Fireplace Design Ideas

Are you trying to find some inspiring information about fireplace design ideas? There are some basic elements to any fireplace that are generally addressed in turn, in order to come up with a complete fireplace design. There are three main components to any fireplace design.

The three primary components to fireplace design include the hearth, the firebox and the type of opening that is employed between the firebox and the room in which the fireplace is located. The hearth is the area outside of the firebox, in general. The firebox is the area in which the fire itself will be burned.

Hearths

Let's first talk about hearths. A hearth may be flush with the floor, raised above the floor, or sunk down lower than the floor. Additionally, there may be no hearth to speak of at all. In these cases the firebox should be at least two inches above the floor, as the hearth is what helps protect the floor from the heat of the fire.

Another type of hearth may include hearth seats of various kinds. The most traditional and popular type of fireplace with hearth seats are the kinds that feature simply two blocks on either side of the firebox opening.

Fireboxes

As with the hearth types, the different kinds of fireboxes generally have mainly to do with the height relative to the floor and / or hearth. There are raised fireboxes, flush fireboxes that are the same height as the floor, and there are dropped fireboxes that are somewhat lower than the hearth and / or floor in front of the fireplace.

Fireplace Openings

Of course the most widely utilized type of fireplace opening is the rectangular opening. Generally, a rectangular opening will be just that: rectangular in shape. However, even with rectangular openings, the sides typically flare outward from the firebox toward the face of the fireplace.

There are flat arch top openings where the sides are straight, yet the tope of the opening has a slight arch to the shape. As with the traditional rectangular opening, the sides typically flare outward from the firebox toward the face of the fireplace.

There are full arch fireplace openings where the opening contains no straight lines. These types of fireplace openings have one continuous curve all around the fireplace opening. This is the type of opening you are probably used to seeing in American Southwestern style fireplaces.

There are also corner fireplace openings that allow for there to be two open sides to the fireplace. As the name suggests, a corner opening fireplace is situated in such a way that an entire corner section of the firebox is exposed.

There are U-shaped fireplace openings where the firebox is exposed on three sides, the front, as well as the two side areas. These last two types of fireplace openings will generally produce better heat radiation. If you will be using your fireplace to heat your home, and not merely as decoration these are certainly worth looking into. For images of these various fireplace styles, take a look at http://www.fireplacesnow.com/FireplaceStyles.htm .

Jon worked in construction for 10 years before starting his own local fireplace installation service 8 years ago. At his website, Jon will show you how his years of experience in the industry can help change your fireplace into the focal point of your home. To learn more about fireplace design ideas visit http://www.fireplacegate.com

Dust Clogging Bath Fan Vent

Problems While You Are Building With Contractors

Sometimes as contractors we get in a hurry and we just want to finish the job. We told the homeowner we would be done in three months, at the same time the homeowner keeps adding new work to the list.

I ran into a problem like this on one job where the contractor was in a hurry to finish the flooring and chose to go right over the existing floor that was out of level. He told the homeowner he didn't have time to repair that section of the floor. He was installing half-inch plywood over 1 x 6 diagonal floor sheeting to strengthen up the floor.

This floor was going to require quite a bit of attention from the contractor and his crew. The homeowner should have hired another contractor to repair the floor while the original contractor finished the house remodel. When your contractor gives you that much grief about any work, you need to start thinking about hiring another contractor or at least finding one to complete the task your original contractor has no interest in.

I felt sorry for the homeowner because this was not what he wanted and he was upset with the contractor but the job was done. This is my warning to any contractor, handyman or home repair specialists. When installing a new plywood floor over an existing floor to strengthen it up, use some common sense and repair the floor correctly or don't do the job at all.

I wrote this article for contractors to have a little more sympathy for the homeowners you are working for because sometimes they can't see the whole picture like you can. I also wrote this article for homeowners to listen to your contractor carefully when he is explaining a potential problem that you can't visualize further down the road. Any contractor with over 15 years experience remodeling homes has a pretty good idea what's going to happen next.

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 stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Are Your Sliding Glass Doors All Glass and No Slide?

Have you noticed that the sliding glass doors in your home are becoming harder and harder to slide open? Are they more than 10 years old? Do they happen to be aluminum frame dual pane doors? Those doors are heavier due to the dual pane glass, but most of the aluminum units did not use stainless steel rollers. The rollers get rusty after a while, and start to bind.

To replace the rollers, you must remove the sliding panel from the opening. The fixed panel must be removed in order for the sliding panel to come out, in most cases. FIgure out whether or not your fixed panel has to come out as well. If the slider is on the inside track and the fixed panel is on the outside track, you will have to take out both panels, because the slider will only come out from the outside. There is a lip on the bottom of the track inside your house, that keeps water from coming in. However, that lip is also too high to lift the sliding panel up and over. Therefore, you will have to remove the fixed panel first, then lift and swing out the slider from outside. If you are one of the few who have a slider on the outside track, then you can lift your slider out without having to remove the fixed panel.

For now, let us assume that you need to remove the fixed panel first. To do this:

1) Remove your screen door if you have one.

2) Look for a metal piece on the bottom track that runs from the bottom corner of the fixed panel all the way across to the bottom of the side jamb that has the door lock hardware. If your door is really old, that piece might be missing. If there is one, pry it up from the track. Once that piece is removed...

3) Look inside the house where the fixed panel is against the wall jam -- look for screws holding the frame to the jam. Remove these screws, and place them where you won't lose them.

4) Pull the fixed panel out of the side jam.

5) Lift the slider up and out, just like you did with the fixed panel.

