Safeguarding Windows and Doors

San Diego is one of the safest large cities in the country. However, home invasions do occur in the area, and homeowners should take steps to safeguard their homes from being robbed. Many homes are robbed because owners don't take into consideration basic safety measures for their windows and doors. Burglars will often move to the next target if they have any difficulty getting into the home through a door or window with an extra safety feature.

Leaving your doors and windows unlocked or open is an invitation to burglars to come into your home. Ensure that all doors and windows are locked before leaving home or going to bed. For those who enjoy leaving their windows or doors open at night, there are interesting options that will maintain your safety. For example, there are doors available that act as screen doors, but offer a much sturdier frame that is difficult to break through. These kinds of doors are one of the most convenient ways to ensure your family's safety without doing away with the enjoyment of fresh air in your home all night long.

Another common way that doors and windows are compromised is because of faulty or old locks. Many locks are simply outdated or are easy to open from the outside. New windows and doors offer many security features that will secure your home and allow you to live without worry.

Front doors are another weak point in the security of your home. Many homes are built with doors that allow people to see in without many problems, while others don't even have a peephole. Choose a front door that gives your family privacy and allows you to see who is at the door before you open it. Teach your children to ensure that they know the person at the door before answering.

Keep expensive electronic equipment away from doors and windows. If burglars are tempted by the sight of an expensive television or computer, they may try to get in your home even if you've added secure doors and windows. By removing these from plain sight, you make yourself less of a target for a break in.

San Diego is home to several companies that can remodel your home with the latest technology in doors and windows. Choosing a company that provides the best materials at the best price is an important part of remodeling your home and ensuring that your home is safe from burglars.

Don't settle for the company that offers the lowest price, as they may use inferior materials. Look for a company that ensures that your needs are met by using the best doors and windows on the market.

Need more on windows and doors? Cal Windows and Doors specializes in windows and doors in Irvine, CA and anywhere else in California. Learn how to prepare your home for sale with upgraded windows and doors and other great tips on how to get beautiful windows for your home.

Car Runs Into Garage Damage

Mahogany's Beauty and Durability Makes it Ideal For Deck Construction

A couple of years ago I had the chance to tour several newly constructed Adirondack homes. One of the areas that particularly stood out for me while touring these homes were the decks. All used Mahogany lumber for both the decking and the railing systems. The red color and the general beauty of the Mahogany wood was unique to anything I had ever seen before in decking material.

After completing my home tours I went out and researched Mahogany further. First, there are several species and colors of Mahogany, supplied by various countries around the world. Not all are the same, however. It is the species known as American Mahogany that has the rich red color that I had observed. American Mahogany comes from the West Indies, Mexico, and Central and South America. It is generally viewed as a harder wood that is extremely durable and resistance to moisture and insects. Also, because it is a hard wood it has a tenancy to not split, twist or check. So be sure to ask about the species, prior to buying Mahogany. Note however, Mahogany is a little more expensive than pressure treated decking and railing systems, however it is well worth it in terms of quality, looks and durability.

Since discovering and researching Mahogany, I have built two deck systems using this material. As I had indicated earlier, it is a hard material that as a result, requires a little more effort in its installation.

Fastening the Material

First, use stainless steel nails or screws on both the decking and railing systems, as other types will not penetrate this material very well. My preference was the stainless steel nails, however pre-drilling holes is mandatory if not using a nail gun. Even with stainless steel nails, they will bend trying to simply nail them into the wood. I found that with the stainless steel hex head screws that they chewed the wood going in and left somewhat of a ragged finish on the surface of the wood.

Second, when installing the decking material, I found it aesthetically most attractive to create a frame on the outside perimeter of the deck surface using long Mahogany boards. Once the outer frame is installed, the main Mahogany decking boards can be simply installed within this outer framework. The result is a cleaner line when viewed from a distance or standing on the deck itself.

Regarding the Railing system, screws and bolts should be used exclusively as the material use in this part of the deck is typically thicker and requires more rigidity.

Painting, Staining or Sealing

Mahogany takes paint and stain well, however I have preferred to apply a clear sealer. The clear sealer enables the natural red color of the Mahogany to shine through, while still providing a layer of protection from the environment. Typically I re-apply the clear sealer every year to continue to preserve the color. If you do not, the Mahogany will bleach out.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more information about Home Improvement and Home Additions, and Home Remodeling and Repair visit homeadditionplus.com and homeaddition.blogspot.com

Metal Buildings - Items to Consider Before You Buy!

No matter what type of metal building you are considering, making the wrong purchasing decisions from not being properly informed can be extremely costly. Whether you're looking at commercial metal buildings, farm buildings, garage or shop buildings, not knowing what needs to be considered can be just as costly. Here is a list of items to think about before you purchase.

