You know it's lurking. It's hiding in the deep, dark, damp recesses of your home, making your home smell less than pleasant, making your food go bad and staining occasional spots on your walls or floors. It's inside your walls, under your floors and in your basement. Mold and mildew.

áFar from humorous, when you've got mold or mildew in your home, it can cause serious health problems and keep you from enjoying your house. If you're sensitive to it, it can cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Even if you're not allergic, it can irritate your eyes, nose, skin, throat and lungs. In some cases, it can even cause toxic reactions, sending you to the doctor or the hospital. But how do you prevent mold from gaining a foothold in your home? These tips will help you keep mold out of your home and prevent outbreaks.á

• Keep it dry. Mold and mildew love damp environments, so make sure that spills and leaks are quickly attended to, as items dried out within 24-48 hours don't typically develop mold issues. If you need to make a repair and the drywall, cellulose or fiberglass insulation has gotten wet, replace it, as it's very difficult to dry these materials properly. áDisaster relief workers from around the world know about mold problems following disaster cleanup, including some deadly strains affecting both relief workers and disaster victims.

• Prevent water from pooling up. Whether it's the drip pan for your water heater not draining properly, clogged gutters backing water up or a faulty sump pump keeping your basement damp, fixing these issues helps remove additional moisture and humidity from your home. In turn, the lack of moisture helps keep mold at bay.

• Keep the humidity down. The ideal indoor relative humidity is between 30-50%, and should always remain below 60% if at all possible. A humidity meter is available at many hardware and home improvement stores and typically only costs a few dollars. If your humidity is too high, consider possible sources, such as the kitchen over the stove or dishwasher, dryers that vent into a crawlspace or basement and unventilated bathrooms. Adding basic ventilation to these areas goes a long way in the fight to lower indoor humidity, as does adding a dehumidifier, especially if it's draining properly.

• Warm it up. Though it seems counter-intuitive, warming up your home means it's drying out.

• Cover it up. Cold water pipes, air conditioner coils, single pane windows and similar cold surfaces provide a place for water to condense out of the air. Once the moisture is out of the air, it can drip down pipes or glass onto surfaces that are susceptible to mold.

• Still can't find the source? Your walls or floors can often hide mold colonies. If you notice an odd smell or unexplained staining, you should investigate. You could have a pinhole in a pipe, condensation dripping down a crack or similar hidden moisture sources you hadn't considered while inspecting your home.á

• Not sure it's mold? There are several home test kits available in hardware stores and home improvement centers that allow you to test surfaces for the presence of mold. Why does it matter? If you're dealing with mold, a simple bleach solution will clean up the problem, whereas a calcium deposit from hard water may take a different tactic.

Now that you've had the opportunity to investigate the exact source of your problem, it's time to fix it. Wearing an N-95 mask fitted to your face, gloves and safety glasses or goggles, use a 10% bleach and water solution to spray down the area, scrub it up and then make sure it dries out well. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaning substances, as this can lead to devastating health issues.

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Bryn Pinzgauer / Foter / CC BY

The Leica Rugby Laser is one that is simple yet reliable. One of the advantages is that it is a one button laser, which means that mistakes are not possible. The Leica Rugby Laser is more than just a simple product. It has intelligence, versatility and it is a clever solution that significantly enhances your performance for construction projects. The Leica Rugby Lasers are automatic, and they are self leveling for any job you have; whether it is a large job or a small job. Some of the useful applications for the Leica Rugby Laser include:á

• Runways and parking lots
• Agricultural application like leveling land or tiling
• Setting foundations along with footings
• Complete compatibility with the widest range of machine solutions

Along with the Leica Ruby Laser doing these thing, it is also considered to be a multipurpose laser. It can come with a bright red beam, scan mode, vertical and horizontal self-leveling. You can also get this product with a two way remote control, which will make your job much easier. The great thing about the remote controls that could be noted include:

• The remote control is water resistant
• 2-year warranty
• It comes with an enclosed head
• There are two battery options

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When it comes to the amount of time it takes for one of these lasers to level it depends on the product. For example, the Leica Rugby 100 Laser can automatically level in under 30 seconds. In addition, it comes with a four-switch keypad that is simple, and it controls all the functions.

