The Risks of Building a Home Addition Without Pulling Permits First

Regardless if you are an experienced do-it-yourselfer, the days of just picking up your hammer and starting a home addition or home remodeling project are long over. It is critical that you first make your municipality aware of your home building intentions.

Municipalities are increasingly cracking down on the weekend DIY construction homeowner to protect themselves against possible future lawsuits, and to maximize their property tax revenue. If you don't contact them, be assured someone else in your neighborhood will, so before you have legal problems and fines to contend with, it is best to contact them first.

Also note that besides legal issues and fines associated with not pulling permits, municipalities also can require the destruction of the home addition.

There are federal, state and local building codes that municipalities require in home construction. These codes are in place to protect the occupants of the home, and others living near or around the home from fire, collapsed framing construction, electrical shock and many other dangers that can occur when a home or home addition is not constructed properly.

These codes also serve to protect the investment in your home. Most of today's homebuyers request a home inspection as part of the purchase and sales agreement. If a home inspection determines your home addition does not meet home construction codes then chances are the buyers will renege on their offer, and rightfully so. To ultimately sell your home you will probably need to bring your home addition or home remodeling project up to legal building codes. As a result, you will wind up ultimately spending more money in the end on the project by not pulling the permits during the pre-construction phase of it.

The other advantage in pulling the appropriate permits on a new home addition or home remodeling project is that you enable your project to be regularly checked during the construction by the local building inspector. As a result, you can feel more comfortable knowing that the project not only meets the national and local building codes, but is also safe and your financial investment is protected.

The costs of building permits are quite minor, relative to the total cost of a home addition or home remodeling project, and consequently there should be no excuse not to pull them. Yes the permit process may force you to use licensed contractors that you had previously no intention in hiring, but again this cost delta is peanuts compared to a cease and desist, or deconstruct order from the town or city.

Not pulling permits on a home addition project is fraught with danger and liabilities, and the liabilities can last the life of the home addition. Consequently, if you are planning to build a home addition, always go to your local municipal building inspector first and determine what permits you will need. In some cases you may be able to pull the permits yourself, and in other cases a licensed contractor will need to pull them for you.

For more help on building a second floor addition or room addition, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's Room Addition Bid Sheet.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more information about Home Improvement and Home Additions, and Home Remodeling and Repair visit homeadditionplus.com and homeaddition.blogspot.com

Building Handrails Books

Hiring a Contractor For Bathroom Remodeling - Remodeling Contractors

Well here's the age old question, how do we go about finding a decent bathroom remodeling contractor.

Here's some things you will be looking for in a contractor.

1. Is Your Contractor Fair and Honest?

2. Does Your Contractor Have Experience Remodeling and Designing Bathrooms?

3. Can You Actually Find a Contractor Who Will Complete the Job in a Timely Manner?

4. Do You Think the Workers Will Be Able to Clean the Job up Daily?

5. Will the Contractor Show up on Time?

6. Is the Contractor Going to Work At Least Eight Hours a Day?

7. Does the Contractor's Crew Have Experience?

8. Is Your Contractor and His Crew Courteous?

If you find a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project that has answered yes to all questions above, hire that person immediately. Most contractors can sincerely answer yes to half of the questions above. If you're looking for the ultimate bathroom remodeling contractor, you could be searching for quite a while, you're looking for some one that is competent and you feel comfortable with.

When hiring a contractor, look for someone who has your interest in mind first and not theirs. Find someone who is willing to help with the designed process of your bathroom and the remodeling. If you find a contractor to be arrogant or controlling, there is a good chance, your bathroom might not turn out the way you envision it.

When hiring a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project or any home improvement project, the most important thing to keep in mind is, whether or not you feel comfortable with this person or not. Never hire a contractor you're not comfortable with.

If a contractor is referred to you by someone you trust, this does not guarantee you will be happy with the bathroom remodel. Most referrals that I have gotten over the years are like rolling the dice, I believe I would have done just as good picking a name out of a hat.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Are Your Basement Walls Bulging, Bowing Or Cracked

Are your basement Walls BULGING, CRACKING, or BOWING?

Want to Weed Out The Gimmicks and Outdated Basement Repair Strategies offered Nationally?

Local Basement Expert and National Basement Author Reveals Insider Tips Secrets and Proprietary Repair Strategies, Custom Designed To Solve Your Basement Problems!!!

Hurry, Act Now!

