Tools Every Homeowner Should Have

When you contact our 24 hour electrician Brisbane your call is answered by our on-call team member who is ready to respond to a range of urgent electrical issues. Flashlight: None of the tools you own will be of any use if you cannot visually inspect the situation. The problem-and solution-are apparent only with a good flashlight. A traditional two-battery flashlight is usually sufficient, as larger flashlights may be too unwieldy. Of course, having backups at home (as well as in all your vehicles) is a must for emergency situations.

Tape Measure: Measuring house projects requires a tape measure-not a ruler or a yardstick. Tape measures come in many lengths, although one that is at least 25 feet is best. Measure everything at least twice to ensure accuracy, regardless of the project.

Hacksaw: A hacksaw is useful for cutting metal objects, such as pipes, bolts and brackets. Hacksaws look thin and flimsy, but they’ll easily cut through even the hardest of metals. Blades are replaceable, so focus your purchase on a quality hacksaw frame. Use a stable surface for cutting, and use caution, as a hacksaw injury can be painful and deep.

Torpedo Level: Only a level can be used to determine if something, such as a shelf, appliance or picture, is correctly oriented. The torpedo-style level is unique because it not only shows when an object is perfectly horizontal and vertical, but it also has a gauge that shows when an object is at a 45-degree angle. The bubble in the viewfinder must be exactly in the middle-not merely close.

Safety Glasses: For all tasks involving a hammer, saw or a power tool, you should always wear safety glasses or goggles. They should also be worn while you mix chemicals, install insulation, and do major renovation projects involving tear-downs of building materials, such as drywall, because anything that can go airborne upon destruction can wind up in your eyes, causing irritation or injury.

Fire Safety for the Home

The National Fire Protection Association’s fire prevention program promotes the following eight tips that people of all ages and abilities can use to keep family members safe, especially during the threat of a house fire.

Plan and practice your escape from fire

We’ve heard this advice before, but you can’t be prepared to act in an emergency if you don’t have a plan and everybody knows what that plan is. Panic and fear can spread as quickly as a fire, so map out an escape route and a meeting place outdoors, and involve even the youngest family members so that everyone can work as a unit to make a safe escape. If you live in a condo or apartment building, make sure you read the signs posted on your floor advising you of the locations of stairways and other exits, as well as alarm pull stations and fire extinguishers.

Plan your escape around your abilities

Keeping a phone by your bedside will allow you to call 911 quickly, especially if the exits of your home are blocked by smoke or flames. Keep a pair of shoes near your bed, too. If your home or building has a fire escape, take some time to practice operating it and climbing it.

Smoke alarms save lives

If you don’t already have permanently installed smoke alarms hard-wired into your electrical system and located outside each bedroom and on each floor, purchase units and place them in those locations. Install them using adhesive or screws, but be careful not to touch your screwdriver to any internal wiring. Doing this can cause an electrostatic discharge and disable them. Also, install carbon monoxide detectors as they can protect family members from lethal poisoning even before a fire starts.

Give space heaters space

Whether saving on utility bills by using the furnace infrequently, or when using these portable units for spot heating, make sure you give them at least 3 feet of clearance. Be sure to turn off and unplug them when you leave or go to bed. Electrical appliances draw current even when they’re turned off, and a faulty unit can cause a fire that can spread through the wires in the walls at a deadly pace.

If you smoke, smoke outside

Not only will this keep your family members healthier and your home smelling fresher, it will minimize the chance that an errant ember from your cigarette will drop and smolder unnoticed until it causes damage.

