Roofing Material Selection: Things to Consider

The roof is one of the most important parts of a building because it protects your property within from all physical elements like sun, rain, and so on. There are so many types of materials in the market today but this should not intimidate you in any way. When you get some professional advice, you can select the kind of material that is within your reach and one that will serve its purpose in the best way possible. Some of the things that can help you decide on the best roof include:

Cost - The quality of your roof should be a great consideration when you are selecting a material. However, you need to be very realistic about your budget. Budgeting should be done way before you start hunting for a roofing material. This will help you know the limits you are working within and how achievable your dream roof is. It is also worth noting that a high price doesn't always guarantee quality.

Longevity - Durability is one of the things that everyone wants. It is never a good thing to keep on replacing roofs every few years. Before you get a roof installed, it is important to ask the contractor the projected duration of time that the material will last. As such, you can determine whether you will be saving money in the long run even if the initial cost is a bit pricey.

Installation and maintenance requirements - This is another very important point. You need to know how long it will take before you need a roof replacement or maintenance. You also have to consider how hard it is to install the material and whether it needs any kind of regular upkeep. You need to get this question answered early enough so as to be prepared for what lies ahead.

Design and colors - The roof is one of the most significant parts of your property and it is something that will be visible to many people and therefore cannot be ignored. You therefore need to consider aesthetics when choosing a material. The style and color that you settle for should boost the appeal of your property, not take it away. Your home or building's architectural style can determine the kind of materials that you are allowed to use. Asphalt shingles, for example, are perfect for many styles. However, with historic homes, tile roofing seems to be better, for commercial buildings, you may need metal roofs or built up roofs depending on the style that has been used to construct them.

Roofing application - You may be adding a new roof to a new structure or replacing a roof. These two scenarios make all the difference on the material that you choose. For new roofs, you can explore deeper since you don't have any existing components to work with. With replacement roofs however, you already have some components in existence.

Tweet

Grow Your Indoor Plants with These Tips

Getting home a plant is like getting home a life. You will need to nurture it with love and care. So it becomes important to see and understand the set-up and environment of your space before you bring home a plant. It is important to ensure that the environment at your home/ office or any other space matches the requirements of the plant.

1. Water - Water your plants as per their needs. Plants need water, but not too much or too little. Most plants like having their roots consistently moist, but not wet. You need to provide your plant with consistent water. Most of our indoor plants have coco peat as a base. Best way to check if you need to water the plant or not is to check the coco peat and see how dry it is and water accordingly. If the coco peat is turning light brown and looks dry, you need to water the plant. But at the same time, you need to ensure that there is no clogging of water at the bottom. The best way to check this is to but your finger in the coco peat and check whether it is dry or moist from inside.

2. Light - The next most important thing is light. Some plants require proper sunlight; on the other hand some might easily live without natural light or dim light.

For example- a lucky bamboo plant can do with moderate levels of indirect light. But a Bonsai needs at least 3-4 hours of sunlight on daily bases. Most foliage plants can do with little or no sunlight. You need to understand the light requirement of your plant and then find the best suitable place for the plant in your home or office. Another critical factor here is to avoid temperature shocks for the plant.

3. Preventing pest problems - Dirt clogs on the pores of the plant which makes it difficult to respire. You must wash the leaves of your plant several times a month. Easy way to do this is use a water spray. So every now and then you can supply spray water on the leaves.

4. Pruning of yellow leaves - Leaves can turn yellow for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons why leaves start turning yellow and then brown is dryness. If the plant is dry it will tend to wilt and the leaves will start turning yellow. The second reason why this happens is that some disease is affecting the plant or there is fungal activity. It is important to understand the reason for yellowing the leaves, take care of that reason and also prune the yellow leaves so that they do not affect the rest of the plant. An easy way to prune yellow leaves is to use a pair of pruning shears or a simple scissors for foliage plants.

