The construction of most homes follows local regulations. The means any given home will stand up fine under generally normal weather conditions, such as thunderstorms and snowstorms. Unfortunately, the weather sometimes throws more extreme weather at an area and your roof is the most likely victim in those cases.

Take a hurricane for example. Even a low-level, Category 1 hurricane can produce winds up to 95 miles an hour. After that, roof wind damage should come as no surprise. That begs the questions of what qualified as roof damage and how to identify roof wind damage.

Read on and we’ll cover the essentials of what wind damage to a roof is and how to spot it.

What Is Roof Wind Damage?

In essence, wind damage to a roof means anything that compromises the roof’s ability to maintain the building envelope of your home. You can think of the building envelope as all the structures and systems that keep the outside weather outside of your home.

When wind compromises the shingles, membrane, or supporting structures, it compromises that envelope. Your home becomes less efficient at retaining heat or cool air, as well as keeping out moisture. That constitutes wind damage.

Now that you have a general idea of what wind damage means, let’s look at some specific kinds of damage you might see.

Missing Shingles

Most basic, 3-tab shingles can withstand wind speeds of up to around 60 miles per hour. You can get specialized shingles with higher wind ratings. However, you don’t typically see these shingles outside of areas known for hurricanes or tornadoes.

That being said, almost any area can experience the occasional storm with strong winds. If the winds climb above the speed rating of your shingles, you may see a few tear loose. In extreme cases of prolonged high winds, you may lose a substantial number of shingles.

You cant typically spot this kind of damage with a visual inspection from the ground.

Curling Shingles

Normal shingles come with an adhesive on the back that lets them stick to one another. High winds can break that adhesive seal.

When that happens, the shingles curl back under the pressure of the wind. You don’t normally see this in the main area of the roof.

Instead, you see curling shingles in high-stress areas of the roof, such as along the edge or on the roof’s ridge, at corners, or near a chimney. Much like missing shingles, you don’t need a close inspection to spot curling shingles. A visual inspection from the ground will usually show the damage.

If you cannot see the entire roof from the ground, though, you or a contractor will want to make a visual inspection from a ladder or on the roof itself.

Lifting Shingles

Another of the signs of wind damage to a roof you may find are lifting shingles. With this problem, the shingle itself remains undamaged. The wind creates enough pressure beneath the shingle that it actually loosens the nails that help hold the shingle in place.

Unfortunately, this is not a problem that you can typically see from the ground. At that distance, the shingles all look intact and secure. You’ll generally only see this issue if you take a close look from on a ladder or on the roof.

Since the nails are loose, it creates a path for water to get into your home through the nail holes. When properly secured, the nails themselves plug the holes securely. Once they lift out, there is enough give around the nails for water to sneak in around them.

Leaking Roof

Sometimes, the only evidence you get of wind damage to a roof is when the roof leaks. Depending on how dry the weather proves after the high winds, you might wait weeks before the next serious rainstorm rolls through.

If you remember to check after the first major rainstorm after the winds, you can probably spot water in your attic. Depending on how bad the leak is, you might see a puddle on the floor or simple wetness on the underside of the wood that supports your roof.

If you don’t check, you may see brown stains, mold or mildew growth, or bubbled areas in the paint on your ceiling.

Granule Loss

Shingles come with mineral granules on them. These granules extend the life of your shingles by offering protection from sunlight and boosting fire resistance. Following heavy winds, you should check your gutters.

If you find a lot of granules built up in the gutters, consider it a red flag. They don’t mean your roofing will fail immediately, but it does mean you’ll likely need a roof replacement far sooner than you originally planned.

Dealing with Wind Damaged Roofs

Assuming the damage to your roof is not catastrophic, how do you deal with that damage. If you’re only dealing with a missing shingle or two, you can probably handle fixing it yourself. Once you get beyond a few shingles, though, you should minimally get a roof inspection by a roofing professional.

They can detail how much damage your roof suffered and provide an estimate for repairs. Unless you possess substantial experience in roofing, securing the services of a roofing pro is the best option for a problem-free repair. As with any major home repair, you should get estimates from several roofing companies.

Roof Wind Damage and Your Home

You can face roof wind damage anywhere in the country. While areas on the east coast will face more hurricanes and the midwest sees more tornadoes, high winds can occur almost anywhere. With extreme weather events growing increasingly common, you should prepare for routine roof checks.

Keep an eye out for missing, curling, or lifting shingles. All of these indicate that the wind compromised your roof. After heavy winds, keep an eye out for leaks in your home and granule buildup in your gutters.

