Expect the Best

Siding experts have also found that longer panels create a more aesthetic and secure installation. When panels are 20' to 25' long, smaller houses can enjoy a seamless finish. Larger houses will have the fewest number of seams possible. This also makes the finished product tighter, more weather proof and stronger.

When you choose vinyl siding, you will have your choice of a wide range of colors and grains. You can choose something that resembles a traditional wood grain, or a completely smooth finish. Colors range from neutral earth tones, to slightly brighter reds and blues. You also are not limited to traditional, horizontal siding.

You can choose siding that has additional insulation on the back of it to make your home even warmer on those cold winter nights. You can select siding that installs in lines vertically or horizontally. Or you can go for a highly traditional look with siding that looks like cedar shakes or shingles. Vinyl siding can be installed by roofing contractors as well as siding contractors.

Is Vinyl Siding on your Holiday Wish List

If you want to enjoy the benefits of vinyl siding but want to have a more unique look, you might want to consider vertical siding. Horizontal siding is the more common method, but vertical may look even better given your style of house and preferences.

Vinyl siding can offer cost and feature benefits. The siding will handle severe weather without losing its quality and requires very little maintenance. Vertical siding is no different from the more traditional horizontal siding, meaning you can enjoy all the benefits of siding while adding a unique twist.

Your home can be given a new siding job with either complete vertical siding or vertical siding in addition to horizontal siding. Look at the shape of your home and see which option works the best in your situation. For example, some homes have vertical siding on the top half and horizontal siding on the bottom half.


If you do too much mixing with the vertical and horizontal siding, it may detract from you home's overall appearance. Also, too much detail can add to the cost if the installer has to keep switching from horizontal to vertical. Look for patterns and find certain features of the house that could benefit from the contrast.

Repairing a Cracking Sidewalk

A damaged sidewalk is one of the most visible parts of the exterior of a property and can easily hurt the curb appeal to your home. Fortunately, sidewalk repair is fairly simple and can be done in short order by our construction team or even by you. To repair a sidewalk you will need to follow these steps:

1. Determine the type of damage that’s on your sidewalk. Some damage is easy to repair but not all damage is. Big sections of sidewalk that have heaved and broken into pieces are not easy to fix and will most likely require a contractor to fix the problem

2. Determine why the damage occurred. It could have happened from  a lack of control joints, tree routes, or even seismic activity.

If your sidewalk is cracking you might want to consider installing a few extra control joints. You can install control joints by using a masonry blade to cut lines in the concrete. Cut about ½ inch into the sidewalk, not the whole way. The control joints allow the concrete to expand and contract in certain weather conditions. If a tree route seems to be the cause of the crack, clear around the tree roots and cut them away with pruning tools. Be very careful though, this can stunt the growth of the tree and sometimes even kill the tree.

The type of material you use to a repair a crack in the sidewalk depends on how large the crack is. For little cracks, you can use concrete grout. Larger cracks can be fixed with caulk and the largest cracks of all will need to be repaired with a concrete patching compound.

Keeping Safe while Making Repairs during Winter Months

Just because the weather turns cold in the winter doesn’t mean construction or repairs stop. Damage still happens and repairs still need to be made. Keeping safe through the cold, rain and snow is of paramount importance for construction workers and home owners making their own repairs. There are two main difficulties to overcome when it comes to staying safe during the winter: drastically reduced temperatures and much shorter daylight hours.

Staying safe in the cold is all about producing warmth in your body at every opportunity. Layering clothing is the primary defense against the cold, but it is also advantageous to have heating elements near the worksite to help the body stay warm. When working out in the cold it is important to know the signs of hypothermia so that you or any workmate can get the help necessary immediately.

