Home Security Essentials for the Winter Months

The DIY Doctor's Blog
The DIY Doctor's Blog - DIY and Home Improvement Hints, Tips, Help and Advice from The DIY Doctor

Ensuring your family and your home are safe and secure is always a top consideration, but during the winter months, this can become a trickier undertaking. With Autumn and Winter inevitably comes shorter days and longer, darker nights and this can give thieves and others with less social and moral fibre even more opportunity to Read on...

Home Security Essentials for the Winter Months

from The DIY Doctor's Blog http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/blog/2016/12/winter-month-security/

Top Tips to Solve Damp Problems in Your Home

Building pathology has established that damp, if not treated, can damage the structural integrity of your home. Damp has two main forms:penetrating damp, where the water leaks, or seeps through the walls, and rising damp,where the water in the ground passes through the damp proof course of your house and enters the lower parts of the walls.

There are some things you can do as a home owner to get rid of damp and mould, but in the most serious cases, work may need to be done by professional builders to rectify the problem.In this article, we share some tips for getting rid of damping your home. 

Damp Problem

 This picture is taken by Tim Gillin, dated 29 August, 2007 

 

Penetrating damp

If the damp or wet patches on the walls are higher than 5 feet, then your outside walls have lost their weatherproofing qualities. Inside, the room probably has a stale, musty smell and your curtains, furnishings and some clothes may feel damp and also smell.

Your outside walls will probably be cracked, the render may have come away from the walls and the paint will be flaking. This is the reason why you have damp inside. Damp patches can often be found behind furniture, at the back of wardrobes, and where the paintwork is flaking away or has become powdery.

The best way to cure penetrating damp is to apply a damp-proof exterior wall coating.

Rising damp

Rising damp normally happens if the damp proof course is not doing its job or there isn’t one. It can also be caused by air bricks that are blocked so that air cannot pass through, or if muddy water has collected up against the walls of the house and breached the damp proof course. Using a shovel, move the mud away from the walls and make sure it does not build up again.

Builders can fix a faulty or missing damp proof course by injecting a special chemical compound into the low sections of the walls. They inject into drilled holes along the wall that are around 5 inches apart.The chemical dissipates around the damp proof course level, settles inside and becomes a barrier that prevents moisture from penetrating the walls.

 

Damp problem in Home

Ventilation is crucial

Mould spores don’t like fresh air, so even if it’s cold outside, start by getting some fresh air into your house.If your bathroom has mould, this means the ventilation is poor so you should open the windows after having a bath or a shower. This allows the wet, damp air to dissipate in the air rather than condense on the colder wall tiles and the ceiling.If your bathroom windows have trickle vents, then make sure they’re open.

This picture is taken by Bryn Pinzgaue. This plasterboard got a lot of damp and mould problems. 

Mould cleaners

Buy the very best mould cleaning liquids that are available on the market and clean the areas of mould thoroughly. Many people think that using a mixture of bleach and water is a good idea. This is fine for bathroom or kitchen tiles but using bleach on a porous surface like a brick or a drywall only removes the discoloration and not the mould itself – instead, use a mould cleaner.

Buy or rent a dehumidifier

Using a humidifier is a short-term solution for getting rid of moisture and damp in the air, inside your house. Only use it when you’ve had work done to stop the cause of existing damp. Humidifiers can be rented at reasonable prices or you can buy your own.

 

Damp problems in Home

New fabrics and clothes

If your home has suffered from penetrating damp or rising damp, then it’s very likely that your carpets, soft furnishings and bedding will have a dreadful musty smell and feel cold and damp to the touch.Damp and moisture eat away at the fibres in fabric and cause the awful smell that’s practically impossible to get rid of, so it’s probably best to replace these items with new ones.

Seal tiles and regrout

Mould growing in bathrooms, wet rooms, utility rooms and kitchens is a very common problem in homes in the UK. Mould spores are dangerous and can cause illness if they’re inhaled. Bathing and showering produces a combination of humidity and moisture which normally evaporates into the air if there’s good air circulation in the room. But if there’s no air because the windows are closed, then water will settle on the cold wall tiles, walls and ceilings and mould will start to grow … and once started, mould and mildew can grow at a very rapid rate.

To prevent this happening you should spray the walls with a dedicated antimicrobial solution, then seal the grout lines of the tiles with two coats of grout sealer. Thereafter, make sure the bathroom has a good flow of air, in and out. 

