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The Scary Thing about Drywall and Plaster Disaster in Marathon, Fl.

10/6/2015

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The Florida Keys is a paradise that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors year-round and has an ambitious boating and laid back lifestyle. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for the residents in Marathon, Fl.. On a yearly basis, Marathon and the residents of the Keys receive hurricane threats and flooding. Most companies that handle any type of large house repairs, home addition, and building maintenance are large, out-of-state companies that come from Texas to charge upsurds amount of money. If not the big tycoons, then you'll end up getting a local Ma and Pa business that might not have licenses or permits to work on larger construction projects. 

The scary thing about drywall and plaster in Marathon is not just on the installation and rigid regulations, but you also need to take into account, the moisture level of the surrounding area. As a hot and humid location, some drywall material may release toxic substances after some time. The right drywall and plaster installer will know the difference between cold resistant against hot temperature resistant material. He also needs to know about imported batches of drywall that are toxic, asbestos/mesothelioma, and radioactive phosphate. Yes! Radioactive Phosphate! That small Ma and Pa shop installers might not be aware of such hazardous drywall and plaster material. 

Drywall, a.k.a., gypsum board or Sheetrock was a cheap alternative to plastering freehand and creating a smooth surface on ceilings and walls. Over the years, drywall became such high in demand that cheaper, toxic material was used (and still is) to compete in the price wars between companies. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as local authorities received almost 5k reports from residents in 44 states, the American Samoa, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their household correlates and so does the electrical fixtures, appliances, plumbing, and air conditioner coils. A boom in construction occurred after a few hurricanes hit South Florida in 2004 and 2005 which homeowners that reported health issues had homes built after 2005.

After the housing boom in 2006, the Florida Keys was a major target for construction projects at low prices, using Chinese drywall and other inferior materials. Chinese drywall corrodes copper aggressively. The danger is in the air conditioning coils that corrode and spread deadly chemicals throughout the whole A/C vent unit into homes and buildings. The daily intake of these toxic particles leads to Mesothelioma. Yes, Cancer!

This health hazard in Marathon and the rest of the Florida Keys with problem drywall and wrong plaster application has hit a peak during the past several years. XTRM Construction has certified drywall and plaster installers that will not only build with the safest materials, but also inspect for corrosion and blackening within the walls. Unlike big companies, we accommodate our prices for your regular sized home or business. Call us today if you're in Marathon, Fl., or any part of the Keys, if you need any inspection or drywall installation done the safe and correct way. 
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Hiring Skilled Tradesmen instead of Doing it Yourself: How to save money on major home repairs.

10/3/2015

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Many of us like to save $$$, in fact, many people go to extreme lengths to save a few bucks. These days, there's an ease in attaining articles to read and D.I.Y. homer repair video tutorials to view so that you can have a sense of how a professional repair job or home remodeling project needs to be done. Sometimes this might give a false hope of saving excessive amounts of money by doing it yourself. The big fear, also, is the high rates that remodeling and construction companies charge for their services. The answer to this is hiring skilled tradesmen from a professional company.  

Hiring skilled tradesmen will not only save you time and money, but save you from the stress and extra effort needed to be placed on a repair endeavor. The job is guaranteed by certified professionals to be done correct the first time around. A skilled tradesmen is needed when the repair job is difficult, when it needs to go through legal inspection, and where there are professional tools required. Tools can cost through the roof and you might not use it much throughout its life. Also, you don't need to be that person that returns a purchased tool (after using it) from a home improvement store before the 30-day money-back return policy expires. Rest assure that inspections and quality will meet the standards when hiring skilled tradesman. 

Disasters that can occur when you Do It Yourself

Home repair and remodeling jobs acquire a good amount of materials to spend on. Many times when handling tough repair jobs on your own, you can waste up to 3 times more in material and time than was initially required. Learning by experience can be frustrating and expensive; electrical, plumbing, drywall, roofing, and flooring projects or repairs may get you into deeper messes, with more repairs to make, if you don't accurately follow instructions. For example, if you trip a wire from the fuse box by accident, you might burn the wiring from inside the walls and replacing it is a whole other job of its own. 

To find dependable, qualified, insured, and skilled tradesman, you would have to do some online research and find credentials. Not many companies offer leasing skilled tradesmen as a service in the first place, but, for the ones that do, they have online reviews on places such as Angies List and Yelp. When hiring skilled tradesmen, make sure they are fully insured by their company as well; if any accident happens in the work-site, you should not be liable to any medical or compensation costs. This is the big difference when contracting a professional against a street worker picked up in front of a Home Depot or Lowe's. You don't know this individuals background nor work behavior; he may be a serial killer for all you know. Hiring an un-insured construction worker may look like the cheaper route, but, most of the time, It's not.

There are many ways that you can save money when hiring a skilled tradesman rather than doing the job yourself.

Skilled Tradesman:
1. know the proper type of material and adequate amount needed. 
2. have all the right tools and equipment to get the job done efficiently and professionally. 
3. have methods to make long-lasting results for many repair jobs and construction projects.
4. have installation, application, renovation, demolition, and other techniques that saves overall time in performance. 

What possibly can go wrong if you Do it Yourself?

1. If it does not meet county construction standards and regulations, the owner might be fined and made to do it over again until it meets the criteria. The building permit might be cancelled and you'll have to wait and pay for a new one. 
2. The materials might be incorrect and you'll have to remove and re-do the application. Removing tile is not fun. 
3. You might get injured, even fatally injured. 
4. The budget might need to be doubled. 
5. The house might get flooded from improper pipe installation. 
6. The house might catch on fire due to bad electrical wiring. 
7. The house might collapse. 

Lets not get more into details, there is an abundant amount of catastrophe's that may occur if you don't hire a professional. The cons outweigh the pros when you consider doing a repair job by yourself. XTRM Construction provides certified and fully insured skilled tradesman in the South Florida area. For any type of home remodeling or residential construction job you may have, large or small, for personal use or through a company, we have you covered. Contact us today to hire our skilled tradesmen with years of industry experience. 
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    General Contractor

    Alex Barberena
    I am a General Contractor with over 10 years of experience in the construction industry. Much of my knowledge comes from hands on experience in various types of construction jobs. I like sharing my construction experience to help out the DIY'er make his own construction projects. 

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