Natural Stone Tiles, The Confusion Surrounding Sealing
There would seem based my own experience that there is a lot of confusion amongst the general public and some builders as to what sealing natural stone actually means.
When we speak about sealing a surface we normally mean that an impenetrable barrier is painted on or applied in some way. For example tiled floors are often sealed to give them added endorsement and make them shine. To do this a series of coats of emulsion polish are applied to the surface and granted to dry. This seals the floor and gives it protection. Other surfaces such as wood are often sealed with a coating of a polyurethane product. This adds strength to the surface and protects it. Many other normally porous surfaces can be sealed with a layer that sits on the surface acting as a barrier to penetrative agents and gives endorsement also.
The sealing of natural stone such as marble, granite, limestone and slate is very different. Natural stone is made up of crystals that interlock together. The actual minerals that are present as crystals in the stone give it its colour and striations. However there are spaces between the crystal and the smaller these spaces are and the more the crystals have been compacted together the less porous the stone is. So these spaces will determine the porosity of the stone. A combination of pore size and mineral content of the stone will also determine its hardness and thus its durability. These spaces in the stone are air filled when the stone is dry and water filled when the stone is wet. Bacteria inhabit these spaces and these are often vital for the maintenance of the stone. Very tiny research has been carried out into these bacteria but what has been done would recommend that they are essential in maintaining the integrity of the stone.
Consequently we have the picture of stone as quite a complex mix of minerals, bacteria and spaces. You must envision the stone to be something akin to a very hard sponge! If you drop a liquid onto the stone it will be absorbed and spread through the spaces. This is why what initially looked like a small spillage can end up as quite a massive stain in the stone. To remove the stain it has to be flushed out of these spaces. All a stone sealer does it fill up these spaces. Many of the stone sealants in use are based on fatty acids rather than synthetic sealants. These natural sealants are superior because they do not destroy the bacteria but often enhance them. Synthetic sealants will destroy these bacteria that has longer-term consequences on the stones makeup. Sealants based on fat however have a shorter lifespan and must be renewed periodically.
Whatever sealant is used it simply fills up the spaces between the crystals it does not cover the surface of the stone. Its purpose is simply to delay the penetration of liquids into the stone. So if corrosive materials get onto the stone then it will be damaged. Stone sealants do not form a conserving ‘seal’ on the surface of the stone. Consequently stone is only fortified from absorbing liquids. It is not fortified from surface damage.
Low Flow Toilets : A Love, Hate Relationship
This will come as no surprise, but were you aware that most owners of new homes are unhappy with their low-flow toilets?
Since 1992, when the U.S. government mandated the low-flows, we Americans have been subjected to considerably less flushing power…about half the water per flush than the old fashioned type. The newer units use about one and a half gallons of water versus the older ones that use about three and a half. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what will happen: half (or less)efficiency out of our new plumbing fixture.
To be sure, technology is working to solve the problem but the issue remains: we are simply not getting the service out of our “thrones” like we once did.
Among the issues are that multiple flushes are needed to dispense of the same amount of waste, clogging problems, and additional maintenance. Also, they have been reported to overflow more easily.
Some of the above issues absolutely work against the issue of saving water. After all, if you have to flush 2 or more times, how does that save water. Beyond that, though, clogging and overflow problems result in potentially catastrophic expenses when flooring needs to be replaced due to an overflowing toilet.
A current survey of new home builders and remodelers has shown that they, like homeowners, are frustrated with this new plumbing restriction. They have reported large increases on service calls from unhappy customers.
Water saving techniques and technologies are certainly a good thing. And, one thing is for sure: they are here to stay. In fact, a home with low-flow toilets and low-flow shower heads can save thousands of gallons per year. And, who would not appreciate the savings in water bills? Let’s just hope that the plumbing technology continues to get better.
After all, to be king of your household, you need an efficient and inexpensive throne!
Bathroom Floor Plan Remodel – Help Is At Hand
A bathroom floor Plan remodel project can be a daunting task –not generally a task for the do-it-yourselfer. There are some amenities that you see in the bathrooms for multi-million dollar homes that can be incorporated into your master bath for between $400 and $8,000. One of the easiest jobs to face is the lighting. The recessed bathroom lighting is so favourite with contractors will cause shadows over your bathroom vanity unless you have some additional light source.
