When Do I Know It's Time for an Exterior Home Improvement

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Have you been living in your house for more than 5, 10, or even 15 years already? Do you feel like your house already needs a renovation, but you just keep telling yourself that maybe it’s not the right time yet because you just don’t have the free time yet for it or you don’t have the budget yet, or maybe your significant other says it’s too early yet?

First of all, for those who are confused on what home improvement means, according to Wikipedia, the concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), exterior (masonry, concrete, siding, roofing), or other improvements to the property (i.e. garden work or garage maintenance/additions).

Check The Roof

The roof is on fire! Just kidding! One of the most common exterior renovations that I see in our neighborhood is the roofing. Checking our roof once in a while is very important and it is advisable to check it especially before the rainy season. Because if you’re not careful, one rainy night, you might find some leaks on your ceiling which is unpleasant and inconvenient.

Before you call your friendly neighbor and ask him a favor to fix your roof, the first thing to look at is your documentation. Do you have all of the paperwork you need because maybe your roof still reaches the warranty period so you don't have to pay much. Do you have the names and contact numbers of the companies that have been involved with the roof’s installation such as previous inspectors, roofing contractors, architects, manufacturer technical services? You should have a copy of all the repair orders and the results of the repairs made. Finally, there should be a roof plan, drawn to scale, that not only shows all the equipment on the roof, but also the locations of any leaks and any repairs made. 

Aside from the roof, the walls and glazing should not be overlooked. Most often, leaks from wall, sealant and window failures are disguised as "roof" leaks. Look for cracks and water stains that may be symptomatic of problems in these areas. The worst offenders are pipes, conduit and other penetrations through the walls. Too often these are left unsealed, especially when they are installed as retrofits.

Check the Walls

Okay, I don’t want to focus on the roofing too much. Let’s talk about the exterior walls. Sometimes, it’s easier to spot imperfections on your exterior walls because they’re too obvious. But do we really have to wait and see for the imperfections such as cracks and stains before we can repaint our walls? How often do we have to repaint our walls? According to wow1day.com, there is no timeline for all, since every home is different. There are some rough guidelines you can follow, but there are several factors that can change the timing pretty drastically. For example, for wood siding, it’s every 3 to 7 years, or every 4 years if it’s stained. If the wood itself seems insecure, then it’s time to call the lumber company like the Decks & Docks Lumber Company and get some fresh new wood. 

Exterior painting is a pretty big job, so it’s always best to hire professional painters. I know it’s an expensive task, but if you can afford it, see it as an investment for  having a great home.  It’s the best way to ensure you’ll get a quality paint job that will last for years.

I think even a book is not enough to discuss things about home improvement so I’ll just end it here for now. If you have further questions/suggestions/comments, please leave them in the comments section below.

                                           

Wedding Dresses and More

A woman’s wedding is a very significant day to a woman’s life. It is the time when one person is about to share her life to someone special to her. That is why wedding ceremonies takes a long time to prepare. Most of the time, couples would hire a wedding coordinator because wedding arrangements could be really stressful; minding table arrangements, the food, the place,  the priest, and a whole lot more.

But one thing that a bride-to-be would take her time to choose and spend time with is choosing her wedding dress. Since it’s a very special occasion to her, choosing her special wedding dress is both fun and stressful at the same time. But once she finds the right dress, every time and money spent is worth it.

Since everything is online already, I did some canvassing about wedding dresses and one online shop that caught my attention is AW Bridal® USA. The website offers a vast variety of wedding dresses,  bridesmaid's gowns, and more - everything you need to a wedding (clothing-wise). Customers also left some positive feedback in the AW bridal review so it's really worth checking out.

Wedding veils by Mori Lee

If you already have a dress, but is missing a veil, AW Bridal Veils for dresses is also available. Designers like Mori Lee® has also placed their beautiful veils on the site. See? They really thought of everything. Some brides would use their mom or grandma's wedding dresses and sometimes the veil needs to be replaced already due to age, so you can browse at the said website for wedding veils or you can also search in Amazon. 

Aside from wedding dresses, the site also offers beautiful clothes for the mother of the bride, cocktail dresses, prom dresses, evening dresses, and more. So if you're looking for a nice dress for a special occasion, do check it out and you might find something that you're looking for. 

Best Software for Small Businesses

Small businesses have been booming worldwide most especially with housewives or stay-at-home moms. Gone are the days that the husband or the wife will stay at home to take of their child and wait for their significant other to give them their salary. Although I have to admit this is not totally gone, but it is encouraged that both husband and wife find a way to earn money to support each other and their family.

Platforms That Would Help you Sell Your Items/Services

Let’s start with a simple example. If I want to sell clothes online, I would want an application that would help me sell them by exposing me to a larger audience who’s also online. That’s where online apps like Facebook, Instagram, Lazada, and Shopee comes in. I personally have an experience selling my used clothes and items on Facebook and it really went well. I got to sell them in a week’s time. I also saw people who has an online business that sells clothes and bags, and they do a Facebook Live to sell their items, then whoever wants to buy the items they featured can comment on that video and say they’d like to buy it. It’s more like an interactive purchase because the seller can see your comments in real time and can talk on the video. A lot of people are doing this nowadays which I think really helps tremendously in selling. I haven’t tried it yet myself, but I believe I will do it someday probably when I have lots of items to sell.

Accounting Time

Another subject to consider when you have a small business is accounting. Accounting never goes away because it is essential for a business to know if the business itself is earning money or losing money. Some people hire accountants and some people or business owners would enroll themselves to study basic accounting so they can do it themselves. Thanks to technology, there are also a lot of applications that can help you do your accounting. According to Hubspot.com, among the top accounting business software are the following :

Intuit QuickBooks Online

FreshBooks

Wave

Sage 50cloud

Xero

Zoho Books

GoDaddy Bookkeeping

Kashoo

Most people would also use the enterprise version of the said software such as QuickBooks Enterprise to get the whole package which includes point-of-sale system, inventory, and more.

Customer Feedback 

Once you’ve set up your system and your business is up and running, what remains now is customer feedback. As a business owner, you definitely would want your customers to keep coming back so you have to earn user/customerloyalty.  Some customers would say upfront if they have a question or a negative comment about the product or service they got from you. Others would simply decide to stay quiet and never return. Then it leaves you wondering what happened or what have you done wrong that prevents them from coming back. Sometimes, customers would just say they don’t feel like it or they just don’t want to try your service anymore just because. Best way to bring out their thoughts in a more relaxed way is through surveys or simply give them your business’ email address so they can send it to you directly.

Got anything to add? Write them down on the comments below.