Badges Properties LLC Fix-It Brothers

How To Control Ice Damming

A roof full of snow can lead to ice damming. Many factors lead to ice damming and one of the major cause is lack of insulation and ventilation. You ask how does venting effect snow on the roof? The air in the attic does not flow through the attic area effectively, heating the roof sheathing and the snow above it melts to quickly. This hits the gutter system and then builds ice dams. Some people feel safe because when they had their last roof installed they had ice and dam shield installed. This can give a great since of security but, it does not protect the gutter system.

The ice and dam goes up about four feet from the gutter line. This is usually high enough so the melting snow does not back up under the roof and get into the wall and cause interior water damage and problems associated with water in the houses walls. So, it helps against water damage, it does not control the ice damming problem. This is a part of a series of things that can help with ice damming and prevention of ice damming.

The addition of roof vents and eve vents to help the flow of the air in the attic. When the air flows through the roof freely it is harder for it to warm and cause the snow to melt above to melt to quickly. The addition of insulation goes along with the ventilation. The added layers of insulation control the loss of heat from below to the attic area. These two things help to control ice damming from happening the most.

There is the addition of roof heating wires which can be used to keep the ice from forming and allows the water to flow off the roof and flowing through the gutter system.

Once the ice damming has happened and the roof is so covered in snow the only alternatives are physical removal of snow and or the application of chemical agents to melt the snow and ice. The use of both could be needed in some cases. The chemical agents available can do the job alone if the ice damming is not that severe.

The most important fact about all of this is to stay safe. When doing things yourself, you need to use care. The use of a contractor to handle this type of problem can be the best idea. There are a number of contractors that will help people with ice and snow removal. If in the greater Milwaukee area in Wisconsin, a company by the name of Badges Properties LLC may be able to help you with your homes needs. They offer many services and seem to help with all of the home improvement and repair/handyman needs. They can be found in the online yellow pages. They even help large apartment or condo complexes with external and internal needs.

Remember, Safety First.

Hydroseeding Machines / Erosion Barriers And New Lawns

I know it is now time to put the lawn mower away a break out the snow blowers in the Great Midwest. I cannot help myself as I cannot believe how many people have not heard of a lawn installation process called hydro-seeding in the great state of Wisconsin. We are not aware of hydroseeding machines here and there uses for new lawns and erosion barriers. I know we run behind the times on fashion and other new things, but we really need to start thinking here people. People are still using a caveman way of throwing grass seed in the air and covering it with straw, you see it all the time here. I know its hard to believe. Then even using granular fertilizers that can run off and cause harm to other areas. The really bad stuff is rolled out straw blankets. The straw blankets contain a plastic mesh, not to mention we are covering the earths soil with a plastic compound that will never never dissolve. I see it here in Wisconsin all the time, is no one concerned about our wild life and environment.

The real kicker is there is a process called hydro-seeding that is 100 times better than the straw/seed and the grass / straw process uses unsafe granular fertilizers of the past. There are companies Like Badges Properties LLC in the greater Milwaukee area which has a hydroseeding machine for new lawn and erosion barrier installation. This company is willing to work with home owners, landscapers and even gives discounts to developers/builders. They can be found in the online yellow pages. Badges Properties LLC does not advertise much as their product and service is so good people hear about them word of mouth. The only problem is the builders don’t know about them and they keep using large landscaping outfits and paying twice as much by using straw and straw blankets. The home owner gets sod like quality lawns from Badges Properties LLC hydroseeding service.

The hydro-seeding lawn installation process via hydroseeding machine gives you a new sod quality lawn in 4 weeks and costs half the price. Did you get that? Sod quality like lawn in 4 weeks. The best part no harm to animals in plastic nets or old granular fertilizers in our hydro-seeding process. I could install lawns and erosion barriers with seed and plastic netting all day and make tons of money; but I won’t. The hydro-seeding process saves our environment and wildlife. That’s enough reason right there. You want more of a reason, that even some builders don’t know? It is more economical to hydro-seed then use the roll out plastic/straw blankets. That’s right even builders are not aware of the advantages of hydro-seeding. You see most of them have set up deals with landscapers who don’t use hydro-seeding machines because it would cost them to much. You see the hydroseeding machines are costly at first, but really pay for themselves in the end. Badges Properties LLC was able to find out about hydroseeding machines a couple years back and started offering hydroseeded lawns and erosion barriers to builders/developers.

