Now that we all have our Christmas Tree’s up it’s a good time to talk about tree safety. Here are a few tips to follow to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Always make sure the tree has plenty of water

Make sure to check the stand every day and fill it up when needed. If the tree is not properly hydrated it will dry out which will signifintly increase the fire hazard.

Keep the tree away from heat sources

Never place the tree near the fireplace, heater vents,  room heaters, or your entertainment system (TV, DVD player,audio components, etc.). All that heat will dry out the tree faster thus making it less safe.

Tree Lights

Make sure you are using the proper lights for your tree. Never use outdoor lights indoors and vice-versa. Check the lights for any damaged sockets and frayed wiring, if found you should fix or replace the set. If using an extension cord never use more than 3 sets of lights per cord. The cord should never be running across any walk ways (even if under a rug) and should always be along a wall. The final thing about lights, make sure you turn them off before you go to bed.

Ornaments and Decorations

Always use a step stool when placing ornaments on higher parts of the tree. Keep the smaller stuff up higher in the tree so it wont become a choking hazard to children and pets.

For everyone out there that has cats and needs some advice on how to keep them out of the tree try keeping orange peels under it. Apparently cats hate oranges from what I hear. Also keep a spray bottle of water around and spray the cat when he tries to get near the tree.

Winter is upon us and for those who have not winterized your home we have compiled 5 tips to help you stay safe, warm, and save this winter season.

1. Seal it up: Check the outside windows and doors to ensure that there isn’t cold air entering the home. If air is coming through caulk the windows and use weather stripping to seal the doors. And switch out all summer screens with its glass replacement.

2.Inspect the furnace: Have your ducts cleaned and your furnace inspected by a HVAC professional. Change your furnace filter once a month this will prevent your furnace from over-working and over-heating. If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, open the valves slightly and bleed them until water appears this will ensure the proper flow of water through the system. When the time is right you may want to consider switching to geothermal heating/air to save on your energy bill in the winter and summer. Also make sure there is a carbon-monoxide detector near your furnace and that it is operational.

3. Check the lid: Inspect the roof to ensure the shingles are in good condition. Consider adding extra insulation in the attic to prevent warm air from escaping through the roof and causing ice dams. Clean out your gutters and downspouts. Installing leaf guards will minimize debris in your gutters and prevent them from clogging. Check flashing to make sure water can’t enter your home.

4. Protect the pipes: Drain all garden hose and insulate all exposed piping. If you leave for vacation, keep the house temperature at 55 degrees to prevent your pipes from freezing. Make sure you know where your water main shut off valve is in case there is an emergency.

5. Keep the pest at bay: To make sure your home stays rodent free, rake all edible vegetation away from the foundation. Seal up all entry points and any cracks in the foundation. Inspect all sill plates for possible infestation.

We would like to keep a dialogue going with our clients and subscribers so if you have any specific questions about wintering your home respond to this blog with your questions. And remember the only dumb questions are the ones that aren’t asked.

In this week’s blog we are going to start a new segment entitled “Project Wrap-Up”.  After every project is complete we will blog about it and give you a general idea of what the project detailed, how we preformed the job, any issues that we may have ran into during the job, and before and after pictures that will be coming to our Projects Portfolio page soon.

So we have just wrapped-up a new floating cedar deck with an existing enclosed screen on a porch in Golden Valley. The customer requested that we remove the screening, tear-up existing deck, replace deck with cedar, and then re-install the screening.

1. Our first task was to remove the existing screening without damaging it. We achieved this by carefully removing one section of the screening at a time. The screening was held up with screws that were screwed into the existing deck and also nailed into the fascia. This made it somewhat difficult to remove without ruining the fascia.
2. We tore up the existing decking and hauled it off. This was fairly simple since it was pretty old. We basically just pulled it out with our own hands.
3. We re-leveled the surface & started framing the deck which was very difficult because of concrete that was beneath the old decking. The concrete was cracked and significantly shifted which created an uneven surface.
4. While the deck was being framed with green treated wood, we also started staining both sides of the cedar decking boards. We always stain all sides of cedar board decking to keep moisture from causing the boards to warp.
5. We installed the pre-stained cedar decking boards making sure all our Deck Mate screws were in line with each other. We always use screws instead of nails to ensure that all boards a fastened securely and will not pop out later on down the road.
6. We re-installed the screening. We put the screening back in opposite of how we took it out in order to line everything up properly.

