Interior & Exterior Project Planning

Home remodeling and redecorating can be very rewarding. There's generally a lot of hard work and elbow grease involved, of course not to mention planning fun.

Among the many areas of focus for project work are stages of planning, getting any required licenses or permits, interviewing subcontractors and getting proposals with bid, looking over materials and making selections and making sure the entire proje16B2ct is on track and remains that way through completion. And many people find enjoyment as well as fulfillment with making material selections: choosing just the right color combinations and patterns, the best products and service for the budget and top quality providers to help build your projects.

Here are a few tips to help with your interior project plans:

1) Budgeting Basics - Start by seeing if you have to completely remodel or if perhaps your can redecorate instead, and save money and time. Because remodeling often means ripping apart old structures and then building new ones; like for extra space for a new window or set of shelves or a new room, ceiling or floor. However, with redecorating you can frequently buy simple add new structures to those in your existing environment like a new bookcase, new curtains and plush carpeting, or new textured ceiling paint with all paper plus new hanging pictures and plush cushions.

2) Contractors, Invoices, Project Materials and More- Next you will have a lot of decision to make: which project materials to buy, which vendors to use, which subcontractors to hire, how to agree to payments, how to handle problems and other important issues and emergencies along the way, etc. So start a project notebook with accompanying folder specifically for this project. And keep all important documents, receipts, bids, business cards, designs, paint colors, fabric swatches and other info there - everything in one place.

3) Project Parts - Some areas of your project may have sub-categories or basic design elements that will involve work with different areas of focus for each part. For example, you may be remodeling one floor, so you'll have several main areas of focus under this heading like: bedroom walls, hallway and bedroom floors, all window treatments, upgraded lighting and new wood furniture. So use dividers in your notebook, extra folders or extra see-through sleeved pocket folders that fit into your binder to handle these separate areas of focus. So you can concentrate on specific tasks within each area.

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On the Front Burner - Hot Trends in Kitchens

When it comes to kitchens these days, flashy, glamorous, and high-end luxury features are no longer the amenity buzzwords. Instead, there is growing consumer interest in energy efficiency, environmentally healthy Green construction and materials, and thoughtful, practical Universal design that is so user-friendly, it's going to be very comfortable even when the years have passed and the homeowners have become senior citizens.

In addition to a concern for the environment, the Green trend is a signal that people are interested in saving money over the life of their house. Because a kitchen is one of the most expensive areas of a house to run and maintain (especially in terms of utilities), Green building helps cut down on energy costs. As for stylish Green sustainable materials for countertops and flooring, what's most in demand is concrete, bamboo, cork and various types of recycled materials.

What are some of the most-wanted kitchen features? Space, for one thing-and lots of it. But consumers want the space to be used in a practical and ergonomic manner. And they want it to be connected with and flow into the home's Great Room in a very natural way. As to what people want to put in their kitchen's large space? Things like efficient and generous-size pantry and storage. Energy Star appliances. Recycling centers. Energy-saving LED lighting. On-demand water heaters. Computer work areas so that kids can do their homework and get on the Internet under the watchful eye of a parent.

Recharging areas for cell phones and other electronic devices. And even pet feeding and grooming areas. In addition, those homeowners who do a lot of "big" entertaining frequently want what used to be called a "scullery"-a very utilitarian food prep area that is out of the visual range of the guests who are being entertained. It offers the cook and/or caterer privacy and ease for moving around, while still allowing guests to hang out in the kitchen-as they have for decades.

So, as it has been for years and years, the kitchen remains the heart of the household. And yes, even that tradition now counts as a trend, too!

The New Homes Guide & iNewHomeSearch.com

Green Roof Revolution

With global warming and pollution being ever-present topics on the news, it is important for everyone to contribute to making the world a cleaner place. One way 1C81to do this is to use ecologically friendly materials when building your home. The wave of the future is green roofing.

A green roof is a roof that is covered with vegetation. Essentially a rooftop garden, green roofs were developed in the 1960s in Germany, and have become quite popular in many European countries. It is only recently however, that green roof technology has begun to catch on in the U.S.

A green roof is excellent for city dwellers who often lack green space such as a yard or a deck. The addition of a green roof can provide a space to express one's creativity, and bring nature back to the city. In fact, by planting native vegetation, you can invite insects, birds, and butterflies that would otherwise have nowhere else to go. As an added benefit, green rooftops are aesthetically pleasing and offer a visual contrast to the pavement and steel that dominates the cityscape.

The environmental benefits of a green roof are many, and include the reduction of water runoff that occurs with typical homes. A reduction of runoff is good for the entire community, as too much runoff can result in flooding and water contamination. Because green roofs feature soil and plant life, these roofs are able to absorb as much as 75% of falling rainwater. This moisture is then released back into the air through condensation. A typical roof on the other hand is built to be totally waterproof, so every drop of water runs off and drains into the sewers.

Besides reducing water runoff, green roofs are also able to reduce the presence of toxins in the environment. Pollutants in the air and water, as well as carbon dioxide are absorbed by plant life and rendered harmless. These plants also produce oxygen.

Not only are green roofs great for the environment, but they are also an excellent investment. A properly installed green roof can last at least twice as long as typical roofing material, thereby saving you thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs.

Green roofing can also significantly reduce your heating and cooling bills throughout the year. According to a recent study, building a green roof can reduce your heating and cooling needs by 26%. In cities especially, changes need to be made to the way that structures are built. Temperatures in cities are much higher than in surrounding areas because there is such a prevalence of buildings in a small area. These buildings are made with traditional materials, which absorb and then re-direct the sun's heat. Cities are therefore much hotter than rural areas where there are less structures, and more green space. In order to combat the rising temperatures, some cities are offering incentives to builders to add green roofing to their projects.

If you decide to build a green roof, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. First, there are two types of green roofs. Traditional style roof gardens, which feature large plants or lawns, require a great deal of maintenance. Feeding, watering, and soil care are all necessary to keep this garden in good condition. Extensive roof gardens on the other hand, have only a thin layer of soil, and require very little work to maintain.

Great for the environment, good for your pocket book, and pleasing to the eye, green roofs are a budding trend that can have a positive impact on the environment. Not only that, but a well constructed green roof can increase the value of your home by thousands of dollars.

Doug Jones is an award-winning San Diego REALTOR with a solid reputation for getting results. Learn more about San Diego real estate today!

A DIY Guide to Installing a Vinyl Fence

Vinyl fencing is more exciting that you can imagine and not just a matter for providing privacy from your neighbor next door. At first glance, it appears to be a difficult task to accomplish as many people believe, but if you enjoy do-it-by-yourself, you will find that a vinyl fence has certain attractive aspects.

Galco holsters are more than tools for tactical fence climbing, but also a vinyl fencing complement. Vinyl fences help you keep privacy for your home, protect you from burglars and other thieves, and even make your surroundings a beautiful environment.

Privacy vinyl fences are as strong as any other made of wooden, metal or wire. These types of fences are usually designed with groove pickets locking together for full security and privacy and the most sophisticated have elegant aluminum reinforcement on the bottom rail, or with special designs on request or available at the time of your purchase.

Professionals can also install vinyl fencing for residential needs. From this approach, you can assure full privacy and minimal maintenance in faster time that doing the installation yourself. Among the fences available in the market, you can choose from picket toppers, lattice, and horizontal rail configurations that renew and enhance the look of your home.

There are mistaken ideas when it comes to vinyl fences, dating from decades ago when vinyl turned yellow over time, sunlight and weather exposure. Today, vinyl fences have a treatment with titanium dioxide from DuPont and/or another chemical additives, which increasing the fences durability and prevents ultraviolet degradation, a guarantee often included where Galco holsters are distributed.

If you want to install your vinyl fencing by yourself, make sure that the sizes of the fence and picket match the area in which a vinyl fences will be installed. Verify also the material since some fences are more durable than others, depending whether you want a flat vinyl board or a dimensional look that increases privacy.

Vinyl last for a lifetime, so go ahead and bring your level, a tape measure, a string line and a post hole digger to begin your fencing job. Vinyl fences usually come with detailed instructions on how to install them and a customer's support phone or website to submit your inquires and receive further directions.

However, before starting try to survey your property so you can make sure you will not dig into your neighbor yard when installing the fence. If you can talk to your neighbors about Galco holsters, vinyl fencing, and related matters that are about to modify their mutual environment, you will be gaining a battle of good faith for susceptible individuals feeling offended by a fence.

Natalie Aranda writes on home and gardening. There are mistaken ideas when it comes to vinyl fences, dating from decades ago when vinyl turned yellow over time, sunlight and weather exposure. Today, vinyl fences have a treatment with titanium dioxide from DuPont and/or another chemical additives, which increasing the fences durability and prevents ultraviolet degradation, a guarantee often included where Galco holsters are distributed.