A Structural Basement Problem Left UNTREATED Can Dramatically Skyrocket The Price< and ROB YOUR CHECKBOOK BLIND!

READ ON To Discover How To Permanently Erase Your Basement Problems! Discover why Innovative Mortar-less Methods Have Been Nationally Tested 5X Stronger

When it comes to treating a bulging cracked or bowing basement wall most of the basement companies are completely in the dark! They may have a few different band-aid type approaches but most are ignorant of the basic causes which create the underlying conditions to allow the walls to crack, heave, shift and buckle.

I am going to let you in on a SECRET. Most Basement Wall Problems Are A Result of Bad Framing ... NOT BAD MASONRY!

That's Right, Bad Framing.

You see with a concrete block or other stacked masonry unit wall, the wall derives its strength from the EVENLY DISTRIBUTED weight of the house applying pressure and pushing directly down on the top of the walls. This even distribution ensures that the heavier the house, the stronger the lateral load capacity of the wall.

When the house is applying direct pressure on top of the walls, the evenly distributed load makes the walls very strong. This is hugely important. The way that the load transfers onto the wall is via a board called a sill plate. The sill plate's job is to transfer the load of the house directly onto the top of the wall.

When the sill plate is as wide as the top of the top block the distribution is even. When the sill plate is smaller or partial there is an un-even distribution of the load; resulting in a wall that is weakened and that will begin to bow bulge and crack. A partial sill plate only covers a portion of the top block and does not come to the inside edge of the wall!

A partial sill plate will put all of the pressure on the outside edge of the block wall. This creates a very unstable wall. When other forces and complicating additional factors or problems are added to the wall, it can create huge problems!

Other factors include things like: a nearby tree with branches over the roof line (means roots pushing on wall) or roof downspouts that discharge to the base of the wall or a little bit of slight negative grade towards the house, when coupled with a partial sill plate: the result is often in total wall failure. The simple action in a northern climate of the soil freezing and thawing against the wall often results in a long horizontal frost line crack developing. This is extremely aggravated when it is coupled with a partial sill plate issue.

The sad truth is that even though many contractors will claim to know how to do a wall-rebuild or an Underpinning job, almost none of them would ever even consider correcting the underlying issue, the partial sill plate. I have seen countless numbers of walls that homeowners just like you paid tens of thousands of dollars to rebuild just to watch their money go up like a puff of smoke because the contractor rebuilt the wall in the exact same fashion as the one that failed already and was being replaced. In fact they will lay brand new blocks right up to the partial sill plate which caused the problem in the first place! Can you imagine paying good money for the exact same thing that broke already?

There is good news...

The sill plate problem can be inexpensively remedied when the wall repair is being performed. This means you can eliminate the underlying cause rather than just putting a band aid on it like a beam or wall anchor system.

When a wall has become destabilized due to uneven load distribution (or other factors), there is only one way to truly rectify the problem, which is to remove the earth on the other side of it and straighten and repair or rebuild it.

The Truth About Wall Anchors and How To Use Existing Wall Anchors and Make Them Effective

There are some companies who install wall anchors in an effort to stabilize the wall. I have stacks of these wall anchor plates at my shop from walls I have rebuilt that failed after being anchored. The reason these walls fail every time is that the plate on the inside wall is only roughly 12" by 12".

Since the mortar joints are often broken on a bulging wall, the plate will only draw back the blocks it touches. The companies that install them give you a wrench and tell you to make a turn every 6 weeks. This draws back virtually nothing. It is just a scam based on human nature and knowing that the homeowners won't give up on the wall ever straightening till long after the money is spent.

A way to utilize the wall anchor system is to remove the plate and jackhammer a pocket into the concrete floor slab. Then in place of the 12" by 12" plate you substitute a heavy duty 8" c- channel beam and cement it in place beneath the slab and tie its uppermost portion into the framing creating three anchor points catching all the courses.

Of course the wall anchor system fails to address the underlying cause of the whole issue, as well as failing to do anything to address water or mold issues it is simply a band-aid for a much more serious problem.

Internal Piers or Pilasters and Why They Don't Work

Some masons will tell you that they can straighten the wall and will use internal pilasters of re-bar and cement every so many feet down the wall. First of all, it is just about impossible to actually fish and thread a piece of re-bar all the way down to the first course of block. This is especially true if the blocks are three cores which are absolutely impossible to get more than two foot sections. The city of Medina, Ohio has a code in new construction that all masonry walls be double rodded with wire ties and grouted every 24" on center. I have re-built many walls in the city that were both bowed and shifted off their foundation. In all cases, BAD FRAMING was to blame! If you hope to stabilize a straightened wall, you need to correct the framing and / or re-enforce with beams.

