Last year I made a bunch of videos showing simulated fires happening inside of clothes dryer transition ducts. I made these by filling various 4′ sections of dryer ducts with shredded paper, lighting the paper on fire, and then directing the blower end of a wet/dry vac at the duct to help simulate a clothes dryer blowing in to the ducts.
These tests made for some dramatic failures, but one fairly unrealistic part of the tests was the amount of air being blown in to the ducts. The air that comes out of the blower end of a wet/dry vac is way more than what comes out of a clothes dryer.
To make the tests a little bit more realistic, I measured the air flow out of the back of my clothes dryer and used an 18 volt power blower. I also obstructed the end of the blower until the air flow was similar to that of a clothes dryer.
This time, there was only one failure; as you might imagine, it was the foil duct. The UL listed semi-rigid dryer transition duct and the Dryerflextransition duct never burned through. I recorded all of the tests and trimmed the uneventful parts of the videos to make a single video under three and a half minutes long.
A shower screen is a thing that is very
often overlooked in interior decoration
schemes. Bathroom interior design is especially challenging because there
is an extra level of functionality to fulfill. Of course, all design has to be
functional. If there were no functional element it wouldn't be design, it would
simply be art. But in living room design, for instance, you have license to be
more ornamental and to forget the necessity of fittings a bit more. Too often
people settle for the fallback option of a plastic curtain held up by a bar and
plastic rings. These are cheap, but that's about their only advantage.
First of all, they have very short life
spans meaning that you have to replace them often and they are very wasteful.
Secondly, they rot, which is unhygienic and difficult to clean. Thirdly, they
are often not aesthetically pleasing, and tend to cut the space up in your bathroom
making it appear smaller rather than bigger.
The most beautiful option for
protect your shower or bath stall is a frameless glass screen from a company
like Frameless Impressions.
These screens started out as elegant pool and sauna protectors and then became
adapted to shower and bath barriers.
These shower screens are beautifully
simple. They are made with rectangular toughened glass, and don't have the
normal rubber and metal frames that invite rot and mould to accumulate around
the edges. Instead, they are installed and attached to tiled walls with brass
hinges. The
glass is 10mm thick, meaning that it's strong but without being so thick as to
be difficult to see through. These frameless screens are easy to clean, all
that is required is a simple wipe down with a cleaning product, because they
are just a smooth glass surface there are no difficult grooves to clean. It's a
blissfully easy process of dampening a cloth and running it over the glass
surface. Compared with trying to hand wash and scrub a plastic shower curtain,
it's a revolution.
Using a frameless glass screen is
advantageous also, because it opens up the space in your bathroom rather than
closing it off. Because bathrooms are usually small spaces, this is a really
important design feature. You can position your shower stall so as to capture
as much light as possible from your bathroom window, which will mean that
taking your shower in the morning in summer will be an absolute joy.
Any sort of drainage can be engineered with
these doors, and a removable brush seal is provided along the clear glazed
acrylic half round on the underside of the door on all installations. This
means that pools of water won't leak out from under your shower door onto your
bathroom floor.
Looking for an affordable neighborhood with a high percentage of families with children who own their homes? Check out Standish neighborhood in south Minneapolis. It has one of the highest combinations of percentage of families with children, 54%... and owner occupied homes, 76%.
The Standish neighborhood borders the LRT light rail line to downtown Minneapolis, the airport and Mall of America on the east and Cedar Avenue on the west which becomes Hwy 77, with easy access to Hwy 62 and cities south of the river. It is also close to Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Parkway, Minnehaha Falls... and the Ford Bridge to St. Paul and a myriad of universities and colleges. No wonder it is a neighborhood in high demand!
I listed a charming home for sale in this neighborhood last Thursday around noon... and had a offer which we accepted by that evening!There are currently 27 Standish neighborhood houses for sale in Minneapolis, ranging in price from $59,500 to $349,789... average price of $182,590.
My sellers of that Standish house for sale are only leaving because of a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity... they are sorry to be leaving. They put together a list of things they love about living in this neighborhood... great to hear it directly from the people who live here!