Ready for some more tips for your home? Check out the posts in our Home & Garden section on this site.

 

 

 

 

The aesthetics of your home can have a significant effect on your feelings and sense of worth. However, we should not focus only on how the house should look on the outside but also how it should give us comfort and a sense of security every day. Many of those people who are looking for a new home have the priority of checking if the house is safe, no preexisting repairs and if the electricity and plumbing system works well. It will also add value to your home if everything works fine.

Based on reports, there will be an approximate 9,000 gallons of water from pipe leaks annually in your household. This is caused by unchecked and unmonitored plumbing issues that may eventually cost you thousands of dollars for repairs and cause stress and anxiety when you badly needed some water but you can’t use it.

The most common questions in having these kinds of plumbing issues are: Do you urgently need to book an appointment with a plumbing contractor or do you have the capacity to fix it? Also, other factors that you need to consider are the money, abilities, materials, time, and patience to fix everything.

Every home should have safe electricity and a well-functioning plumbing system. This will help everyone in the house to be comfortable and safe. A plumbing system is a network of pipes, that provides and aids the flow of water when you use the bathroom or other members of your family that is having a shower or using the toilet. Considering the complexity and intricateness of a plumbing system, it will be a complicated repair if something went wrong with the pipes and the water supply.

Being a consumer and also a responsible member of the family, you need to know the basics about the plumbing system and what are the necessary steps in taking care of it. This will also save you a lot of money if you know how to look after our home. Sometimes there are home remedies that can help you have a quick fix with clogged drains and pipe leaks.

As mentioned, a plumbing system is considered a complicated and intricate part of your home. Thus, it also needs a professional plumbing contractor to fix it whenever there are any plumbing issues. Plumbing contractors like Sugar Bear Plumbing Co. can fix all sorts of plumbing issues. This may vary from all shapes and sizes to any complex and expensive damages such as a major leak on the pipes or a broken sewer system. Click here to know more about plumbing.

Furthermore, the most common issues that require a professional plumbing contractor and need more complicated plumbing work are as follows:

Running Toilet

When there is a problem in your toilet and it starts to malfunction, you and the rest of your family should stop using it temporarily and immediately call for a plumbing contractor. Most people don’t know what to do if they are experiencing having running toilets at home.

People often do some things to fix it but they do not know that sometimes they will just actually make it worse. It is important to know first the cause of the problem and then book an appointment with the plumbing for the latter to check and fix it accordingly.

Also, when the toilets keep on running sometimes the float height needs some adjustment or the flapper needs to be changed for a new one. Other issues are also from the excessive refill tube that must be reduced into a more suitable length for your toilet.

Clogged Drain and Leaked Pipes

You may experience in your life having to fix clogged drains or leaking pipes in your bathroom or kitchen sink. In some instances, you will eventually search on the internet which is a quick fix for these plumbing problems. When you are washing the dishes and suddenly your kitchen sink stops draining or you may notice a leak, you can call a plumbing contractor for it to be fixed and see to it that everything will be back to normal.

On the other hand, a shower drain that has been clogged is mostly the result of having residues in your bath soap or buildup of fallen hair. Most of the bathroom drains have internal stoppers, you may check them before you start removing hair or other residues that clogged your drain. If this will not work, the help of a plumbing contractor, such as Sugar Bear Plumbing, is needed. You may visit https://sugarbearplumbing.com/ to know more about their plumbing services.

Leaking pipes are often caused by the sudden pressure of water and high temperature. There are also some old houses are that require checking their pipes regularly. It is important to consider having PEX pipes than copper ones.

The latter can’t adapt abruptly to the changes in different temperatures. These changes can cause the copper pipes to break and start to leak, while the pipes that are made from PEX will eventually adjust to the temperature and flexes. Also, pipes that are made from copper are prone to corrosion.

Water Pressure is not enough/too weak

When you are having a shower or in the toilet having low water pressure is one of the most annoying plumbing problems that you will encounter. This problem is often caused by a leaking or clogged pipe. Sometimes you need to change your faucet to have better water pressure or some adjustments in the pipe-levels or valves. If it will not work, you need to consult the services of a plumber as soon as possible.

Summarily, most of the plumbing issues will remain undetected for a couple of months, and then suddenly some pipes in your plumbing system will stop working. This happens when the leak will reach a breaking point and the repairs will hurt your bank account. Considering all these problems, don’t let your broken plumbing system interrupt your daily routine and stress you out. It is important that you are knowledgeable and prepared for it when it happens.

