January 9th, 2008 — Home Improvement
Why do you need a humidifier in your home you may ask? There
are certain times of the year, particularly winter, where the
air becomes extremely dry and creates an unpleasant climate to
live in. A humidifier will get rid of this discomfort, as it
will add moisture to the air by producing a cool mist. This
will make the air less drying to your mouth, throat, and nose.
During the winter the air becomes very dry, and as you turn your
heat on the relative humidity drops a tremendous amount. It is
important to get a humidifier and keep the relative humidity in
your home in between 30% to 50%. If you keep it in this range,
you’ll be able to turn your thermostat down a few notches. With
humid air in the house, you will feel more comfortable at a
lower temperature then you would at a higher temperature with no
humidity.
A humidifier is not only going to help clean up the air, but it
will also reduce the static levels in your house, and reduce the
risk of drying out the wooden furniture. When humidifying your
home, you will also reduce the risk for manufacturing problems.
Now that you know why to use a humidifier, its time to decide on
what type of humidifier is best for you. There are all kinds of
humidifiers designed to fit your need including boiler steam,
chemical-free boiler steam, hot liquid, electricity, and natural
or LP gas.
When looking at a boiler steam humidifier, you will find that
some are installed inside the ducts. Some are chemical-free
steam, while others are not. Most are going to be convenient
for homes, as they have a wide capacity range to reach most
parts of the home, if not all.
Hot water humidifiers are a liquid-to-steam humidifier. This is
a chemical-free steam that uses energy from already existing hot
water sources. The steam capacity is going to range from 9-2160
lbs/hr.
With electrical humidifiers, the range is going to be much
shorter as most shoot out steam at a capacity of 50-250 lbs/hr.
These can be used for small ducted appliances and are typically
used in finished spaces. The advantage to this kind of
humidifier is that it is very affordable, but it will not cover
near as much space like a hot water humidifier.
The humidifier that is best for an entire house is a natural gas
humidifier. The gas-to-steam humidifier will have a steam
capacity of 75-3,600 lbs/hr covering most parts of the house.
On a review for the best humidifiers, the Bemis’ faux wood-grain
cabinet console humidifier is said to be the best to cover a
whole house, or most of the house at up to 2,500 square feet.
It refills very easily and is affordable at approximately $130.
The humidifier will need occasional filter replacements, but
other then that it is ready to go. Check out the link below to
see other recommended humidifiers:
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/humidifier-reviews/
Another page to check out for the best humidifiers for your home
is an article that was written on about.com. In this article
they discuss cool mist humidifiers and warm mist humidifiers,
and then give the best four home humidifiers in their opinion,
and where they can be purchased. Check out this article here:
http://coldflu.about.com/od/bronchitis/tp/Humidifers.htm
There are many different kinds of humidifiers that cover small
areas to an entire house. In the end, no matter what kind of
humidifier you buy, the air will be cleaner then it was before.
So go out and find the humidifier that satisfies your needs
best, and begin breathing clean and safe air in your home today.
January 9th, 2008 — House Building
If you are a home building contractor, you already know everything you need to about ventilating a home to keep it insulated and safe. Yet, many homeowners want to ensure their homes are adequately ventilated without paying hefty consulting and contracting fees each time they have a question or make a repair. That is why it helps to understand something about your home’s ventilation system and learn how to handle some of the minor adjustments yourself.
Every home needs to be adequately heated to protect family members from getting sick or developing hypothermia. But too much heat can feel uncomfortable during the warm season or in tropical climates and promote the growth of mold or other bacterial invasions that require a warm, moist environment to grow and thrive. A home’s thermostat that is linked to the heating and cooling system provides much of the temperature control a family needs to be comfortable year-round. But attic space permitting air flow can increase your home’s comfort level by preventing moisture buildup and promoting air exchange during temperature extremes outdoors.
An attic ventilator usually provides this needed service. Since the attic is separate from the sealed part of the house that receives warm and cold air from the furnace and air conditioner, it is the ideal place to circulate indoor air outside, and outdoor air inside, to break up air pockets that can nurture mold, bacteria, and other unwanted germs. If your attic ventilator, which is usually perched on the highest point of the attic, proves inadequate, you may want to consider adding soffit vents beneath the eaves and used with a continuous ridge vent for maximum airflow.
