Home Removal Services Blog

Have you discovered the levels of moisture in rooms in your home are becoming a problem? If so then the installation of good dehumidifiers could help to provide a solution. But as there are a wide range of makes and models to choose from it can prove quite a challenge to decide which is going to meet your particular needs the best.

But before you go out and invest hard earned cash in this home appliance there are several factors that must be taken into consideration beforehand. In this article we look at some of the factors that need to be taken into consideration prior to spending your hard earned cash on a dehumidifier.

1. First of it is important that you know a little bit more about the various types of dehumidifiers that are on the market today. This is crucial as they all work in various ways to reduce the levels of humidity within a room. You have a choice between purchasing either a desiccative, mechanical and refridgerative type of machine. All work very effectively but some will cost considerably more to power than others.

2. Cost is something else that one will need to consider when thinking of buying this type of equipment for a home. Although a larger unit may be more effective at removing humidity from a room they will not only cost more to purchase but also to run. Rather look at the size and opt for the ones that are specifically suited to the size of the room in which located.

3. Another factor that needs to be taken into consideration and which will determine what kind of dehumidifier you purchase is what room it is going to be used in. If for example the one you want will be placed in a basement then make sure that it is one that is able to cope with small amounts of fresh air circulating in the space and this is the same should you be getting it for use in a closet or car.

4. When considering purchasing any kinds of dehumidifiers you need to take into account how much noise the equipment is going to be making when running. Unfortunately there are some models which create a great deal of noise due to the high electrical activity taking place within them. If you are unsure of the amount of noise a particular make or model is making ask the seller to run the machine in order that you can hear it.

5. Prior to purchasing any dehumidifier consider what it is going to cost to run the equipment when installed in your home. In many cases quite a few units need to be provided with large amounts of energy in order to remove moisture from a room effectively. It is therefore best to go for those models who run at high speeds as this will ensure that not only is the moisture is removed quickly but will cost far less in electricity to do so.

6. Finally when it comes to purchasing dehumidifiers look to see what additional features the one you are considering comes with. In most cases they are fitted with regulators for controlling room temperature along with a defrost facility. These are the ones that are going to perform much more effectively when running and so will ensure that the costs of powering such equipment can be further reduced.

It is inevitable that you will need to repair your garden shed at some point or other. If you have a cute old shed with character, that time is probably nearer than you would like. I would say that typically a well built shed will last 10 – 20 years before it’s in for some major updates.

Many factors are involved in deciding whether to fix or replace your old garden shed, including your budget, how much you like your current shed (in good shape that is), whether it suits your purposes, and whether it suits your house style.

I had to answer these questions for two separate sheds this year – my own tiny falling down pine board lean to shed, and my mothers lovely large cottage style split roof design which had a severe water problem. My mothers shed was actually quite an easy decision. Her shed was quite large, so it would have been quite expensive to replace. Also, it didn’t actually look in bad shape, except for the holes in the roof and floor. As it turns out, I got away pretty lucky. I did have to entirely replace both roofs, but thankfully there was vapour barrier between the plywood floor and the joists, so I only needed to put down a new plywood floor. The cost for materials was about $550.

Our shed was a different story. Our shed was hidden around the side of our house and really out of view of the house or the back deck. It was approximately 3 feet by 8 feet and about 6 feet tall. Like my mother’s shed it had board and batten siding made out of wide planks. We knew both the roof and floor including the joists and sills were rotten. We thought we had a complete rebuild on our hands.

We started to figure out the material cost for a complete replacement. We both agreed that it needed to keep the character and charm of our old one, so the material costs ended up to be a little higher than the bare minimum. The first price was over $500. It seemed a bit too expensive to replace such a small shed, so we started to look for alternatives. That didn’t go so well, and we found that for the size we wanted, anything new was at the very least $500, plus they were either ugly or ugly and small, and made out of resin or lightweight metal, neither of which lends itself to decent shelving.

After a bit more consideration, we decided to salvage the old siding boards and add a new roof and floor. In fact the roof and floor turned into rebuilding a new frame as well, but the extra cost was minimal. The task was tedious but we took the shed apart board by board, built a new floor, framed in new walls and added a new roof. Then we re-assembled the old board siding just as in the original. I believe the total repair cost was $220.00, although we saved a little on roofing materials that we had left over from my mothers roofing job.

In both cases we were dealing with homes that were over a century old and we felt that the sheds really needed to match the older aesthetic of the houses. In both cases we decided to keep the wood that was salvageable and rebuild the roof, floor, and in our case, the frame. We ended up with 2 very pretty sheds and I think we managed to keep both budgets as low as possible. There are many factors to consider when faced with a garden shed in need of repairs. Do your homework and figure out various budgets. The right answer for your garden shed will become evident.