GHOST EM

Advances in materials in all industries have advanced tremendously. Some things are getting cheaper to make, lasting longer and performing better and making it easier for an average handy man or handy women to get into while other older materials were better than current. It's always tricky finding the medium and YES I'll say it again. Go-Go Inspector law guy is clueless in ALL states. One of these products is Ghost-shield Lithi-Tek LS 9500. This is a concrete sealer which permanently seals your concrete. Yeah.....PERMANENTLY with a 100 year warranty. What The? Use this stuff on the bat-cave Robin! One of our 1962 slabs gets moisture soaked all the time especially in morning via due. It sweats and gets moldy in our high humid climate very easily. Not anymore! We may be coloring the concrete in the future which we'll post about another industrial non box store product that works better than paint or epoxy. If you have this problem on your old but better than new concrete use this stuff. All you need to do is spray off the dirt, scrub it down with a concrete cleaner, let dry, spray on, let dry, spray a 2nd and wait 24-48 hours. It is truly an amazing product and we don't say that too often. Where do you get it? Well duh, Google. Excerpt description from Ghost-shield:

Lithi-Tek LS ® 9500 is an advanced, high performance, industrial strength, penetrating concrete and masonry waterproofing sealer / vapor barrier solution designed to reduce water and moisture intrusion. This unique formula incorporates leading molecular nanotechnology, putting an end to water and moisture migration through any porous cementitious substrate. Lithi-Tek LS ® 9500 is a uniquely transparent, blended formula with added enzymes and surfactants that aide in accelerating a deeper penetrating disbursement. Thus eliciting a more effective, uniformed chemical reaction between the formula and the concrete / masonry substrate it’s being applied to. Lithi-Tek LS ® 9500 provides a hydrophobic barrier beneath the surface and seals out moisture while remaining highly vapor permeable and chemically bonding with the substrate. The treated surfaces will show no change in visual appearance from application and the surface will not chip, flake, delaminate or breakdown with UV light exposure.

How Does it Work? A hybrid densifying, impregnating sealer is typically used to densify, harden and prevent water and water-soluble damaging substances from penetrating concrete and mineral substrates. Once impregnated the reaction process from the active silicate ingredient produces additional C-S-H (calcium silicate hydroxide) within the capillary tracts thus increasing the density and volumetric mass. The change of the surface tension elicited from the waterproofing component forms a repellent cross-linking membrane that is hydrophobic and able to repel water and water-soluble deleterious materials.

In structures on and below grade water should generally be kept out and away to prevent damage. Lithi-Tek LS ® 9500 can block up to 99% of surface moisture. The chemical reactive and active ingredients seal the pores within the substrate adequately blocking surface moisture while still maintaining the concretes ability to breathe. It will not significantly modify substrate appearance or traction and will only wear away if the concrete surface itself wears away.

New or existing concrete can be treated and performance can be improved in as little as two applications. Backed by an unrivaled 100-year warranty, Lithi-Tek LS ® 9500 is a small investment that leads to long-term savings and improved performance for decades.

Let it Drip

It's too late for this post but just in time to find the issue. We stress whether you stay with us or you've finally bought your own always leave a couple of interior and exterior faucets slow drip overnight when below freezing temperatures occur. This will prevent expansion of interior and hidden pipes. Even if your home is "Up-To-Racketeering-Code" pipes will still burst. 1 gallon of water when frozen expands approximately 9%. This year was no exception. The below is a picture of a brass fixture that could not handle the pressure of a freeze. Just think if brass can't handle this pressure, what do you think Copper, Cpvc or Pex will do depending on your attic airflow ratio? I'm sure everyone will agree that it was cold and grueling winter, but it's starting to warm up and everyone is coming out of hibernation. So next year, Let It Drip or costly repairs will occur.

Take your Shirts off

Get in your attics, let the sweat drip, burn calories, and build muscles for your significant other all while insulating your pipes! A workout and stuff done! Holy Smokes, we've got a winner! In this case its the reverse #Loudpipessavelives Is it #mardigra yet because we support #breastcancerawareness . . .