From Basement to Beautiful - Steps to Waterproofing and Finishing your Basement

The Monster in the Basement

Picture this: Your upstairs floor leaks whenever it rains. Water is dripping in and pooling on the floor. Even when it's not raining, it always seems to be damp, humid, and musty up there. Everything you store there grows mold, and if you've laid wood floor and carpet, it's growing moldy, rotting, and the wood is buckling. The windows are rusting and jammed, with spider webs growing in them, and the floor is cold and clammy underfoot. The ceiling is sagging and moldy. Simply put: your upstairs is ugly, uncomfortable and unhealthy. You avoid it whenever you can. Under any circumstances, is this acceptable? Of course not!

Then why would you let these conditions develop DOWNstairs?

You shouldn't. It's unacceptable. A basement represents an entire floor's worth of space- a gigantic percentage of the potential living space in your home. To allow it to go unused is to deny the full potential of your home. And given the current housing market, this is a fantastic time to think about taking full advantage of every bit of space available in your home.

Make the Most of What You've Got!

Finishing your basement runs at about 50% of the cost of adding a new addition to your home. Remodeling Online reports that nationwide, finishi5B4ng a basement can increase the resale value of a home by about 61%-97% of the cost of the installation! If you'd like to see the full report by Remodeling online. stop by http://costvalue.remodelingmagazine.com/index.html .

All numbers aside, if your basement is leaking, you have an opportunity to take a problem in your home and change it into an asset. Here are some disadvantages to a damp basement:

1. If you have cement or block basement walls or floors, water collecting around your foundation in the looser backfilled earth is seeping through your porous cement basement structure. Even if your basement walls do not look damp, you can be sure that the moisture is seeping through and being pulled up by the air, much like the dirt in a potted plant does when the soil is wet but the surface is dry.

2. Humid basement air creates a reliable environment for mold growth. If you allow that moisture to remain, there's nothing stopping mold from collecting on any and all organic surfaces in your basement, including drywall, carpet, and hardwood floors.

3. If your basement has a musty smell, that would be from the airborne fecal material from dust mites and mold spores in your basement air. Because this air travels upwards in your house (like in a chimney), these airborne materials will rise through your house and enter your lungs when you breathe. This has been known to create and intensify a variety of breathin5B4g related ailments.

4. A leaking basement is not a reliable storage space. Any valuables you have there will be vulnerable to the flooding conditions.

A Beautiful Living Space

If you want to use your basement as a clean, dry area instead not using it and keeping it as a moldy, wet and health-compromising space, then you have no reason to invest in it. However, this is what your basement could become:

• A beautiful family room with couches, game tables and a TV
• A naturally quiet and secluded-feeling home office
• A home theater with a flat screen mounted on a hardboard wall
• A personal gym with mats, weights and treadmills
• A safe, secluded play room for the children
• A beautiful and sophisticated wine cellar

To accomplish this, you're going to want basement finishing and remodeling products that can create a vapor barrier between your living space and the cold, wet basement surfaces. On the walls, I'd recommend a solid, free-standing cement board and hard foam insulation so you can attach shelves, photographs, a plasma TV or anything else to their surface without concern. Your windows should be double paned vinyl windows for optimal insulation and soundproofing. On the ceiling, you're going to want a drop ceiling that will absorb noise from the basement and above floors alike. The floors should be laid down in a way that b5B4locks water vapor from the basement floor and creates a thermal break on your basement floors so they don't feel as cold as the concrete below. Finally, ALL surfaces installed in the basement will need to be resilient to water damage.

Even if a basement is completely waterproofed and a vapor barrier is placed on all surfaces, your basement is still susceptible to leaks from water heaters, bursting pipes, overflowing sinks, bathtubs, toilets, dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines, and the countless other things that hold water and can run downhill, creating a flood in your basement.

The Best Basement Waterproofing Contractor and Basement Remodeling Experts for You

It's important to find a basement remodeling contractor that is still going to be in business if you need to service your installation or have warranty work done. The small business administration reports that 50% of contractors have their business fail within the first year and over 96% within five years. It's best to pick a company that you're confident will still be there when you need them.

DryGuys Basement Systems of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland have been in business for more than 20 years and would like to help you with your basement waterproofing and finishing- as well as your foundation repair, dehumidif5B4ication, and crawlspace encapsulation needs. Our basement waterproofing system will keep your basement from leaking while our finishing products create vapor barriers on all concrete basement surfaces. Our Total Basement Finishing basement finishing ideas insulate the room and make the whole house more energy efficient.

Our finished basement wall panels can each hold a weight of up to 300 pounds, making them perfect for mounting heavy shelving, plasma TVs, large photographs or whatever your heart desires. Our windows are made of vinyl framing and beautiful crystal clear double thermopane glass, making them more than twice as long-lasting and almost three times better as an insulator than single paned steel basement windows. None of our products support mold growth, and they're all either water resistant or completely waterproof. We offer a written warranty, a long history of business, and the international support of Basement Systems, the largest network of basement waterproofing contractors in the world. There's no doubt that we'll be here if you need us. Call or visit us for a free no obligation estimate, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

DryGuys Basement Systems
20 N. Main Street
Woodstown, NJ 08098
(800) 462-3191
http://www.dryguys.com

Improve Your Bathroom, Improve Your Home

A bathroom does not have1C83 to be a drab or unexciting room although in many older homes this was the case. Here are some bathroom renovation ideas that will bring bathrooms to life.

In classical times, the bathroom was a room of great beauty. This was mostly because indoor plumbing was unknown and the function of the bathroom was to provide a place for bathing. This was often done in tiled baths surrounded by works of art and fancy tile mosaics. While space restrictions would prevent most modern bathrooms from copying the look of Roman baths, it is not impossible to add a little classic beauty and comfort to this room. Here are some bathroom renovation ideas that can accomplish this little trick.

One of the best ways to recreate a classic look is the use of tiles. Tiles were one of the earliest decorative motifs of classical bathrooms. The use of glass tiles on the walls of a bathroom or ceramic tiles on counter tops can add a classical look to an otherwise drab bathroom. Along with the use of tiles, lighting is something that is often overlooked in older bathroom designs. Attention to the improving of internal lighting and the subsequent brightening of the bathroom often changes the ambience of the room completely.

When you are working under budget restrictions in your renovation project, consider leaving as many original fixtures in place as possible and designing your improvements around them. If the plumbing fixtures are in good condition, it is not economical to tear them all out just to move a sink a few inches or relocate the toilette bowl. It is true that most bathroom designers in the past decades did not seem to appreciate the use of space, but you can often find creative ways to increase space without tearing everything out and starting over.

One of the new products being used in many modern bathrooms are under tile heating coils. These radiant heating systems produce warmed tiles on the bathroom floors. The installation is not too difficult and can be done as part of the floor tile replacement. Many bathroom renovations are based on the replacement of a tub with some type of shower. This involves a major investment in plumbing and can be avoided by considering the use of a handheld showerhead that can be used to convert the simple tub into a shower. The problem of installing shower curtains is not quite as expensive to solve as running behind the wall pipes to provide a conventional shower.

These are just a few bathroom renovation designs and ideas. The bathroom does not have to be the forgotten room of the home. The idea of bathing has always been as much to promote relaxation as well as cleanliness. A well lit and beautiful bathroom will recapture this classical feeling of comfort and can often be achieved with little effort.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about bathroom design ideas for http://www.BathroomDesignSupply.com

How Often Should You Renovate Your Home?

For some individuals or families, the fears of cost overruns and lengthy stays in a construction zone are enough to dissuade them from undertaking a major home renovation project.

This could be quite understandable. However, it's a shame because there are a lot of good reasons to renovate. If you like the neighborhood where you live, for example, but feel cramped in a small, outdated kitchen, upgrading may be a better alternative than moving.

A well-planned home renovation could also increase your property value. If your home is older than most in your area, new flooring or other updates can help to bring your home up to par with others on the market. Knowing the basic factors about the renovation process, as well as getting assistance from the professionals involved, helps in avoiding unnecessary expenses and delays.

Plan A Renovation Project In Advance

A home renovation project makes for an opportunity to create the space you've always wanted. In the initial planning stages, draw a list of the things you wish to do. Write down everything you would want to add or change in a room. For instance, you may wish to install a convec5B4tion oven or a larger refrigerator in the kitchen or new flooring and a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom.

Later, when you get an idea of cost from a professional renovator and from your own research, you can decide which options to keep and which ones are too expensive. To help you better plan your renovation, check on magazines and online home decorating Web sites.

In addition, also visit home shows and home decor shops to see some of the latest innovations in building products, countertops, appliances etc. Take note of product prices and energy ratings as you shop. You may find that certain upgrades will pay for themselves over the long run in terms of energy and water savings. A professional renovator can also be a good source of ideas and product suggestions.

Lastly, look for houses that have been recently renovated and see how the changes made affected the overall feel of the neighborhood. Everyone will appreciate it if the changes you make to the exterior of your house will compliment the architecture of your city block, or neighborhood.

What To do Before Starting Renovation Work

Before starting major home repair work, first take a good look at your own house. Try to respect the main features of its original design. You don't want your work to contradict it too much.

