Top Ways to Reinvent Your Old Patio

Summary: Taking the time to redesign your patio can completely transform the way you see your home.

Several homeowners are failing to realize that their outdoor patios can be the difference maker in terms of appeal. With the right additions, and subtractions, one can completely alter the look of their patio in as little as a few hours. This article will provide you with some pointers on how to accomplish just that.

Utilize Space Appropriately

It’s time to get creative when it comes to exterior designing. For any patio, you’ll want to use the surrounding space as best as you can. If you have a smaller are to work with, be aware of how much space you have so you don’t end up cramming things and creating a mess in the process. Not only will this create an imbalance but takes away from the actual usable space.

Match Your Furniture

When you’re picking out certain furniture styles for your patio, you’ll want to justify the look so it’s suitable for your surroundings. Take the time to find the exact pieces that you want. Then, try and visualize them in a pattern that you feel comfortable with. Ask yourself questions. Do they match or is there something sticking out? Keep in mind that not every furniture piece will look great next to one another. If aesthetics is something you’re concerned about, make sure to mix and match accordingly.

Simplicity Can be the Difference Maker

Often, opting for the simple route can be the best way to design your patio. It takes a few brilliant pieces to make your patio cozy and sleek at the same time. A clean deck to move around with a few strategically placed items can make all the difference and completely transform the look of your patio.

Blog submitted by Wicker Paradise: Wicker Paradise carries the finest wicker and rattan furniture for the lowest prices. To learn more, visit the experts at Wicker Paradise today.

How to Protect Yourself from Costly Construction Claims

One of the keys to successfully running a construction business is limiting your exposure to certain claims, according to Lyle Charles Consulting. These claims can be costly not only in their final outcome, but also from the productivity you’ll lose in dealing with them. With this in mind, an ounce of prevention can go a long way.

Hiring a construction claims consultant is a great way to ensure that your company is operating in a way that minimizes the risks. Good consultants understand not only how to win these claims when they’re filed, but how to operate your company to avoid claims altogether. They’ll help you with suggestions that can keep your company safe.

Doing construction claim analysis is critical before you enter into a contract or make an important decision. This analysis will highlight the risks you might face in carrying on with any potential project. Once you conduct this analysis, you’ll be able to make an informed decision on whether it makes sense for you to pursue a certain job or just stay away in favor of some different project.

It’s critical to minimize the damage if these claims do pop up. Professionals help with construction claim preparation. They have industry knowledge, understanding the points where you’re weak so you can minimize the costs. It’s not always possible to avoid claims altogether. It can be possible to keep the damage down, though, if you are willing to enlist the help of a company that has more experience than you in dealing with these claims.

Tips on Outdoor Cushion Replacement

outdoor-furniture-set-tealTo provide the highest amount of comfort for your guests, consider replacing your outdoor cushions.

Patio chairs tend to have a short lifespan than the furniture pieces within your home. The reasons are pretty obvious being that they’re simply outdoors and are prone to being weathered after a prolonged time period. If your patio chairs have experienced the blunt of nature’s fury, don’t throw them away – simply replace their cushions.

Replacing the Cushions

If the frame is still solid, but the interior is ruined, you could easily replace the patio cushion and do a bit of upholstering. By doing so, you could end up with a brand new chair without having to break the bank. Now, there are numerous options that you have when it comes to finding new cushions. For one, you’ll need to consider whether or not the cushion covers are still intact. If they are, the only thing you will have to worry about is finding new cushions. Remember, not all cushions are alike. You’ll need to browse through the different types of foam in order to find one that suits your chair the best. This can be anything from a dense, hard material, to one that is much softer when you sit on it.

The foam cushion inside a chair might be the first thing that gets destroyed by the weather. If it isn’t designed to withstand harsh rains and winds, it could be essentially disintegrated with chunks of mold and mildew in between it. For both comfort and safety purposes, look to replace the cushion first.


The Foam Factory is your home for outdoor foam replacement. With so many options to choose from, you’ll find the right type of high-quality foam that you’re looking for.

Design Your Own Walk In Closet

Summary: If you need extra space, turn a room into a walk in closet.

If you own a house and have an extra room or two that’s not being put to use, consider a walk in closet. While it may not seem cost-efficient and worth your time, take a good look at your current closet’s space. Are you lacking space within your closet? Do you need more storage space? Are you constantly looking for misplaced clothes? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you might need a larger space and should consider transforming a spare room into the closet of your dreams.