Remodel a bathroom floor plan by having a floor heating system installed under your bathroom floor. Envision stepping out of the shower onto a warm custom heated floor. The floor heating will help to warm up the bath with floor to ceiling warmth. Another affordable element that can be included when you remodel your bathroom is an chromo-therapy system. Streams of color can be shown through either standing or running water. This helps to rest you. You can purchase bath, shower, and sink systems with chromo-therapy options. Multiple shower heads with differing sprays and jets to massage and rest you can bre installed in your bathroom. The cost of this shower systems can run between $3,200 and $5,500 depending on the kinds and number of heads you choose.
Another interesting bathroom option when you are remodeling your master bath is a stream shower. This system provides a mist of steam that makes your skin feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Most of these projects require someone very knowledgeable in plumbing and laying of pipe. Before you remodel your bathroom, check to see if your local building codes grant you to make these changes.
Carpet Cleaning Tips And Secrets
You can use all the carpet cleaning tips in the world, and guess what? You still probably can’t get your carpet as clean on your own as a professional carpet cleaner can. On the other hand, who needs perfection? The tips here will help you get that carpet clean enough.
Heat helps! Above 118 degrees fahrenheit, apiece 18 degrees higher changes chemical reactivity by 100%. Hot water extraction cleaning is done between 150 and 200 degrees. Is that too technical? The point is not only that hot water extraction, or “steam cleaning” is far superior to “dry cleaning,” but that if you do it yourself, use heat!
Actually, there are three inter-related factors at work when you clean carpet. Heat, Live Time, and Agitation. To some extent, if you can’t maximise one of them, you can make up for it with the others. In other words, if you can’t get the cleaning solution hot enough, let it “dwell” a bit longer in the carpet, and scrub harder.
Secret Carpet Cleaning Tips
Detergent attracts dirt. This is why it’s important to rinse out any cleaning solution thoroughly. This is another reason why hot water extraction gets carpet cleaner than the “dry” methods. The bottom line is that you need to rinse well when you clean carpet.
One way to clean stains is with the use of a shop-vac. No, you can’t just suck out the stain, but you can repeatedly wash and rinse the area, and suck out the solution apiece time. This is a more effective method than blotting up the water with cloth, mostly because you won’t have the patience to wash, rinse and extract enough times using paper towels or cloth.
Another tiny secret of the carpet cleaners is putting rugs outside and inside the front door. They can catch much of the dirt that people bring in on their feet. This isn’t just about less vaccuuming, though. Dirt is like thousands of tiny blades that cut carpet fibers. The dilapidated carpet stains more easily then, and it’s harder to remove the stains. An even superior practice is to take off your shoes in the house.
Ready to clean? Vaccuum first. Then, if you use one of those portable machines, at least get the water as hot as you can. Dry the carpet quickly, using fans to move the air around. You can at least lengthen the time between costly professional cleanings, by using these carpet cleaning tips.
Don’t Exceed Comps In Your Area
For most homeowners, the pride of ownership includes a consistent home improvement effort. While this makes sense, be careful you don’t improve the property so much that you can’t recover the costs when it is sold.
Home Improvement
You’ve picked up a heck of a deal on a home in a nice neighborhood. The purchase price was $200,000 and you place twenty five percent down [$50,000]. The comparable homes, “comps”, in the neighborhood appraised for $300,000. Yes, your home is a bit run down, but that’s why they have Home Depot and weekends! You’ll just fix the unsightly ducking up and pocket a swift $100,000 in equity when all your projects are done. What a country!
This situation definitely has potential. The value of the home is so low when compared to the comps that a relatively swift equity grab certainly looks doable if the home can be fixed up. Off to Home Depot we go…
Let’s do an evaluation of our unsightly ducking. Put another way, what needs to be done to get it on par with the other ducks in the neighborhood? Okay, we need new doors, new windows and landscaping in a very huge way. The drive way looks like a toxic dump sat on it and we aren’t even going to get into the peeling, unsightly paint on the home. Pricing everything, deciding to use homeowner fag as much as doable and so on, we find it is going to run roughly $50,000 to makeover our unsightly duckling. It’s going to be a lot of work, but that’s what weekends are for. We should still come out with a $50,000 acquire and $100,000 in total equity considering our $50,000 down payment.