There are actually landscape companies taking advantage of illegal help and paying them very low wages and getting away with it as they pay them in cash, eluding the IRS and not paying taxes. So, instead of buying the hydro-seeding machines, they exploit these poor people for their own huge money gains. The landscapers using illegal help don’t want to tell the builders they work with, that hydro-seeding is better and safer. The builders on the other hand would get a much better lawn at cheaper rate which is safe for all. You maybe asking your self how is it cheaper? You see the landscaper company owner still charges a premium rate for a low quality product. So, the only one who sees the benefits is the landscape company owner. There are many builders that just think it is the cheapest route to get their lawns and erosion barriers put in. When builders are not even aware of hydroseeding machines, how would the general home owner without being told about hydro-seeding and all of its benefits, know?

There are some high quality builders that know about it and just automatically figure since it is new and high tech figure hydroseeding lawns and erosion barriers is expensive, but it is not at all. The people in the southern parts of the country have been using hydro-seeding for many years already. The builders here in the greater Milwaukee area may have also run into high priced hydro-seeders when it first arrived here and just said it’s to expensive. This is really not the case were Badges Properties LLC is concerned, they are so economical other landscapers sub-contract them just for the lawn. The builders would also find this out if they would just take some time and read a letter or take a phone call from a quality hydro-seeding company representative, they would see that hydro-seeding is far better for new lawns and erosion control. The new home owner would be the other one to benefit highly from hydro-seeding. Besides a hydroseeded lawn being very economical for a home owner to put in, it is also less expensive to get and keep a great looking lawn. The straw/seed landscapers don’t want you to know, it costs more in fertilizer and still grows 50% weeds and then you finally get 50% grass. A straw/seed lawn takes 2 years to grow in. hydro-seeded lawns, via hydroseeding machine takes 4 weeks! You do the math on materials and time spent. It is really obvious that hydro-seeding is by far the most economical and best product.

The International Association of Hydroseeding Professionals maintains a list of professional hydro-seeders for the whole country (www.hydroseeding.org.) It is a great source to help find out about hydro-seeding and professional hydroseeders, look for the contractors that have the I.A.H.P. symbol by their company name as these are members the others are just known contractors in that area, stick with the members. In fact there is a company called G&G hydroseeding that is on this list and offers hydroseeding services, who are a professional member. G&G hydroseeding is owned by Badges Properties LLC, so you can reach them both for hydroseeding services. The Wisconsin listings has members right at the top of their list of contractors. Many contractors can have large areas that they will service, so just call and ask.

I really wish some people who would be interested in helping the environment would help spread the word about hydro-seeding, via hydroseeding machine. If you want more info, please leave a comment or e-mail and we can talk about hydro-seeding and it’s benefits to all. People building a house need to ask their builder if they know of a quality hydro-seeder in their area. If the builder is not aware, just check the site above. I even encourage all builders to look into hydroseeding and just because one hydro-seeder is a little high, does not mean all are. I have heard of hydro-seeders going as low as 6.5 cents per square foot for large builders. Think of what you can buy for 6.5 cents. This shows you how cost effective hydro-seeding is. Most home owners are looking at about 8-16 cents depending on what part of the country you live.

I will try to help spread the word, but I cannot do it alone. I could use any help I could get.

Remember Always Safety First.

