Realty Executives Midwest
With fall around the corner, you are happily saying goodbye to the bugs of summer, but don’t be fooled: there are still plenty of creepers sticking around for fall.
One of your top priorities at the beginning of the new season should be insect and rodent control. As the temperatures change, pests will be looking to migrate to warmer temperatures. The last thing you want is for these tiny creatures to find their way into the confines of your home. Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent these unwanted guests without emptying your bank account. Here are a few tips for keeping falls pests out of your home.
Seal Cracks and Holes Outside of Your House
Bugs such as ants, beetles and roaches can easily fit in between even the smallest crack in a wall. You can fill in these gaps with acrylic latex caulk, which can be purchased for under $10. Not only will the caulk keep the bugs out of this house, but it will keep the cold and wet weather out too. Roaches and other insects look for warm, moist areas to live in during the colder seasons, making the use of a durable caulk more important for added protection. For larger gaps in your home’s infrastructure, you can cut mesh screens into the necessary sizes. The use of an extra-strength adhesive will help keep the cover in place.
Maintain your Landscaping
You can find bugs crawling around in leaves, soil and mulch. It is important to make sure these common outdoor items don’t pile up during the fall season. These items will often hold moisture which will attract insects and will make it easy for them to hide. You will also want to keep all trees and bushes near your home appropriately trimmed. Any branches or bushes that come in contact with your house give insects easy access to explore the walls and windows of your home. It is also suggested that you keep any firewood at least 20 feet from the house. Firewood is an ideal resting place for small critters and an easy way of transportation inside. Only bring in what you need!
Properly Store all Food Items
Not only will bugs and small animals use your home as an escape from seasonal changes, but they will use it as a source of food as well. It is important to not let food sit out for extended periods of time. Keep anything edible inside plastic airtight containers or bags. You should also consistently clean your kitchen and dining areas. Even if your food is kept away properly, crumbs and residue from your meals will attract pests and let them know exactly where food may be. This may lead to them making more frequent visits to your kitchen.
Higher an Exterminator
Although hiring an exterminator can be pricey, it may be incredibly beneficial. If you come across a nest or infested area in your home,call a professional. A pest control professional will be able to gauge the severity of the infestation and give advice on how to solve the situation. An exterminator will also be able to remove pests with the proper technique, using certain pesticides and tools that are safe to your home and family.
This post was taken from Realty Executives International.
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
Radon is a reasonably common problem in homes, so if you come across a house that you absolutely adore, you’re not even remotely out of luck. Instead, you may reap the benefits of someone else’s lack of information about the gas. Here are seven things to know if you’re considering a home with a radon problem:
Just because radon is everywhere doesn’t mean you have to live with it. Radon mitigation systems are very good at removing large amounts of radon from any home. Most work by literally sucking the radon right out of the crawlspace or from underneath a poured concrete slab like what you’d find in a basement.
Slabs must be sealed and barriers installed in crawl spaces to ensure that the radon has no place to go but up and out the vacuum system. Once released into the air above your home, it’s no longer a threat and you can breathe deeply once again.
If you need a radon vacuum, make sure yours comes with a continuous monitoring system as well. It might cost a little bit extra, but you’ll know exactly if or when radon levels are unacceptable. Since levels vary throughout the year, this is a good investment in your future.
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
About to remodel that old kitchen? Unless you’re cool with treating the hardest working room in your house like a museum exhibit, resist the temptation to buy the cheapest or shiniest materials available and go for durable options that can stand up to regular abuse.
Trust us: Although it may be tough to leave that raised, tempered glass bar top (ooo!) in the showroom, repairing its first (and second, and third) chip will get old. Very fast.
Picking the right materials is easy if you do your homework. “There are amazing products out there,” says Jeffrey Holloway, a certified kitchen designer and owner of Holloway Home Improvement Center in Marmora, N.J.
“You’re looking at price point, sanitation, how easy it is to clean the product, its durability and maintenance.”
Keeping those all-important features in mind, here are some materials to avoid during your next kitchen project.
First off, there’s plenty of great laminate out there. It’s the entry-level,plastic laminate to stay away from, Holloway says.
