In part 3 of this occasional series on home security we are going to look at the main points of entry to your home the doors. It makes no sense to have flimsy weak doors on your house, what you really need is something that a House Breaker will bounce off when they try to force it. In the next article in the series I will deal with the locks and hinges fitted to your doors but for now I would like to concentrate on the physical construction of the actual doors themselves. The back and front ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Every Log Home magazine has a section dedicated to floor plans, where the aspiring owners start their search for the perfect dream home. I did it too, and dutifully ordered piles of plan books, while starting my comparison shopping based on the beauty of the photos. Little did I realize - until later - that what was really drawing my attention was the third dimension: the roof lines, the porches, and the soaring great rooms. At the beginning, we think we need to choose a manufacturer based on ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Have you noticed for some time now that your Outlook application seems to take forever to load? Not only does it take a long time to download your mails but it also seems to crash more often. You may be getting more error messages and even the performance of your PC may be affected by the behavior of Outlook. What you need are a few quick tips to understand what the problem is so that you can start your Outlook application quickly.   To begin with, try to remove as many unwanted files as ...
Read the rest of this entry »

If you have been working with websites as a graphic designer, instructor, web developer or an archiver, you would know the challenges in archiving web content. While saving pure content as electronic documents is not difficult, saving the content along with the navigational design and other features is not easy. Adobe Acrobat PDF did offer one solution - one could convert each page of a website into a PDF document. This way one could retain most of the design features of the site as well as ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Get the most out of your inspection with some very basic preparation Before the inspection Before visiting the site, check with your local jurisdiction to determine: ·The site's zoning, setback, height, and building coverage requirements, ·Grandfathered uses and conditions, proffers, liens, and applicable fire regulations. ·If the site is in an seismic zone. ·If the site is in a hurricane or high tornado-risk region. ·If the site is in a flood plain or other flood-risk zone. ·If there is ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us avoid home improvement projects due to their expense. Granted if you are contemplating a "second-story" addition to your home, or the construction of a new "game-room", then most likely you will need to hire a general contractor to complete this task. However, if you are interested in projects like painting a room, removing acoustic texture from the ceiling (I just did this), installing laminate flooring, wallpaper, landscaping, etc. then you may be able to accomplish the task(s) all ...
Read the rest of this entry »

It might not be too big of an exaggeration to say that the construction loan is one of the more daunting aspects of building your custom home. Before we started our project, I had nightmares about trying to pay two full mortgages at the same time (our existing mortgage and the construction loan), and I didn't see how it was at all possible. However, the reality ended up much more reasonable than I dared hope. COLLATERAL: Many - but not all - mortgage companies require you to own your land first ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations! You've made your decision; you've chosen your new home and your builder. So what needs to happen next? Once you have a firm contract and you have selected the features that will go into your new home, it is time for the builder to turn your dream into reality. You will undoubtedly want to visit the building site from time to time during construction to check the progress of your home. Professional builders welcome your participation and enthusiasm; however, for safety reasons ...
Read the rest of this entry »

/p> Do you need a patio awning for your lovely patio off of your backyard that only gets half the use it could because of rain or far too bright sun? Installing a patio awning to shade and protect it can be almost as good as adding a room to your home! When choosing a patio awning, you'll need to consider a number of things ' the area that needs to be covered, the structure on which the awning will be installed (usually your house), the weather conditions in your area, the cost and the ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Choosing plantation shutters for form or function? Plantation shutters offer both to today’s homeowner. These unique window treatments trace their roots to ancient Greece. The Greeks used them for both privacy and security. Interior shutters were used to close windows. Along with imposing columns, shutters are hallmarks of Classical Greek Architecture. This ancient order and form in building design later influenced buildings and architecture throughout the Western world. Before the ...
Read the rest of this entry »