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June 2022

House

How to Identify Different Types of Wood in Antique Furniture

Introduction

You may have recently scored amazing antique furniture in a yard sale. However, things start to get tricky when you have to refurbish it back to its former glory. That’s because if a leg or other part of the furniture piece needs to be replaced, you need to identify the wood accurately. You can take a shortcut by searching for “furniture repair near me” and let professionals handle it. However, if you’re DIYing it, here’s how you can identify the type of wood.

The Details

  1. Mahogany – Mahogany is a type of close-grained hardwood that originates in the West Indies and South America. Identifying Mahogany starts from the color. It usually varies from dark brown to red and will have a spotted effect at times. The mahogany tree has a girthy trunk and that’s why furniture makers were able to use a single cut of the wood to make large tabletops. Mahogany furniture rose to popularity in Britain back in the 18th century and quickly grew in fame throughout the rest of the western world.
  1. Walnut – Another closed grain hardwood that can be identified from its rich grain pattern and color that varies from light golden brown to light gray-brown. If you come across an antique furniture piece made from Walnut with knotty whorls on the grain do not be discouraged. Those spots are marks of injuries on the root or trunk of the tree. They don’t reduce the authenticity of the wood.

In fact, those whorls can increase the value of your furniture. They are referred to as Burr walnuts where injuries made the gran pattern grow in a deformed manner. Burr walnuts were initially used for veneering back in the 17th century. The species is native to Western China, Central Asia, and Southern Europe.

  1. Oak – Oak trees grow very slowly and take centuries to reach maturity. Moreover, there are hundreds of varieties of oak. However, most that were used in antique furniture from the mid-17th century are easy to distinguish. The wood was mainly used for drawer linings and carcasses of furniture during its popularity in both the Georgian and Victorian eras.

To identify the wood on antique furniture, look for a rich brown color. While oak starts out with a pale color, it darkens with polishing and age. That’s why antique furniture made from oak shouldn’t have a pale color unless they were stored in an extraordinary environment. Furniture made from oak usually has a simple design and feels quite heavy and solid.

  1. Rosewood – Rosewood is a type of hardwood that is very easy to identify due to its distinctive traits. It has a very unique black wavy grain and is dark brown in color. Do not be misled by its name since this wood doesn’t come from huge trees that grow roses. Instead, it comes from the pleasant flowery scent that comes from the wood. While it had been famously used for veneer and inlaid decoration for a long time, it wasn’t used for manufacturing solid furniture up until the 19th century.

There are two main variations of rosewood – the Indian rosewood and the Brazilian rosewood. The former was used in solid furniture during the 18th century and the latter was used in veneer during the 19th century. Apart from those two countries, rosewood can also be found in Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and the Americas.

  1. Satinwood – Satinwood is another type of wood that is very easy to identify. It originates from Sri Lanka and West India and became popular during the 19th century. You can identify it due to its distinct pale-yellow hue and close-grained patterns. The pale-yellow color made it an excellent surface for painting and that’s why this wood is more common in decorative antique pieces.
  1. Amboyna – Out of all burls used in antique furniture, amboyna was the most sought-after and expensive wood. The wood originates from Ambon Island in Indonesia and is usually seen on the finest pieces of furniture. It was so expensive that during the initial years of export from Indonesia, the wood was reserved just for making decorative boxes and veneers. It usually has a reddish-brown heartwood with whorls and knots all over the grain pattern. A few pieces of the wood also came in a lighter yellowish-brown color and that’s why they were referred to as Golden Amboyna.
  1. Teak – Teak originates in southern Asia and was mainly used as Victorian Campaign furniture. You can identify the wood from its long and straight grain patterns without any noticeable large knots. The color usually varies from a rich golden brown to a more subtle yellowish white. However, with exposure to the elements, the color of the wood may change.

Due to its resin content and natural oils, the wood has a leather-like smell that is very pronounced. You can also knock on an antique furniture piece to identify if it’s teak. Real teak is exceptionally hard and doesn’t break, crack, or splinter.

