Home Improvement Contractor - Is He Qualified

I am a general contractor in the state of Michigan. In other words I fix, build, or remodel anything pertaining to residential homes. The purpose of this article is to inform home owners about a growing problem in the construction/remodeling industry. That problem is the increasing numbers of unqualified individuals that are entering the field.

Due to the struggling economy and recent lay offs, many conversations around the kitchen table go something like this: What are we going to do now Jane? Well John, you helped my brother roof his house that one time and you fixed the door on our shed and you like working around the house...why dont you put an ad in the paper as a roofer or a carpenter? Hey Jane, thats a great idea. I can get business by offering a really low price. Yea, that's what Ill do!

Now I feel for a guy that is out of work. I really do. But when an unqualified individual decides "hey I'll be a contractor", all to often this results in nothing but trouble for the customer. What happens if John falls off the roof or drops his hammer on the hood of your brand new car? Is he insured?

What about warranties? If he says I will guarantee this roof wont leak for 5 years, and then it does, will he still be in business? Statistics say no. As a matter of fact, most of the people entering into business today will not be in business 1 year from now, much less 5 years from now.

Of course there is the most important question: does he know what hes doing? Does the fact that John helped his brother roof a house make him a qualified roofer?

There are insurance considerations as well. For example, lets say a home owner hires an individual that is not licensed to install a new furnace in his home. If the furnace starts a fire and burns the house down, some insurance companies will deny the claim. The reason is since there is no record of a permit(which there would not be as an unlicensed individual can not obtain a permit) they assume that the furnace could have been installed incorrectly. Now a home owner is left with a huge loss and all because they wanted to save a few bucks on the installation.

Do yourself a favor and stick with a pro. If you conduct a proper contractor interview, then you know that you are going to get a quality job by a licensed and insured individual who offers a warranty..and honors it. If you are not sure how to conduct a proper contractor interview, you can find information on this and other subjects at my web site.

My name is R. Paul Phillips. I am a co owner of Tanner-Phillips Properties, which is a new construction/remodeling business in Lansing, Mi. I have a free home improvement information website located at http://www.greater-lansing-home-improvement.com While my site is tailored for the Lansing area, the majority of the information is useful to anyone interested in home improvement tips, product reviews, how to screen contractors......etc. I also have a contact page so you can ask questions specific to your project.

Can You Make Money As a Clickbank Affiliate?

The answer is an emphatic yes. It's an incredible way to make money. Most people who ask this question have tried briefly making money with Clickbank and have been disappointed when revenue doesn't happen over night and often quit. I know many successful affiliates. There are Clickbank marketers out there earning a million dollars per month and there are some earning a few hundred. A lot of affiliates make an extra couple of thousand or hundred a month. I'm sad to say that most affiliates do not earn money with Clickbank and that's because they often set too high of expectations and don't want to put in the work and effort to create monetary success.

It all starts with attitude:

The worst mistake you can make when approaching Clickbank is having a get rich quick attitude. I'm constantly amazed by how many folks approach online marketing with this attitude. You wouldn't approach any offline business with this attitude. Building a business takes work and perseverance. It's no different online than it is offline. Now, in my opinion, online is better, because your business is working for you 24/7 while an offline business is usually only working during the hours of operation. Plus, if you build your online business right, overtime you can put in less work and get more results. But when you start you're going to have to work hard at getting your business of the ground.

So here's the right attitude: Set small goals to accomplish. If you have yet to make your first sale, make it a goal to get just one sale. Give yourself 30 days to do it, so there is no pressure. Once you have your first sale try to get a sale every two weeks, once you are consistently hitting that goal, try to get a sale every other day. Then make it a goal to get a sale every day and so on and so forth. By setting small goals you don't overwhelm yourself, you have realistic expectations and you won't get frustrated. Frustrated people often quit. So change your attitude to one of achieving small goals and you will get positive results that you can build on week after week.

Education:

You wouldn't start building homes without first learning how to build homes. You wouldn't become an accountant without first getting a degree in accounting. What makes Clickbank marketing any different? Nothing. You need to constantly be expanding your knowledge in order to succeed.

Here is the type of knowledge that is essential:

A)Product knowledge: Half of all products in the Clickbank Marketplace are terrible. They're duds and they don't convert. Then we have the huge sellers and while it's tempting to promote these products the competition is often so concentrated getting any marketing traction is impossible. It doesn't mean you can't, but odds are you'll have a tough time carving out any marketing exposure. I recommend finding products somewhere between the two poles and I use a popular Clickbank search and product analysis tool to do this. This tool gives me loads or product data and has an advanced search to help me pinpoint products that convert. At the bottom of this article you will find a link to this search tool.

B)Marketing Knowledge: What are the common ways Clickbank affiliate promote products? Let me tell you the most common ways new affiliates attempt to promote products that hardly ever work. They build a website with no substance. They often put up some salesy marketing copy about a product they want to promote and then worse, they don't do anything to promote that website. Two, they find a Clickbank Mall, put it online and again do not do anything to promote that mall. Discover the common marketing methods such as video marketing, article marketing, PPC marketing, CPM advertising, forum marketing, etc. etc and learn how people are finding success. You can scan marketing forums, read articles or buy an eBook or two. Once you master these various methods you will s tart to develop your own tactics. But when starting try to master the common methods first before you get creative.

To recap, change your attitude, set small goals, find killer products to promote and then use standard marketing techniques to get sales. It's really that simple. If you follow this advice you will start earning money. It might not be much at first, but overtime you might become one of those hard-working affiliate that earn tens to hundreds of thousands per month, but it all starts with getting that first sale. Work hard and don't give up.

Find the hottest most profitable Clickbank Products using CBengine - Make Money With Clickbank. You can get mall scripts, ads and comprehensive analysis on every product available in the marketplace.

Buying A Functional House

Sometimes We Don't Need Rain Near as Much as We Need Luggage

Lubbock, Texas, plans to pray for rain
LUBBOCK, Texas, July 24 (UPI) -- Public officials in Lubbock, Texas, are organizing a day to pray for rain.

"Nobody is going to tell God what to do and what not to do, but we are in a serious drought in West Texas and since he is the man who controls the rain clouds, we're asking him for his mercy and his help," Mayor David Miller told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast for rain this Sunday.

So far this year, Lubbock has received about half of its normal 10 inches. In the weeks since June 1, the growing season for cotton, rainfall has been a scant .75 inches, far less than the normal 4.43 inches."

I used to fast and pray for things. They seemed like important things at the time, well darn, actually they were VERY important, and somehow I was told that if we pray long and hard, and go without eating, God will hear us. I always wondered why God was so deaf in the first place. Rain is a pretty normal thing to expect, "in due season." Why does the Deity not keep it seasonal, predictable and convenient so the crops can grow normally and abundantly? One year it's on, one year it's off, two years it's off, one year it's back. Are these reflections of natual cycles or do humans tick God off on a seasonal basis?

And so we resort to begging the Deity to listen. Humans have done that forever. Only the names of the Deities change. I picture God looking back over "his" shoulder and sayiing, "what?...I caaaaaaan't heeear you." And so we pray more and harder and longer and with more ferver so that maybe that will do it and God will finally say. "That's better...now, how can I help you?" That's what Elijah was said to have done when he mocked the Priests of Baal, the Rain God, and they just couldn't get it going. He, of course, doused his wood with water and then simply asked the Deity to ignite his pile of wood and whoa...the whole place went up in smoke. The really great thing is that he slaughtered the 400 young, sincere, happen to grow up that way Priests to teach them a lesson about asking the wrong rain and fire god for help. I'm sure they learned real good.

Somehow we have to know that this makes no sense. I have to admit, I have prayed over the years for wisdom, and still done stupid things. I have prayed for direction and driven over the cliff. I have "fervently implored" God to heal this or that person, and they all died. I have asked for their comfort and seen them receive none. When it all seemed to fail or fall short, it was always, "Well Dennis, your ways are not God's ways and your thoughts are not God's thoughts." That's often too bad because I often would have healed, blessed, guided, directed, fixed and even sent the darn rain, if I could have. I just am not the Deity.

