Ease Of Working With Tools

Choosing The Right Wood For Your Deck -

By: Malcolm D Kay
If you’re planning on building a wood deck yourself, one of the important considerations is the degree of difficulty in working with the lumber chosen. Not only do you want the lumber to be relatively easy to cut with normal hand or power tools, but you need to consider if splitting may easily occur when nailing, how easy it is to drive nails into the wood, and how easy it is to obtain a smooth finish on the surface of the decking.

The surface finish of course is taken care of by the lumber mill. But even with the best mills, for some exceptionally hard species you may notice machining marks remaining on the surface or a surface roughness due to lifting of the grain whilst machining.

Cutting
Most durable hardwood species are both dense and hard and should ideally be cut with a carbide tipped saw. For softwood species, a handsaw can be quite OK, but even in this case, a carbide tipped saw makes the job a lot easier and quicker.
With some hardwood species such as Teak and Turpentine, rapid blunting of cutting edges can occur due to the presence of a higher than normal level of silica. Ipe is another species which can cause blunting of cutting edges and care also needs to be taken when working with Ipe due to the fine yellow dust produced when sawing or drilling, as it has been known to cause dermatitis with some workers exposed to the dust.

Nailing
Splitting when nailing is a common problem and some species are more prone to splitting than others. For many hardwood species, pre-drilling will be virtually essential, although use of a nail gun can overcome this requirement to some extent. Even with some of the more brittle softwoods and in particular cypress species, care needs be taken when nailing. If nailing close to the end of the decking planks, pre-drilling is always recommended to avoid stress in the timber which may cause to cracks to develop at later stage.

If using nails to fix the planks to bearers and the deck is fully exposed to the weather, standard iron nails should not be used as they will rust. Instead you should use galvanized nails or nails specifically designed for exterior use. Another point to note is that some lumber species can corrode iron fixings or fastenings due to the extractives in the wood. Although this will only occur when the deck is situated in exposed weather conditions, it can speed up the corrosion of standard iron nails and cause them to fail quite rapidly. Western Red Cedar is one such species with extractives that can cause corrosion and some other species which are slightly acidic such as Kempas, can also cause corrosion with standard iron nails.

Drilling

Similar precautions need to be taken against corrosion if using screws rather than nails to fix the planks to the bearers. Stainless steel screws are certainly the best option, but plated screws could be considered provided they are recommended for exterior exposure. Remember that as the head of screw is much larger than a nail, rust stains will be more of a problem and can leave unsightly black marks around the screw holes if inappropriate screws are used.
Alternative fixing devices

A number of alternative fixing materials are also available which have the advantage of leaving the surface free of nail holes or screw holes. These systems generally rely on a fastening device which is driven into the side of the planks and attached to the bearers below. The only obvious drawback of this system is that replacing a single plank if damaged or decayed in any way can only be achieved by nailing or screwing the replacement plank back in place in the conventional manner.
Alternative wood decking materials

If you don’t want to build a deck yourself but just wish to cover an old patio with solid wood decking, another quick and convenient option is to use wood decking tiles. These tiles just click into place on top of an existing deck or patio and eliminate the need for cutting, drilling and nailing. You may need to cut a few tiles to fit around pipes, posts etc but that’s all. For further details see http://www.deckingtiles.com./ They can also be used to repair an existing wood deck by just placing the tiles over the top of the existing deck.

About The Author
Malcolm Kay is the CEO of Intex Pacific Pty. Ltd. an international supplier of landscape materials including modular decking tiles. For more information see http://www.deckingtiles.com/.

Carpet Cleaning Help Is Herw

Options for Cleaning Your Carpet Stop Damage to Carpeted Stairs

A majority of the dry soil can be removed by vacuum cleaning. However, you need to clean your carpet on a regular basis to get rid of the oily, sticky soil that builds up in the pile. Odors and dirt that is tracked in from outside create this sticky soil.

If you clean your carpet before it becomes terrible, the cleaning job will be easier to accomplish and very much successful. The carpet with the average family should be cleaned every 12 - 18 months. It depends on the number of persons living in the home and the amount of traffic that walks on the carpet.

Choosing the right vacuum is crucial as well. Certain vacuums leave residues behind, which helps re-soiling.

