Unfinished Furniture - Finish It Yourself!
July 5, 2008
Unfinished furniture has started to become extremely popular in the last few years. As customers have discovered the benefit of buying unfinished wood furniture, the industry has responded with an even larger selection. There are many benefits to buying unfinished furniture. One is that you are able to see what you are buying. Unlike finished furniture, you will be able to immediately see if your furniture has defects like discoloration, knots, or clear weak points.
Manufactures of unfinished furniture know that they must use superior quality lumber in unfinished wood furniture production, because they know they can not cover up defects that they could under a finished wood piece of furniture. Another benefit of buying unfinished furniture is that you will be able to save money. As the company will not have to pay for the finishing, they will pass the savings on to you. Not only will it be cheaper than finished furniture, it may have higher quality craftsmanship because the manufacture would not be able to cover up the defects like they would if it was finished. Sometimes it is difficult when buying furniture to find furniture that matches the décor of your house. With unfinished furniture, that is never a problem.
How To Choose The Canvas For Your Awning
July 4, 2008
The main factor for the canvas for your awning, it’s to choose to do in PVC, because will be light and malleable.
Between their advantages we have the following ones:
- It’s resistant to the UV rays
- Allows any color
- They possess some protection coatings, as the following:
- Not to allow the fire propagation
- With blockade against UV rays (with great resistance against the effects of the ultraviolet rays that discolour along the time)
- Fungicides (addictive that avoid the formation of mould and stains)
- Non oxidizer, to avoid the appearance of iron stains
- Addictive to avoid negative effects to the aesthetics and the brightness, that could damage the coating and to reduce the useful life of the canvas)
- A varnish layer or lacquer in the coating (the varnish is not only designated for protection of the canvas from the UV rays, but also improves the self-cleaning characteristics; one of the used material for that is the Tedlar).
If you choose the canvas of your awning taking the above suggestions, certainly you will have an awning with excellent useful life, allowing the change of the canvas to be in a much larger period than the standard one.
Building Wood Stairs
July 3, 2008
Building a set of wood stairs is not nearly as hard as you may think. With some basic wood tools and a bit of algebra you can easily build your own. Of course this can get a bit tricky for stairs with several landings but the method is still the same.
This article will cover the steps for building a straight set of stairs. Chances are if you are reading this then you are still learning and won’t be taking on a complex stair anyway.
Now, we will assume that it is from a deck to a concrete pad. The deck is going to be 48″ wide and at eye level from the ground.
Tools you will need:
You will also need:
Find the overall rise
Paving The Way For Californias Asphalt Consumers
July 2, 2008
The California asphalt paving industry is ever-changing and in order to provide the best services, asphalt paving companies are turning to new technologies to stay ahead of the competition.
Asphalt technology in California has been changing since the creation of Hot Mix Asphalt and will continue to change as time permits. Asphalt rubber pavement was introduced in 1991, which shocked many industry experts. Asphalt rubber pavement seemed promising to those in the industry who were ready for a change. On the other end of the spectrum were industry experts who thought that the world wasn’t ready for such technologies to be implemented.
In Tom Kuennens article titled, “Asphalt Rubber Makes a Quiet Comeback” shown in Better Roads Magazine, he describes rubber asphalt as, “a chemically reacted mix of liquid asphalt binder with 15 to 22% crumb rubber. The rubber is obtained from reclaimed tires, and added to liquid asphalt. It’s reacted at elevated temperatures prior to being mixed with aggregate.”
Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter
July 1, 2008
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long — the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in — costing you higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the three largest "holes" in your home — the folding attic stair, the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood.
How To Replace The Rollers On Your Patio Door
June 30, 2008
Have you noticed your patio door is getting harder and harder to open? Maybe it’s time to change the rollers on the door. They generally last from ten to fifteen years but they do wear out and its a job that a do-it-yourselfer can accomplish with a little advice and some strong arms to get the door out!
Sliding patio doors are usually aluminum but there are many wooden and vinyl models on the market. All of them use ball bearing rollers to slide easily back and forth. The aluminum and some vinyl doors have a door bottom that is held in place by 2 screws on either side of the door near the bottom. Beneath the screw is usually an open hole in which there is an adjusting screw to raise the roller up and down. The wooden doors often have pairs of rollers due to their extra weight. The adjusting screws are accesible through plastic caps covering holes in the front of the door bottom.