If it doesn't rain soon in Lubbock, then either the people will get the blame, "you can sure tell it's almost time for Jesus to return," will be spoken, or something about it raining or not raining on the just and the unjust will be noted. Of course, one never can figure out just who the just are and who the boogers are that are causing all this lack of rain. There have been booger burnings in the past when some thought they knew who the scoundrels were, but it still didn't help much. God always has to be implored, begged or asked. Why is this so difficult? Humans need food, clothes, rain in due season, veggies, health, kindness, forgiveness and a whole bunch of other stuff that is just darn normal to living. Why do we always have to beg the Deity to pay attention. Can't he just set the whole thing on automatic or some kind of timer? If we weren't so busy begging for simple stuff like rain, maybe He'd be more willing to spend some time in the Middle East holding seminars and retreats for Palestinians, Israelis, Iranians, Iraquis, Lebanonese, Syrians, Eqyptians, Saudis and um, um...oh Afghanistanians. Over there I hear they beg the Deity to stop the rockets, phosphorus bombs, throat cuttings, full body group bomb blastings and beheadings....and maybe sometimes for a bit more rain too.

Then there is the fasting part of begging. Oh I know. It is to show we are humble and contrite. Oh come on. I have seen video of how big the universe is and that this one may only be one of billions of grapes on a vine. I am humble enough. We are mitochondria on the butt of Jabba the Hut. Ok, so we throw in fasting. I have fasted plenty in the past for this or that "must have" thing. Again, I always wondered why my being hungry helped God to listen and make up his mind about my humble needs and requests. I know, fasting and prayer is not about God, it's about YOU. Argh! So if I go without food, then God will send rain because of why? Aren't we running the risk of God saying, "well now that you are used to not eating, you don't need rain?" That would not be a good answer!

God already says that humans are less than nothing and worms, so I don't think the not eating to humble myself is impressing Him andit sure is not making me feel good. And why would God have to be impressed to send rain? If my kids need water, I don't make them beg. I don't make them go without water to get my attention, thought it certainly would! No, God, as we think we know Him and have been taught is not a good Father image. He has no Wife and perhaps if He did, she could explain to Him why the kids need water more often and on time. I've seen many wives intervene for their kids when dad simply wanted to thwoop em good or push 'em around. Oh I know, some will say , "well Jesus mother Mary will talk to Jesus for us about this rain problem." Well, that's fine, but we need to talk to God the Father, not the son on this one. Besides, I think Jesus mom is dead and prolly unavailable until at least the resurrection if that be so. We could hope I suppose. Evidently she had little influence over the past 2000 years of Christian slaughtering Christians and letting God sort them out.

Frankly, no rain in Lubbock, to me, is not exactly a mystery. It's kinda like people in the Sudan who haven't had a crop in years, building homes in the sand and wondering why there is no rain. Well, one reason is that rain in Sudan is not a big priority for any Deity. So in Texas from my experience. Sometimes people don't need prayers for rain and such near as much as they need luggage. I mean, you can live just a few hundred feet too far from the Nile and miss out on the green. Irrigation is a way to thwart the Deity and many have turned to this form of farming in Texas, but that causes other problems that I am sure they will be asking God to fix with more rain in the future.

And then there is the problem of it raining just fine over here in South Carolina. Now if you think it's because of all the good religious people here just pleasing the fire out of God, you would be wrong. But that's prolly another observation for another time. Sometimes people here have to pray and fast it stops. So once again...where's the balance here?

I hope Lubbock gets it's rain. They might have been marginally able to grow crops for years and now our dear mother earth is getting stressed so they are the first to feel the pinch, since they were on the edge of good rain places anyway. I do hope that the coast does not get Hurricaned very much this year. They need a rest. I do know that we don't want to ask people like Jerry Falwell to rebuke the weather as the last time he did that, it changed course and came right over him. Sometimes I think the Deity plays jokes on the Clergy :) You know...to keep them humble.

Lastly I do know that we tend to fast and pray because we simply can't stand the feeling that we really don't control anything and even we smart ass humans sometimes just have to wait for cycles to come to themselves again and give us good stuff like rain. Fasting and praying at least gives us the illusion we are doing SOMETHING! Maybe a simple, "thy will be done," would suffice and let it go. Maybe rather than cut and cry and whine and beg, we could all collectively let it go and be what it is until it's something else that help us more. Now that's being a humble human being. Letting it go and leaving it in the hands of a Deity that has to know we're hurting down here. I do know that if my kids ever said, "Dad, we're kinda thirsty and hungry, but we know you know that, duh," I'd pretty quick be sure they had what they needed. Sometimes the Deity is not like that though. More like the kinda dad some of my friends had growing up who would only bark back..."so whataya want me to do about it? what?..you got two broken hands or somethin?" Maybe that's the kind of Dad you have to beg and go hungry for to get his attention.

How Tough Are Concrete Epoxies

New Ideas For Redecorating Your Old Bathroom

If you're in the process of remodeling your bathroom, or if you're just tired of it's old look, you need to start looking at new accessories to liven the place up. Just by changing a few of the accessories in the room, you can give it a totally new look and feel.

The ancient Chinese, in their practice of Feng Shui, believed that the bathroom needed to be decorated to create a certain feel, since this was one of the most important rooms in a home. Whether you believe it or not, you probably already realize that getting the right accessories for your bathroom can make a great deal of difference in the overall look of your home. Your bathroom is where you spend a lot of time getting ready in the mornings, and a cozy, happy looking room can make you feel calmer and more energized.

Maybe you've just moved into a home where the bathroom is done in the harvest gold and avocado green of the '70s, or maybe you're just sick of the present bathroom dcor. If these descriptions apply to you, then you're certainly due for a change. You may be surprised at how much a few new accessories can do in changing the whole look of the room.

One of the most important accessories in most bathrooms is the shower curtain. This is also one of the things too many homeowners ignore because they don't want to face the expense of a new one. It's time to get rid of that old, mildewed plastic curtain you've had since the '60s, and perk up your bath with a cozy cloth curtain or a colorful plastic one that will be great to use with kids. All you have to do is visit a bath accessories store to know how many beautiful curtains you'll have to choose from.

Consider tossing out all of the old accessories around your sink, such as your soap bottle and toothbrush holder, and replacing them with matching items. If you're fixing up a woman's bathroom, you can go with a floral look. For men, you can pick wood textured items or something with a wildlife theme. And if you're accessorizing with the entire family in mind, you might think about using geometric shapes, Americana, or abstract print.

Towels are another big item for the bathroom. Get rid of those old college towels and find something that will complement the colors in the room. You can hang towels that look good in the room from decorative towel bars where they'll add interest and color.

The accessories you choose to put into your bathroom can make a big difference on the overall look and feel of the room. By taking your time and choosing wisely, you'll have a lovely-looking bathroom with accessories you'll enjoy for many years to come.

Visit us today for more tips on lladro bathroom style guide and bathroom tile designs.

Fascia Board Fell Off Wood Rot

Protect Your Home and Health Against the Dangers of Moisture

If you are building a home, or remodeling a home think seriously about ventilation and preventing moisture damage. Homes are built much tighter these days, and proper ventilation is a must.

Moisture can be very damaging to a home, and sometimes even to your health. There are some types of mold that are downright dangerous.

Where does it all come from?

We have many moisture creating features in our homes today. Bathrooms, in particular, have changed and most homeowners are packing them with all that the latest fixtures have to offer.

The bath has become not only a place for hygiene and grooming, but a retreat with many spa-like amenities. These include steam showers, showers with multi-spray units and large rainheads as well as whirlpool tubs. Water is abundant today in a bathroom, and all of that moisture has to go somewhere.

Proper ventilation could save you a sizable sum in repairs, not to mention a lot of time and aggravation. Not only can moisture do structural damage, but it creates mold and adds to the time required for cleaning. Better to avoid either situation.

Good bathroom ventilation is used on a regular basis. This means you want a system that is quiet enough that you will actually use it. Also it is necessary to select a system that will do the job for the square footage that you have. You need to know what to buy to tackle the job at hand.

Proper installation to carry moisture outside

Your exhaust fan needs to be properly installed to be effective. That means it needs to send the moisture outside, and not into your attic where it could do more harm.

An adequate unit will cost you a bit of money, but the rewards make it money well spent. Better to remove moisture before you find you have damage to your structure, and need to make expensive repairs.

Find information on how to select an exhaust fan for proper bathroom ventilation, as well as more bathroom remodeling tips.

Checking The Level Floor Framing

Fire Damaged Indoor Air Quality

During a fire damage heat, smoke, and the depletion of oxygen interact, exerting themselves as serious hazards. Smoke alone consist of particles (such as soot), gases (such as carbon monoxide), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of a variety of complexities, aerosols, and free radicals that can have an effect on the building and occupants' health long after the fire is extinguished.

Something else to consider is water and its contributing affect on poor indoor environmental quality during fire damage. Water is a product of combustion. During a fire water droplets can serve as a vehicle of transport for absorbed acids, such as hydrochloric acid, making it a contributor toward smoke-inhalation injuries. Additionally, residual moisture, left behind during the fire-extinguishing processes, can contribute toward the development of microbes, such as mold and bacteria, when not processed quickly and adequately enough.