6) Once you get the slider out, nearly all rollers are held in place by the same screw that holds the frame corners together. So set the panel on one side, remove the screw in the corner, then flip the panel over, remove the screw on the other bottom corner. Now, using a rubber mallet or the wood handle of a hammer, tap the bottom frame off the glass. Now you have access to your rollers. Examine how they are inserted into the door frame. Remove only one roller to take with you to match when you shop for new ones. Then, you can use the roller that you left in place as a guide to installing the new ones.

7) Buy new rollers at someplace like Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or Orchard Supply Hardware. They should carry what you need. If they don't...

8) Have new rollers ordered. Bring the roller to your local glass shop. If they don't have them in stock, they can order them, which could take about a week. In that case, don't worry. Go home and tap the bottom frame back on the door panel, but leave the corner screws out. It's fine to leave out the roller that you removed. Just lift the door back in place, install the fixed panel, but don't snap the bottom piece back in, and don't install the inside screws. Then, from inside the house, just lift the slider and pull it closed. Don't drag it if you left the roller out. That will scrape the bottom track. Lift it just enough to take the pressure off, and close and lock it.

9) When your new rollers arrive, take everything back out. Install the new rollers. Before putting the door back in, adjust the new rollers all the way up. This way, the new rollers won't interfere with you lifting it back in place. Adjust the new rollers down until the door slides well and locks. There should be an equal gap at the top and bottom when the door is about an inch from closing into the side jam. The rollers can be adjusted to make this dimension even.

You may think this sounds expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Sliding glass door repair can be done by a professional for $50 or $60 including parts, so it may be worth hiring someone to do it. However, in high population areas, it may be typical to be charged $100 in labor only. They may also mark up the cost of the rollers, and you could end up paying $130 for a job that would only cost you about $20 to do yourself. Glass door repair does not have to be intimidating, or expensive. Good luck!

Kathy Hildebrand is a professional writer who is easily bored with her "day job" assignments. So, she researches anything and everything of interest and starts writing. Writing about an extremely wide variety of subjects keeps her skills sharp, and gives her food for thought on future paid writing assignments.

More of her research and articles can be found at http://www.lasertargeted.com/glassrepair and other sites around the internet.

Stair Building Books and Ideas

Where do we go to buy stair building books? Do we go to the major retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble? I have found over the years the information in most of these books I have purchased from these stores has a lot of fluff with very little common sense stair building application.

I bought one stair building book that had information on handrails. The front cover looked great and I thought this was going to be a great book reading the reviews from Amazon. When I finally got the book in the mail, I would say about one third of it was math tables for building elaborate wooden hand railing's. These tables were not easy to understand along with the rest of the book.

Back when I bought the book on building stair handrails it dawned on me that most of the construction workers I have met during my 30 years of working in the field were not very good outside of basic math. Now I knew a lot of carpenters that could read a measuring tape and use a framing square pretty good. But when it came to advanced geometrical construction projects like a stair hand railing system this was out of our league.

Reading this book or should I say parts of it gave me an idea to write a book of my own, starting with basic stair building I took all the fluff or the hard to understand advanced stair building applications out of my book, How to Build a Straight Set of Stairs.

I put a lot of time into creating an illustration for every possible part of building a simple set of stairs. I have probably built over 2000 sets of stairs during my lifetime and have explained and taught basic and advanced stair building to other carpenters. Understanding what parts of the stair construction process they understood, I was able to improve my skills as a stair building teacher.

Most people do not need advanced stair building skills to construct a simple straight set of stairs. If you are building a straight set of stairs and would like a stair building book with lots of easy to understand illustrations along with simplified directions you have found it.

We're building more stair building books to help contractors, carpenters, handymen and homeowners understand the stair building process.

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 stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Motorized Shades Primary Benefits

1. Convenience. Raising and lowering a manual shade is easy enough if it is not too big. But if the shade is very large or there are 2, 3, 4 or more shades then it becomes more difficult and more time consuming. The convenience factors of motorized shades are important for several other reasons listed below.

a. Maximizing Views. Having motorized shades mean the difference between seeing a beautiful sunrise/sunset or missing it. Stunning vistas are rarely missed when opening or closing shades is as simple as pressing a button.

b. Security. Motorized shades can easily be set on a timer so that when guests are away from home for an extended period of time, shades are raised and lowered at various preset times. This gives the impression that someone is living in the house which deters would be thieves.

c. Conserving Energy. The heat gain from sunlight through windows during summer months is a major burden on air conditioning. The convenience of motorized shades makes saving energy much simpler. Preset timers obviate the need to remember to raise or lower shades for energy saving purposes.

d. Protecting Furniture, artwork and flooring. The sun's rays can do damage to interior furnishings, causing fading, cracking or warping. The convenience of motorized shades makes protecting furniture, artwork and flooring much simpler. Preset timers are also useful in this regard.

e. Many Windows and/or Large Windows. As the number and size of windows increases, the case for motorization becomes increasingly compelling. Some walls of windows are 20, 30 or even 60 feet in length which makes motorization a practical necessity.

f. Hard to reach windows. These skylight windows, second story openings or windows blocked by furniture or other obstructions are why motorized shades were first conceived. Obviously, these factors are still relevant today.

2. Child Safety. A shocking number of injuries and deaths result each year due to cords from manual window shades. The window shade industry's "Child Safety Month" is intended to address these hazards with safety clips and consumer awareness. The best solution is no cords at all, which is possible with motorized shades.

3. Unsightly Cords. Aesthetically, cords detract from the clean look of a window opening. Multiple shades mean multiple cords, pooling on the floor when fully open. Motorized window shades means no more unsightly control cords and open, clear views through windows.

4. Less Wear and Tear. Tangling and unfamiliar 'user abuse' to shades are the most common causes of service calls. The control mechanisms on manual shades, if used frequently (see convenience factor above), will break and can be costly to repair or replace.