1. What use will your new prefabricated metal building have? (This is not as simple as it may sound)

2. What size should your new metal building package be? (Consider this point carefully)

3. Of the many types of prefab buildings, which is right for you?

4. What accessories do you require in your prefab metal building? (If you don't ask, you won't receive)

5. Get your metal building package priced (from more than one supplier).

6. Do a complete analysis of the metal building prices.

7. Should you hire or self-erect your metal building package? (Keep in mind the cost of equipment rentals if required)

8. When is the best time to purchase prefab buildings?

9. How will you plan and schedule for your new prefabricated metal building? (This is closely related the step above)

Now each of these items can be broken down considerably and indeed should be. Some may even seem to be 'no-brainers'. Don't be fooled. There is more to be considered than what you might think even for a question as simple as 'What is my metal building going to be used for?' But if you consider each of these steps well, you can assure yourself that you have done due diligence and your purchase decision will be a well informed and much les stressful one. And you just may save thousands of dollars!

For an extended version of this article visit Pre-Fab Metal Buildings. PrefabMetalBuildingKits.com is a website dedicated to metal buildings. Visit us at Metal Building Kits.

Cut Hip Rafter Damage

Creating An Eclectic Design Style For Your Room

The master bedroom should be fitting for the master of the home. Unfortunately, most of the time the master bedroom is the last and final room that is decorated. Choosing a design style, such as the modern contemporary decorating style, for your master bedroom can be a wonderful way to make your bedroom into a room that you need and deserve.

Some people prefer a more eclectic style of decorating where they combine a few different decorating styles in their home. This can work well if you do it in a harmonious way that makes a cohesive part, rather than just throwing many different styles together. Create a harmonious flow with your choices to make your room more welcoming and comfortable for you and your family.

How do you make your choice in design styles? You first need to find a foundation for the rest of your design. This can be a paint color, piece of fabric, or a piece of furniture. This is you starting point for the rest of your design. Now you are ready to find items that work well with this particular color, so that you can create a master bedroom to be proud of.

If you are set on an eclectic style of decorating, there are a few combinations that you will want to consider for your master bedroom.

1. Contemporary Style and Country Style - This combination creates a design style that is known as Modern Country. It involves using traditional country furnishings along with new contemporary designed furnishings. This creates a mingling of the industrial and high-tech worlds.

2. Roman and Greek Decorating Styles - This combination creates a design style that is known by the moniker of Greco Roman style. This is when you combine both Roman and Greek design styles and architecture. These two work very well together, due to the fact that they are very closely linked and have very close styles.

3. Modern Style and Tropical Style - You will find that the tropical style can be enhanced by the more contemporary and modern style of furnishings.

Your master bedroom should be a room that you want to take refuge in after a long, hard day of work. By finding the right design style for your room, you can make this room into a beautiful extension of your home and your personality that will give you a place to relax and rest in. Inspiration can come in many different ways, so be sure that you are open to the different design styles, whether modern contemporary decorating style or country style, to create a master bedroom that you will be proud of.

Adam Peters is a syndicated writer of http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com A focused website that offers the best articles on modern wall papers and flooring

Top 10 Secrets to Small Bathroom Designs

It's official. Small bathroom designs are making an inexorable leap to the frontline in the contemporary interior design firmament. No longer are homeowners treating small spaces with a sense of passive resignation, and are in fact, breaking free from the shackles of convention and weaving magic in small bathrooms.

These homeowners stop at nothing to ensure that their personal space resembles a work of art. Gone are the days when the thought of decorating a small bathroom could dim one's ardor. Today, things stand at polar opposites. One finds an earnest desire to liberate oneself from the constraints of claustrophobic eyesores, even at the cost of demolishing long-standing rules in design books.

Secrets Finally Revealed

If a paucity of ideas to inject a dose of freshness into your small space is your constant gripe, it's time to unlock a few secrets. So shun that innate skepticism, and get ready to fire your imagination like never before. Here's how:

• If bathing luxury is your utmost concern, soak in a small but deep bathtub that does not occupy centre stage in the space.
• A transparent shower screen as against an opaque shower wall highlights your bathroom's intrinsic style quotient, leaving nothing much to imagination.
• Do not shelve plans of installing floating or recessed cabinets. Utilize the space on the wall to the fullest.
• Onlookers are sure to stand up and take note of space saving pedestal and wall-mounted sinks.
• Open doors to innovating space saving schemes with hinged or sliding doors.
• Windows in close proximity to the ceiling provide ample space on the walls for cabinets and shelves.
• Optical illusion is not something that only Chris Angel can perfect. Allow natural light to come gushing into the space through windows and skylights, and watch the extraordinary impact.
• The sparkle of under cabinet lighting and the shimmer of mirrors can take the space from dull and dreary to devastatingly dazzling.
• While vertical lines add inches to the space, the spectacular combination of identical wall and floor tiles creates that crackling chemistry.
• Don't remain in the dark about the colossal impact of light, pastel or neutral shades.

Learn exactly how to generate 100's or even 1000's of positively *BRILLIANT* Bathroom Remodeling Ideas ... FAST ! And here are 25 Dirt Cheap Home Improvement Ideas that could increase the value of your home by several $1000's ...