Tweet

How to Choose the Right Furniture for Your Patio

When buying patio furniture you should always first take into consideration the quality. Think of it as investment and it just may be well worth it. First, you should make sure whatever you choose should fit in the space you have for it nicely. Second. find a material you like and something that will be durable such as wicker, teak, or die cast aluminum. You want to have something that allows you to be comfortable and also something that will last a long time. Of course it should be UV protected and weather resistant too.

Wicker Rattan - Patio wicker dining and seating sets with colorful cushions and multiple different colors of wicker such as white, dark brown and beige offer a great way to decorate your outdoor area. Good quality wicker rattan will last much longer and look better than going on the cheaper end. The cushions won't fade as fast either. I also recommend covering your furniture too when you are not using it as this will extend the life of your nice furniture. Wicker also comes in many different styles like classic, contemporary, or even have a very tropical feel if you like to feel like you are at the beach in your back yard. If you choose a contemporary design then it will have a more sleek and modern look to it. Some people prefer the classic look as it can have more of a country feel to it. Wicker furniture is also lightweight so pretty much anyone can move it around.

Teak - Teak is also a great selection as it looks natural, has a beautiful appearance and is incredibly tough! Teak can also come in many different styles as well as different colors. Teak also has dense, hard grain and repels insects because it has a natural resin in it. These are nice advantages for outdoor use. It is high in natural oils to so it reduces how often you would have to varnish, finish, and seal over other woods.

Die Cast Aluminum - Die cast aluminum is a casting method that makes it easier to create more detailed surface textures of many different shapes and styles. This makes it easy to find a dining or seating set in the style that you love. Aluminum is also lightweight and it does not rust which is important when considering anything metal that is left outside especially in areas along the coast where there is a lot of salt in the air. It is low maintenance, weather resistant, and sturdy so you will love your furniture for years to come.

Tweet

How to Get More Natural Light into Your Home

Natural light can make your home look brighter, cozier and more spacious. Moreover, it can lighten the daily mood inside your house. If your home lacks natural light, don't fret. There are things which you can do to allow the sun to shine brightly on its every corner. Here are some tricks you might want to try.

Go for large windows and doors. If you have the budget, install large windows and doors in every room of your house. This could increase the amount of light entering your home. Also, look for a perfect wall in your living room, dining room or kitchen which you can convert into glass or folding doors. Apart from making your home more receptive to sunlight, they could create a breathtaking and natural surrounding for your home.

Use light-coloured paint for your walls. Light-coloured paint allows sunlight to bounce on your walls unlike dark-coloured paint which usually absorbs it. If you want to create a warm ambience, add a touch of neutral paint colours like brown, gray, rust or tan on your walls.

Lighten up your ceilings and floors. Ceilings and floors are light reflectors too. Paint your ceiling with white or light-coloured paint leaving the natural wood panels. Add skylights or recessed lightings to get more sunlight into your house. Choose wooden, ceramic or stone floors with a polished finish over carpets which absorb light.

Trim the greenery outside your home. Are there any trees, bushes or vines growing around your windows and doors? These greens could block the sunlight from entering your house. Trim them regularly.

Keep your glass windows and doors squeaky clean. Thick grime keeps generous amount of sunlight from filtering through your glass windows and doors. Wipe them clean from the inside and the outside to ensure much light penetrates every corner of your home.

Adding natural light to your home comes with a lot of benefits. Besides reducing your energy costs, it could lower the risks affecting your family’s overall wellbeing. Read this infographic Solatube to learn about the other benefits of natural light.

From Visually.

Tweet

Why Ventilate Your Home Today

A clean indoor environment is of great importance due to the many hours that you spend within your home. The indoor air that you breathe in should be fresh and clean to ensure that you do not get any respiratory complications. The only way your home can have a continuous supply of fresh air is through effective home ventilation. As long as your home has adequate ventilation, condensation which leads to a damp home will not take place. The structure of your home will not suffer decay and will remain intact for a long time.

There are different methods of ventilating your home such as the natural method. Natural ventilation is the free flow of air into the home from doors, windows and openings around the building. However, if you are living in a home that is insulated, you will need to have a mechanical ventilation system that will air your home.