5. They are cool! Functionally, motorized shades make a lot of sense and aesthetically, they are definitely preferable to manual shades. Let's not forget that they also have an impressive WOW Factor!

The author, Gavin Sword, is an owner of Automated Shading - New York Motorized Shades The company offers Motorized Shades in New York, Florida, (Miami, Naples, Tampa, Orlando), New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Custom Homes Can Be the Perfect Choice For You

Are you looking to buy or build a custom home? Custom homes are a great way to express one's personal tastes. The sky is the limit for custom home design.

Most people do not have the skills to construct the blueprints needed for a custom home. Locate an architect who understands your custom home vision. The architect has the ability to take a picture of the home you dream of and design a set of blueprints from which to build. The architect will also make certain the custom home will meet the building code requirements in your area.

Once your design is set, began to search for building contractors. Place requests for bids throughout several reputable companies. Once you receive these bids, you can begin to negotiate to receive the best deal. Don't limit yourself to two or three bids. Costs can very greatly between builders. Be very careful to use a reputable builder who listens to your ideas. A builder that is easier to work with will make the building project less stressful.

Shop around for the best deals on building lots and building materials. The internet is a great place to gain knowledge about the costs associated with building a custom home. Ideas for amenities and design attributes can be found in custom home building informational books, magazines and websites. Using this information to complete your custom home design will allow many more options not initially apparent to you.

Shop around for the best deals on interior building items, such as carpet, tile, appliances, and windows. You can locate some of the best deals through recommendations from family and friends. Many stores will offer to beat the best price you can locate in order to gain your business. Keep track of items you really like, but aren't willing to purchase because of the costs. You may find the item at a reasonable price online or through a building contractor who may have the right connections.

Your custom home is the one of the most important investments you can make. Taking the time to research and identify great contractors and products will result in a custom home you will be proud of, not only for the finished product, but also because of the savings in your pocket.

Search Home Builders and new homes right now!

Technologies of Home Improvement - Siding and Chemical Treatment

The modern homeowner has a wealth of opportunities available to them to improve and refine their homes. In the past, it was often believed that the homeowner must take responsibility for every aspect of their home through a hands-on, attentive, and time consuming process of detail adjustment, surveillance, adaptation, and analysis.

While it is true that the modern homeowner has not been completely absolved of the necessities of care and commitment, recent technological advancements, specifically in the fields of lawn care and home siding, have been able to provide unique opportunities and advantages for homeowners from the 20th century. However, with these advantages come unique problems as well. One should examine the technologies of James Hardie siding and environmentally friendly pesticides to consider their strengths and weaknesses.

James Hardie siding is a relatively new invention that claims to be fire resistant and affordable. We can defer the need to examine the affordability of this product momentarily so that we can consider the advantages of fire-proof home siding. This may be an instance of a new technological advancement that solved a problem that few, if any homeowners even knew that they had.

It is in fact the case that traditional home siding is flammable and is often the cause of serious fire damage during a home crisis. While infrequent, when a house fire spreads to the outside siding of a residence, it can exacerbate the damage and spread around the house at a moment's notice. On this point, James Hardie siding is a clear advantage as it is inflammable and will not put the homeowner at risk of exterior home damage.

The second technology to consider is environmentally friendly pesticide. Many homeowners are been keenly aware of the environmental damage that is caused by pesticides and chemical treatments. In recent years, however, new, environmentally friendly products have been released to aid in the control of your lawn's pests without damaging the environment at large.

Likewise, this technology is a clear advancement over prior treatments, but it should not be considered the solution to all chemical problems- even environmentally friendly can be harmful if used too frequently or before rainstorms.

Both technologies have been demonstrated to be improvements over past products. The remaining issue is the affordability of both products. It cannot be said with any degree of certainty that an individual should purchase these new technologies. In a time of economic crisis it is too much to presume to know the individual financial situations of homeowners. It is up to the homeowner to decide to budget and analyze their own financial circumstances to see if they can afford the new technologies of home ownership.

Mr. Oliver is a marketing agent of Preferred Siding. The siding contractor provides James Hardie and Hardiplank Siding throughout the Northern Virginia area. For more information on their cosmetic surgery Richmond Virginia please visit their website.

How to Repair the Washing Machine Drain Hose

Having problems with your washing machine because the drain hose does not drain? This is one of the most common washing machine problems one can encounter whenever the washer breaks down. Many factors can cause this breakage and age is one of them.

If your washing machine continues to fill itself with water and you can hear the sound of the motor, then it indicates that the washer belt is still functioning properly.

Whenever a drain hose stopped working, there are only two reasons - either the drain hose is faulty or the pump in the washing machine has gone something wrong. In this article, we will share with you what you can do to fix this problem.

First Step

You need to inspect the washing machine lid to find out whether is broken. You can make use of a pencil or a long pointed object to poke against the lid button.

Second Step

Check whether the hose is attached to the pipe hole. If that is the case, unattached it.

Third Step

Choose a replacement hose. Two main types of hose are available. You can either choose the reinforced rubber or the sturdier and newer type - stainless-steel reinforced.

Fourth Step

Turn off the source of the water supply. Remember to unplug the electrical plug for safety reason. There are 3 hoses and you need to disconnect them to do the replacement. You need a monkey wrench tool, pipe wrench and a normal plier to help do the job here. Be careful of the water dripping from these hoses.

Final Step

After you have removed the hose from the washing machine, it's time to replace the old with the new hose. This is a much easier step. Apply a little grease on the faucet and connector and make sure the rubber fits in directly into the hose connector. Complete the job with the hose connector. Take note to not avoid twisting the hose when you setup for new hose. Try to leave some gap behind the washer and wall for the hose.

