The April 2012 Issue of Atlanta Home Improvement had a great article called Shelter from the Storm by Alma Hill. We wanted to share some of the enlightening information Alma gathered.

Here are Alma Hill’s helpful hints to protect your house from severe weather.

Falling Trees
Hill suggests hiring an arborist to inspect your trees from defects and flaws. If you do plan on cutting down your decaying trees, please check with your local government or homeowners association. There are different ordinances around that would need to be cleared to cut down a down. For example, in Atlanta if the tree is over six inches tall in diameter you will need a permit to remove the house from your property.

Failing Roofs
Right now, in the early spring, is the best time to check your roof. Every homeowner should get their roofs inspected every three years. Most roofs only last about 25 years. If the roof is older than 25 years and the shingles are starting to become loose it is time for you to buy a new roof.

Flood Response
If your house does flood, due to a heavy rain, make sure you remove the water right away. This period of removal will prevent mold from appearing in your house. It can get really expensive if you do not catch the mold right away. The good news is that the removal of mold inside your house is most likely covered by your homeowners insurance. This of course does not include outside rising waters, for example gutter clogging up and the water coming into your house. Other things that homeowners insurance covers are lightning, hail, storm and wind coverage.

If you would like to read more about protecting your home through severe weather, it is in the April 2012 issue of Atlanta Home Improvement.

Came across this article and thought it would be a good addition to the blog. Enjoy!

Inspiration Book: A Round-Up of Recent Small Kitchens
by Andrea Girolamo

Do more with less, do more with less. In tough times, those words seem to ring through our work lives, our bank accounts, our home lives. With smaller, recession-style budgets, designers are doing more with less in the kitchen, and the results range from bizarre to brilliant.
•Treehugger expands on small kitchens, and uses the founder’s 420-sq.-ft. apartment as a model for new, smaller induction cooktops. Fancy doesn’t have to be enormous, turns out, and includes brands familiar to us all.
•Inspiration from Apartment Therapy, whose editors know a thing or two about making the most of tight spaces.
•Musing from The Kitchn about how to actually LIVE in a small kitchen, maybe something worth talking to that client about, the one who wants the 36″ commercial style range in their 8″x15″ galley-style footprint. The takeaway? Be prepared to clean A LOT AND CONSTANTLY.
•BHG presents a made-over small kitchen that’s big on organization.

Oldcastle Surfaces is excited to annouce our newest offering … FORZASTONE. It is a natural stone that is 80% stronger than 3cm granite.

ForzaStone is designed for easy installation and on-site customization that provides homeowners with the high-end look they want at a fraction of the cost of stone slabs or other natural materials.ForzaStone products help to transform standard rooms into luxurious spaces with the addition of soap compartments, diamond marble in-lays, tile patterns and decorative bands that help create unique spaces.

Give us a call to learn more or get a quote!

Do we have your attention? Great! We have a selection of materials and are going to be running a promotion on selected colors in 2012! Look for more details to come soon!

Granite when sealed correctly should leave water pools.

There are two steps that we recommend to take care of your countertops: Clean and Seal your countertops regularly. If you do these two items (repeatedly) you should enjoy your granite the rest of your life (or as long as you own that home).

Cleaning:

There are tons of products that say, OK for granite, but actually are not. It appears as though companies are using this phrase on their merchandising to capture a larger market share. These products will clean your granite but will also deteriorate the sealer and affect the longevity of the sealer applied.

We recommend to clean your granite with warm water and a mild liquid dish soap! There are products like 3 in 1 that claim to Clean, Polish and Protector that accentuate the sealer rather than stripping it away. 

Sealing:
We typically recommend resealing your natural stone every 6-12 months depending on the usage. The best way to know if it is needed is to do the water test. If you notice that water is being absorbed by the stone rather than sitting in a puddle on top of the stone it is time to reseal. Its that easy!

Oldcastle Surfaces has a product called CastleSeal that is one of the strongest sealers on the market. Ask us about it!

Happy Holidays!

Oldcastle Surfaces is thankful to have been a part of something so close to home and such fun! Brandon Warren was kind enough to share his photo’s with us and what great photo’s they are! Check those out and some of his other works as well: http://bwarrenphoto.wordpress.com/

Need to buy a unique gift for someone that loves to cook? We have cutting boards in several shapes and sizes! We can even make them into just about any shape you can dream up.