So, as you can see the pollutants found in fire and smoke damage can be numerous, and can come in any chemical state (solid, liquid, gas, or vapor), including but not necessarily limited to:
• "Particulate Matter (PM)"
• gases
• humidity
• "Bioaerosols"

"Particulate Matter (PM)" is a term used for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some of these PM are large or dark enough to be seen, like the soot and smoke concentrations you see settled onto your furniture and building components, while other PM are so small they can be detected only with an electron microscope. PM can be organic (carbon based matter like baseboards and door and window components) or inorganic (such as fiberglass and asbestos).

Some of the gases associated with fire and smoke damage are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfuric oxides, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many of these gases can be colorless and odorless; thereby, unnoticed during the fire and smoke damage, its cleaning, or reoccupation.

"Bioaerosols" is a term used to describe airborne PM that are living or originate from living organisms including microbes, fragments, toxins, and particulate waste products. Bioaerosols are very small and range from one micrometer (0.00004") to one hundred micrometers (0.004"). Bioaerosols are easily manipulated, transported by air currents, insects and moisture.

Health consequences vary with the size, mass, concentration and other contaminants which interact with one another. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that respirable particles at concentrations of 250 to 350 micrograms per meter increase respiratory symptoms in compromised individuals. What this means for you is that when faced with a fire damage it is important to make sure qualified people are contacted to identify and remedy any potential pollution hazards in your home or office.

"Where can you find a qualified fire-damage restoration technician to clean and repair your home?" I'm only familiar with one organization that trains, evaluates, and certifies cleaning and restoration technicians in this area. While there may be more, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification is the one I am familiar with. For inspection most especially concerning the indoor air quality look for a Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant or Council-certified Indoor Environmentalist either at the Indoor Air Quality Association's website or the American Indoor Air Quality Council's website.

As with any damaged environment understanding the condition of that environment is key to providing for the health and safety of occupants as well as restoring the structure to its safe and sound structural integrity and normal ecology. Sometimes the damage goes beyond what you can see. Sometimes cleaning isn't enough. In those cases or in cases where you and/or your doctor suspect a pollutant that may be triggering symptoms in you or another occupant, contacting a Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC) can help you and your doctor make decisions on treatment based on our inspection, testing, and analytical report. Most can also help write a scope of work that will reduce and/or eliminate the pollutant(s). The Indoor Air Quality Association and the American Indoor Air Quality Council have a list of Council-certified Professionals on their websites for your reference.

For additional resource material on understanding hazards associated with fire and smoke damage we would like to recommend this book, "Fire and Smoke: Understanding the Hazards". There you will find more specific information on some of the pollutants discussed on this page.

The American Red Cross has a good resource as well: "PICKING UP THE PIECES AFTER A FIRE".

The founder of SOLUTIONS Indoor Environmental Consulting, Jason Yost, has been in the cleaning, restoration, remediation, and indoor air quality industries for over sixteen years, doing everything from carpet cleaning, installation and repairs; water and fire damage inspection, consultation, and restoration; microbial inspection, consultation, and remediation; crime scene remediation and restoration; as well as been an educator to private and public groups through various business network groups, classrooms, seminars, and news programs.

Jason currently holds four of the most prestigious board-awards in the industry, awarded by the American Indoor Air Quality Council:

Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant

Council-certified Indoor Environmentalist

Council-certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor

Council-certified Microbial Remediator

Additionally, Jason holds a certification as a Water-damage Restoration Technician from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC).

Jason volunteers his time as a member of the American Indoor Air Quality Council's certification board, and is an Individual Member of the Indoor Air Quality Association. For more information you can review Jason's IAQA PRO.FILE at http://www.iaqa.org/profile.asp?id=223 or visit his website at http://www.SolutionsIEC.com

Linoleum Edge Lifting

Luxury Bathroom Suites - Affordable Bathroom Luxury

When it comes to looking at luxury bathroom suites, you might find it confusing wondering where to start. There are so many things you have to take into consideration, such as the layout of your bathroom and the essential bathroom components. Perhaps you don't need a full bathroom suite and just need a new sink or toilet? That's when you have to decide what the best option is; buy a new luxury bathroom suite or just update part of the old one.

Save The Cash In Order To Splash...

Many people who find their bathroom needs a bit of updating often get suitably "put off" by the assumed cost of brand new luxury bathroom suites. However, in the current climate, luxury is now extremely affordable. Many people find that it is not cost effective to simply replace one item of their bathroom, as eventually the rest of the bathroom suite will need replacing too. That's why more and more people are saving the cash in order to buy a luxury bathroom suite so that they can have a stunning new bathroom in one simple step.

Complement The Dcor

If you decide to just replace your sink or toilet in your bathroom, you may find that there is a niggling feeling whenever you walk in afterwards, because you may regret not updating the bathroom as a whole. One new item in a bathroom full of old items can look out of place and stick out like a sore thumb, so that's why it is easier to take a look at brand new luxury bathroom suites sooner rather than later to ensure you get a great looking bathroom that complements the dcor.

Choices, Choices

If you are now convinced that you want a new luxury bathroom suite, then you might be wondering which are the best brands to look at. Some of the best luxury bathroom suites are made by Duchy and Armitage Shanks. These are both reputable, well-established companies that offer a great selection for every taste. Quite often, you will find each bathroom range varies according to what style of bath you are looking for, so bear this in mind when looking at complete bathroom suites.

Update Today

If you've been saving money in order to indulge in one form of home improvement, getting the bathroom spot on is money well invested. A neat, stylish new bathroom suite will add money to your property as well as offer a welcomed, updated alternative to your old bathroom that you thought you would be stuck with forever!

Check out the latest bathroom suite ranges by clicking on Luxury Bathroom Suites.

45 Degree Door Header

Remodeling a Laundry Room - An Easy Five Step Plan

Remodeling a laundry room is fairly easy. This room is often the most overlooked room in the house but in a few simple steps, you can turn it into a functional, organized masterpiece you will be proud to show off.

Here are the five steps to an easy Laundry Room Remodel:

1. Flooring - If you are doing a full remodeling project, you might as well start from the floor up! Tile or vinyl are the best options although laminate or wood floors can be used as well.

2. Cabinets - If you don't already have cabinets in your laundry room, you may want to consider adding them if you have room. Not only will they add storage to your home, but they should increase your home's value.

3. Walls and Dcor - Cute laundry themed art work, whimsical sayings stenciled on the walls, vintage prints, black and whites of your favorite family photographs...just about anything works well as laundry room dcor!

As for paint colors, for smaller rooms you may want to go with soft, light, or neutral colors. Darker colors can make an already small room seem smaller. If you have a large laundry room that is well lit, you could go with a bolder color if you want.

4. Storage/Organization - Make the most of your space and plan your laundry room for optimal storage and organization. If you don't have room for cabinets, at least install a shelf over the washing machine and dryer. A slide out cart that fits between the two appliances is another way to squeeze every bit of available storage space out of the room.

5. Finishing Touches - Window treatments and a nice laundry room rug will help to put the finishing touches on the room.

Remember to look at the overall picture when remodeling your laundry room. All the items you choose for the room should compliment each other.

Visit Laundry-Room-Decor.com for more ideas and tips for remodeling a laundry room including information about great laundry room organizers, cabinets, flooring, dcor ideas, and much more!

Moisture On Vapor Barrier

Tips For Planning a Small Bathroom

Adding an additional bathroom can greatly increases the value of any home, and can be a huge advantage to a growing family. How do you proceed when you don't have much space to put a new bathroom in? Even the smallest bath can feel idyllic with careful planning. Whether you are building from scratch or re-modeling, a few helpful tips will get you on your way through the planning stage.

The first step is choosing where your new bathroom will be placed. Build as close as possible to the existing utility and plumbing lines, and you will save yourself major plumbing expenses. Consider who needs to use the room, and how accessible it will be to them in that location. If the bathroom will not have a window, you must be able to install one, or install a vent to the outside of the house to remove humidity and prevent mold and mildew. Check your local building regulations before you plan too far, so you won't have to go back and change plans later.

Next, decide exactly what needs the addition should fill. If you don't need a bathtub and a shower stall, don't install them both! If you do need both a bathtub and a shower, look into a combined unit that will fit both functions into one space. Look for furniture that multitasks, and personalize this bath to your households needs. A large family has different needs than a single person, and this is an excellent time to create an area to perfectly custom fit your life and your home. Maximizing the functionality of a small room increases its value to you beyond the financial value added to your home.

