Beautiful Home

You make or buy your home with care and love. Of course you want it to be fir on all quarters. Even the problems in small departments may grow big and have a decisive impact on the resale value of the house. And if you have plans to keep the house for good, the problems get far worse.

Wall and roof leaks are deadly symptoms for house breakage and may even cause diseases. It only requires a body prone to allergens. Often one or two member in the family is sensitive to water diseases. And these leaks may catalyze the process. You need to be forever alert about the leaks, kinetic or potential.

The ground area

Basement houses are more open to leaks and if you have got house on the basement, make fortnightly checks on whether the pipes are functioning fine, and the excessive heat has not caused cracks on the walls. Be aware if the house is standing on an erstwhile pond or other water body. This makes the foundation receptive to water as the artesian level will ever be high. First or above floor houses are safer than the ground ones.

Wall drying

Keep a super-sopper handy. Just check the interior of the walls for molds and breakages. They may be invisible, but such water seepage has a distinct smell. Keep the corners of the house under notice. Try and seal any deformity as fast as you notice it. There can be no leeway allowed in this.

Fans and driers are also a good way of directly handling the wet walls. Water evaporates when dried and leaves the walls crusted. A block of sand and cement will then help keep it firm.

The traditional method

Proper ventilation has ever been taken as an ace way in keeping the walls dry. The passage of fresh air from opposite sides keeps the walls invigorated. And sunshine is always an elixir. You should not keep the walls damp. Too much darkness or dirt allows that. That is why storerooms, attics and the unused portion of kitchen and bathroom should be checked every now and then.

What it may cause?

You may find the members suffering from consumption, diarrhea, indigestion and nausea. And yes, it was not there when you lived elsewhere. This may be directly connected to the continuous water leakage through walls and molds formed. Sharp instruments like knifes should be periodically used to check out the inside of the walls. Just a tap or two will give you the needed knowledge. Odors and colognes are also an effective way to keep the walls dry. They mix with water and cause a reaction whereby the stagnation stops. Stagnant water anywhere is dangerous.

It is important to know…

You must know when the task has stretched far ahead than you can handle. In that case, it is better to take professional help to get things sorted in an appropriate manner. 

Tags: dry out wall, water damage

Watching that old wood paneling everyday in your home may be really boring. There are ways by which you can actually get rid of that within a limited budget as well. No, you don’t have to replace it with another expensive paneling, but can certainly profit by following this article. This may turn out to be time consuming and you may have to work out a bit too, but ultimately it will bring the much-needed joy to your home.

Paint your old paneling new

Painting the old paneling is a good idea but it is not that easy as it sounds. This is not as similar as painting a wall. Paint is not absorbed easily like the wall; if you do not paint the paneling properly the wood will show. Firstly clean up the wooden surface thoroughly with a strong degreasing cleaner. Apply gloss remover, which will let the paint to stick on it. While doing this, make sure that you are applying it on a small surface first and wait for thirty minutes till it dries up. Now apply primer for the first time and if wood is visible then apply another coat. Let it dry overnight and take off the excess of it using a putty knife. Your paneling is now ready to be painted.

Varnish your paneling

This process also adds luster to your dull paneling. Firstly, just like the above, clean the paneling thoroughly with degrease and paint it with the color you like. Keep this to dry all through the night and then mix a satiny glaze top color. Start painting but go slow, as you need to scrape off the excess color. It will be less shiny if you wipe off more of it and make sure that it dries up completely before being disturbed.

Use wallpaper and then paint it

You can adopt another method, which involves applying wallpaper over the paneling and painting it. Get a wallpaper that can be painted and clean the paneling like before with degrease. Next, paneling has to be primed and sizing applied to the walls. Soak the wallpaper and hang them just as the way instructed. Then your wall is ready to be painted according to your taste.

Besides these ideas, you can apply an age-old technique. This is nothing but washing your old wood paneling thoroughly. This might bring out the hidden color and then you can think about any further changes on it. You can even give a whitish look to your wood by applying thin white enamel paint mixed with thinner. Use a small brush and also keep a rag in the same way to wipe the extra. Leave it for a longer time to watch the whitish look enfold brilliantly. Wash and store your brushes properly for future use. All these techniques can prove really helpful if you strictly adhere to the norms while renovating your old paneling.

Tags: old wood paneling, wallpaper