The Metalsmith’s Forge
Rental Maintenance: Minimize Downtime Between Tenants By Implementing These Features
In addition to creating a reliable monthly income for yourself, being a landlord comes with a variety of benefits to take advantage of – in addition to enjoying a career as your own boss, you have the opportunity to receive yearly tax deductions for things like depreciation, travel, and repairs. Keeping your rental home in good shape so downtime is minimized between tenants is important to maximize your income and the benefits you enjoy as a landlord. Here are four features to include with your rental home that will help ensure that you can rent it out again quickly after a tenant moves out: A Dumpster Rental One of the best ways to keep your rental home in good shape, both while tenants are living there and after they move out, is to provide a dumpster rental once a year so tenants can conveniently spring clean and get rid of stuff they wouldn’t normally put out on the curb with their garbage cans. Old furniture, moving boxes, broken appliances, and unwanted personal items can be thrown away so they don’t get piled up in the yard or garage and end up left behind to deal with between tenancies. The company that provides you with the dumpster rental will drop it off and pick it up so all your tenants have to do is fill the dumpster while it sits on the property. Consider figuring the cost of the dumpster rental into the deposit amount required from tenants to cover the expense and minimize profit losses. Contact a company like Parks & Sons of Sun City, Inc. for more information about setting up this service. Biannual Inspections Scheduling home inspections twice a year while tenants occupy your rental home will give you some insight into how well the home is being taken care of and help you determine whether or not any problems are present so they can be addressed before becoming too serious and costly to repair. Put together a list that documents everything you’ll look for when you show up for the inspection so tenants are aware of what to expect and are more likely to take special care of the home overall. Your inspections will ensure that you maintain full awareness of things like broken windows, holes in walls, and other house damage so they don’t go left unchecked until your tenants move out. Biannual inspections allow you to take action on these problems while the home is still occupied so you don’t have to lose time and money addressing the problems before you can rent the house out to new tenants again. A Store of Paint and Tools Another effective way to keep your rental home in good shape while it’s occupied is to provide a store of paint and tools for your tenants to make use of while living there. This will minimize the chance that things like chipped paint and clogged drains go unfixed and become serious problems that are costly to address. Use a shelf in the garage or dedicate a small shed in the backyard to store things like: Matching paint for interior and exterior walls Drain and carpet cleaning products A rake and shovel Caulking and spray foam insulation Hammers and nails These items will give your tenants the resources they...
read more2 Methods For Getting Your Home’s Exterior Ready For Spring
Winter’s snow and ice can wreak havoc on your home’s exterior. Melting snow and icicles dripping from your roof and home exterior can discolor, rust, and leave stains on your home’s exterior. Your wooden deck can also expand and contract during winter, causing the paint to peel from its exterior. Here are two methods to help you clean up these areas of your yard and home using the right tools. Clean Your Home’s Exterior Whether your home’s exterior is siding, wood, brick, or concrete, you can remove any discoloration and other stains on the outside of your home using soda blasting. A soda blaster uses the same process as a sandblaster, but with sodium bicarbonate as the sanding material. Sand blasting normally uses sand, crushed shells, or another type of abrasive product to strip the surface you want to clean. These materials can be harsh on your home’s exterior and are not good for the environment. Baking soda blasting is a safe and easy method that was used to clean and remove all the corrosion and other pollutant materials from the soft copper exterior of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. A more coarse sodium bicarbonate is used in soda blasting than the baking soda used in baking. This coarser baking soda can remove paint, rust, grease, or other material that is staining the surface of your home’s exterior. You can find this at most home improvement or industrial supply stores in 50-pound bags. Be sure to only use it on metal, wood, brick, concrete, granite, and glass. Take care if any part of your home’s exterior is made of vinyl, as soda blasting may harm the surface of vinyl siding. You will need to use an air compressor powering the soda blaster and have plenty of medium or large-grit baking soda. Pour the sodium bicarbonate into the soda blaster’s storage tank, and connect the blaster to your air compressor. When you power on the machine, use its spray nozzle and hose to clean off any exterior stains and dirt on your home. Then, when you are finished soda blasting away exterior dirt and stains, you can rinse away the baking soda left behind with your garden hose. Make sure you wear protective eye goggles and a dust mask while you use the soda blaster. Strip Old Paint from Your Deck After a winter of freeze-thaw cycles and shoveling snow off your wooden deck, the paint on your wooden deck may be peeling and flaking off. An air compressor-powered washer can be a helpful tool to remove and strip the old paint from the wood deck to prepare it for paint or stain for spring. Depending on the job you need to complete, there are several different types of nozzles you can use on your power washer to give your stream of water different pressures. For stripping old paint off your wood deck, you need to use a yellow-colored nozzle with a 15 degree fan spray. This nozzle will give your water spray a high pressure, so when you hold the nozzle at a 45 degree angle, the spray of water will work like a paint scraper. As you are spraying the paint off the wood, make sure to use even and smooth sweeping motions so you don’t gouge or cause damage to the surface of the wood. Spraying the power washer nozzle in one...