Take precise measurements of the space. You can create a template of your proposed bathroom using graph paper or a simple computer program. Try different arrangements for a bathroom suite and furniture using standard size measurements. If you are unsatisfied with how it comes together, check local suppliers for more unconventionally sized pieces. A smaller bath or shower enclosure may make a perfect fit. Likewise, corner units are available for bath, shower, basin and bidet that can make the most of the floor space in even the tiniest bathroom.

How's your hardware? Short spout taps in both bathtub and basin won't overwhelm a smaller unit or get in your way when you use it. Choose towel rails, wall sconces, and storage solutions that hug the walls and don't break up the visual space. Now add the elements that make this space "You" - color, texture and decorative accents.

Planning to make any area, most especially a small one, as functional as possible gives you a much greater chance to express your personal style in that space. With a little forethought and planning, the smallest of bathrooms can become a luxurious haven.

Written by James Chapman, a director of Bella Bathrooms Ltd who supply Small Bathrooms across the UK.

Bella Bathrooms is an online retailer formed by 2 plumbers from the North East of England. Having hands on experience of custom bathroom installation and products has enabled Bella Bathrooms Ltd to only select quality bathroom products for their online shop. They sell bathroom furniture, bathroom suites, showers and bath related products for consumers through the United Kingdom.

Acoustic Ceiling Water Damage

Hotels in Delhi - Security Beefed Up!

Delhi, the national capital of India, is a perfect blend of history, traditions as well as modernity. With a culturally and historically rich background, it attracts a huge number of tourists. The city has everything to offer its visitors, right from magnificent temples, splendid forts, colourful bazaars, blooming gardens to pulsating night-life. Every year numerous visitors gather in the city to witness the grand forts and monuments. The city offers an insight into the history of India and promises an exciting tour for the tourists. In all tourist attractions in Delhi are a varied and colourful affair all together.

Tourists visiting the city look forward to a good stay at hotels. The aftermath of terror strikes in Mumbai city, significantly led to a fall in the number of tourists visiting the place. The gory incident took place on 26 November at various hotels. The incident took place at Trident hotel, Oberoi hotel, Taj hotel and Nariman point apart from other hospitals and railway stations in Mumbai. Terrorists targeted the hotel occupants and gunned down innocent tourists. The issue has brought to the fore the security of the people staying at hotels. In the backdrop of the incident, numerous hotels have beefed up security measures in hotels. The security check has been made more stringent and measures to tackle an emergency situation have been addressed too.

The hotels being the hub of important business meetings, social gatherings, housing dignitaries from all over the world, have had to undergo security like never before. The incident shook the entire nation. Now, hotel authorities have been verifying the identity of visitors and staff besides carrying out extensive checking of vehicles before allowing them entry into the premises. Barricades have been placed outside the hotels with private security guards maintaining a close vigil on the movement near the hotel premises. All this is being done to provide upgraded security to visitors.

Visitors can be rest assured of stringent security measures in hotels. The luxury hotels offer you unparalleled opulence, along with international standards of comfort and hospitality. You are assured of the best cuisine, the best dcor; the best facilities while your stay at hotel. We are committed to make your stay more enjoyable and peaceful. Look forward to the best stay at hotels at favourable rates. Police have also taken stringent measures to provide utmost safety to people staying in hotels. Have a pleasant stay at any of the hotels in Delhi.

Sadhna D, Expert Author, Platinum author

For more information on Hotels in Delhi

Hotel in Delhi

Information on Hotels in Goa:

Hotel in Goa

New Wall Under Roof Rafters

New Home Buyers Beware

Ican't believe how many homebuyers purchase a house, with very little information and a Lotta hope. I'm a general contractor and often work on these homes, after they have been purchased and a homeowner has their money, the real estate professional is no longer involved in the transaction and the new homeowner is starting to experience the pitfalls from buying the home, that they sincerely believe was in good condition.

It's usually somebody like me that gets involved with the new homeowners after everyone else is out of the picture and chooses not to return their phone calls or explains to them quite simply, it's not our responsibility, you're the new homeowner and we really feel sorry for you, please call us again if we can help you with anything.

You couldn't even help me with that, why would I want to call you again if I had a problem. I never could understand this thinking but have ran into it often. It sounds like an oxymoron when someone refuses to help you but offers you help in the future. What ever!!!.

If homebuyers had something else to rely on besides their real estate salesperson, home inspection service, mortgage or insurance professional, I believe they can eliminate some of these problems. Where do you start and how do you get the information. You can gather information from reputable people, books, the Internet and so on.

The problem is how do you know these people are reputable and the books on the Internet have good information. This brings us to another problem, but I've got the solution that will help eliminate some of the grief. I'm not going to remove all of the grief from your life but have a suggestion for you that will eliminate some of the pain when buying a home.

Arm yourself with a good home inspection checklist. You can search the Internet and they have quite a few good home inspection checklist to work with. These checklist can provide you with things you might not have thought of, and this is where you can eliminate some of the problems.

If you took one of these checklists with you while you were shopping for a home, you would be aware of some of the problems with the home. You might not find all of the problems but these checklist will help you with some of the problems.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more home inspection or home building ideas.

Mold From Dryer Vent On Joist

The Importance of a Home Inspection

First off, for all of those whom do not know, a Home Inspection is where a person or persons hire a Professional Inspector to inspect a property in which they have interest in no matter if they are on the buying side or selling side of the transaction. The majority of the times Home Inspections are ordered by the Buyers of a property but over the last couple of years Sellers have been getting inspections to help market their property for a quick sale.

Buying a home is a decision which is probably the most expensive decision most people will make in their lifetime. Unless one is familiar with all of the different phases of what is involved in the entire construction process, that decision to buy a home could be a very costly mistake. We are talking thousands of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars just because the home was bought on emotion. That is why the Home Inspection is so very important.

Lets briefly run through the entire real estate transaction of a young couple buying their first home and they don't get their new home inspected.

Young Couple meets Real Estate Agent and tells the agent the size and type of property they would like to purchase. They go out looking over the next couple of weekends and they look at a dozen properties and then they see the one, the home of their dreams. They can't wait to get back to the Agents office so they can write up an offer and get things moving. They get to the negotiation part of deal and they are overwhelmed because the sellers have trimmed $5000 from the original asking price. The young couple thinks they are getting the house of their dreams at a great price and accept the seller's final asking price. In most cases their completed contract starts a 10 day inspection period (although that is negotiable); however the couple has looked at the house and didn't see any problems of any kind so they decided to not pay the $250 for a Home Inspection although the Real Estate Agent explained to young couple of the importance and value of an Inspection. The Agent got them to sign a waiver on the Buyers Inspection Sellers Response and life was good for the young couple.

They moved in and after a couple of weeks they discovered a water stain on the living room ceiling. They run to the window and looked out and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and their first thoughts were it was raining. The couple had no idea what to do so they started looking for and calling plumbers from the internet and yellow pages only to find out because it was a holiday they were hard to locate all the while the stain continued to grow and the drywall began to bulge. They located a plumber and summoned them on their way but he was a couple of hours away. The drywall ceiling continued to bulge until it just could not hold any more water. At last it burst and water fell from the ceiling, along with drywall and insulation, down into the living room onto their brand new LCD TV and caused several thousand dollars in water damage by the time the plumber got there to shut the water off. The poor couple was now faced with thousands of dollars in repairs because they did not know a few things that a Home Inspection would have found.
If the couple would have spent $250 on a Home Inspection they would have known a few things that could have saved them the thousands of dollars they now face with repairs and damages.
The first thing they would have known, is where the main shutoff valve was for the water so they could have limited their repair cost to the leak repair and the ceiling drywall repair which would have probably been a couple of hundred dollars.

The next and probably the most important part thing they would have know if they had an inspection, would have been that the house was plumbed with Polybutylene piping which is known for its many problems and there were thousands of lawsuits from homes that had the piping installed. There were rebates offered and assistance was given for people to re-pipe their homes because this piping had so many problems. The Home Inspector would have most likely caught that and informed the young couple of the piping and would have probably recommended that it be re-piped and they could have made a more informed decision on purchasing the house. If they still wanted the house, they could have renegotiated the price with the seller to have the re-piping done.

Now their $5000 off of the list price which the seller dropped during their negotiations is not looking so good because now they have the cost of the re-piping and repairs which far outweighs that.

That is just a small example of what would have been found in the Plumbing phase of the inspection and a full Home Inspection covers all phases of the construction process such as Electrical, Heating and Air Conditioning, Structural, Foundation, Roofing, Attic, Fireplaces, and so much more.

Please don't let this happen to you if you are buying a home, or to someone you know, and Real Estate Agents, please print this article out and let your clients read it if they are thinking of foregoing an Inspection.

