Heated Driveways: Who, What, Where, When, Why, & How
July 31, 2006
What are heated driveways? The obvious answer is, "a driveway that is heated," but what actually heats the driveway? The best driveway heating systems are radiant heating systems, similar to indoor floor heating systems. There are primarily two methods for heating, electric and hydronic. Electric systems use a line-voltage cable, while hydronic systems generate hot water then pump it through plastic PEX tubing. The heating elements are embedded in the surface and use resistant heating to heat the surrounding area. Most systems incorporate an automatic sensor that detects inclement weather to activate the system. Electric systems tend to be more efficient, require less maintenance, and heat surfaces quicker. Hydronic systems are usually slightly more expensive to purchase and install, but the operational can be lower depending on their local fuel rates. Both systems have their advantages, however, the electric systems are gaining a lot of interest due to their price, ease of installation and threatening future of the cost of fuel.
Why install a driveway heating system? Some of the obvious benefits are of course, not having to shovel your driveway again, avoiding injury due to slippery surfaces, and having the confidence that your driveway will be cleared when you need to use it. Other notable benefits include; adding value to your home, preserving the life of your driveway, and avoiding damage to bordering landscape with harmful salts and chemicals.
Can Your Sundial Really Tell The Time?
July 31, 2006
“I am a sundial, and I make a botch
Of what is done far better by a watch”
So wrote Hilaire Belloc, but is this really fair? Sundials are the earliest known form of time-keeping having been used for some five thousand years. The Greek historian Herodotus stated that sundials were first used by the Chaldeans and Sumerians in Babylonia which was part of the modern Iraq. They used vertical rods on their buildings and noted the position of the shadow to record the passing of the hours. The concept was developed by the Greeks and Romans who constructed various different shapes of dial to enable them to tell the time and the season of the year. Usually these were bowl-shaped dials with vertical or horizontal gnomons (shadow-casters) and hour lines marked in the hollow of the bowl. Over the years more elaborate designs were produced until the advent of accurate clocks when the function of the sundial became more decorative than as a reliable means of telling the time.
So You?ve Put an Offer on a Home. What?s Next?
July 31, 2006
You’ve finally found the home of your dreams, 3 bedrooms, attached garage, great neighborhood. You fix sights on the freshly painted walls, new carpeting, beautiful cabinet and a huge back yard. What are you forgetting? Everything else! Don’t forget about the plumbing, heating, A/C, electrical, insulation, ventilation, exterior and roof. These are the most overlooked items because most people know very little about these types of items, or what to look for. You decide to make an offer on the home.
What’s next?
Don’t forget about getting the home inspected. When you made the offer, your realtor should have gone over the inspection contingency in your contract. Simply stated, it’s a clause in the contract that your offer is contingent upon a home inspection, and you have a certain amount of time to get the home inspected. It allows you to have an unbiased professional look beneath the cosmetic items into the complex working components of a home. It also allows you to either renegotiate your offer based on the inspection, or at the very least know what lies ahead of you if you do decide to purchase the home. A seller’s disclosure statement is nice and most seller’s are honest, but don’t even realize that problems exist in their home.
The Power of a Home Equity Loan to Pay Down Debt
July 31, 2006
Households across the country are finding themselves in a similar situation. They lack the financial funds to make the necessary changes to their home and need to find a way to fund upgrades and eliminate debt. A popular way of financing these changes without killing themselves is by taking a home equity loan to pay down their debt.
The Home Equity Loan has become a fast-track way of paying down large credit card debt, financing college education and even taking a vacation. Since the stock market has lost quite a bit of appreciation, people have been purchasing homes as a means of investment, thus sending housing prices through the roof. With higher prices comes a great deal of appreciation in the home. People who have found themselves in 20 ? 30 thousand dollars in debt can pay it down by taking a home equity loan. Home Equity Loans have been a source of relief and flexibility to get the homeowner out of debt and moving forward in life.
