Daily Archives: November 22, 2012

6 things a fireplace inspection will help you avoid | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Q: We’re new homeowners. We bought an older home with a wood-burning fireplace in the living room. We’re looking forward to spending cozy nights in front of the fire this winter, but there is a concern.

When we bought the house we had a termite inspection, a roof inspection and a general home inspection. But we did not have a specific fireplace inspection. The home inspector did note that he found no problems with the fireplace, but we’re uneasy with what seems to be his cursory look. Should we have the fireplace checked out before using it? We’d appreciate any input you might have.

A: We strongly recommend a thorough fireplace inspection and having the chimney swept by a licensed chimney sweep. These professionals will not only clean the chimney of built-up creosote but will alert you to defects in the flue or firebox that can be downright dangerous.

There are a lot of bad things that can happen with a malfunctioning fireplace — the worst being a chimney fire that can spread to the roof structure and cause major damage.

Here’s a list of things a good chimney sweep will inspect:

  • There should be a cap with a screen on the chimney to prevent rain or snow from coming down the chimney and to prevent birds or other critters from nesting there.
  • He or she will look at the condition of the bricks and mortar. It’s possible the bricks exposed to the weather need to be reset or the mortar needs repointing.
  • The sweep will check out the flue liner and note excessive creosote buildup or cracked flue tiles. If the chimney hasn’t been swept recently (it probably hasn’t) he or she will recommend that it be cleaned before laying your first fire of the season. The leading cause of fires from wood-burning fireplaces, inserts or wood stoves is partially burned fuel (creosote) deposited on the walls of the chimney flue.
  • If the fireplace has glass doors, the sweep should inspect the gasket material around the door opening. Defective gaskets should be replaced to ensure proper operation of the fireplace. This is especially important if you have an insert or a wood stove, which are meant to be airtight. If an airtight appliance is operated without these gaskets effectively sealing the openings, excess air can leak into the firebox creating an over fire condition, which may permanently damage the appliance.
  • As part of the service the sweep should clean the blower if your fireplace is equipped with one. These blowers do not have a filtering system to prevent the buildup of dust and hair on the blower. Excessive dirt will shorten the life of the blower and may be a fire hazard.
  • The inspection may reveal broken or deteriorated brick lining in the firebox. Replacement of the damaged bricks may or may not be necessary depending on the severity.

When the fireplace inspection is done and the chimney is swept, there is one final task for you to perform. Replace the batteries and test any smoke or carbon monoxide detectors you have in your home to ensure these monitors are operating properly.

44 Reasons Why You Should Use Social Media for Your Personal and Business Brand | South Salem Realtor

Why would you want to waste your time blogging and building a following on social media networks? Why would you bother? It all seems like a lot of hard work really.44 Reasons Why You Should Use Social Media for Your Personal and Business Brand

For hundreds of years expressing yourself and displaying your passion and talents was confined to writing, drawing or painting on a piece of paper and then begging a publisher or someone of influence to tell the world or publish your work or display it.

It took time, money and often access to powerful social and business networks. Being rich or royal was often a prerequisite to being noticed. It also took a lot of time with death often happening before fame kicked in. Many musicians and artists didn’t achieve fame until centuries later.

Artists and creatives often needed access to kings and queens and their benevolent attention to break through the barrier of anonymity.

Gatekeepers to Fame and Influence

Television, radio and modern mass media made it easier to be discovered and break through the influence glass ceiling. In reality it still required money and other people’s networks and the new kings and queens were now the journalists, editors and media moguls. They were the new gatekeepers to fame and influence.

Blogs, social media and social networks have turned this traditional and glacial model of influence, attention and self expression on its head. It is mobile, multimedia rich and its free. The power is now in your hands.

The challenge now is not having access to the media because social media has provided the tools and means to take control. They are now Your” media and you have control. You just need the passion and the motivation to make it happen.

The “real” challenge now is breaking through the conversations and clutter of billions of personal publishers in an increasingly online world.