The rebar you see sticking out of the pier was put in at point of construction, yet this wall in medina still failed

Why Rebuilding A Bowed Wall The Mason's Way Can make It Much Weaker than Before!

When an average, ordinary mason or contractor re-builds a wall they inevitably actually end up making a new but weaker wall. That is because when an ordinary wall re-build or under pinning is done, the new wall has a gap left at the top. That gap is typically shimmed and then tuck pointed. This changes the load on the wall from direct pressure to a point load system.

Since the wall derives its strength from even load distribution... it results in a much weaker wall! That means you're just throwing away your money. It also leads to long term plaster cracking and wall failure. Some years ago we discovered mortar-less wall rebuilding which is uniquely suited to wall rebuilds. In fact, we can even remove our jacks as soon as the last block is set in place and you can too!

Did You Know That the Pyramids Were Actually Built Without ANY Mortar At ALL and have been speculated to be over 10,000 Years old!

Over 12 years ago I stumbled onto one of the greatest basement wall rebuilding secrets, literally by accident. I discovered how to "glue" concrete blocks together without using any mortar between the blocks. The technique was developed in ancient Roman architecture some of which stands to this day. In fact there are 2000 year old Roman roads being driven on in Europe even still today!

Owens Corning Fiberglass spent millions of dollars testing and proving this ancient Roman technique and getting it put into nearly every major building code authority in the late 1960's. They did tests proving that a mortared block wall is up to five times weaker than a surface bonded wall. Or, to put it another way, our walls are five times stronger than ordinary mortared walls, which means you and your family can sleep safe through the night knowing that they're as strong as a fortress!

I began working with the process twelve years ago and have perfected structural repair strategies that employ the amazing benefits of the use of this revolutionary process

The biggest single difference is the immediate ability to apply pressure to the wall prior to completing the process. This comes from the fact that there is no mortar to squish out from between the blocks. Ordinary masons must build the new wall and leave a gap between the sill plate and the top of the block. They then beat shims in every couple of feet and lastly tuck point the gap. This is a horribly ineffective mess and does several things which guarantee the new wall will fail like the old one.

Why Dry Stacked and Surface Bonded Walls Are 5 X Stronger

The concept is very simple. Ordinary mortared walls are weak and have mortar trowelled in between them to level the courses. Many mistakenly believe mortar to be glue. This however is simply not true. A mortar joint is called a cold joint. A cold joint is a very weak porosity only, bond. Everyone knows that when new concrete is applied over old it doesn't bond, it doesn't adhere, and it doesn't stick.

Actually, anyone who has ever seen a bowing basement wall will note the walls can be cracked all over but still don't give in. That is because the downward pressure of the house exceeds the pressure exerted from the soil. The concept behind a surface bonded super-wall is simple.

Just imagine a wall made up of 8 a,b,c wooden kids blocks. Stack them up in your minds eye. Now just imagine that you apply pressure evenly from the top. The more pressure you add the stronger the blocks get. Next, imagine putting your hand on the top but only covering half of it.

See the blocks go shooting across the room. You See Even load distribution is EVERYTHING!!!

Now Imagine those same abc wooden kids blocks were stacked up, but with duct tape going up both sides of the blocks.Now, add imaginary pressure- that's right; incredibly strong! By applying a surface bond you are in effect turning the whole stack into a bond beam. Amazing!

In real life, when dry satcking the first course is laid traditionally in a bed of mortar to level the it and the rest of the blocks are stacked on top in staggered courses just like traditional masonry, called a "running bond." Once the walls have been completed up to the last course, this superior process comes into play. At the top course cut the top blocks a 1/16 of an inch over the gap between the sill plate and the next course. Then take a bottle jack and lift just enough pressure to get the block in, in this fashion. This is something that could not be done with mortar. Move, cut, lift, set. We: move, cut, lift, set.

Finish the last course, and by the time you are done... voila! Now the house is again resting its weight and transferring it directly from the sill to the footer. Of course we always recommend that you correct any sill plate or FRAMING issues before beginning the repair. Now once the entire wall has been rebuilt, then trowel a skim coat like stucco all over the outside and the inside of the wall. This slurry has tens of thousands of "cat hair" fibers, which used to be made of fiber glass but today are made of nylon.