There is also a low-battery indicator. Products from Leica have been designed to overcome the toughest condition. If you have a job, but you are afraid that this product won't make it, don't worry. In short, these products have been designed for durability as well as practical application.

Some of these products even come with a solar panel. This means they can be powered up and charged from anywhere. The Leica Rugby Laser helps to make some jobs much quicker. For example, concrete forming, framework and pad replacement are some of the things that can be turned into quick work. Especially when the job pays you money, you want to stay on task and on schedule to please the client and earn the most amount of money.

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When you work with framing - like so many things in life - you need to choose. Wood or metal framing members? Though wood is the old standby, metal is quickly gaining ground in a wide range of areas. Among the reasons for choosing metal framing members are the lack of warping, ease of transport, ability to be recycled and overall durability. Unlike wood, metal framing doesn't rot, doesn't receive insect damage and is naturally fire resistant. But one area where metal framing is commonly overlooked is situations where the weight of the final framed structure is important. Here are a few places where metal framing being lighter than wood is important:

Transportation and Storage

How many wood studs will your truck haul? Based on size, you can haul twice as many metal studs because the hollow shape allows you to place two metal studs in the same area as one wood stud. If your limiting factor is weight, you can haul three times as many metal studs - three metal studs are the weight of a single wood stud. These also help with storage space on your work site, making it easier to stage materials where you need to without taking up excessive space.

Hauling Into Place

The lower weight of metal studs is helpful when you need to get them up to a higher story where they'll be placed. It's also helpful when someone's butterfingers drops a metal stud, because it won't hit with as much force if someone or some thing is underneath it. This is another area where using metal studs helps prevent or lessen work site accidents. Steel framing members can also be used to span greater distances than wood of a comparable size, allowing you to use lighter, smaller members to cover the same distance.

Spacing Out

Typical wood 2x4 spacing is 16" on center. But because metal studs are lacking the natural flaws and have superior strength compared to your average wood stud, they can be spaced at 24" on center. This means not only are you handling less material at a lighter weight, you're also using less material and getting the job done more quickly. With metal studs, there's significantly less waste than wood studs, with a 2% scrap rate in metal versus 20% in wood. Because they're secured with screws, it's also much easier to move a metal stud when a mistake has been made, instead of having to fight with a pry bar in tight spaces. How much stronger are metal studs? Cold rolled steel framing members are recommended for use in areas where earthquakes or severe weather such as hurricanes can be common problems.

Overall Weight

Every person working in construction has had a day when they've really overdone it. Tight, achy muscles and, in more serious scenarios, time off work to heal or even disability can occur. When metal framing members are used in construction, it's much easier on contractors and construction workers because of the material's lighter weight.

Renovations and Additions

If you have a project that is at the extreme end of the specs for loadbearing capacity, you can use metal framing members to lighten the load. With the decreased weight, a project that may have not passed building codes or would need to be handled with extreme caution can pass codes with a third of the weight of wood framing members by using metal instead. Whether it's turning an attic into a new master suite or a need to divide up an open upstairs floor plan over a long span, metal provides more options.

As you can see, in situations where lightweight but strong framing is needed, metal wins out hands down. If you have questions about whether metal framing would be right for your project or need additional information to make an educated decision, please feel free to contact us today. If you need specific information on download our Metal Framing Product Guide below.

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Sources: bethepro.com

Controlling humidity in the summer is a difficult chore for many people. They want to keep their home comfortable and safe so controlling the humidity is very important. Many homeowners will want to do some research on the reasons that humidity is bad for a home.

What Are The Dangers Of Humidity In A Home?