Closet organizerCloset organizing systems are the bread and butter of your closet. If you are on a budget, there are various articles on creating your own DIY closet systems. It’s important that you set a budget so you won’t go overboard and shop-happy.

When you design a closet, spatial awareness is important. With a walk in closet, your options tend to open up more because of the amount of space you are provided with. Plan ahead by creating an idea of how you want your closet to look. Then, with a mental blueprint you can start mixing and matching the various pieces of furniture that you have to create a masterpiece of a design.

There are several manufacturers that offer rods and hooks at a budgeted price. Utilize these small accessories to add more depth to your walk in closet. Also, if you want to get one foot in the door of the design phase, take a look at the various online closet look books. You’ll be surprised at the creativity and simplicity of closet owners. You might even find the perfect closet design to model yours after. There are no limitations, so explore your creativity and see what happens.


 

Bio: Solid Wood Closets carries high-quality, custom modular closet systems that will immediately transform your closet into a luxurious one. Browse their online catalogue today.

Tools for Home DIY Projects

tool box
Written by Toolsmith Direct

Every DIYer gets a great sense of satisfaction once they have completed their project. As time grows, most DIYers’ toolboxes would have grown from a trivial box to a full fledged toolbox. To successfully complete a project, the proper tools are imperative. Of course, personal skill and the proper raw material are not to be neglected.  All things considered, here are three tools that you might consider buying, if you have not already. [Read more…]

Artificial Grass Is a Perfect Solution for People with Allergies

 

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It’s easy to assume that having a healthy looking natural grass lawn will help you to feel healthy as well. However, for millions of Americans, the smell of fresh-cut lawn is anything but healthy. For many people with seasonal allergies, grass is a major problem. Breathing in grass pollen can leading to running noses, itchy eyes and in some severe cases asthma attacks. Being exposed directly to grass can also cause itching and hives.

So what can you do if you want to have a green lawn but are allergic to grass? Switching to synthetic grass is a great solution. An artificial turf lawn has the major advantage of having no grass pollens whatsoever. Simply put, you can enjoy an artificial grass lawn year-round without ever having to worry about your allergies acting up. You also don’t need to go outside in the spring and do mowing and other yard work that can cause your allergies to flare up since synthetic turf never needs mowing or edging.

Reducing allergy problems is just one of the potential health advantages of switching to fake grass. Since you never need to worry about using pesticides or artificial fertilizers with artificial grass, you’ll also never have to worry about harmful chemicals getting into your system. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average person has 13 different kinds of pesticides inside of their body. These have been picked up through years of contact with lawns, gardens and more. Moving to a synthetic lawn eliminates a major point of potential pesticide contamination.

Artificial Turf Supply Commercial & Residential Division is a leading provider of top quality home and commercial artificial grass. The company has more than 30 years of combined experience helping people select the right turf for their needs.

How to Collect the Right Tools

Written by: Quick Home Tips

Whether you’re a new homeowner or you’ve just recognized it’s finally time to own your own tools, it can be a daunting task collection all the versions for the job. Of course, it can also be quite expensive too. But the last thing you want is to need a tool and not be ready for the job at hand. Better to have a strategy for slowly amassing all the necessary components over time.

First, be sure you run this strategy across your spouse for approval. As we mentioned, this collection can become expensive, so you’ll want their support. Be sure to explain to them why you’re doing this.

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Second, there are some basics you need immediately. Fortunately, you can find a number of tool sets that come bundled and are far more affordable than buying each separately. Tools included should be things like hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, tape measures and perhaps a saw. Superglue is good to have on hand too.

Over time, then, you can add on more important options like a combination wrench or a metric socket set. Of course, depending on the type of home you have or the projects you have in mind, other tools may be more important to you. Just take the time to think about which options make the most sense for what you need.

Simple Ways to Prepare Your Home for Summer

Written by Your Filter Connection

Summer is nearly here, which means it’s time to prepare your home for the hottest months of the year. While most people get out and about during this time of the year, the home is always the comfortable refuge from the hot weather and blazing sun. By preparing ahead of time, you can decrease the chance of getting stuck without air conditioning or breaking a useful home appliance. Here are a few tips for home owners to prepare their house for summer.

Replace the Air Conditioner Filter

The home air conditioner is the most important piece of equipment during the summer. It’s what will keep you and your family cool and comfortable while the temperature outside reaches triple digits. But chances are you haven’t turned it on since last summer, when you might have used it nearly every day. Just like you will have to purchase a replacement furnace filter before wintertime, the same rule applies to your air conditioning unit.

