Use Non Slip Flooring to Avoid Falls at Home

When you put your new flooring at home, you have so many options, sometimes it’s quite difficult to choose. There are some flooring types that are more slippery than others given the various conditions, such as water or wax. If you have an elderly living with you, using non slip flooring is something to really think about for the long term. The older a person gets, the easier it is for them to slip and fall. And elderly will have a more difficult time recovering than younger people.

You can put non skid flooring in rooms that tend to have spills or moisture, such as in the kitchen or bathroom, on your patios, around swimming pools and your veranda. These are the places that are easiest to cause accidents and need more care than others.

When you’ve decided to install non slip floors in your home, you can find them in 3 different materials: linoleum, vinyl and cork. While cork might seem a bit weird for the purpose, it is a very modern and good material to use for flooring, and it is also very easy to clean and maintain. If you are an environmentally conscious person, putting cork floors will make you sleep easier at night as this is a very ecofriendly material to have around. Vinyl and linoleum are the other two materials that are easy to maintain and clean and suitable for the purpose.

Where you can’t put this type of floor, or you already have some other type, to prevent accidental falls you can also add on your existing surface some non slip rubber flooring. Garage and basement comes to mind here. This rubber is available in big rolls and you can simply put it on top of any surface, as it’s very easy to install. Nowadays there are rubber floors that are really modern looking, so you don’t have to worry about having an ugly place when you lay it on your floor.

Non slip mats and rugs are another option for already existing hardwood floors, for example. It is a know fact that waxing your wood can get very slippery, so adding non skid mats in strategically, well chosen places might mean the difference between an accident or not.

Bathroom Flooring Options

Nothing can change the looks and feel of a bathroom quite like good quality, well placed flooring. Flooring that has yellowed with age or chipped wear detracts from any improvements. If you have made the effort to replace the sink and faucet with updated models flooring must be the next step.

There was a time when carpet in the bathroom was en vogue. Home owners liked the idea of walking on carpet instead of cold tile in the middle of the night. Years later they would learn bow much bacteria gets trapped between the carpet and the sub-floor. No only is that unhealthy for your feet but for the sub floor itself.

A better option for the bathroom floor is tile. It comes in large and small sizes, depending on kind of design you are looking for. Some people might choose large, plain white tiles and then decorate the bathroom with splashes of color elsewhere. A different choice would be choosing tiles that make some type of pattern. A great thing about tile is that it can be extended into the shower and provide continuity to both areas. The down side of tile is that it does require skill to cut and lay properly and it’s more expensive than some alternatives.

A less expensive alternative is linoleum. This extremely durable flooring was invented by Frederick Walton in 1855. This type of flooring comes in a roll. It’s cut to fit nearly any shape or size. Cost and relative ease are the advantages of this type of flooring. It’s very common and used in many new homes, office buildings and other commercial areas. It doesn’t look as nice as tile does, however. But each year, new advances make it harder and harder to tell what kind of flooring you are looking at. Each year, linoleum because more fashion forward.

Another choice, which seems counterintuitive for the bathroom, is wood. It is by far the most expensive but arguably the most beautiful too. Traditional wood used for flooring is pine, oak or redwood. It is laid piece by piece in a tongue and groove method and then nailed or glued into place. The new product being utilized for bathrooms and kitchens everywhere is bamboo. This wood is used to water-filled areas. And while it won’t tolerate being left underwater for extended periods of time, wood especially treated for flooring will handle the occasional spill or splash.

Install Radiant Floor Heating For Increased Comfort and Cost Savings

One of life’s little nasty surprises is stepping out of the shower onto a chilly floor. Fortunately, you don’t have to tolerate this discomfort any longer. With a radiant floor system, you can enjoy toasty warm floors – and many other advantages as well.

Radiant floor heating is a method of keeping a room or house warm by installing the heating elements under your flooring. The systems can be either electric or hydronic. Hydronic systems have been around for many years but are quite involved to install and, generally, not a good do-it-yourself project. They require lots of tubing, water heaters, pumps and other devices. On the whole, hyrdonic systems are best for heating very large areas.

For areas ranging from 300 square feet up to about 3,000 square feet, the low voltage radiant heat system works well. It is composed of 12″ wide mesh installed on the sub-floor with the final floor covering installed on top of the mesh. Installation is made easy as the mesh can be nailed through without harming it. Spaces under 300 square feet can be heated with a line voltage system. Such systems are commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms. Rather than mesh, the system utilizes heating cables that are laid out on the sub-floor with the final flooring installed on top. Both of these systems can be installed under carpet, wood, tile, stone or marble. Once installed, both systems should be maintenance free as there are no moving parts or filters to change.