Make sure to check your renovation design against the Building Code and requirements set up by your local government. Some types of cha5ACnges generally do not require any special permits, and these include replacing interior doors, existing plumbing fixtures with similar items, cabinets or countertops without repairing or replacing drywall, or relocating rough utility lines.

The next move is to solicit bids from professional renovators. It is a good idea to get more than one opinion on the best way to proceed with the project and the estimated cost. They will quickly examine the areas you wish to upgrade, along with the items on your wish list in order to give you a complete estimate. They can also advise you if the project requires further design or architectural retooling.

Once you have chosen a professional renovator, it is time to go over your wish list in detail. They will inspect your home to take measurements and ascertain the locations of electrical and plumbing lines. The renovator may be able to offer logistical suggestions on your design such as improving the flow of traffic in a kitchen. If a room requires a change to the electrical wiring or plumbing, they will likely be able to tell you at this point.

A successful home renovation project requires good team effort between you and the professionals that you hire. To ensure a good outcome, you need a clear plan and good communication. Then all that's left is for you to sit back and enjoy the results.

Vanessa A. Doctor from Jump2Top - SEO Company

http://realestatepress.org - Real Estate Press

Buy A New Home Or Remodel - Let's Discuss The Benefits Of Both!

For most people our first homes are known in the market place as a starter home. The home was most likely chosen primarily for financial considerations. It probably lacked some of the features that we would have wanted if our budget had been unlimited at the time. Now that your income has grown, and possibly the size of your family it is time to consider either moving or investing in your current property to add additional features and living space.

Although the decision on whether to stay and remodel or relocate has affected all of us, the decision is usually based on emotion rather than fact or situation. Before you decide on whether to remodel or relocate you should consider the following points:

• Return On Investment: Most of us are concerned that any investment we make, and doing a major remodel to a home is definitely an investment, will eventually provide us with a payback or at worst case we wont loose any money. In order to determine if an investment in your current property is likely to have a financial benefit it is important to look at the other homes on your street and in your area. If your home is the same size as the majority of other homes, it is most likely that if you add an addition to your home it will become the most expensive home in the neighborhood. From an investment standpoint, one does not want to have the most expensive home in the neighborhood. On the other hand, if your home is currently smaller than the majority of homes, it may be a very smart investment to add an addition to expand the livable floor space. This should have the effect of increasing your home value by more than the investment.
• Architecture: The cost of adding additional floor space is usually determined by the size of the lot and current building codes for that lot. Would adding additional floor space mean adding a second floor or is their room on the lot to add to the main floor level. Dont forget that by adding to the main floor level you will be eliminating some of the homes outdoor space. It is also important to realize that with some homes, depending on how the original Foundation was installed, adding a second story may mean adding to the strength of the footings. This alone could mean that the project is not economically feasible. Whether you are considering a second story or an addition on the main level, try to visualize what the finished home will look like. If in your mind you are satisfied that what you want to do will be visually acceptable it is probably time to call in an architect to discuss what can and cant be done with your property.
• Budget: Although construction costs vary from city to city and state to state you should allow a minimum of $200 per square foot for the addition of basic living space, providing the addition does not include a kitchen or bathroom. Your architect will be able to give you a budgetary number for finished construction cost based on the city and state where you are located. Higher quality finishing materials such as hardwood flooring, and natural stone tiles such as marble or granite can easily double the per square foot cost. Once you have a detailed set of Building Plans, you will be able to obtain firm prices from the contractors in your area. For budgeting purposes, it is always wise to add an extra 10% to the costs, as there are generally changes and modifications during the construction phase.
• Sweat Equity: One major advantage to a remodel rather than a relocation is that a remodel allows you to put some sweat equity into your property. Depending on ones capabilities, a lot of the remodel work, especially items that are labor intensive, can be accomplished by a reasonably competent homeowner. These include simplistic items such as wallpapering, painting, installing light fixtures, and window coverings. For the more experience home handyman, installing finished flooring, doors and trim can provide cost savings and increased equity. Landscaping and gardening are two other areas that can become family projects and increase the homes value. However, if you do decide to relocate rather than renovate you may find that you are doing all of the aforementioned items at your new home!
• Inconvenience: Living through a construction project, especially if involves bathrooms and/or kitchens can be a very trying experience. If you havent been through a major remodel, it can mean the loss of utilities for periods of time, continuous noise, dust, dirt, and a parade of workman marching through your home. The concept of having peaceful enjoyment of your home is lost completely. Relocation is not necessarily a project without heartache. There is the packing and unpacking phase, new schools, changing utilities, changing all addresses on personal documents, credit cards, and other companies that you do business with. Let us not forget the new neighbors and the loss of the old and our childrens friends and classmates.

Want biased advise on whether you should renovate or relocate, its available from most real estate brokers. Remember that a real estate broker makes a living when people buy and sell homes, not when they renovate. They do not receive any benefit from you deciding to stay where you are and to remodel your current property.

As with most home improvement or remodel projects, planning is the key to success!

For additional information on remodeling your home or other home improvement projects, including landscaping and gardening visit Renovation Headquarters.

Questions You Should Ask When Buying a Whirlpool Bathtub

Whirlpool bath1C5Etubs are jetted to provide water circulation that massages your body. People who suffer from arthritis and other painful and crippling diseases find the warm water massage provided in a whirlpool bathtub not only relaxing but therapeutic as well. After playing sports or going to the gym and working out a whirlpool bath can be relaxing as well. People who have no physically debilitating ailments also find relaxing in the tub while the jets are quietly massaging their body a great stress reliever as well. If you are thinking about getting a whirlpool bathtub there are a few questions you should ask to make sure the tub you end up with will be a good fit for you.

Does it Have Safety Features?

Since whirlpool bathtubs are often used by people who have arthritic and other conditions that make movement difficult there are many different safety features you may be interested in. Some have steps to get down into the tub, others do not. You should look for slip resistant bottoms as well as handles and bars where you can grip them.

Is an Internal Water Heater Included?

You may be interested in having a heater included in the tub itself, especially if you are going to be staying in the tub for long periods of time. When the water is jetted it moves and this may cause the tub to cool faster than you are ready for. If you don't want to add hot water to keep the tub warm you may want to look into a whirlpool bathtub that has an internal heater.

Does it have a low water sensor?

If the water level gets too low the pumping system may burn up. Often times things get turned on when you don't realize it, this isn't something you want to happen with your whirlpool bathtub jets. You want a system that can sense that the water is low, or even non-existent, to keep from burning up the motor by letting it run without the proper water level.

What are the proper cleansing techniques?

You will want to keep your whirlpool tub as clean and bacteria free as possible, so you need to choose a tub that you are able to keep clean. Knowing what is involved in cleansing your whirlpool tub can be a big factor when determining which one to purchase.

Will it fit?

Perhaps the most important thing to find out is if the tub will fit in the space you have available. Before you go shopping you should measure the area you plan on putting the whirlpool bathtub in and keep that in mind when you look at the tubs available. If this is to replace an existing tub you don't have to go with a tub the same size and shape as the one you are replacing, you do however, have to have enough room to install the whirlpool tub.

Visit us for more information on how to refinish a bathtub, how to caulk bathtub tips and Japanese bath tubs.

Vintage Decor and Ideas for Your Home

Shabby Chic, also known as Vintage, is the idea of incorporating accessories, furniture, and household items from the years 1900-1950 to decorate your home. But what makes this dcor a popular decorating style? It provides a comfortable and casual look through the use of Vintage accessories, new dcor that looks old, pastels, comfy light painted furniture, lace tablecloths, dreamy soft floral fabrics, wrought iron curtain rods with sheer curtains, and vivid fresh flowers. The idea of combining the old with the new opens up endless possibilities when selecting Shabby Chic home dcor and furnishings.

Imagine visiting your grandparents and snuggling in comfortable soft furniture, while being surrounded by colorful fresh flowers and the soft scent of candles. This style can create the same sensation for your own home. It balances elegant items with old and worn, silver accessories with painted wood tables, and soft area rugs with old lace.

If your budget is limited, Shabby Chic decorating is the perfect solution. You can scour some of the great websites noted below for Shabby Chic home dcor.

Shabby Chic and Vintage use furniture that is worn, along with stylish items and things that look old. Therefore, you have a varied range of choices for furniture and home dcor.

Consider the following ideas as a guide:

A fresh coat of paint is a great way of giving old furniture pieces some Shabby Chic appeal. You can also update older upholstered furniture through the use of slip covers or large throws. For small tables, such as side tables, coffee tables, or consoles, look for pieces that feature carved wood as a focal point. When looking for Shabby Chic furniture, take measures to avoid bright bold colors or matching sets. Instead, try to mix and match the upholstery style with floral patterns, along with striped pillows and other accessories.

To accent your walls, you can include carved wood or metal shelves, which can be purchased in antique stores, gift shops, garage sales, and antique fairs. Again, a little paint on these items goes a long way because you will add a special touch to your dcor. For instance, you can incorporate an ornate wrought iron corner shelf and display antique collectibles or crocheted dollies for a vintage look. Furthermore, you can look for old doors, windows, mantels, garden gates, house shutters, and wrought iron, which can be used as wall hangings or even used to replace existing doors to add charm.