Christmas Handyman Help

We can use a little Christmas help.  This is the time of year when we join with family and friends.  We even try to join with our co-workers in an effort to spread the Christmas spirit.  When we invite people into our homes for the holidays we invite them with open arms.  It all starts at the front door or maybe even the edge of your drive way.  Just because it is the holidays does not mean that you will not be able to find a good handyman to help you with your needs.  This is when you need the most help.  The Christmas spirit is in the air and we want it all to be just perfect.  No, you don’t have to remodel your whole bathroom; but maybe some new towel bars would be a nice touch.  We just installed a new rail/wall system in our entryway of our home.  I am hoping that it will be done before Christmas eve.

This is still a little bigger project than towel bars;  but will get noticed by everyone who enters.  When people come to your home you want your home to feel warm and inviting.  Fixing small things around your home helps give this feel.  A broken bathroom door knob which allows the door to swing open when someone is on the thrown is not going to give people a warm and inviting feel,  maybe screaming and shock!  I know family and friends are coming to see you and not your house; but your house is you.  Take a strong hold of pride of ownership.  When your front door light is burnt out and is only hanging by one screw, its time to fix it.  The are so many little things around the house that you can use a good handyman company for.  You don’t always need a general contractor who charges  a $100 dollars per hour just to talk to him or her.  The large property management and complex associations fall into the contractor pit alot.  They could get a good small contractor or handyman company that could cover all their needs and spend 25-50% less just because they did a little searching.  You can do the same.  You still need to be careful and research the background of the people you want in your home to do your work.

I can’t but think the bigger the company you go with the less you will know about the people you are letting into your house.  You see lets just look at one of these so called online screening sites for contractors and handyman work.  Take note,  your not paying the screening company for them to find you a honest and true craftsman.  So,  who is paying the screening company?  That’s right the same contractors and handyman company that they told you about.  Really seems like a conflict of interest to me.  These screening sites are popping up like crazy so someone must be paying their bills.  The other thing out there is the big flashy ads and hounding sales people.  The large replacement window companies are great for that.  I will stop there, what I am trying to say is the large places are not paying large money to the people they are sending you and that leads to high turn over.   A smaller company will know its people and you might even have the company owner working on your house.

I have tried to write a couple articles on consumer protection and scams.  I write this article now as I know people want to have things just perfect for friends and family.  The haste to get things done can lead people to the wrong person to do their work.  The Christmas time of year is a special time of year that can really be destroyed; because the guy the big name company with all the flashy ads and hype sent out,  came back and did his own house call and your gifts and belongings in your home was his fee.   There are many good people out there doing high quality work for reasonable rates.  They are sometimes a little harder to find because they don’t have big flashy ads in the phone book or full page ads in your local newspaper.     In the end you will be happy that you spent a little time to find the right handyman for you.  Try to find someone that friends or family have used or just find out what you can about a company before you just hire them because they had the biggest ad or listed first on a big name online search engine.

There can be hazards of hiring a small company as they may not have the tools or knowledge you thought they had.  These smaller guys don’t last very long and makes the percentage of them finding you small.  The true small company knows how to treat people as their business depends on it.  If you have to dial a toll free number to find your handyman odds are this is not a direct line to the business owner.   You hear it all the time,  what happened to customer service?  The person answering that same toll free handyman number,  has no idea who is going to show up at your house!  Everybody likes to make fun of small cities or towns where there’s one or two plumbers or handyman,  but you never hear those people say, “yeah, Fred the plumber took my TV and all my Christmas gifts” or “Yeah, I just got ripped off again by Joe the handyman.   These people know each other and live in the same communities who have pride and respect for one another.  It also helps you know exactly where Joe lives if he would rip you off,  but Joe’s not going to do that because he wasn’t sent to you from some screening service.   Heck, you might have even went to school with Joe and now your kids go to school with Joe’s kids.

Look for companies with good names,  Badges Properties LLC and Home Improvements.  This name makes a statement.  Not a flashy franchise name and look at our big flashy ads and toll free number.  The company with a good name or family name is the one that will stand behind there badge and name to give you the service you need and want.

Remember, Always Safety First.