the real estate Advisor

Tips For Hanging A Large Painting

Found a stunning, large painting to perfectly complement your home? It’s important to follow a few rules of thumb while hanging it to maintain the integrity of your wall and your painting.

The weight of your painting is the key factor in determining the proper hanging method, so before you start hammering nails or finding studs, weigh your painting on a scale and note the weight. If your painting weighs less than five pounds, you can simply use adhesive wall hooks or mounting tape to hang it. You don’t have to make any holes in your wall or use any nails for paintings of this size.

Paintings that weigh between five and twenty pounds should be hung with a drywall anchor. You don’t need to find a stud to install these anchors and all you’ll need is a drill to make a couple of holes in your drywall.

If you want to hang a painting that weighs between 20 and 50 pounds, you will need to find a stud in your wall. The stud is another name for the wooden frame of your wall, which is the strongest part. After you find your stud, you can use a thin metal nail to hang paintings up to 20 pounds or you can use a threaded wooden screw for paintings up to 50 pounds. You can also opt for hanging hooks as an alternative.

The safest way to hang paintings over 50 pounds is to use a rail-cable. These large metal cables can be attached to rails on the ceiling to hang paintings up to 300 pounds.

By following these guidelines, you’ll have your new piece of art displayed beautifully in your home in no time!

How To Keep Insects Out Of Your Home

One of the biggest pet peeves for homeowners is discovering bugs inside their home. Insects can be a big nuisance as is and if they begin to multiply, the effects can be even worse. Here are a few easy methods to keep these pests away!

The first, obvious step to keeping insects out of your home is making sure they don’t have access to any food. Keep your kitchen counters and floors free of crumbs or food residue. It’s also important to frequently take out the trash, so no food begins to rot.

Bugs are attracted to standing water as well, so make sure to quickly remove dishes from the sink and be sure water in your dog or cat bowls is replaced often. Any spills or leaky pipes should be fixed immediately to avoid attracting insects.

Make sure there are no gaping cracks or holes along exterior walls that bugs can sneak through into your home. You can fill cracks in the wall or baseboards with caulking to block insects from getting in and you can also install door sweeps so they are unable to slip underneath doors.

Another common place for bugs to get in your house is through window screens. If a window screen has any holes, it becomes the perfect place for bugs to enter your home. Check your screens about once a month to be sure there are no entry points for insects.

With regular checks and good, clean habits, you can successfully maintain an insect-free home!

TAKE 5: Find & Clean The Dirtiest Places In Your Home

We all strive to keep our homes clean, but dirt and grime always seems to build up in certain places. It may be impossible to keep every area completely polished, but it helps to know which places accumulate the most germs and are commonly overlooked in our cleaning routines.

1. Stove Knobs. One of the dirtiest places in the kitchen are stove knobs. These little knobs can gather a lot of old food from our pots and pans or from our fingers. It doesn’t help that many of these knobs are black and can hide stains easily.

2. Bed Sheets. We spend a lot of time in our beds, which makes our bed sheets a great place for germs to nest. It’s recommended that bedsheets and pillowcases are cleaned at least once a week.

3. Faucet Handles. The next time you wash your hands, check your faucet handles for soap scum and water spots because these handles are a breeding ground for dirty grime. Clean these once a week to keep them shiny.

4. Kitchen Sink. So many bits of food fall into our kitchen sinks and sometimes they can go unnoticed for days. The next time you do the dishes, make sure to give your kitchen sink a good cleaning!

5. Sponges. Although it may seem counterintuitive, the thing we clean everything with can be hiding a lot of germs. Sponges should be replaced every 14 days and you can minimize the germs in your current sponge by microwaving it.

Year Over Year Changes August to August

July 2021 Market Statistics Summary

The market statistics are for Maricopa and Pinal Counties. Please let me know if you’d like similar statistics for a specific city or neighborhood within the Phoenix Metro area.

Contact me today at 602-527-1922 to schedule a free consultation.

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