For lighting, you can use a floral print or solid colored fabric lamp shade for the right splash of color and display it against surfaces that are distressed. Wrought iron, wood mirrors, or picture frames with white, natural, or distressed finishes blend well in a Shabby Chic room. If you want to add a unique touch to this dcor, apply weathered paint to towel racks in the bathroom or kitchen. And lets not forget to include candleholders or a candelabra. You can give these items a distressed finish in white or ivory for that shabby chic look.

Giorgina Devereaux is the creator of AskGiorgina.com, which features questions, answers, and ideas on home decor and furniture. For more information, please visit http://www.AskGiorgina.com

Installing Retrofit and Replacement Vinyl Windows

In previous articles i explained to you how to determine whether your windows are candidates for vinyl replacement style frames or retrofit style frames. This week I'm going to explain the installation techniques for both frame styles. Let's start with the retrofit frame.

Retrofit window installation is really the easiest of all. The retrofit window already comes with an exterior trim attached. That's the flush fin that goes against the outside surface, usually stucco. Prepare the window by drilling 3/8" holes in the areas of the frame where you want to screw it in place. Normally, there will be 3 holes on each side and 3 more across the top. Don't predrill any holes in the bottom track. After removing the old panels, you want to run a heavy bead of caulk on the face of the old aluminum frame that you left in place. Then you and a helper set the bottom of the vinyl window onto the old aluminum bottom track and raise it into position. The flush fin or retrofit lip will act as a "stop" to hold the window in place. Have your helper hold the window while you go inside.

Once inside, you want to center the window in the opening. Slide the vent panel open and closed to make sure the window is plumb and level. To adjust for out of square conditions, shim the bottom right or left corner by placing a shimming material between the sill and bottom of the window frame. Once square, drive a 3" deck screw through the 3/8" holes and into the wood studs.Just seat the screw, don't overtighten. After you get the screws into the sides and top, remove the sliding panel. The bottom track should lift out. Look for drainage holes in the track and insert a thin screwdriver and lift up. Drive one screw in the bottom center, caulk around the screw head, then put the track back in place and re-install the sliding panel. Now, you want to go back outside and caulk the gap where the retrofit fin meets the exterior surface of the house. You want to have a double barrier of protection against water infiltration. RemeF08mber, you already applied a generous bead of caulk before inserting the new frame into the opening. The rest of the job is done on the inside.

First, you want to plug the 3/8" screw holes to hide the heads of the screws. We sell the hole plugs on the website. Just click on the "shop" tab to see a picture. The plugs will pop into place in the hole. The next step is to fill the gap around the new frame with R-13 Insulation. Do not use the foam insulation that comes in a can. Many manufacturers will not honor the warranty if the foam is used. Even the non expanding foams can cause the frame to distort, causing problems. Pack the insulation in tight. You might want to wear a dust mask during this procedure. Many people, myself included, are very sensitive to insulation. After the insulation is in place, you want to install trim around the inside to finish the job. You can use wood trim from the hardware store, or some other product. But in my experience, the best product is a vinyl flat trim that matches the window frame. The flat trim can also be purchased on the website under the "shop" tab, or you could try to find it from a local window contractor. Ours comes in 3 different widths, although the 1 3/4" wide piece is by far the most common. The trim has a double sided adhesive tape on the back. You cut the top and bottom first, stick them on the vinyl frame, making sure the trim goes to the drywall. This covers all the insulation and the old metal frame. Do the side pieces next. The final step is to caulk where the trim meets the walls.

Much of the installation process for a replacement frame is the same as the retrofit frame. But, there are a few differences. When you put the new window into the opening using a replacement frame, you don't have the flush fin holding the frame in place. You and your helper have to hold the frame in place while you put a screw in the top center to support the frame. Then, you can do your adjusting for a square condition. All of the procedures on the inside will be exactly the same, from hole plugs, to insulation, to trim and caulk. The outside is different. You have to apply the trim that was part of the retrofit frame. Again, I prefer the flat trim. Once again, you apply a bead of caulk to the old frame,then measure and cut the top and bottom trim pieces. Apply the adhesive part of the trim to the vinyl frame, and let the other part contact the bead of caulk. Trim all four sides, then caulk again where the trim meets the exterior material.

As you can see, it really doesn't matter if the exterior of your home is brick, stone, siding, or stucco. You can install vinyl windows without having to damage the surrounding structure. We have step by step instructional videos for sale on the website at how-to-install-windows.com. Next week we are going to start discussing sliding glass door replacement.

John Rocco has been installing replacement windows since 1978. To learn more, visit How To Install Windows

Log Homes And Timber Frame Homes

Log Homes and Timber Frame Homes may have the lowest carbon footprint of any other type of construction. A carbon footprint is the measurement of carbon dioxide released as a result of using a particular product or other human activity. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere and major contributor to global warming.

A report prepared by the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Management (ECCM) compared the carbon dioxide footprints of three structures and the benefits when more timber was introduced into the construction. The results were astounding. ECCM estimated that there could be up to an 88% reduction of greenhouse gases by using log or timber structural elements wherever possible rather than other conventional building materials. The reduction of greenhouse gases was achieved by replacing materials high energy, high CO2 production values, such as steel and concrete, with solid wood. The report states that the production of steel and concrete materials accounts for 10% of the total global emissions of greenhouse gases. These materials have a high CO2 output created du100Aring the extraction of raw materials, refining, processing and manufacturing of the finished product. As reported in a study published by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, the energy consumed to process a tree into a finished sawn timber is about one-tenth of steel production.

In another report prepared by The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) compared four different structure using different wall systems - two woods, one concrete and one steel. The report found that the steel wall system generated 33% more greenhouses gases than wood and the concrete wall generated 80% more greenhouse gases than wood. The study also reported that the wood structures out-performed the steel and concrete houses in energy use and the impact on air and water quality.

Wood walls are typically framed or solid. Conventionally framed walls use a combination a several materials including processed wood products such as plywood or other laminated wood products, fiberglass insulation, exterior siding, interior sheetrock and some type of wall covering. Solid wood walls using logs or timbers have basically one product - the log or timber. The energy consumed and the CO2 produced in the production of logs and timbers is a fraction compared to the production of all the various materials in a conventionally framed wall.

Consumers are much more aware the environmental impact of using different materials and are being increasing sensitive to the hazards of exposure to chemically processed materials. Logs and timbers are 100% natural. As a natural product, they do not emit VOCs or other pollutants into the outdoor or indoor space. Trees are produced from soil, water and air combined with the energy from the sun, in a miraculous process of photosynthesis. Ecologically and environmentally, solid wood is the only building product that is renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, energy efficient and extremely beautiful.

Sustained and plantation forest growth actually reduces greenhouse gases by consuming CO2 out of the atmosphere while the trees are growing. Political pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol, is sure to continue and it will become increasingly important to find solution. The use of solid wood construction such as log homes and timber homes can make a positive contribution.

Footnotes: 1Forestry Commission Scotland Greenhouse Gas Emissions Comparison - Carbon benefits of Timber in Construction. Aug 2006. 2Wood - another low carbon footprint solution. Feb-Mar 2006, ECOS 13. 3The environmental performance of renewable building materials in the context of residential construction Perez-Garcia, John, Bruce Lippke, David Briggs, James B. Wilson, James Boyer, and Jaime Meil. - http://www.corrim.org/

Get more information on log home construction or timber frame homes

Jim Young is the president of PrecisionCraft Log Homes and presides over the Log Homes Council for the National Homebuilders Association. Jim set the stage for a full service approach to designing, producing, and building log homes with the industry's first Total Log Home Solution, which is a PrecisionCraft hallmark.

Benefits of a Sunroom

The sunroom is a beautiful addition to your house. Building a sunroom in your house can give you a natural atmosphere within your territory. While having considering which plan to actually install, there are certain things that need to be considered beforehand.

The largest benefit of having a sunroom plan installed is that it provides you with the warmth of sun all around the year. Not only that but it ensures the production of vitamin D in your body, which is only produced in the presence of sunlight. Vitamin D being an essential part in the growth of your bones also prevents one from different diseases. However, there are certain things that ought to be considered and carefully evaluated before having a plan installed at your homes.

As it has been already discussed that either you can get one of those do-it-yourself kit and install the sunroom plan or else hire a contractor to do it for you. Most of the contractors have an assortment of plans already developed and ready fo5B4r installing. Having discussed it with one such person gives you a fair idea of how things will work along with the total cost estimation. The only possible hurdle can arise if you have your mind set upon having something unique for you. This the pre-developed selections of the contractors do not offer and you will have to consider an architect then to work on your plans.

