Category: Travel & Destinations

Is your home secured?  Well, installing an indoor and outdoor security system in your home is essential nowadays. It protects your home and valuables from ill-hearted individuals. If you haven’t installed a security system in your home here are some of the essential benefits of having one.

It provides security and protection.

A security system will alarm if anyone tries to break into your house. This will alert you that someone is trying to enter your house. This can be very helpful during the night or if you are not always around in the home.  In fact, according to a world survey at least 1 in 3 homes without security systems will be victim to a burglary while the rate goes down to only 1 in every 250 homes that have a security system.

It increases the value of your home.

Although this is not the primary reason for installing a security system, having it is a great move if you plan on reselling your home. Having a security system installed will increase the value of your home to at least 20 percent. Prospects are interested in secured homes because their primary concern is the safety of their family.

It protects your home from fire.

While many people install a security system for family security, it actually protects homes from fire as well.  Almost every day, there are reports of houses getting in caught with fire.  A security system can detect heat and smoke and provide you a warning before a fire breaks out.  Using this advance notice, you can determine the source of the problem and resolve it before a bigger accident.

It manages home surveillance.

You never really know what happens outside of your home during the night or when you are not around. Your security cameras can provide an extra eye 24/7 and visually record the happenings in your home. If you place it on your frontage, it can capture the happenings of your frontage while you are asleep at night.   Therefore, it provides you with a peace of mind knowing that you are safeguarded from burglary, vandalism, and other threats. The best part is that you can use the recording as evidence to identify the person who is trying to break into your house or know the events to resolve a case.

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Tiling your floor basically provides a visual contrast to the rest of the house. It makes your space cleaner and neater. Apparently, you don’t have to spend thousands to hire someone who can do the tiling. This job is so easy that you can do it yourself. Here are some tips to get you started.

1.       Clean your floor and remove any debris or lump that will affect the tiling later on. It is best that you flatten the surface where you intend to put tiles to make sure the outcome is even.

2.       Measure your space and find the center. You can use a tape measure to get the exact measurement and snap chalk lines that intersect exactly at the center of the floor.  Remember that when you tile your space, you need to start at the center to ensure equal distribution of the tiles and keep the cutting in the corner.

3.       Dry run the tiles. Before you start the project, we suggest that you dry-run by laying out the tiles and the spacers. Do not apply cement or adhesive yet. The purpose of this part is to see how the tiles would look like when they are already placed on the floor.

4.        Mix the thin-set mortar. You can also use adhesive cement. Make sure you check with the hardware store as they can always recommend what to use depending on the size, type, and kind of the tiles you are using. When you mix the mortar, just pour enough water and mix them all together in a large bucket. Continue mixing until they are evenly combined and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

5.       When the mortar gets lackey, you can start applying it on your floor. Spread the mixture on a 2 x 2 section of the floor starting from the center.  You need to work in a small section to prevent the mortar from drying.

6.       Start placing tiles one-by-one. You need to push the tile a little or apply force on it to ensure it follows the correct level.

There you go. Tiling your space doesn’t have to be a hassle. With these very steps for DIY tile flooring installation, we hope that you can achieve a beautiful house.

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You could be having some kitchen cabinets in your home whose frameworks and doors are structurally sound but need to be refurbished. One of the best methods to bring them to life is to repaint them with their genuine colors. The procedure to paint your kitchen cabinet is extremely easy and also affordable. Also, you can have attractive colors if you do it on your own. Here are some suggestions and tips on exactly how to repaint kitchen cabinets.

1. The most crucial action to undertake this task is the preparation of the cabinet for paint. Utilize a heavy-duty cleanser on some cozy soapy water to eliminate the oil and also cooking oils that might have splashed along the sides of the closet.
2. Remove pulls, knobs, handles, and hinges from the closet with the assistance of a hands-on screwdriver. Remove the drawers and likewise the knobs as well as handles on them. It is suggested to get rid of the doors to the closet, as it will make your work much easier.
3. You will need a brush, a roller as well as spray gun to repaint your furniture. If you use Spray weapons, you will discover that they are much better though much more expensive. A roller is the finest and quickest option for you as well as its additionally cheaper. Before starting the painting process, cover the countertops with a piece of used newspaper or cotton fabric to stop them from having paint marks.
4. his is how to paint kitchen cabinets; Use medium-grit sandpaper to roughen the closet so that the paint sticks to the surface. Eliminate the sandpaper particles using a sticky cloth. Use a guide layer with a spray weapon and after that allow it to completely dry. Apply closet and also vanity repaint to the cabinet front as well as panels making certain that the paint is spread uniformly. Replace the pulls, joints, knobs and the drawer.

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Many homeowners choose to upgrade their bathroom to get it ready for a potential sale. Others are just looking to modernize their bathrooms. It is really important to take into consideration that the color scheme of your new bathroom as well as the lighting and the fixtures you plan to install to get the most appeal and function out of the remodeled space.

Select a color palette.

For the first step, selecting a color palette for your bathroom is important when you are in need to remodel your bathroom. Colors evoke an emotional response in people as well as can identify whether your bathroom really feels inviting.