This process of mixing a fiber matrix into a cement mixture goes all the way back to Egypt where they mixed straw with mud before making bricks of them. In more recent times, cement plasterers of the twentieth century used horse hair in plaster to strengthen it. Today's nylon fibers are the modern space age equivalent. And when they are mixed into to a high strength waterproofed surface bonding cement, which has chemical bonding adhesive mixed in that make it chemically "glue" to the wall - the end result is a super-bonded high- strength bond-beam. This makes it incredibly tuff and gives you a real guarantee of piece of mind knowing your new wall is now 5X stronger against lateral or sideways loads.

Bowed Walls Can Be Straightened and Saved TOO!

It is not always necessary to Re-build the wall. If the blocks are mostly intact they can be saved in many cases. The process involves first excavating the exterior wall all the way to the footer base. Then we grind out any joints in the interior that are broken. Then, a series of planks are set up against the bulging walls. Using baords and evenly applied skill and pressure, slowly force the walls back into place.

It is possible to successfully repair the most incredibly bowed walls you've ever imagined. And make them stronger than new!

The way to do this is by repairing the FRAMING issues that contributed to the failure and then by reinforcing the walls either using beams or carbon fiber strips.Traditional beams are cemented in place below the floor slab and tied into the wooden framing at the top thereby securing all the courses and keeping the wall in place. More recent technological advances have brought the carbon fiber wall reinforcing systems into being these eliminate the loss of space created by beams and are more for cosmetic effect. The wall is ground with diamonds and strips of high strength carbon fibers are "glued" to the wall with resin. This technology is being used in modern aviation and stealth technologies.

Both do the exact same thing... strengthen the wall in place.

Buy now if you have a structural problem, I am sure you can see why you need to turn to the experts. Over the years we have tested, innovated, and improved every type of foundation system available , with this knowledge you can't be ripped off by one of the "our-system-fits- all -problems" contractors out there.

How Do I Know If My Basement Is Actually Waterproofed?

Chances are if we didn't do it... It probably isn't. ...You See, Tar Has Never Been Rated as Waterproof!! Did you know that in the building codes, there are actually two separate definitions for damp-proofing (tar) and waterproofing?

Damp-proofing, by definition, means "something that helps to slow the penetration of water into the substrate". HHMMM "helps to slow" sounds quite different than the definition of waterproofing: "something thatpreventsthe penetration of water", and not only prevents water, it further must pass a bending test where the membrane must be able to be bent around a cylinder. This requirement eliminates all crystalline and cement based sealants.

Water proof sealants are almost all exclusively used and installed COMMERCIALLY...(that's because they are more expensive). The extra costs are what stop the average contractor from offering you, the homeowner, a product that is effective and will last and "stand the test of time".

I recommend using a MULTI-STEP EXTERIOR WATERPROOFING SYSTEM which uses a cement-based fiber re-enforced wall resurfacing system and NO LESS than TWO waterproof rated sealants. This is by no means the cheapest of methods, however, and it may or may not be the BEST system to put into place. Which system you should use depends entirely on the specific nature of YOUR problem. There are NO miracle systems than can solve ALL basement problems. The thing I can guarantee is if you use a multistep outside waterproof system , it will actively drain water away from the foundation, and the water leak will be a thing of the past, not only that, but waterproof sealants will outlast the wood on your house GUARANTEED!

Charles Boday
CMI, CMRC, CMLCC
800-948-4947
http://www.safemoldsolutions.com
http://www.superdrybasement.com

Building Handrails Books

Framing Basement Walls Can Provide Warmth and Comfort

If you have any experience at carpentry working with framing basement walls can be fun and save you a lot of money. If you have no or very little experience with carpentry you can still learn with the right desire.

So you have an unfinished basement in your home and would like to create another room like a recreation room or laundry room or basement study you can do it. The first thing you need to do is know there are two areas that you will be framing, the outside walls of your basement and the inside walls to create the rooms within.

The outside walls or perimeter walls are the walls that you can either construct to provide warmth and added comfort or just construct as walls to provide added pleasantness to the basement. Framing Basement Walls to provide warmth and comfort is the best way to go if you plan to use the rooms in the basement as part of your living area.

