#ChristmasSpirit

Snowflakes in the air
Carols Everywhere
Olden Times, and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
Sleigh Bells in the air

Beauty Everywhere

Yuletide by the fireside
And Joyful memories there
Christmas time is Here
Families Drawing Near
Oh! That we could always see such spirit through the year! 

 

# Spreading Fun Holiday Smiles

 

 

 

**Christmas Calm Con't**

6. Cut the Clean-a-thon- Focus cleaning attention on Kitchen and public rooms; private areas can slide till seasons end.

7. Downsize dishwashing- Hard-washing fine china is nobody's idea of a good time, so move to everyday stoneware....

8. Finger Food, not Feast- A smorgasbord of tasty tid-bits is easier on the cook and kinder to the waistline than a sit-down dinner. Share the work by hosting pot-lucks!

9. Buy, Don't Bake!- Turn your back on your oven this year. Supermarkets and bakeries are a great source for delicious, pre baked holiday treats. 

10. Stay Home- Cuddling down close to the hearth beats Holiday Travel any day. A holiday "stay-cation" allows for evening drives to see the lights, family camp outs in front of the Christmas tree. and evenings spent with carols and popcorn. Fun!

 

 

**Christmas Calm: 10 Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season **

1.Prune the To-Do list- Ask," If I don't do this, what will happen? Aim to knock down the list of chores to the rock-bottom necessity

2.Cut The Gift List- Reign in gift exchanges that have been outgrown or lost their meaning. Limit gifts to a children only, draw names, or organize a gift exchange.

3.Wrap As You Go- Who needs to spend Christmas Eve catching up on wrapping chores?

4.Call, Don't Send Cards- Reach out and touch someone...The easy Way. Online greeting cards are easy, inexpensive & fun to send. No more post office lines.

5.Scale Back Décor- substitute a simple door wreath for outdoor lighting, a tabletop tree for the over-the-top tannenbaum.

 

 

--**Happy Thanksgiving**--

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving! It’s a day to enjoy family and friends and eat lots of good food. It’s also a day to be thankful for the all the blessings we have.


Happy Thanksgiving From ServiceOne!

 

Smart Little Turkeys!!!

~November Maintance Checklist~

A few things to get your home ready before the freezing temperatures and snow falling:

• Seal the driveway- Inspect your driveway for cracks. Clean out and repair any damage with driveway filler, then coat with a commercial sealer.

• Ready the Fireplace- Have your heating system checked by a licensed heating contractor. Heating systems will last longer, be more efficient, and have fewer problems if serviced properly. Get your wood stove & fireplace in working order. Look for a tight seal.

• Reverse Ceiling Fan- Change the direction of your ceiling fan to create an upward draft that redistributes warm air from the ceiling.

• Clean Yard Equipment- This includes draining fuel from all gas-operated equipment such as lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and chain saws.

• Prepare Deck for Winter- Cover and store outdoor furniture and barbeques in a protected area. Make sure all soil is emptied from pots & planters.

CHIEFS VS. BRONCOS THIS WEEKEND

GO GET EM CHIEFS!!!!

Our Construction Team Hard At Work-

Jeff Crawford & Richard Zweck!

Fall Home Maintance Checklist

• Caulk Windows- Be sure to caulk around windows and door frames to prevent heat from escaping

• Check for peeling paint- peeling paint is a sign that the existing paint film is failing and can no longer protect the siding of the building

• Roof- Make sure the roof is in good shape. Inspect for missing and loose shingles

• Clean the Gutters- After leaves have fallen, clean out the gutters and downspouts, flush them with water, inspect joints, and tighten brackets if necessary

October Is Fire Safety Month

This is the Perfect time to make sure your home-and family- are safe.

 Regardless of whether they are hardwired, interconnected, or battery-powered, you should have smoke detectors on every level of your home, particularly in the kitchen, hallways near bedrooms, and the basement. Purchasing a fire extinguisher is one of the best investments a homeowner can make.

Should you ever need to use it, just remember the acronym PASS: Pull the pin to release the Handle; Aim the extinguisher at the base of the fire; Squeeze the trigger; and Sweep the discharge stream at the base of the fire.

Be Safe.

Skip the Carving! Painting Pumpkins is the New Thing!

There are many different ways you can decorate pumpkins for the fall and especially for Halloween, but we wanted to share one of our favorite ways to decorate pumpkins.

 PAINT THEM!

 So easy, right? No cutting, carving, smells, messes. Easy, easy painting. You can also get creative with stencils or even stickers! The possibilities are endless.

 

Here are a few of our favorite ways to paint pumpkins:

A Lot Of Legs At Renaissance Festival!

