Daylight Savings Time Starts Tonight and Home Maintenance Checks

Use Switching to Daylight Savings Time as a Trigger for Doing Small Home Maintenance Checks

By Mark J. Donovan

At 2:00am Sunday morning you should officially move your clocks forward one hour as the country goes on Daylights Savings Time. Get ready for some darker mornings :(

As you move your clocks forward this evening or tomorrow morning you may also want to think about replacing smoke detector batteries. The shift to daylight savings time or standard time are always good points in the year to replace smoke detector batteries and to trigger other periodic home maintenance checks such as changing air filters, batteries in wall thermostats, and even water filters.

So don't let your shorter weekend be a total bust. Make the best out of it by doing some easy diy maintenance activities

Repairing Leaking Shower Pan

How to Fix a Leaking Shower Pan

By Mark J. Donovan

A leaking mortar shower pan can cost thousands of dollars of damage to your home and can be extremely expensive to repair. The best advice I can give you is to install a mortar shower pan properly the first time, versus having to think about repairing a leaking shower pan later. To prevent from having to repair a leaking shower pan I highly suggest you take a look at my “Shower Pan Membrane Liner Installation Ebook”. This Ebook provides detailed instructions, along with dozens of instructional pictures, on how to properly install a mortar shower pan. By following the instructions in this ebook you will build a leak free shower pan.

If you do find yourself in a position of repairing a leaking shower pan, the first step is to remove the shower floor tiles. You’ll also need to remove the wall tiles from the bottom 12 inches of the interior shower walls. After removing the shower floor and wall tiles, vacuum up all of the rubble and dust. Then, using a cold chisel and large hammer, break up the mortar shower pan. In the process remove the existing shower pan liner. If there was a pre-slope mortar layer below the mortar shower pan, which there should be, remove that as well, again using the cold chisel and hammer. Note: If you find that the pre-slope has a good pitch to the drain, using a spirit level, and it has a smooth surface then you can forgo having to remove the pre-slope mortar layer.

After cleaning up the shower floor area with a broom and vacuum, you can then begin the process of installing a leak free mortar shower pan. If there was no pre-slope mortar layer, or you had to remove the existing one, pour the pre-slope mortar layer making sure you have a proper pitch to the drain. Next install the flexible shower pan membrane liner. Finally, pour the final base mortar layer over the membrane liner. Again, I highly recommend buying my “Shower Pan Membrane Liner Installation Ebook” to learn all the specifics of how to install the mortar shower pan properly. After the base mortar layer has cured you can then retile the shower floor and surrounding shower walls to complete the shower pan leak repair.

Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" Reviewed

Atlas Shrugged - An Absolute Page Turner that I Could Not Put Down

By Mark J. Donovan

Today I finally finished reading Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” magnum opus. It was an incredible book, albeit at 1,069 pages and size 3 font it was a bit tough on the eyes. The book was written in 1957, however the similarities of the characters and the “people’s state” of the United States and world, with today’s present political environment, is frighteningly familiar and uncanny. The basic premise of “Atlas Shrugged” is based around Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Objectivism is a viewpoint in which the individual thinking man acting solely upon himself to produce products and services, and resulting in achieving personal gain, is better overall for a society than a society mentally coerced and effectively physically enslaved to the concept of self-sacrifice for others.

As I read the book and watched the “Head of State” and his political self-sacrificing thinking political cronies develop new federal programs and initiatives to unsuccessfully pull a country out of its economic death spiral, I began to jot down just a few of the similar federal programs, plans, and acts our current political leadership has recently initiated, all in the name of fairness and to help the U.S. out of its economic and moral decay. Again, the similarities are uncanny…..

• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act


• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act


• American Jobs Act


• Mortgage Relief Plan


• Making Home Affordable Initiative


• Choice Neighborhoods Program


• Promise Neighborhoods Program


• Byrne Criminal Justice Initiative


• Buffet Rule (Tax Fairness Act)


• Shovel Ready Projects


• Unilateral Disarmament

If you really view yourself as a thinking and objective man or woman, I highly recommend reading this book. It’s a page turner both from a riveting story line and from an intellectual enlightenment perspective. After reading this book, I can’t imagine how anyone could not feel changed in some way. I know I’ve been and I hope you’ll read this book…. “Who is John Galt?”

Sheetrock Calculator Iphone App Available on Apple’s Itunes Store

HomeAdditionPlus.com’s new Drywall Cost Estimator / Calculator Iphone App is Fast and Easy to Use for Calculating Sheetrock Material Quantities and Costs for a Drywall Project

By Mark J. Donovan

For diy homeowners and contractors alike, HomeAdditionPlus.com’s new Sheetrock Calculator Iphone App is the perfect tool to have at your disposal on your Smartphone. The Sheetrock Calculator allows you to quickly and easily determine how many drywall panels and 5 gallon buckets of joint compound to buy. In addition, it calculates drywall costs for the entire project by the push of one button. Moreover, you can either use the default unit costs for the drywall panels and joint compound or you can enter in your own specific unit costs. It also allows you to select various standard sheetrock panel sizes.

To use the sheetrock calculator just enter in wall height and width dimensions, ceiling dimensions, the number and size of doors and windows, and hit the calculate button. In an instant you’ll know how many drywall panels to buy, how much joint compound is needed, and the total cost for the project. It’s that easy. The Sheetrock Calculator costs only $0.99 and is available on Itunes. Buy the Sheetrock Calculator Iphone App at Apple’s Itunes Store today.

Spring Deck Check

Keep your Deck Looking Like New by Checking it out Every Spring and Maintaining it as Necessary

By Mark J. Donovan

When the weather begins to get a bit milder in early spring make sure to do a deck check. The best time to do deck check is just before you decide to pull out the grill for the warmer months. The winter months can be tough on a deck between the snow, ice and extreme cold temperatures. Snow left on the deck all winter can eat away at the deck stain or sealer and can potentially cause deck rot issues. If the deck surface looks grey or there is peeling exhibited, plan to seal or stain your deck promptly, as soon as the temperatures are sufficiently warm.

As part of the deck check also inspect for loose decking boards, popped deck fasteners and dry rot. Make sure to lift any flower pots or other items that may have been sitting on your deck all winter. Often deck rot starts under these items. Also check the underside of the deck, if you can get to it, to make sure the deck posts and framing look sound. Water and ice, as well as frost heaves, can potentially cause structural damage to the deck making it unsafe for use. In addition, check any deck flashing to make sure it hasn’t failed or been damaged.

Finally, if you do need to re-stain your deck, make sure to do it under mild temperature conditions, e.g. above 50 degrees (F). Also make sure the deck has been spotlessly cleaned and repaired prior to staining. The deck should also be thoroughly dry prior to staining. If the deck surface looks dull after cleaning it apply a brightener to bring out the grain wood colors again.