Visit http://www.washingmachineadvisor.com for more washing machine repair tips, Asko washing machine reviews and other washing machine related advice.

Ceiling Repairs

Coordinate Wood Furnishings Easily With Window Blinds

Wood blinds are one of the most popular, versatile and fashionable types of light filtering and insulating window blinds available today. Their natural grain finish and stain along with their easy compatibility with your overall room design and dcor make wood blinds an excellent, sophisticated choice to enhance your home's interior. These lovely window blinds have natural hues and grains that complement those of other wood furnishings as well as other materials, both natural and manmade. Whether you are completely renovating or redecorating your home, or simply adding complementary touches, you will always be delighted with the results of carefully chosen and installed wood blinds at your windows. To be honest, it's difficult to make a wrong or less than desirable decision when choosing such blinds for home installation. Since the natural tones and grains of wood finishes are compatible with nature's abundance of colors and nuances of hue, most any selection of wood blinds will join with the rest of your home's dcor to enhance and embellish the overall interior design.

Available for all window sizes, wood blinds are a highly effective home addition for controlling outside light entry through your windows. By rotating the window blinds slat position by a small fraction on an inch, you can prevent glaring light effects in your home's interior, creating a soft, natural lighting quality to enhance your home environment. The natural grain finish and warm nuances of the blinds' wood surface further buffer and soften any harsh light, preventing the glaring reflection that mental blinds or smooth-glossed shades and other window treatments may cause.

Since wood blinds have slats usually measuring two inches in depth with a thickness of approximately one eighth of an inch, they are quite helpful in insulating your window interiors from extreme temperatures during both summer and winter seasons. This feature can vastly improve heating and cooling factors in all your rooms, making your energy bills drop appreciably in amount while improving the comfort and enjoyment of time spent at home. Another very useful and attractive feature is their ability to shield your home's interior from outside noise, whether you live in an urban, suburban or rural location.

You'll find both the installation and upkeep of wood blinds quite easy. Their attractive and stylish matching valance, which comes at no additional cost, serves as a shield for the steel headrail operational control at the top. By easy manipulation of durable nylon or polyester cords, you can rotate a wood blind's position to a full 180 degrees for complete room interior darkness and privacy. Easy to dust and clean, wood blinds maintain their attractive surface quality with very little time and effort toward upkeep on your part. Since their thickness can cause a larger volume of blind slat stacking and build-up at the top of your windows when completely raised to reveal your windows, you may choose to have wood blinds installed outside your window frames.

If your window blinds operation seem cumbersome or present a problem for children or elderly members of your household, you may want to consider installation of Smooth Lift or motorized controls that can solve any difficulties posed when raising or lowering your window blinds. Especially since wood blinds, though attractive and easy to maintain, are heavier than many metal and plastic blinds, your window treatment company installation consultant may recommend these automatic operational control mechanisms for your comfort and convenience.

Without doubt, wood blinds will both enhance your home's dcor and prove highly cost effective to your home maintenance expenses. The added warmth and elegance of their polished natural-grain surfaces and hues will combine with the varied wood, fabric, metal, vinyl and other components of each room's dcor to emphasize, enhance and accentuate fine qualities of composition in your home's overall interior design. At the same time, their strong insulating abilities will free your home from distractions and inconvenience of exterior noise and extremes of temperature, while providing highly effective light filtering and total privacy for your complete comfort and convenience. You will find that the installation of attractive and fashionable window blinds at your windows will add delightful warmth and soft ambiance to your home and greatly enhance the quality of your time spent there

Judith Persit is an interior designer specializing in window treatments. Judith writes about wood blinds. Learn more regarding window blinds at her website

Exterior Wood Beams

Wet Basements - Home Repair Advice

When you have a wet basement, a moisture issue, cracks, leaks or other basement issues, there's one thing all basement waterproofing contractors agree on: You need to take care of your basement's issues.

The dispute comes from how to go about doing it.

Another thing most companies agree with is that Open Backed Systems don't work. They let in air, bugs, radon, and expect the water to not jump the gap if created by a pin whole leak. Having a system that is then concrete back over, is a closed, sealed system and that provides wall protection is the new standard.

Vapor barriers along the walls protect against wall leaks and seepage coming up through the footing and the wall. No longer can leaks hop a system and end up on your floor, or worst case scenario, on the back of your finished basement walls. Vapor Barriers help to prevent the flow of moisture from you foundation into your basement space.

Many companies feel that the basement waterproofing industry as a whole has laid stagnant since the 1980's; failing to come up with new solutions to an old problem that are better, more effective, and more reliable then their predecessors. Some companies are relying on technology that has not changed since the late 1800s! Pipe and Stone is out! Duel-Channel interior drains are in!

With the new technology that has given us products, like GrateDrain, we're now able to provide maintainable subterranean drainage systems for the basement with corner connections, access for dehumidifier run off hoses, and continuous flow to amphibious pumps. Large holes for greater volume control, a solid wall to subdue cross contamination of wall-joint to beneath-slab water, and a sump basin that's designed with the same idea in mind: large holes to deal with rising water, punched holes to discourage bacteria growth and clogging, mesh filters to protect from stone penetration that can ruin pumps, and built in pump stands to keep cost down and keep the pump at it's most efficient height.

Total solution systems that can be designed to fit crawl spaces, full basements, all descriptions of wall types such as stone concrete foundations, concrete block foundations, poured or pre-fabricated concrete walls. Vapor barriers, dehumidifiers, duel-channel drains and sump pumps are only standards in fixing a solution. In no way does it make someone's solution a "cookie cutter" one. For what you want, for your dreams and design ideas, systems can protect against the most complicated situations for people to enable themselves to finally finish off.