70,000 Pounds: Amount of legs ordered by the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs this season

600-800: Calories in a Ren-fest Turkey Leg

16-18 Ounces: Average cooked weight of a Ren-fest Turkey Leg

18,000-20,000: Visitors the Ren-Fest expects on its busiest days

10,000: Number of turkey legs the festival could sell on a busy
two- day weekend

$6.75: What you'll pay for a drumstick there

Fall Parade of Homes

The Fall Parade of Homes runs September 28th- October 13th and will showcase 269 new homes that will be free and open to the public 11:00am- 6:00pm. This is the highest number of entries since the Fall Parade of 2008.

78 Builders are participating and 8 counties through-out the metro are represented. There is something for everyone on the Parade.

Prices range from $192,500 to $1.2 Million. Even if your not looking to purchase a new home, this is a great way to get remodeling ideas!

 

Today's Carpet Trends

• Berber is still a popular choice, but today's versions have more texture and pattern. Variation in height and sculptured effects offer a bolder look.

• A major shift in the new products is toward layered color and soft texture in carpet. A combination of texture and pattern will always be popular because it minimizes soil and vacuums marks.

• Applied and woven patterns-- in designs of leaves, trellises or flowers, for example-- offer organic shapes that coordinate easily with patterns in other furnishings.

• New manufacturing capabilities have produced many new looks in carpet constructed with cut and loop yarns and in high-and-low loop yarns. Example--Bows, Plaids, Pin-dots.

• Along with paint, carpet can be one of the easiest ways to personalize an environment. its color can be a neutral foundation or a vibrant focal point.

Ready, Set...SPIN

One of our Owners Renee Bort, is riding the Annual Buffalo Bill Century Ride tomorrow in Leavenworth. She is doing the 100 mile route which passes through the downtowns of seven unique and historic cities. We wish her luck!

At least there's beer and burgers after the ride!

Nasty Subject- Dont Flush This!!!!

-Basically  the only thing you should ever flush down a toilet is human waste and toilet paper. Here is a list of some things to keep OUT of the toilet:

• Disposable Diapers
• Tampons
• Cotton Balls & Swabs
• Mini or Maxi Pads
• Unused Medications
• Condoms
• Cleaning wipes of any kind
• Facial Tissue
• Bandages & Bandage Wrappings
• Fats, oil & grease

High School Game of the Week!

LOUISBERG -VS- SPRINGHILL

After the Wildcats' Senior Quarterback, Auston McLellan, was killed in a car accident last month, Friday's 28-0 Victory over Spring Hill was just the thing to soothe a team and a community
-KC Star-




CONGRATS to Serena Williams for winning the U.S. Open Women's Singles

And to the CHIEFS for a game well played!

Old Settlers Day Parade!

Did You Know?? The Johnson County Old Settlers Parade is the largest parade in the state of Kansas. It has an average of 160 entries, including 16 area High School and Middle School bands, numerous club and organization entries and several commercial floats. The parade is attended by between 65,000 and 75,000 people. Parade date- September 7, 2013. Starts at 10:00am Located in Downtown Olathe, Kansas 66061

Flooring Design Trends

The floor can be the most important piece of décor in your house

• Panel woods, which a were popular trend to follow in the previous years has been replaced by rustic conventional wood floors.

• If your wanting a more edgy & modern look to your bathroom, then stained concrete floors can be a practical option.

• For outside floorboards, natural tiles have replaced stone and marbles because not only does it give an earthy vibe but has a heavy texture.

• Vinyl flooring has become a popular demand because of its easy-to-clean characteristics and its abilities to mimic highly expensive tiles.

• Install Bamboo in a bold shade.

We're Having A Heat Wave!

How to Stay Cool

1.Soak a towel in cold water, wring it out & wear it around your neck

2. Fill your bathtub with cool water and get in. You will remain cool for quite sometime after you get out of the tub.

3. Fill a bucket with cold water and soak your feet. This helps cool you off instantly.

4. Eat Spicy Foods! Though eating hot food may sound like a bad idea, this is what people eat in regions of the world where hot weather is the norm. It causes you to perspire, and when you sweat, your body cools as the perspiration evaporates.

TOP 10 Ways to Add Value to Your Home

10. More Space- More Light

Dark and dungy are no good.  Light opens the area and gives the illusion of a larger space!

9. Adding a Home Office

Millions of Americans work from home and its increasing every year. This has become more of a necessity than a luxury.

8. Curb Appeal

A good first impression can add 5 to 10% to the value of your home. You want it to be welcoming.

7. Add a Sunroom or Upscale Patio

Not only would it add square footage to the home, it’s typically half the price of adding an extra standard room.

6. Add a Deck

According to Remodeling Magazine more than 85% of your cost of putting in a wooden deck can be recouped on a resale. Adding a built-in fire pit and raised benches enhance it even more.

5. Paint

A coat of paint can do wonders to brighten up any area of the home. People crave color!

4. Landscaping

It’s not all about just greenery, it includes lighting, fences, rock features, paths and ponds and more. Spice up your area around the outside of the house and add significant value.

