Roof Shingles - Most people pay very little attention to the roof on their home. Since it has no moving parts to wear out, there doesn’t seem to be anything that needs attention. But that’s not true. Your roof is the first line of defense against sun, wind, rain, snow, hail, and a host of other assaults. Blocked gutters can allow water to get under the roofing shingles, damaging the underlayment.

Your roof must be inspected periodically to ensure minor problems are corrected before real damage sets in. If the pitch of your roof is low, and you are comfortable (and confident) walking around on it, you can perform your own inspection and make small repairs yourself. Otherwise, hire someone to do this for you. Be careful - a fall, even from a single story house, can be fatal.

Here are some reasons why roofs fail:

Inadequate Maintenance - Ignoring small problems is the single greatest reason for premature failure of roofing systems. Catching small damage early and making repairs is vital to longevity. Waiting until water is dripping inside the house is a great way to unnecessarily spend a lot of money. By the time you notice a leak, the damage has most likely spread well beyond the original problem area.

Weathering - All roofing materials deteriorate from exposure to weather. As stated earlier, the elements take a toll on your roof. Wind is the greatest enemy. Roofs are not generally designed to withstand hurricanes and tornados. But roofs may also be damaged by winds that gust up to 75 miles per hour. The air current can lift shingles up and break off the outer tab. This exposes the the top of the underlying shingle, and makes the roof thinner at that point.

House Plan - Building your own home (either yourself or by hiring a general contractor) is a rewarding - yet challenging - experience. Before you decide to go this way, you need a clear picture of what type of home you want. Do you need a two story or one? What about an attached garage? How many beds and baths will be sufficient for the size of your family? Keep detailed notes during your planning stage.

Once you've gathered all the necessary details, decide if you want to build it yourself, act as general contractor, or hire someone to manage the project.

As the manager, your biggest responsibility is hiring the subcontractors who will do the work. Do you know someone that recently had work performed on their house? Who did they use? Was it done on time and within budget? Would they use them again.

Drive around neighborhoods you like and find out who's building the houses. If you have dealt with subcontractors in the past (and you trust their opinion), get recommendations from them. If your carpenter recommends an electrician he works with frequently, that's a solid lead.

Once you get names, you want to learn all you can. Get a list of references and talk to them. Examine past work in person. Arrange to meet them on a current job site. When you find subcontractors you like, start writing down the work quotes. And remember that the low bidder doesn't necessarily do the best work.

Concrete Saw - Fixing a cracked concrete driveway or sidewalk is well within the ability of the average handyman. And the damage should be repaired as soon as possible, because water will get under the structure and cause more problems.

Cracks in Sidewalks

Enlarge the crack along its entire length with a cold chisel and hammer. Use gloves and eye protection! Make the crack wider at the bottom than at the top, a process known as undercutting. It helps to bond the new concrete with the older concrete. After the crack has been thoroughly undercut, remove all loose material and brush the area with a wire brush.

The new concrete patch will hold better if a concrete adhesive is used first. This will both assist with bonding and prevent old concrete from absorbing moisture from the newly installed patch. Brush the adhesive into the undercut area and allow it to dry until it becomes tacky.

Use one part Portland cement to 2 1/2 parts of fine, clean sand. Heavier concrete patch jobs call for one part of Portland cement to two parts of sand and three parts of gravel. Building supply centers sell pre-mixed concrete for this type of job. All you add is water and it makes things much easier than buying and mixing the ingredients yourself.

Mohawk Carpet - Carpet is one of those home items that's generally taken for granted. Most homes built today have carpet in the majority of rooms. Homeowners don't usually pay much attention to their carpet until it's worn and time for replacement. Then the choices of material and pile type can be very confusing.

Carpets are made by pulling loops of yarn through a tough backing. These loops are often cut to create the carpet's pile. The most durable synthetic carpeting material is nylon. It wears well and is quite stain resistant.

The list of synthetic fibers can be confusing because manufacturers often call them by proprietary names. Still, all synthetics fall into four generic categories: nylon, olefin, acrylic, and polyester.

Nylon - The majority of carpet fibers are made of nylon. Nylon fibers are resilient, survive the weight of furniture, and hold up well in heavily trafficked areas. Nylon is available in a vast array of colors, and solution-dyed types are colorfast. Nylon carpets can be found in a wide variety of wear ratings and price ranges. This is generally the best choice of carpet fiber for the home.

Olefin - Also known as polypropylene, olefin is another popular choice for carpet. It is easy to clean, strong, and resists stains and wear. Olefin is used mostly in Berbers and commercial carpets. Color is added before the material is turned into fiber, making it colorfast. Olefin carpet is comparable in price to nylon.

Cedar Siding Panel - Cedar siding looks great after new stain is applied. It gives your home a nice warm look. But in order to achieve that look, the surface must be very carefully preped. Since stain is transparent, any flaws will show, and in fact are magnified by the application of stain.

New Cedar Siding

New cedar siding should be protected from the weather at all times. Don’t leave the siding exposed to the elements - get the finish on as soon as possible. It is usually not necessary to perform extensive surface preparation as long as the siding has not weathered for more than two weeks and is clean and dry. Any contamination, such as dirt, oil, and other foreign substances, must be removed.

For smooth, flat-grained cedar, some surface preparation may be needed. The surface should be lightly scuffed with 50-60 grit sandpaper. This will greatly increase the performance of the finish and will not detract from a smooth look. Surface preparation is not necessary for textured cedar.

Weathered Cedar Siding

Weathered siding that has been exposed to the elements for longer than 2 weeks may have a degraded surface that is unsuitable for staining or painting. Prepare the surface by sanding, brushing, and washing before applying the finish.

Wood Cook Stove - Wood stoves add a nice touch to your living area. Since the stove is completely exposed to surrounding air, most of the heat is radiated into the room. When the snow is falling and temps hover just below zero, we light our stove and dim the lights. It's very relaxing to watch the flames dancing around through the glass door. It also keeps the furnace from coming on and that saves some money on heating bills.

Wood stoves require regular maintenance in order to remain efficient and safe. Creosote (black flammable tar deposited from wood smoke) builds up inside your chimney and must be removed to prevent a chimney fire. Ashes have to be cleaned out of the firebox and disposed of properly.

Clean chimneys at least once a year. This tends to be a messy job, so it's best to call a professional chimney sweep. The creosote is removed with stiff brushes designed for the purpose. This will allow your wood stove to continue operating efficiently and also prevent a fire hazard.

Circuit Breaker Lock - You and your home are being silently protected from fire and injury by a very important device - the circuit breaker. Without breakers, the risk of damage would be great. You can perform some basic diagnostics if a breaker keeps tripping, but be very careful! You could easily injure or kill yourself if you contact a defective device or exposed wiring. Always hire a licensed electrician to make repairs or extensive troubleshooting.

Located inside your home is a circuit breaker box or panel that contains circuit breakers. Some homes have more than one panel. There may be a main panel plus one or more sub-panels in other locations.

There will usually be a large main breaker at the top of the panel with a high rating. The breakers for your branch circuits are physically smaller and have a lower amp rating. Be advised that shutting off the main breaker will also shutdown the branch circuits, but there is still high voltage in the breaker panel. The main wire leads into the panel are still active, and shutting off the main breaker will not stop current flow to these main leads.

A circuit breaker provides protection for each of your circuits by stopping the flow of current if an overload occurs. When the load on a circuit becomes too great, the breaker on that circuit trips and ceases the flow of current.