I mention the adjusting screws because you need to check them before deciding to pull the door out and replace the rollers. Slide a big flat blade screwdriver underneath the door on one side and lift slightly to remove the weight from the roller. Use another screwdriver to turn the adjustment screw. See if that makes the door slide better.
Marble Information
June 28, 2008
Marble is any limestone or dolomite that can take a high polish and still be usable. Marble is generally formed from limestone undergoing metamorphism. When exposed to extremes of pressure or heat limestone turns into calcite or dolomite crystals, which are the primary materials in marble.
Marble has a famous history. The ancient Greeks built their architecture, cities, and sculptures often from Pentelic and Parian Marbles, quarried in Greece. The romans later used marble in their buildings as well, quarrying in the Greek spots and finding roman marble quarries of their own. Marble is, in a lot of ways, what the classical and Hellenistic age was built from.
It is still used heavily today in construction, and can be quarried all over the world. The uses for this stone are almost endless. It’s used in flooring, counter tops, pillars, stair cases, colonnades, paneling, and facing stone in architectural structures. It can’t however be used outdoors, since water would corrode its crystalline structure. It is also very smooth and therefore tends to be slippery, which makes it unfavorable to use in high traffic areas.
Unadulterated Truth About Black Mold: What You Don?t Know Is Destroying Your Home And Your Health
June 27, 2008
With today’s new building procedures, our homes are more dangerous than ever before!
Scientific evidence now shows that the air inside our homes is 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside. And because we spend about 90 percent of our time inside, indoor air quality has become one of the top environmental health threats in the country.
With today’s new construction practices, buildings are no longer made to breathe. Pollutants trapped inside our home can cause chronic symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, skin rashes and itchy eyes. Some pollutants may have more serious effects, including asthma and cancer.
While this seemed like a good idea at the time, buildings are now made so air tight that the pollutants produced in the building accumulate and have no way to escape.
On of the major problems to arise in recent years is black mold, and it’s become a nationwide epidemic. It’s now responsible for destroying the lives of thousands of unsuspecting victims. And until we find out how to control this menace, the situation is only going to get worse.
If you want to find out how to wipe out the black mold threat in your home, be sure to sign up for this upcoming no-charge, consumer awareness teleseminar.
Tips For Buying a Whirlpool Bath Online
June 26, 2008
So you’re building the bath of your dreams but find the prices you have been quoted for the Whirlpool Bath way out of your budget.
Don’t despair and settle for a Whirlpool Bath you don’t want!
Go online and save by buying direct from a Whirlpool tub distributor. Here’s how. (more information at http://www.maxsvr.com/Buying-whirlpool-bath-spa-online.html)
There are three choices in Whirlpool baths;
1) Hydrotherapy - Jetted Water Whirlpool Baths
2) Air Bubble - Heated Air bubbles distributed over entire body
3) Combo - Both Hydrotherapy and Heated Air functions combined
Hydrotherapy is the more traditional Whirlpool you have probably experienced. It is great for relaxing muscles, lowering blood pressure, and relieving stress. It is however a hazard to young children and adults with medical conditions, in which case the more gentle Air Bubble Whirlpool bath is suitable.
The Combo gives both whirlpool choices but at an additional cost of course.
Two key factors in choosing your whirlpool are fit and fit;
1) Fit - Whirlpool bath suits your body and ease getting in and out
2) Fit - getting the Whirlpool bath into your house and bathroom!
Installing Vinyl Replacement Sliding Glass Doors
June 24, 2008
Last week I told you how to remove your old sliding glass door in preparation for the installation of the vinyl replacement door. Let’s go through the installation procedure for both the Retrofit style and replacement style frames.
Let’s start with the retrofit frame. Like the retrofit window, the door will have a 2″ lip flush with the outside edge of the frame. The difference between the retrofit window frame and the retrofit door frame is the absence of the lip on the bottom of the door due to the sill track. Your door will have the lip on both sides and across the top. The majority of the installation process is the same whether it’s a retrofit frame or replacement frame. The first thing you want to do is check the floor for a level condition. If the base is not level, add shims to create a level base. This step is very important, because if you have a sloping bottom, the whole frame will be thrown out of square. You will have problems locking the door as well as air infiltration trouble. So, put down shims to make the base level. If possible, use one long shim to create a solid base for the weight of the door. Before setting the door in place, put down a bead of liquid nails from end to end, set the shims on top of the liquid nails, and run a generous bead of caulk on the outside face of the opening, where the retrofit lip is going to contact the exterior surface. Caulk the sides and the top.