The home equity tax shelter
Seeking Balance in Your Home Decor
July 30, 2006
In our homes, as in other parts of our lives, we are happier when we live with balance and harmony. Just like the rest of our lives, balance in the rooms of our homes is sometimes hard to create. For many years, decorators and home owners tried to create this physical balance by having pairs of everything: 2 matching end tables, a matched pair of wing chairs, even sets of twin beds in the master bedroom. This certainly created a balanced room. It also created rooms that were sterile, formal and visually boring. In a formal setting or a Federal or Georgian home, this is still the way things should be to look ‘right.’ Our ancestors valued this perfect balance so highly that they created false doors in hallways so that both sides matched or doors that looked like windows so that the right and left sides of the back of a house matched perfectly. This can still be seen if you go to visit some of our historic homes. A notable example is the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, Md. We, however, tend to prefer a more relaxed approach to our homes. So how do we create a feeling of balance without matched pairs of everything? You can use: Color Dark colors have more ‘weight’ than light colors. Actual size Height, depth and width of an object Mass A thick bulky looking object has more ‘weight’ than a fragile, delicate one. Just visualize a blown glass vase and a terracotta pot of the same size. Number A group of several like objects in different sizes grouped together creates ‘weight.’ Think of an assortment of silver candlesticks. Light A dark corner has more ‘weight’ than one filled with light. If you want to prove this to yourself, gather together a group of assorted objects and use a tabletop/mantel and try out different scenarios. Be sure you have different sizes, colors, textures and shapes. You can put a larger framed picture against one end and a slightly smaller one in front of it. On the other end of your table put a heavy pot. Do the same thing with a matching pot at each end. Try pairing the picture group with an assortment of candles in candlesticks. Each time you create an arrangement, step back and look at it. In fact, if you have a digital camera, take a picture of it. If you do this for a while you will start to get a feel for balance. You can actually give the illusion that the tabletop is tilted slightly by throwing off the visual balance. The same effect can occur in your room arrangements. If you doubt this, close your eyes and try to ’see’ a room in which you felt physically uncomfortable or slightly disoriented even though there was no obvious reason. A room in which the heavy items are all on one side of the room, almost feels as though the floor tilts. Once you have a feel for balance you can start to create a harmonious home. Stand in the doorway of any room in your house that you feel isn’t ‘right.’ What do you see? Does the burgundy chair stick out like there is a spotlight on it? Does the entertainment center overwhelm the room? Do you have a TV and a fireplace battling for focal point? Do your easy chairs look like they were made for children next to your mammoth sofa? Does your fireplace mantel look like you are setting up for a tag sale? Your room is out of balance. Move the furniture around and try different arrangements until you have one that works. Unless you have a room that is just for show like a Victorian parlor, you need to be able to use the room comfortably. Once the practical set-up is done, look at the room from different angles. If the room is out of balance use color and accessories, plants and pictures, groups of like objects, light and volume to create an illusion of balance. Try grouping the accessories on your mantels and tabletops. Balance the entertainment center on one side of the fireplace with a tall plant or group of plants on the other. Note: avoid having the tops of everything at the same height. You might as well draw a line around your room. Repeat the color of the chair in pillows, throws, lampshades or the matting around a group of pictures. You really will be amazed at the difference it makes. We may all be born craving balance but except for the lucky few, we have to learn to achieve it. There is a myriad of books on the subject and it can help to read them and look at the pictures, but the best way to get a feel for balance is ‘hands on.’ Experiment with portable objects until you get a feel for what works and then enjoy creating your harmonious home.
Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter - Overlooked Sources of Heat Loss in the Home
July 30, 2006
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long ? the heat loss, cold drafts, and wasted energy! Well if your home has a folding attic stair, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home!
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause your heat pour out and the cold outside air pour in ? costing you higher heating bills, causing cold drafts, and wasting energy.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. We apply caulk and weatherstripping to these areas to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the three largest "holes" in your home ? the folding attic stair, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs:
Do you have a folding attic stairway in your house? When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet!) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed. And what is installed to cover this opening? A thin, unsealed, un-insulated sheet of plywood!
All Inclusive Resorts - Sunscape The Beach Punta Cana
July 30, 2006
Sunscape The Beach Punta Cana is located on the north east coast of the Dominican Republic & 50 minutes from Punta Cana airport. With one of the finest oceanfront location on the Caribbean island and protected by a coral reef, the all-inclusive Sunscape The Beach Punta Cana provides the perfect escape to turquoise blue water, white sand, and a forest of palm trees. For friends, families, and couples - the place for outstanding scenery, tranquility and hospitality is right here.
