REPLACING ALUMINUM FRAME SINGLE PANE WINDOWS

Written by John Rocco


In our past articles i talked about allrepparttar steps required to properly replace your old wood sash windows with energy efficient vinyl windows. I told you how to measure forrepparttar 100100 new windows. Then we discussedrepparttar 100101 removal ofrepparttar 100102 wood sashes and parting bead. Finally, i told you how to install, seal, and trimrepparttar 100103 vinyl replacement windows. But, what if those old windows in your home are made of aluminum instead of wood? Isrepparttar 100104 processrepparttar 100105 same? No, it's notrepparttar 100106 same at all. So,repparttar 100107 next few articles are going to explainrepparttar 100108 differences between replacing wood windows versus aluminum windows.

When discussingrepparttar 100109 proper frame style for replacingrepparttar 100110 wood sash windows, i explainedrepparttar 100111 difference between new construction frames versus replacement frames. When replacing aluminum windows, there is another option we have to consider regarding frame style. It's called a "retrofit" frame. Let's go over each frame type. First, we haverepparttar 100112 new construction frame withrepparttar 100113 nailing fin. If you choose to go this route, you have to removerepparttar 100114 exterior around each window opening, pull outrepparttar 100115 nails holdingrepparttar 100116 aluminum window torepparttar 100117 studs, nail inrepparttar 100118 new vinyl window, apply flashing, caulk, and re-installrepparttar 100119 exterior around each window.(I get tired just talking about it!)In addition to being a whole lot of labor, you can run into major problems trying to installrepparttar 100120 exterior product around each window opening. If your home has stucco, you have to try and matchrepparttar 100121 rest ofrepparttar 100122 stucco. It can be done, but not by you. Even most professional stucco guys can't get a perfect match. What if you have wood siding? Well, you can cut away 2" ofrepparttar 100123 siding around each window to get torepparttar 100124 nail fin, then you can apply 1 X 2 or 1 X 3 trim around each window. Certainly not as much work asrepparttar 100125 stucco home, but probably more work thanrepparttar 100126 average homeowner cares to tackle. What if each window is surrounded by brick? Let's not even go there! You would have to removerepparttar 100127 bricks, then re-install them all when finished.

Preparing your Home for Showing

Written by Adem Martin del Campo


Remember that when you are preparing your home for showing to prospective buyers, you are painting a picture, no a work of art. When selling a home you are working on a person's emotions, so be sure to keep that in mind. This will berepparttar placerepparttar 100099 buyer creates new memories.

Organizing your home The first place to start is cleaning and organizing. The easiest way to tackle this is to have a plan. Organizing and removing clutter should berepparttar 100100 first task. Remove as much clutter as possible. You want to createrepparttar 100101 illusion of space without looking too sparse. If you have a buffet table with a lot of chatchkies on it, be sure to remove some of them to open uprepparttar 100102 area. If your living room is cluttered with a lot of furniture remove a few pieces. This will again giverepparttar 100103 illusion of a bigger room.

Cleaning your home Now that you have organized it is time to CLEAN. Where I like to start is withrepparttar 100104 bathrooms. Be sure to cleanrepparttar 100105 toilet bowls. This is a good indication of howrepparttar 100106 rest ofrepparttar 100107 house was maintained.

Cleanrepparttar 100108 baths and showers, removing all water stain fromrepparttar 100109 tile, and glass doors in showers. A great way to remove hard water stains on glass and tile is by using toilet bowl cleaner. The hydrogen chloride dissolvesrepparttar 100110 minerals that createrepparttar 100111 spots (learned this from doing acid washes on pools, and having to cleanrepparttar 100112 tile with toilet bowl cleaner). Some cautions about doing this, be sure to use protective rubber gloves on your hands, and do not letrepparttar 100113 solution stay on any chrome or brass metal likerepparttar 100114 fixtures. Extended exposure can removerepparttar 100115 finish fromrepparttar 100116 fixture. Simply wipe once withrepparttar 100117 bowl cleaner on a sponge to removerepparttar 100118 water spots, then quickly rinse with water for any metallic fixtures. Forrepparttar 100119 tub, shower, and tile around them, I get a bucket of hot water, and squirt some ofrepparttar 100120 bowl cleaner into it. Next I use a nylon bristle brush to scrubrepparttar 100121 tile. If you encounter a spot that is stubborn go ahead and squirt some ofrepparttar 100122 bowl cleaner directly onrepparttar 100123 spot, and scrub with your brush. Once you have scrubbedrepparttar 100124 entire area rinse with warm water. I just userepparttar 100125 removable showerhead to rinse. Next you will want to dryrepparttar 100126 entire tub and tile with a towel. After everything has had time to dry fully, I use carnauba wax for cars on allrepparttar 100127 metallic fixtures. After you apply it, let it haze, then buff with a terry cloth towel. This makes your chrome or brass really shine. The same steps can be used on your sink and faucet.

Now it is time to cleanrepparttar 100128 mirror(s). I use a dilution of Ammonia in water. Ammonia is what glass cleaners contain to remove streaks. Since you only need a little bit of ammonia it is a lot less expensive than name brand glass cleaners. Afterrepparttar 100129 mirror is dry you can userepparttar 100130 carnauba wax on it as well.

Be surerepparttar 100131 floor is clean. If it needs cleaning, I use another dilution of ammonia in hot water. The ammonia removesrepparttar 100132 oils from your feet and other bathroom grime.

Now that your bathrooms are spotless it is time for dusting, and I'm not talking with a rag.

Dusting Now when I clean I don't conform torepparttar 100133 conventional. I dustrepparttar 100134 house withrepparttar 100135 vacuum. Yes I saidrepparttar 100136 vacuum. Dusting with a rag only movesrepparttar 100137 dust. Vacuuming it gets it out ofrepparttar 100138 house. Most homeowners have a vacuum that has attachments like a brush, and an edging tool.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use