  1. Calamander – Another wood that was popularly used in antique furniture and is extremely easy to identify. Calamander comes in a hazel brown color and has grains in the shape of black stripes. It’s a heavy hardwood that has been unfortunately logged to extinction within the last couple of centuries. That means if you have antique furniture made of this wood, it can’t be repaired with the original wood. If you have furniture made from this wood, you should try to preserve and store it in the best conditions since it’s probably one of the most expensive pieces of furniture you own.

Conclusion

Antique furniture pieces built throughout the centuries across the world have a rich history attached to them. That’s why you want to keep them as authentic as possible. It starts by identifying the type of wood used in the furniture and doing justice with proper repair. If you need professional help for refinishing or repairing a furniture piece, you can search for “furniture repair near me” and hire professionals for the job.

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House

At GoodMove, We Buy Your House For Cash Fast!

The average time homeowners spend waiting for their sale to close is six weeks. Imagine waiting six weeks, desperately wanting to know if the sale of your home will actually reach completion and you can move forward with your life. Sound frustrating? It is, but for millions of people, it’s a simple reality. If you’re ready to sell your home, know one thing right now – you don’t have to wait. We buy your house faster than anyone else in the UK can, and we’ll make it happen in just a matter of days.

People Move for Different Reasons

There are many different reasons people in the UK decide to move. Here are a few of the most common:

  • Moving to a new location because of a job
  • In the middle of a divorce
  • Unable to make mortgage payments
  • Facing foreclosure
  • Damage to the home from fire, hurricane, or tornado
  • The home was just inherited but not needed

No matter what the reason, the reality is clear. The first step is consulting with an estate agent, and that could mean a significant amount of time and money. Most estate agents charge a commission that varies from two to five percent of the total sale value of a home. It also means waiting day after day to see if your home will actually sell. You may even have to make extensive repairs that cut into your overall profits and move the time to sell even further down the road. GoodMove, though, is a very different option. We’re cash buyers, and within days of contacting us, you’ll have a cash offer on your house. No more waiting. No more frustrating fees. Just a simple offer that’s ready for you to accept immediately.

The GoodMove Process

Why can we buy your house faster than everyone else? We’ve developed a simple process that means we can move quickly on home offers. Once you reach out to us, we’ll have a written offer ready for your review within 48 hours. There are no delays, no waiting around, no constant visitors through your home seeing the property. If you’re happy, we’ll send two independent inspectors out to take a closer look at the home. We’ll make our final written offer, and once you accept, we’re done. There are no fees involved. You don’t have to repair or fix anything. We buy all of our properties on an as-is basis. Within a matter of days, you’re ready to walk away from your home. You can even set the closing date so it meets your needs.

GoodMove Is The Best Choice

We buy your house faster than anyone ever could. You’ve probably heard a lot about other cash home buyers in the UK, but GoodMove is the right choice for you and your home. We’re the single most regulated property buyer in the Quick House Sale industry in the UK, and that means we’re ready to move forward with a fast, completely legal sale on your home. Members of the National Association of Property Buyers, we work throughout the UK with homeowners just like you to get out from under properties that are a problem for you. We’re RICS regulated, so you have the confidence you need that this is the right deal for you.

If you’re ready to sell your house as quickly as possible, there’s really only one way forward. Fill out our quick contact form. All you have to do to get started is enter your postcode for a free cash offer and click “Go.” With just a few clicks, you’ll have our initial offer in your inbox in a matter of hours.

Hundreds of happy home sellers have worked with us in the past to move their properties quickly, and we can’t wait to buy your house fast for cash. Ready to move forward? Fill out our form, send us an email, or just give us a call. We’ll be there soon to take a look at your house and buy it fast for cash! We can’t wait to hear from you.

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Real Estate

How to Choose the Right HOA Management Company in Flagstaff?

An HOA management company in Flagstaff is a company that manages homeowners associations. A management company should be able to manage almost anything on the list, such as landscaping, swimming pools, or caretaker services. The types of accounts they manage can vary depending on the size of the flagstaff hoa management companies and various services offered.