There are reasons that humidity is bad for homes. The humidity can cause mold and other problems. A homeowner should be careful to get the problem under control as soon as possible.

• Humidity in a home can cause problems.
• A common problem that occurs is mold in the home.
• Mold is very unhealthy to have indoors so people need to take steps to control the humidity in the summer.
• They will want to keep the air as safe as possible in their home at all times.

How Are De Humidifiers Helpful?

Getting a de humidifier for a home is a way to combat the problems that can occur from the humidity in a home. Many people get one to make sure that they are getting good air circulating throughout the home.

• Homeowners will want to shop around for de humidifiers for their home.
• They should comparison shop for prices on them.
• When they get a variety of ones to choose from, they should print out the information and keep it in a folder until they decide which one they want to go with.
• There are ways that they can have a de humidifier piped into their basement or other area of the home.

Getting A De Humidifier Piped Into The Basement Or Other Area

Many homeowners decide to have the de humidifier piped into their home. They can have it put in their basement or other area. They will usually want to have a professional service do this for them. A good way to find a good company to do this service for them is by searching on the Internet.

• A de humidifier can be piped into the basement or other area of the home.
• Finding a good company to do this is important.
• Searching the Internet will allow a homeowner to locate a good company to help them.
• They can compare the different companies easily online for prices and services.

Controlling the humidity in a home or business is a necessity. Once a person gets it under control, they will be much better off. Keeping the home dry is important for keeping it healthy for everyone that is living there.

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You can see the whole wall kind of buckled when I pushed on it. And a little bit further down it got a little more solid. What you need to do first is to find a solid spot. And by using a multi-tool, you need to cut out a straight line so that you can match a wall board up to it.

Next, I ran a utility knife down the corner, because the homeowner wanted to keep the wallpaper on the other walls.

Once I had that all set, I went ahead and started removing all the loose plaster. First part where it was wet came out real easy. But then it got a little more difficult where the plaster had not been damaged. Make sure that you get all the plaster down around the moldings.

Keep your lines nice and straight. That?ll make it easier for the repair job. I ran into a little bit of wire mesh and all I needed to do was cut that as close as I could to the plaster.

Next, I went down to the baseboard and just cleaned out all the ends; all the corners all around all the moldings, because that?s where the drywall sat.

I then went along the edge of the wall with my oscillating tool. This gave me a nice straight line so that the repair looked much better in the end.

Once I?ve got all of the old plaster out and I removed it around the mouldings, you can see in the image below there?s just the slat boards behind it, all the way down to the moulding. I even sucked that out with a shop vac. The idea is that your drywall needs to fit in there and make it a nice and tight seam.

Next, I went ahead and measured my studs. Apart from that, I also measured to see where my seam was going to hit on the drywall.

Once I got my drywall cut height wise, I was able to slide it down into the molding and in behind the molding. And that?ll basically give you a nice clean look.

Put a few screws in it to hold it in place. Make sure, the line on the side of the molding is nice and straight.

Next, the tricky part is to get the existing wall align with your drywall. I recommend you take a piece of scrap drywall and check if you notice any bumps or differences in thickness.

To fix the problem, I took some liquid nail and ran it along one of the studs. Then, I used some shims to put up there and to hold the shim in place until I got the piece of drywall screwed in.
Again, the idea is that my half-inch sheet of drywall will be flush with the existing plaster that?s in good shape. Once that?s done, and I had all of my shims glued in place, then took my test piece of drywall and laid it up there to make sure it?s pretty flush across there. Essentially, the whole process makes it a whole lot easier to finish one from plasters to drywall. It makes it easier to tape and mud in the next step.

The next step is just to do your normal drywall mudding and tape. And then after that, I?m going to take the painters caulk and run along the baseboards and the case molding and wipe that down. As you can see once I get done with all this we got a nice clean repair job that?s ready to primer and paint. And this is how you repair crumbling plaster in an older house.

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