Staying safe in winter is also about being able to deal with the increased amount of working hours taking place in darkness. The obvious solution to this problem is to create more light around the working environment. One of the best solutions for this is an LED light tower, which provides plenty of bright light for any environment. LED towers can be a bit heavy and bulky, however, so other options such as lighting balloons, work lamps, and flashlights might be enough for any particular situation. Either way, make sure to watch your step and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Preparing Your Home for Winter

New York winters can be harsh. In order to survive through the rain, wind and snow without significant damage, it’s important to make preventative repairs to the roof, gutters and siding before the storms start. Proper drainage and insulation is essential for maintaining the quality of your home and ensuring that your family can stay comfortable during the winter. Even though it is October, it is not too late to get some repairs in before the bigger storms start to roll into the city.

Roofing – the roof is the most important part of protecting your home from weather. Leaks during storms can cause a significant amount of damage to the interior of the home and can end up costing a lot more money than replacing and repairing the roof would. A Real Advantage Inc. are experts at roofing and they specialize in asphalt shingles, slate and tile and metal roofs. There’s no reason to delay when it comes to protecting your home.

Gutters – a proper and clear gutter system is essential for drainage during storms. Backed up gutters and improper water management can cause significant damage to the home during storms, meaning big and unnecessary costs in the long run. Let A Real Advantage construction improve your drainage, remove leaks and debris, clean downspouts, install new gutters and make adjustments to old gutters. You’ll thank yourself on a rainy day when all the water is drained to safe areas that can’t cause damage to your valuable home.

The Importance of Roof Repair

The roof is one of the most important components of the structure of a home. Despite this fact, many people neglect to get their roofs repaired until it is too late for a variety of reasons. The roof is easy to ignore from the inside of the home unless there are leaks, and people rarely climb up on the top of their houses to examine if there are any problems. Roof repair can seem intimidating, but it’s important to get any problems fixed before leaks cause any significant damage to the rest of the home.

Roofs can get damaged for any number of reasons. Lack of maintenance is one of the main causes, as fixing problems early on is essential to preventing the spread damage and keeping the repair cheap and easy. Weather also significantly damages roofing, so this is especially important for homes in New York, as the winters here can be very harsh.  Wind can cause damage, especially winds that exceed 50 mph as they can carry debris that the roof is not designed to collide with.

Some roof problems come from improper design. Weak roof structures can deflect excessively under load, causing splitting of the roof membrane. Inadequate roof slope, sagging roof structure, or insufficient number of drains or clogged gutters can result in ponding water. Inadequate design for expansion and contraction at changes in deck material can cause membrane splits. Incompatible roof materials can also cause damage due to chemical conflicts.

Is Your Deck Safe?

Part of our job as affordable licensed building contractors in the Bronx and other Burroughs is making sure your home is safe. And one area that you might assume is safe and sound is your deck—but how can you be sure?

According to This Old House, decks are a common do-it-yourself construction project. If you want to tackle the project yourself that’s great, but read A Real Advantage Construction’s tips for making sure your deck doesn’t have dangerous structural defects.

Decks commonly collapse when they have been merely nailed on. Decks should be attached with bolts, rather than nails. While nails can stand up to the downward force of a crowd gathering on a deck, they can’t stand up to the outward force, which acts as a lever (forcing the deck away from the house). As a result, nails tend to loosen as wood swells and shrinks with moisture—making them offer less resistance to the prying forces.

A screwed-in connector, on the other hand, gains increased frictional strength courtesy of the wedging action of wood fivers along the shaft’s length. A lag bolt (think: a giant screw) has nearly nine times the pullout resistance of a nail (per inch of penetration). A true bolt, which is inserted into a drilled hole and fitted with a nut, boasts even more strength due to its metal-to-metal connection. With that said, these connectors may loosen over time, so look for signs like a widening gap against the house.

One tip to keep the connection between the house and deck dry is to add flashing to drain away, which will protect both entities. Of course, a freestanding deck eliminates this problem. 

How To: Powerwash Your Walkway

{Does your walkway look like this? We can help!}

As affordable residential contractors serving Brooklyn and beyond, we are full of tips to making your home truly shine. If your walkway is covered with dirt and grime, it’s time to powerwash it. Your walkway is one of the first things people see upon arriving at your home, after all.

