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Has anyone here had their blinds installed through ProBlinds? Could you please tell me about your experience with them? Did anyone feel that they are over priced and installation could be done yourself after ordering thru the internet?
Also, Does anyone have any recommendations regarding handy man work around the house... i'm talking painting, installing fixtures, installing fans, back splash, blinds, etc.
I use ProBlinds for my entire house. The price is reasonable but if you can do it yourself it will be lot cheaper. They did a good job for installation and all the window treatments are life time guarantee, so I use them. Hope this help. -Alice
Has anyone here had their blinds installed through ProBlinds? Could you please tell me about your experience with them? Did anyone feel that they are over priced and installation could be done yourself after ordering thru the internet?
Also, Does anyone have any recommendations regarding handy man work around the house... i'm talking painting, installing fixtures, installing fans, back splash, blinds, etc.
Thanks.
Snowpail:
I have tried www.homeadvisor.com, phone # Toll-free 1-877-844-4424 for some painting and lawn cleaning work for my old home in Middlesex. It is a referral service provider for local contractors. You just tell them what work you want to do and they will send a list of pre-screened contractors and you can choose among them based on price/service, etc. It is a free, no-obligation service and contractors contact you without any fuss.
Does anyone else have an issue with the smoke detectors going off every single time the oven is on? Am I doing something incorrectly? (No, I am not burning any food)
What you folks think about need of dehumidifier in basement.
Is it important to have one in basement or not required?
Thanks!
GTG:
Someone suggested us to install dehumidifier, but we rejected the idea. It is unnecessary, nuisance and costly to install and operate. Our homes are modern and energy efficient, hence we need not have it, just because they are used for many years.
We purchased a dehumidifier from Costco for about $200. Pete (Builder's office) recommended that we get one to prevent the hardwood on the first floor form popping up. It is annoying to empty the dehumidifier every few days since we don't have a sink in the basement but I am planning to make the dehumidifier dump the water directly to the sump pump eventually.
We purchased a dehumidifier from Costco for about $200. Pete (Builder's office) recommended that we get one to prevent the hardwood on the first floor form popping up. It is annoying to empty the dehumidifier every few days since we don't have a sink in the basement but I am planning to make the dehumidifier dump the water directly to the sump pump eventually.
Snowpail:
Thanks. Many people with old school of thought do not understand that modern homes are well-designed and energy efficient compared to homes built just 10-15 yrs ago. Hence many of the items such as dehumidifier, attic fan, radon test, etc. are not necessary for new homes.
Let us look at dehumidifier theory and cracking of floors, etc.
Humidity in the first yr of new homes and floor cracking
Many of the new homeowners have notices that in part of the floor, there is cracking or thud sound while walking over it. Those who are in for past few months have also noticed that the sound slowly diminishing. The sound completely disappears in most cases after one year, after 4 seasons of seasoning.
(Please note that excessively loud sound can also be due to faulty floor material or installation. It is better to register your complaint by email to builder before the completion of first year).
During construction, the wooden floors are exposed to water, either due to rain or due to water seepage from surroundings, water used during concrete slab formation, etc. Thus wooden floor and concrete slabs have more water (more humid) than the surrounding atmosphere. Due to this, they continuously give off water vapor to the surroundings, which shrinks and expands wooden floors, and the cause of cracking noise. This continues for about a year, till most of the humidity is gone and the floors are in equilibrium with the surroundings.
That is why people use humidifier for the first year in new home and they will seldom use it later on.
What is dehumidifier?
The humidity is commonly expressed as relative humidity or RH. Ideal humidity for human comfort is around 50-55% with the range of 40-60% is considered OK. More humid will make us uncomfortable, while less humid (such as in rental apts.) will make the skin dry and chipping. Humidity in the basement can be measured by buying a simple humidity gauge from Home Depot or Radio Shack.
You need dehumidifier only if your RH reading in basement is above 60%. The central A/C unit has a component called humidifier. It throws small amount of water when the air is heated and % RH drops. It adjusts RH to around 50%.
Who needs humidifier?
-If your basement is moist, damp or has water droplets visible on the wall
-If you notice any mold growth
-if you do laundry in basement
-If you do not have central a/c unit located in basement
-If your RH measured is above 60%
-If you intend to live in the basement
Who does not need humidifier?
-All new homes-modern and well-designed
-A/C unit located in the basement
-There is no water leakage or source of water near the basement
-If you keep your basement windows/door open during summer
Nuisance of humidifier
-With large basement (Bergen model has about 1,000 cubic feet of basement) requires powerful humidifier if one plan to install, costing around $600-700
-It makes more noise than fridge (has blower fan) and consumes more power than fridge
-You may have to empty out bucket full of water each day or make direct connection to sump pump drain line
Yogesh - Thanks for the thorough reply regarding the de-humidifier. Regardless of whether we needed it or not to prevent the wood floors from popping up, the basement feels a lot less damp since we started using it. When we first moved in the RH% was around 78% and it's now down to 55-60%. If we ever decide we don't need it, we can simply just turn it off.
Regarding the attic fan, I'm not 100% if we needed it or not but we did get one.
Regarding the radon, I do think it's important it perform the radon test. Our test yielded a result of 4.6 and they recommend taking action anytime the level is above 4.0. We had the fan installed for free by the builder and now this will not be an issue when it comes to re-sale.
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