read moreHow to Get Consistent Results With Your Dynamometer
A dynamometer is the only tool that is specifically designed to measure engine horsepower, making it a great piece of equipment for serious kart racers. Often called dyno for short, dynamometers help to isolate and quantify a kart’s engine power output from overall vehicle performance. To get useable and consistent data from your dyno, you have to control the test conditions. Keep reading to learn more about how to get consistent results from your dynamometer: Control the Test Conditions It doesn’t matter what type of dyno you have, you need to be able to control the test conditions in order to obtain useable and consistent data. Yes, you also need a dynamometer that is accurate, but you also have to ensure that your kart’s engine output isn’t being skewed by inapt dynamometer procedures. For example, if you don’t start all your engine tests on level ground with the same engine starting temperature, you won’t be able to tell which variable is responsible for the measured power differences you are reading off the dyno. Dampen or Average Your Torque Data A vital part of getting consistent results with a dynamometer is to dampen or average the torque data, especially if your kart has a fuel tank that also serves as a giant carburetor float bowl. This is because these engines don’t allow you to have precise control over the air/fuel ratio. When the kart’s engine shakes and the fuel splashes around inside its tank, it will cause the head on the dyno’s metering jet to change. To minimize this effect, keep your fuel tank full and always ensure your kart is on level ground. Some racers may be turned off by issues like these, but you should instead view them as opportunities to find and plug these horsepower drains to improve your kart’s performance. Don’t Take Dyno Readings During Acceleration or Deceleration A kart engine’s moving parts have their own inertia, even if your kart is equipped with low inertia brake components. If you use your dynamometer and take readings while the engine is accelerating, inertial energy is being subtracted from what the dyno gauges indicate. If you take readings when the engine is deceleration, then inertial energy is being added to the readings. There are some kart racers out there who use this law of inertia to show off their impressive flash power readings. These numbers tell you nothing about the true horsepower capabilities of an engine. As you gain experience using a dynamometer, you’ll be able to spot these types of shenanigans in other people’s dyno data. Adjust the Load Valve to a Stable RPM Test Point When you manually control the kart’s brake yourself, you can become limited to steady state testing at conservative RPM steps. This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to do a controlled low-rate sweep on some of the feebler race engines. Instead, all you have to do is adjust the load valve to a stable RPM test point, and then collect enough data that will allow you to average out the small inertial and transient spike influences that are always inevitable during engine testing. When you’ve collected a satisfying amount of data, move the load valve to the next desired RPM and repeat the test. When you average enough data, you’ll end...