Budgets and Temptation
The problem with the above scenario is it is very hard to stick to a budget. If you’ve owned a home, you’re already familiar with this problem. If you are buying a home for the first time, watch out!
With homeownership, the structure you own swiftly evolves into “my home.” Once this occurs, you tend to view the calibre of your home as a statement to the world and you want to show the world your best. Instead of buying moderately priced cabinets for the kitchen, you purchase custom pieces that would make Bill Gates envious. Counter tops soon become marble counter tops. Refinishing the driveway evolves into putting in an entirely new one with brick inlays. And so it goes.
You are no longer trying to bring your home up to the standard of the neighborhood homes. You are trying to turn the home into a swan and swans are expensive. After making all your improvements, you are distressed to find the total cost being $90,000 instead of $50,000. For all your hard work and effort, you’ve realized only a $10,000 acquire in equity.
In Closing
Make sure you objectively budget improvements and stick to those budgets. While there is something to be stated for making a home glow, make sure it makes financial sense.
Choosing the Right House Plan
Everybody would like to live in a mansion or a sprawling ranch but there are many factors to think about when choosing a home plan. There are also a few pitfalls that can be avoided by doing your homework and making the right choices.
Before you commit to buying a stock or custom home plan, you should know how much of a home you can afford to build. A good place to get this information would be the bank that you might use to get your loan from.
Once you know what your budget is, you can determine how much home you can afford and pick a home plan that fits that budget. One way to accomplish this is to call several homebuilding contractors in your area. Ask them what the building costs per square foot are. Not all contractors are willing to volunteer this information, but you will find enough of them that are willing to help at the prospect of gaining a customer.
With this information you will be healthy to determine the square footage of a home plan you can afford. If your budget is $200,000 and the cost per square foot is $100, then a 2,000 square foot home is in your budget($200,000/$100= 2,000).
Another consideration is the size of the lot you intend on building your home. You don’t want to invest in a blueprint for a home that won’t fit on your lot. Check with your municipality or county on the distances you must have between the building and the lot lines. Most have rules on how much backyard you must have and how much your home must be set back from the street or building line.
Some towns and subdivisions also have what are called covenants. These are rules that dictate what you can and can't build. Some of these covenants might include the minimum square footage home you can build, brick or frame construction, minimum roof pitch, and types of building materials you are granted to use.
These are some of the important things you must consider. Building a new home the biggest investment you’ll ever make. Doing a tiny homework will keep you from getting an unwanted surprise and wasting time and money on a plan you can’t use.
(c) Mike Merisko www.sawkerfs.com
7 Tips For Your Hardwood Floor
Solid hardwood floors look great. They have a tough chunky look that spells calibre and long life. And they will last long and look magnificent throughout if you take the effort to look after them. It’s not difficult, and the right kind of care will add years to your beautiful hardwood floor.
1. The worst enemies of your hardwood floor are grit, sand and dirt. These three act like sandpaper grinding, scraping and dulling the shiny surface until it becomes ugly. Use small mats near outside doors to prevent the dirt getting further into your house.
2. Water granted to stand on any part of your hardwood floor can cause warping and discoloration. Be sure to wipe up any spills promptly.
3. Re-arranging the furniture is fine, but lift it rather than drag it. This will refrain scratches.
4. The sun can be strong and have much more power than you might think in mid summer. Direct sunlight can discolor a hardwood floor. Protect it with drapes, curtains or blinds.
5. Clean your hardwood floor by using a good broom, a canister vacuum with a special bare floor attachment, or a good dust mop.
6. If your floor does get a bad scratch in it, get a scratch filler kit of the right color at your local hardware store. Sand and smooth the affected area first, then mix the solution to get the exact right color. When it has dried, lightly smooth with a low grit sandpaper, then polish.
