The Environmental Protection Agency oversees some aspects of the repair and renovation world. One of the factors that they are interested in is lead based paints. Going back to 1978 and before, many contractors, painters and even do-it-yourselfers used lead-based paints in and around their homes and businesses. Since then it has been discovered that lead based paints can be harmful to people and animals. As the paint gets old or is sanded down, the paint chips that result can be dangerous.

In order to combat this danger, the EPA has come up with a standard for contractors and handymen to follow. They have a Renovation, Repair and Painting Certification for professionals such as ourselves. This certification ensures that professionals take necessary precautions when sanding, cutting, or performing demolition work on a property that contains lead-based paint. These work standards ensure that Certified Companies properly approach the project with safety in mind. The work area must be properly contained, any dust or lead paint covered debris must be minimized and after the work is finished a proper clean up job must be performed.

Handyman Connection of Tampa Bay has taken the time to become certified. It lets all of our customers know that we are committed to quality and safety. Working around lead-based paint can be dangerous, it takes craftsmen that really know how to properly remove and dispose of the old paint to safely get the job done. This certification is just one more reason that The Handyman Connection of Tampa Bay is a go-to source for renovation or repair work n the Tampa Bay area.

Over time houses settle and some of the materials used to build them can warp or break. Sometimes when this happens, your house ends up being exposed. It is exposed because as the materials warp, they no longer seal the house. When a building is not sealed, it becomes vulnerable to weather and even rodents.

Keep the Elements Out

Keeping the weather out is an important aspect of a sealed house. If rain enters a building through places that should be sealed, it can cause damage. Rain can affect wood by soaking in and causing it to rot. In other cases the water can accumulate and cause mold to form. When wood beams that support your house rot or mold develops in an out-of-sight area, you are in for an expensive repair or cleaning bill. You can avoid such a bill by simply making sure that basic maintenance is performed.

An unsealed house can let in more weather than just rain. The air that comes into an unsealed house can drive your electric bill through the roof. Summer temperatures in Tampa require constant air conditioning. You do not want your AC to have to work harder just because you have not made sure that your house is properly sealed.

Stop the Invasion

Another possible problem that can arise with an unsealed house is unwanted guests. Rodents looking for places to nest can easily find their way into an attic through unsealed areas in the roof or around the foundation. Once inside, they can nest and reproduce at an alarming rate. Before long a small number of rats that take refuge in your attic can continually breed until you are living below a colony with several dozen rodents.

Meanwhile, even smaller invaders—such as ants, roaches, and other insects—can also find their way into your home. Getting rid of all these critters may require assistance from an experienced exterminator.

Seal it Right the First Time

In order to avoid any of these expensive and even unsanitary circumstances, you should have your home sealed. A professional knows exactly where to look to find places where weather and rodents might enter your home. They will check places like:

• Around doors
• Around the foundation of the home
• Around corners
• Near gutters (Soffits and fascia hold up gutters and contribute to sealing your house, so making sure that these overlooked pieces of your home are intact is very beneficial.)
• Around chimneys or pipes that provide ventilation
• Around windows

If open spaces are found after a home inspection, they must be sealed. Sometimes they can be sealed easily with caulk. In other instances you will need to put more effort into the project. Gutters, soffits, fascia and other parts of the structure may need to be replaced. If your house is not sealed, it is very important to address the problem. Once problems begin to arise, they will certainly grow. Ultimately you will likely have a much larger home repair job on your hands. It may be helpful to think about it like this. If you have to spend money on your house, you would probably prefer to spend it on a renovation, like putting in a new kitchen, than on fixing something that broken due to lack of diligence.

Sources:

Check This House.com

Center for Disease Control

HGTV

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Living in the Sunshine State means that you very well may have a room in your house that falls somewhere between an actual room and an overstated screened in porch. The Florida weather makes having one of these rooms that’s not quite inside, yet still not outside, a feasible possibility. A lot of the construction in Tampa, or even surrounding areas likes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, has this addition built on to it. In other cases you might be living in a house that originally had a porch that has since been enclosed or extended. Whatever your scenario, the name for this area of the house is a Florida room. As homes get older and need renovations or as homeowners look to add some value to their properties, these rooms often become a focal point.

The problem with most Florida rooms is that they are not entirely sealed. They may be screened in, or even surrounded by older unsealed windows, but they don’t keep heat out. This might have been acceptable in the 1950’s but let’s face it, today we like to be able to control the temperature. No one wants to sit in a Florida room in July or during one of our colder Februaries. So what do you do with this space? The way we see it, there are two viable options: seal it in as if it were a room but leave screened windows for the pleasant months, or focus on the outside and convert it into a glass room.

In either case, it is a pretty big job so you are going to want someone who is really handy around to oversee the process.