Radiant systems have two major advantages over forced air that make them appealing. The first advantage is cost savings as a result of greater efficiency. With a standard furnace, the air is heated remotely and then pushed to its final location The energy required to push the air adds dollars to your utility bill but does not nothing to heat your house. Further, some of the heat in the warmed air will be lost during transit through your duct work. With a radiant system, a much greater percentage of the expended energy is used to warm the room since heat is being generated where it is needed. This is much more efficient and easier on your utility bill. In fact, many people have reported savings of more than 30%.

Easy Pointers on How to Install Kitchen Cabinets

Thinking about the possibility of replacing your old kitchen cabinets with new ones? The thought of a professional installing them for you has you concerned because of the amount of money you might have to pay. That is OK; you do not have to have a professional do it. If you have enough basic skills and the right tools you should be able to install them yourself.

The first and foremost thing you must do is to carefully remove the old kitchen cabinets. It is wise to have someone helping you to do the entire installation of the cabinets as well as removing the old ones. They can help by holding onto the cabinets when an extra hand is needed. Make to not damage your walls when you remove the old ones.

After you have removed the old cabinets you will need a level and pencil to make special marks on your walls for the new cabinets. First you will need to start a mark three inches from the floor and make a line upwards that is thirty four and a half inches long. From there draw a line across the wall. This is called the top of the base for the cabinets.

From this point draw a line going up nineteen and a half inches. This will represent the bottom of the cabinets. The next thing you will do is to take the pencil and mark the actual dimensions of the cabinets on the wall.

You need to find the studs in the walls, so make sure that you have a stud finder. With that stud finder mark all of the studs you find in the wall. Mark these studs with pencil about six inches under where the bottom of the cabinets will be.

You will need to create temporary support by use a piece of wood that is one by three in size and screw it into the wall where the bottom of the cabinets will be. This will be removed once you are done.

You will now start with the corner or end cabinet and attach the back of cabinet with two screws. Make sure the screws are long enough to go through the wall studs for a secure attachment. Always check your work with the level as you go to make sure the cabinets are level.

More Affordable Home Improvements

Why is it that so many of the best home improvements end up costing a lot of money? If that’s a question that you often find that you’re asking yourself, then you may need to take a new approach to improving your home. While some changes certainly aren’t cheap, you’ll soon find that there’s plenty that you can do on a limited budget.

The first big step that you can take if you want to get more done, without spending too much money, is to make sure that you have some decent DIY skills. This is really important because the costs involved in hiring someone to do work around your home can often be quite high.

By picking up the core skills yourself, you’ll find that you’ll be able to make some big savings. You should be able to pick up some basic skills by reading a decent DIY manual, or maybe by attending a few classes. Some of us worry that we’ll never be able to be any good at carrying out simple tasks around the home, but you might be amazed by what you can learn.

If you do really struggle then you might consider seeing if you have any friends who might be able to help.

When it comes to materials, products and gadgets, think about how you can get a great look without spending too much money. Relatively small pieces of furniture, for example, can really help to transform a room. Other decisions that you make are likely to have a big impact on our budget.

Reducing the Cost of Home Improvements

Are you always thinking about how much better your house could look with a few improvements? There are plenty of us who are in the same boat. We often look around and think about how much things could be improved, but we’re put off acting because we think that any changes will be too costly. You can read on to find some simple tips that will help you to make some big savings on home improvements.

You soon come to realise that the costs involved in carrying out improvements around the home generally fall into two categories. The first set of costs come from having to hire someone to help with getting the work done. The second set of costs come from having to buy all the materials that are needed. If you’re looking to reduce how much you’re going to spend then you’ll have to consider these two areas.

You might think that getting rid of the fees associated with hiring professionals will be difficult, but it needn’t be. There are various things that you can do to help make things that bit cheaper. A step that many people take is to try and do more of the work themselves. This isn’t for everyone and you might prefer to find friends who can help, if you feel that your own skills aren’t up to the job in hand. You may still need to pay friends, but you might benefit from reduced rates.

Reducing the quality of materials being used is something that some people worry about. They get concerned that others will immediately spot that the most expensive products haven’t been chosen. You needn’t worry at all. You’ll be absolutely amazed by how great you can make your house look when using slightly cheaper materials, but making sure that you really add that personal touch to anything that you do.

Making Home Improvements on a Budget

Do you look around your house and think about making some improvements? Don’t worry – you’re not alone! Many of us also consider making changes to our properties but we’re often put off by the high costs that are involved. In this article we take a closer look at how you can make home improvements without blowing your budget.

It’s clear that the costs associated with such improvements useful fall into two categories. Firstly, you have the costs associated with hiring help to get the work done. Secondly, you’ll also have to find the money to pay for the cost of any materials that are required. If you want to spend less then you’ll need to concentrate on spending less on each of these two areas.