7. Pets are among your hardwood floor’s biggest enemies. They have claws and nails that scratch surfaces. Keep your pet’s nails well trimmed. Also, keep pet food containers off the floor surface. Pets always spill food around the containers, which will alteration the floor over time. Use newspaper or something more durable to protect the floor.
Decorating Your Home With a Creole Twist
Of all the styles of structure and decorating around the world very few have taken the ideal of all the others and made it a tiny bit superior in quite the way that the style often referred to as “French Creole” has managed to do. The truth is that while this style of structure that New Orleans is famous for is really heavily borrowed from many other cultures and yet uniquely New Orleans at the same time.
Creole structure for many brings to mind intricate wrought iron work, long shutters (to cover the windows during hurricanes originally), large windows and doors (these were designed larger than typical homes in other parts of the country in order to create breezeways for the wind to come through in the sweltering hot summer months), and bright colors that you aren’t likely to find in most million dollar neighborhoods. This style of structure and home décor is also famous for large balconies-also with wrought iron railing.
The astonishing thing about the Creole style of home decorating is that there is no one classifiable feature that labels a design style as decidedly Creole. Lagniappe is a term that people here quite often in and around New Orleans. For those who do not know, it means “a tiny something extra”. From an extra donut to a freebie bookmark and many things in between, that tiny something extra has a long history in New Orleans from the structure to the music there always seems to be a tiny something extra that you couldn’t get anywhere else.
The interior design style of the Creole is also very similar. Some think about it gaudy but the locals think about it that tiny something extra and it is. You might find a tiny Gothic style, a tiny bit of Jazz, and a whole lot of Mardi Gras in one room and it s quite all right because you are getting all that and just a tiny bit of lagniappe too. Home decorating in Creole country is an art form that defies logic and yet makes perfect sense for the rich culture and heritage that it encompasses.
For those that need a tiny inspiration who would love to incorporate a tiny Acadian or Creole spice into their living spaces, perhaps the following recommendations will establish to be helpful.
1) Red peppers. Nothing states spice quite like a red pepper. There are all kinds of items you can find with red peppers in them these days from cover borders to hand blown glass peppers, blow toppers, pot holders, kitchen towels, strings of lights for patios-even kitchen canisters decorated with red peppers. There are all kinds of options acquirable to incorporate this theme into your home or one room of your home.
2) Music notes. Most people can't think of Acadian country without thinking of the music that calls this great section of the country home. Music notes are a great way to symbolize the music that made New Orleans famous.
3) Mardi Gras Masks. Many people find that New Orleans stands for Mardi gras in their hearts and minds though New Orleans is not the birthplace of Mardi gras. The masks are a way that people from around the country can bring the ‘spirit of New Orleans’ home with them and decorate their homes with that attitude that can only be referred to as Creole in many hearts and minds.
4) Food. Believe it or not the food is as much a part of the Creole home as any other design element. For this reason a French Creole style kitchen is often the way to go when it comes to home decorating in the Creole fashion. The kitchen is the heart of a Acadian home and food is what makes it that heart. Use jars of beans, rice, pastas, and other lagniappe as part of the overall design and you might just be astonished at just how Creole the room begins to look.
The most important thing to remember is that Creole is more of an attitude than a design style. Bring the attitude of “No Worries” into the design features of your home and you will have the true Creole style to an art.
Bringing the Old West to Modern Home Decorating
What could be more fun when you think about it than incorporating the age-old story of cowboys and Indians into your home décor? For those who love a great story and have a wild sense of adventure this could be an incredibly mythologic design theme for your next home decorating project. This is a great way to bring the rustic charm of the old west into the modern world of today’s busy lifestyles.
Immediately visions of the hacienda with knotty pine and leather upholstered furniture comes to mind. Big fireplaces and antlers everywhere are also first and foremost in my mind when this design intent pops into my head. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination and only limited by your budget in all honesty. This is a look that could be pulled off however on nearly any budget for those that are willing to make a few thrift store buys along the way while investing a clean amount of elbow grease.
One thing you want to be careful of with this particular theme is not taking it too far. This could be so simple to do and it will only subtract from the charm and appeal if you do so. Select the accessories carefully but implement them minimally. This should also help with potential budget restrictions as well as keep you on track for finding the perfect accessories rather than picking up everything you see only to find later that many simply will not work with the style and design you are hoping to achieve in the long run.