Source: UNSPLASH

Mechanical Ventilation - You can opt to use mechanical ventilation in order to effectively get rid of stale air from your home. You can decide to install fans in the specific location where moisture build up and pollution is originating from in the home. For instance, you can install fans in the bathroom, kitchen or on the sub floor to get rid of moist air and replace it with drier air from outside. You can also decide to use whole house ventilation where the entire house is ventilated by a set of fans which bring in the fresh air and duct systems which get rid of the stale air.

Heat Recovery Ventilator - A heat recovery ventilator is an efficient home ventilation system which captures the heat from the outgoing stale air to heat up the incoming fresh cold air. It is made up of a fan which brings in the fresh air and another fan which gets rid of the stale air. The system has a core where the exchange of heat from the stale air to the clean air takes place.

It is a good idea to contact a ventilation expert who will assess your home from the ground to the roof. The expert will then recommend a ventilation system that will effectively air your home. You should ensure that the system which is installed is quiet enough and has a warranty.

Tweet

Four Reasons Why Shipping Containers Make Wonderful Homes

Shipping containers are now breathing new life into the simple metal box by transforming into postmodern homes. And with today’s housing affordability crisis, urban density, and tight supply of developable land, it comes as no surprise that shipping containers are being widely hyped as an easy building alternative. But is that all there is to them?

Let’s take a quick look at some of the other reasons why shipping containers make wonderful homes.

Shipping container homes are inexpensive. Buying a used container and converting it to a house is more affordable for middle to low-income families than buying one in the cheapest areas of the city. A 600-square foot of living space, for instance, may cost $35,000 or less—and this already includes the price of the container, as well as the design and actual construction of your home.

Shipping container homes are easy to construct. Creating a container home is rather simple especially when you get a really good one from a reliable provider. With a bit of proper planning and creativity, anyone can pull off something truly wonderful. If you have the budget, you can hire a contractor to design it according to your needs and just do the job of setting everything up. On an average, shipping container homes take a couple of months to complete and be ready to be lived in.

Shipping container homes are safe and durable. Shipping containers are originally intended to carry heavy cargo, and so they are designed and built to be durable enough to endure rough and unpredictable weather conditions. And thanks to their sturdy framework, they are basically structurally sound against earthquakes, making them very safe.

Shipping container homes are rich in personal style. Shipping containers are so flexible, they can be transformed into practically any design you want. And you know what that means: it’s easy to incorporate your personal style into it. Building shipping container houses allows you to create the kind of home you have in mind—a home that reflects your exact personality; a home that makes you stand out from the lot.

Shipping container homes are eco-friendly. Using shipping containers to build homes lets you save on building materials like brick, mortar, and wood, which are all capable of damaging the surrounding environment during construction. And with just one container, you are able to save about 3500 kilograms of steel. No more recasting of steel (which requires a large amount of energy) because you can use them as they are.

A home is a place where you can feel comfortable and safe, and shipping containers can help you build one—one that also reflects you, your lifestyle, and the things you love. If you want to learn more about the wonders of shipping containers, here is a pretty nifty infographic from ContainerSpace, which will help you achieve just that.

From Visually.

Tweet

How to Care for Your Tile Floor

Many home owners choose tiles for their floors. This is mainly because they are water resistant and are easy to clean. Needless to say, tiles will also ear out in time and if they’re not care for appropriately. Keep your tiled floors looking great with these tips and tricks.

Source: UNSPLASH

Basic Maintenance
This involves the usual sweeping or vacuuming of floors to remove any dust or debris before using any cleaning products. Clean your tile floor using a damp mop at least once each week to decrease wear and abrasion from grit and soil. Do this more frequently for heavy traffic areas.

Tips for Preventing Damage
If you have to use scouring powders and sealants, test them on a small area before cleaning the full area. Use a sealer on grout joints shortly after installation and use products compatible with cleaning grout joints. After cleaning, rinse the entire area with clear water to remove any cleaning solution residue. In the event that tiles are broken or damaged seriously, don't remove them yourself as inexperienced hands can widen the extent of the damage. Let a qualified tile contractor do the job.