Your best option is to hire professional carpet cleaners because their experience will allow them to do a much better job than you can do yourself. Professional cleaners use the equipment that has more extraction power and the carpet will dry faster as well. They know what cleaning agents to employ, and they understand the differences in carpet fibers.

If you have decided to do the job yourself and rent a steam cleaning machine, you should try out a number of systems before you make a choice. A good number of the rented units do not clean properly enough and may damage your carpet. For that reason, you should always take into account the following:

- Some rental companies provide cleaning equipment that is similar to what the professionals use. The equipment should produce a sufficient amount of vacuum power to allow the carpet to dry within 12 hours of cleaning. Avoid units that do not produce the power to remove the cleaning solution from the carpet fast enough, since it can hurt your carpet because of over wetting.

- Do not over wet your carpet. Any extended dampness can cause mildew growth and bacteria in the carpet, or bring about a separation of the backing. A carpet that stays wet for longer than one day can cause problems.

- If you plan stain resistant treatments, your carpet must be cleaned with products thatare formulated for this task. Do not use cleaning or spotting solutions that contain bleaches because they can ruin the color of the carpet.

- Do not use silicone based treatments on your carpet.

The system called hot water extraction is strongly recommended. It is considered one of the best methods for carpet cleaning. This system is also known as steam cleaning. You spray a mixture of water and detergent into the pile and recover the water and soil with a strong vacuum. This system is perfect for soiled carpets or pet stains.

Protect your carpet against paint drips, snow, mud, dirt, stains, and heavy traffic conditions. Read about plastic carpet protections as well as temporary carpet protection.

Bay Windows Give a Home Added Space

The person that likes to improve their home on their own can do a bay window installation with a ready to go unit. These are for sale at most of the home improvement stores. All you have to do to install bay windows is have a few tools and a good source of extra help.

Finding the perfect spot in your home is the key. Think about where you would like to look out and see a great view. A window like this is going to extend out your home and give you the view of a lifetime. You can have a large bay window or any size that you want to match the look that you want to achieve. The walls and the ceilings can be anything that you want and have a beautiful wooden bay window installed in your home. Think about a picture of a bay window and what you want to see out of it for your perfect view.

There are different sizes of bay windows. There are ones that are 72 x 72. They are thought of as a bow window. Some like these windows and others do not. It is all about great looking windows and a great view. There are also three panels on windows and multiple panel bow windows. You can fill the window seat with great plants or picture to catch the sunlight with. There is so many different look that you can create with your own mind. It will be a great time to shop for the right accessories for your new bay window.

Do you want scratch or rebuilt?

When you are looking for a window to install, you should think about plans for building your own bay window. You can go through books, magazines, and even the Internet to find what you are looking for. There are so many different plans for the right bay window for you. You can take on your own project and figure out what is going to work well with your ideas. There are many window manufacturers. Some are Pella, Milgard and then there is Anderson, these are pre-assembled bay windows pre built for just any home.

Little contractors will take on the idea of building you a bay window or bow window from scratch but you want to beware of who is building your window. They believe that it is not practical when they can get one for less money and have it installed easier. If the contractors now were to use pre built windows for new homes or renovation ideas, then anyone can do the same for their own remodeling projects.

Having a bay window installed is an easy project for you to do. You should think about a contractor or person that will help you out if you fall into some trouble. This is a job you have to take a few days to do. You are probably not going to finish up in one weekend so you should plan accordingly.

You will want to make sure that you have help to lift the bay windows because they are heavy. You need more than one person to handle the weight.

You should also make sure that the weather would be good for your project. You do not want to do it when it is raining outside. This will take a few days to get the new window in place and ready for sealing. You do not want to have to worry about water getting into your home through the window.

You should make sure that you are checking the local area for construction codes to make sure that you are following the guidelines. There may be special requirements in your area and you will need to make sure that you have all of these needs met. You will also want to make sure that you have a building permit too. This is not a good time to break a law or get into trouble trying to put in your new window. Once you have it in place, get the best set of bay window curtains that you want for the special new look of your home.

Peter J. Wilson's long articles are published on large numbers of online publications related to bay window curtains and decorating. His comments on bay windows are found on his webpage and other web sites.