Reducing the cost of hiring people can be easier to tackle than you might think. There are a number of steps that you can take to make things cheaper. An obvious one would be to concentrate on doing more of the work yourself. If you don’t feel that you’ve got the necessary skills, then maybe you’ve got some friends who could help. Even if they’re willing to work for a reduced rate, it will help in keeping costs down.

Many people imagine that they can’t cut corners when it comes to materials. They worry that visitors to their home will notice if designer products haven’t been used. The exact opposite is often true. You can usually make a stunning impact by using cheaper materials and concentrating your efforts on really adding that personal touch.

Government Grants For Home Improvements – Are You in Desperate Need of Repairs?

The government has been sending out stimulus money trying to stimulate the economy and a lot of this money has benefited some Americans. But only the ones who knew where to find the money and how to get it. This includes the government grants for home improvements.

You will hear some people say that you cannot get money from the government. This is not true. Yes, the government is not going to come knocking on your door and asking you if you need anything or if there is anything they can do for you. Instead they just take billions of dollars in taxes and put them aside for different grant opportunities.

Of course not everyone is going to qualify for every grant. It is up to you to find the grant and make sure you do qualify before you even apply. Otherwise, you will have just wasted your time for nothing. This is also true of the government grants for home improvements.

Now if you live in a nice expensive home and are just looking to get your kitchen remodeled, then chances are you will have to pay for that yourself. But if you are living in a home that has been eaten away by termites, the plumbing does not work properly, the roof leaks, or it has any other terrible living conditions plus you fall within the income requirements, you can qualify to get government money that will fix you home. Sometimes if it is beyond repair, they will just build a new one instead.

How to Avoid Hiring Bad Landscaping Contractors

As a landscape contractor in a small town that sees quite a bit of it, I was under the impression that the rotten contractor syndrome was isolated to small towns or at least my area. However, the more I read and listen to people, it’s quite evident that it is a nation wide problem.

So what is the rotten contractor syndrome? First, it’s not just limited to the landscaping trade. It’s in all construction trades. From contractors who don’t return initial calls, to juggling your job with several others, never actually finishing the job, using cheap materials, and not taking care of warranty work. And I believe that most everybody who has dealt with a contractor at one time or another has dealt with it on one level or another.

While most landscaping companies start their businesses with the best intentions, many fall into this pattern that continues throughout the rest of their careers or at least until they’re run out of business. How some survive as long as they do, I’ll never understand.

So how do you find a reputable contractor and how can you avoid the rotten ones? First, let me tell you what you don’t do.

It’s not a good idea to completely trust the word of any single source and especially the companies who provide a list of pre-screened and pre-qualified contractors. While they want you to believe they’ve checked everyone out with a fine tooth comb, they haven’t. And I know this first hand on several occasions.

On several occasions I have been contacted by phone by the top players in the contractor screening and broker field. They always have an overflow of clients and not enough companies to take the jobs. And without knowing anything about me or my company, they have all offered me leads if I would simple pay them for them. No screening, no qualification, no questions asked. Fortunately, my little company has a waiting list backed for a good six months so we never have to “buy” a single client. However, the point is, if you simply trust their word, you could still end up burned.

O.K., so how do you find a good reputable contractor? While you may trust the brokers for initial leads and contacts, the rest is up to you. In my opinion, the brokers are only as good as the yellow pages and your local chamber of commerce. Regardless how you make contact, you have to do a little homework and protect you yourself.

Make Artificial Rocks, Fake Landscape Rock and Waterfalls

Make artificial rocks, fake landscape rock, and waterfalls using a totally new and very inexpensive method. The possibilities are endless and the skill level is EASY! Using everyday items and supplies from any hardware store you can do this and the results will look like a professional landscaper did it!

Landscape rock is the ultimate landscapers tool in creating the most eye-appealing results. No other effect gives such a complete landscaping touch as landscape rock. In order to minimize your efforts and still produce a great effect, you can now use artificial rocks and boulders to save you time, money, and you can custom fit your landscape rock into that perfect position without the worries of lifting or even finding the perfect stones to place right where you want them.

Artificial rock is fast becoming the second tool of mother natures beauty that can be reproduced with ease. Fake rock is really hard to tell from the real thing. Once you have your artificial landscape rocks in place, no one will ever know the difference, unless you tell. Just take the credit for a perfectly landscape lawn or decor, and watch your friends envy your new found talent.

Make Rocks, Artificial Fake Landscape Rock and Waterfalls with confidence. The plans that take you step-by-step through the process will give you a true sense of accomplishment.

When it comes to finding an outdoor niche that you can do, and one that produces professional results every time, it’s not everyday you find a product like this. Cave Rock is a such a neat project, you simply must see it to believe what you can do yourself and be proud to display your handiwork.