As most people say, prevention is better than cure. As a responsible owner of the house and a consumer, you must have the capacity and ability to minimize these types of problems from happening again, or much worse cost you a lot in the future due to unattended home repairs. The aforementioned plumbing problems are some of the most frequent issues that you will encounter with your plumbing system.

Again, it is emphasized that a well-maintained plumbing system is one of the most important parts of your household. This will help you and your family to save up money for any unfortunate and expensive plumbing repairs in the future.

 

Have you always wanted to grow vegetables? Well, urban gardening isn’t impossible as long as you have a bit of free space in your yard.

Although vegetable gardening seems daunting for most beginners, it can be mastered by anyone willing to invest time and patience in this rewarding hobby. Making the right choice of location, improving soil quality, using raised beds, and companion planting are only some aspects worth considering.

The following tips will prove practical for homeowners looking to grow vegetables.

Consider the location

The first step towards planning your vegetable garden is considering the location and its size. Homeowners whose yards aren’t spacious enough should consider container gardening, as pots take up less space than planting crops in the ground. If space presents no issue, be careful when selecting the right size of the garden. The larger the garden, the more time you’d need to spend planting, aerating, harvesting, watering, and weeding.

Moreover, sunlight plays an important role when picking the location, as the largest part of vegetables needs a minimum of six hours of sunlight. Only certain leafy vegetables like broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and spinach thrive in some shade. Read more about sixteen types of vegetables that grow in partial shade. In order to prevent any damage done to the plants, keep them away from wind-prone and flood-prone spots.

Use raised beds

Instead of planting vegetables in rows, future gardeners are advised to make raised beds. These are more efficient when it comes to spacing, which helps gardeners with limited yard space. Raised beds offer numerous benefits in terms of providing better yield and saving significant time doing gardening tasks.

The need for fewer paths allows gardeners to plant crops closer to one another, which reduces the growth of weeds. As a result, you’ll waste less time on watering, weeding, and harvesting. The dimensions of raised beds can be adapted to the yards of homeowners as long as they have a proper drainage system.

Pay attention to soil

One of the essential aspects of vegetable gardening is soil type and quality. It’s necessary for the soil to be moist enough to provide crops with hydration and nutrients. Gardeners having no clue about the type of soil in their yards can purchase a soil kit, which reveals the amount of clay, sand, and slit. Clay and sand are supposed to make up for the largest percentage of the soil, whereas slit should be no higher than twenty percent.

In addition, the PH of your soil is also supposed to be inspected in order to check its acidity and alkalinity. Although the PH value of soils ranges from 4.0 to a maximum of 8.5, most vegetables require a PH of approximately seven PH units. The easiest way to calculate the number of nutrients is by making a PH test, revealing the amount of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

The PH can be lowered or raised with the help of limestone or aluminum sulfate. The former is used to raise the value, whereas the latter is necessary to reduce the value. Make sure you check out this awesome website for gardeners for some useful tips about improving soil PH level and nutrient content. When gardeners need to increase alkalinity, the procedure of adding aluminum sulfate should commence three months ahead of the gardening project.

Drainage is closely related to the type of soil, as not all variants retain moisture in the same manner. For instance, sandy soil doesn’t provide vegetables with enough hydration unless they are watered regularly. Conversely, clay soils retain water and impede oxygen from getting in touch with the crops, which makes drainage the only solution for vegetable growth.

Consider companion planting

Companion planting is an essential aspect for gardeners to take into account when choosing vegetables. It refers to a process that allows crops to induce each other’s growth by being planted in close proximity. Besides growing faster, companion planting prevents vegetables from being attacked by pests and even makes them tastier.

Moreover, vegetables can be used in combination with herbs and flowers for better growth. For instance, basil is believed to protect tomatoes by preventing hornworm from getting close to these crops. Marigolds are universal when it comes to protecting veggies from the nematodes fond of feeding on their roots.

Additionally, sage and mint are useful in the protection of veggies against cabbage moths. Mint is also capable of repelling ants, which are keen on causing crop damage. Zinnias are considered absolutely helpful in every garden due to their ability to attract ladybugs. Unlike other insects, ladybugs aren’t harming but protecting plants from damaging pests such as cabbage flies.

Checking this page https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/companion-planting-guide-zmaz81mjzraw would give you in-depth guide about companion planting.

