I’ve been in construction for over 30yrs. I started out working for a window Company. One of the first thing’s you learn, if you have a door or window in your house. It leeks air! If I wasn’t building houses I worked for Lowe’s or Home Depot. So I do know a little about windows and doors. It’s hard to find a great patio Door. First of all do you want a slider? They look nice, the door is out of your way. Andersen,Pella, Caradco, and hundreds of others make sliding doors. The locks are good. But between the two panels you get air. Take a dollar bill you can pull it right thru. If I had a house again I would put in a swinging door. But watch out that sales person wants you to buy that double door. Both doors swing in, now you have a seem down the middle. Which doesn’t seal and it makes for easy access for that burglar to kick that door in. And you need more room inside for the doors to swing. But you get the full open view. As for me I would get an single operating patio door, preferably center hinged. Most of the companies make a good door. Some are better. You have to look at the locks, weather stripping and the warranties. Some come with shades, grilles, some even vent now. So look carefully at the door you want. Take a dollar try to pull it thru the weather stripping. If you can, so can air. Even under the doors. Where I live it gets cold and I don’t like a draft.
Home & Garden
11
May 10
Choosing a home addition
How often have you noticed that your house just isn’t big enough for you, your family, and all of your stuff? You’ve de-cluttered, added storage, encouraged some of the kids to leave home, and there STILL isn’t enough room?
When you are in this position, there is only one thing you can do – build an extra room. Here are some ideas of where you can find the space to put one.
EXTENSION
If your plot is big enough, you could add an extension to the rear or side of your property. This could be a single-height or double-height one, depending on how much you want to spend and how much extra space you need. Have a serious think about how much garden you are willing to sacrifice for this option.
ANOTHER BATHROOM
An extra bathroom can often be squeezed into a cupboard or corner. You could even build a small extension to house one. A downstairs toilet is always a good thing to have, and will increase the value of your home. With the new small-bore pipes (like Saniflo) you don’t even have to site it near the waste pipe.
UTILITY ROOM
Having a utility room always increases the contemporary feel of a home. A spacious downstairs bathroom could be pressed into service, or you could steal space from the back of the garage.
CONSERVATORY
Conservatories are quick and easy to build, and need minimal planning permission. Because they are right next to the house, it is easy to run services to them. Use yours as a utility room, a playroom, a dining room, a sitting room, a studio or even a guest bedroom.
WASTED GROUND SPACE
Houses often have side passageways or nooks and crannies in the design that could be roofed in to make a small extension to the house. Look at your house from the outside to see where these areas might be.
BASEMENT
Contact a reputable firm to convert a basement into another bedroom, utility room or living area.
LOFT
Loft conversions are a great way of adding space, but you will have to sacrifice some of the living space on the floor below. This is because stairs will need to be installed. However, it is often worth giving up a box room to gain a two room upstairs.
BALCONY
Living space doesn’t have to be inside the home. Add a balcony for summer eating and relaxing in the sun. This is a great idea for adding garden space to first-floor apartments. Be sure you get the right planning permission first, and keep the neighbors informed.
GO OPEN PLAN
Creating more space might be just a case of knocking down some walls to make two awkward rooms into one large, airy space. Think carefully about this one, as it’s not so easy to put it back again afterwards.
GARAGE
Garage spaces are worth their weight in gold. Invest in a carport and convert your garage into another room. You could add thousands to the value of your home!
SUMMER HOUSE
A summer house or chalet in the garden is counted as a temporary structure, and is often exempt from planning permission. As long as you’re not living there permanently, it gives you a great opportunity to create a workshop, home office or studio area. Put the kids drumkit in one to save your sanity!
All these are ways to increase the square footage of your home. Once it’s all finished, you get to decorate it – yay!
23
Mar 10
Feng shui tips for the bedroom
Are you having problems sleeping throughout the night? Do you toss and turn all night?
Do you wake feeling just as tired when you went to sleep instead of rested?
You may have a feng shui problem in your bedroom.