Have your Home Inspection done by a Certified Home Inspector in your State.

Ricky Wells is a Certified Home Inspector in Arizona. He owns and operates Premier Dream Home Inspections in Mesa Arizona. He has been inspecting homes since 2004 after years of experience in the many areas of construction such as Construction, Electrical, Plumbing, and Heating and Air Conditioning.He specializes in Maricopa and Pinal County. Please visit his website at http://www.pdhiinspections.com or you may email him at rwells63@pdhiinspections.com.

Anchor Bolt With Nut And Washer

Adding Value to Your Home by Bathroom Remodeling

The bathroom is no longer a place where you simply take a bath or use the restroom. Bathroom remodeling is one of the most rewarding and popular home improvement projects to undertake. The main things to consider when planning such a renovation are improving lighting, renovating and expanding cabinet space, replacing flooring and installing new fixtures.

Bathroom remodeling is the first step towards a desired upgrading of your life style. Bathroom remodeling is easier and cheaper than you think, if you have a game plan. Instead of spending money on replacing all of your fixtures, upgrading a few key items can transform the bathroom into a relaxing environment. Bathroom remodeling is perhaps the most popular project for home improvement because it yields the highest return on your investment. Moreover, homeowners can enjoy their relaxing bathroom from the time they remodel until they decide on selling the house. It's not only fun but significant changes can be accomplished with modifications in lighting, color, surface materials, and ventilation. Introducing more natural lighting into your bathroom with skylights or glass block windows softens the character of the room.

Bathroom remodeling is also a major selling point. Learn about current trends in deluxe shower systems (replacing tubs in many newer homes), the latest in bathroom flooring and countertops (everything from natural stone to glass and stainless steel), learn the latest trends in sinks and faucets, medicine cabinets, magnifying mirrors, vanities, and layered lighting. Bathroom remodeling is a serious job and it's not only fun but very rewarding.

Bath remodeling is something many people avoid because of the stress and hassle that accompanies it. Trying to find the right vanity, picking out matching tile, can be very frustrating. Bathroom remodeling is one way that you can add to the appeal of your home and is a great way to spruce up your house if you're thinking about selling. Bathroom remodeling is strong, as most bathrooms become outdated in 15 years. With many consumers becoming dissatisfied with their current bath, and more aware of industry trends, bathroom renovation is seeing unprecedented growth.

Bathroom remodeling is one of our specialties. Bathroom remodeling is outlined and performed with a 3-4 man crew, depending on the size of the bathroom. It is one of the home renovations that can add a lot of value to your home when you list it for sale. Another key to getting potentials buyers to want to buy your home is to use simple sleek bathroom fixtures.

Now all you have to do is stop wondering if and when you can set out and complete your goal of a new and better bathroom and just make the decision to get it done.

DiCicco Building Company has been doing Bathroom Remodeling Clinton Township for over 20 years. We are also leaders in Exterior Remodeling along with being an award winning custom residential home builder. We also specialize in Finished Basements and home additions.

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Advantages of Framing With Steel Studs

I have heard all sorts of stories over the years of the advantages in framing with steel versus wood studs. One time I even heard you could build an entire house with the amount of recycled steel from a large automobile such as a Cadillac. I find this hard to believe unless you're building a very small home.

My personal favorite for framing with steel studs is that they are extremely straight. I have built nonbearing partition walls using 12 foot 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs and after the drywall you can lay an 8 foot level to check it for straightness on the wall with amazing results.

If you use 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs with 5/8 of an inch drywall you will get an extremely durable and sturdy wall. Framing was steel studs is common in office renovations or remodeling. Most of the steel stud framing is done via the drywall contractors.

Steel studs and termites do not mix. You'll never have to worry about these little buggers or other uninvited house pests damaging your walls.

Over the years I have heard stories that steel framed buildings are earthquake and fire proof. They might be more resistant to fire than wood but keep in mind when metal is hot enough it will bend and warp making it unusable.

When I hear people talking about a fireproof building built with metal framing components my first thought is all of the other materials used in building the house that are not fire resistant. Don't get a false illusion when buying a house framed with steel studs and think it is 100% fire proof.

As far as steel framed buildings being earthquake proof this is another story. I really can't comment too much on earthquake damage to a steel building. The problem with earthquakes is they seem to create fires. So even if you're building does survive an earthquake it could get damaged by a fire in the area.

I have framed more wood homes than steel homes over the years and my steel stud construction is limited to nonbearing partition walls usually located in office buildings. I love framing with metal because of its light weight and ease of construction.

I still love framing with wood. There is something about what framing that I have always loved and always will.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as

well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on House Framing Ideas

Floor Joist With Mold

How Much Do Bamboo Blinds Cost?

Durable, beautiful and natural - these are all words that can be used to describe bamboo blinds. These types of blinds are inexpensive and a great choice if you want to use different shade of woods in a particular room. Many nature-lovers adore these types of blinds due to their ability to create a natural look and feel. They are also environmentally friendly and can act as excellent insulators for both the hot and cold days. Any type of house design or decor can fit bamboo blinds such as traditional, modern, tropical or Asian.

Bamboo blinds can be used for providing shade from the intense sun but they won't completely block out the light. This makes them ideal for those rooms that you want to shade but also keep bright. They come in two major styles. The first are Roman blinds which fold upwards. The second are roll ups - you roll the bamboo blind upwards and it is secured at the top with straps.

There are different blinds suitable for any budget. The larger the window the most expensive it will be. Smaller windows can cost as little as $20 with much larger ones costing over $500. This makes bamboo blinds very cheap when compared to the other types of blind that are available.

Price is also determined by whether you want custom or pre-made. Pre-made blinds are much cheaper but you run the risk of not finding a size that matches you window. Custom or made to order are more expensive but you are guaranteed to get correct style and size that you are after. The different colors and styles will also affect the price. The more popular styles are more expensive but can look fantastic when you make the right choices in terms of decor.

The Bamboo Blinds Guide has articles aimed to help you find a bargain on your next set of bamboo blinds. Discover the the cost of bamboo blinds and where to buy them online.

4 X 8 Beam Connection To Wall

Booking Phuket Hotels For a Vacation

Phuket is consistently one of the most visited parts of Thailand. Some people go to Phuket because of its fantastic beaches, while others enjoy the lively nightlife scene. Whether you are looking for a quiet, romantic getaway or something with a bit more bite, Phuket is a worthy destination. As a result of Phuket's popularity, you have a diverse range of Phuket hotels and resorts to choose from.

There is a Phuket hotel for everyone. The first thing you will need to think about is your budget. Are you looking to splash out on a luxurious pad for a week or will you be backpacking on a shoestring budget? Phuket is a large island and all budgets are catered to, from 500-baht guesthouses to $5,000 luxury villas.

Once you a fair idea of your budget, it's time to choose the location of your Phuket hotel. The location you choose will go a long way to determining what impression of Phuket you leave the island with. It all comes down to preference. Some parts of the island are geared towards partying, while others are geared towards lazing around in peace.

If you're traveling with friends or you want to sample the bars and clubs of the island, the best place to book your Phuket hotel is in Patong. Patong is a simple beach destination that has been developed into a kind of tourist Mecca. It's the most popular place for travelers to stay in Phuket.

In Patong, there are rows of market stalls, lines of beer bars and a large number of clubs and discos. The beach in Patong is reasonable, although nothing to write home about. Families and some other travelers may find Phuket a little much to deal with as there are throngs of travelers all over the place, even during low season.

Phuket Town is a popular spot for backpackers looking for Phuket hotels. There are some cheap places to stay dotted around the area, while close by there are some chilled-out bars and a few points of cultural interest.

The most scenic places to book Phuket hotels are in areas such as Mai Khao or Nai Yang, where you won't be confronted with a barrage of tourists from one day to the next. The hotels and resorts in these areas are pricey, but they are worth a little splurge now and then.

There are a variety of online booking agents ready to help you book the right Phuket hotel to meet your requirements. Do a bit of research and compare the prices, and don't forget to read those customer reviews before you book.

Find out more about Phuket hotels and Phuket holidays at these links.

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Installing a 32 Inch Back Door

In some older houses you will find a 30 inch back door. Have you ever tried to move a refrigerator or some large furniture through a 30 inch door? Keep in mind most bedroom doors are 30 inches wide and are in 36 inch hallways. 30 inch doors and bedrooms make it tough to move some furniture in too.

Let's start with the price difference between a 30 inch door and a 32 inch door. The cost difference is usually going to be around $20. If you are building a hundred homes this could become quite an additional expense. So we can understand why the home builder installed a 30 inch door in the back of our home.

He got the extra money in his pocket, you got a headache.

