Have you ever tried to turn on your outside water in the winter and have found your water faucet totally frozen? Did you know two dollars (or less) could save you a $150.00 or more in plumber repair bills?

Sometimes you run into a handy little product that is just a simple and inexpensive preventative solution to potential problem that could cost you much more than your investment in repairs. This week we found a short video on YouTube demonstrating this DIY project that takes less than five minutes to carry out and costs less than two dollars!

If you live in the northern regions of the country, or anywhere the weather regularly reaches freezing temperatures this little product called Frost King Outdoor Hard Faucet Cover / Freeze Cap may be a two dollar investment you want to make. It’s a simple idea that really impressed us and we like to share! We found it at Lowe’s, but you may be able to order it online or find it at Home Depot or other home improvement stores.

Check out the video – it’s short but sweet.

 

Before repair

Most people do not take a quick trip up their ladder to see what is going on their roof. Unless they have a leak of course. Even then, because getting on a roof and strolling around to look for a problem area is just not something that is comfortable for most homeowners, they do not see that many times the leak they see on the interior of the home can be attributed to improper installation of flashing and counter flashing.

As you can see on the before photo, there is a serious problem with the flashing installation around this chimney. The step flashing is not calked correctly and rain water will absolutely come between the brick and the step flashing. The counter flashing is missing entirely exposing the gap between the shingles and the brick to rain as well. Both sides of this chimney had common problems associated with improper and missing installation techniques required for a correctly installed roof that doesn’t leak.

After repair

Though the flashing problem pictured is not the only reason a roof may leak, we do run into the problem frequently – and there is really no reason to skip installing flashing and counter flashing correctly when the roof is installed.

As you can see in the after photo, the repair consisted of installing the flashing and counter flashing correctly, completely preventing the roof from leaking from this  area.

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