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’Tis the Season for Holiday Mishaps
The holiday season is a magical time of year, filled with peace and goodwill toward men. But it also fills our homes with holiday decorations – many of which can increase the risk of fire, injury, or accident. Here’s a look at some of the most common mishaps and how to protect your home:
EIFS Has Not Significantly Impacted Our Waste Stream
Contrary to popular belief “All the expanded polystyrene foam that is thrown away in the US every year accounts for no more than 1% of the volume of land fill garbage.” The actual amount is 0.6%. Paper actually fills 30% of the volume of our landfills and food 15%. This fact that EPS is only 0.6% perhaps needs to be tempered a bit: Many of those older buildings that have come on-line since EIFS was brought to the US in 1969, have not reached their useful end as of yet and as such have not made it to the waste stream. That’s pretty astonishing considering most of EIFS’ detractors would have you believe that EIFS is no a durable or long lasting product.
The fact of the matter is that as that issue may present itself, technology has come up with a solution for the volume of space EPS can take up in our landfills. A European company, Purex International, has developed a process called Styromelt which involves putting the discarded EPS between two temperature controlled platens (think of two irons on either side). The EPS is heated to a melting point forming a dense resin that when cooled, effectively reduces the EPS volume by 95%. This process is now being used in Europe. It is unaffected by food or other contaminants. The thermally condensed blocks can be used for myriad of products including green diesel and propane.
DIY Concrete Tombstones For Halloween
With Halloween right around the corner, what would be more fun than creating your own tombstone decorations out of rapid set cement? Here is a quick tutorial:
First lets start with supplies:
- Rapid Set Cement All
- 11″ x 17″ baking pan
- Dust Mask
- Screw driver
- WD-40
or similar
- Mix your cement according to the directions on the package.
- Spray your pan with WD-40, this will keep the cement from sticking.
- Pour the cement mix into the pan.
- Wait about 15 minutes for the cement to start to set, then using the screwdriver start carving in the words you’d like to have on your tombstone.
- Once the cement is completely dried, maybe overnight, slide your tombstone out of the pan.
- Decorate! You’re now ready to place your tombstone.
You can made several of these and create your own spooky cemetery. Happy Halloween!
10 Tips to Increase Your Home’s Value
People make upgrades to their home for many reasons, just to name a few: It’s a new home and they want to put their personal touch on it. They have lived there a while and some upgrades would be nice for aesthetics or better use of a space. Or their house is getting ready to go on the market and a few upgrades would be more appealing to potential buyers. One perk for most upgrades to your home is it’s increase in value. Here are a few tips to help get the most bang for your buck:
Plan your remodel.
Remodels go more smoothly when done intentionally, with a plan instead of on a whim. Start slowly, it’s not a sprint. List the things you want to change and the updates you would like to make. Take the list and categorize by how much it may cost, including your time and money. Be realistic, take a look and prioritize what is a real “must have” and what is more of a dream. See if you can come away with a reasonable balance. If you’re planning on selling, talk to your realtor and make a selling plan and see what sort of return those improvements may bring. Some improvements will add considerably more value to your home than others.
Tackle one room at a time.
Make the commitment to tackle one room at a time. Whether it’s a simple coat of paint or knocking down a wall, by tackling one room at a time you keep projects achievable. If you set out to paint a living room wall on Saturday and you know what it will cost in time and money, it gets done. By the end of the day, you have a stylish upgrade that will add value to your home.
Small improvements can really pay off.
Everyone loves a beautiful new kitchen or bathroom. However, those are large projects that are a huge to tackle. Several smaller projects like replacing outlet covers, fresh paint, or updating plumbing fixtures can add up to make a big difference in the end.
Curb appeal counts.
Does the outside of your home look attractive, welcoming and structurally sound at first glance? You may feel your exterior needs an upgrade. Some things to note is the flow of your front or back yard and structural appearance. Does your home need new paint or stucco repair. Also, climate appropriate plants, clean and neat flower beds, and some brick pavers can go a long way.
Hire a certified home inspector.
5 Tips On Remodeling Your New Midcentury House
If you are new to your old house. Here are some tips to consider before jumping into those projects!
- Environmental and safety issues come first. Vintage houses can contain vintage nastiness such as lead, asbestos, and more. Get informed and be aware about the environmental & safety hazards in old homes, materials and products. #1 RULE: Consult with your own properly licensed professionals.
- “Test” contractors on small projects first. It may take a few smallish projects to find a contractor that you can work with very effectively on the most costly projects.
- Get a subscription to Consumer Reports. When you are in spending cash like this, your head will spin. Consumer Reports is known to be an unbiased resource out there to do testing to try and really triangulate to “value” delivered by available products. They are a not-for-profit entity, and they don’t take products from manufacturers – they buy their test products in the store.
- If you are new to your old house — go slow. Before you proceed thinking you need to gut remodel the kitchen or bathroom(s), for instance, get to know these rooms super well. Live in your house to get to know its flow and how it works for you and your family. This includes getting a rich, deep understanding of whether there is a real need to alter the architecture. During this time, you’ll also be able to study up on your home’s original style and features. By waiting and exploring (rather than quickly changing) you’ll also have time to explore your “Retro Style” — because there’s way more than one way to retro.
- Focus first on the functional fundamentals. Figure out what should be done all at once – plumbing, electrical, and insulation – for the whole house and what can wait. Get qualified and licensed professionals to look over your infrastructure (plumbing, electrical, etc.) to alert you of hazards as well as things that will need to be brought up to code. Those things can affect the changes you make (and the cost) and you should know those things can affect your remodeling plans, particularly if you do need to go ahead and fix something.
Outstanding job
Reviewed on Customer Lobby
“I rate Worldgate Plaster & Stucco Co. as outstanding. They gave me a call a few days before they were coming, turned up on time, and just got on with the job. Their workmen were excellent and worked hard, and everything that was on the invoice was done. They cleaned and patched the stucco, and also did painting–and the finished product is excellent. We had a very positive experience with the company. What impressed me the most were the professional results that are extremely good.”
Henry S.
Reston, VA
07/21/2016
Did You Know… EIFS Is Not Wasteful of Natural Resources
The common pitfall that may seem to fall into is the fact that because the insulation board used in EIFS is derived from fossil fuels, it should be exempt from being specified. The truth of the matter is that EPS production accounts for only .002 percent of the world’s production of oil.
And it has been determined that one pound of EPS used as insulation will actually save 48 gallons of oil in a 50 year period of time. This significant in terms of preserving those resources.
Another little known fact about EPS is that it uses 30 percent less energy to make tan paper products. Think about that the next time you throw away your junk mail or run out to get the Sunday paper.
Tell Us About Your Experience
We love hearing from our customers and wouldn’t want to miss the chance to improve our services. The process is simple and it only takes a few minutes of your time. Click Here to leave a review in Customer Lobby for Worldgate Plaster & Stucco and tell us a little bit about your experience. We would appreciate your feedback!
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Our Service Area
Worldgate Plaster & Stucco proudly services Northern VA and the surrounding area.
- Fairfax County, VA
- Loudoun County, VA
- Prince William County, VA
- Montgomery County, MD