The Glass Room

Glass rooms can be great. You get to combine natural sunlight with controlled temperatures. They are great places to keep plants or even to set up a table for impromptu meals in the sun. You will only need lights at night time, and they can make for enjoyable places to read or relax. So long as you use storm proof glass you will not have to worry yourself much about storms breaking the glass (but we do not recommend taking refuge in this room during a storm). Let’s run down the pros and cons of a sun room really quickly.

Pros

• Natural light
• Aesthetic value
• Type of living space not every house has
• Great place to keep plants or an herb garden

Cons

• Lack of insulation will increase cooling/heating bills
• Fully glassed in rooms do not have a roof to provide shade
• Monetary costs of converting to a sun room could be high

Seal in a Screened Room

This option is one that many homeowners choose. In essence a Florida Room already has a foundation and a roof. Sealing in the exterior walls modernizes the Florida room and makes it more likely to be used. You can put a significant amount of windows to mimic the outside feel of a glass sun room but it won’t have the same feel. The trade off of course is the extra usable space. Consider the pros and cons of this choice.

Pros

• Extra living space (if it is insulated you can add it to the square footage of your house at resale).
• Ability to open windows if you do want fresh air
• Cooling/heating costs are less than a sun room

Cons

· The construction time may last longer as insulation and new walls may be needed.

· You do not get as open a feel as a sun room.

In the end it comes down to personal preference. If you need a room purely for enjoyment, you may choose the glass room. If the house is getting cramped with a growing family, maybe you need to close in the room for extra space. Either way you will add value to your house with this renovation.

Sources:

Sunroom Help

Associated Content: Screened in Porches vs. Sun Rooms

Better Homes and Gardens

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Remodeling a home can be a big decision, between the time that it will take up and the money that it will require. Once you have decided to go through with home improvements, you will probably be asking yourself “Where do I begin?” This is a very important question; if you neglect it and skip the planning process, you will likely regret it later.

Deciding which part of the house to focus on takes thought. In your mind you probably have ideas for every room in the house, but in reality you will have to focus your project on targeted areas. First sit down and think about why you are remodeling in the first place. Common reasons to renovate a home include:

• Repurposing space to change its use, such as remaking a bedroom into an office
• Renovating parts of the home to accommodate an aging or handicapped loved one
• To modernize the house for your enjoyment or to increase resale value
• To make the house more energy efficient

Once you know your overall inspiration for making the changes, you will have a better focus on which room to begin in. You should take some ideas into account regardless of the reason for your remodel.

Repurposing

If you are repurposing a space, then the decision is usually easy. Maybe you know that you want the smallest bedroom to become an office or you want an unused den to be turned into a home movie theatre. Do take total space and use into account, though. For instance maybe you are eyeing the back bedroom as an office but you never use your garage. A good handyman or contractor can build out a portion of your garage and give you the extra room while still leaving you storage space in the garage. Then you get to keep your guest bedroom intact.

Accommodating Lifestyle Changes

If you have special needs in mind, then you are likely thinking about switching up a bedroom. Changing closets so that clothing can be reached more easily and removing bulky furniture are good starting points, but the rest of the house might need some work, too. The bathroom will need additions, from handlebars to help your loved one keep their balance to elevated toilets that better accommodate people with less mobility. You also will want to consider having your handyman add some easy-to-reach shelves or drawers in your kitchen.

Modernizing

Upgrades to modernize a house make it more of a home. They also increase a home’s value, which is necessary if you want to sell in a housing market like the one we are in. It is useful to decide which rooms either needs the most work or will bring the most value. The kitchen is often a good place to start for both criteria. Modern cabinets and countertops, revamped flooring and new appliances can turn a kitchen into a whole new room. Moving unused countertops can open up the room and allow for more family and social interaction. Family rooms and dens can also be good areas to begin. Removing walls that close things in, adding shelving to allow for pictures and decorations and having a new floor laid can change the look and function of a room. With a few changes you will be surprised how a previously unused room can become a central hub in your home.

Energy Efficiency

Going green can save money over the long run and show your commitment to sustainability. If you are considering environmental friendliness, you might want to think about which rooms get the most use and cost the most. Adding skylights to a family room that always has lamps on will cut your electric bill. Water-saving toilets and shower heads can save you money several times a day and are easy to put in when you are installing that Jacuzzi tub you have been thinking about. On a side note you might not want to focus on a room as much as a roof. It doesn’t matter whether you have a house in Tampa, Orlando or Boca Raton. Florida gets enough year-round sun to make solar panels a wise investment. You can shop around, find what you want and use green energy to power some of the key items in your house. What if you paid a bit up front but then never saw the effects of your laundry equipment and hot water heater on your electric bill ever again? It’s not hard to make your house a little greener while keeping a little green in your wallet at the same time.

Sources:

Remodelormove.com

HGTV

National Association of Homebuilders

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