With the advent of technology now there are a number of websites that provide you a platform to generate your dream sunroom by using different online available options and acquiring those at the very instant too. However, this one can have a major disadvantage. In case of online building you are asked to make measurements yourself and if by an chance your measurement waver even by an inch that can ruin the whole constriction process altogether and the planning of your sunroom plan can take ages before it is completed.

The sunroom provides you with the natural joy which you can't experience in an ordinary living room. That is why when making a plan it is important to choose the best plan so that the sunroom not only adds beauty to your house but also give you the level of comfort you deserve.

There are quite a lot of things that you need to consider while drawing plans for your sunroom, from the selection of materials to the process of construction. And each of this detail must be monitored closely as it is your home that matters after all. It is vita40Dl to think about every step of the process while working on your plans and having it installed.

Adam Peters loves writing for http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com - A focused website that offers the best articles on outdoor staircase and patio rooms.

Foundation Repair Contractors

If your house or any part of your property experiences foundation failure, it is not a job you want to correct yourself. In order to do this properly you would have to be extensively trained and have a fast knowledge on the subject. This is not your everyday fixer upper project. Chances are to get the job done right; you are going to need to hire a professional. If you are like some people, this might make you a little uneasy. After all, how many times have you heard about contractors taking advantage of their customers? Some not so ethical contractors will charge you more than the job is worth. If you are a little uneasy calling in a professional, here are some basic guidelines for what to expect from a good foundation repair contractor.

The first thing any foundation repair contractor should do is an initial investigation and then a foundation failure report to some extent. Report will explain how severe the problem is and list the proposed repairs needed. If they are going to have to pier, they much included pier spacing and foundation lines in the reports. This takes some time. It might not be a one visit evaluation. A foundation repair contractor may have to come out, do an investigation and then present you with a formal report at a later time that will detail all the work. If you find a contractor who quotes you a price right then and there, chances are they are not a good one. Also do not be surprised if you are charged a fee for the inspection and the report. Most fees range from a few hundred to almost $1000 dollars. Make sure you ask if that fee will be deducted from the final price of the job once ordered. A qualified and ethical contractor will tell you yes. If they say no...stay away from them

Once the investigation is done and a report is ready, a reliable foundation repair contractor will go through it with you and give you the quoted price. They will also explain that quote and answer any questions you may have. If you are getting quotes by a few foundation repair contractors, bear in mind that the prices should not vary much if they are all doing the same work. This is because the materials should pretty much be the same price for all foundation repairmen. One of the possible reasons for the difference of prices between contractors is the amount of experience they have. A knowledgeable, skillful and experienced contractor might cost a little more money than one who has less experience. Keep this in mind when considering the cheapest contractor. Ask questions about their experience to help ensure you are making the best decision for you, your house and your budget.

Once all the work has been done, you should be given a report that contains all the hydraulic measurements and depths regarding the piers. This report should be saved as it will come in handy if you ever decided to sell you house.

Having foundation failure fixed is a costly project, but by following these guidelines, you will be able to find a foundation repair contractor that you are confident with. Make sure they are one who take pride in their work and are not looking for the quick buck.

For the best network of Foundation Repair Specialists check out http://www.Foundation-Repair.us

Careful Considerations When Buying Bamboo Shades

Inspired by cultures around the world, bamboo shades or woven woods can encompass any decorating stylefrom sophisticated and contemporary to casual and relaxed. The lining options, mounting options and cord operation systems are just as important as the style of shade you choose.

Bamboo Shades come with a choice of 4 lining options that can dramatically change the look of bamboo shades;

Standard - The standard shade configuration is unlined as shown above. Most patterns gently filter light.

Privacy Liner - A light beige lining is expertly sewn to the backside of the shade. This provides full privacy and a uniform light color facing the street.

Blackout Liner - A white blackout lining is expertly sewn to the backside of the shade. This blocks almost all light coming through the material.

Duo Shade - A roller shade behind the Roman shade is available in privacy (shown) or blackout fabrics. Makes any shade private as you wish - perfect to pull down at night.

It is important to hold the sample of the bamboo shade up to the window, especially an unlined shade. A material in the sample book will usually reflect what the shade will look like if you chose it with a blackout backing. With an unlined bamboo shade, depending on the tightness of the weave, the shade may or may not be see through. A see through pattern offers no privacy at night. The privacy lining will still let light enter the room, but gives full privacy. The disadvantage is that you will have to raise the shade to see out the window. The blackout lining is sometimes misunderstood due to it filters out about 95% of the light when the shades are down. Some companies are starting to name blackout shades room darkening due to customers thought blackout shades would cut 100% of the light. Lining or not, a good rule of thumb is to take the sample out of the sample book and hold it up to the window.

Mounting options for bamboo shades can vary depending on the look you are trying to capture. A bamboo shade can be mounted inside the windowsill or outside the window sill. An inside mounted bamboo shade is a clean tucked away look that is flush with the window sill edge. There are some important considerations with an inside mounted bamboo shade. Since bamboo shades have a large stack when pulled up, you will loose viewing area out of the window with an inside mounted shade. Another disadvantage is when the windows are not square and you will have larger gaps in some areas between the edge of the shade and the window sill. The gaps will be very noticeable if you chose the blackout lining option. Another important consideration when using an inside mount is that bamboo shades will stretch and six months later will pucker out slightly at the bottom due to the shade hitting the bottom of the window sill. An outside mounted shade is a more finished look and can add height to any window. Outside mounted bamboo shades are usually mounted 3 above the window and overlap 2 on each side. They can be mounted higher that 3 to make the window appear larger and to have the stack cover less of the window when the shade is in the up position. One advantage with an outside mount is when the shade stretches a little, it will not make a difference because the shade is hanging freely. In this case, the shade will look the same six months later from the day they were installed. A shade with a blackout lining usually looks better when mounted outside because you will not see the space between the edge of the shade and window sill. Further, you can block the light better due to the overlapping of 2 past the window. Whether the shade is mounted inside or outside, after taking these suggestions into consideration you will love your bamboo shades for many years.

Finally, there are two different cord operation systems for bamboo shades. Most companies use a cord-lock system as a standard feature with no extra charge. Another option is a continuous cord operation that costs a little extra, but has its advantages. When a shade is in the up position with a cord-lock system the cords will usually hang on the ground. Also, depending on the usage of the shade, the cords in a cord-lock system will burn out faster than a continuous cord operation system. With a continuous cord system, the length of the cord will always stay the same length regardless of the shade position. The cords on a continuous cord system usually hang the length of the shade, but can be custom lengths if homeowner chooses. Further, you will never have cords hanging on the ground to step on or the kids to play with. Another advantage is that bamboo shades in large windows will be heavy, especially if they have a lining, to lift up and down so the continuous cord system can help because it is a stronger system and will make those large windows feel easy. The only disadvantage with a continuous cord system is that the head rail is larger and you will need at least 3 of mounting space on an inside mounted shade so the shade will not stick out past the window sill. In conclusion, carefully consider spending a couple extra bucks to have a clean hassle-free look.

Create A Perfect Bathroom Setting With Bathroom Stone Tile

Natural stone tiles offer durability yet require low maintenance. With the wide variety of stone tiles to select from, you can surely find the one that will suit your bathroom. Among the types of stones to choose from are marble, limestone, travertine, slate, granite and sandstone. With bathroom stone tile, you can put in a splash of hue, or you can just keep the tiles neutral so you can put color with embellishment, accessories and furniture.

Because of their inherent properties, stone tiles are very suitable for your bathroom renovation project. They are tough and resistant to stains and wear and they are available in an extensive range of finishes and colors. There are lots of things, however, that you need to consider in using stone tile for you bathroom.

Various Types of Natural Stone

1. Slate - This incredibly durable stone has a natural, untamed splendor and is really perfect for bathroom use. Slate requires little maintenance and is very easy to clean. In fact, you can make this stone almost totally resistant to stains. It comes in wide range of colors and its texture is rough, making it non-slippery.

2. Marble - This type of stone carries the look of refinement for many centuries now. It has a remarkable hue and its surface can be polished to bring out an unmatched shine. Because of these characteristics, marble tiles can truly help you in creating a remarkable effect in your shower room. But there are some important things that you need to know about this particular stone type before choosing this for your bathroom. First, its high polish, which makes it look so elegant, is very slippery when wet. Also, marble is delicate, making it prone to chipping. Furthermore, marble is the type of stone that's chemical based so if any chemical acids spilled on it, it will badly stain when not treated.

3. Travertine and Limestone - These stones have the same properties - they are more porous and softer than granite or slate. Their earth color makes them lovely in a bathroom setting. However, they aren't very resistant to stains and they are not as durable as slate and quartzite.

4. Quartzite - Among the available stones, quartzite is one of the most resilient and hardest. The color of this type of stone ranges from recurring sequential structures to multicolored unique patterns, depending on the kind of quartzite that's being used. This type of stone is perfect for your bathroom because of its resistance to water and stain, its durability and its non-slippery texture.

5. Sandstone - This stone is a sophisticated choice for your bathroom stone tile because of its gentle structure and earthen colors. The only downside is that sandstone is permeable and soft so it needs to be chemically treated semi regularly to avoid stains.

