House Extension: Increase Space in Your House

Present structure of your house may not have adequate space to fulfil all your space requirements. Sometimes, people think that some rooms or space in the house should have been used in a different way. Instead of moving to a bigger property, it is better to go for a house extension. Buying bigger house means spending more money. When you are planning of a house extension, you need to take care of certain issues. First of all, you need to decide on present and future requirements of space. You should think about the usage of the extended portion of the house. House extension is an expensive project, you must see whether you are ready to spend that much amount or not. Spare your time, as it is going to be a long project, running over months, at a stretch. Now, after taking a decision of a house extension, you must check any legal issues in your area pertaining to the house extension. There may be any building restrictions due to conservation issues, or the structure you are living in may be a heritage site.

Discuss your plans of house extension with your neighbours as well. They may get disturbed due to the construction activities in your house. If they have issues with this, it is better to resolve beforehand. If you have any outstanding issues with the council, get it resolved first otherwise it may create difficulties later. In the process of a house extension, pay proper attention to the ventilation and lighting. Get the windows and doors placed in such a way so as to regulate proper circulation of air within the house. House should get adequate amount of sunlight during day hours, it should be neither too dark nor too bright. Privacy is also another important issue while planning for windows and doors. When planning for house extension project, do not ignore the pending repairs in existing structure of the house. Consult an experienced contractor about your house construction plans. His advice is very valuable as he is able to tell you whether your existing structure can take extension or not. Walls in the house should be able to take the load of a new structure. While redesigning your house, do not compromise on the quality of things to be used. Though house extension is an expensive project but you should use the things which are of a high quality.

by: Joanna Harris

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Introduction to Decorative Painting

Painting and decorating goes hand in hand like coffee and cream. One compliments the other and vice versa. As such, decorative painting goes back in history almost as far as people do. From ceremonial paintings on cave walls done by prehistoric men to the Italian frescos (wall paintings typically found in cathedrals), these artistic expressions have been part of aesthetic embellishment. Fortunately, our means of painting have greatly improved from the days of the cavemen.

Where early painters had to practice ingenuity to produce colours and use water or animal fat to bind paint to surfaces, modern men have already figured out how to shortcut the process, and the concept of paint products (and other painting tools) was eventually conceived. Paint materials went into mass production over five hundred years ago. Nowadays, paint of almost every conceivable shade, texture and colour is readily available to everyone. Thus, artists or users are given more time to search for inspiration and be creative.


In practical home design, decorative painting, either as primary ornamentation or just a finish, is a simple and inexpensive way to add elegance and beauty to walls, furniture, cabinets and several other furniture items. The colours you choose, glazing and layering contribute largely to achieve an impressionable effect in the surfaces.

Almost anything in your home can get a decorative accent with paint. Some of the items you can put decorative paint with are: glassware and ceramics, windows, plastic, wood and even clothing materials. Decorative painting can be a quick and easy way to dress up a holiday centerpiece or old piece of furniture. Furthermore, you can also create personalized gifts with it.

Here are some tips in doing home decorative painting:

1. It is very important to prepare surfaces correctly before applying any paint. Paint will not bond correctly and surface flaws will be highlighted if the surface is inadequately prepared. In glazing, surfaces should be non-porous. As such, priming is an essential step.

2. Proper base coating is necessary to achieve the best results. Overall effect depends on the base coat colour so you must apply it to the surface evenly and without brush or roller marks. Allowing sufficient drying time between all layers is important as well and will prevent paint bleeding.

3. Try to work in pairs when doing large area painting such as big walls or ceilings. Doing as such allows successive work and prevents the paint from drying out too much before applying the second coating.

There are several ways to achieve an elegant look by applying decorative painting. Whether you use faux painting techniques or just use a great colour to really bring out a wall, fresh paint can always make a difference to your home. Decorative painting can make one feel more relaxed and provide a homey feel to your space instead of just having dull living quarters.
by: Joanna Harris

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Save Up On Energy At Home

Going “green” is the new trend nowadays and with a definite reason. Radical environmental changes are occurring all over the globe so each and everyone need to contribute whatever way they can to put the environment in order again. Also, due to the bad state of the economy, saving up on energy does not only help Mother Nature, it also helps the budget as well. Most of the people do not even try to reduce energy consumption at home because they think it would be a costly project to carry out. Some would say that with their busy schedule, they do not have the time to even think about energy reduction. This is the misconception people have about energy saving.
In actuality, there are a lot of ways you can save up on energy without having extra expense and requiring minimal effort. For example, switching the light off every time you leave the room is an energy saving technique. You should also turn your appliances off instead of putting it in stand by when not in use. Make this a habit and you’ll be surprised by how much you can save just by doing these simple tasks.

To save on water energy at the same time, fill up your washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers. A full load will save more energy than two half loads. Take care also of your leaking faucets and pipes. A leak that lasts for a week is water you can use to fill up half a bath. Remember that little things matter, especially when it comes to saving energy.

Use energy saving light bulbs that can be bought in the market. These bulbs last 10 times longer than your usual light bulb. With regards to your thermostat, turn it down a little. A one degree Celsius off of your original temperature can cut your heating bills by 10%, helping your budget earn around $60 a year. You won’t even feel the one degree temperature change so this is a good tip to follow, making you save on energy and on your finances also. It is during the winter season that you incur a huge sum on your heating bill. Aside from turning up your thermostat by one degree Celsius, you can also make sure that all windows and blinds are shut properly. This will keep the heat locked up in your house and the cold winter winds outside. Keeping this in mind will keep you warm during the long winter nights, yet saving you energy also in the process.