If you want the basement room to be warm and comfortable, you will need to use 2 X 4 wooded studs for your framing around the perimeter. This will let you use insulation between the studs to provide the warmth required between the outside foundation and the inside wall.

The interior walls will also be constructed of wooden 2 X 4 studs, but normally don't require insulation between the studs. If you want added noise protection adding insulation to the inner walls can help deaden sound.

When you spend time framing basement walls correctly you will have a more functional basement area to add value and comfort to your home.

Looking for ways to have an artful and creative basement wall? Discover practical basement remodeling ideas online and turn cheap basement ideas into dream basements at a budget.

What to Look For in an Air Duct Cleaner

Air duct cleaning is a relatively new industry that has exploded as a $4 Billion a year industry in the United States alone, in the 21st century. Some people have embraced air duct cleaning as a beneficial service, while others have criticized the service and view the service as a waste of time and money. More than likely though, people who have their varying view points for and against the service are both correct on this issue in one way or another and in this article I will address why I think that both sides raise interesting and very good points that you as a consumer should consider. In this article I will address different air duct cleaning methods and explain what those methods are, I will explain credentials so that you can better understand who the organizations are and who they represent and last I will address the common scams that are out there so that you as a consumer can avoid being caught up into such scams to increase the possibilities of receiving a good service performed correctly, should you ever schedule an air duct cleaning service in the future with a local service provider.

The two most common air duct cleaning methods are the "contact cleaning" method and the "Power vacuum air wash" method in air duct cleaning. The contact cleaning method in air duct cleaning involves the use of shop vac style equipment to keep constant contact between the vacuum hose and duct work surface during the cleaning process. Generally speaking the companies that employ this form of cleaning charges less money for their services, because they know that they are limited in what dirt, dust and debris that they can actually pull out of the air ducts and are typically in your home to perform the service for 30 minutes to 1 hour. There is usually no benefit to an air duct cleaning service when this method of cleaning is performed, however it may be beneficial if the actual vent boots were full of construction debris or dog food or whatever and you did not feel like cleaning the vent boots and preferred to just get a cheap service provider out to do that work for you instead. Now, the power vacuum air wash method in air duct cleaning involves the use of expensive powerful equipment to allow a technician to deep clean the entire HVAC system. The vacuum hose is usually 8-12" in diameter and is installed in the main trunk line to put the entire air duct system under a deep and powerful vacuum.

No kidding, every vent in the house will have a powerful vacuum pulling hard off of every vent in the house for a perfect negative air containment, which disallows any cross contamination of dirt discharges in your home to occur during the cleaning process! The vacuum machines could be 220 volt HEPA rated negative air machines, gas powered or diesel powered machines to generate a powerful enough vacuum to perform the service properly. Compressed air tools are used to air wash all of the dirt, dust and debris to the power vacuum hose installed in the main duct, trunk line. When the power vacuum air wash form of air duct cleaning is performed correctly the service usually takes anywhere from 2-4 hours to perform the service in an average sized home. Reputable companies will clean all supply boots, adjoining supply branch lines, supply trunk line(s), supply plenum, return boots, return channels, return trunk line(s) and return plenum, virtually 100% of the entire HVAC system.

It is vital that the entire air duct system is cleaned, because if any debris and or contamination is left in the system, then that missed debris and or contamination will just recirculate again to recontaminate the air duct system as if nothing was even done, once the furnace is turned on again after the air duct cleaning is complete. A typical forced air ventilation is a circulatory system of constant air in and air out when a furnace is in operation. Companies that are licensed for HVAC will also thoroughly clean the furnace and evaporator coil (indoor coil that is often above the furnace).

The benefits can be tremendous with this method of cleaning, such as increased air flow, increased HVAC system efficiency, reduced dust in the home, reduction in unpleasant odors deriving from the air ducts and increased life expectancy of working HVAC parts such as surface igniters, blower motors, limit switches and capacitors that dirt, dust and debris destroys over time. A reputable company that pays their technicians well, maintains their tools & machinery and possesses all of the proper credentials such as ACCA membership status, EPA certified technicians to handle refrigeration and carries proper insurance(s) will charge anywhere from $425.00-$1000.00 per HVAC system for about half a days work to properly clean each HVAC system.

The price swing is also factored by different cost of living standards depending on where you live in the country and varying overhead costs that each company carries. Some one in Manhattan New York would probably be near the $1000.00 price per HVAC system cleaned, whereas someone in Austin Texas would be near the $425.00 per HVAC system cleaned. The cost of living is much higher in Manhattan New York than in Austin Texas, so logically air duct cleaning in Manhattan New York would cost more than in Austin Texas.