Wood floors and wood paneled walls are a great statement for this sort of décor as well as stone for a fireplace (if there is a fireplace of courses). You want solid furniture rather than something that appear fragile or kickshaw and you definitely want to keep the room masculine in appearance if at all possible. Home decorating in the style of the old west isn’t for bachelors alone but too much of a feminine touch will simply kill the appeal all together. In fact, the less feminine touches the superior save these touches for a romantic bedroom or bathroom rather than the primary areas that friends and family will visit.
You will also want to take great pains to imitate the rustic nature of the old west within the kitchen. No delicate china patterns or tables with legs that look like that might start off with a hard wind. This is a ‘mans’ style of decorating and it needs to look as though it will withstand any punishment a man can dish out in order to maintain the fun and light appeal of the remainder of the home. You can find modern sinks, fixtures, and hardware that are designed to resemble those of the old west and beyond if you look in the right places.
For those who are looking for something a tiny out of the ordinary this is one style of decorating that definitely fits the bill. See what wonderful schemes and dreams you can come up with and what sort of tall tale will go along with your old west design story then create the story within the walls of your home. There is no superior way to go about home decorating than this.
Asian Inspired Home Decorating
There are very few themes for decorating a home that capture the imagination quite like an Asian inspired theme. There are many reasons for this one of which is the rich colors, fabrics, and textures that are the hallmark of these themes. There is a simplistic elegance about Asian décor that is nearly impossible to imitate in other methods. It is simply put, stunning to achievement into a room or a home that has been decorated in an Asian inspired motif.
This is not one of the lesser styles of décor when it comes to price. This elegance comes at a rather high price for the average consumer. However, the sparseness of this home decorating style make it doable when other styles with this sort of price attach would not be possible. One of the most important things to remember when attempting to bring an Asian style of décor into your home is the heavy reliance upon color and texture.
Dining rooms are particularly stunning when decorated in an Asian style. In this situation not only can the implements added to the room serve to improve and enhance the décor but also the placemats on the plateau can serve as an important tool in establishing the theme of this supremely elegant room. Chopsticks and dishes, particularly tea servings are other great enhancements to an Asian dining room. This is a room that many families will enjoy dining in.
It is suggested that because of the expense involved in many Asian themed home decorating styles that only one or two rooms in the home should be created based upon an Asian theme. This will keep the costs down as well as making those rooms focal points within the home rather than having the splendor lost among the excess.
If you are having a rough time narrowing down the two rooms, the bathroom also makes an excellent room in which to incorporate an Asian inspired theme. This is a room in which people go to rest and wash away the worries and stress of their days. For this reason, it makes perfect sense that some of the more tranquil and resting design accents of an Asian décor would be appropriate. Candles, figurines, calligraphy (waterproof of course), and Asian artwork make excellent touches for a bathroom, as do the more tranquil colors of some Asian inspired rooms. Fountains can be added to the room for an added taste of relaxation. Be sure that there is plenty of storage space as clean lines and an uncluttered surface are also important for the overall peaceful affect you should be hoping to achieve.
If either the dining room or bath or unappealing to your home decorating desires for an Asian theme you might want to take the theme into your bedroom. There are very few more romantic themes to incorporate into a bedroom than an Asian theme. You can use fabrics to create a very romantic atmosphere, rice paper window coverings to protect those inside from prying eyes, and candles throughout the room to finish off the creation. Furnishings in this room should be sparse and uncluttered. And Asian screens can be used in order to ‘section off’ the room or hide the piles of laundry or cluttered areas that you wish not to be detract from the overall romance of the room. Fans make a lovely decoration for the walls in a bedroom as does Oriental art or framed calligraphy in the words of love. Use surround sconces and indirect lighting rather than harsh, glaring overhead lights.
An Asian theme can be one of the most beautiful in the realm of home decorating if you are truly willing to invest the time and money it takes to do this theme properly. It can also be one of the most gaudy if you select cheap and tacky decorations rather than calibre accessories. If you select to incorporate this theme into your home I hope you will keep that in mind while you are shopping.