Plant Covering Window

The Benefits of Building Cedar Dog Houses Like the Experts

Cedar is a tree that belongs to the pine family. These trees are mostly found in North America but they are natives to the mountainous areas of North Africa and Asia. The cedar trees have needle-like leaves and are cone-bearing trees, just like any other conifers. The first groups of people who have used these trees as they go along with life are the Aborigines. The Cedar wood is used for building homes and their coffins. The best canoes are those that are made of Cedar trees. Cedar trees are also known as the "tree of life" for Aborigines, for North Americans, Africans and other Asians and dogs. Dogs? Yes, that's right, dogs. If you're a dog owner and you want to give a happy and sturdy home for your dog, consider a cedar dog house and you bet your life3 is going to enjoy his stay every minute of his satisfied dog's life.

For most dog owners, the dog's life is very much like their own. If a person needs comfort, security and a nice place to come home to, so does the mutt. Imagine how your pet feels like if after a whole day of dating or picking up bones from your neighbor's house, he will find himself snoozing inside of the best places in the world- his own unique cedar dog house.

But making a dog house is quite tricky for pet dog owners and it will be quite difficult, too. If you have no experience even in selecting the best construction materials and you don't have an idea how to make a dog house or if you always accidentally hit your thumb instead of the nail, you might want to try to hire somebody else to do the job.

But you see, if you can just manage to learn how to build a dog house for your pet, it will also create a stronger relationship with your mutt and you can make something very unique for him.

While there are many different building materials that you can choose when constructing a dog house, most customers prefer having cedar wood to use and you know why. Cedars are very sturdy and reliable. Furthermore, a cedar house can blend in with your house if you want to make your area very elegant-looking. How would you react if you see a beautiful house with a torn-down and ugly mini-junkyard just off-center in a neighbor's front lawn? It would not be a nice view for the eyes, right?

Cedar dog houses are usually constructed by using full cedar frames and raised cedar floors that will make your dog much more comfortable. The framing is solid & can withstand any kind of weather. In addition, cedar wood doesn't attract pests like insects and termites and it is 100% rot-resistant and that can increase your dog's safety and comfort.

For some other dog owners, this might be overkill for them and they will even think that other dog owners might be overreacting for things like these. Well, you can't blame them for feeling this way. Perhaps, they just have a bad dog day that's why they would settle for something less and bear in mind, a poor dog house can lead to an unhealthy animal and unhealthy pets will make everything and everyone around them unhealthy. Dogs are vulnerable to ticks and fleas and a cedar house might even be a good protection for them from these parasites.

And talking about health, a cedar dog house is easy to keep clean. The reason why some dog owners would not prefer the idea of having a dog house for their pets is because it will only waste them valuable time cleaning one. And here's one tip that will make cleaning a lot easier. Make the roof of a dog house detachable. You want nothing but the best for your dog, right? So, get going and get a cedar dog house for him, be it custom-made or ready-made and you can buy one in various pet stores, online and offline.

To learn more about the different types of Dog Houses for your dogs, etc., and how to get discount and cheap pet medications, make sure to visit http://www.callpetmeds.com where you will find everything on getting quality Dog Houses and yet affordable pet medications as well as tips on how to take care of your pets like the experts.

LED Strips Guide

Flexible LED strips are widely used as decorative lighting. You may find them in many areas, such as car and motorcycle decorative lighting, architectural decorative lighting, archway lighting, hallway lighting, stairway lighting, cove lighting and so on. They are easy to install and cut every 5-10cm. Besides, LED is energy saving, eco-friendly and long lifespan. Thereby LED strips also have these features. The lifespan is over 50,000 hours.

Main features:

1. LED. The light sources are usually SMD LED. 3528 SMD LED and 5050 SMD LED. The brightness of each types of LED is different. 5050 SMD LED is brighter than 3528 SMD LED. Usually, RGB LED strips are made by 5050 SMD LED.
2. Colors. The color can be white, warm white, red, blue, green, pink, RGB and so on. The price is different in different colors.
3. Quantity of LED. Usually the quantity of LED is 15PCS, 24PCS or 30PCS per 50cm. It also influences the brightness.
4. Length. In most of case, the length is 50cm. There are also 30cm, 60cm and 80cm length. However, you do not need to worry about it. Usually, every LED strip can be cut every 3 LED. That's 5-10 cm.
5. Waterproof or non-waterproof. Waterproof or non-waterproof are both available.
6. Working Voltage. Usually working voltage is 12V DC.
7. Power Consumption. Usually power consumption is from 2.4W to 3.6W every 50cm.
The above features are main factors. For more features, you may contact your suppliers.

How to Choose right LED strips in your project
After we know the above 7 main features, it's easy to choose right products in you project. You just need to tell your supplier the following requirements:

1. Colors. If you need RGB colors, you need a controller to control the colors.
2. Brightness(Luminous Intensity, Flux or other in your descriptions )
3. Waterproof or non-waterproof. If you need waterproof products, IP rating is also a factor.
4. Length. If you a very long strip in your project, you need a amplifier to keep the effect.
5. Input voltage. Usually you need a transformer to transform the voltage.
The above 5 factors are important to both your project and price. You may take more requirements in your project into consideration.

If you want to find appropriate and high quality LED strips, I am pleased to help. If you are interested in other LED lights, welcome to discuss with me.

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