An issue that we ran into during this project was the heat; it was about 80 degrees on average out there. The problem with the heat is it’s just not that fun to work in, well we already know that. The real problem comes when it’s time to stain the decking boards and there is not enough shade in the area. If it’s too hot out during the staining process without ample shade, then the boards do not dry properly.  So a good tip is to try and do your staining early in the morning or make sure you have plenty of shade in the area while staining.

All-in-all, the porch turned out to look very nice and the client was pleased with the outcome. To look at some before and after shots, please check out our photo page. If you have any questions about this project or any future projects please let us know by contacting us.

For now, you can look at the Golden Valley Deck page here until the final page is launched.

10 Reasons why you need Life Insurance

1.)    You have a loan on a vehicle

2.)    You or your children have loans for college

3.)    You have credit card debt

4.)    You have personal loans

5.)    Your spouse relies on your income

6.)    You are saving for retirement

7.)    You have outstanding medical bills

8.)    You have young children

9.)    You have a mortgage

10.)  You have a second mortgage

Why is life Insurance Important?

Life Insurance won’t guarantee you’ll never face a tragic situation, just as wearing a seat belt won’t keep you from crashing your car. Whatever hopes and dreams you have for your loved ones can still be realized, even if the worst were to happen.

REAL EXAMPLES:

~Husband/father was driving home from work and lost control of his vehicle. He was killed instantly leaving wife to raise two kids, a $200,000 mortgage and loan for vehicle.

~The couple each had a $500,000 dollar life insurance policy to pay for his $15,000 funeral, $200,000 Mortgage, $20,000 Car loan and also covered expenses to raise children.

~A 19-year old was riding in a vehicle with a few friends. The driver wasn’t paying attention and ran a red light getting T-boned by an on coming vehicle killing the teenager instantly.

~Her parents carried a $100,000 policy which paid for her funeral, college debt and some medical expenses. Parents also missed work for 6 months which life insurance paid for.

~Mother/Wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was given 6 months to live. Family incurred $90,000 in medical bills and many trips to and from hospital. They spent the last two months traveling and shortly after she passed away leaving two children.

~Husband/Father received $250,000 in life insurance which was used to pay for funeral, medical bills, travel expenses and time missed from work.

American Family Insurance offers 25% discount with your home & auto insurance. We offer another discount on your auto insurance with a life insurance policy.  To find out your rate on your home, auto & life insurance go to my link under partnerships and click on American Family Insurance.

Office: 763-428-1004      Fax: 763-428-3063

This week’s blog entry will be about the Marvin Window factory tour that we took a couple weeks ago. As some of you may not know, Marvin Windows is based out of Warroad, MN. Marvin was kind enough to provide us a trip to their facility and an extensive tour.

While at Marvin, we learned a great deal about some of their new products like SillGuard, and Venting Picture Windows. We also learned about their manufacturing process.

Marvin SillGuard is a new way of keeping out water and moisture by effectively moving it to the exteriors of window and door openings. The Marvin SillGuard is easy to install and is made from non-corrosive and non-conductive recycled polypropylene.

The new Marvin Venting Picture Windows are an industry first. The Venting Windows provide the beauty of a picture window with the opportunity for cross ventilation. It provides fresh air and outside noises without any actual breeze coming through.

Here are some of the highlights of the manufacturing process we noticed while at Marvin:

• Marvin does not ever use two different species of wood for any of their products.
• They can design and produce any window that you can think of.
• Some of their patio screen doors are operated by rollers on the top of the doors.
• It’s unbelievable how many steps go into making a window!

To sum it up, this tour showed us that Marvin has got some new ideas and great products. However, while we like what Marvin is doing, there are many other companies out there that build great windows. It’s important to choose a window that not only looks great, performs well, and fits within your budget.

If you’re interested in finding out more information about windows or would like an estimate on adding or replacing windows at your house, please feel free to contact us.