Written by Dakota Murphey, a freelance writer working alongside Hutton and Rostron for information for this article.

from Home My Heaven:Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/12/top-tips-to-solve-damp-problems-in-your.html

Home Burglar Alarms of the Future

The security industry is ever-changing, with new security solutions being constantly developed to combat intruders and to make your home as secure and protected as possible.

As technology becomes more and more advanced, home security has the opportunity to become even more sophisticated. While the systems we have in place right now seem comprehensive, robust and reliable, the future of home security looks to take things to another level, so take a peek into the future to see how your home burglary system might one day function.

Name and shame

Identification can be the trickiest part of any crime, but burglars may soon be forced to live with less anonymity. It is predicted that, by 2025, home burglar alarms will be able to identify intruders and address known criminals by their own name.

Thieves, especially opportunistic ones, aim to remain undetected and unidentifiable, but that is getting harder and harder to accomplish. Smart systems will be able to pick up on intruders and warn them verbally that they are being recorded and that authorities are on their way. This makes it much likelier that intruders will leave empty handed, and makes capture and identification more likely, as well.

Facial recognition

Known criminals and repeat offenders will find it tougher to carry out burglaries, with hidden cameras armed with facial recognition software to trigger an alarm when an intruder has been spotted. These cameras won’t just be limited to the home, either. With prevention being key to security, these cameras could be installed on the streets to catch a criminal’s presence before any crime has taken place. Soon, it won’t just be your home that’s protected, but the whole wider neighbourhood!

Chemical marking

With intruders having more reason to give up and flee during a burglary attempt, it’s important to have some way of identifying culprits so they can be caught and brought to justice before they try again elsewhere. Alarm systems of tomorrow may involve some form of chemical marking, where criminals are sprayed with an indelible chemical substance as they attempt a break-in.

These sprays could be hidden in the garden or on the property perimeter, and will spray the offender as they are trying to gain access to your property. These markers will be impossible to remove, making it much easier for the police – or passersby – to identify and apprehend suspects.

Drone assistance

Should an intruder manage to abscond with any of your belongings, that doesn’t mean they are home-free and clear of capture. Home security systems of the future could allow instant action through the use of roof-mounted drones.

These drones will become active when the alarm has sounded, and can be controlled remotely by your security company to give chase to the escaping criminal. These drones will help keep track of the thief, keeping them in sight until the police can take over, and may also be equipped with the same chemicals that we mentioned before. The pilot can spray the chemicals to keep the burglar marked, making it easier to find and identify later should they manage to evade.

While the drones will be low flying, they will be able to provide a more intimate view of the criminal’s escape route, allowing you to follow them into areas that may be much harder on foot. Keeping track of a suspect means being able to apprehend them quickly, and drones can keep criminals in sight in order to keep the police informed of the suspect’s whereabouts.

The future of deterrence

With home burglaries, prevention is always the best cure. Home security systems today act as effective deterrents, but this can only improve as future security systems are developed. The systems outlined in this article should make any home intrusion almost impossible to pull off successfully, and much of this will be down to the deterrence factor. Criminals will be aware of new technologies and techniques, and will definitely think twice before trying to gain access to any home protected by drones, marking spray and facial recognition.

Homes and neighbourhoods of the future will be more advanced and even more secure than they are today, and there’s even potential for home security systems to be linked, sharing information with each other in order to create a robust, linked system which can warn each other of potential threats, and share details of suspicious individuals to keep everyone informed and protected at all times.

The post Home Burglar Alarms of the Future appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/home-burglar-alarms-of-the-future/

How Healthy Is Your Home Improvement?

You have to be careful about health risks of Home Improvement/DIY works, especially when there is asbestos. Mesothelioma is a rare and dangerous form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. In 2013 about 50,000 people had mesothelioma and 34,000 died from the disease. Rates are higher is United kingdom, Australia and much lower in Japan. Commercial use of asbestos increased the rate significantly. You can visit this link of mesothelioma claims to know more about it.

This informative inforaphic is made by Slater and Gordon.Click on the image to see large.

from Home My Heaven:Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/12/how-healthy-is-your-home-improvement.html

How to Paint Metal and Metallic Objects and get a Great Finish

The DIY Doctor's Blog
The DIY Doctor's Blog - DIY and Home Improvement Hints, Tips, Help and Advice from The DIY Doctor

Typically, painting in the DIY sense usually involves painting walls, skirting boards, cupboards and other household objects, but when it comes to painting metal and metallic objects, the steps involved in getting a good finish can be a little more involved. Firstly, there are quite a few different types of paint that can be used Read on...