First, attach a garden house to the inlet port on your powerwasher. Then, connect the spray-wand hose to the powerwasher and attached a low-pressure nozzle to the spray wand. Hold the nozzle a few inches away from your walkway and start the power washer. Squeeze the trigger and direct the water at an angle. If that doesn’t do the trick, replace the low-pressure nozzle with a stronger one and continue spraying. Mix a solution of nine parts water, one part chlorine bleach in a bucket and scrub your walkway using a brush with course bristles. Repeat once a month!

Check back for more tips from A Real Advantage Construction Inc.

{Photo Credit: Patrick Chondon}

In-Case-of-Emergency Tips

We may be best known for our affordable rain gutter services, but our expertise doesn’t just lie in exterior household repairs! Check out more in-case-of-emergency tips below!


Make a Plan

The best way to get through an emergency is to have a plan and stick to it:

• Choose a contact person—a family member or friend—who lives out of state. In the event of a disaster, it might be easier to call long distance than locally

• Choose not one but two meeting spots

Frozen Pipes

We know, we know, it’s summertime and frozen pipes are the last thing on your mind. Humor us anyway and read our trips for preventing frozen pipes:

• Before the cold weather arrives, cut off the water supply to outdoor faucets and leave the faucets turned on so the pipes are drained before the wintertime

• Regularly let a little bit of hot or cold water run through the pipes—even during freezing spells

• Insulate vulnerable pipes using heat tape or heat cable

Fire Extinguishers

What’s the use of having a fire extinguisher if you don’t know how to use it! Squeeze the lever and then sweep the nozzle from side to side at the flames until the fire appears to be extinguished. Other tips:

• Regularly inspect your extinguisher and if the gauge doesn’t read 100 percent, have it serviced (if rechargeable) or buy a new one if not

• Replace old extinguishers. Enough said!

More Home Safety Tips from A Real Advantage Construction

Did you read our latest post about emergency preparedness? Well, welcome to the next installation of A Real Advantage Construction’s guide to preparing for an emergency!


Power Outage

If anyone in your home relies on electrical medical equipment, make sure your power company knows so that your home will be priority when electricity is being restored in the event of an outage. Other tips:

• Make sure your microwave, toaster and coffee machine aren’t sharing the same outlet!

• Store a flashlight in each bedroom to avoid using candles—which can cause a fire—in case of an outage

• If you use a laptop, back up files regularly and purchase extra batteries and a DC-to-AC auto adapter so you can operate your computer from the cigarette lighter of your vehicle in case of an emergency

Escape Routes

Is your address visible? Make sure emergency-aid vehicles will be able to locate your home quickly in case of an emergency. Also take these precautions:

• Plan at least two escape routes out of every room and make sure that each family member is aware of them

• Place preassembled flame-resistant safety escape ladders near a window on each floor of your home

• Pick an outdoor meeting space located at a safe distance from your home

Stay tuned for more tips from A Real Advantage Construction Inc!

Are You Prepared for an Emergency?

As affordable commercial contractors, we know the ins and outs of your home perhaps better than you do—which is why we want to help you make sure you are prepared for an emergency! Read A Real Advantage Construction’s tips for preparing for possible emergencies and rest easy.


Gas Leak

First thing’s first: if you or anyone in your home smells that unmistakable rotten-egg odor and can’t identify its source, get out of the house immediately! That is the basic rule of gas safety, but there are other things you can do to make sure your home is safe:

• Don’t hang anything heavy on your gas pipes

• Make sure the gas connections to your gas appliances aren’t cracked or frayed

• Consider installing a natural-gas detector

Smoke Alarms

Mount a smoke alarm on every level of the house and make sure they are located outside of each bedroom. Here are more tips:

• Test the batteries of your smoke alarm once a month and replace them once a year

• If your smoke alarms are connected to the household electrical system, test them monthly as well

• Buy new smoke alarms every decade

• Even if you’re annoyed at the noise it makes when you burn dinner, don’t disable your smoke alarm!