Your bedroom is a place for rest and relaxation as it provides the body it’s main opportunity for rejuvenation. Your bedroom should be a private area, one that is a sanctuary away from the main hub of your home. It is also an area for love and passion. Because we spend a lot of our time in our bedroom, it’s important the feng shui is correct.
Here are a few bedroom tips, from top to bottom to get you on your way.
CLUTTER and ORGANIZATION
*All items have a place. Hang all clothes up in the wardrobe and tidy your drawers.
*Clean out everything that may be stored under your bed as this will creates stagnant energy in your room.
*Ensure you don’t have a plethora of lotions and perfumes on your nightstand. Or a pile of books that reaches the ceiling.
MATTRESS
*Make sure your mattress is one that is comfortable. A good mattress promotes good sleep.
*Your mattress should be at least 18 inches above the ground to circulate energy in the room.
*Purchase a new mattress after a relationship breakup or divorce. The previous mattress would have trapped negative energy. A new mattress is a sign of new beginnings.
BED
*Try and have a wooden bed and not a metal one, metal conducts electricity.
*Place your bed against a solid wall to promote a solid relationship with your partner or spouse.
*Try not to store things underneath your bed as this will stagnate energy of the room.
*Your bed must have a direct view of the door. Your bed should not be placed with your feet facing the door. You must see who and what is entering your room at all times.
*Try not to place your bed against a window.
*Leave room on either side of the bed for each person to get in and out of easily. A bed against a wall makes the person on that side climb over the other to get out.
*Make sure your bed does not back up to a wall that shares the bathroom or toilet. Also consider if the bathroom is situated above the bedroom for leveled homes, as this is not ideal for a bedroom placement.
*If your bedroom also has an en-suite, make sure the door to the bathroom is closed at all times.
LIGHTING
*You would like soft lighting in your bedroom to promote relaxation or a romantic mood. Your light should be strong enough to
16
Feb 10
Things to do before enhancing your home and office with feng shui
It is said that your home reflects your personality. A disorganized home makes for a disorganized life. The following ideas will help you to create a well balanced life and home environment, one in which is a pleasure to rest and relax for you, your friends and family.
Before making any Feng Shui enhancements to your home, office and life, there are some very important things you need to do before hand to help the effects of Feng Shui. If you fail to implement some of these aspects, the effects of Feng Shui on your life will avail to nothing.
1)FIX AND REPAIR ANY BREAKAGES
Repair any broken windows, doors or furniture in or around the property.
Repair broken taps or toilets, ones that drip or don’t flush properly.
Unfinished home repairs must be completed.
Squeaky doors and hinges must be oiled or replaced.
Stuck windows must be repaired or replaced.
Curtains and blinds not hanging properly or have blinds missing. Repair.
Fences with wooden palings hanging off need to be repaired.
Light fixtures and electricity points not functioning need to be repaired.
Frayed carpets or joins that have come unstuck need repair or replacement.
Remove or repair electrical items, televisions, radios or computers if they do not work.
Repair chairs or dining tables that have loose screws, causing loose legs or backs on the chair.
2)CLEAR ALL CLUTTER
Having an excess of clutter in your life, whether it be old clothing you wore fifteen years ago, or CD’s that you no longer listen to, effects how you feel and react to yourself, others and your surroundings.
It can effect your love life, your self esteem, where you are in your career, your weight, can cost you money, can make you disorganized and can effect how people view and treat you.
Many people hold onto their clutter because they have some emotional connection with it. All it does it makes you live in the past, cluttering up your life as it should be now.
Clearing clutter before using Feng Shui enhancements is very important.
Think about when you go to your wardrobe or drawers. When you open the up clothes are laying on the floor of the cupboard, are bursting from its depths, you are unable to locate a piece of clothing you were after. The thought of going to this wardrobe may be daunting for you, things are going to fall out and you’ll have to try and shove it all back in.