We have enjoyed the location and community even more than we imagined.
Here are some of the things we have enjoyed...
Our neighbors are amazing. We have a very active block captain who helps to ensure that everyone knows everyone else. We are very close friends with several of the families on the block. Our in-home daycare is another family just 2 blocks away.
Sibley Community Center, free ice skating all winter. Classes (tumbling), inexpensive community events (Pancake breakfast, movies in the park, cookouts). Amazing soccer games on the weekends. The playground is fine but all due for an update in the next year.
Lake Hiawatha splash pad and party room. Perfect for a quick walk on a pretty day
Running the 'loop' in the Sibley meadow and playing Frisbee/picnicking in the green space
The newly renovated Roosevelt library
Shops at 42nd and 38th are almost all you'd ever need: Buster's gastropub has amazing beer flights and tasty food. A Baker's Wife has the best donut holes (fresh and hot!) we've ever had. The Angry Catfish coffeeshop and bike store will get you and your ride up and going. We make weekly trips to Ace Hardware, run almost entirely by one family. Dr. Amos is an incredible Vet. Bill's Chinese is some of the best take-out we've had.
Bike lane on 40th Ave or go a few blocks south to the Parkway or north to the Midtown Greenway
Half a mile to the light rail station. Two blocks to Cedar metro bus stop.
Right in between midtown Farmer's Market (Saturdays) and Kingsfield Farmer's Market (Sundays)
Zumba and dance classes at Social Dance Studio
Homebrew and vintage games at the Chatterbox
The new gastropub Northbound Smokehouse Brewpub
One of the best butcher's in the city is at 38th and Cedar
Restaurants at 42nd and Cedar: Pupuseria and Collosal Café are great casual dining spots
Our neighborhood is the original home of e-democracy.org. SENA (Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association) is the most active neighbor forum so you we have a strong online community.
We are making our way through the countdown of the Top 20 Home Improvements to increase the value of your home. In Part 1 of this series I gave you #20 - #16. So....let's look at the next Five!
#15 Landscape your Yard – Not always the best return on your investment but definitely the best for curb appeal to get buyers into your home and it may make for a quicker sale. Not to mention the enjoyment you will get out of a perennial garden in the mean time.
#14 Major Kitchen Remodel – Kitchens are the heart of the home and definitely the most important room in the house. They can make or break a sale. Major kitchen remodels are great only if you are not selling immediately. Do the major remodel, enjoy it, then it is ready for the sale down the road.
#13 Add a bathroom – If you have fewer faucets than beds, adding a bathroom can not only add value but save family arguments.
#12 Make sure Additions Match the House – If you have a traditional home, don’t add on a contemporary addition just because that is more your taste. If your addition doesn’t match, change the look of the house at the same time.
#11 Replace Old Windows – There is nothing worse than old drafty window. By replacing them you will save energy and dollars now and reap rewards at selling time.
If you missed any of the posts in this series be sure to check them out!
What stood out as I plugged in the most recent monthly stats was how May numbers jumped up across the board... both over last month and over at least the last 4 years! Days on the market are down... but that's where you want them to be! As an example, I had three new listings in the last week and all had multiple showings within hours... with offers shortly after that!
New listings are showing strong upward growth, finally moving above the last three years as more sellers are getting back into the marketplace in response to strong buyer demand.
Closed sales are up...
....and pending sales are also up, meaning we can expect the strong closed sales to continue.
The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $350,001-$500,000 price range, at least partially fueling the increase in overall median sale price. The price range that sold the quickest was the $190,001-$250,000 price range. This seems to indicate that move-up buyers are finally actually able to make the move... and are doing so!!
It is encouraging that even overall inventory has moved up a bit. Even though it still hangs way below normal levels, it is at least starting to move up again. Competition for homes has been brutal, with them selling before many interested buyers even have a chance to get in to see them!
The market is definitely hot right now... if what we are experiencing now is any indication, June stats will be up even more!