read moreWhat You Should Know About Accessing And Replacing A Submersible Water Pump
Few things can disrupt your day’s plans like turning on the water for your shower only to find that your faucets aren’t flowing. If your home relies on well water, this may be an indication that the pump is either malfunctioning or failed altogether. If you’re new to well pump problems, you may not know how to access and replace the pump on your own. It isn’t as complex as you might think, and you may be able to do it without having to call a well pump technician. Here’s a look at the basics to get you started. Think Safety – Don’t make any attempt to work on your submersible well pump without shutting off the breaker that supplies power to the pump. After all, even if you think it’s failed completely, you run the risk of it starting on you once you take it out, particularly if it’s just seized because of a rock or something in the pump. Turn off the breaker before you do anything else. Remove the Cap – Once you’ve taken the necessary safety precautions, it’s time to uncap your well. Most well companies show you where the well cap is when the well itself is drilled, but if you inherited the well with a home purchase, you’ll need to find it. There should be a large-diameter tube (usually made of PVC) sticking up in your yard somewhere, and that tube indicates where your well cover is. The tube itself lines the well and should be covered by a metal cap. That’s the well cap. Remove the bolt with a wrench, then lift the cap off and set it aside. Disconnect the Water – Don’t try to pull the pump before you disconnect the water line that’s connected to it. That water line is the one used to send water from the pump into your home’s plumbing system. Use the T-handle that the well company provided to do this. If you don’t have one, call your well service company and ask for one. Most well companies are willing to deliver one. Thread the handle into the coupler that’s sitting just inside the well. Once it’s threaded in and secure, lift straight up. That will disconnect the line from the intake valve. Pull the Pump – Once the line is disconnected from the intake valve, keep lifting on the T-handle. That handle will lift the pump straight up from the well. You may need a helper or two for this, because the pump is going to be pretty far down the well. In fact, the deeper your well is, the further down the pump is going to be. Install the New Pump – Disconnect the pump from the supply line using a wrench. Be careful when you loosen the bolts, though. Hold onto the supply line as you go, because you need to keep it clean so you can connect it to the new pump. Once disconnected, line it up to the same inlet on the new pump and connect it. Tighten the bolts until they’re hand-tight. Prime the Pump – When you install a new pump, you need to prime it. Don’t let the pump start while it’s dry, otherwise you may damage it. Put a garden hose into the open hole on...
read moreCleaning Tips For Aspheric Lens Telescopes
If you work in a high-tech field that utilizes telescopes, then you may use these telescopes to track infrared, ultraviolet, gamma, or X-rays. The information gathered from these scopes is likely invaluable when it comes to collecting atmospheric or astronomical data. On a day-to-day basis you might not think much about the way that these telescopes work. The most sophisticated scopes usually contain custom lenses with special curvatures. These lenses are called aspheric lenses, and the ones in your scopes are most likely formed through a special grinding process. This process, as well as the customized nature of the lenses and the large sizes, may mean that these pieces of glass are quite expensive. While new lenses may need to be ordered on occasion due to normal wear and tear, you do not want to be responsible for scratching a lens and forcing the need for a replacement. Scratches often occur during the cleaning process, so consider the following information if your scope lenses need cleaning before data is collected. Dust Removal Dust will likely land on the lenses of your telescopes, especially if you work in an unsealed environment and you remove the lens caps for long periods of time. Unfortunately, dust can scratch a lens if it is forced across the surface of the glass. This occurs, because dust can be made up of a wide variety of things that include skin cells, sand, insect waste, dirt, and small pieces of rock. While dried skin cells are not likely to scratch a hard surface, sand and rock surely will. This means that you should try to gently release the dust if possible. The best way to remove dust is to try and suck it up and away from the lens. Place your fingers over the edge of the lens eyepiece without touching the glass. Spread your middle and index finger a small amount to create a hole and stick your mouth over it. Suck gently to pull up the dust. Try this several times to remove the debris. If the dust does not move, then you will need to gently sweep it away. Brushing the Dust Away To sweep or brush the dust away, you will need an extremely delicate and gentle brush to do so. A camel’s hair brush is your best option. This brush is not made from the hair of the camel like the name suggests. The brush is made from squirrel, ox, goat, or pony hair. A combination of hairs may be used, and you can find such a brush at your local art supply, camera, or lens supply store. Place the very ends of the bristles against the telescope lens and use very little pressure to sweep away the dust. When you are done, place the brush in an airtight container so it does not become dirty. Otherwise, you may end up adding dust to your telescope lens by trying to clean it. Releasing Other Debris If a quick dusting does not cut it, then you will need to use a liquid solution to clear away debris. A lens solution is needed for this and the best option is one that is made with pure alcohol; either isopropyl or methanol alcohol will work as long as there are no additives, coloring agents, or other materials in the solution....