If you are not sure how to tackle the problem of installing soffit vents, ask someone whose home maintenance work you trust for advice or help. Alternatively, you can pick up a handyman’s manual or a ventilation guide to learn how to do this procedure yourself. Check out part prices at local hardware stores for an idea of how to budget your ventilation adjustment. Also be sure you have all the needed tools beforehand, along with a few spare parts, if needed.
Venting your home appropriately can reduce the level of toxic emissions or fumes. It also may keep everyone from getting sick as often or passing around the current flu bug, since air that is circulating can make it difficult for germs to grow. Check out your attic to make sure there is good cross ventilation and that your current ventilation system is working properly. Then decide whether this would be a good time to consider adding soffit vents for increased airflow. Try to get it done in good weather so you won’t have to work outdoors or in a chilly attic when it’s rainy or cold outside.
Anyone wanting more information on regulating the airflow in your home can find it at http://www.ventinfo.com
December 22nd, 2007 — Log Cabins
December 20th, 2007 — Mobile Home
Rapid wall insulated skirting may be the way others go, but I’m not so sure. Nailite Brick Skirting
- Nailite Stone Skirting
- Reil Rock Skirting
- Deluxe Vinyl Skirting
- Rapid Wall Insulated Skirting
- R-COTEC Insulated Skirting
- Skirting Accessories
Out of the list above I would go for the Deluxe Vinyl skirting, vinyl is really where it’s at these days and if you want mobile home skirting that last, this is a good choice.
Don’t choose a used skirting from some schmuck, you could be paying a lot of money just to have your mobile home skirting repaired. I know this one guy sold his mobile home in Arizona and bought a log cabin in Idaho, he had always wanted to build a log cabin, be, meh.
For me a good solid mobile home is the way to go and some great mobile home skirting.
December 18th, 2007 — Bricks
I want to put a lot of time into building a dream house. Problem is I don’t know where to start. OK, a plan would be good, what do I want in my dream house, what size of plot of land do I want. I know I could go to local land auctions to get some good land. Land which overlooks great views. Californian land would be good. I prefer Northern California to build my dream house. I prefer a house of bricks than just wood, even if it were good lumber to build a house with I would still like a house made from Bricks. Reclaimed bricks would be the best, enviromentally friendly bricks, antique bricks, any kind of bircks.
I would like a jacuzzi in the house, or maybe on the porch, lay there at night looking at the stars through the smog.
December 4th, 2007 — House Building
Self building houses is the best way to get a home these days. Or at least a home you own. The biggest expenditure is the land, once you have that secured you can proceed to build your house. A land mortgage can be taken out to purchase the land, preferably at auction as property auctions are the best way to get cheap land these days.
What I want from a good house build is that the builders are qualified and have the requisite qualifications. If someone is going to lay the foundations, find out how much experience they have of laying foundations.
Bricks are a good thing to look at these days as it’s quite easy to get reclaimed bricks, that is bricks that have come from another property and are simply reused.
Good quality kitchen can really sell a house, I would say spend a lot of time and money on a great kitchen, that way, if you come to sell the house it will sell easily.
November 5th, 2007 — Mortgage
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October 26th, 2007 — Repocession
A lot of people go through trauma of having their cars or their home reposed simply because they failed to take some precautionary actions while they can. In most cases, it is easy to avoid repossession. Your creditors do not really want to take your car or your house in the first place and if you can only give them a reason not to take your home or your car, they will gladly do so.
There are many ways to ovoid repossession. Some of these things are very simple do to. For instance, to avoid repossession, make sure that you only get the things that you can afford to pay. Take a closer look into your income and compare it with your expenses. To do this, you need to list down all your sources of income in one column and then list your monthly expenses on the other column. You can determine your monthly expenses by adding all your bills for the month and all the receipts that you accumulated over a months period. Once you have determined your monthly expenses, subtract the amount of your monthly expenses from the amount of your monthly income. The remaining amount of income after subtracting all your expenses is your free portion or your savings. If want to get a car, make sure that the monthly amortization of your car is not greater than your monthly savings. Ideally, you have to use up a maximum of 70 of yo
ur monthly savings for the amortization of the car.
