Flooring – Laminate vs Hardwood
Laminate flooring has several advantages over hardwood flooring. This is why it is currently more popular among consumers. Laminate flooring is composed of four different layers. One of these layers is the design layer, which determines the look of the flooring. The design layer has a photographic image on it that allows laminate flooring to look very similar to natural hardwood flooring right down to its grain, color, and knots. Because the look of laminate depends on a photographic image on the design layer, laminate can have many more design options than hardwood. But there are still differences between the way the two look. The same grain patterns are repeated throughout the laminate flooring. In contrast, there is a little more variation in the grain patterns for hardwood flooring. This means that it is easier to find replacement laminate planks that will not contrast with the existing planks.
Laminate flooring is about twenty five percent cheaper than hardwood flooring. This means that you can get a floor that has the visual appeal of a hardwood floor at a much cheaper price.
Laminate flooring is much easier to install. The reason for this is because of the invention of glueless laminate flooring. Because it uses a locking tongue and groove design, you can install glueless laminate flooring by attaching the laminate planks together. This is much easier than using glue or nails to install hardwood flooring. It is also much easier to clean up after installing laminate flooring. Using a locking tongue and groove design instead of glue also means that you can immediately use your flooring right after the installation is finished because you do not have to wait for the glue to dry.
The installation of laminate flooring will also occur more quickly than with hardwood flooring. This is because the planks used for laminate are wider than the planks used for hardwood.
Laminate flooring is more durable than natural hardwood flooring. It is about fifteen times stronger. It is much easier to damage hardwood than laminate. Hardwood will not tolerate heavy foot traffic as well as laminate. This is why you will find that laminate often comes with a ten or fifteen year warranty. Warranties for hardwood are much shorter. However, if it is necessary, you can resand and refinish a hardwood floor as many times as is necessary. This will allow your hardwood floor to last for many years. Because of its design, you cannot resand and refinish laminate.
Another advantage of laminate flooring is that it provides ultraviolent (UV) protection. This gives laminate flooring the ability to block UV rays from the sun which will prevent the flooring from fading. Since hardwood flooring does not provide UV protection, you will have to spend a lot of money on maintenance costs to make sure that the hardwood flooring looks as good as it originally did.
Laminate flooring is much easier to maintain. Since it does not trap any dirt, the daily maintenance of laminate would only require the use of a brush or dust mop. If any water gets on the laminate, you can clean it up with a sponge, paper towel, or mop. Cleaning hardwood flooring is more time consuming and usually requires the use of relatively expensive cleaning products.
Garage Lighting Ideas
It is probably not something most people think about, but garage lighting is important. Most garages do not have windows, so it is the lights that are installed that provide the ability to see. Here are some great garage lighting ideas for assuring that your area is well equipped for both function and safety.
A garage is a very functional part of the home. It is the place for parking our cars and performing car maintenance, and many people use it as a workshop area as well. These various tasks have different lighting requirements.
For working on a car, garage lighting needs to be bright for safety and convenience. Overhead fluorescent lights are among the best option for the main light fixtures in a garage. Very bright and illuminating by nature, large overhead fluorescent fixtures by far are capable of providing the most light to a garage area to fill even the darkest corners with bright light.
For the workshop area, garage lighting may need to be more focused. Moveable task lights such as drop down and clip on styles are a great idea because they are versatile. Drop lights come in a variety of styles and sizes to match not only the homeowners and shop owners needs but also their budgets.
Another more expensive option for daytime light is to install skylights. This will provide your garage with an atmosphere that has plenty of natural light during the day.
Hopefully this will give you some garage lighting ideas for your home. The choice of fixtures is important even though most of us do not put much consideration into it.
Briggs & Stratton Model 030235 Portable Generator Information
I paid $649 for a Briggs & Stratton model 030235 portage generator on sale at Pep Boys. I live in Houston and there are often storms and flood events that can knock out electric service. I also wanted to have emergency power for my small insurance and mortgage business.
The generator is rated at 5550 watts with 8550 starting watts. It has a 5 gallon gas tank and can run for about 7 hours at 50% load. It has 120 and 240 outlets and came with a heavy duty extension cord set.
Oil was included in the box and after I put the oil and fuel in it started on the first pull. It is moderately noisy, about what you would expect from this size generator. The documentation is adequate.
One of the reasons I selected this generator is the large number for starting or surge watts. One of the main uses for my generator will be to run window air conditioners. A typical 10,000 BTU unit may run on 1200 watts but will need an extra 1800 starting watts. A larger unit could take even more starting watts so I suggest 2,000 or more extra starting watts if you want to run an air conditioner. You won’t be able to run your central air conditioner with this generator because they typically need 10,000 or more starting watts, plus the running watts.