Permitting is for Winners

The permitting process is designed to protect the consumer from bad materials and poor tradesmen ship. Obviously we wouldn't offer any property that we wouldn't feel safe living in ourselves and obviously our builds are built as if they were our own, well because they are our own. So lets talk about why the permitting process should be moved out of governments hands or at least get someone to debate me. I can never find anyone willing....All new homes are constructed so well and superior to homes built before there was a permitting process. You can now go into any neighborhood and a home built in the 80's through current will stand longer than those still standing built in the 1800's. In fact, International codes have gotten so well off that now they charge twice if you don't follow the overlordship rules that all young adults getting into any field are born with already knowing all the rules set forth by our forefathers. They just keep increasing. No wonder babies heads are getting bigger! Housing should all be the same and there should be absolutely no art involved. Don't you agree? Don't trust your neighbors and names of the tradesman, trust what the overlords tell you. In fact, don't even think just put .gov on it and all will be ok. In .GOV we trust....Fixed it! You know if something bad happens its not like a sign off of a permit will protect you. Tradesmen are on the hook anyways. Last name Woolard Here let me make it bigger -> W-O-O-L-A-R-D. I have no idea why this damn rent is sooo high. I cannot for the life of me figure it out. What is the point? They'll say. "Safety of the People!" knowing you cannot do anything about it and you cannot challenge in court. We'll say Theft by Gov. and degradation of an unborn's vision (MY way NOT YOUR way). What are they gonna do if you don't pull a permit, probably fine you (on something you OWN might I add) but in reality are they going to barge in your door with Florida castle doctrine? Good luck with that. If you bought it, you own it P-E-R-I-O-D and unless you signed some HOA document,  engineer and design to your hearts consent. If you do it wrong and something happens it's your fault anyways....so don't do it wrong and ask a professional a question, INVENT a new way that has not been done before or hire it out. Is anyone willing to actually discuss a better system yet because the current one is NOT working. It never has and never will. I am simply asking for builder and consumer freedom of choice, that which has been stolen. a.k.a I'll do whatever I want to so long that it does not hurt others AND it will be BETTER and last LONGER than any of the filth that is produced today, or was your checkoff sheet degrading society with time and designed to fail from since before I was born? It simply amazes me that we can build a car and sell it without any inspections but the game is rigged on real estate. Cheers! #TheRentistooDamnHigh #Permits 



Curb Appeal

Literally. Concrete work is easy, it just requires an enormous amount of muscle. We had a broken curb that needed repair before paint. Drilled some holes on the sides and inserted rebar to prevent future breakage. This curb was poured in the 60s and has done a great job holding up. Yes, it has rebar. Fiber enforced concrete was invented around the same time and is rated for higher loads and strength and some say replaces the need for rebar. We used rebar and fiber enforced concrete. Not sure if the original concrete was fiber enforced but North Florida and 60's, I'm guessing not, but then again maybe these boys knew exactly what they were doing, because these builds will easily last over 100 years. The ground will cave before the housing does. This a very good example of energy being used properly. One crew's labor benefits many many generations. :) Always use rebar unless you want to redo your concrete every 15 years, especially in Florida where sand is concrete's worst enemy. You could use only fiber enforced concrete and sit around for 20 years to see how it holds up but who has time for that? Wait...that's what we do... Have fun!

Hardwood Soffits

If you're going to finish your soffits off with wood, choose a hardwood. Although a repaint still needs to occur every 10 or so years. They won't completely rot within a year should mother nature decide to breach your painted weather barrier. Otherwise use vinyl or aluminum. These were last painted in 2005. A pressure wash was in order and they were repainted with Behr Exterior Gloss. 

Garage Torsion Spring

We had a Garage Torsion Spring that had snapped (Made in Canada..eh). Went ahead and picked up a new spring at Overhead Door Professional Services Inc. Warning, this is a dangerous job and precaucions should be taken if you decide to do this yourself. Of course you could just have Overhead do the job for you, or could ignore all of that noise put some thick long sleeves on, safety glasses and de-pansy yourself while also saving $200 plus. To start unbolt the wheel and bracket at one side while leaving the other side bolted. Unbolt the spring and slide it off. Slide the new one back on, bolt it up and then bolt the wheel back and tighten the braided cable. Clamp some vice grips on the shaft so it doesn't move and start tightening the spring with a bar found at any local hardware stores. Keep tightening and adjust as necessary until the garage lifts easily and until your automatic opener can open and close at ease. This is the dangerous part. If something snaps or isn't tight when carefully winding this spring it could snap which could pop your shoulder out, take out some fingers or something might fly back towards your head. Stay Safe.