Here's the big problem. If you ever want to install a larger door you will need to replace the structural door framing. Now this is where you could run into a little bit of an expense. Changing the framing for a wider door could become quite costly. It could actually cost over $1000 in some cases.

Now if the homebuilder would have originally installed a 32 inch door in your house it might have ran him as high as an additional $45. How can this be? I will give you the first clue. There is a good chance the homebuilder will not be moving into any of these houses. If for some strange instance he did move into the house, he would learn the same lesson whenever he needed to move a large item into the house.

I'm a contactor and learned this lesson in a long time ago.

If you are building a new home you might even want to consider installing a 36 inch back door. This door will give you plenty of room when it comes to moving large items in or out of your house. The cost difference between a 36 inch door and a 32 inch door is usually around $20 also.

When building a new home most people don't give very much thought about their interior or exterior doors. Here's a simple chart I made to help with some basic door decisions.

Bathroom Doors Should Be 28 Inches Wide Minimum.
Bedroom Doors Should Be 30 Inches Wide Minimum.
Front Doors Should Be At Least 36 Inches Wide
Back Doors and Garage Doors Should Be At Least 32 Inches Wide

If you are a professional football or basketball player don't use these numbers above.

If you have large sliding glass doors or French doors throughout your home and can use them to move large items into the house you can install whatever size doors you choose that are comfortable to walk through.

Give some thought when installing a new door on your next project and keep some of the above tips in mind..

If you are designing a home give some thought to the stairways and hallways in the home as well.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Bay Window Ideas

Beam Damage Under Deck

How to Estimate the Cost to Replace Windows

The question on how to estimate the cost to replace windows can be best answered by mentioning a list of considerations that affect the final price. I have recently written an article about the cost of different replacement widows and I am not going to make this article a duplicate of that one.

Instead I will provide some guidelines that will help you make the right estimates. Just read the article right to the end if you want a comprehensive answer to your question.

How many windows you need

First you need to know the number of windows that you need to replace. You will probably need an expert to come over for a house inspection lest you leave out some that also need urgent attention.

The installation costs

In most cases the installation costs will be quoted per window. I have seen a number of people trying to save costs by attempting to install the windows by themselves and after a while having to live with leaking windows due to poor installation.

The Cost per replacement window

Once you have ascertained the number of windows you need. You will then have to get think about the cost per window. You can these really vary a lot. I mean you can get one for about $180 and even way less. It depends on some of the factors that I mention below as I list some guidelines on how to estimate the cost to replace windows.

The labour - who you will hire

Like I said earlier some people prefer to try and DIY. I usually say - wrong move. Why risk it unless you know what you are doing. You have an option to get a contractor do the job for you or find a friend or neighbour who has experience in window replacement. It will be cheaper to do the latter than the former but riskier.

Window Accessories

Different types of windows come with different type of accessories that you may need to buy in order to complete the whole replacement job.

Type of windows to Use

There are typically 3 type of windows i.e. wood, vinyl and fibreglass. Wood is more expensive, vinyl is the most popular and fibreglass is newer but also effective. You also need to figure out the type in terms of the windows themselves i.e. will they be double or single pane.

The window brands to buy

As you may know brands like Pella and Andersons are more expensive than the rest. But then they are also good quality windows. You have an option to choose a less popular brand if you want to reduce your short-term costs. I say short-term on purpose.

Proximity of supplier or contractor

This is my last point on how to estimate the cost to replace windows. The closer the supplier or contractor the cheaper it will be for you.

Click here > find window replacement quotations from companies near where you live.

Click here > best replacement window companies that are pre-screened by experts.

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A Guide For Planning Your New Shower

Adding a shower to your home adds great convenience as well a resale value. However, before you look at shower trays and units, there are a few things you need to know. These are a few tips to guide you in the process of planning for a new shower. Write down the answers to these questions before you contact a professional or attempt a do it yourself project.

Has the room had a previous shower installation? If so, will you be reinstalling a new shower kit, or remodeling the shower entirely?

Where are the main water supply pipe and the waste pipe located? The closer you are to the main water supply, the easier and more cost effective it will be to build, and a shower closer to the main pipe will gain you the best water pressure.

How much space do you have available for your shower? Make sure to take the space needed to swing open shower doors into account when measuring your space. A corner shower is often the most space wise, usually allowing the greatest freedom of movement in the room as a whole as well as a larger shower to be installed.

What is your households existing water system? While the water system in your home won't dictate the style or model of shower you choose, it can limit your selection. Make sure you are looking at installing a shower that will work with your existing utilities. A mixer, power or electric shower may be the correct choice for your water system. Ask a professional for help if you are unsure which one is right for your home.

Now that you have the basic information down, what are the differences between the kinds of shower mentioned above? Three of the more common types of showers are mixer, power and electric models. It is important to have a basic idea of the differences between them. This will help you choose which is suitable for your home.

A mixer shower requires a minimum of 0.1 bar pressure and both hot and cold water feeds. These are a good choice if you have a high pressure unvented system or a fully modulating combi boiler in your home. A mixer shower mixes water from the hot and cold water tanks, to keep your shower water temperature consistent.

An electric shower is a possibility for a high or a low pressure system. It requires only a cold water feed, as only the water which will be used for the shower will be heated within the unit by electricity. While this system eliminates the need to heat more water than you may use, it can use more electricity. An electric shower should be installed by a qualified electrician.

A power shower can be a mixer or an electric style. What makes them different? Power showers use an electric pump to increase water pressure.

Written by James Chapman, a director of Bella Bathrooms who supply Showers for the UK market.

Bella Bathrooms is an online retailer formed by 2 plumbers from the North East of England. Having hands on experience of custom bathroom installation and products has enabled Bella Bathrooms Ltd to only select quality bathroom products for their online shop. They sell bathroom furniture, bathroom suites, showers and bath related products for consumers through the United Kingdom.

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Stair Lighting Problems

Walking up and down the stairs in the dark could become a safety issue. If the stairs in the house are not that old, there should be a light switch at the top and a light switch at the bottom of the stairway. This is a three way switch and is designed to allow you to turn the stair lighting on as you walk up the stairs and then turn the stair lighting off, once you've safely reached the top of the stairway. And vice versa as she walked down the stairs.

If you don't have a light switch, there are motion sensor lights that are battery operated and can be installed easily in the stairway. These lights can provide you with peace of mind, while protecting your family from accidents.

Stairway accidents are nothing to joke about, I lived in a two-story house with four other people and was the last one to fall down the stairway. None of us got seriously injured and the stairway was built to meet local building codes and was inspected by a building and safety inspector. The stairs were built correctly and the stair lighting was no problem, but people still fell down the stairway and it always happens in the evening.

During the day time there were two windows that let plenty of light into the stairway and in the evening the stairway became quite dark, rarely was the stair lightning ever turned on. This could have been outright laziness but nevertheless, it was rarely used and eventually became a safety issue.

Lighting your stairway might not end all of your problems but it can and some of your problems. There are plenty of stair lighting systems available on the market today and some of the battery operated stair lighting systems can be installed by most homeowners.

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Attic Sheeting Water Damage

Residential Metal Roofing - A Better Option?

If someone where to say to say the words "metal roofing" I bet most people would be thinking of the old and ugly, and often rusting, corrugated metal roof. But metal roofing materials have come a long way and have become much more popular in recent years. They are attractive, light weight, durable and fire resistant. There are many types of options for metal roofing but the main two are aluminum and steel. Each has their own benefits depending on its application.

Aluminum is strong, durable and light weight. These are the same properties that makes aluminum a popular choice in the aerospace industry. And if its good enough for NASA then its excellent as a roofing material. Due to its being very light weight roofing with aluminum does not require the structure's roof to be reinforced which can be a problem when using other heavier materials such as tile or slate. Another major benefit to using aluminum is its resistance to rust and corrosion. This can be a very important advantage for those building is coastal areas that will be subjected to salt spray. And lastly because aluminum is more malleable than steel it can more easily be formed into various designs and shapes.

Steel is another option for a metal roof. But steel itself is not known for its corrosion resistance and will start to rust quite quickly. Therefore the steel that is used as a roofing material is galvanized. This means that the steel is given a protective coated of either zinc or zinc/aluminum to give it the rust and corrosion protection needed for use in roofing. For use in areas of high winds steel can be a better option than other metal roofing materials because of its higher resistance to wind uplift. Galvanized steel roofing is also available in a variety of finishings. It can be painted, aggregate-coated, or with a mill or bare finish. It will also never crack or peel when exposed to sun and weather making a long lasting material.

