John Builds – Building Porches and Decks

Decks vs. Patios

It’s great to have a space outdoors where you can spend your leisure time. But when it comes time to get that outdoor space the question arises; should I get a deck installed or a concrete patio?

A deck should probably be your go-to solution if you’ve got uneven or sloped ground on your property, since it’s raised a little ways off the ground anyway. Wooden or vinyl decks also give your home a warm and homey look which boosts the curb appeal of your home.

Patios, on the other hand, are low-cost, low-maintenance and lasst a whole lot longer than decks. It’s also a better option of you’re looking to get a furnace or barbecue built on it. Another big pro to the patio option is that you don’t need to jump through any hoops to get permits before building one. Take a look at some beautiful patios from our friends at Concrete Contractors Binghamton NY.

In the end, the choice is yours. But hopefully this info will help you with your decision.

Windows that are good for Saving on Energy costs.

Windows are an important part of every home, especially when it comes to conserving energy and minimizing how much you spend on bills for utilities. Without energy efficient windows, you’ll end up paying more for heating or cooling your home, which pretty much no homeowner is keen on doing. In this article we’re going to go over a few types of windows that are more energy efficient than others.

The first type of window is the multiple-pane window. Single-pane windows allow much more heat to escape and cold to enter, whereas windows with double or triple panes work as better insulation for your home. They’ll keep it warmer in the winter without having to blast the heating and cooler in the summer without ne need to turn the air conditioning all the way up.

Another type of energy saving window is the gas-filled window. This is also a multiple-paned window, only this type of window is filled with gas in between the panes. This gas acts as a shield against outside temperatures. The two most usual gas types are krypton and argon. With gas-filled windows you’ll have that extra layer of protection from heat in the summer and cold in the winter.

One more type of energy efficient window you can get uses a special type of glass called low-E glass. This glass has a special coating which helps the heat stay in and the cold stay out in the winter and works the other way around in the summer.

Sealing your windows properly will also work wonders. With properly sealed windows you can avoid drafts and wafts of cold wind seeping into your home. You can use glass putty or silicone to seal up the borders of your windows that are letting cold air into you house. If you’re familiar with doing this type of procedure you can even do it by yourself, although for the majority of homeowners they’ll want to call a professional to do it for them. It’s not a complicated procedure and shouldn’t cost too much.

With these tips you’ll be able to keep your home at a pleasant temperature all year around and not have to spend a whole bunch of money on heating and cooling.

Tale of Two Decks

Seal your wood deck to prevent water damage, illustrated in this extremely bizarre tale:

Once upon a time there was a man named Fibbage, and he had a spectacular house. Nobody else thought it was spectacular, but to him there was no finer place a human could live. He had it all! Rooms, walls, spiders, windows and a roof. But most importantly, he had a large hardwood deck stretching out onto his lawn. His backyard wasn’t exactly big, and the deck took up almost the whole thing. But that didn’t matter to Fibbage, no sirree. He was proud of his deck, and could proudly say that he had a bigger deck than all his neighbors.

But living right next to him was a woman named Bellafontaine. Now Bellafontaine lived in a place she considered to be an absolute dump. It had a measly 4 floors, with naught but 3 bathrooms on each. Her swimming pool was BARELY long enough to do a decent, full-length, professional lap, and her kitchen kept asking her irritating questions like “what do you want to eat for dinner?” But the thing that got under Fibbage’s skin the most about her place, was her tiny little deck.

Bellafontaine’s house was, as you can imagine, extravagant. However, barely protruding out of the back of her house, onto her vast backyard lawn, was what Fibbage would hardly tolerate calling a deck. It was made of the same hardwood that Mr. Fibbage’s was made of, only this one only had space for two chairs and a coffee table. Mr. Fibbage would stay up at night talking to his spiders and trying to rationalize why on earth someone could be satisfied with such a measly and disgusting little deck. I mean, how could a deck like that please anyone? That must’ve been the silliest looking deck the man had ever seen.

One night he decided that he’d put up with Bellafontaine’s sneaky shenanigans for long enough. He went to his living room shed and picked out his old rusty axe and barged outside. He made his way over the fence and straight toward that pathetic little abomination she dared to call a deck. How DARE she?!

But as he raised his axe, he heard a voice behind him.

“If you want him, you’ll have to take me too,” said the swimming pool.

“Mind your own business,” snapped Fibbage to the swimming pool. “This is between me and this tiny little deck!”

“Very well, then,” said the swimming pool.

Water rushed out, across the yard, past the fence and poured all over Fibbage’s majestic hardwood deck. Fibbage’s eyes widened.

“Nooooo!” he cried.

But it was too late. He’d forgotten to put a layer of water resistant sealant on it, and his dear deck had bulged and soaked up all the water. It was as good as done.

Mister Fibbage learned a valuable lesson that day. Or something.

What to look for in a good house painter

Getting out and tackling the painting of your own house can be a real pain in the neck. It takes up a lot of time, and if you’ve never done it before, there are a lot of ways it could go wrong. Painting houses properly takes skill, experience, the ability to use the right techniques and a good eye for symmetry. Whether you’re just going to paint a single room in your house or you want to paint the entire exterior of your house, hiring a professional is definitely a smart move on many fronts.

When looking for the right painting company to hire for work on your house, first look to your family and friends to see if they’ve got any good recommendations. Very often there will be someone who’s done work on one of their places and they’ll be able to quickly refer you to them so they can get started on your home. They’ll also give you a “head’s up” if they’ve had a bad experience with any specific companies so you know not to go back there.

Take a look at some reviews on the internet and see what people say about a few different companies. Read all the reviews to get a bigger picture about their skills and see what’s what. You can often see how professional and how serious a company is about doing a good job through the reviews people leave.

Try and meet the people who will be working on your house so you can see if you can entrust them with working on your home. Painting companies in Boston will often do estimates on site, and if they immediately give you an estimate without even coming out then you might want to avoid working with that company. Also pay attention to how they carry out the estimate. If they just glance at the house for a second and don’t pay any attention to details then you might want to rethink working with them. Get someone who pays attention to details and notices little things. Those are the kinds of companies that do the best jobs.

Old Wooden Windows

Windows come in all shapes and sizes. Round, square, rectangle, long, tall, wide, short, made of all different materials. But today we’re going to be talking about wooden windows, particularly old ones.

If you’ve got old wooden windows, there’s a high possibility that you’ve got some issues with them. Old wood windows tend to rot, let a lot of draft in, get stuck and be generally uncooperative. A lot of people find that their old windows give them some kind of emotional attachment, and they feel like they don’t want to replace them. But let me tell you what, that’s probably exactly what you need to do. Getting new windows put in will fix a lot of these problems.

First off, it’s a good investment in your property. Putting in new windows raises the value of your home, and if you’re planning on renting it out or selling down the line, this is one good step to improve your home.

The fact that your new windows will solve your draft problem makes the decision even more of a no-brainer, since you’ll be saving on energy spent for heating and cooling. This is not only a money saver, but it’s good for the environment too. Getting new windows put in properly is actually the “green” option.

Not to mention new windows will improve the overall look of your house. When getting new windows put in, you can choose the type, color and style of your new windows, allowing you to customize your home and making it suit you even better than before.

However, if you really want to keep your old wood windows, there is another option. A good window repair service can fix up and provide wood window repair services, seal up any drafts, enabling you to keep your old windows fully restored for many more years.

Windows are an important feature of your house. They’ve even been called the “eyes” of the house. So if your windows are acting up or giving you problems, get a professional to give them a look and tell you if you need to get them completely replaced, or if they can possibly be salvaged.

Either way, you’ll be doing your home a favor!