Spring cleaning is upon us but the good news is that the stuff you need to spruce your house up is mostly in your house already. Everyday household items like vinegar, lemons, soft drinks, baking soda and salt can be combined to yield powerful cleaning products that don’t trigger allergies, asthma or other negative health reactions like store-bought cleaners do. Here’s a few simple ideas about how to make your own cleaning products from a […]
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October 1, 2018
As they say, winter is coming, and even as we get kids back to school and cozy up to autumn rituals, it’s important to be prepared. Many people don’t stop to take account of what we have on hand, so we don’t really think about what we might need when winter weather and other storms hit. Here are five categories of things you could need in the event of a winter storm. 1. The Necessities This […]
September 17, 2018
As evidenced by this summer’s rash of wildfires raging across America, fires are a scary phenomenon. Wildfire, in fact, is a natural phenomenon that is somewhat predictable; the U.S. Fire Administration reports that more than 1.3 million fires that aren’t due to wildfires kill more than 3,000 people each year, cause more than 15,000 injuries, and cost nearly $15 billion in losses. Let’s take a closer look. What Causes Fires? If we understand what causes fires, […]
August 20, 2018
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), there have been more than 20 “significant” earthquakes in 2018 alone including a 7.9 magnitude earthquake southeast of Kodiak, Alaska and a string of quakes up to 6.9 on Hawaii. When we talk about the “Big One,” most people envision disasters in coastal California or amid the rainy streets of Seattle, Washington, but the truth is that an earthquake can happen anywhere. Between climate change and man-made interventions […]
August 6, 2018
2017 was a bad year for flooding. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), during 2017 the United States experienced a historic year for flood and storm events, including 16 separate billion-dollar disaster events including three tropical cyclones, eight severe storms and two inland floods. The potential for flooding has never been higher since 2011’s historic flooding season. This year could be worse. To get ahead of potentially devastating floods, some homeowners are taking robust actions to protect […]
June 11, 2018
It seems like every summer we see the Western United States ravaged by wildfires, with the destruction augmented this year by an exploding volcano in Hawaii. These disasters are leading fire experts to investigate new technologies to help supplement existing efforts by fire departments to combat this growing threat. Structural engineers and other experts have been visiting burned homes, stores, and other sites in California to help brainstorm new ideas to provide next level […]
October 9, 2017
Well, summer has long since passed and we’re officially in fall. It’s the perfect time to refresh your home and give it a good once over in advance of autumn winds and wintry weather. As the seasons change, so do the needs of our homes, as well as the activities we do in and around them. It’s a good time to perform any necessary or desired maintenance in order to keep your home running smoothly. From inspecting your […]
September 25, 2017
Winter is coming, so it’s time to prepare before you land new tenants or start fielding maintenance requests from your current apartment tenants. As a landlord or property manager, you have both specific and general responsibilities when it comes to all aspects of your apartment rental properties. These responsibilities are usually explicitly discussed in a lease or rental agreement, or they may be more general agreements between you and your tenants to keep up […]
April 24, 2017
Even though much of the country is still coping with a surprisingly robust winter storm right now, others are starting to think about spring cleaning. Here in America, spring cleaning is an especially necessary custom due to much of the country being geographically located in continental and wet climates. Long before the advent of air conditioning or vacuum cleaners, March was often the best time for dusting because the weather gets warm enough to […]
April 10, 2017
When it comes to building or re-building a home, it’s easy to fall into the pitfall of underestimating the roof. It’s the part that goes on top, right? In fact, a roof is a relatively complicated structure of a home and it’s also one of the most essential ones, given that it protects your family from rain, snow, wind, falling squirrels, and so forth. Depending on the purpose of the home that it covers, […]