Other things that must be put into consideration are the color of the bathroom tiles, the finish, the pattern that you want to create and its maintenance.

For ideas on bathroom tile design, visit http://www.bathroomtile101.com.

Be Ready With Your Layout

"Imagination is the layout; reality is the product".

Whatever, your imaginations are, it's now time to draw them on a paper. Layout your measurements and the details with your ideas to get a picture on how the final product will look like. With this picture, reality is definitely one step ahead of imagination.

The kitchen will be your main focus when it comes to the layout. Think about things that will take place in your kitchen in future before you start doing the layout- from preparation of food to cooking and not to forget those special sharing moments during the festive seasons with your family. With that in mind you can start to think on ways to get things organized and well pl5B4an. Maybe you will need some extra storage space or a bigger pantry. That's quite a lot going on in your kitchen.

Designing the layout is the time to think where do you locate your dishwasher, refrigerator, oven, stove and sinks. Draw a simple symbol on top of each box to help you identify the location for each appliance. Make sure these appliances are located nearby their sockets or pipes.

Planning to add an island in the middle of your kitchen, don't forget to draw it down. Remember to draw every detail you want your kitchen to project precisely as this will help you when it comes to fixing.

Drawing a layout is simple, easy and fun! Just take a pencil and start sketching. If you do still find a hassle in drawing or perhaps have a phobia towards art, then try using kitchen planner software to get this done. The results are more than just amazing. All you need to do is just clicking on your mouse together with your mind thinking. Pick your theme before keying in your measurements and you're almost done with a 3D image of your dream kitchen. Get this software now at no price at all from the Internet.

For more information about kitchen cabinets visit our site

Click here for more info about kitchen212 cabinets.

Install Laminate Flooring

The first thing to remember is that tools can be dangerous and should not be thrown at one another. We did not actually throw any tools at each other. And we had been married long enough when we installed our laminate flooring to know that yelling at each other gets us no where. But there were some tense moments. We were fortunate that our only real injuries were an assortment of aches and pains in new and not so interesting places.

Have a plan. The flooring we selected was not wood grain. It looks like tile and has a very strong pattern. That was our fir5B4st mistake. With a wood look alike, it does not so much matter where you begin and end.

If your laminate has a strong pattern, take a good look at the room and decide what the focal points are and how you want the pattern to look in those areas. Also, you might want to measure the room and figure out how many planks across it is. You will want to hide any thin pieces behind furniture. Also, do not just stagger the planks as a brick layer staggers bricks. Sometimes you will come up to an end wall and have just a little sliver of the end of a plank to put down. These will not stay in place well and you end us saying things to your spouse like, It was your job to keep that in mind and What do you mean it was my job, you never told me that. Then he tries to make it better with a compliment, Well, youre the one with the good memory. So each time you begin a run, check to see how it will end and adjust the starting plank by trimming the starting end that butts up to the wall appropriately.

If you will be laying laminate in more than one room, as we did, and these rooms connect, give some thought to how you will want the transition to look. There are threshold pieces that allow you to stop and start up again in a new room as long as the pattern is not definite. We had to blend everything together and I have to tell you that going around corners gave us fits. You have never heard so much cursing. If you ha5B4ve to go around corners, have lots of paper handy. Large sheets are best. Make templates. A good rule of thumb for the whole project is to measure twice and cut once. Even so a lot of exasperated groaning will occur. Do save the pieces you cut incorrectly, you may be able to use them later. Do not try to work on your floor after you have put in a long day at your paying job. That is when we made the most errors. But we did not have much choice about it because our days off did not have much in common.

Once you have figured out how you want it to look (remember to maintain some flexibility on this issue), it is time to take a really good look at your floor. If your house is built on a concrete foundation, most likely your floor is nice and level. Sing Hallelujah. Ours was not. Our house is built on a raised foundation and there was a sizable drop off from the kitchen to the dining area, from the kitchen to the nook and a good dip in the living room. These had to be leveled before we could begin putting down the flooring. Pray that your floor is level.

There are a number of products made just for this purpose. They are supposed to be self leveling. Right. It is not always good to follow the directions. But this is my natural tendency. As my husband finally figured out, it is better if the leveling compound is thinner than recommended than the other way around. My penance was to do a lot of sanding. Drywall sanding sheet5B4s worked best for me. Avoid this step if you possibly can. Believe me, if your floor is not level, it is best to just live with no carpeting or whatever for a while than to begin and figure that you will level it as you go along. That dip in the living room that I mentioned, well, it was very late one night and we just wanted to finish the living room. We went right over the dip without thinking. Luckily, laminate flooring is somewhat flexible and the dip is not too extreme. But do not believe it when the salesperson tells you how flexible it is, its not as flexible as they say. We try not to walk over that spot too much.

If you do not have a nice big truck, have the flooring delivered. Do not try to get it home in your Jeep Cherokee, especially if the store is more than a few minutes from your home and you have to make several trips. That was so not fun. Buy more flooring than you will need to cover all your floors. The exact amount extra you will need depends on how many mistakes you will make and how strong a pattern you are working with. The more definite the pattern, the more extra you will need. Luckily for us, the new batch that we had to order matched the old batch nicely enough.

There are a number of special tools the salesperson will want to sell to you. Buy them. That way you will not have to go back later and get them anyway. We used a circular saw to do the simple trims on the planks. Buy several replacement 5B4blades ahead of time. Laminate flooring is really tough and just eats up your blades. For the fancy cuts around corners and such we used one of those rotating plunge cutters/saws. My husband could tell you the name of it. I love my jewelry making tools and can name them all. That I can not name all other tools appropriately is not a defect on my part.

We sacrificed our garage for a time and parked our cars outside. We set up the garage as our workshop. That meant we did not have to bring all our tools in from outside each time we stopped working on the floor. You do not want to cut the flooring indoors. The dust that is created is phenomenal. Be sure to close the door from your house to your garage before you start cutting. Even then, you will have to wipe down your walls afterwards. Cover your furniture with drop cloths. I really wish someone had told us that.

We also made a cutting table from a large piece of plywood and saw horses. Make sure the horses are stable and level. Temporarily attach the plywood to the horses with screws. On one long side of the table, screw down two 2x4s parallel to each other along the full length about five inches apart. This makes the long cuts along the length of the planks easier. Wear eye and hearing protection while cutting. Seriously.

For the rest of it, just follow the directions (especially the one about the spacing between walls and flooring. Oh yeah.). And yes, I know what I3DC said about directions earlier. We love our laminate floor. We are glad that we did it. You will be too.

http://www.syzygyjewelry.com

How A Home Design Software Can Decrease Home Building Costs

If you're scared about redecorating your home because you might end up wasting hundreds or even thousands of dollars once you find out the outcome is not as great in real life as how you pictured it, better hold the urge and think about getting a home design software.

What can it do?

A home design software allows you to preview your redecorated home even before you do the actual decorating and constructing. It's a computer program where you can recreate a three-dimensional image of your home, including floor plans and room interiors. With a home design software, you can visualize your dream home to the very last detail prior to construction.

Types of Home Design Software

Generally, you have a choice of tree types of software: landscape home design, 3D model home design, or coordinating home design.

A landscape home design is especially programmed for creating outdoor design plans, including plumbing layouts and electrical systems. You can use tools for creating customized windows, trims, and doors. As the name suggests, it is ideal for landscaping projects for your garden, patio, or lawn.

A 3D model software, on the other hand, is used for creating spatial designs for rooms and interiors. With this software, you can choose from common objects such as tables, chairs, tubs, tiles, and countertops and drag and drop them to the layout. The coordinating design software is for designing both interior and exterior features, including doorways an floors. It is available in two- or three-dimensional perspectives.

Recommended Home Design Software / Consumer Information

A complete Guide to HOME DESIGN SOFTWARE is available in Picky Guide one of the fastest growing online magazines giving free consumer advice and product information.

Living Off The Grid

In 2006 our family started contemplating the possibilities of living off the grid, producing our own electricity with Renewable Energy sources. Our electricity bill was about $200 a month and it just kept on growing. We knew there was a better way, so we looked at living off the grid. We decided we wanted to find ways of living off the grid mainly for economic reasons but we also wanted to keep the lifestyle we were already living.

We just didn’t want to give up all of our regular household appliances. As we dug deeper it became clear that with a bit of planning and patience and some serious conservation practices we could achieve this goal. It looked like we could be living off the grid within a few months if we worked hard at it.

Thankfully, we already owned a small cottage that we had been planning on moving to in the future anyways. It was an easy option for us, but there are a lot of country properties for reasonable prices out there too, if you decide to make this option work for you.

Our property was only 40 minutes from town, so there would be no job finding necessary either, just a slightly longer commute to work. We also made arrangements to work from home a couple days a week, so we could enjoy our new found off grid lifestyle.

Years before we had looked at bringing electricity to the cottage, but the hydro authority had told us that it would cost over $14,000 to do so. We didn’t proceed with it because of the high cost. Why would we bring in grid hydro if it would still cost $200 a month and $14,000 just to get it there. Living off the grid now made perfect sense from an economic point of view.