read moreHow Your Local Hardware Store Could Help Grow Your Small Contractor Business
For small contractor businesses, marketing can seem tricky. The best way to attract new clients is to make yourself known within the community as a reliable contractor, but before you can do that, you need some client work under your belt to show prospective customers. It’s a double-edged sword that can be frustrating, but it’s not the only way to grow your business. Your local hardware store may just be able to help you grow your business in some unexpected ways. Here’s how your local hardware store could help grow your small business. Post your business card Many hardware stores have a bulletin board located somewhere in their store where local businesses can post their business cards. Unfortunately, these can fill up fast, and unless your business card really stands out, it could get overlooked by busy shoppers. To make your business card stand out, consider using bold colors and large, appealing fonts that catch the eye and are easy to read. Nontraditional shaped cards also stand out, and more printing services are offering these. To make this method more effective, leave spare business cards with the owners and staff of the hardware store, and work on building a relationship with them. They’ll be more likely to prominently display your business card if they’ve developed a relationship of trust with you. Create an affiliate relationship As a contractor, you are uniquely poised to promote a hardware store’s products to your customers because you likely use them yourself and can vouch for their effectiveness. An affiliate relationship with a hardware store is a great thing to develop because it benefits both you and the hardware store. You promote the hardware store’s products to your customers as they need them, and the hardware store promotes your services to any customers looking for a contractor. To benefit you both, you can set up a reimbursement plan with the hardware store. This type of affiliate program can be personalized to suit both of your needs. One method involves paying the hardware store for referring customers to you. Each of you track your affiliate referrals, so that every time the store sends you a customer directly, you pay them a fee. Each time you send a customer directly to the hardware store, they offer your customers a negotiated discount or some other benefit. If you have a website for your business, you can also take advantage of any existing affiliate programs offered by the hardware store. Many larger chain stores have these programs in place to encourage contractors to recommend their products. Save money by paying in cash If you use your local hardware store for many of your supplies, you may be able to save money by asking for a discount for paying in cash or buying in bulk. Not all hardware stores will do this, but if yours does, it could save you a substantial amount of money throughout the year. The money you save can be put back into marketing your business and helping it grow. Partner with your hardware store to help your community Speak with your local government and see if there are any improvement jobs that need to be completed within the community. Pair with your local hardware store to provide the materials, and you provide the skills and labour necessary to...
read moreReduce Fuel Costs By Upgrading Your Commercial Boiler Controls
As a business owner, any expense is a concern for you. One type of expense that you have some control over is your fuel cost. Considering that one of the main reasons for boiler inefficiency is heat loss, one of the best ways to recapture lost heat in your boiler system is by upgrading the controls. Keep reading to learn a few ways to increase your boiler system’s efficiency and reduce costs: Add O2 Trim This is a fancy way of saying you should add an oxygen sensor/transmitter to your boiler system. It will monitor the exhaust gas for oxygen content and will signal the controller to trim the fuel valve and/or air damper to maintain a consistent oxygen concentration. O2 trim minimizes excess air and optimizes the air-to-fuel ratio, which, in turn, reduces fuel costs. Install A Variable Speed Drive A variable speed drive allows a boiler’s moor to operate at the needed speed at any given time, instead of working at a constant rpm like most boilers without this upgrade. With a variable speed drive, your boiler won’t be consuming unnecessary electrical energy, and the less energy consumed the lower your costs are. Your maintenance costs are also lowered because having a variable speed drive decreases the stress on the boiler motor’s bearings and impeller. A variable speed drive can be installed on any boiler motor, but professional plumbers typically use them on combustion air motors and boiler feed pumps greater than 5 horsepower. Or, you can purchase this item directly from a boiler supply company. Install A Lead Lag Sequencing Control System A lead lag sequencing control system oversees the operation of 2 or more boilers to match system load. For example, during peak times, the control system will fire up all your boilers, but during slow times only 1 or 2 boilers may be in operation. A lead lag ensures your boilers are operating at peak efficiency, decreases downtime and maintenance, and reduces cycling. All of these will reduce your fuel costs. Add parallel positioning Also called linkage-less controls, parallel positioning uses dedicated actuators for the air and fuel valves, which lowers the excess air levels that occur because of consistent repeatability. This is different from a typical boiler, which is usually controlled by a single modulating motor with one jack-shaft and corresponding linkages that are attached to the air damper and fuel valve. But, overtime these linkages break down and the air-to-fuel ratio becomes erratic. Install A New Boiler System If you’ve got the cash, you can also install a new, modern boiler system. There are many benefits to doing this, including: Reduces maintenance costs associated with older and less reliable equipment. Improves combustion efficiency, which reduces fuel use and saves you money. Reduces manpower requirements because a new system can automatically respond to load changes. Allows you to create a flexible control strategy to reduce or eliminate process upsets. Has the ability to remotely monitor data to determine boiler efficiency, process unit optimization, and load allocation. Additional Things You Can Do To Reduce Fuel Costs: Here’s a list of a few more things you can do to help reduce fuel costs in your business: Add a new blower motor and a variable speed drive control system to every boiler. Convert burners to high...