Things to Avoid
Acid or bleach based cleaners shouldn’t be used for routine maintenance. Avoid wax-based cleaners and oil-based detergents, and use sealants on grout joints only. Steel wool pads or any scouring pads containing metal shouldn’t be used on tile because they can hurt its quality.

Do invest in high-quality floor mats and protective pads under heavy furniture for an extra layer of protection to your tile floors. Place floor mats at entrances and exits. They collect and trap corrosive substances like dirt, sand, oil, grit, asphalt, or even driveway sealer that can be tracked in. Placing mats in high-traffic areas like in front of vanities, kitchen sinks, and stoves is an effective way to reduce tile wear.

Tweet

How to Choose Flowers for Your Floral Arangement

Just about everyone loves the appearance of fresh flowers, or the smell of sweetly fragrant ones. Most people love to bring flowers into their homes to brighten them up, particularly if they don't have a garden to enjoy. If you're one of them, you're probably buying flowers from the supermarket or road side stall and putting them all together in an nice arrangement. But if it's your first time to pick fresh flowers, what are exactly are you going to do?  Here are some tips you might find helpful.

Pick a color sequence of no more than three colors. It's easy to get carried away while browsing a flower shop—but making something beautiful is easier when your flowers match each other. In the winter, we're fans of purple and orange; white, green and blue; or, in honor of a holiday like Valentine's Day, red, white, and pink.

Source: UNSPLASH

Get inspired. If you fall in love with one color or type of flower, carry it around the shop with you. Then, match up the potential accompaniments, seeing if their colors and shapes work well together.

If you're making multiple bouquets, pick a base flower. Look out for an inexpensive, filler flower in a neutral color—and then stretch it throughout all of your arrangements. This allows you to buy in bulk—and to have fun picking special items for each separate bouquet. You can use white limonium as a base flower; they're small, elegant, and allow the bigger, more colorful flowers to pop.

Be wary of the flowers on sale. They're on sale for a reason; the store is trying to move them quickly. If you're looking for your flowers to last up to a week, it's best to buy them full-price.

Big flowers stretch the farthest. If you're on a budget—or if you're nervous about making your own arrangement—go for a larger type of flower. They take up more space in a bouquet, so you can buy less of them—and they're easier to work with while building a bouquet.

Think about timing. Some flowers, like roses and tulips, benefit from a night in water. If you're building a bouquet for the same day, it's important to keep this in mind.

Prune. Just because you buy the flowers a certain way doesn't mean they're finished. Trim away all extra leaves, thorns, branches, and other distractions; you want the flowers themselves to shine.

Tweet

Four Reasons Why Some People DIY

Do-it-yourself or DIY projects can range from room painting to room construction. And, there are as many psychological reasons for starting these projects as there are tasks to be accomplished. In fact, many people are starting with their DIY home projects which they’ve daydreamed about when they were still young kids. Keen to know why people DIY? Just continue reading. :D

Completed projects can provide the DIY-ers with a feeling of satisfaction. Being splattered with paint or damp with sweat from a hard day’s work on the roof or in the garden can be very satisfying to some people. Those who renovate or create their houses from scratch are satisfied to know that they have the ability to create places to live that are different from all the other homes in their neighborhood.

Source: UNSPLASH

DIY-ing  boosts brain power. It is a wonderful way to gain new skills or knowledge. For example, your problem-solving abilities are improved when reading up on techniques online or discovering how a broken appliance ticks. Each project you tackle will teach you something new.

DIY-ing  boosts confidence. To some people  DIY-ing allows them to have more over their world or their surroundings since they are closely involved with the design and construction process. Moreover, they rely less on the products, services and expertise of others. Through their new skills and confidence, they have the freedom to create quality that spreads to all areas of life.

DIY-ing cultivates 'best self' and 'self discovery'. People keep their minds and bodies active when doing DIY activities. Working with their hands become easier and a natural way to get their heart rate up. Moreover, DIY-ing reveals what matters most to the DIY-ers and offer a great way to express their personality.

Tweet