We could use the $14,000 to install Renewable Energy to run our cottage/home. Plus, if we added a conservative 2 years of electricity service expense to the total what would have otherwise been spent on electric bills that’s another $4800.

The total would be $18,800 we could spend on a Renewable Energy system and still be money ahead when compared to bringing in grid electricity. After 2 years we would be money ahead! We would not have to pay electric bills ever again.

We chose solar panels to install in our new home because they were easier to install. We found a great website that offered up tons of advice and really helped with the installation. We wanted to put up a wind generator but we just didn’t have the resources at that point. Later we actually built a wind generator with plans we found. We also had a back room that we could convert into a battery Storage area and control room for the inverter, charge controllers etc.

We bought 12 Kyocera solar panels, all of them about 170 watts of power producing capacity. That would give us about 2Kw of production and that was a good start. An electrician friend helped us wire up the system with 16 huge forklift batteries and an inverter for AC power, all charge controlled and set up in case of lightning too. He said that it happens occasionally and you have to protect your investment, so we did.

We run a DC deep well pump and DC lights directly from the batteries. The whole house is run from this system and only occasionally do we have to start up the backup generator.

We didn’t have much money when we were done and we still wanted a wind generator, so we decided to build one. We found some great plans and all that helpful solar panel advice at the Living Off the Grid website. We could not have done it without them.

We have been living off the grid for over a year now, and we could not have done it without the helpful folks at the Living Off the Grid website.

Log Home Products

Take advantage of these remarkable Log Home Products.

Before you grab your first tool, you should have a good idea of how log cabins are made, how they are assembled and how everything fits together. That's why there are many log cabin DVD sets on the market that show you exactly how a log cabin is built, from clearing the land to putting up your mailbox. Even if you have hired a company to put your log cabin home together for you, this is one useful product that will help to demystify the whole home building process. These DVD sets usually range anywhere from $100 to $200 in price and contain as many as eight separate DVDs.

If you are looking to have your own log cabin home, chances are, you are looking for lighting fixtures that present a certain style and grace. While the average lighting store offers dozens of different styles, you might have to go online to find exactly the style you are looking for. There are dozens of sites online that offer log cabin products such as specialized lighting fixtures that blend in perfectly with the natural appearance of a log cabin home. Don't settle for outdoor lighting fixtures that don't match the dcor you are going for, get the products you want for your beautiful new home.

One set of wood working tools you will need for sure, so you can add any final touches to your beautiful new home all by yourself. From durable chisels and saws to other handheld woodworking tools, making sure you have the right tools for your personal projects is very important. Don't approach the various jobs you have planned for your home with worn out woodworking tools, get the best new tools available for less online.

These are just a handful of the many outstanding log home products available to each and every new log cabin owner out there. The log cabins is the most beautiful, durable and striking style of home in the world; make sure you are ready to turn your new house into a home with the best in log home products this season.

Mountain Home Building Products offers the highest quality Log home products for your Log Cabin.

Wood working tools, solid wood siding, artistic antler castings, hand forged lighting and a complete line of log finishing products that works to clean, preserve, stain, protect and seal your log home.

Visit us at: http://www.mountainhomebuildingproducts.com

Home Construction or Remodeling Contractor

Choosing the right Contractor is the most important aspect of any home construction project. You must take your time and do your research to find a good qualified contractor if you want excellent quality at a fair price. When we built our new home we spent many hours finding the best contractors for each aspect of building our new home. We developed a method that served us well and it is as follows:

Determine exactly what you want done and write it down. This may sound a little basic at first blush, but it is so important. Remember what is not well defined is easily manipulated. If it is not in writing, it can be disputed. You do two things when you define your project in detail, and in writing. You find any missing aspects that you may have overlooked and you have good definition and expectations for your contractor.

Get three (3) bids for each trade that you will hire. Never rely on one bid, and always meet the contractor face to face at the site where the work is to be done. If you are uncomfortable with the contractor when they are bidding the job how is it going to be when the two of you have to work out the details of your project. Remember cheaper is not always better!

Ask each contractor for references and make sure they are bonded and insured. Check their references and call the BBB (Better Business Bureau) in your area to see if they have any outstanding complaints.

Make sure they dont sub the work out to a contractor that is not insured or bonded. It is very common for a contract company to sub out work to contractors that are not insured and bonded. Another danger of the contractor subbing work out is if they dont pay their sub, the sub can put a mechanics lien on your house and you will have to pay even if you have already paid the contractor.

Set a definite timeframe for the work to begin and for completion and get it in writing. Nothing is worse than to have a project drag on not knowing when they are going to show up and finish.

Never, ever pay for the entire project in advance. If you do the contractor has no incentive to finish or even start. When you no longer have the money you are no longer in control! It is customary with most contractors that you pay a portion up front. On a large project hold back as much money as you can until the end. The incentive to finish must be motivated by the cash at the end of the project.

For more information on finding and qualifying contractors visit www.Build-YourOwn-Home.com

George Stevens is the popular author of the Website http://www.Build-YourOwn-Home.com teaching you how to build your own home. and Build-Your-Own-Home.com All Rights Reserved

What Is The Square Ft Cost Of The Homes You Build

What is the square footage cost of the homes you build? I'm sure that every veteran builder has heard this question many times. In truth, only a range can be given. There are just tFBBoo many variables to give a price based on just square footage. These variables range from design, materials used, and size.

How is the square footage calculated? Do you count the garage, a basement, what about rooms that are cathedrals or raised? I've seen these questions answered differently by many builders or their marketing departments.

The design alone is a huge factor with a ranch home being the most expensive to multi-story homes which offer the lowest by dividing the foundation and roof cost by the number of stories. With the building materials that are available to most builders, a square floor plan or box shaped home offers the highest ratio of floor space to the area of the exterior walls. This certainly may not be the most pleasing design, but it is the most efficient as to cost to construct on a square footage cost basis.

The materials used can cause a huge difference on the same floor plan. A brick or stone veneer usually has a very attractive appearance, giving the home a rich, substantial look, but adding a tremendous amount of cost in comparison to the same sized home with vinyl siding. One example of many.

The kitchen is the most expensive room in a home. The cost difference of cabinets can vary from affordable to very high end with prices many times higher. Today, many customers are choosing granite counter tops, very nice but hugely more expensive. The same is true for appliances.

Permits are another issue when planning on building a new home. In most areas, the permit costs of tapping into the sanitary sewer and water line make up the biggest part of the total permit costs. This cost is the same, regardless of square footage of home. This is also the same from a labor and material cost stand point when the contractor connects the piping involved from the main lines to the new home.

The examples go on and on, making it impossible to state a builders square footage costs on all the homes they build. Obviously, once a plan is bid, the square footage price can be calculated.

If a low square footage cost of your new home is your goal, it is suggested that you build a large two story home with standard materials. The reason is a large home is likely to have a lower square footage cost, is that there are so many costs that are or to close to the same on a small home as a larger home using the same building materials. The examples of this goes on and on. Here's some things to think about. If the lot and the materials are the same, the exterior concrete costs will be the same. The driveway, lead walk, and public walks. The front door, the house to garage door, and garage door will cost the same. The garage door opener will cost the same. Going to the inside is much more of the same. If there is the same amount of bathrooms, the cost of these will be the same. I'm sure now you can see the trend and these costs will be divided by a smaller number of square feet on a smaller home than on a larger home. This effects the square footage costs when the building materials are the same.

These are some thinking points for you to use if planning to minimize the cost per square foot of your new home.

Bill Dold has been a home builder for over 30 years in the Toledo, Ohio area. To learn about Dold Homes, visit http://www.doldhomes.com/

Kitchen Installation - Things To Consider - Part One

Imagine that you've revealed a designer's talent in you and did your best to create a kitchen of your dream. The floor ornament ideally matches the curtain fringing, as well as the vases perfectly match the colour of the lamp. Yet, something is still missing. Kitchen comfort depends not only on your good taste and productive imagination. The air should be fresh but not cold. Materials should possess good cleaning properties, but not be toxic. Just a creative approach is surely not enough - you should study a more down-to-earth side of the question.

Breathe in a chestful of clean air.
The kitchen like no other room in the house requires fresh air. It is especially true if you enjoy cooking and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The fragrance of grilled chicken or baked layer cake which was not aired on time quickly loses its pleasant flavor. And it is not an appetizing fragrance any more, but a bad whiff penetrating into all rooms of the house. So, if your dwelling still bears the scent of yesterday's ravioli, think, maybe there are problems with ventilation in your kitchen?

It's easy to check if the kitchen extractor works properly. Put the sheet of paper to the air diffuser: if it "adheres" to the hole, then the system is all right.

There can be various reasons of the disabled ventilation: electricity fault, the channel was littered up, or some quick bird nested there etc.

How to choose an exhaust hood.
If you want the air in the kitchen to be clean and fresh, even the best ventilation system will not be enough.