read moreChoosing Between Pipe Types? 3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Making Your Selection
If you are a proactive homeowner attempting to repair or install your own plumbing, gas, or water lines, you might run to the hardware store to pick up some supplies. However, as you approach the plumbing aisle, you might be surprised with the overwhelming number of pipe types to choose from. To make your selection a little easier, ask yourself these three questions before you start throwing things into your cart. 1: What will the pipe transport? When some people choose between pipe types, they think mainly about color and size instead of what the different pipe is designed to carry. For example, if you remember that a broken section of pipe is white and about 2 inches in diameter, you might head right over to the PVC section to look for a similar version. Unfortunately, each variety of pipe is created to transport certain substances, and if you go with the wrong version, it could cause trouble later. For example, while cast iron pipes are perfect for carrying natural gas or propane, they might rust and corrode if you try to use them for traditional water lines. Unfortunately, some people even unintentionally buy pipes that have the wrong width, and then try to retrofit their mistake with a different coupling. However, although you might be able to attach that pipe, widths are specifically created for different materials to pass through. For example, drainpipes might need to be wider to allow debris to flow through the line, while gas lines are traditionally narrower. Before you make your selection, do your research. Check out the pipe section that you are repairing, and make a note of any text that you find written on the lines. Take that information to the hardware store and look for a matching variety. Better yet, bring a section of the broken pipe with you when you shop. A home improvement specialist might be able to point you in the right direction, so that you don’t damage your line or end up having to make extra trips to the store later. 2: Where will the pipe be placed? If you are installing new lines, you need to consider where the pipe will be placed before you make your decision. Here are a few places where you might need to run new pipes, and which versions are best for the job: Underground: Are you looking for a pipe to run waste underground away from residential areas or to protect electrical wires? ABS pipes are highly resistant to impact, easy to install, and perfect for drainage purposes. Inside of Homes: Believe it or not, there is more than one type of PVC pipe. If you need to install plumbing to run hot or cold water inside of your home, CPVC pipes will work great. On the other hand, traditional PVC pipes will work well for your outdoor sprinkler system. Around Curves: How flexible do the pipes need to be to fit around corners? If you know that you will be doing more than running straight lines, PEX piping might be the right pipe for the job. This neat type of pipe is created from a flexible, plastic-like material, and it can be used to carry hot or cold water. As you ponder your options, keep in mind...
