Why Is Black Mold A Big Deal?
Black mold. The name alone sounds sinister, but why should we care about something as simple as a name? The word “spider” can also be a bit sinister, but North American spiders are by and large harmless and help out humans by eating bloodsucking insects and other pests. But while black mold may not be as dangerous as something like asbestos insulation or lead paint, it’s still a health hazard which you should minimize and treat as best as you can. Continue reading →
When is the best time to waterproof your basement? You might think that such an enterprise is best undertaken in the warmer months, once the snow and ice have melted and warmer weather has returned. In reality, however, the best time to waterproof your basement is during the winter. Once spring time rolls around, all that thawing snow and ice can threaten to inundate an improperly waterproofed basement. And although April showers do indeed bring May flowers, they can also bring unwanted moisture to your basement. 
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If you’ve never lived in a house with a raised foundation before, the crawl space is an area that exists between the base of a building’s first floor (which is a few steps up from the ground) and the concrete foundation which is level with the ground. The crawl space serves as an excellent way to get at the various wires and pipes which are normally hidden away behind the scenes, but there’s something of a problem: when you have the ability to crawl under your house, there’s a good chance that you’re not the only one. 
Water covers around 70 percent of the surface of our planet. It carved out the Grand Canyon and the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Frozen water flattened the Great Plains, and water vapor can form massive thunderstorms which generate thousands of lightning bolts. Water is the universal solvent, because most every solid can dissolve in it. It’s no wonder, then, that our buildings are designed to keep water as far away as possible. 
When it comes to drainage issues, a one size fits all approach will rarely work. Each drainage problem is unique. Problems will vary based on things like property elevation, water table levels, location, and even time of year. Due to the variety of drainage issues, it is always advisable to contact a professional service to determine the unique nature of your drainage problem and decide upon the best course of action. This course of action will be based on your unique circumstances, which is why there is no such thing as a one size fits all approach when it comes to drainage issues. 
Ice is a force to be reckoned with. The Great Plains are what you get when enough ice forms all in one place: the landscape itself flattens out, with the only hills being the scraped-up remains of former mountains and the only lakes being the puddles of ice water which the melting glacier leaves behind. 
Mold is not a harmless substance, and mold growth should never be ignored. If left unchecked, mold growth can damage your home, your possessions, and even your health. If the air quality in your home is affected by the presence of allergic or toxic molds, then immediate action must be taken to keep indoor mold to safe, natural levels. Of course, a problem that you don’t even know about is not one that you can eliminate. So mold testing the first step in ridding your home of unhealthy mold growth. 
Basement flooding can be catastrophic. Few things are as damaging to your basement as a flood. Dealing with basement flooding can be frustrating, emotionally exhausting, and very, very expensive. This is true even in the case of an unfinished basement, but when a basement that has also been used as a living space is flooded the expense can be even greater, as flooring, furnishings, and other upgrades can be costly to replace or repair. 
The most dramatic images that come from floods involve someone slogging through water that’s up to a person’s thigh or higher, and either he or she is working to protect an area from further flooding or else he or she is in a boat and traveling street by street either to scavenge for supplies or else find any stranded survivors. However, not every flood has to lead to canoes replacing cars, and even if it never reaches the surface of the earth a flood can do some significant damage to an unprepared basement.