Another scenario is all the old VCR videos in your possession. We use DVD players these days. Why not get
12
Feb 10
Outdoor living: How to expand your living space
Living space & Conservatories
Conservatories are essential in enhancing the beauty of the external home. It also creates a storage and spacious value to the land. Why waste land when you can always add some more homes. There is always someone special, an older family member who needs to feel at home and have a home to be in. Children’s toys that need storage, there is a need for day to day laundry so having an extra space will indeed make it so worth it.
Having a conservatory could become a needed extra space for kitchen ideas, baking and making new things happen, roasting, frying for holiday times. The extra space provide room for many thoughts and adding more kitchen utensils that will be needed should be a relief.
Having a conservatory as part of the home could extend the living area and into the conservatory. You can then have more electronically gadgets you always wanted but couldn’t have in because of space.
Didn’t you always want that shining looking Piano and didn’t you want to have a special corner to watch Movies on a larger wider screen or on a Cinema scene.
You could have a popcorn machine somewhere to accompany it.
If you love music, having a recording studio fully secured with needed equipment is exciting and assuring enough. You can make music from your own home and possibly make a little video production.
The conservatory can be used as an extra guest room and villa perhaps your kids want to bring in their friends, or an older kid wants to bring a friend from boarding school for a holiday, there is an extra space waiting.
The home should always have an extra space because there is always a need for it.
Plant conservatory is another way of making good use of the conservatory. For lovers of plants, you can grow as many kinds of flowers so long they are sown in the right season and weather climate.
You can make your conservatory a place to wine and dine which is quite romantic and a lovely get together for friends and family too.
Have Christmas presents and gifts fill the room is also a way of making the most of your conservatory.
The conservatory can also be used as a swimming pool area, a tea room and depending on where and how large the acre to build a conservatory is, it can be turned into a car show room.
The conservatory can be used as a yoga room, aerobics, practice a new dance skill, ballet dancing or make it an office.
Make the most of the extra space on your home and build to suit your needs and happiness.
7
Feb 10
Choosing patio doors for your home – Part 1
When choosing a patio door, the first thing you must do is to decide where you want the door and what purpose it is going to serve. Maybe you want it in order to be able to step on a balcony off your bedroom and be able to enjoy that mountainous view while relaxing. Maybe it will be in order to access a large patio where you will be entertaining guests. Or, as in my case, maybe you are using it on the interior and it does not go to the outside. In any case knowing the purpose it will serve will aid in your choosing the right door.
Patio doors come from several manufacturer’s and come in several styles. There are the basic sliding door type that normally have one door stationary and one door that slides open on a track. These doors are fine for small rooms where space is limited as you can place furniture in front of the stationary door.
You can also get patio doors with swinging door(s). Yes, either one or both doors can swing open depending on the style you choose. You can get them with both doors opening in the middle or the doors can hinge in the middle. Again it is your choice as to style.
Whether you place a door on the interior of your home or on the exterior you want to make sure you have double pane glass. The double pane glass provides insulation by means of argon gas placed between the panes. On the interior the double panes provide some sound barrier. On exterior doors you should also get tinted glass as to help on the heating and cooling.
Door facings are as limitless just about as the imagination. You definitely want to get a door that fits the decor of your home. Depending on the exterior of your home you can choose from several facings. If you have vinyl siding you may want a vinyl door. For wood siding you may choose a wooden door.
Choices are vast for patio doors, everything from color to material, to types of hinges can be chosen especially for you and your home. Placing it in the right position can also add charm and value to your home.
Installation costs can be high as doors are usually 60″ wide or wider. It is possible that you may have to have electrical work done to move outlets or wires in your wall when you install a patio door. Be sure and get an experienced, licensed, insured contractor if you must hire one. Installing patio doors can be easy but if inexperienced the potential for problems are real.
13
Jan 10
Tips on getting started with gardening
Of all the things that are important to me in my life, other than people, and writing of course, I feel confident in stating that few things give me more pleasure in life than gardening. I haven’t always felt that way, I’m sure, and I’ve had many failures as a gardener, in fact, many more than I’m willing to admit. The biggest way to sour oneself to gardening and to do so fast is to attempt to get started by trying to do everything at once.