Why Use Social Media?

So why you should you blog, create valuable content and build networks on social media? Is social media just about being superficial or is it much deeper than that? Social media has touched something in human consciousness that goes beyond just online conversations. It has provided a global connectedness that is culture and nation changing. It has given us as individuals control over our lives and how we express ourselves.

That is what is exciting.

The power of media now resides in your hands and everyone can express themselves to the world and carve out and create their own corner of influence.

The democratization of media that is social media, allows everyone to express themselves globally in full color and rich multimedia. No longer do you need to beg a book publisher for access. You can now self-publish and place your book in the Amazon or Apple book store.

Here are a few reasons why you should tap into the power of social media that may resonate with you.  This may motivate you to take control of your life and business with the new world of online publishing and marketing via blogs and social media networks.

  1. Turn your passion into a business
  2. Take control of your life
  3. Take control of your publishing
  4. Take control of your marketing
  5. Become a thought leader
  6. Travel
  7. Be paid to speak
  8. Become influential
  9. Make a difference
  10. Leave a legacy
  11. Build trust
  12. Earn respect
  13. Build an online asset that will show up in Google search results for years
  14. Build a business online
  15. Create independence
  16. Meet cool and influential people both virtual and face to face
  17. Grow your own network of influence
  18. Open up business opportunities
  19. Accelerate the rate of growth both personal and business
  20. Become well known or even famous
  21. Be wanted and even demanded
  22. Be valued
  23. Develop self respect
  24. Turn your life form ordinary to extraordinary
  25. Become an author
  26. Change people’s lives
  27. Change your own life
  28. Grow
  29. Be able to leap out out of bed instead of crawl
  30. Learn more about passion instead of just showing up
  31. Gain energy
  32. Learn more about yourself through self expression
  33. Leave your day job behind
  34. Fire your boss
  35. Make your mum proud
  36. Make your friends jealous
  37. Put a smile on your face
  38. Put a spring in your step
  39. Discover skills you didn’t know you had
  40. Sing in the car or shower
  41. Find purpose in your life
  42. Overcome the fear of public speaking
  43. No longer have to worry about the fear of rejection
  44. Connect to global markets

What About You?

How has social media changed your life or business? Has it been transformational?

Do you think that the social web is the biggest change to self expression, influence and publishing since the printing press 500 years ago?

What have I left out?

Look forward to your feedback in the comments below.

Bedford Town update | Bedford Hills NY Homes

All Town Offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday and Friday, reopening at 8:30 on Monday, 11/26.

No Parking Rules in Effect Nov 15 – April 1 
There shall be NO parking from 11:00pm to 7:00am on any county or Town highway in the Town of Bedford from November 15 to April 1. (Town Code Chapter 117)

Hurricane Sandy Recovery Center at County Center, click here for  information:http://www3.westchestergov.com/news/all-press-releases/4389-astorino-opens-multi-purpose-hurricane-sandy-recovery-center

The Town DPW will be removing storm debris and performing leaf pickup. Please click here for details:http://www.bedfordny.info/html/whats-new.html

REMINDERS:
Winter is here. STOP wasting money. Energize your Home now!
• Get a free comprehensive home energy assessment by State certified professionals  
• Decide what improvements to make and how to finance upgrades (Consult with the staff at Energize if you need help)
• Join over 200 of your neighbors (including Supervisor Lee Roberts, Planning Board Chair Don Coe, Director of Energy Resources Mark Thielking) in making our community less reliant on oil, our homes more comfortable and less costly to operate. (We’re saving over $250,000 already!)  Go towww.energizebedford.org or call us at 914 302-7300

Please consider mulching your leaves this fall, rather than putting them out on the curb for the Town to pick up. Leaf mulching is an easy way to manage fall leaves and improve the soil on your property at the same time. More and more homeowners and landscapers are switching to leaf mulching. You and your landscaper can learn more at www.leaveleavesalone.org.