August 2000 Newsletter
- About Us &
July's $100 winner!
- August's $$ Saving
Tip - your refrigerator
- Tips for improving
the appearance of your concrete
- Renovating? The
best way to finance your project
- Our Sponsors
- The monthly funny!
:) "Not if you use Home-Work!"
1. About Us
& July's $100 winner!
As you enjoy your home and yard
during this wonderful weather, you may notice things around your
property that need fixing or replacing. Please contact us
with any of your needs, big or small. Why locate a stranger in
the yellow pages when you can receive, at no charge, a full page
of information on each company that is interested in providing
you with a quote?!
Congratulations to July's winners
of $100 towards their renovation project! The winners are
Al & Jennifer Lawrence! If you receive this email, you
are registered for each monthly draw! Best of luck!
2. August's
$$ Saving Tip - your refrigerator
During the summer, the load on
your refrigerator/freezer compressor is greatest. Your family
generally drinks more cold drinks from the refrigerator section
and uses more ice from the freezer section. The air temperature
in the kitchen is also warmer in the summer, so the condenser
coils transfer heat less effectively.
You should slide the refrigerator out a couple of inches farther
from the wall and from your stove if it is near it. This will
allow a freer flow of air through the condenser coils for better
efficiency and greater cooling capacity. It also allows the heat
from the compressor to dissipate faster. Even an extra several
inches will allow for even more air flow.
(Jim Dulley)
3. Tips for
improving the appearance of your concrete
Stain removal: Many different
substances can stain concrete, from soft drinks and candy to
motor oil and rust. Effective stain removal begins with matching
the cleanser to the stain. Scrub food stains with hot water and
soap. Or cover the spot with a wad of cheesecloth soaked in a
solution of one part glycerin, two parts isopropyl (rubbing)
alcohol and four parts water. Keep the cheesecloth in place
until the stain is absorbed. To get out a motor-oil stain,
saturate it with paint thinner, then cover it with cat litter.
Leave the litter in place overnight. Repeat the process if the
stain persists, then scrub with a strong cleaner. Finally, apply
full-strength chlorine bleach, wait 15 minutes, and rinse it off
with water. Another option is to use a premixed
concrete-degreasing solution, such as Quadrate's Concrete and
Asphalt Cleaner or Concrete Cleaner and Degreaser.
Face lift: If you would like to give your driveway, patio or
walkway a face lift, an option to completely replacing it, is to
have a contractor install pattern-stamped overlay concrete. The
overlay concrete, which can be colored to imitate brick or
stone, is first poured on. Then as the concrete is hardening, a
pattern is pressed onto the surface, leaving impressions shaped
like bricks, cobblestones, slate or other shapes. This can
provide the appearance of the "real thing" without the
price tag. Conctact Home-Work to be put in touch with our listed
concrete specialists.
4. Renovating?
The smartest way to finance your project
If you have equity in your home
of greater than 25% of your home's value, your least expensive
means of financing is to access a secured line of credit with
the financial institution that holds your mortgage.
Because the funds are secured to your home they will generally
only charge you the prime interest rate. Currently the prime
rate is 7.5%. On an unsecured line of credit the banks will
generally charge prime plus 1 or 2 percent. Banks usually allow
you to have a mortgage and a secured line of credit totaling 75%
of your homes market value.
If you do not have 25% equity in your home, you may be better
off considering a second mortgage or an unsecured line of
credit. A mortgage broker is a great resource to help you decide
which is best for your situation. They will let you know all
your options and shop around to a variety of lenders to get the
best interest rate possible.
(Compliments of Mike Bateman of Contact Mortgage and Finance.
For more information, call 667-4155 or mailto:mjbateman@aol.com)
5. Our
Sponsors
Thank you for visiting our sponsors
as theyso faithfully support our service. Check them out at http://www.home-workcanada.com/sponsors.htm
Remax House of Real Estate, Magiclean Cleaning Services, Phantom
Screens, High Security Lock Co., Pillar to Post Home Inspection,
Realty World Tempo, Handles & More, Paint'N'FauxFX, Keaco
Services, AmeriSpec Home Inspection Services.
6. The Monthly
Funny :-) "Not if you use Home-Work!"
|A hardworking man named Boris
saves his money for ten years to buy a new car. After choosing
the model and options he wants, he's not the least bit surprised
or even concerned to learn that it will take a year for the new
car to be delivered. He thanks the salesman and starts to leave,
but as he reaches the door he pauses and turns back to the
salesman, "Do you know which week a year from now the new
car will arrive?" he asks.
The salesman checks his notes and tells the man that it will be
a year to the exact week.
"Could you possibly tell me what day of the week it will be
that the car will arrive?" The salesman, mildly annoyed,
checks his notes again and says that it will be exactly one year
from this week, on a Thursday.
Boris thanks the salesman and starts to leave. Halfway though
the door, he hesitates, turns back and says. "I'm sorry to
be so much trouble, but do you know if that will be one year
from now on Thursday in the morning, or in the afternoon?"
Visibly irritated, the salesman flips through his papers yet
another time and says sharply that it will be in the afternoon,
a year from now on Thursday.
"That's a relief!" says Boris. "The electrician
is coming that morning!"
