Flooding - Keeping thoses gutters and drains clear
Every spring, a flooded or overflowing drain can cause puddles or even flooding in your home. Here is some information on keeping these gutters and drains clear.
When it comes to keeping these gutters and drains clean, the rain doesn't do all the work. You can help your drainage system run more smoothly by doing a few things:
- Using a plunger to get any gunk out of the pipes
- Having garden hoses handy for cleaning out the gutters when they're covered with leaves, twigs, or dirt
- Running an extension cord from your garage to flush leaves and other debris down an outside drain so that they don't get swept into your basement by rainwater.
How to avoid a flooded basement
Sometimes basements get flooded when water gets into the foundation. Here are some things to think about:
- Step one: Make sure your sump pump is in good working condition. If you have a warranty on it, you should be able to have it fixed or replaced at no cost. You may want to check with your insurance agent to see if he or she recommends having it inspected or replaced. If your insurance won't cover the repairs, consider getting another quote from a contractor so that you can compare prices and see who has the best deal for you.
- Step two: Once you've found a contractor, ask if he or she will come out and give you an estimate before digging down into your basement. This will help you understand how much money the job will cost, especially if you're doing it yourself.
- Step three: If your basement is already getting damp, you need to add insulation to the walls and ceiling so that it won't leak moisture into your home.
- Step four: If the basement was built with concrete walls and not finished with plaster or drywall, add insulation. This will help make your basement more energy efficient and help you save on your heating and cooling bills.
Knowing how to prevent a flooded basement will help you keep out of the insurance claims department. Check with your insurance agent about what you should do before it's too late, so that you can avoid paying for water damage unexpectedly.
Suggested article: http://www.floods-service-drainage.com/how_to_stop_a_basement_flooding.html#ixzz3pf7T5xmB [ARTICLE END]
Written by Jim Litterman (USA). This article is offered under Creative Commons license 4.0 (CC-BY). You may copy, distribute and/or transmit this article for non-commercial purposes as long as you attributed the author by using appropriate canons on citational citation.
This blog entry is the result of a series of Google Hangouts that I had with my daughters in which we discussed various freecycle and thrift store items. They and their husbands can help us clear out our house of extra stuff and put things to good use! They also have suggestions on how to organize our closets, garage, basement (I'll be sure to post some pictures of their basement since they are so organized!), nursery (a different kind of organized but still pretty!), the laundry room, etc.
Our next project should happen this summer – organizing our garage and basement! I'm happy I can inspire my girls to get together with me to clear out our house. We can work as a team and have fun together in the process!
One of the things that we'll be doing is talking about how much things are worth. Our local thrift store has a price book that they use when they sell things at the store. You fill out information such as when you bought it, where you bought it, if it's used or new, condition of item, etc. Then when you go to sell something at the store, they take an average of what others have listed for your item. This is very helpful if you haven't used the item in recent memory.
I see some great value books here on Amazon so we may purchase one to help us when deciding what our items are worth. A professional appraiser should evaluate something that's expensive, eg, jewelry or art but for the little things that we're getting rid of, I'd like to have an idea of how much they're worth so we can get better prices for them at the thrift store.
This quick blog entry is the result of a series of Google Hangouts that I had with my daughters in which we discussed various freecycle and thrift store items. They and their husbands can help us clear out our house of extra stuff and put things to good use! They also have suggestions on how to organize our closets, garage, basement (I'll be sure to post some pictures of their basement since they are so organized!), nursery (a different kind of organized but still pretty!), the laundry room, etc.
Our next project should happen this summer – organizing our garage and basement! I'm happy I can inspire my girls to get together with me to clear out our house. We can work as a team and have fun together in the process!
Dealing with people who refuse to help out
You could try the following things:
- preparing an inventory of all the stuff you have that needs to be done (and get their opinion);
- explaining that when we are done, your place will be neat and organized, so if you don't want to do this, consider selling it yourself or renting it out;
- allowing them limited access to your home, but keep a log of any damage they caused -- you might need proof for insurance or something.
- if you're going to be at your home, make sure they actually clean up after themselves;
- if it's someone you know well, have a friend invite them over so they can see that your home looks great after their point of view and see the kind of work you spent time on. This would also help you to know if they have any good ideas to help keep your home organized.
This quick blog entry is the result of a series of Google Hangouts that I had with my daughters in which we discussed various freecycle and thrift store items.
Conclusion: I want to be able to inspire my girls to get together with me to clear out our house. We can work as a team and have fun together in the process!
One of the things that we'll be doing is talking about how much things are worth. Our local thrift store has a price book that they use when they sell things at the store. You fill out information such as when you bought it, where you bought it, if it's used or new, condition of item, etc. Then when you go to sell something at the store, they take an average of what others have listed for your item. This is very helpful if you haven't used the item in recent memory.