Just be leary: if the professional suggests an amount of protection needed as a bare minimum in order to then finish, listen to them. Finishing off with a false sense of security can be costly. Everything in your basement must be treated before being finished. Contact your local basement waterproofing specialist today to see how you can get started working on your dreams for your basement.

Jacob Lee- pioneer basement
http://www.pioneerbasement.com
http://www.homebasementfinishing.com

Corner Roof Fascia Damage

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

Mold Behind Shear Wall

Can You Help Us with Your Remodeling Experience

To would appreciate any home remodeling tips for ideas that you have that could help other homeowners, building contractors and other people involved in home remodeling. Post all your comments below.

Deck Framing Wood Damage

Surviving As A Contractor In California

So you want to make big money making a living as a contractor in the state of California. Well now I bet you have seen contractors on TV or maybe you know someone who is a contractor. You see these men and women playing the part as Mr. or Mrs. Money bags. If you have the slightest thought that becoming a contractor will provide you with a life of riches think again.

Most contractors that I know and have worked with over the years don't think of there jobs as easy. They have to work everyday and a lot into the night doing estimates or meeting with potential clients because they are to busy during the day. The life of most contractors in the beginning will be difficult to say the least. But if successful you will make a great living for yourself and your family.

Now that we got the false illusion of the contractor answering his cell phone all day at some nice golf course having lunch talking about the money that he just made selling his oil stocks. We can start on reality. If being a contractor was that easy everyone would be a contractor. Right..... Well maybe not everyone.

I have been a contractor for over 22 years and in construction for 30 year. I have seen a lot of changes over the years. I remember when a few contractors that I worked for made a lot of money during the late 1970's. These guys had Ferraris and money to burn with one exception they had no idea how to save any of it. These guys went on vacations and bought extravagant toys for them selves. Out of most of the big framing contractors I worked for about 10 percent are still in business or actually saved their money during the good times so that they could make it through the bad times.

These contractors never thought it was going to end. Life on easy street that is. But it did and most went by the way side. I guess that is the nature of business. Especially the current economic business cycles that we seem to go through over the years. If you don't have the money to advertise or carry a payroll. Your business is going to suffer during the bad times. Sure there is credit and bank loans but you still have to pay that money back. IF you can't save your money stash some away for advertising.

Some of the best advice I can give a contractor anywhere especially in the state of California is " Don't Think The Great Times Of Easy Money Will Last Forever". Save some of the money you make just in case you need to get through the bad times. You will thank me for this latter, Some time down the road. Take this advice and put it into action starting right now.

Greg Vanden Berge has over 30 years of experience in residential home building and remodeling. This provides you with the comfort of knowing that you have a professional with the knowledge and skills to complete your construction projects in a timely manner.

Our low overhead along with our new online estimating system will provide you with the most competitive construction pricing in the area. We continue to educate ourselves about the new home improvement books and building systems in the construction industry. If we have any doubt that something might not work we don't use it. We have found some of these products to be the root of some major home building problems.

Click on the Home Remodeling Ideas to get more information and a possible online estimate for your home improvement project.

What Changed My Thoughts

Home Renovation - Increase Your Profit Using Value Engineering

The concept of value engineering in renovation has never been more essential than it is today. At the start of 2009 we can still hear all sort of commotion about slow economy and troubles in the real estate market. All this should awaken renovators who are planning to increase the value of their homes, that a small miss-calculation or an over-renovation could easily destroy their profit or worse result in a complete loss.

Let me be clear, slow economy and slow real estate market does not mean that you can not remodel your home to increase its value. What it means is that you need to know what to renovate and how much to renovate in order to turn a good profit. At first sight this may seem simple; however, there is more involved than a simple question from your local renovator. To fully maximize your profit you need to understand value engineering in regard to home renovation.

Simply put value engineering in respect to home renovation is the process by which you analyze to determine what renovations will bring in the most profit for your home. Here we are going to quickly discuss the steps that must be taken to determine how to maximize your profit.

1) The first step in this process is to determine the market value of your home as well as market value of renovated homes similar to your home in your area. This is done to find out whether there is any room to profit. If the price for your un-renovated home is close to the price of a renovated similar home nearby, renovation could be a waste of time and money.

Remember, the key words are "similar homes" and "in your area". There is no point comparing your home that is built on a 20 x 100 parcel of land to a home built on a 5 acre land as you are not able to stretch the size of your land. Also the comparables that you choose must be near your home, preferably on the same street or just few homes down the road from your home. You can obtain market value of these renovated homes from your local real estate office or from a qualified appraiser.

2) The second step is to determine how much value each renovation adds to your home. This information can be obtained from your local real estate office or a qualified appraiser. Real estate salespersons and appraisers for most part use a process called CMA (comparable market analysis) to determine your home value. In short the appraiser looks at similar properties sold recently near your home.

Using his/her extensive database, the appraiser is able to adjust the price based on the condition of various areas of your home as well as any new additions. For example the database indicates that an additional second bathroom in your area increases home value by $8000, updated kitchen increase value by $6000, Second garage does not impact the value and etc. This is how your local real estate salesperson is able to price out your home.

3) The third step is to determine the cost for each renovation. Make sure to get price estimate from at least three qualified contractors

4) The final step is to analyze your findings in step 2 and step 3 to determine what renovation(s) will yield the most profit.

To learn more about maximizing your profit using value engineering click, Smart Home Renovation

Visit http://www.homeremodelingguide.ca to find other helpful remodeling idea, advices and resources.

Stair Stringer Connection

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

Finding A Mentor

Learn How to Build a Shed

Do you dream of being able to handle repairs at home? Maybe you do, but unfortunately you may lack the wood working skills to do so. It may be a good idea to build a shed. Now a lot of people, including you, may say that building a shed is no simple task.

