Renovation tips for a Northern Virginia house
Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, convinced you’ve heard heavy footsteps pounding slowly toward your door… have you sat in wide-eyed terror as the door knob begins to turn but you know you’re alone in the house!!
If you have then maybe you should call a priest.
But for most so called “hauntings” the culprit is not an otherworldly spirit, rather it is it is usually just some part of your home that needs a bit of TLC. This is why it seems so many old buildings are haunted – it’s not ghosts, it’s just old wiring.
Speaking of which…
Flickering Lights
No horror movie home is complete without a deep, dark basement lit only by a single, flickering light bulb…
Though haven’t you ever wondered why the owners never got around to installing a better light system down there? Dave with a kitchen & bath remodeling company – larkinremodelers.com walked me through, what’s going on in the mide of the home owners at these places, and it’s incredible!
Don’t make the same mistake! If your lights (or any other things) are flickering, it’s probably not a spirit trying to make contact, it just means the wiring is faulty. So get an electrician in to take a look.
Slamming Doors
Ok, we’ll admit it – suddenly slamming doors can be kind of kind frightening. But they are not the product of unruly ghosts running amok in your home.
For one thing, slamming doors is just rude – no self-respecting ghost would every do such a thing.
Secondly, it’s probably just because the door is not hanging correctly on its hinges. Try bringing in a carpenter to plane the door and re-hang it for you so it doesn’t swing around in the merest puff of breeze.
Disappearing Keys
Do you ever go to pick up your car keys or perhaps your watch and find they aren’t where you put them down?
It’s not a spiritual treasure hunt – you’re just a bit messy, and don’t want to admit it. Try putting up some nice decorative hooks to hang your keys on so you always know where they are.
Just make sure you don’t install the hooks too close to the front door, or a car thief (who are unfortunately all too real) could try to steal them through your letterbox.
Things that go bump in the night
If you’re waking up in the night to strange bangs and crashes, then naturally the first thought that could go through your mind is that your are experiencing a real life haunting.
Well, banish that thought from your mind quickly, and start thinking rationally. For one thing, all buildings make noise, irrespective of their age. They settle on their foundations, they swell in the heat and shrink back at night – all of this can produce classic groaning and banging noises.
Another culprit could be the good old central heating pipes – and that is a renovation project scarier than any ghost!
If you hear a lot of banging, an hour or two after turning off the heating system, it’s could be air bubbles in the pipes. Try bleeding the system to remove air. If it continues, then it might be a sign your old heating system is on the way out and needs replacing.
Or, of course, it could be a ghost. Ripping out an old heating system or seeing a ghost? We’re honestly not sure which we find scarier!…