 when it stood at 94.5. The October
upward revision resulted in a 10.4 percent monthly gain.
The last time the index was higher was in April 2010
when it reached 111.5 as buyers rushed to beat the
deadline for the home buyer tax credit. The data
reflects contracts but not closings. Lawrence Yun, NAR
chief economist, said the gains may result partially
from delayed transactions. “Some of the increase in
pending home sales appears to be from buyers
recommitting after an initial contract ran into
problems, often with the mortgage.”
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Fast Facts
-
Angel
Falls in Venezuela is the worlds highest waterfall,
The water of Falls drops 3,212 feet (979 meters).
-
The
world’s population has been increased 3.1 billion in
last 40 years.
-
Gas
traffic lights were used in London before the advent
of motorcars to control the flow of horse buggies
and pedestrians. The green and red lights had the
same meanings as today.
-
A blue
whale's (the biggest creature ever to have lived on
earth) tongue can weigh more than an elephant.
-
A normal
person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than
from starvation.
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