For home owners looking to save on cooling costs in the summer metal roofs can do just that. With a tradition asphalt shingle heat from the sun can be absorbed into the home heating it up throughout the day. A metal roof will tend to reflect the radiant heat away that would normally collect in the home's attic. Depending on where you live you could save about 40% on your cooling costs.

The biggest stumbling block most home owners have with metal roofing is the cost as it is more expensive than other available roofing options and yes, if you plan on moving in a few years than a metal roof may not be cost effective. But if you are planning on living in your home for a long period of time a metal roof can actually be cheaper. That's because a metal roof can last as long as fifty years or more and requires very little maintenance. In the same time period an asphalt roof may need replacement 2-4 times.

A properly and professionally installed metal roofing, whichever type you choose, will give you decades of protection and beauty to your home. Add to it the energy cost savings and you have a winning combination.

Specializing in Brampton Real Estate Harry Saggu is a professional agent with Century 21 Peoples Choice Realty Inc. and has a background in economics. Please feel free to visit the website for information on the Brampton Ontario Real Estate market.

Framing For Over Head Shower

Tile Bathroom Counter Top - Installing It Yourself!

Tile bathroom counter tops will upgrade your bathroom. Few projects can improve the bathroom of your home more than tile bathroom counter top installation. Tile counter tops are not only beautiful, they are very practical too. You can spend much money to have a ceramic tile bathroom counter top installed or you can do it yourself. In this article see the steps to install a ceramic tile bathroom counter top.

First choose your tile. This is tough, since there are many choices of ceramic tile for bathroom counters. You must choose between an endless variety of sizes, colors, textures, grades, finishes.

Decide how you will trim the tile too. If the edges will be exposed, choose tile with finished glazed edges. Some floor tiles have glazed edges and look great as counter top tiles. Porcelain tile is used often in bathrooms. Since porcelain tile has a slick glass-like finish it's easy to clean and great for a bathroom. Also many porcelain tile models come with all kinds of trim pieces for edges and accessories. Accessories include soap dishes, towel racks and related fixtures.

Part of the art to installing ceramic tile counter tops is deciding how to arrange tiles. How do you start? Where should cuts be made? Which layout looks most attractive? After your base is installed, try laying some tiles, without adhesive, on the counter and see what looks best. Try different arrangements to see what you like. Move the dry tile around and save yourself a lot of time ripping out tile and starting over.

The base for the tile is important. Your tile bathroom counter top can be installed over many materials. Formica is a good base. Just check with your dealer to choose an adhesive suited for the surface. A favorite base is cement board. With cement board you can use ready mixed latex glue as an adhesive for ceramic tile counter tops.

When you're ready to start laying your ceramic tile, it's much like laying a floor. Spread the adhesive over an area with your tile trowel. Spread the adhesive with the notched side of your trowel to get the right amount of adhesive. The size of the trowel notches and the angle of the trowel determines how much adhesive you apply.

Lay your tiles following your plan you made with the dry tile. Use spacers to get the gaps between tiles consistent.

You cut tile at edges or around fixtures using a cutter board or a wet saw. Finish trim using tile nippers. After the tile adhesive is set, prepare to grout. Choose sanded grout if the joints are 1/8 inch or larger. An excellent alternative for a tile bathroom counter top is epoxy grout, which is excellent on any tile surface in a bathroom. Epoxy grout doesn't stain and is completely waterproof.

Those are the basic steps to completely update your bathroom with a tile counter top. This beautiful, practical surface can last for decades with minimum maintenance!

Have other questions about a tile bathroom counter top? I know laying ceramic tile can be puzzling.

Visit InstallingCeramicTile.Net to get answers to your questions and get some great resources to speed you to success with your project.

Al Bullington admires the beauty of ceramic tile from his home in the country.

Home Fence Books
Handyman Books

New Home Buyers Beware

Ican't believe how many homebuyers purchase a house, with very little information and a Lotta hope. I'm a general contractor and often work on these homes, after they have been purchased and a homeowner has their money, the real estate professional is no longer involved in the transaction and the new homeowner is starting to experience the pitfalls from buying the home, that they sincerely believe was in good condition.

It's usually somebody like me that gets involved with the new homeowners after everyone else is out of the picture and chooses not to return their phone calls or explains to them quite simply, it's not our responsibility, you're the new homeowner and we really feel sorry for you, please call us again if we can help you with anything.

You couldn't even help me with that, why would I want to call you again if I had a problem. I never could understand this thinking but have ran into it often. It sounds like an oxymoron when someone refuses to help you but offers you help in the future. What ever!!!.

If homebuyers had something else to rely on besides their real estate salesperson, home inspection service, mortgage or insurance professional, I believe they can eliminate some of these problems. Where do you start and how do you get the information. You can gather information from reputable people, books, the Internet and so on.

The problem is how do you know these people are reputable and the books on the Internet have good information. This brings us to another problem, but I've got the solution that will help eliminate some of the grief. I'm not going to remove all of the grief from your life but have a suggestion for you that will eliminate some of the pain when buying a home.

Arm yourself with a good home inspection checklist. You can search the Internet and they have quite a few good home inspection checklist to work with. These checklist can provide you with things you might not have thought of, and this is where you can eliminate some of the problems.

If you took one of these checklists with you while you were shopping for a home, you would be aware of some of the problems with the home. You might not find all of the problems but these checklist will help you with some of the problems.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more home inspection or home building ideas.

Open Plumbing Waste Pipes

Country Farm Style House Plans For Simple, Enjoyable Living

Simple living means minimizing stress by minimizing the pursuit of conspicuous consumption and wealth for its own sake. The decision for voluntary simplicity is often made for health reasons; as a philosophical or spiritual path; or to increase the amount of quality time which a person has to spend with friends and family. Often the decision is motivated by a desire to save the earth; or by considerations of social justice. As Duane Elgin put it, the decision for voluntary simplicity means being outwardly more frugal but inwardly richer - the exact opposite of how our society trains us to be. The choice of simple living, for example, means choice of country farm style house plans rather than luxury building. It means growing at least some of your own food, even if all this means is a few pots of herbs or jars of sprouts growing on a windowsill. It means relying on public transportation whenever possible rather than driving one's own car. It means generating as little non-recyclable waste as possible.

The beginnings of the philosophy of simple living go back to the Athenian philosopher Epicurus, who taught that the problems and worries inherent in living a sumptious lifestyle outweigh the pleasures. Epicurus believed that anything beyond what is really necessary for life and simple comfort should be avoided. In more recent times, movements such as the Shakers, Amish, and Mennonites have deliberately sought a style of life excluding wealth and technology. Henry David Thoreau's classic Walden was a statement against the non-sustainable lifestyle of mid-nineteenth century America. Thoreau's log home house plan life was an inspiration to Henry Stephens Salt in England, who popularized the Simplification idea in Victorian Britain; and to George Lorenzo Noyes in New England, who wrote about sustainable lifestyle and spiritual communion with nature. In the early twentieth century the Vanderbilt Agrarian movement advocated sustainability and traditional agrarian values.

The simplicity movement grew in the twentieth century, inspired by such authors as Richard Gregg, Gary Snyder, Ralph Borsodi, and Helen and Scott Nearing, who wrote about leaving the city with their bungalow craftsman house plans and their vision of a better life. The hippie movement of the 1960's was the first mass movement which advocated leaving the cities to return to the land. The main spokesperson for simple living today is Duane Elgin, whose Voluntary Simplicity was published in 1981 and remains the bible of the voluntary simplicity movement. Nowadays voluntary simplicity means reducing one's need for bought items and services, and reducing correspondingly the amount of time sold for money. Simple living means seeing that freedom results from giving up worrying about money, rather than accumulating more and more of it. It means understanding that our society is headed for a fall. Jared Diamond's Collapse, which explains the historic reasons why previous civilizations perished and makes it plain that our own society is making the same errors, was a nationwide bestseller. Clearly, simple living is an idea whose time has come.

When considering your own move out of the city, you can choose from a variety of simplicity options, from a log home house plan to more grandiose country farm style house plans. Part of simple living is taking responsibility for doing one's own work oneself, such as bungalow craftsman house plans. The important thing is the decision to become master of your own life.

Wood Block With Abs Pipe

Old Versus New Construction Adhesives

When I first started building in 1978 as a young carpenter and an apprentice to my father. I had the grand illusions of becoming what they call on the east coast a master carpenter and on the West Coast a journeyman carpenter.

Part of my training in construction was learning to use the proper adhesive and caulking for different parts of the building project. We used to use a standard solvent-based construction adhesive when we were building our stairs and they would also use this adhesive on the floors to eliminate squeaks.

