24 - Friday, March 15, 1991 - North Shore News Custom Renovations Building for the Selected Few ol a ELS CONTRACTING LTD. Bus: 926-0343 Cel: 250-8239 Renovations ¢ Additions © New Construction ALL FABRICS e Custom made furniture e Excellence & Affordability One of Western Canada’s largest workshops with thousands of fabrics to choose from "UPHOLSTERY ITD. Your Home is Our Showroom 481 Mountain Highway North Vancouver 980-2318 Serving the North Shore since 1955 980-2813 Mon.-Fri. 8am - 5pm Sat. 9am - 3pm HP North Shore's only member of the BC. Professional Upholsterers Association x 4 which ensures you the best quality and 7s guarantee in the business. t NG 2 NEWS photo Mike Wat olield THIS MAY be the time to tackle a few home repair jobs that have been on your ‘*to-do”’ list for too long. Some jobs, however, like the one above, are more major than others. Regular checkups for symptoms can reduce house repair costs A HOUSE is the most expensive investment most Canadians wil make. To keep it from becoming even more expensive means giving it a regular checkup. It’s a Jot easier to spend 50 cents now on a new washer to fix that leaky shower head — before water soaks into the framework and turns into a torrent of repair bills. This litle guide will help you discover the symptoms and causes of common house problems. Al- though you may need a profes- sional 10 help you uncover some of the hidden problems, anyone can make a thorough and quick examination. So rol! up your sleeves, grab a flashlight and head for the basement. Start in the basement. You can usually learn mere about the con- dition ot a house from the base- ment. A fot of prolems start here COMPLETE TREE SERVICE ©. CONSULTATIONS, “Do it right or not at all”’ SAFE & PROFESSIONAL TREE CARE and ripple their way up. Foundation Walls ® Cracks in the walls are serious only if they are large and leak water. Smali cracks are okay; they appear because concrete shrinks as it cures. e Water stains are one of the telltale signs that water is seeping through the foundation. Damp spots. crumbling mortar, and white powdery deposits also betray the presence of water. Structural Framework © Twisted or sagging beams along the basement ceiling change the house’s structure — and that means cracks in the walls, warped floors and even windows that stick. The most important part of your framework is the beam that SURGERY | *tree removal, topping, thinning, pruning and hedges stump grinding (even in hard to get places) efully equipped mobile units *chippers *trucks *boomstrucks eAsk about our new Arbor-green complete 2 yr tree fertilizer runs down the centre of hte basement ceiling. Use a builder’s level to see if it is straight and level. * Mold, fungus or rotted timbers weaken the house’s foundation. If you suspect problems, poke the wood with a knife or screwdriver to see if there are any soft spots. Rotting wood is usually the result ot leaking water or poor ventila- tion. Electrical Wiring ¢ Exposed or bare wire in the basement will give you an idea of how good the wiring is in the rest of the house. Jf the insulation around the wiring is crumbling, the wires are exposed or bare, or wires have been connected by simply twisting them together, it’s time to call an electrician. * Blown fuses or circuit breaker shut-off require an electrician. The house is using too much elec. tricity for the wiring to handle. Uf a fuse blows a, soon as you replace it, there’s a shois some- where. Unplug all the appliances and put in a new fuse. If the fuse blows, call an electrician ... If it doesn’t, try plugging in one appli- ance at a time to see which causes the problem. Plumbing * Leaks require immediate repair. Water can rot cupboards and floor boards. © Rust stains around pipe joints or low water pressure probably mean that a plumber should have a look. Floors e Sagging or warped floors are usually signs that the supports under the floor aren't good enough. In some houses, a load bearing wall may have been removed from the floor below. Jn newer houses, it may simply be See Moisture page 28