It is known that combustion residue are produced while cooking. It is not healthy to inhale them. Besides, fat and smoke is not good for kitchen furniture, ceiling and walls either. So, you should buy a kitchen exhaust hood or as the specialists call it a canopy hood.

What to choose? First, you should consider performance of the device. The cleanness of the kitchen air can be measured in figures. Multiply the room area by its height. The air should be renewed 10 times per hour according to the sanitary standards. So, let's multiply the volume by ten and we have the required performance of the kitchen exhaust hood. The index 300 m3/h is quite normal for the average kitchen of 3 E 4 metres. If you bake and roast a lot, and like to smoke in the kitchen, you'd better take the hood with characteristics - 400 - 600 m3/hr. On the whole, you can find models from 180 to 1200 m3/hr in the kitchen appliances shops.

Secondly, you should pay attention to the size of the exhaust hood. Standard devices can be 50, 60, 90 or 120 cm wide. Anyway, the exhaust hood must be wider than the kitchen cooker. The principle factor is operating mode of the hood. We have two options: recirculation or air vent. In the latter case the exhaust hood absorbs the air and then releases it. In the first case it goes through the fat filter that refines it from small particles of smoke, ash, fat and then through angle filter that neutralizes the scents. Then the renewed air returns to the kitchen. The extracting mode, of course, is better for eliminating the kitchen scents and such a device makes less noise. You also do not have to change or wash the filters regularly. On the other hand, you don't always have the opportunity to extract the air outside.

There are also versatile hoods which combine both the modes. You can just block the out valve with the special screen (press the button or turn the handle depending on the model), and the air will not go into the pipe, but will be forwarded to the filters and then back to the kitchen.

Finally, as the exhaust hood is not a small device, you should think how it will blend with the kitchen interior.

Kitchen: don't confuse it with sauna!

What is the most humid place in the apartment? A bathroom? Not only. The climate of the kitchen may sometimes be similar to tropical. Especially if you have taken all the measures to make this room warm, but you have forgotten to make the air of normal humidity. This problem can also be solved by setting the ventilation system, as air renewal is very important for creating comfort in the kitchen. In fact you should think about the climate in the kitchen (as well as in the whole apartment).

It is not peanuts!
Beauty and comfort of the kitchen mostly depend on what you have on the floor, the walls and the ceiling.

Let's start with the bottom. It is known, that large drawings on the floor visually downsize the room and small ones visually "extend" the borders. Gloss finishing visually extends the space and matt finishing narrows it.

Kitchen flooring.
However, the main thing in selecting the floor is, of course, the material. Vinyl flooring is durable and modern. Linoleum is also firm and antistatic. Any dirt can be easily removed from it. Even if the stain is "complex", it can be removed from the floor with the solvent agent and the flooring will not be damaged. Natural linoleum is better for the kitchen as it is more ecologically safe. Natural wooden floor looks cozy and at the same time respectably.

Arthur Prudent is a developer of London builders: bathroom, kitchen renovation - web site offering all aspects of builders services. Kitchen installation: things to consider. Part one

Home Improvement - Why You Should Hire An Expert To Do Your Bathroom Renovation

If you are thinking about doing your own bathroom renovation, you really should think twice about it unless of course you are an expert in that field. If you are new to DIY home projects, there are a few crucial issues to consider especially if you have absolutely no experience in doing any kind of bathroom renovation projects. There are reasons why bathroom renovation experts are very highly paid for their expertise.

If the question "How hard can it be?" is ringing in your head while you are thinking about undertaking your own bathroom renovation, you might be in for a nightmare. The toilet looks simple and easy enough to remove but are you very sure you know how to ensure that its properly sealed after it is installed? Can you imagine the mess if it leaks after installation and ever worst while using it? If you think that running a bead of caulk around the base of your toilet is the way to go, then you definitely need to hire an expert.

Moving To The Shower

As you have been warned about the difficulties one can expect by installing the toilet, let's move on now to the shower. It may look easy at first glance but if you are not familiar with plumbing and using torches for welding then you may want to stay clear of the shower. If a shower is not installed correctly, you can end up ruining not only your bathroom but also your whole house with water. The shower is the most expensive part of the bathroom to get installed due to the labor and involved. Do call and hire an expert if you do not want to encounter leaks around your house and ruining your bathroom. Though the cost might be a little steep, at least you will be able sleep at night and get to use your bathroom without any hassle.

It is so tempting to pick up your tools and start doing the bathroom renovation yourself but be smart and call in the experts to do the work for you. You will have peace of mind and the results you get will be well worth the price paid. You can plan your bathroom renovation but when it come to doing the actual work, you are advised to seriously consider calling in the experts.

Find out more about 1108Bathroom Renovations by visiting http://allhomeideas.info a popular home improvement website for free home improvement tips, advice and resources.

Bathroom Remodeling Can Be Both Big and Small

There are many home improvement projects, but few can provide the benefits of a bathroom remodeling project. There are a few things to consider when remodeling your bathroom. This article will take a closer look at this topic.

Start your bathroom remodeling with your bathroom accessory and shower curtain list. Although it may not be as important and crucial as some of the other decisions you have to make at the start of your bathroom remodeling project but a little thought and action at the start can save you a lot of time, energy and money later on.

If you don't make your bathroom accessory list at the start of your project how will you know whether the fixtures that you order will match with your style in accessories? You might fi16CFnd that the stainless steel bathroom accessory look that you grow to love later in the project simply doesn't go with the style and color of the bathtub, toilet and other fixtures that you chose weeks ago.

If you are planning a complete remodeling of the bathroom, then look for some of the best designs available in remodeling magazines or websites with galleries exhibiting various designs. While bathroom remodeling can be an exciting project it can also seem daunting because of the various aspects that need to be considered for the look and design you require.

Next to consider in your bathroom remodeling design are the materials you want to use. One of the most difficult decisions that face you when you are remodeling your bathroom is the design of the ceramic tiles. In bathroom shower remodeling, great care is required in the selection of tiles used for flooring and on walls in the shower area.

When you've got an accurate drawing of your bathroom as it is now it's time to start dreaming about the bathroom that you would like to have. I think that the fun part of using squared paper to design a bathroom is drawing the new fixtures to scale on graph paper and cutting them out so that they can be pushed into position on top of another sheet of graph paper with a drawing of the room on it. At the end of the day project managing your bathroom remodeling job is a full time job and if you want to avoid the stress that it brings then you should hire someone to project manage for you.

If you spend time on the design of your small bathroom remodeling project before you start any work you will be surprised at how much space you can save by experimenting with small sized toilets, small deep bathtubs, tiny wash basins and carefully shaped small shower cubicles. Bathroom remodeling design could be an exciting project but it can also seem daunting because of the various aspects to consider. A small bathroom will always be small but there are many ways to create the illusion of a much larger room and using bathroom wall mirrors is one of the ways.

Find more helpful remodeling tips by visiting http://best-home-improvement-projects.com where you will find helpful remodeling tips, advice and resources to include Bathroom Remodeling.

Wooden Playhouses For Outdoor Fun

Wooden playhouses could be just the thing you have been looking for. Playhouses are the key to every child's imagination. They are easy to assemble, easy to look after and can be your kid's special place to go with their toys in good or bad weather. A wooden playhouse can be painted and decorated to match your kids interests and can hold a lot of toys and games freeing up valuable space in your house.

Outdoor play is very important for a child's development and to ensure they get enough exercise. Wooden playhouses will unlock your child's imagination along with their friends during the long summer holidays whe5B4n they need a lot of interesting things to be doing so they don't suffer from the dreaded and tantrum starting boredom.

Wooden playhouses can be used by both boys and girls and can become and play kitchen, fortress, army base, secret den or hidden cave, the uses are endless. A playhouse can come in a massive variety of shapes and sizes and themes and are easy to put together and will last for many years with only a little maintenance in the form of wood weather protector or paint.

Wooden playhouses can be tucked away in the corner of the garden and will blend in with the surroundings a lot better than metal play equipment such as swings, climbing frames and slides. They also could be made into the main feature in your back garden and as your child grows so can the playhouse with add-ons such as wooden climbing frames, extensions or another playhouse. A wooden climbing frame would be an ideal place for your child to develop their sense of safe play, strength and a brilliant place to show off their climbing skills.

Wooden playhouses can be for everyday use but can also be fantastic and memorable places for special occasions such as a tea party with best friends, birthday parties and a place to open Christmas presents with lots of Christmas decorations making the playhouse into a winter wonderland or Santa's grotto, the possibilities are endless and don't 51Ahave to be restricted to summer.

If you have a little one and struggle to find or afford enough activities to keep them happy and occupied during the long summer months the a wooden playhouse could be the answer you have been looking for, they will give your child a great start in life and will help them get plenty of fresh air, exercise and is a great place for them to socialize with friends and all while in the safety of your back garden where you can keep a caring eye on them.

For lots of choice and information on many wooden playhouses visit our website at http://www.idealwoodenplayhouses.co.uk