This glue dried extremely hard and everyone thought the harder the better. This construction adhesive was great when I started using it in 1978. There wasn't the polyethylene super elastic expandable multi-use glue and caulking construction adhesives at that time.

We used this brittle glue and it always seemed like a waste of time. As the wood dried and started to shrink the brittle hard glue would crack and break away from the wood it was glued to. Normally the glue was breaking away from plywood floor sheeting. I have seen 2 x 12 shrink 3/8 of an inch before in as little as a few months during the summer.

Now as time went on the old construction adhesives were replaced with a new window sealant made by a company called TOPS. This stuff was the hottest and best product of the decade to me. I used this stuff for everything.

This new urethane glue was now being used for sub floors, stair treads, sealing the windows flashing and siding. This stuff is still in use today and is a great choice for all of the uses I mentioned above. The price for this sealant is about double that of most water-based or solvent-based glues. But it's worth it.

So there you have it I like the urethane glues because of their flexibility, elasticity, their ability to adhere to wood concrete or metal and their performance in the years ahead.

There is one thing to keep in mind when using construction adhesives. Most construction workers seem to ignore the fact that the wood needs to be dry and clean before applying the construction adhesive. There have been quite a few times I have witnessed carpenters working with me and ignoring my advice.

Don't put yourself into this category. Doing quality work and following the manufacturers recommended installation instructions for their product will decrease your liability if there is ever a problem. Read the instructions carefully on all of the building products you use.

The manufacturers of these construction adhesives have thoroughly tested them. So use them properly and follow all safety warnings.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Carlsbad Structural Repairs

Open Plumbing Waste Pipes

Mauritius Resorts

If you are looking for a vacation with your family then Mauritius is a lovely place to be in. The cool weather and lovely beaches makes it one of the most desired places to visit all across the globe. Before you land in to the exciting beaches of Mauritius, you must book your accommodation in safe hotels and resorts. Mauritius houses a large number of 5 star hotels and resorts as the place has large influx of tourists from across the globe.

The ambiance of 5 star hotels and resorts further makes the mood festive and adds freshness to your trip. But it is always advisable to stay at places that most suits your pocket. For being in demand as a tourist destination and large influx of foreign tourist generally makes tourist destination little dearer. It is wiser to book your accommodation on line and before hand. Last minute bookings are normally costlier than bookings in advance.

Staying in 5 star resort during vacation will actually make your stay more pleasurable. This is because resorts will have all the facilities that you may require during your stay. If you have not gone before to Mauritius than it's better to surf Internet and know all about Mauritius. The list of holidays, the climate, the hotels, the entertainment zone, sites to visit and most important the Do's and Dont's while being in Mauritius. This can help you in falling form unnecessary hassles.

If you are planing to stay for some days then hiring a conveyance would make your trip comfortable. Go for trusted car hiring agencies. Booking in advance will help you to plan itinerary as well as budget. Make a list of beaches and sites to be visited during your stay. Where to go and how to go, if you plan your trip with focus on these aspects, you can have wonderful tour. Make a list of holiday or 5 star resorts in Mauritius and spend some time in understanding their tariff plans and amenities offered. A smart traveler always compare before buying one. Act smartly to make your vacation better and cheaper.

For detailed information on Mauritius Hotels and Resorts, check out Tourism in Mauritius. The article has been written by Divya, an expert author at tourisminmauritius.com, the complete guide to Mauritius Travel.

Handyman Books
Interior Decorating Books

Buying a Vinyl Fence? Home Improvement Chain Store Prices Are Not What They Seem

You see them advertise on the TV every day, orange aprons fluttering down the aisles at Home Depot, "You can do it! We can help!?", the warm voice of Gene Hackman telling you "Lowes, let's build something together". These big names spend big bucks to convince you that if you want to improve your home you need to do it up big time at their big name, big box, home improvement chain stores.

Whew, that's a mouthful and in a lot of ways very true too. Except for vinyl fencing. Oh, they sell vinyl fencing and their prices seem to meet the big box standards but everything is not always as it seems.

One of the first questions clients always ask me is, "How do you compare to them?" or "Why was our fence more expensive then theirs?" (If it was more). I found the best way to respond was by simply telling the truth. Sometimes our prices were more and sometimes they were less but one thing was certain. We always delivered a higher quality product.

I have nothing against them and have even advised certain people that the H. I. C.S. might better suit their unique needs. For example, I had a guy who was flipping a property and needed the cheapest fence he could buy. He wasn't concerned with how long the fence would last, he just wanted to sell the property. I suggested, Home Depot.

The key to big box store shopping is to know, what you are getting for the price you are paying. I highly urge you to go and look at their fencing first hand. Feel it, touch it, push it and you will see that it gives quite a bit. The panels are thinner and are generally hollow with no internal ribbing and reinforcement.

They also utilize a bracket system which is an inferior way to assemble vinyl fencing and requires external hardware which distract from the clean lines of vinyl. Their fencing usually comes pre-assembled.

Oh, I hear you out there, "Isn't that more convenient?"

Yes, assembled sections do provide more convenience but always remember that lower quality residential grade vinyl fencing normally comes assembled, as fence panels, while prime quality commercial grade vinyl fencing always comes unassembled.

Why? To be able to ship your order more securely so you receive it, complete and undamaged. It also allows you the opportunity to personally attend to each stage of construction, insuring the lifetime strength and durability of your fencing investment.

Keep in mind that the slide and pop assembly of commercial vinyl sections are very similar to "legos", making them relatively easy to assemble. I, personally, am not a very handy man and I can tell you, from experience, they are not hard to put together.

One last thing to realize when evaluating prices between the H.I.C.S. and a vinyl fence dealer. The H.I.C.S. 's panel pricing, generally, does not include the costs of posts and caps. This is very misleading.

They get you in on the appearance of a lower price, which is usually for the fence panel only. Then they add in these costly but essential items at the time of sale. Right when you have reached that point when you are ready to buy.

Odds are, you usually carry on with the sale and find out the hard way that the posts and caps are where these stores make their money. Which is why they sell their fencing in six foot panels (rather then eight) as this means more posts and caps. You will of course, need posts and caps to assemble a vinyl fence. So when you're pricing various options, you'll need to add these costs into the total.

Wow! That great chain store price wasn't so fabulous after all, was it?

Think about it. If you are going to make a lifetime investment in vinyl fencing for your beloved home. The rule of thumb is that, quality always trumps economy. In the long run you'll end up paying less for a whole lot more.

Copyright 2008 David Spangenburg & Michael Goldman

After buying a home, or a car, the purchase of a vinyl fence ranks as one of the larger purchases you'll ever make. You must read the Vinyl Fence Buyers Guide. You can find it at http://www.vinylfencebuyersguide.com/. It's not a trade manual, filled with industry jargon and dry terminology. It was written for you, the buyer, as a quick, easy read. Filled with ALL the critical facts and information you need, laid out in a straight forward and sometimes humorous manner. It's an easy to read step by step approach that walks you through each and every phase in the purchase and general installation of your new Vinyl Fence. For more details, go to: http://www.vinylfencebuyersguide.com/.

Plumbing Vent Turn In Wall

Slow Market Home Pricing Advice

Homes are going to be sold in good markets and bad. When times are good, people often forget that bad times will be coming eventually. During good times, people often get caught up in the hype of the real estate boom. During tough times, houses will be sold eventually, or taken off the market and sold later. If you need to sell the home as soon as possible, for financial or other reasons, you will have to adjust your price with the current market and don't get greedy.

This is the hardest thing for most people to do, lower the price of their home in order to sell it in a slow real estate market. Don't get caught up in the value of your home, six months or even a year ago. Last year's prices are not going to be this year's prices and you need to get that through your thick skull. If the average homes in your neighborhood are selling for $250,000 and you have a swimming pool or done some upgrades, maybe a room addition. Your home is going to be worth more than the average selling price.

Most real estate professionals will price your home according to the length of time you have to sell it. If you're in a hurry to sell, they don't have time to test the market. The price of your home would need to be competitive or lower than homes selling in the area. Whether homes are selling fast in a good market for selling slow in a bad market, if you have time, you can ask a little bit more for your home. If the market hasn't reached the bottom, waiting could actually hurt you, because the prices of the homes in the area would still be dropping.

Listen to your real estate professionals advice when pricing your home. That's what you're hiring them for, they are in the real estate business. Your neighbors, relatives, friends and people you work with, will probably be guessing if you asked for their opinion on pricing your house.

Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Finding that person is the key to selling your home, finding that person as soon as possible could give you the illusion that you sold your home to cheap. Don't worry about it, your final objective is to sell the house.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If you really think your home is safe, check out these pictures about home water damage.

Finishing And Installing W Heater