3. Remodel Your Basement

Basements are an open area and can be turned in to almost anything; play rooms, bar room, extra guest rooms or even a whole place of storage- you can never have too much of that!

2. Bathrooms

Adding or updating a bathroom adds a huge increase in value. The average bathroom remodel can get you back the majority of your investment.

1. Kitchen-

An updated kitchen, if done correctly, can give you an almost 100 percent return on your investment. This is by far the heart of the house so give it a lot of attention.

Let’s Talk About Mold

______it’s dirty.

__________it’s stinky.

______________It’s toxic.

It’s everywhere.

AGH! It’s scary! ARG! It’s annoying!

Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes you smell it. And sometimes you just have an intuition that it’s there.

So what do you do?

Well, I sat down this week with Mold Inspector, Mr. Fuzzy Green-Professional Mold Inspector of Lenexa, and got the low-down for all our Homeowners out there.

Homeowner: Hey Mr. Green! Thanks for chatting with us today. Mold has become an increasingly bigger and bigger issue for Homeowners across the globe. We get a lot of them asking us what they can do if they suspect mold. Can you explain briefly exactly what you do?

Fuzzy: As a mold inspector our job is to inspect a property for mold contamination, identify the type of mold and its toxins, and determine the source of the mold growth and a scope of work for proper remediation. On top of this, in our inspection we report areas that could be susceptible to future mold contamination and give recommendations on how to fix and prevent mold from growing.

Homeowner: When a homeowner is previewing a property, what signs would they see that indicate the presence of mold?

Fuzzy: If there are no signs of visible mold, indications would include a musty odor, water stains on the ceilings and walls, cracked tiles and deteriorated grout in the kitchens and bathrooms, any water stains/damage below sinks and/or soft spots near or around any sinks, tubs, toilets or drains.

Homeowner: What are common causes of mold growth?

Fuzzy: There are two main causes of mold growth, Poor ventilation and moisture.

Homeowner: How can a homeowner prevent mold from growing?

Fuzzy: First defense against mold growth is to alert the landlord of any water leaks. Other prevention steps would be to be sure to use the bathroom fan when showering, don’t leave wet rags or towels beneath the sink or in laundry room closets and try to allow the unit to “breathe” by opening windows regularly.

Homeowner: Let’s say a one suspect’s mold in their home. They call you to come inspect. What can they expect? What happens during the inspection, how long does it take, etc.?

Fuzzy: It depends on the situation. Inspections can last from 30 minutes for a partial inspection (inspection of a specific area) to three hours for an inspection of the entire property.

·         During the inspection I will be using a moisture meter as well as sight and smell to find signs of moisture intrusion. If any moisture intrusion is found I will then inspect deeper to determine if there is any microbial growth.

Homeowner: Do you have anything to add?

Fuzzy: Yes, it is important for everybody to know that mold is everywhere; it’s in the air we breathe. There are thousands of different types of mold; out of the thousands there are approximately 100 that produce toxins. This is why it’s important to determine the type of mold. While you do not want any type of mold to be growing where you live or work, drastic action needs to be taken when toxic molds are present.

 

Homeowner: Thanks Mr. Green! Keep up the good work.

                                                            Written By: The Rental Girl

Prevent Water Damage While On Vacation

1. Check your home for leaks before you leave. The seals around your windows must be in good condition and check that there are no dislodged or damaged shingles on your roof. Re-caulk seals & replace shingles if needed.

2. Inspect the hoses that connect to major appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines & ice makers. Make sure there no kinks; replace any old or damaged hoses.

3. Clear all debris out of your rain gutters, and check the downspouts for any blockage.

4. Examine your sump pump & check that its in good condition and clear of debris. Make sure water is going outside. Install battery-powered backup source in case there is a power outage while your gone.

5. Ask someone to check your house periodically while your gone; show them where the water main is located in case a pipe brakes or bursts.

6. Turn off the water at the main, if there is no one to check your house.

Quote of the Week

" Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"   
                      
                         {Aristotle}

Renovation Loans gives Homebuyers an Edge

If homebuyers are willing to look at older homes or damaged properties with aesthetic characteristics like paint color, hardware and floor coverings, they may discover a diamond in the rough! A Renovation Loan lets you buy in the neighborhood you want and gives you the money to upgrade the property how you want. FHA renovation loans are called 203(K) loans. How much money you want to borrow and the kinds of improvements you plan to make will determine which of the two 203(K) types you need.

ServiceOne Restoration is a certified 203(K) Contractor in the KC area and can assist the homeowner in working through the process.

Fire, mold or smoke damage? We can help!

Rich Bort, CEO

Welcome to ServiceOne Restoration's official blog page.  Here we will be giving tips and advice on how to manage your home during a flood, fire or reconstruction. We look forward to working with you in the future!