Be kitchen-wise

This means monitoring what you have on the stove and keeping track of what’s baking in the oven. Don’t cook if you’re tired or taking medication that clouds your judgment or makes you drowsy. Being kitchen-wise also means wearing clothing that will not easily catch on the handles of pots and pans, or graze open flames or heating elements. It also means knowing how to put out a grease fire: water will make it spread, but salt or baking soda will extinguish it quickly (as will covering the pot or pan with a lid and turning off the stove). Always use your cook top’s vent fan while cooking. Also, keep a small, all-purpose fire extinguisher in a handy place such as under the sink. These 3-pound lifesavers are rated “ABC” for their fire-suppressing contents. Read the instructions on these inexpensive devices when you bring them home from the store so that you can act quickly, if the time comes.

Stop, drop and roll

Fight the urge to panic and run if your clothes catch fire because this will only accelerate its spread. Tamping out the fire by rolling is effective, especially since your clothes may be on fire on your back or lower body where you may not be immediately aware of it. If ground space is limited, cover yourself with a blanket to tamp out any flames, and douse yourself with water as soon as you can. Additionally, always stay close to the floor during a fire; heat and smoke rise, and breathable air will normally be found at the floor-level, giving you a greater chance of escape before being overcome by smoke and toxic fumes.

Keep your family safe by following these simple tips!

Electrical Panel Safety

All homeowners should know where their electrical panel is located. When you open the door to it, you should find breakers that are labeled which correspond to the different rooms or areas of the home. Breakers will sometimes trip due to a power surge or outage, and the homeowner can flip the switch to reactivate the current to the particular room or area. Behind the breakers is the dead front, and it is this electrical component that should be removed only by a qualified electrician or inspector.

Before touching the electrical panel to re-set a breaker, ask yourself the following questions:

Do I have an escape path? Make sure that you know where you can safely turn or step if you must escape a dangerous surprise, such a bee or a spark. An unfortunately placed shovel or extension cord, for instance, can turn a quick jerk into a dangerous fall.

Is the floor wet? Never touch any electrical equipment while standing on a wet surface!

Does the panel appear to be wet? Check overhead for dripping water that may have condensed on a cold water pipe.

Is the panel rusty? Rust is an indication of previous wet conditions that may still exist.

Are there scorch marks on the panel door? This can indicate a past or very recent arc, and further investigation should be deferred to a licensed electrician.

Here is a list of defective conditions that a homeowner may see that may be called out during an electrical inspection:

Insufficient clearance. According to the 2008 National Electrical Code, most residential electrical panels require at least a 3-foot clearance or working space in front, 30 inches of width, and a minimum headroom clearance of 6 feet, or the height of the equipment, whichever is greater.

Sharp-tipped panel box screws. Panel box cover screws must have blunt ends so they do not pierce the wires inside the box.

Circuit breakers that are not properly sized

Oxidation or corrosion to any of the parts. Oxidized or corroded wires will increase the resistance of conductors and create the potential for arcing.

Damage caused by rodents Rodents have been known to chew through wire insulation in electrical panels (and other areas), creating an unsafe condition. Rodents have been electrocuted this way, leaving an unsightly mess inside the panel.

Evidence of electrical failures, such as burned or overheated components

Evidence of water entry inside the electrical panel Moisture can corrode circuit breakers so that they won’t trip, make connections less reliable and the equipment unsafe to touch.

A panel manufactured by Zinsco or Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) These panels have a reputation for being problematic, and further evaluation by a qualified electrician is recommended.

Copyright © 2016 InterNACHI, All rights reserved.

At Top2Bottom Home Inspection, your peace of mind (and safety!) is our top priority. We are an InterNACHI certified professional home inspection company. We provide a variety of services including new home, thermal IR, mold, moisture, HVAC and roof inspections. We offer first time homebuyer and veteran discounts. Call anytime, or visit and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

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There are countless motives why an individual should learn to surf and use their surfing app. Riding a wave is something surfers fully recognize and non-surfers will never entirely grasp. Riding waves links the surfer to the power of the ocean and also the storm that produced that power. When you surf, you will be riding the power from a weather system that produced waves in a distant location. To nearly all surfers, surfing is a religious encounter that takes over the surfer when riding a wave and connecting with the ocean. That buzz of riding the wave may keep numerous surfers addicted for their life.

