Ice & Water Guard is Your Protection

If you don’t know what and Ice Dam is then you probably don’t live in a very cold climate. For those of us who do live in climates where we get ample amounts of snow and ice build up on our roofs, then the product of the month, Ice & Water Guard, is the product that can save you from costly and aggravating water damage to your home.

One company that manufactures Ice & Water Guard is Protecto Wrap.

An important and proven Protecto Wrap product, ICE & WATER GUARD, is a tough, pliable sheet membrane designed to prevent moisture penetration and interior damage from water back up caused by roof ice dam buildup during the winter season or by wind driven rain.
Protecto Wrap’s ICE & WATER GUARD can be installed in new construction or during re-roofing under shingles, tile, slate, metal and shakes and is compatible with accepted roofing materials.
Cold applied ICE & WATER GUARD is easy to apply and provides an effective concealed waterproofing system without detracting from the roof or building design.

My building company, Maselli Construction, typically installs the ice guard product around the entire perimeter of the lower section of the roof and in all the valleys and other areas prone to develop leaking.

Several times, over the years, we have had calls for water that was getting inside peoples homes during the winter months. This causes damage to ceiling and walls which can be as simple as water stains and as extensive as causing drywall and part of the framing to be replaced.

Once water finds a source to enter the home, the insulation that is in the walls and ceiling can become so wet that it that it almost retains water like a sponge. This keeps all the surrounding wood wet and many times mold begins to form and in severe cases the wood framing will start to rot out.

For these reasons, I highly recommend using an ice and water guard product like the Protecto Wrap brand and install it before winter, so that you are protected from the possible damage to your home.

You can find out all about Protecto Wrap’s products at www.protectowrap.com

The Libra All Reader

Here is a truly innovative product and it serves a great purpose. With the way technology has advanced in the medical field, today there are devices to help people who are challenged in all areas of life. For those who are visually impaired, here is a product that I have chosen to be the Gadget of the Month.

With the Libra All Reader, a person does not have to have computer skills to use it. It takes only about 30 seconds to have a page of information scanned into the unit and then information is converted and read back to you.

This device can save up to 500,000 pages on it’s internal hard drive. In addition to this you can actually create MP3 or Wave audio files and burn the scanned material to a compact disk which can be played back on your home stereo, car radio or other audio storage devices.

The text that is read back to you is done with perfect intonation in a natural, clear speech and you can choose English, French, Spanish or German.

Imagine being able to have any document read back to you in crystal-clear speech!

To find out more about the Libra All Reader, just go to www.maxiaids.com and type in “Libra All Reader” in the search area.

Just about everyone knows someone that has had a “Horror” story during a building project. As a building contractor, I have had to come to the rescue of many a homeowner that hired someone for a building project that turned out to be a nightmare.

Most of these contractors, or so-called contractors, won over their clients by offering them more than they can actually provide at the price they were charging them.

This is a typical story in that typically, a homeowner gets two or three estimates and instead of using the guidelines set forth by the Better Business Bureau, NARI, The Home Builders Association and other organizations, they usually go for the lowest price. As the story goes, you get what you pay for.

It is so typical that a so-called contractor will ask the homeowner for a down payment of one third to  one half of the entire cost of the building project. A legitimate contractor knows that this is a warning sign!

If the contractor is taking up to one half of the entire cost of the project before he begins the project then what is going to happen we ask you for more money halfway through the project?

When we come in on these projects that are not completed because the homeowner has given the contractor all the money that was allotted for the project, needless to say this is a cause for great stress.

And in addition to this usually, we find that the work is not up to par with the quality that a legitimate contractor would provide. For some people they have to take out additional loans, as family members to help them out, or save up their money and finish the project in stages. This then drags out a job that may have taken only weeks to complete and now stretches that in two months.

So here is your chance to tell us about the horror stories that you or someone you know may have had building a home, putting on in addition or doing any type of remodeling.

My goal is to put the advice out there that would possibly prevent this from happening to others. I am requesting however, that you don’t mention any names. I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble, but what I am trying to do is help educate others on how to prevent a nightmare from happening to them.

There are measures that you can take if you run into a situation like this and through my responses I will try to bring these facts to your attention. So once again, tell me your horror story. I’ll be waiting hear from you.

Coming this fall one of the most innovative and interactive building and remodeling websites ever! There’s more to come!

If you are a Home Builder or Remodeler then you will need Showroom411.com.

If you are a homeowner getting ready to do that remodeling project you will need Showroom411.com

Showroom411.com the place where homeowers and contractors will come together.

We are getting close to a beta launch date but there is still much work to do. People have asked me who will benefit from Showroom411.com and here is what you need to know.

Showroom411.com is for anyone who owns a home, likes do-it-yourself projects, has hired or is about to hire a building professional, people who love the audio/video world and really,  just about everyone.

Showroom411.com will not only be a huge benefit to homeowners but also to contractor’s and other building professionals. With the high cost of running a business these days and with the amount of time we have to sacrifice in keeping our clients happy, finally there will be a website that can potentially save building professionals thousands of dollars each year and free up hours of precious time.

There is nothing like it and as a building contractor who has been using the techniques that Showroom411.com will offer, I can tell you honestly that you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

There is more to come soon!  Rick