Credentials are very important! Beware of companies that have no credentials at all, because an in experienced service provider can cause a lot of expensive damage to your HVAC system, if they don't know what they are doing and you surely don't want to be stuck with an expensive repair bill as a result. The best credentials that a service provider can have is the ACCA membership status.

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) HVAC system cleaning standards is the only air duct cleaning standard accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI is a reputable international organization that creates rigid tough standards to improve products and services for the better good of the consumer to ensure that the product or service is safe and effective. If an organization lacks ANSI accreditation, then they lack validity to their product or service(s) in the HVAC, Heating, ventilation and air conditioning field.

A prime example of that would be NADCA, which stands for the National Air Duct Cleaning Association. NADCA has raised some good guidelines to follow in an air duct cleaning procedure, however they lack knowledge in having much HVAC technical knowledge to deliver the best procedures in cleaning your furnace or evaporator coil, which is at the heart of the entire air duct system. Very often NADCA member companies are not licensed for HVAC, which increases your risk when hiring them to clean and HVAC system. These vital working components needs to be cleaned as well, which means in my opinion NADCA will leave you in the dust pertaining to HVAC system cleaning. The safe approach to take is to shop around with ACCA member companies to ensure that your HVAC system is cleaned correctly by a licensed HVAC contractor or company rather than hiring an under trained carpet cleaner or air duct cleaner.

Air duct cleaning is a good service to have performed if it is done properly by an ACCA member company, however many companies have exploited the good service that many homeowners and building owners desire by delivering bait and switch tactics or blow and go air duct cleaning procedures that leaves the system contaminated after the service has been performed. 9 times out of 10 you should discredit ads that state air duct cleanings start at $59.00-$199.00 for up to 10 vent lines cleaned. Only two results will derive from these forms of advertising such as Company "A" arrived for $79.00 and in fact cleaned 10 vent lines with a shop vac type machine and left within 1 hour leaving your system contaminated or Company "B" arrived to clean 10 vent lines for $69.00 and their technician explained that the returns are very dirty too and they can be cleaned for $25.00 each.

Now your ticket has turned to $144.00 with 3 return lines cleaned. While the technician is still cleaning he realizes that your trunk lines are dirty too and up sells you on that to clean a supply trunk line for $100.00 and to clean a return trunk line for another $100.00, which now turns the ticket into $344.00. You're done with receiving the up selling, right? No, think again, because the technician explained to you that he had to cut out accesses into the ductwork to clean it right, he of coarse now has to sell you clean out doors to install so that all of your air doesn't escape out of the system, so he quotes you at $75.00 for each clean out door installed to make the ticket $494.00 from an additional $150.00 for two doors sold.

If the job was performed correctly that would be fine, however the guy is in your house with a shop vac type machine, which means he received $494.00 from you to leave your HVAC system contaminated. After he leaves once the air duct cleaning service has been performed, you realize that dust is blowing out of all of the vents when the furnace cycles, because he disturbed a lot of dust during the air duct cleaning, because shop vac style machinery are in effective in performing a thorough air duct cleaning service. You could have called a reputable company that is an ACCA member company utilizing the most powerful equipment in the industry to give you an "up front" price quote right in the same ball park for price as the bait and switch company eventually got out of you, to get the job done thoroughly and correctly. If it is too good to be true, that is because it is. Buyer beware, these bait and switch tactics have been going on for years and usually the companies that follow these price structures are the very companies leaving the majority of dirt, dust and debris in your ventilation system that they were paid good money by the customer to clean out.

When shopping around for a service provider that offers air duct cleaning as a service, make sure that they are an ACCA member company, which tells you that they are licensed for HVAC and check their record at the BBB. If they have a few complaints that is fine, so long as all of the complaints have been resolved. You know there is a huge difference with 5 complaints all quickly resolved and 112 complaints unresolved. These contractors and companies deal with the general public, which means they deal with all different walks of life of different personalities and characters on a daily basis. It is almost impossible if a company has done enough volume of work to keep a perfect record with the BBB. Usually the companies that are small and have not done too many jobs are the only companies that have the perfect score with the BBB. No less, the BBB is still a good reference though, to safe guard yourself from blatant scamming companies and it would be wise to reference companies there if you are unsure of the companies over all reputation.

