Roof Leak

  We run across this all the time...a leaky roof that was repaired with roof tar or another cheap sealer...
  In the hot summer, most of the black tar you buy in buckets and cans and even some of the white and silver products, simply will not hold up to the heat.  It begins to break down after only 1-2 years.

This patch was done just 2 years ago and is already cracking.  Water had begun to leak back into the house.

Click here to view the product...

This is one of the great products that seems to actually work, I had a report this morning from a friend that said that after applying this product and letting it dry a couple days, they could put their bare skin against it without getting burned in direct sunlight in 100+ degree weather!
  It is a great product for sealing roof leaks as well.

  The only thing you may want to be aware of is that won't match your roof, so take care to use it where it won't be seen by people passing by..

Happy Sealing!!

Gate for a Headboard!?

Installed a gate used as a headboard last week! Pretty interesting look.

We left it as-is, no sanding, scraping or prepping...just coated it with 3 layers of clear coat to keep the rusty areas from flaking off...

Foundation Issues

Cracks can be very anoying, but it's important to know what is causing the crack and the severity of the problem.
Cracks are mostly caused by small movements in the foundation generally enhanced by long wet and dry spells.  Here in North Texas, it is worsened by the blackland clay that tends to move much more than typical topsoil.
  Some cracks are caused by extreme heat causing wood to twist and buckle, more common in houses that have poor insulation.
  Take care in bringing in people to give you estimates on repairs, many companies make a living off of selling fear.
   When possible, use a company that a friend had good results with.  Get several companies to look it over and see if they all see the same problems. All estimates should be free.
  If you need actual repairs, try to use a company that has been in business a long time and guarantes their work.
Happy Spending!!

Below are 2 examples in a house we are working in today with a moderate to severe foundation problem.  The slab has moved so much that the sheetrock was actually sheered off in a couple places.  Only half of the doors even came close to closing.

  The foundation dropped in one area leaving large cracks under the baseboards.

Saving a Tree

  I received a call a few years ago about a tree that had split in a North Texas wind storm.
  They really wanted to save the tree and so we looked a few things up online and made an attempt...

     


      

   The tree was barely hanging on and we feared it would finish splitting at any time. I bolted a chain around it for safety reasons to start work.

  As you can see in the first picture, when I started to pull the tree back together, I used heavy straps instead of a come-along because I feared the cables would damage the tree further.

After tightening and re-tightening over and over and gradually working the tree back together, the homeowner decided to go ahead and have me install a very heavy threaded bar and bolt it in place.

You can see the heavy bolt in the center of this picture.  I drilled a 3/4 inch hole all the way through the tree to install it, then put oversize washers and used the nuts to finish pulling the tree together.  This also helped keep the tree from twisting in the wind.   Eventually I installed two of them then trimmed the ends off.

This was the just before we worked on it, and now 3 years later, it is still healthy and growing and the bark is starting to grow around the bolt I installed.   We did not use any product on the split, and nothing was added to the damaged area to help the tree grow back together or to keep insects out.

It will forever have "pins" in it's joints!!

Happy Tree Fixin'!

Coons in the Attic!!

  If you ever hear noises in your attic, it's time to investigate!!
  Most popping sounds and creaks come from the house rapidly heating or cooling or from the wind blowing.  However, if you hear scratching or things running around, you could have problems.
   The first thing to do is investigate and see that it's not trees scraping a chimney or roof causing odd sounds.  Tree limbs are another problem altogether that must be addressed immediately.
 
   I received a call last Fall from a customer complaining about something living in his attic, after finding major damage, I decided to stake it out, sit quietly and see what happened.

After only 5 minutes of waiting and sweating, this little guy came out and started playing...then another.

         




  They had done a massive amount of damage to the A/C duct work                                                                                                                    

             
  Here the A/C Duct was broken apart and much of the air was going into the attic!
  Most of the lines had half or more of the insulation missing.
  It stunk terribly from the droppings.
  We immediately set live traps and called a pest control company.
  I found no visible holes around the eves of the roof, but then...



  I decided to look under the house, so I took a small machete to probe into dark corners and found an old vent that had come apart that made a perfect tunnel from under the house into the attic...Later I realized there was a flea infestation due to the raccoons....but that's another story...
  It is very important to remove the animals before making repairs, first, you never want an animal to die in an inhumane way, second, if it dies, you will deal with a massive odor problem for many days!

A very cheesy picture I posted to Facebook
as I was about to investigate under the house....

  No matter how small the animal, it can cause damage and needs to be dealt with.  I've seen wires chewed, soffit and facia chewed, duct work destroyed, flea infestations, strong smells and a ton of other problems from leaving pests unchecked.

Happy Hunting!

NOTE:  Some pest control agencies in my opinion scam people out of thousands of dollars in unneeded repairs and work.  For instance, one company told us we needed to vacuum all the insulation out of an attic and blow in new due to urine in the insulation....a cost of over 4,000 dollars.  Their estimates for repairs of holes and vents was about 5 times more than what a home builder would charge.
  Double-check what they are asking you to do and if you receive an estimate for thousands of dollars, be suspicious, be very suspicious...
 

Stuck door!

Even in really nice houses we often see this problem in North Texas..
   This is an 8 foot door that's stuck in the door jam in Southlake this morning.
   I wonder if it has anything to do with that nose sticking through the crack in the door..