How to Paint Metal and Metallic Objects and get a Great Finish

from The DIY Doctor's Blog http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/blog/2016/12/painting-metal/

How to Protect Your Hardwood Flooring from Sun Damage

How to Protect Your Hardwood Flooring from Sun Damage

Few things are more beautiful than a well-laid, brand-new hardwood floor made of the finest oak, maple, birch or other wood. A hardwood floor can last a very long time, and there are still homes from the Colonial era that have their original floors. But as it is with so many other things in the home, direct sunlight is a hardwood floor’s enemy. How can a homeowner protect their beautiful and pricey hardwood floor from the sun?

Hardwood flooring

Why the Sun Causes Damage in the First Place

Sunlight on a new floor is pretty, but over time a homeowner will notice that the wood’s rich color starts to fade or sometimes darken in ways the homeowner doesn’t care for. This effect is even more unpleasant if it only happens to a part of the floor that’s not covered by a rug or furniture. The planks or tiles may even dry out and crack. This is due to the different types of light the sun delivers into the house. Ultraviolet light causes discoloration. Infrared light is experienced as heat and that heat can cause the wood to deteriorate. Even a floor that’s sealed will have trouble surviving the ravages of a lot of ultraviolet and infrared light working together.

First Solution

The first and probably best solution is to install the hardwood flooring in a place that gets little direct sunlight. This can be a hallway or a room whose windows face north. But many homeowners want to enjoy a room with both a hardwood floor and lots of natural light. In that case they can:

Install Windows With Low-E Glass

Low-E means low emissivity. This type of glass cuts down on the amount of infrared and ultraviolet light that gets into a room without cutting down on visible light. Low-e glass has an extremely thin coat of silver or other low emissivity substance and limits the damaging ultraviolet and infrared rays that hardwood floors can be exposed to. Films that do the same thing as low-emissivity glass can be directly applied to the windows and cost considerably less.

Move the Furnishings Around

It may be a good idea to rearrange the furniture and area rugs in a room to make sure that all areas of the floor get the same amount of sunlight. If the wood has to fade, it should all fade to the same color. If this is not

possible -

Cover the Windows

Curtains, drapes, shutters and Venetian blinds can all be employed to keep the hardwood floors from sun damage. If the homeowner can’t stand to live in a house where the windows are covered all day long, they can be covered when the sun is at its strongest. This is usually between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Some of the newer blinds or shutters are motorized and come with a timer. Because they open and shut or rise and fall by themselves, the homeowner doesn’t even have to bother with them twice a day.

Install Awnings

Awnings add a touch of elegance to the exterior of a house, and they have the benefit of stopping the UV and infrared rays before they even come in through the windows. Awnings can come in a wealth of styles and materials that complement the house. They can be stationary or retractable.

Refinish the Floors

Floors can be refinished before the sun damage gets too severe. The one problem with refinishing hardwood floors is that it can’t be done endlessly without eventually causing more damage, and engineered wood floors tolerate even less refinishing that solid wood floors. Refinish only when necessary.

These few techniques will go a long way in keeping a hardwood floor looking its best for decades.

You can read this article about Bamboo flooring versus wood flooring. 

Bio - This guest post contribution is courtesy of MacDonaldHardwoods, a Denver-based hardwood flooring company. Macwoods has been a long-standing resource for prefinished wood flooring also offering hardwood cleaning and installation. If you're in Denver area, be sure to check out their hardwood flooring installation classes.

from Home Improvement Blog: Home My Heaven http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/12/how-to-protect-your-hardwood-flooring.html

What Drill Should I Buy my Husband/Dad/Son for Christmas? Finding the Perfect Drill for a DIY Enthusiast

The DIY Doctor's Blog
The DIY Doctor's Blog - DIY and Home Improvement Hints, Tips, Help and Advice from The DIY Doctor

You’d be amazed how often that we get this question, here at DIY Doctor. People ring, email and submit questions which all ultimately boil down to the same thing – “What Drill should I get as a gift this Christmas?” It is invariable for someone’s husband but wives, parents and children have been the luck Read on...

What Drill Should I Buy my Husband/Dad/Son for Christmas? Finding the Perfect Drill for a DIY Enthusiast

from The DIY Doctor's Blog http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/blog/2016/12/what-drill-to-buy/