This amazing new all inclusive has everything on site for your perfect holiday, from a 24hr room service with selected menu to movies shown on a full-sized screen right on the beach! A Lazy River swimming pool meanders through the whole property - perfect for an inner-tube ride and is divided from the free-form pool by a waterfall. The spa & Fitness Center at Sunscape Beach will pamper, relax and renew providing a wonderful retreat, large sun terraces and gardens, towel-service for the pool and beach, daily entertainment with a variety of both land and water activities; fully supervised children activities at the Explorer’s Kids Club with game room, television, kitchenette, live stage and nap area, children’s pool; outdoor theatre with nightly entertainment including live shows and theme parties on the beach; disco, weekly Managers’ cocktail party; four soft surface lighted tennis courts, tennis clinics, water sports center on the beach, diving center on the beach and Jacuzzi; bank/exchange office, tour desk and concierge service. Shuttle to casino at Secrets Excellence with drinks included. The Beach Punta Cana all inclusive resort is non-stop fun for everyone!
Feng Shui Your Home, Work and Life For Balance and Harmony
July 30, 2006
Feng Shui describes the communication that takes place every day between you and your environment, be it your home, garden or work. This discipline investigates the universal feelings and reactions of human beings to all environments, including our world. The teachings explore how connections (TAO), balance (Yin/Yang) and vitality (CHI) impact our lives. An environment affects all aspects of our being in the world..from health, safety, family, friendship, spirituality… to even how we love. Now, more than ever before, it is important to space clear the clutter out of our lives and minds..to allow POSITIVE LIFE FORCE to support, nurture and empower us, via a balanced and harmonic environment.
The location of clutter in an environment, reveals the content of a person’s inner struggle. The absence of disorder empowers us. As we are connected by energy to everything in our environment…you might want to review the following and check to see where you may be struggling in your life:
LOCATION OF CLUTTER
Entrance door… fear of relationships
Inside closets…unwilling to examine emotions
In Kitchen…resenting/overwhelmed by caretaking
Next to Bed…desire for change or escape
On Desk..frustration, fear of letting go or need to control
Daphnes for Scent and Colour
July 29, 2006
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of plants knows that daphnes have wonderfully fragrant flowers. And because some of them - usually the most scented - flower in winter, they’re the sort of must-have plants that are usually among the first planted in any new garden.
There are around 50 species of Daphne, many of which are choice garden specimens. They are widespread lot, ranging from Europe and North Africa to temperate and subtropical Asia. Most of them are evergreen or nearly so, but a few are deciduous, often flowering before the foliage expands.
The plant everyone calls daphne is Daphne odora, particularly the cultivar ‘Leucantha’ , which is often misspelt ‘Leucanthe’ . This shrub, a native of China and Japan, sells in vast numbers, mainly on the strength of its perfume, but also because it’s a reasonably hardy evergreen bush. It grows to around 1.5m tall with leathery, deep green leaves up to 80mm long. From mid-winter on into spring it produces clusters of small, starry, pale pink flowers. Several flower and foliage forms are available and the variety with yellow-edged leaves, ‘Variegata’ (sometimes called ‘Aureomarginata’ ), is often hardier and easier to grow than the species.
Make Your Home Secure
July 29, 2006
The following list offers some inexpensive ways to make your home secure:
* Do not leave a ladder outside of your home. A thief could easily, and they do, gain entrance to a second story window.
* Always ask for ID when service men come to your home. Do not let your children answer the door. Don’t be afraid to call the company for verification BEFORE you let them inside your home.
* Do not keep excess cash around your house. Keep it in a safety deposit box at your bank. If you must keep cash at home, hide it NOT in the kitchen or your bedroom, as that is the first place a thief will look.
* Take pictures of your heirlooms and personal items for identification at some later time.
* Mark all electronic equipment with a permanent etching of your name and drivers license number or social security number. This process makes it hard for the thief to sell your property, and easy for you to identify and get returned to you.
* Never leave notes on your front door announcing your absence. This may seem incredible, but people do this all of the time. You might as well put up a neon sign giving your time of return also.