Continue reading →
October 26th, 2007 — Solar Power
Would you like your new house to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer without the use of air-conditioning, heating, or even solar power panels? You can. It’s called passive solar, and is all about how you design your home and where you place it on your property.
The first thing to understand about passive solar is that it doesn’t have anything to do with solar panels, photovoltaic cells, or any other technology. The whole idea is to build and situation your home in such a way as to harness a maximum amount of the sun’s energy in the winter, while blocking the sun’s rays from heating your home in the summer. And you do it all simply by understanding how the Sun moves where you live.
How Does Passive Solar Work?
There are three main elements that make a passive solar home different from a conventional home: South-facing windows; a ledge of a certain length and angle above those windows; and a mass-wall. The ledge above the windows is short enough and placed at such an angle as to allow the winter sun to shine in and fill the mass wall (or thermal wall) with heat during the day, which is released as the house cools at night. But the path of the sun is at a higher angle during the summer, allowing the ledge to block the sun from directly shining into the house. The mass wall stays cool, as does the house.
Ever feel like your house is hotter at night during the day? Does it get down-right stuffy in the Summer? Does it feel hotter inside than it does outside? That’s because the walls and floors of your home have been collecting heat from the sun all day, which has been shining in your windows in the middle of summer. At night, due to a process called convection (http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_tech/node76.html ) the heat stored within the walls and floors is released into the air, thus heating the room and making it hotter inside your house than it is outside. If you have this problem, you do what most of us do and turn on your air conditioner and/or fans. This is hard on the environment and increasingly devastating to your pocketbook. And it’s all because the people who built your house didn’t understand building concepts that people around the world understood thousands of years ago – you work WITH the earth; not against it.
The paragraph below is used with permission from John Schaeffer and Real Goods, a solar panel installation company working in Colorado and California: http://www.realgoodssolar.com . It was taken from the Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook: http://www.gaiam.com/retail/product/21-0530 :
The angle of the sun from the horizo
n changes throughout the year. In the summer, the Sun angle (also known as altitude angle) is greatest. That is to say, the sun cuts a high arc through the sky. In the winter the altitude angle is lowest. The Sun cuts a low arc through the sky. The angle changes every day. On June 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun angle is greatest. On December 21, the shortest day of the year, the sun angle is lowest.
Thus, the eves on your passive solar home act as an automatic on-off switch for your passive heating / cooling system. It turns the Sun power’s effect on your home off for most of the day in the Summer, but leaves it on for most of the day during the Winter.
Here is simple picture by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) that will solidify the concept of passive solar home design: http://www.nesea.org/images/overhang.gif . Get it now?
With the exception of adding a slight overhang above South-facing windows, there isn’t much you can do about turning your existing home into a passive solar house without major, expensive renovations. But next time you buy a home, before moving into one of those add-water monopoly houses in the new subdivision, think about how inefficient their designs are. Most of the time you’ll see that the South-facing windows are either hidden from the sun by the house next to you, or two few, which would cause your home to be cold in the Winter and require more energy from the furnace to heat. Or you may notice that the south-facing windows are in full view of the Sun, but there is no ledge above the area, thus allowing the Sun to heat up your home like an oven during the summer.
The ledge, window and mass wall are probably the three most important concepts of a passive solar home. But it goes well beyond that. For instance, knowing that heat rises, there are ways to control the flow of air throughout your house so as to take full advantage of cooler air in the summer and warmer air during the winter. All it takes is a few well-placed vents that can be switched open or closed depending on the time of the year. If people demand this kind of forethought from their builders we would require only a fraction of the fossil fuels being used to cool and heat our homes. If you combine passive solar design with a few solar panels, this often results in the power company paying YOU each month for the extra energy you’re sending back into the grid. Everybody wins with passive solar home designs.