Furthermore, asparagus is compatible with carrots, tomatoes, and parsley, whereas beans work well with beets, corn, cucumber, peas, and carrots. Broccoli is a good companion to lettuce, garlic, carrots, onions, spinach, carrots, and celery. Carrots are compatible with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and beans. Potatoes are excellent companions of corn, garlic, peas, radishes, spinach, celery, and basil. Ultimately, zucchini thrive when planted near peas, spinach, oregano, radishes, and beans.

Final thoughts

Why purchase vegetables from the market when you can grow them in your garden?

There’s nothing tastier than the taste of fresh veggies harvested from your yard and used for making a delicious salad!

 

If there is one room in the whole house that is a messy zone, it is probably the kid’s room. The children’s room is the only room you have to creep around in. Because you never know where a heap of clothes is hiding a runaway Lego block that will inevitably get wedged in your foot.

As a way suggested, it is always better to include your children in the cleaning up process to feel more responsible for the clutter. This way, they will know exactly where everything goes. Since a child’s room is a projection of their personality, they can express which items can be stowed away. Here are a few ideas to help you declutter your kid’s space.

1. Pare things down: It is an excellent idea to pare things down before you begin. You will need all the storage you can get as children have many little knick-knacks to store. So it makes sense to discard all the non-essential things. You also donate your child’s old belongings to charity. It can be a teaching moment for them to illustrate the significance of giving back to the community. And if it is too much, you can always rent storage units to stash the clutter.
2. Shelf the shelve-worthy stuff: Shelves aren’t only great for storage, but they can also add color to a room. They can work as decorations, and they give a break from monotony. You can place shelves anywhere in the room. They can go above dressers or desks. Place the shelves within reach of your child, so they can easily put them away. Paint the shelves in bright colors to liven up the surroundings.
3. Don’t be droll, buy a cubby hole: The best thing about cubby holes is that they can work with any age group. It does not matter whether you have a toddler or a teenager. Put a cubby hole to keep things out of the way and take the decor up a notch. Add bins and baskets in each slot to make it more organized. You can also label these containers to simplify the declutter process. Do not feel pressured to buy designer-made cubes. Milk crates work equally as well, at a quarter of the cost. Just paint the cartons vibrantly, and then voila – you have a unique DIY piece for the room.
4. Bunk bed storage: If your children share a room, then space can become a big issue. Therefore you must have functional storage solutions as every square meter of extra space is valuable. Add a bunk bed since they are an efficient use of your vertical space. You can also place hooks on the bunk bed to hang everyday use items. Place storage shelves above the bunk to create extra storage space. Many bunk beds also have slide-out drawers beneath the bottom bunk bed. You can store socks and undergarments in these drawers.
5. Choose pieces that work as storage and furniture: Every square inch of your child’s room is valuable. You can not afford to get furniture that only looks great. You must decorate the room with items that are functional pieces. So, look for laundry baskets that can double up as stools for your little ones. You can also make your own storage place. Many beds come with drawers under the bed for additional space. But if you have already bought a bed without pull-out drawers, do not worry. You can make your drawers or buy one from an online store.
6. Hang organizers for little knock knacks: Organizers can be excellent options for toy storage. Hang one behind the door of your child’s bedroom, and put their most-used toys in the slots. Put everyday pieces in the lower spots for easy access and stock the others on the higher ones. You can also label each holder for special items so that your child knows which things go where.
7. Get hooked on hooks: Like shelves, hooks can be decorative and functional storage. Customize all your hooks according to the theme of your child’s bedroom. You can get a safari animal-shaped hook or one with stars. It is an ingenious idea since each child will know that their things go on the hook with their name.
8. Maximize the storage space in the closet: Most homes have restricted closet space nowadays. It is your mission to make the most of things by becoming an expert closet designer. Decide how much closet space your child needs and then get to work. Use space-friendly hangers to make use of every centimeter. Then add shelves, hanging shoe racks, and pull-out baskets. Install some hooks for belts and jewelry.
9. Get a storage cabinet: A storage cabinet can be just the thing for small and breakable items. You can store toys, clothes, and stationery in the cabinet. Some storage cabinets can also function as work tables. That way, you are killing two birds with one stone.
10. Train your child to be organized: You can spend thousands on storage for your child’s space and still come home to a cluttered room. Therefore, it is necessary to teach your child how and where to put things when they are done with them. Let them know where everything goes and put things away with them to show them how everything works.

Conclusion:

Remember that a cluttered room is a cluttered mind. Therefore you must teach your child the importance of becoming more organized. However, children often learn by example, so you must also lead by example. That is why you too must sharpen your organizational skills. Pretty soon, your child will follow in your footsteps and put things away on their own.