Lethbridge Real Estate and Mortgage Info

How long has it been that I have been promising you some new developments on the web?  It looks like the New Year is bringing success with it. The first of a number of new initiatives is finally fully functional and it is my_pleasure to invite you to_visit www.SchluterHouse.com. 

I have worked with this company for a number of years knowing that they make the best products on the market designed to make tile installations a success.  Although they have always had good print and video information available to contractors, with this web site they are reaching out to give the smaller contractor and even the DIYer the knowledge necessary to understand all the dynamics of tiles, water and moisture_penetration as well as cracking -- and of course how to avoid all those problems.  I am working a lot with them to try and make all this complex stuff understandable and easily accessible.  Walk around this 3D house and check it out.  Discover_that tiles can be used in more places than you thought, and that decorative and protective trims bring tile jobs to a new level -- not to mention all the stuff under the tiles that you never thought was necessary.  The house is under construction so if you bookmark this site and come back occasionally you will see more and more tile projects throughout the house as well as_outdoors. 

I should have a second web project to share with you next month -- I hope.

Seasonal Tips: Looking at water

Guess what I want you to do in the depth of winter?  Visit_your attic of course.  Seriously -- get a light ready, a digital_flash camera ready and clear out the closet so you can climb up into the attic hatch during daylight on a freezing cold day.  Why, because daylight means that wherever you can see light coming through near the soffits there will be ventilation air coming through as well; you don't have to crawl all around to inspect.  On a cold day, because any leakage or condensation problems you might have will be white and quite visible.  Take your photos quickly, as simply having the attic hatch open can melt off the frost.

A light coating of frost evenly all over is typical of an old house and is no problem, not even all those little clusters on the tips of the roofing nails.  Problems are where you see great piles of "snow like" frost on the insulation or clustered on pipes or on the underside of the roof deck itself.  Generally look down from the frost cluster and you will find an air leak from the hot humid house below, like an electrical fixture or a leaking fan box.  Take your_pictures and do the air sealing work in the spring -- but identify it now while it is visible. If you get some great, or should I say horrible photos, send them to me.

Old Tools: Hammers

Let me invite you to take a little_trip looking at hammers.  Click on this LINK and discover_that there are more hammers available than you thought existed -- and that they each have a reason for being.  There is also some great information about personal preferences in the last article in the list.

New Tools: Spray Paint Cans

Here is a gadget that should begin to show up in stores soon, or as I _discovered you can get it from Lee Valley Tools as well: the Can_Gun_1.  Actually it is an improved version of a previous tool.  It snaps onto any standard spray can -- paint, lubricant_, adhesive, hair spray -- and gives you not only total control over the spray, but a relaxed non-tiring grip and_trigger that takes the finger breaking_stress out of long spray jobs.  This one is far better than anything like it I have seen yet.

I love the contridictions of Canada -- as the days get colder, they also get longer. By the way, the funny little underlines_ in some words are my effort to get past the spam checkers -- they don't like those particular words in newsletters!

Jon