Here are a few more resources if you’re interested in passive solar:
http://www.gaiam.com/retail/product/80372
http://www.solarliving.org/workshops/
http://www.colorado.gov/energy/renewables/passive-solar-design.asp
http://www.nesea.org/buildings/passive.html
http://www.realgoodssolar.com/solar/ecs/main/ArticlesVideo.html
October 26th, 2007 — Selling a house
The Ultimate moving checklist
Moving house can be one of the most stressful things you will ever do, but things can be made easier by proper planning. Although not as same as an invasion of a moderately sized country, the planning should be on the same scale.
1. Prepare mentally for the change. Stress can be relieved by knowing what is expected, fear is often because of the unknown.
You don’t have to light candles and incense and sit cross legged in front of a statue of Kirsty Allsopp. But having a quiet moment or two to get your mind ready for the maelstrom may be a good idea.
2. Expect to take time to adjust to your new surroundings. It takes time to make your new home personal.
It may be your dream house and you may even own it on paper, but until the air is heavy with your presence it may not feel like it. Familiarity will come with time and your new house will soon be your new home. Personalise as soon as possible
3. Give the change time to settle. Don’t expect to keep to your regular routine.
4. If moving with a partner or a spouse make sure they are involved in the moving process to ensure a united front. Arguments often arise from not being consulted or views being ignored.
5. Be prepared to compromise with your partner on possible moving days.
You may be so absorbed in the minutiae of moving, you may have completely ignored your partner or spouses needs. Make sure the moving day is a joint decision
6. Be sure that utilities such as gas, electric, water etc. have all been shut of and the respective companies notified. Seems obvious, but that moving day can sneak up on you before you know it and you have to frantically ring around to get everything cancelled.
7. Make sure you have a written agreement with the sellers on any extras not listed on the contract. The sellers may have told you they are leaving you the toilet seat and you thought it too impolite to ask, but if it’s not down in writing, you can never be sure.
8. Defrost your fridge a day or two before you move. Doing it on the day may mean you have to leave whilst it is still melting causing a possible flood.
9. Number your boxes and keep a corresponding inventory, listing contents in an easy to understand format.
10. Cancel the newspapers, milk, etc.
11. Fully charge all your mobile devices such as mobile phones, Ipods, etc.
12. Prepare a survival kit containing items to keep you going for 24 hours in your new home, without having to unpack anything. Things like:
• Kettle, coffee, tea, milk, sugar.
• Plastic cutlery
• Snacks, chocolate, biscuits, crisps etc.
• Required medications
• Light bulbs - it would be nice if the sellers left theirs, but just in case.
• Toilet roll
• Toiletries, soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc.
• A fresh change of clothes
• Bedding or sleeping bags
• A portable CD/MP3 player?radio, to keep you motivated.
15. Have a map of the local area around your new home with all the important locations identified, such as supermarkets, police station, petrol station , etc.
16. Prepare a list of emergency contacts for you to call if things get a little sticky. Such as plumber, electrician, locksmith, etc. It will be a lot easier researching these before you move than when you are ankle deep in water flicking through the Yellow pages.
17. Make sure your insurance overlaps with the old and new house. This will mean you will be covered when you travel with your processions, of course your removal company will be insured for things at their end.
18. If you have young children, arrange for a responsible adult to look after them whilst the move is happening. The last thing you want is a five year old running around.
19. A useful idea is to hire a professional cleaning service to completely clean your new home. Although it will involve expense, it will be one less thing you have to worry about.
20. Put in place a mail redirect so you do not lose any mail, these can bet set up for a number of months. Although it is recommended you notify all friends and organisations of your new address.
21. Remember to take your TV ariel’s and satellite dishes with you if they are not part of the sale.
22. Identify concerns, make sure they are rectified before it’s too late.
If you have already exchanged contracts, probably a bit too late to back out. But are you absolutely sure you want to move, if so great. Get on your moving boots and do the relocation shuffle. Is your family behind you? If not, it’s a concern that needs to be addressed asap. There may be concerns at the back of your mind, sort them out now. don’t let them fester, it may save a whole lot of pain in the future.
23. Don’t Panic