The figures above are based on statistics for the combined 13-county
Twin Cities metropolitan area released by the Minneapolis Area
Association of Realtors.
Never forget that all real estate is local and what is happening in
your neighborhood may be very different from the overall metro area.
Click here for local reports on 350+ metro area communities
Click here for current interactive market analytics by area, city, county, neighborhood or zip code
Since it seems like homes are flying off the market, what do you need to have for a preapproval? It's back to the basics compared to a few years ago. Remember the number 2 -you need 2 of most everything!
You will need to provide your loan officer with the basics:
-2 paystubs (with year to date information on them)
-2 months of bank statements (make sure you have all the pages)
-2011 and 2012 tax returns and w-2's
Depending on your situation you may also need to provide a copy of a divorce decree, school transcripts, investment account statements, bankruptcy documents, foreclosure information and mortgage statements. Every file is a little different so it will depend on your own situation.
We need to verify employment for the past two years, how much your income is and that it is stable. Basically your income needs to be verifiable and stable. If you are self employed, we need to be able to verify at least two years in the same business.
We have to verify all money used in the transaction. So if you transfer money between accounts, try to keep that to a minimum during your mortgage application. If you are getting a gift, we will need to document it.
The home has to appraise. The appraisal will make sure the value is there and that there aren't any work orders on the property.
Basically if you remember the 4 C's of lending, you will know what we need.
Capital - the amount of money you have
Capacity - your income and if it's stable
Credit History - your use of credit and payment history
Collateral - the appraised value of the home
Underwriters will look at this information to make sure you can qualify for the home you are looking at. Remember that just because we say you can qualify for a home, that doesn't mean you can afford it. Take some time to think about your expenses and make sure you are comfortable with the payment. We work off gross income and do not include things like car insurance, daycare and other expenses. Decide what your limits are and look within those limits. You are the person making the payments and you want to be comfortable with your house payment. Once you know that you are approved and what you are comfortable spending, start shopping! Have fun house hunting!
"Now there's three things you can do in a baseball game: You can win or you can lose or it can rain." ~ Casey Stengel
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It's my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and
grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from
the Norwegian 'Quote Cup' passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a
quote and a recipe here each week, and sometimes some photos of family
fun. I love trying new recipes...and love getting recipes you would like to share!
Our 8-year-old grandson is busy with baseball season... so frustrating this year that it seems to be raining for so many practices and games! Had a nice day last Saturday, when he pitched an inning with 9 pitches and 3 outs! Today we are taking him to the Science Museum to see Tornado Alley IMAX movie I have been wanting to see all year!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I had a craving for tuna salad and thought of this recipe I used to love from Pillsbury's Soup & Salad Cookbook from 1969! I haven't made it for ages, I think it may be time... the original recipe called for canned pineapple and peas which works fine, but fresh/frozen would be my preference now. I cringe when I think of using 'Real Lemon' instead of fresh lemons, which is what I did when I first made it... it's hard to remember when fresh fruits and vegetables were not so readily available year-round.
PINE-A-RONI TUNA SALAD
3/4 cup dry macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup (1 small) chopped onion
1 medium stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 heaping cup chopped fresh pineapple (or 8 3/4 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained)
1 can (6 1/2 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas (or 8 ounce can peas, drained)
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except peas; mix well. Add peas, toss very lightly. Chill before serving. If desired, garnish with tomato wedges ro radish slices.
OK, I don't really think standard footings are going to become a thing of the past just yet, but there's a cool new product in town that's making deck footings way faster and easier to install; it's called a Diamond Pier® Foundation System.
A Diamond Pier is basically just a small piece of concrete with four holes in it. Long steel pins get driven through the holes at 45 degree angles, and these pins make the small chunk of concrete as strong as an 18" round footing, assuming it's the smallest Diamond Pier made, the DP-50. No joke.
When I first learned about this foundation system I could understand how this might be able to hold a lot of weight, but my real concern was with frost heave. As I mentioned in my blog post on frost heave and deck footings last week, frost heave can be a serious problem with decks here in Minnesota.