Gardening is a learning process, and it is a gradual learning process. Just as it takes time for plants and flowers to grow, it takes time for us as gardeners to learn and to grow from what we learn. The abundance of plants, flowers, trees, bushes, fruits and vegetables and even houseplants makes it difficult for anyone to know where to begin.
In tough economic times, it doesn’t make sense to be fool hardy and to jump in with both feet, even though there is a lot to be said for learning by doing. You don’t have to start out with learning by doing in order to learn that way. Everything you plant and everything that grows and the entire process of gardening will be an example of learning by doing. That being said, bear in mind that anything that is worth waiting for will happen in due time. Nothing could be truer of gardening.
*Take the time to read as much as you can. Read about everything from how to prepare a garden bed to basic information about soil. The more you know about the basics, the better prepared you will be when you actually have to do these things. Go to the library, check books out. Check books out that have pictures of gardens as well as books that have more technical information about gardening, planting, specific plants, etc.
*”Learn about gardening zones and what they mean. Learn which zone you live in and how that will affect what you grow. Learn about what it means in terms of your gardening seasoning and when you will plant things. As important as other things are to know, knowing what zone you live in and what this knowledge means will guide you in every aspect of gardening from here on in.
*Take the time to go to public gardens, botanic gardens or public conservatories. Look at the things growing there and pay particular attention to the growing conditions and how things are planted. A conservatory is basically a bunch of climate controlled greenhouses that are attached to one another but that are completely self contained. As you walk through each
3
Jan 10
How to grow passion flowers
Myself and my girlfriend have been sorting out our back garden so it’s all in good shape for the summer. The garden is not very big so we only have a couple of small flower beds. We have found the Passion Flower to be a great addition to out garden because it is a climbing plant and grows along the fence, rather than taking up floor space!
The Passion Flower
The Passion Flower is very similar to a vine in the way it grows. New stems grow from the main plant and attach themselves to whatever they decide to grow along. The leaves of the Passion Flower are dark green and have a very attractive shape (I suppose it is quite similar to a cannabis leaf). Along the main stem of the plant, little feelers grow, these are vital to the plant because this is what clings to whatever the plant is growing along and supports the weight of the plant. I find the feelers useful as it means you can manipulate the plant to grow in the direction you want it to by attaching the feelers in the direction you want the plant to grow.
The Passion Flowers produces exotic purple and white flowers which really are beautiful. The Passion Flower tends to flower in late summer or early autumn. Ours is flowering at the moment for the first time since we started growing it two years ago.
Where Can You Grow The Passion Flower?
As I have already stated, the Passion Flower is a fantastic climber so it is suitable to grow in conservatories as well as in the garden as long as you have suitable space to let the plant climb and grow.
The Passion Flower originally comes from the tropical rainforest regions of South America so obviously these plants enjoy the heat and the wet and really thrive in these conditions.
Passion Flowers need to be planted in soil that has good drainage. It amazes me how quickly the Passion Flower grows, especially with the weather we have been having lately, lots of rain and then some sunlight really makes this plant go mad!
This plant is fairly hardy and has survived the frost from last winter.
How To Grow The Passion Flower
I have found that Passion Flowers are fairly easy to grow. They can apparently be difficult to keep alive during the winter months because their roots can rot if they are constantly cold but again, we have not had any problems with this.
As I already mentioned, your plant will need to be planted in soil that has good drainage.
Our Passion Flower was bought for us as a present so I have no experience of growing this plant from seeds. While
2
Jan 10
Encouragement for first time home
Buying the first home is quite an elated time and moment. It is however when realism takes control and where the budget decides what kind of home is appropriate. The recommendation for buying a home differs. I feel that mortgaging a home is not advisable. Rather, buy a home when the entire cash is available. This which could have come from savings, contract, work.