These are the ones that look thin and dull, as opposed to richly textured. They scratch easily, and if the product underneath the laminate gets wet (say, from steam rising from your dishwasher), it can delaminate the countertop, which means the edges will chip pretty easily.
Also, one misplaced hot pan on the plastic will result in a melted disaster zone you’ll remember forever.
But if you’re watching your budget, plastic laminate at the next level up is a good choice. “It’s got good color consistency, and there are a lot of retro and trendy patterns available,” says Dani Polidor, an interior designer and owner of Suite Artistry, and a REALTOR® in Pittsford, N.Y.
New laminate counter technology offers scratch resistance, textured surfaces, and patterns that mimic real wood and stone. “There are even self-repairing nano-technologies embedded in some laminates,” says Polidor, “and others have antimicrobial properties.”
For an average 10-by-20-foot kitchen, the next-level-up laminate will cost about $3,000, Polidor estimates, and those super cool technology options add another $200 to $300. For durability and longer life, the investment is well worth it.
You spend all day stepping on your floor, so quality really matters. At the lower price point, about $2.50 per square foot, the cheapest sheet vinyl floorings tend to be thin.
“If your vinyl floor is glued down and the underlayment gets delaminated, say, by water seeping from your dishwasher or refrigerator, you’ll get bubbles in your floor,” Holloway warns.
Compare that with luxury vinyl tile (LVT) that costs about $5 per square foot.
It’s still usually glued down, but it’s a little more forgiving than its less classy cousin — and it can come in tiles, which you can grout so they mimic the look of higher-end stone, Polidor says.
Holloway suggests staying away from lower-end thermofoil cabinet fronts. What is thermofoil? Contrary to its name, there’s no foil or any metal-type material in it. It’s actually vinyl, which is heated and molded around fiberboard. If the cabinet is white and the price is waaaaay affordable compared with other cabinets, think twice. Cheaper thermofoil has three critical issues:
1. It’s not heat resistant. If near a dishwasher or oven, it could delaminate.
2. It can warp and yellow with age, revealing its cheapness.
3. The “wood” underneath the thermofoil is also poor quality and won’t hold up over time.
But just like with plastic laminate, science has made great strides, and now there are a host of new cabinets that are remaking thermofoil’s reputation. “New European laminates have become all the rage for the clean-lined, flat-panel look,” Polidor says. “It’s budget-friendly and can look like wood or high gloss. It’s not your grandmother’s thermofoil.”
And it doesn’t come at grandma’s prices, either. But still, the new thermofoil is much more affordable than custom cabinets, and still satisfies with its rich look and durability.
A nice shine can be eye-catching. And spendy. About 20 layers of lacquer go on a cabinet for the high-gloss look. Ding it or scratch it, and it’s costly to repair.
“It’s a multi-step process for repairing them,” Polidor says. A better option for the same look is high-end thermofoil (see? We said there were good thermofoil options!).
Thermofoil has a finish that’s fused to the cabinet and baked on for a more durable exterior. And it’s way more budget-friendly, too. High-gloss can be in the thousands of dollars, whereas thermofoil can be in the hundreds or dollars.
Flat paint has that sophisticated, velvety, rich look we all love.
But keep it in the bedroom.
It’s not KF (kitchen-friendly). Flat paint, also known as matte paint, has durability issues. It’s unstable. Try to wipe off one splatter of chili sauce, and you’ve ruined the paint job.
About the only place to use flat paint in your kitchen is on the ceiling (unless, of course, you have a reputation for blender or pressure-cooker accidents that reach to the ceiling, then we suggest takeout).
Instead, you want to use high-gloss or semi-gloss paint on your walls. They can stand up to multiple scrubbings before breaking down.
Tastes change. So avoid super trendy colors and materials when it comes to permanently adhering something to your kitchen walls. Backsplashes come in glass, metal, iridescent, and high-relief decor tiles, which are undoubtedly fun and tempting. They can also be expensive, ranging from $5 to $220 a square foot, and difficult to install. And after all that work and expense, if (er … when) your tastes change in a few years, it’ll be mighty tough to justify a re-do.
Stick with a classic subway tile at $2 to $3 square foot. Or, even more budget friendly, choose an integrated backsplash that matches your countertop material. “If you want pops of color, do it with accessories,” Polidor suggests.
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
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