Toronto Home Improvement

 

 This photo was taken at the scene of a house fire that occurred over the weekend.  I’ve never heard this info before…please read!!!!!I received this in an email from someone claiming is in the insurance property business.

This is one of those e-mails that if you don’t send it, rest assured someone on your list will suffer for not reading it. The original message was written by a lady whose brother and wife learned a hard lesson this past week.

Their house burnt down.. nothing left but ashes. They have good insurance so the house will be replaced and most of the contents. That is the good news.

However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom.

She listed the normal things….curlin g iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, ‘No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures’. Then her sister-in-law
remembered she had a Glade Plug-In, in the bathroom.

The investigator had one of those ‘Aha’ moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more house fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is THIN. He also said that in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there.

Her sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too ho t , and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down it would come back on. That is a warning sign

The investigator said he personally wouldn’t have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many places that have been burned down due to them.

I have not verified the story, however you may want to pass it along.  It may save someone life.

Learn the basics of how to fix a hole in drywall or sheet rock from a home repair professional in this free online home improvement video.

Things You’ll Need:

* Drywall-reinforcing Tape (paper Or Fiberglass)
* Joint Tape
* Premixed Joint Compound
* Spackle Knife
* Primer
* Touch-up Paint And Paintbrush
* Metal Bread Pan Or Hawk
* Drywall (see Tips)
* Utility Knife
* Long-nose Pliers
* Putty Knife
* Sandpaper
* 1 1/4-inch (3-cm) Type W Drywall Screws
* Caulk Or Speckling Compound
* Drywall Clips
* Drywall Saw
* Drywall Screws (coarse Thread)
* Hammer
* Screwdriver Or Electric Drill And Driver

Filling tiny holes

Step 1:
Apply a dab of caulk with your fingertip or apply premixed interior spackling compound, available in very small cans, with a putty knife. Fill the hole but don’t leave any residue on the surrounding surface.

Step 2:
If the compound shrinks as it dries, leaving a dimple, apply another coat. When the compound is dry, touch up the paint.

Repairing a small hole or gouge

Step 1:
Place an appropriate quantity of premixed joint compound, available in 1- and 5-gallon (4-l and 19-l) sizes, into a metal bread pan or onto a hawk (see Warning).

Step 2:
Pick up a small quantity of compound on the corner of a spackle knife and spread it over the damaged area. Hold the knife on the wall at a low angle and draw it across the compound horizontally; then wipe the knife clean on the edge of the pan and make a second pass vertically.

Step 3:
When the first coat dries (it will turn from gray to bright white), apply a second coat, but use more compound and extend it a little beyond the first coat. In the rare case when two coats are not enough, apply a third coat.

Step 4:
When the patch is dry, sand lightly and apply primer over the repaired surface before applying a paint topcoat.

Repairing popped fasteners

Step 1:
Press firmly against the surface as you drive in one drywall screw on each side of the popped fastener (just above and below it on a wall, or in line with the ceiling joist) with a screwdriver or an electric drill and driver.

Step 2:
Drive in the popped fastener tight to the drywall with a hammer or screwdriver. Remove any loose drywall but try not to tear off the paper facing. Apply joint compound and smooth it over as described in “Repairing a small hole or gouge”.

Repairing larger damaged areas

Step 1:
Apply joint tape wherever the paper facing is badly damaged or missing. To embed paper tape, cover the damaged area with a thin layer of joint compound, press the paper into the compound and smooth it by drawing a clean spackle knife across it with firm pressure. If you’re using adhesive-backed fiberglass tape, just press it onto the drywall.

Step 2:
When the first coat is dry, scrape off any dry bits on the surface and apply a second and third coat as described in “Repairing a small hole or gouge”.

Patching a large hole

Step 1:
Cut a drywall patch. Place it over the damaged area to trace it. Cut along your lines with a drywall saw or by making repeated passes with a utility knife. Remove the damaged pieces and clean up the cut with a utility knife.

Step 2:
Install drywall clips near the four corners of the opening. Slip them over the drywall (narrow spring tabs out) and secure them with 1 1/4-inch (3-cm) Type W drywall screws. Position and screw the patch to the clips

Step 3:
Grasp the clip tabs with long-nose pliers and twist to break them off below the surface. Tape and finish the seams as described in “Repairing larger damaged areas,” above.

Just couldn’t stop laughing after watching this.

Cooked dog paws at a Chinese restaurant. A French association of animal lovers launched an online petition aimed at encouraging China to ban the killing of dogs for food.

One Voice said the practice of preparing canines for the pot often involves slow and brutal methods in which the animal is beaten to death, boiled alive or hung up to bleed while still breathing.

“This trade is widespread in China, even in large cities, although in Beijing, the authorities are trying to push it outside the city ahead of the Olympics” said Muriel Arnal, president and founder of One Voice.

The association said it had researched the practice for six months and then sent a team out across China for more than three weeks with the help of Chinese associates, filming and photographing dogs being cruelly put to death.

Several years ago, the backstreet butchers’ targets of choice were Saint Bernard’s, but now the favourite dogs for slaughter are German shepherds, it said.

Stolen pets, some of them still bearing collars, were also being killed.

One Voice said its online petition, launched on websites in France and Britain, aimed at pushing China to pass laws banning the killing of dogs, in time for the August Olympics.

Creating a law offering some protection to animals would be widely welcomed by the international community and help consolidate China’s position among leading nations.

Please sign the petition here