• Dust or vacuum alarms on a regular basis

How to Create a Hanging Bird Basin

Now that the new siding installation in your Park Slope home is complete, you’ll be spending more time outside, and you may want to recruit some birds to spend some time in your yard, too. Follow A Real Advantage Construction Inc.’s tips for creating a hanging bird basin for your yard.

1. Head to a local flea market and pick up a washbasin set (make sure the basin has a wide lip).

2. Cut a length of 18-gauge copper wire to equal the circumference of the bowl, plus 4 inches. Then, thread 2 inches of wire though a lead sleeve and loop it back through the sleeve. Pinch with needle-nose pliers to secure it.

3. Thread 8 sleeves onto this “ring” wire from the other end. Space them into pairs evenly and secure. Cut 4 pieces of the 18-gauge wire and loop one end of each hanging wire between each pair of lead sleeves. Secure the loop after slipping the sleeve onto the hanging wire.

4. Thread another sleeve onto the ring wire and form the ring wire into a circle by looping one end through the original loop and threading it through the last sleeve. Secure it and insert the basin. After twisting the hanging wires together a few inches from the top, form a hook and place a small rock in the basin to help small bird wade in the water.

Enjoy!

Craving Shade?

If your yard devoid of shade? As affordable commercial contractors in Queens and surrounding areas, we can help you create a shady area with a canopy. And not only does a canopy provide shade, it also turns an empty area on your patio into a “place” to read, socialize, and dine. Another positive aspect of a canopy is that it is easy to take down when the outdoor season comes to an end.

First, pick up the following supplies: an inexpensive canvas drop cloth, a grommet hook, plastic tent pegs, a stout clothesline or venetian-blind cord, a wooden pole with a dowel pin (a bamboo pole with a dowel will also work well), and adjustable aluminum tent poles.

Then, you can either attach the canopy to a wall or fence or create a free-standing canopy using four poles. Either way, remember to cut openings to allow wind to circulate through the canopy, and when you’re not using the canopy, take it down so it won’t fade.

Enjoy your canopy and check back for more tips from A Real Advantage Construction in Staten Island, NY and surrounding areas.

Have a Staycation This Summer

If funds are tight and you are having a staycation rather than an exotic vacation this summer, we have some tips for making the most of your time at home. Our suggestion? Camp in your own backyard! As new roof contractors in Bath Beach and other areas, we know a lot about taking care of your home, and the best ways to take advantage of it—like having a vacation.

If you have kids, or are a big kid at heart, you’ll love pitching a tent in your own backyard. Plus, you’ll have access to an indoor bathroom.

First, gather your camping essentials—a compass, a trail guide and binoculars—to take a look at your backyard with a camper’s eye. Bring out a cooler filled with ice packs, bottles water, milk and fresh fruit (for breakfast the next day). When the cooler is closed, it can double as a table top during meal times.

Place a small charcoal grill in a clear space and surround it with large stones. Pour a bucket of pebbles below to stabilize the grill (and catch any sparks). Grill hot dogs for dinner! Bring along some cards and simple games that can be played under the stars (with the help of a camping light, of course). Use the flashlight to identify constellations as well.

Hit the hay in your tent after enjoying some s’mores and instead of heading inside the next morning, enjoy breakfast outdoors to cap off your staycation in style! Stay tuned for more tips from your rain gutter experts in Bellerose Harbor and beyond.

{Photo Credit: thegarlands}

Cleaning Outdoor Furniture

Ah, summertime! Now that everyone’s favorite season is in full swing, you’re likely spending a lot of time outdoors, which means you will want to make sure your outdoor furniture is spic and span. As affordable licensed building contractors in the Bronx and elsewhere, we know a thing or two about home maintenance, so we hope these tips help!


• Plastic Furniture: Make a mixture of water and a mild dishwashing detergent. Wipe your plastic furniture down with a clean cloth that is dampened with the solution. Hose it down to rinse the solution off.