Diamond Pier foundation systems were introduced in to the residential market approximately ten years ago, and have been used in various cities here in Minnesota since 2007 to help gain ICC approval. Of the nine deck installations listed in Diamond Pier's frost performance reports, four of the nine examples took place in Maple Grove. I spoke with two building officials at the City of Maple Grove, and they said that in all the cases that have been closely followed for the last five years, there was only one documented failure of a single footing, and it was more due to 'user error' than anything else; the homeowner had a downspout discharging right next to the footing (no-no).
My next door neighbors had a deck that heaved so badly last year that the patio door wouldn't even open, and their deck stairway became downright scary to use because it was so badly tilted. They tore their deck down last month and had it re-built, this time with a Diamond Pier foundation system. The photo below shows one of the piers being installed; after digging out a little bit of rock and dirt, the pier gets placed in the earth.
To help keep the pier steady, the pins need to get tapped in to the earth a little bit with a drilling hammer or sledge hammer, but they're not supposed to be fully driven in to the earth that way. A demolition hammer needs to be used in conjunction with a specialized driving bit, shown below, to drive the pins in to the earth.
The video clip below shows the pier being installed, along with the coaching of local Diamond Pier rep Ralph Schmidt. First they tap the pins in to place, then drive them in using a demo hammer.
Diamond Piers are available in lumber centers throughout Minnesota, and I think they're well worth the extra money when compared to the amount of work involved with standard footings. Prices vary, but Hamel Lumber sells the DP-50 for $115.75 each, and they offer free use of the driving bit if the pier footings are purchased from them.
After hearing the rave reviews of this product from contractors and building officials, I think I'm pretty much sold. If I ever have an upcoming project where these would make sense, I wouldn't hesitate to try them. Diamond Piers can still experience frost heave, but they perform as well as or better than properly installed traditional footings. I'll try to post follow-up photos of my neighbors' deck each year on this blog post to show how the pier footings are holding up.
Especially if you have lived in your home a long time, the prospect of going through all your 'stuff' to declutter and organize can be the most difficult part of the whole process of selling your home... and all the stuff in the basement can be the easy part!
One of my clients is spending several years de-cluttering and organizing her stuff, getting ready for a downsizing move including selling her house and buying a townhouse. She told me that Two Dames Organizing have been a wonderful help to her!
Need some help? Talk to me about getting an exclusive discount...below is more about them in their own words.
We are a full service enterprise, offering both consulting and/or a
hands on approach to any project. What makes us stand out? We take away
items you want to have donated, recycled/repurposed or tossed. We also
provide ebay and Craigslist listing services. Our goal is to have your
stuff pay for our services if at all possible:). We have been in
business for 6 years and are well established with many happy customers.
We like to think of our customers as partners in their
projects..helping them obtain their goals in streamling their homes and
workspaces. Clients that hire us are downsizing, de-cluttering, moving,
planning for a new baby etc. The list is endless...Are you just
overwhelmed and need someone to come in and offer you a recommendation
on where to start the project...we are your company! Own your stuff,
don't let it own you! twodames@hotmail.com - 612-578-7880
You might expect the second ring suburb of Minnetonka to be the home of Lake Minnetonka, but while it wraps around the border of the lake's easternmost bay the lake itself doesn't lie within its borders. However, Minnetonka's most distinguishing feature is its
natural resources, with more than 20% of its land area as wetlands and lakes. It boasts 400 acres of parkland in 50 parks, 33 miles of trails and 1,000
acres of natural public open spaces.
If you are looking for a home in rolling hills with big treed lots, Minnetonka is worth checking out. There are currently 228 Minnetonka homes for sale ranging in price from $38,000 to $2,495,000 with an average price of $506,277.
Minnetonka's five community parks provide miles of trails... check out Minnetonka's parks and trails map for suggested trail routes.
A Great Relocation Experience We flew in from NYC with anxiety and expectations to find a place in three days. With seemingly infinite patience, kindness and compassion Sharlene found us the perfect home, the perfect neighborhood (and the perfect commute)...she made our dreams come true.