Creating an inviting emotional reaction can be making a decision element on whether or not a customer is interested in acquiring your home. The charm of the color scheme needs to reflect the nature of the room.

Feel the ambiance for each color.

Dark green and blue colors are terrific selections for bathroom remodeling since they are perfectly enhanced by browns, tans, beiges, and other natural colors. Relying on the kind of sensation you desire when you enter your brand-new bathroom, you might want to utilize the neutral colors for the wall surfaces and use the abundant blues as well as eco-friendlies for your devices as well as components.

Choose a brighter color if your bathroom is small.

Bright colors are best-made use of in sparingly on trim or molding. Intense reds, as well as yellows, are wonderful for giving a revitalizing and vibrant atmosphere, yet should not be utilized to repaint huge locations like the walls. Deeper reds and dark yellows can be made use of for the larger areas to make the area really feel even more inviting as well as cozy, while the intense tones can be made use of on the accents.

Illuminate your bathroom.

When your color pattern has been determined, you can try to find illumination options that would best display the restroom as well as bring out the tones as well as shades in the room. When the lighting is done correctly, the ambiance in the restroom can be cozy and inviting. You might intend to totally refurbish your present illumination fixtures and replace them with more modern-day devices that utilize energy-efficient bulbs.

Choose subtle lighting.

Subtle lighting can make a major distinction in the overall feeling of an area when contrasted to intense lighting. Choose what type of illumination would certainly look best in your restroom and would be most useful to the general value of your home.

Upgrade the hardware.

Certainly, you may intend to upgrade the hardware as well as the bathtub in your shower room. Taps are available in an amazing variety of styles and ranges. Pick faucets and showerheads that are aesthetically appealing and also praise the remainder of the bathroom. You can also try to find water-saving selections that can save you cash on utility expenses as well as are interesting possible homebuyers.

Your takeaway…

Remodeling your bathroom is an excellent option to increase the attraction of your home. Also, it will give you more benefits when putting your home up for sale.

Don’t forget that the walls will need to be painted after you complete the remodel and hang new sheetrock. If painting is not your thing, be sure to call the guys over at Mesa Painting Pros.

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STEP 1 – PLAN

Research and pick the right floors for you and your house.   Some new flooring has the underlayment already built in, which saves time and money. 

 STEP 2 – PREPARE THE SUB-FLOOR

The sub-floor (usually plywood underneath your existing carpet or other flooring) must be a clean, flat surface.  Which implies, of course, you must remove the old carpet or flooring. This was the worst part of installing the new floors. 

STEP 3 – FIX SQUEAKY FLOORS

Use screws to tighten up the loose panels in the sub-floor.  A good drywall screw will do the trick. This is really quick and easy.

STEP 4 – INSTALLING VINYL FLOORS

Follow the easy directions on the back of the box, which recommends beginning in a corner and proceeding out from there.  A good YouTube video is also priceless. We watched several, including the one below, to make sure we were comfortable.  

You will notice that each piece of flooring has a tongue and groove on two sides.  It is important to place the tongue facing the wall on the first row. Use the spacers between these first planks and the wall.  The space will be covered by the molding later. 

Now comes the easy part.  The floors snap together with the tongue and grooves.  Be sure to stagger the seams so they don’t line up. When you get to the last piece in a row you’ll have to cut a plank to fit.  Use the leftover piece to begin the next row, in doing that the seams will naturally be staggered.

TOOLS:

Pencil

Tape Measure

Floor Cutter 

Utility Knife

Hammer

Rubber Mallet

Tapping Block

T Square/Straight Edge

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The feeling of owning your own house comes only after you’ve customized everything in it to your own unique taste and lifestyle. You can add value to your home without having to spending a fortune. You can choose some do-it-yourself projects that will help renovate your home.

However, it can be a stressful experience if you don’t have proper knowledge of what you need to do. Note that, if done incorrectly, it can cost you more than it could cost you to hire a pro to do it for you. Here are tips to help you make an informed decision about the projects you can handle.

Have a plan for your remodel

Draw a plan of what you want things to look like at the end of the project. This will help you identify the estimate of the materials needed. You may use a graph paper and a scale to clearly lay out exactly what you want to do.

Have a remodel estimate

After drawing a plan of what you want, you can now start getting the estimate. You should estimate the jobs in the sequence in which they will be done. Ensure you have an estimate cost of materials and labor and the total for the task. This will help you know if you can be able to handle the job on your own.

Get the right tools

The job can be quite overwhelming if you don’t have the right tools. If you lack the right tools to use, you can use rental tools. You should only rent the tools when you are ready to use them to avoid spending more than you could have. Remodeling tools are mostly rented on half day, full day or weekly rates and therefore renting them for a time you are not using can increase your expenses unnecessarily.

Use the divide and win renovation approach

You can ask your remodeling contractor to do the difficult parts of the job before you finishing the other parts. The project could be too difficult for you to do alone and therefore you may need to call in your contract to help you in the hard tasks. For instance, if it is a painting job, you can ask your contractor to help in preparing the paint then you do the painting yourself.

Which home improvement jobs can a homeowner do?

At times, you get the impression of how easy home improvement tasks are from TV shows than they really are. Consult your local building department to help you out on the kind of job you can do if you’re in doubt.

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