If you haven’t touched your air conditioning unit since last year, it’s time to replace the filter and prepare it for this summer. Replacing the air conditioning filter will allow the unit to work properly and capture air born contaminants from circulating back into the air. Air conditioner filters are affordable and can be found at Your Filter Connection.

Replace Other Filters

Depending on the appliances you have in your home, you might need to replace more than your air conditioning filter. If you have an air filter, make sure that the filter is clean and new for the new season as well. Other filters to replace in time for summer include your water filter, the fridge filter, and humidifier filter.

Bring Out Cotton and Linen Fabrics

During the cold months of the year, our homes are usually adorned in warm thick materials, from thick drapes in the living room and bedrooms to warm and heavy blankets on our beds. But summertime calls for light and airy fabrics such as cotton and linen. Take a look around your home. It’s time to bring out new fabrics. Exchange heavy drapes for light and thin drapes. Get rid of heavy blankets and throws and bring out cotton sheets, blankets and comforters. The same rule applies to fabrics in the kitchen. Light and airy drapes will invite the summer breeze and allow the sun to shine through, while light and airy blankets and comforters will keep you from getting too hot during the warm summer nights.
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Your Filter Connection is an online retailer of replacement filters for air conditioners, furnaces, air filters, and humidifiers. Visit the website to purchase your furnace filter today.

Tools for Fixing a Car

Your car consists of thousands of moving parts and potential trouble spots. A good mechanic routinely inspects these parts, so you only make small repairs over time to keep your car running. You can run the same maintenance out of your own garage if you have the tools for it.

Lubrication

The internals of a car need to be lubricated frequently to keep those moving parts running well over time. A grease gun can be a handy tool to lubricate parts that are hard to reach by hand. You load the gun, then pull the crank to apply the lubrication. WD-40 is another compound that can fill some limited uses, like lubricating small internal parts or cleaning the grime off of something.

Hand Tools

Most car tail lights can be changed by hand if you have a simple socket wrench. Simply fit the ratchet over the bolt, then rotate to loosen. Once the plate is off, you can swap out the old light for a new one and bolt the plate back into place. You can also use a wrench, but the socket wrench is much more efficient. If you plan to do any interior wiring, bolt cutters will be very handy for stripping and cutting those wires.

Other hand tools that come in handy include screwdrivers, which can be used for both screws and for prying. It’s also helpful to keep lighting close at hand, so you can actually see what you’re doing as you work on the car’s internals.

Heavy-Duty Tools

Every car needs more than just surface maintenance, even if those jobs are few and far between. With a heavy-duty car jack, you can easily change tires or fix your own brake pads. You can also change your oil if the car is lifted from the ground. An air compressor is another heavy-duty tool that is handy for your garage. You can use it as a pneumatic socket wrench, or you can blow away debris and grime from your work space at the end of the session. You can also fit a nozzle at the end and use your compressor as a power washer, stripping away the grime from the internals of your engine with powerful blasts of water.

If you plan to spend some time beneath your car, don’t forget to purchase a kneeling pad to keep from damaging your knees.

Final Thoughts

Cars require a lot of work, which can eat into your budget unless you perform the repairs from the comfort of your home. It’s cheaper to invest in reliable tools now than it is to make repeated trips to your mechanic.
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Toolsmith Direct sells utility knives and other automotive repair tools for individual enthusiasts. Conduct repairs out of your garage with tools from Toolsmith Direct.

When Do I Need to Clean My AC?

Article written by MovinCool

Air conditioning units are a piece of machinery that require more maintenance than you think. Most people can leave it as it is and allow it to get dirty and old due to neglect. You should not let that happen by making sure you have a proper regimen when cleaning your air conditioner.

Schedule

A very important part of cleaning an air conditioner is when you clean it. This will all depend on how frequent you use it. Your home air conditioner will have different schedule of use. Obviously it will be used less in the colder season and more in the summer. Portable A/C is no exception to this and should be cleaned in proportion to how often you use it. If it is something that you use a lot, then it is something you should clean a lot. If it is something you use sparingly, then there is no need to clean it often. Industrial air conditioning is used almost everyday. This is why you should clean this quite often; at least once a month.

What to clean

Cleaning your air conditioner’s air filter is something that should be done quite often, maybe every couple of weeks. This is the first thing that will get dirty since it is the first part that the air will pass through. This means that all the dirt and particles in the air get trapped here. It’s important that this maintains relatively clean so that other parts of your air conditioner will not get damaged.


 

MovinCool is a DENSO corporation brand that has an extensive line of portable air conditionerunits. They come in different configurations so there is one that will surely match your purpose.