The best thing you can do before hiring an HOA management company in Flagstaff is to research them and determine their qualifications so that your experience with them will be a positive one. There are many things at play when someone decides to hire a particular service provider, but some factors are more important than others when deciding whether or not that provider is right for you.

Here are the different steps involved in choosing the right HOA management company in Flagstaff.

  • Evaluate the needs of your HOA

The first step in choosing a good HOA management company is to ensure that you are clear about the needs of your particular HOA. What is the reason for hiring a specific representative? What types of services does your association require? How much do you anticipate paying out for services during the year?

The answers to these questions will help determine which type of HOA management plan is right for your home. It is important to keep this in mind when selecting an association management company so that you get the best possible service at the most reasonable price.

  • Research

You should research the options that are available for HOA management companies in Flagstaff. Check out their websites to see what services they are currently offering and how much their costs are.

You might also want to talk to people you know personally or from your neighborhood who have hired an association management company in the past. Moreover, you can learn a lot about a business by hearing what others have experienced with them, and it is better that information come from a credible source than it is biased towards one company or the other.

  • Making the decision

Once you have the answers to all of the questions above, then it is time to make a final decision about which HOA management company in Flagstaff you will select. The bottom line is that you should always hire the association management company that will give you the best value for your money and provide excellent service. 

  • Hiring

Once you have determined which HOA management company in Flagstaff is best for you and your HOA, then you should hire them with confidence. However, make sure you sign a contract with that company before boarding them. The contract signed should clearly define terms and conditions and all other necessary briefings.

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House

Busting The Common Myths About Hiring HOA Management Services

Housing complexes, condos, and even traditional single housing units require professionals to manage their daily affairs. Without the involvement of experts, tasks like maintenance ret collection, tax payments, and more become irregular.

The convenience of the condo residents depends on the smooth administration of the premises. While the community association board takes care of most things, the best Scottsdale HOA management companies can help them in many ways.

If you live in a condo and feel unsure about hiring these services due to some preconceived ideas drawn from some myths, here are the real stories behind them.

Myth1: The Management Company Becomes The Decisive Force

Most people think that when you transfer the essential management tasks of a condo to a third-party service provider, they try to decide for the community. This is not true for any reputed HOA firm. The renowned HOA management firms always discuss matters of importance with the board members of the community before taking any decision.

Moreover, these companies release an annual report of their work done to keep the members of the board and the community updated. They remain accountable to the community for every action. Hence, you can hire these services without bothering about any misuse of power.

You should remember that the board members of a community association set the rules. The HOA Company only implements those and helps every resident become aware of the changes.

Myth 2: HOA Companies Do Not Have Experts Working With Them

Contrary to this common belief, reputed HOA management companies have hundreds of trained and professional managers working with them. The best HOA firms manage several condos at a time. Hence, they keep multiple teams of experts to manage each site efficiently.

As the cities in America are expanding fast, the requirement for these specialists is also increasing by leaps and bounds. HOA Companies have emerged as one of the significant employers of specialist managers over the last few years.

Hence, the widely believed notion that HOA management firms do not keep expert professionals does not have any trace of truth in it.

Myth3: Hiring HOA Companies increases Community Cost

When you hire third-party assistance for community management, you do not get it for free. However, cost calculation is not always about what you pay. Sometimes, you also have to consider what you save.

With a professional HOA management company taking care of your condo, you can save a lot of money otherwise.

Suppose your complex needs pool cleaning during winter. The best HOA services can negotiate the charges with the service provider on your behalf.

Sometimes, the HOA managers suggest vendors who charge less. HOA managers work with a varied spectrum of service providers from different domains. Therefore, they maintain professional terms with many service providers. Hence, they can help you get excellent services at reasonable rates.

Hiring HOA professionals can only benefit you. Check the extent of services offered by the company and the prices before hiring. Careful selection will help you get premium services at competitive rates.

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