Follow the simple instructions stated here and make a habit out of it so that energy saving inside your home could become second nature to you. To help you save even further, you can also buy energy efficient appliances and products placing it around your home.

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ARCHITECTURE IN MODERN CONCEPTS

While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it had the effect of introducing the concept of "function" in place of Vitruvius "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural.
hrough its own particular way of expressing values, architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming that, in and of itself, it will promote social development.'
To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art's sake is not only reactionary; it can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere instrumentality".
Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building design are rationalism, empiricism, structuralism, poststructuralism, and phenomenology.
In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both structure and function, the consideration of sustainability. To satisfy the modern ethos a building should be constructed in a manner which is environmentally friendly in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural and built environment of its surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon non-sustainable power sources for heating, cooling, water and waste management and lighting.

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INTERIOR SIGHT

Selaraskan Rumah Dengan Interior Ruangan

Apa yang lebih menyenangkan daripada melihat tampilan rumah dengan wajah yang menawan, dengan sapuan warna-warna terang dan lampu-lampu sorot yang menghiasi dindingnya baik sore maupun malam hari. Layaknya wajah seorang wanita dengan makeupnya yang dihiasi perhiasan kerlap kerlip. Begitulah kira-kira yang bisa diuraikan dengan penampilan rumah yang menarik. Hanya saja bagaimana dengan bagian dalam yang tidak setiap orang bisa melihatnya. "Interiornya bagus sekali", begitulah kira-kira yang terucap dari orang yang merasakan secara dekat dengan suasana ruang yang hangat dan nyaman.
Tapi bagaimana bila bagian interior rumah ini kurang diperhatikan. Dengan alasan mahal atau yang penting tidakkehujanan inilah tidak tercapainya suasana ruang yang mendukung. Bentuk rasa nyaman ini bisa didukung dari pemilihan furniture yang sesuai dengan bentuk ruang, ataupun dengan warna penutup dinding, seperti cat atau wallpaper. Yang kalah tidak pentingnya adalah pemberian lampu yang cocok pada setiap ruangan, baik terang lampu ataupun warna cahaya yang dikeluarkan. Beberapa elemen interior inilah yang mendukung terciptanya rumah sehat, yang bisa bernafas dan berinteraksi dengan penghuninya.

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Creative Maintenance and repair of Roofs & Homes

Talking about feasible and suitable home repairing and maintenance, that is the hottest issue for every person and they want to get the most effective results and creative work for saving their property. In this busiest life, home owners and industrialists have very little time for repairing and maintaining their homes, roofs and commercial sectors. So they want some special type of products for repairing and maintaining their homes and offices, by applying them, they can easily repair and maintain their homes for many years. In order to provide the results for this requirement, there are number of challenges which a contractor have to face during the tear off the roof or home and installing a new roof. They have several ways of completing task of construction, in shifts and at once or regular basis, but for a creative maintenance of a roof and provide long time strength to the home, there is the never ending responsibility for a builder. More over when a home owner wants to get the work with less cost and down timing, this responsibility exceeds its limits and become a new challenge for home constructors. So the home constructors have a long list of responsibilities that is endless.
With recurring costs and time consuming repairs, facility maintenance personnel are focused on providing a safe and efficient environment to the homeowners and to provide satisfactory results. There are many products in use for construction purpose that gives the extra ordinary results that can easily satisfy the home owner and also easy in application for the constructor. As Liquid roof coatings are the best sealant for repairing, it gives full recovery for any roof leaking problem that may occur because of summer sun or heavy rain. Liquid roof is also most famous product among the constructors because it provide a time down criteria for its application with full coverage of roof leaks. So constructors have numerous proven solutions to solve maintenance issues for all types of homes and roofs and commercial sectors on the basis of all these products. They also provide the surety to reduce costs and downtime while improving product life cycles and energy efficiency.

Roof repair and maintenance activities present unique challenges to maintenance crews and operators. So they have to face this type of challenges by improving working efficiency and conducting research in this field and by introducing new products that can easily recover the Roof leaks, cracking and damaging problems. They have recently introduced the products that have highest capacity and resistance for water and heat. EPDM and epdm coatings, Liquid roof coatings and liquid rubber best for controlling the temperature and it provides great resistance for sun light and keep the internal temperature under control. Similarly liquid rubber and liquid roof are specially designed for water resistance. Liquid roof coatings have the highest capability for stopping the rain water and can easily drain it. They also exceed the repair timing interval of a roof or wall as they have more flexibility that improves its resistance characteristics.

“The most optimal use of repairing and construction material is required” this is the demand of a home owner which makes a constructor more responsible with his work and he tries his best to choose the products that can easily match with the consumer demand. So they become more conscious in the selection of the repairing products, that they may provide the repair and maintaining of a roof leak according to the public requirements. This can be done inly with Liquid epdm and Liquid roof as they meet with all their demands but more efficiency is required. Building maintenance specialists are responsible for maintaining complex and expensive housing and company’s equipment under demanding operating conditions.

All these efforts for getting the highest level of consumer satisfaction in this field become a cause of giving the society more beneficial products which have ability for meeting with all their requirements. So they get more feasible results for repair and maintenance purpose. Application of liquid roof and epdm provide the benefits of both home owner and constructor. The results of epdm have reduced maintenance costs, reduced downtime, increased component life and duration, reduced repair frequency, and improved efficiency for temperature. That’s really creative and economical repair and maintenance for the home.

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