The conclusion of this article is if a company is licensed for HVAC, uses the most powerful air duct cleaning machinery in the industry, performs air duct cleanings by the power vacuum air wash method and has a good reputation with the BBB and other reporting institutions, then air duct cleaning will more than likely be performed thoroughly and properly in most instances, so that you can realize positive results such as increased air flow coming out of vents, odor reductions deriving from the vents, increased HVAC system efficiency and increased furnace and air conditioning part life.

Author: Mike Meincke Managing Member of Lucky Duct, LLC. Lucky Duct, LLC is a full service licensed heating and air conditioning company that operates in Denver Colorado. Visit www.luckyduct.net to find more great information and facts on air duct cleaning. Enter the "Air Duct" page to find air duct cleaning related content.

Mike Meincke is the Managing Member of Lucky Duct, LLC. Lucky Duct, LLC is a licensed full service heating and air conditioning company that operates in the Denver metro market. Lucky Duct, LLC also provides commercial and residential air duct cleaning services using the most powerful equipment in the industry. Mike Meincke is personally licensed for HVAC as a licensed HVAC Supervisor, is EPA certified as a "Universal" card holder to legally handle refrigeration, has attended numerous manufacturing training courses with Rheem, Goodman and American Standard and has a decade of hands on experience in the HVAC field.

Interior Decorating Books

Glass Railing - Where Class Should Be Visible

Add Sparkle To Space Use Glass Railings

Glass railings with some transparency and a lot reflection from glass can create a different kind of atmosphere to a place that has been lit up brightly. If you see a Dubai gold mart for example, you will be able to see lot of glass railing in market. The well-lit mart becomes alive with reflection from gold and the use of glass everywhere, including the railings, accentuates the feeling of fun of shopping.The complete reflection from all surfaces adds to the glitter of gold there. If you use wood or any other railings there, the effect will not be as electric.

Customized Solutions - Glass Railings

Glass railings are never available as ready made material that can be cut and fitted as required. When you wish to use glass railings, the idea is to accentuate the atmosphere of the whole place and hence you may have to consider the all the factors including the lighting. The holistic approach has to be applied to the whole place rather than just fitting the glass railings.

Advantage Glass Railings No Maintenance Absolutely

The main advantage of the glass railings is that it requires no maintenance at all. There is no requirement of polishing or the possibility of mildew formation or and degradation of quality of the installed railings. Apart from the general cleaning, the glass railing continues to look as good as new all the time. Replacements unless the glass breaks are not necessary.

Advantage 2 - Tender Handling By Customers

Because of the perception of glass as breakable material, everyone handles it carefully even when tender handling is not required. Therefore, when children try riding the railings, immediately the parents come in and prevent the children from doing so. This happens, as the glass is feared to be breakable even when it is not and this prevents any undesirable incidents in a shopping complex.

Advantage 3 - Inviting Atmosphere

The glass with its openness results in a place where the shoppers feel invited and indulge in more shopping than may be warranted by their capacity and the shop owner gets the advantage of higher turnover.

Adam Peters is a freelance author who contributes adding interesting articles to a deck and porch railings website. Adam publishes ideas for railing plans and designs at http://www.deck-porch-railings.com Reach more articles on modern glass railing designs at http://www.deck-porch-railings.com/glass-deck-railing.html

Researching a General Contractor in New York

This may come as a shock to many; the State of New York does not require a general contractor to have a state-issued license. Other large states like Illinois and Texas also do not require the GC to have a license, but these are in the minority. To be a general contractor New York, or a remodeling contractor New York, or in New York City, one can get a Home Improvement Contractor License. This process is officiated by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The contractor New York with a satisfactory rating on the web can be your best bet. In addition to tracking down a report from the Better Business Bureau or checking with the above discussed Consumer Affairs agency, making sure that a contractor in New York has made other customers happy is a good indicator that you will be satisfied as well.

The procedure of researching a New York contractor should also include a determination on the status of their liability insurance. If something goes wrong in the building you live in as a result of the work being done in your apartment, liability insurance will become very important. The same goes for worker injuries or damaged property. Liability insurance data for a general contractor in NY can usually be found on the Buildings Information System website.

Be sure to make a checklist of places to read about a prospective contractor New York, from directory websites, to their own homepage, to government agencies to consumer agencies so that you can make the decision with all the facts.

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