People might think other activities are similar to surfing. Other board related sports activities might ride decks similar to surfing, but tend not to have the same feel as that of riding a wave. When surfers surf a wave, the wave is in existence for a single instant in time. Other board sports focus on riding fixed fabrications similar to snow or road enabling duplication to progress. In contrast, surfing requires perseverance and motivation to get better as duplication is not likely in the ocean with every single wave being a special experience.

Gaining the knowledge to surf is a arduous process. A session from a skilled instructor is highly preferred for starters. In many cases, a good friend could possibly offer to take you surfing for your initial time. Unless your buddy is experienced and is planning to spend time and energy to you on your initial day surfing, there is a good likelihood you will not ride a wave. If you choose to sign up for a session from a qualified surf instructor, you ought to be able to ride at least a few smaller waves on your first day out surfing. From then on, surfing requires a whole lot of work to master.

As you learn and advance, the compensation is great. My initial surf was a significant experience. As you gain skills as a surfer, you make more out of surfing. Surfing waves is a experience and positive feeling similar to no other for the expert wave rider. As a newbie, you should not try to surf bigger more extreme waves as you might get hurt. If the wave looks demanding, it typically is greater than your skill level. Take your time learning and make certain you master good surf etiquette previous to venturing out to a packed surf break where better surfers are in the surf lineup.

Surfing is a truly fulfilling activity to surfers that get educated about good skills and surf etiquette. Go for it and give it a try.

Whatever the occasion whether it is a corporate functions Melbourne, we will work with you in the lead up to your corporate event to ensure all the details are taken care of. Watch popular television shows and movies long enough, and you’ll start to see a theme emerge regarding the general idea of what a corporate event venue is and what it means to the corporate culture. There aren’t many surprises, everything is fairly buttoned-down, and when it comes to keeping the pep up in the crowd, it’s done with mid-morning snacks. Truth be told, reading that last sentence made you feel the drag that most corporate events are. The problem is that the venues are nothing special to write home about.

There’s gotta be a better way.

Corporate events is really a fancy way of saying that a company is getting together for a specific purpose as a whole company. The company in question may be doing so as a large-scale sales pitch. Sometimes, they’ve decided that employees need to have a bonding experience to help bring everyone together. And still at other times, there may be a need to get the company together to go over pertinent data at one time. Either way you look at it, the events are not really much to speak of, but this is why most of the time, employees tend to see the events as being a little on the boring side. It’s the same-old-same-old time and time again, which can actually have negative effects on the purpose of the event in the first place.

So, if a company is in need of making their next corporate event more impactful, what can be done? Well, for starters, it might be best to rock the boat a bit when it comes to the venue chosen for the event. As long as you have all the right ins and outs that make the data you’re sharing with attendees get where it needs to, you’re pretty set.

Here are three possible options for corporate event venues that just may help you rewrite the whole event planning handbook at work:

Hotels ⏤ OK, this one isn’t really that unique, but there are more hotels now than ever. Each one is vying for business, and with that comes the need to innovate. These innovations can actually be a great benefit to corporate events as they can do more than simply deal with the only available technology.

Indoor Entertainment Facilities ⏤ If you’re team-building, why not do it over some bowling or laser-tag? These types of entertainment facilities are very popular and house a number of sports/events/activities under one roof.

Movie Grill/Dine-In Theater/Cinema Brewery ⏤ Why not rent a local movie theater that’s more than just an average movie theater? These types of theaters have killer technology, work well with the needs of the renter, and can even help with customizing a menu. Your employees’ minds would be blown!

Running a business is hard work, and it takes a collaborative effort from everyone at every level to make a company successful year after year. Choosing the right corporate event venue, especially one that’s a little unique, can actually make employees excited about these big get-togethers. This positive attitude can, in turn, spill over into the general approach to the job, making productivity go up a bit.