Here is an idea of what you could run with this generator:
Two 10,000 room air conditioners (2,400 watts) Refrigerator (800) Freezer (500) Television (500) Microwave (1,000) Plus a few small light bulbs
If you are going to get a generator here are some tips:
Don’t wait for a hurricane or flood, generators will be sold out or very expensive Don’t undersize the generator, get one that is large enough for your needs Get a few 5 gallon gas cans and some extra fuel Add fuel stabilizer to the stored gas and change at least annually Get a heavy duty extension cord designed for generators Be careful and read the directions, generators and gasoline are dangerous! Generators are a target for theft, store them securely
If you have any questions about this generator you can contact me at my Texas flood insurance website.
Train Bedroom and Train Decorating Ideas
A train bedroom can be the most fun bedroom of all. If your child enjoys trains and has some model trains, you can do some train decorating and design a beloved train bedroom that he (or she) will cherish.
I know some “boys” that have kept their model train hobby as teenagers and on into adulthood. Some have elaborate semi-permanent tables with multiple tracks and realistic scenery. In fact my stepfather made a wonderful setup in his basement after he retired. It had been a lifelong dream which began as a childhood train bedroom.
I have always loved playing with trains myself. My brother got the Lionel set for Christmas when I was a kid, but he went out and played with his new sled and I spent hours playing with “his train”. I still have a wooden train set my grandkids play with when they visit. It is “people powered”. At Christmas I setup the special Christmas train. It scares the cats, but the kids love it and it plays Christmas music. I naturally consider train decorating part of our holiday d
Decorating A Bathroom – 4 Decorating Tips To Create a Unique Bathroom Design
Bathroom decorating can be one of the most enjoyable rooms to decorate. First of all, it is a smaller room so wallpapering or painting and even replacing the type of flooring are jobs that do not have to overwhelm you. In fact, because of its size, you may be able to choose higher-quality materials since you will not be purchasing them in such high quantities. On the other hand, this is also the perfect situation to save money and create a beautiful designer look on a shoestring budget.
Decorating a bathroom is also a place where you can use a wide spectrum of ideas. A bathroom can be as whimsical as a fairy wonderland or as classical as a Greek sauna. Many times, decorating a bathroom depends on which bathroom it is. Is it is your home’s main bathroom, your master bath, or a bathroom that is used mainly by your children and other guests? Just as you spend time creating a certain feeling in every other room of your house doesn’t leave the bathroom to be simply utilitarian. Save a little bit of your personality in designing and decorating this room as well.
Decorating a bathroom doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to tear out existing fixtures and cabinetry in order to achieve the complete look that you are going for. If you can afford that and you feel it is necessary, go for it. However, it is amazing how dramatically the look of a bathroom can change and how much it can be transformed simply by using wall painting or wallpaper techniques. Replacing light fixtures and mirrors with ones that better represent the room’s style can attain another major change. Final touches such as installing designer towel bars and displaying matching linens in complementary colors makes the transformation complete.
If you have a bathroom that has the space, consider adding traditional pieces of furniture such as small chairs or tables, dressers or shelving units to add a unique dimension to your design. There are paints that are specifically made to adhere to glass or ceramic tile that can give you the added flexibility of decorating your bathroom’s window or wall tile. Adding a stained-glass effect to your bathroom window or to the edges around your vanity mirror gives your room even more of a custom designer look. Painting the window also gives you the added benefit of more privacy.
For a very unique look, you could replace your traditional bathroom door with a louvered door or in keeping with the idea of stained glass. You could purchase a door with French windows and paint the glass to match the rest of the room. Decorating a bathroom can be done to match the d
Low Cost Wind Generators – Re-Thinking Windmill Restrictions
As you read this, more and more urban rooftops are being outfitted with wind generators. These are safe, high tech, little visions of the future. At the same time, more and more people are learning about the advances we made in personal wind generator technology. These folks are learning to build their own low cost wind generators for under $200. And at this moment, more and more people are learning about that simple fact.
The new deal with low cost wind generators is that they have become so cheap that they’ve shattered the common held beliefs about renewable energy. It used to be said that if you can’t have a wind generator at least 30 feet off the ground you better give up and fast. Nowadays, because of the low cost involved in maintaining and building wind generators, it makes a lot more sense to mount one on your shed or your roof. They basically say that with the perks and offers given out today that it wouldn’t hurt to invest in cheap renewable energy.
What was once a very important and tedious choice for farmers has transformed into something simple and efficient. There used to be a lot of factors to consider before constructing: will the wind cover the cost of the wind generator, how many objects are in the way of the wind, etc. etc. We’ve got to the point of having such low cost wind generators at our disposal that the choice is becoming one of aesthetic quality.
Wind generators are becoming more and more urban which means easier and cheaper to build. If you’ve no technical skill, don’t worry. There’s a world of helpful minded individuals that would be glad to assist you and not the least of those groups is the government. The government, working with different electric companies, is very interested in you successfully installing your own low cost wind generators. They give great benefits and assistance.