read moreWhat Every Business Owner Needs To Know About Fire And Life Safety Systems
If you are a business owner, you may be interesting to learn a few statistics about the history of structural fires in office properties. The annual average of structural fires in 3,340 office properties between 2007 and 2011 resulted in $112 million in damages. As high as that sounds, it is 71% less than the 10,570 structural fires reported in 1980, when most fire alarms were manually operated. This reduction may be attributed to advancements in the technology of fire and life safety systems. Here’s what you need to know. What a Fire & Life Safety System Does A fire and life safety system is a system that alerts authorities, fights fires, aids in evacuation and helps prevent loss of life. This type of system is installed by an electrical contractor and incorporated into many other mechanical and electrical functions within the facility. Detect & Notify Today, fire detection systems include heat sensors and smoke sensors that are connected to a control panel. The control panel initiates notifications to the local fire department and sends out a pre-recorded audio alert via an in-house telephone system or through an intercom system. The notification may address the exact location of the fire. Ventilate & Suppress When a fire is detected, the fire detection electrical control panel sends electrical signals to dampers. The dampers automatically close to prevent the fire and smoke from spreading into the heating, air conditioning and ventilation ductwork. Since smoke rises and stairwells are escape routes, a stairwell pressurization system is crucial. These are large fans that automatically turn on to ventilate smoke out of stairwells. At the same time, sprinkler systems and other fire suppression systems are turned on to fight the fire. Again, since these systems are designed to address the specific location of the fire, the sprinkles and fire suppression systems only operate where they are needed. This not only directs all of the available fire-fighting materials to the fire, it also prevents unnecessary water damage to expensive equipment, furnishings and computer systems. Secure & Evacuate The electrical control panel automatically takes elevators to ground level (elevator recall) and shuts them down so they cannot be operated. This is necessary to not only prevent people from getting trapped in an elevator due to the fire, but because sprinkler systems within the elevator shaft could cause problems with the operation of the elevator. Fire doors are automatically unlocked when the electrical control panel receives a fire signal. Emergency lighting systems automatically turn on to show the evacuation route so people can exit the building. Other doors in the facility that operate by control access panels are automatically unlocked to reduce the risks of people getting trapped. The Importance of Maintenance As with most systems, preventive maintenance is necessary to keep fire and life safety systems working effectively. A malfunctioning system may not detect fires or smoke. Conversely, malfunctioning fire detectors may signal that there is a fire when there isn’t. Given the sensitive nature of the detectors and the complexity of the electrical control panels, it is crucial to have an electrician perform the maintenance of fire and life safety systems. Preventive maintenance entails cleaning the sensing units, ensuring all electrical connections are intact and each part of the system is fully operational. This typically...
read more4 Pallet Rack Hardware Components Designed With Safety In Mind
While walking around your favorite warehouse store, you might look up and wonder about the stability of all those loaded pallets. Thankfully, you can trust that the warehouse stores prepared the pallet racking area with safety in mind. Pallets can weigh up to 3000 pounds each when stacked with heavy materials, such as stone blocks. As a result, the racks used to hold the pallets feature a complex set of hardware designed to keep the unit stable and secure. Here are a few of hardware pieces created to keep passersby safe from harm. Beam Clips The pallet rack frame usually runs from floor to ceiling to act as a support for the building’s roof. Between the frame pieces lie beams that support the weight of the pallets. These beams are made from high-strength, solid steel pieces that will not buckle under load. The beams are clipped onto the pallet rack frame with one of the following hardware pieces: Wedge lock J hook Teardrop clip Spring clip T bolt with whiz nut Each of these clip designs have fail safe mechanisms designed to keep the beam from disconnecting while supporting pallets. For example, with the teardrop clip, weight placed on the beam pushes the connecting hardware further into the graduated hole to keep the assembly from working loose. Wall Ties Pallet racks placed in publicly accessible areas must meet seismic requirements indicated by official governing agencies. The racks must not fail or allow pallets to fall off the edges during seismic activity. If business owners do not take heed of these requirements, code violations could shut the store down until the specified renovations take place. The rack design, material strength and supportive hardware all play a role in the device’s ability to withstand severe ground shaking. Wall ties are an important part of the seismic safety requirements. This small device tethers the pallet to the wall to keep it from wobbling back and forth during earthquakes. Lag Bolts The rack frame must firmly anchor to the concrete floor to stay in place while workers place and remove pallets using a forklift. In many places, it’s important for the lag bolts to have a 1/2 inch diameter and reach 2 1/2 inches into the ground. As a result, the lag bolt must be at least 3 inches long to account for the bolt head, shim and support height. Rack manufacturers may recommend even bigger lag bolts for racks installed in areas known for seismic activity. Metal Shims Concrete floors, as often found in warehouse stores, do not sit perfectly flat, despite the installer’s best efforts. There are minute deviations in the surface that only become apparent while installing pallet racks in the building. The racks must sit perfectly level to keep the loaded pallets in place for an extended period of time. To compensate for uneven concrete floors, pallet racks use a series of metal shims to create an even installation surface. The metal shims have a hole in the middle to allow the lag bolts to pass through and secure the rack to the ground. The weight of the rack compacts the shims down even further, so installers use specific calculations to determine the shim thickness to use to make the rack even once everything is bolted down. Understanding The...
read moreCalendar
About Me