The advantage of buying a home mortgage-free cannot be overemphasised especially in circumstances where the weather decides to take control. All you have to worry about is having had the home insured rather than added problems. Of course, one always hope that flood, quake and fire does not make a go at the home but the future is unpredictable.
Buying a first home, you want to find the right carpet, the type of vinyl for the bathroom floors and kithen. You want to find the right type of bathroom, whether you have enough space to celebrate a honeymoon in a jacuzzi if you have just married or just feel like a celebration anyway.
Is there a back garden, what do you want it to look like, which shops near your home will make a good home base store to get home items such as bar-be-cue, garden chairs, conservatories. Do you need manure and fresh grasses? Do you need your back garden fenced? Do you need a little home for a pet?
When buying a home, there are a lot of factors to consider. You have to check the home has good heating and ventilators. The importance of ventilators in the home is critical because sometimes you may realise that the home itself is lacking in oxygen. This which may result in illness. You cannot be careless, checking for the oxygen rating is very, very important.
Does the home have a garage, where will you park the car if it is an apartment? Should you get a car alarm if there is a lack of parking space. Is your car secure and insured. Insure your car and yourself and there should be a substantial peace of mind.
In the area that you are moving into, is it flood free and if it is not, should you still have a flood protected home and quake and water resistant home? The future is reasonably uncertain so that the protection might be a necessity. These factors tend to be ignored because you have the mortgage to worry about but when the home has been paid in full, you can afford to be more realistic and put your own safety first.
A conservatory keeps the home pretty in its addition. Have you checked to see if the home can be extended, if a conservatory will be allowed. What else can be allowed in and out of your home. You don’t want to forget the pet and you don’t want to obstruct the laws of the area although if you buy a home, you are more likely to be protected by most pet laws.
The area you want to move into, does it breed certain things that you might find disgusting and annoying. Is the area noisy? Is the home attached, semi-attached and will you be able to tolerate any kind of neighbour? Are the dustbins available? Do you have your own dustbin noting that most neighbour fights begn with the dustbins.
Be honest about finding a home and yor own safety. Put yourself before the home and avoid accumulating of debts that distract entirely from insurance policies.
4
Dec 09
How to install a garage door opener
If you are tired of getting wet while opening your garage door in a rain storm or having to stop on your way down the driveway to go close it, it is time to install a garage door opener. This may not be the easiest do-it-yourself project, but it is within the abilities of most people.
Set aside several hours for this job. It will require some careful measuring. You will have to run extra wiring if it is not a replacement. Make an afternoon of it and invite a couple of friends to help. Buy the opener a week or so ahead of time so that you can have all of the supplies and tools on hand when you start the installation.
Like any DIY project, you always want to open the box and inventory the contents to familiarize yourself with the garage door opener. This will also give you an opportunity to make sure that nothing is missing. Read through the directions to make sure that you understand any special problems that your new toy may bring. This will almost always result in a trip to the home center to buy an extra tool and some other needed products to make the installation work.
When doing a replacement, take the time to learn how the old unit was installed. This will give you a head start on installing the new one. Plus, it will give you a chance to see if all of the old wiring will work with the new unit.
Once you have everything in place, you are ready to start the installation. For a new installation make sure that you have identified a source for power to the unit if you are not doing a replacement. Turn off the power and run any necessary wiring. It is good if you can find electricity in the attic above the opener without having to run wire from the breaker box. Use wire nuts and junction boxes when appropriate. With wires at the installation point of the motor, you are ready to attach the garage door opener to the ceiling or trusses of the garage.
This may require an extra board or two be put into place to give you something solid to anchor the opener. These units can be pretty heavy. So, make sure that you have done a good job of providing a secure place to attach it. Point the business end of the garage door opener toward your garage door. The position should be roughly in line with the center of the garage door.
If you are not sure about precisely where this should be, measure the door. Divide that amount in half. On the ceiling above the garage door mark a light line to guide you. If necessary, sketch these lines the entire distance from the door