But believe me building a shed is relatively easy if you have the right tools and the proper frame of mind. You can find resources all around you that will tell you how to build a shed quite easily.

Since a shed is basically a simple structure, learning how to build a shed will prepare you for more challenging projects. Building a shed teaches you valuable construction skills and allows you to make mistakes on a part of your house that does not have to look grand, just working.

If you develop problems as you build your shed, like a gaping hole or sections that do not fit; you can always fix, patch, or jury rig a solution. Something that you will not dare do if you have the same problem in your living room.

Of course basic wood working skills will really help you before you can learn how to build a shed. A woodworking class would help you acquire the needed skills. A more effective way would be to ask a knowledgeable friend to show you how.

If you convince him to teach you how to build a shed or build you one with you as an assistant instead of the other way around, you will be in the best position to learn the necessary skills.

Leaning by doing is always more effective than learning in a class. The case is similar in learning how to build a shed. Learning the required knowledge will be easier if you can see the application of the techniques needed.

As your knowledge grows so will our ability to take on bigger projects. From building a shed you may advance gradually into bang able to build your own mansion!

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning How to Build a Shed. Visit our site for more helpful information about How to Build a Shed and other similar topics.

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Feng Shui - Simple Floor Plans 1, 2, 3

Assembling a simple floor plan can be no easy matter. If you are lucky enough to have an architectural to-scale floor plan or your home, office or abode you are way ahead of the game and the pack. On the other hand most of us do not have the luxury of a to-scale floor plan at our fingertips.

Do not despair assembling such a floor plan is not difficult. Its all in the process of making a simple plan with the sitting direction orientated on the bottom of the page or pages.

What are the steps to drawing up such a document? First of all you must consider that all exterior and interior entrances and doorways must be included. Along with this are all the windows, beds and desks. Next accurately measure your interior spaces. The key here is total accuracy. Nothing else will do. Easiest and best are the new laser type measuring devices that make accurate measurement a snap. If you are caught for lack of supplies or finances a standard regular old fashioned tape measure will do. Just follow the adage of "measure twice, cut once". Some people have conducted inaccurate measurements using their actual feet and estimating distances. This can be considered false economy both in terms of the actual final costs as well as your time. Measure all extremely accurately and comprehensively.

Measure the length of each room by starting with the back walls. If you can begin with the back wall that is connected close to your sitting area of your dwelling. Continue on with adjacent rooms starting of course with rooms with the back walls. Move forward in the building towards the front part sequentially. When you are finished with these accurate measurements you will find it extremely easy to draw a simple to-scale floor plan. It's easiest to make changes to your "map" or diagram if you use either and erasable pen or a simple pencil rather than a permanent ink pen.

The next step, in this process, is to divide your dwelling or business space into nine equal "cells". This can be simply done by adding together the lengths of each room. Next divide the length sum and the width sum by three. You might find this whole process of calculations easier , if you attach simple pieces of masking tape at each of the dividing markers on your inside walls. "Masking " tape is used by professional painters as a standard means of attaching to or masking areas of walls without any apparent or lasting damage done to the exterior surfaces and finishes of walls. Along the way note the corresponding marker or markers on your floor plan. Now with a colored pencil, draw a line connecting the length and width markers. You will now when you have completed this step when you have a floor plan onto which there is a grid of nine equal cell areas. If the cells appear not to be proportionate to your actual spaces then check or even recheck your work. Of course if your home is more than one story high, you must draw a separate floor plan for each floor of the building.

Now you are on the home stretch. The final step is to label your completed 9 cell floor plan. Outside, label each of the eight directions. Mark down and note sitting and facing areas with identifiable diagrams and markers noting each family member's area or areas.

Voila you now have completed your architecturally correct to-scale floor plan. Feng Shui.

Morris E. Brown
Winnipeg Banquet Center
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Crack Or Chip in Your Windshield? Repair it Yourself!

If you've been a driver for any length of time, you've inevitably been in this situation: You're driving down the highway, and a rock from the car or truck in front of you kicks up and hits your windshield, leaving a tiny crack. Chances are, you grumble in disgust as you think about when you're going to find the time to have the windshield replaced. And if you don't have glass coverage, you probably figure that crack will just have to stay until you can come up with the money to replace it. But what you may not realize in this scenario is that your windshield does not have to be replaced at all.

Car glass repair has become quite popular, and for good reason; it's safe, affordable, and actually so simple that most drivers can fix cracks or chips in their windshields themselves with a car glass repair kit.

First let's clarify something about chips and cracks on windshields. Most of the time, small cracks and chips under a foot long do not require complete replacement of the car glass. In fact, repairs are usually preferred, because the rigid tests on the bonds of windshields in brand new cars are not performed on replacement windshields. Using a car glass repair kit, therefore, allows you to retain the bond of the windshield's factory seal.

Replacing an entire windshield can be expensive; most start at $300 and go up from there. But a do-it- yourself car glass repair kit is often less than a third of that price. There are quite a variety of kits available that are quite simple to use, with repairs taking up very little time.

Don't let that chip or crack go on for too long-

It is advisable to repair any damage to your car glass as soon as possible-even the same day, if you can. Ignoring a crack or chip in your windshield is not advised, for several reasons:

Ignoring a small crack could result in the crack growing until it is too large for repair, and you will have to pay for a complete replacement.
Small cracks could compromise the integrity of the windshield, causing it to spread completely at the slightest bump.
Chips and cracks can impede on the driver's ability to see correctly.
Dirt and grime can seep into your vehicle through a crack or chip.