• Wrought-Iron Furniture: Follow the same instructions for plastic furniture.

• Aluminum Furniture: Follow the same instructions for plastic and wrought-iron furniture. If there are scuff marks, use a soft cloth moistened with water and a small amount of Soft Scrub to remove them and then rinse with a hose.

• Wicker Furniture: Dampen a soft scrub brush with water and a mild oil-based soap. Hose the furniture down afterward and hose down every few weeks to maintain.

• Teak Furniture: Follow the same instructions for wicker furniture.

Check back for more tips and tricks from A Real Advantage Inc., Manhattan, NY.

{Photo Credit: ColorHome}

Backyard Makeover

As affordable housing contractors in the Bronx and other New York areas, we can help you give your backyard a makeover so it is prepped for your next summer party.


• There is bound to be a time when all of your flowers and plants aren’t in season, and there is any easy remedy for this. Pop into your local garden center (or even the grocery store) and pick up hanging plastic baskets of noncascading perrennials or annuals in full bloom (bonus points if they are brightly colored). Some good options are geraniums, scaevolas and daisies. Remove the hangers and burrow them (in their baskets) among those plants not in bloom. Then you can move them around to fill in barren spots!

• A water garden is an easy way to create a calming, luxurious space in your backyard. All you have to do is full a metal washtub with floating candles or aquatic plants (low-maintenance water lettuce works well). Voila!

• If your backyard space is lacking privacy, use potted plants to create a living screen. Tall varieties like ornamental grasses and flowering plants like begonia work well.

Stay tuned for more home maintenance and decorating tips all summer long! A Real Advantage Construction wants to help your Staten Island, NY pace be the best that it can be!

Making Your Old Deck New Again – Part Two

Earlier this week, your read A Real Advantage Construction’s tips for giving your Westchester County, NY deck a makeover just in time for summer. Read the last two tips and get your deck in tip-top shape in time for a weekend party!

1.       3. Apply a stain

a.       Now that your deck is repaired and cleaned, you need to apply a protective finish.

b.      If your deck is newer, clear finishes and transparent stains are fine. But if your deck is older, use a semitransparent stain.

c.       Use a sprayer and 2-inch brush to apply the stain, starting at an inside corner and working out.

d.      When applying subsequent coats, make sure the first coat is still wet so that it will be absorbed into the wood. 

2.     4.  Replace a railing

a.       If your original railing is really beat up, replace it with a maintenance-free system.

As affordable licensed residential contractors in the Bronx, we know a thing or two about decks and hope these tips helped!

{Photo Credit: Tom Purves}

Making Your Old Deck New Again – Part One

The first day of summer is tomorrow (June 21), which means it’s time to get your deck prepped for summer parties! Follow A Real Advantage Construction for tips on whipping your Staten Island, NY deck into shape in no time at all. Divide this project into two weekends to make sure the wood is dry before you apply stain.

Four steps for transforming your deck:

1.       Make repairs

a.       Inspect the whole deck, paying special attention to parts that are in direct contact with the ground.

b.      If the tip of a screwdriver can sink into a joist or post, you have rot—which means you have a major renovation on your hands.

c.       Inspect the deck-to-house connection, as screws and bolts can loosen and rust.

d.      Lastly, check for cosmetic damage to ensure the wood on the railings and decking are secure. You don’t want a splinter to ruin your next family bar-be-que!

2.       Clean the deck surface

a.       Your deck should be cleaned annually. Assuming your deck has been regularly maintained, it should be able to be revived using a deck cleaner.

b.      As affordable commercial contractors in Queens and surrounding areas, we always stress that you wear eye protection and gloves while working with concentrated chemicals. Be sure to protect nearby plants as well.

c.       If you have tough stains that won’t budge, use a pressure washer. You can rent one for around $70 per day. 

Stay tuned for part two later this week!

{Photo Credit: Ame Rainey}