Glass Star America : DIY Windshield Repair Kits

http://www.glass-staramerica.com

Glass Star America offers the most practical, professional series of Do-It-Yourself Windshield Glass Repair products sold across America. We are a pioneer in the industry, co-holding multiple patents in the overall field of glass repair. The Glass Star Do-It-Yourself system was designed for both ease of use and high-quality repairs.

Written by Terri Polk at http://NewSunSEO.com

Home Water Heater Damage

Winterizing Your Home

Before the long, cold winter months, you may want to consider winterizing your home to keep it safe from the cold, especially if it is vacant and on the market. Even if you are not selling your home, winterizing your property can go a long way in preventing problems from the cold in the future and keeping your home healthy and in good repair. Here are some places in your home that you can check in order to make sure your property is properly winterized.

Inspect doors and windows for air flow and not only will you keep your home at a comfortable temperature, you'll also save money in energy bills. Check for cracks or chipped paint around the doors or windows, and caulk if necessary. If you feel a draft coming in from the bottom of your door, invest in a door stopper to run the length of it for further insulation.

Have your HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system inspected. You do not want to have to worry about a broken HVAC system in the middle of the winter. Have it inspected before the cold months come and your home-heating professional will be able to tell if you need repairs or just a simple tune up.

You should also protect your plumbing from expensive pipe bursts by disconnecting hoses around the house and draining them properly. Make sure your sprinkler system is turned off, and you're sure to keep your home safe and in good repair all winter long.

RE/MAX of Alabama (http://www.remax-alabama.com/orange-beach-real-estate.aspx) is a real estate brokerage that specializes in Orange Beach real estate. Billings Farnsworth is a freelance writer.

Damaged Wood Window

How Much Electricity Does a Wind Generator Produce?

If you are interested to build a renewable wind generator system to run your home with wind power, you need to first understand how electricity is produced with wind energy and how much electricity can be produced by the wind turbines.

Wind is a result of different temperatures on different surfaces of the ground at various times of the day. When a part of the ground is heated up first, the air above it becomes warm and rises. The cooler air takes over the space left by the warm air and the result is wind.

1. How Does A Wind Generator Turbine Work?

As long as there is wind, the wind generator will be able to capture the kinetic energy and convert it to electrical power inside the system for your home use. It is usually installed on the roof of your house for maximum efficiency.

If insufficient energy is produced from the wind generator system, you can still draw electricity from the utility company, especially at times when the air is almost not moving. However, when a lot of electricity is produced, especially when the wind speed exceed 7 mph, there is a chance that you can produce excess electricity which you can then use to sell back to the utility company.

2. How Much Electricity Can One Wind Turbine Generate?

The electricity that a wind generator can generate will depend on turning speed of the rotor and the turbine's size. A 10-kW wind turbine can generate about 10,000 kWh a year at a location with wind speeds averaging 12 miles per hour, or about enough to power a typical household. A 5-MW turbine can produce more than 15 million kWh in a year, which can be used to power more than 1, 400 households.

Thousands of people have already eliminated their own home electricity bills with this free energy system. They learned how to build it by downloading a step-by-step guide online. You can find out more about how to build this homemade power system at the website link below.

Are you looking to build a Wind Generator to produce Electricity for your home? Do not try any windmill and solar power system scams until you read the author's review of the Best Home Energy Systems at http://www.renewableenergysystemreview.com first!

The author has managed to reduce his energy bill by more than 80% by building his own renewable home energy system. Check out his website to find out how to do it!

Great Tips For Termite Protection

Are you scared stiff that your house is infested with termites? You need to understand that these termites are insects that cause slow destruction to the wood in your house. All the wooden areas will start going hollow once they are infected with termites and the worst part is that you will not even know until great damage is done. It is always better to use termite protection steps in your home and see to it that you are safe and away from termites.

Termite protection of your house starts with preventing these termites to have favorable conditions near your house so that they can thrive. The first step that you need to follow in termite protection is to keep the area surrounding your house clean and clear from wood based commodities like paper, cardboard, wood pieces etc. If you have a ladder then make sure that you do no store it in a manner that it has contacts with your house. These are areas that termites attack for their food supply.

An important termite protection tip is to check and plan your house while you are constructing it. Make sure that the wooden poles and other structures are kept away from the ground so that they do not have direct contact with the earth. If you are planning on wooden fences, then it is necessary that you plan to construct it at a distance and periodic inspections are a must.

All of us love to have a kitchen garden. But make sure that the plants and trees that you plan to have are placed at a safe distance from your house for termite protection, failing which you will surely notice the presence of an entire colony of termites in your garden and affecting your house becomes very easy for them.

The best way to deal with termite protection is to use wood that is borate treated for your house. This will keep away the termites and will not allow them to feed on the wood in your house.

Don't you want a termite free home? You need professional help in finding the right tips for termite protection. One such guide is available at Preventtermiteintrusion which will provide you with easy do it yourself methods to get rid of termites.

Air Conditioning Repair and Maintenance

Air conditioning is just the opposite action of the heat pumps that are used daily in the home. Air conditioner is almost like a refrigerator that is used normally. In a normal refrigeration cycle, the heat pump transfers the lower temperature heat that is generated into higher temperature heat sinks.

The heat that is generated would flow in the opposite direction. The air conditioner pumps out the heat from the interior of the room. A centralized air conditioning uses a duct to distribute the air to one or more rooms with the help of a chilled pipe lines. In a central air conditioning system, the internal noise is relatively lower as it is placed outside the room.

An air conditioner reduces the humidity of the air with the help of the system. The reduced humidity condense the water vapor in order to reduce the temperature i.e. it almost works like a water drop is turned to an ice droplet by a change in the temperature.

An air conditioner is designed in a way reducing 40% to 60% of the humidity in the occupied space. There are some conditioners which only gives dry air. This works like a normal conditioner where only a heat exchanger is used, only intake and exhaust happens.

Repair and its maintenance

Air conditioner and heater works in the similar way with all the duct work, and the blower system. When the system fails, many people would think that there is a need of a repair man to handle it. But in some cases it is not needed.

The most common problem is that they forgot to change the temperature from cool to heat or heat to cool when there is a change in the climate. The most common problem can be fix by the home owners by tracing the problem.

For instance when the air conditioner fails to work, check the circuit breaker or fuse, compressor and pressure level. In some cases there would be an ice formation due to the extreme temperature. In such cases, the only solution is to switch off the air conditioner until the ice melts down.

Air conditioner is usually termed as a comfort maker. When your comfort maker gets disturbed from its routine function, it would be better to call for a serviceman on certain issues. This system works with a condenser and an evaporator. When this remains static, a service man is advised to look after certain condition.

So it's always better to have a periodical check up on your conditioner and a routine cleaning has to be done.

Check out more air conditioning and heat installation tips at my air conditioner site. Learn more about home air conditioning repair and how you can repair air conditioner yourself.

Please Help Us with Your Remodeling Advice

How would you like to help other contractors, home improvement specialists, builders, real estate professionals and anyone else involved in home remodeling. If you have any tips or home improvement advice to you would like to share with our readers, it would greatly be appreciated. Leave all comments below.

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3D Kitchen Remodelling To Create The Finest Kitchen Cabinets

Introduction

Redesigning my kitchen was causing me a major problem. I just couldn't decide on anything I wanted. For me, the difficulty was that there were simply too many designs to choose from. This article details the 3d kitchen remodeling process I used for my kitchen, which have some of the finest kitchen cabinets in it. It's all down to a small piece of online software I came across on the Internet. Carry on reading and you too can also learn from my experience.

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted an oak kitchen countertop. But as I alluded to in the introduction, when it came to designing the rest of my kitchen I didn't have a clue. I still had to make a start on choosing a kitchen table and kitchen cabinets to match my kitchen countertop. Money was not the problem, the trouble was envisaging how the kitchen would turn out.

Whilst searching on the Internet for "finest kitchen cabinets", I came across some online software for 3d kitchen remodeling. This turned out to be a real godsend. It was only a couple of dollars for a monthly subscription and turned out to be exactly what I needed to get my creative design juices flowing. Like any new piece of software, it was slightly complicated to use at first, but once you got used to its strange idiosyncrasies, it was fine.

Basically, it allowed you to design the look of your own kitchen from scratch. First, you had to create the room itself by entering a few simple parameters to tell the program the general size and shape of the room and then you were away. The next step was to start adding and designing the kitchen cabinets themselves.

This is where the kitchen remodeling software really came into its own. In your virtual kitchen, it was easy to swap around the kitchen units, islands, fridges and sinks with the click of a mouse. I was also able to try the look of different finishes to my kitchen cabinets and worktops and gradually through a process of elimination, I ended up with my ideal kitchen without stepping into a kitchen showroom or DIY store.

Despite my initial preconceptions, I decided to go for a granite kitchen countertop setoff by sleek, modern looking kitchen cabinets. I was definitely going for the minimalistic look in my kitchen; there was not a storage jar in sight. Instead, I was making clever use of the finest kitchen cabinets I could find with multiple storage trays.

Conclusion

So, what are the main lessons that can be learned from my experience? When you are planning to redesign your kitchen, you need to make a good job of it as you will be investing a substantial sum of money. 3d kitchen remodeling software such as the package described above is just one way to make sure that you get a healthy return on your investment. Whether that return is when you eventually sell your house, or just through the enjoyment of living in a kitchen remodeled by you.

Peter Craske runs an informational site that provides tips and answers on home improvement related topics. For information rocking chair cushions please visit his site. He also has a site that provides information on cool ways to spend your leisure time. If you are interested in acoustic guitars then you may want to find out more info on Chinese acoustic guitars.

Framing Wood Shower Pans - Bathroom Remodeling

Whether you live in a home that has a bathtub or a shower, there is a good chance that structural framing could be damaged if there was any water leaking around the plumbing fixtures. The damage should be repaired before framing your pan.

If you're replacing a bathtub and installing a new shower this is going to require constructing a wood shower pan. Now building a wood pan will require a level floor surface, shower damn and blocking.

Now let's start with building the shower damn. You're probably wondering what is a shower damn and what does it have to do with the wood shower pan. The shower damn is actually the area you climb over when entering into the shower. This part of the shower pan enables the water to flow off a shower curtain or door into the shower pan and down the drain.

The shower damn needs to be at the least 6 inches tall and would be best if it was at least 8 inches. You can use a 4 x 6 or a 4 x 8 for the wood shower damn.

Next we need to block the perimeter of the pan area in the wall framing that we will use for our shower walls also. These blocks should be at least 12 inches high. This would require using 2 x 12 lumber for blocking.

After you block the perimeter of the shower pan and installed the shower damn you are ready to have to shower water proffed with a process known as hot mopping the shower pan or using a vinyl liner.

Well I hope this gives you a better idea of what's involved when framing shower pans during the house framing process.

Greg Vanden Berge has been building and remodeling for over 30 years and his information has proven valuable to most contractors and homeowners all over the world. He usually tries to write at least two articles a day on home improvement or remodeling problems.

Greg is in the process right now of working on a home inspection website that will revolutionize the home inspection business. He is also working on a book to help homeowners and contractors as well as other home related professions in dealing with the home inspection process.

You can visit the home inspection website currently under construction at Home Inspection Help

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