Carpet Installation - Adding borders to the perimeter of a Room

Adding a border color to the outside perimeter of a room
can really add a touch of class. Experienced carpet
installers are generally familiar with the steps involved.
It's fairly straight forward. You may be new to rug
fabrication, if so, then here are two quick and concise
step by step techniques that are guaranteed to get the job
done.

In this case we'll imagine that you are installing new
carpet in a 12' x 12' room, you are also going to add a
complimentary 12" border around the perimeter.

Beginners technique - keep reading for a more advanced
technique.

Step 1. Precut your borders, 4 @ 12' x 12" in., prep and
clean floor. Install tackless strips and padding.

Step 2. Drop your carpet, install & powerstretch.

Step 3. Measure from the wall 12" - cut through & mark on
each end of the carpet. Mark the backside.

Step 4. Flip back the carpet, just enough to cut the 12"
strip & remove with your straight edge.

Step 5. Repeat on wall #2.

Step 6. Put your borders in place on walls 1 & 2.

Step 7. Using a seaming iron, seam borders to the main
carpet, wait a few minutes.

Step 8. Use a kneekicker to re-install the carpet on walls
1 & 2.

Step 9. Repeat these steps for walls 3 & 4.

While there is some wasted carpet involved with this
technique, it's still the easiest & fool proof way to get
the job done.

Advanced Technique-

Step 1. Precut your borders, 4 @ 13" x 12', prep and clean
floor. Install tackless strips and padding

Step 2. Cut field carpet to size - 10' x 10'. Place field
piece into center of room.

Step 4. Layout your borders and seam to the field piece
with a seaming iron, wait a few minutes before installing.

Step 5. Install with a power-stretcher. Be careful, gently
stretch the carpet until you have 1" excess to trim.

This approach requires more precision during the
installation. The benefits are that you have no wasted
carpet. The overall Install can be faster as well.

Quick Tips-

Tip #1-

Some rooms may have several 'jogs' or 'legs' that interfere
with your nice straight borders. For example: a doorway, or
sliding door, or connection to another room can force your
border 'out or in' a couple of inches or more. Make it easy
on yourself. Don't bother making adjustments that small.
Imagine the field piece within the room to be as straight
as possible. Your borders will then vary slightly in widths
as they absorb the 'jogs'. It looks better too!

Tip #2 -

Pre-fabricate and bevel multiple borders before installing.
It's always easier to produce these custom rugs in your
workshop prior to going 'on-site'. Do as much
pre-fabricating as possible. If you are comfortable
pre-fabricating the whole project and the rooms are not too
large, then doing so can save you time and increase your
profits. Go for it.

----------------------------------------------------
Russell Webb, your friendly expert Custom Carpet Maker. If
you're ready to launch your own creative and exciting home
based business as a custom rug fabricator, and have fun
doing it, subscribe to my FREE 4 part minicourse at
http://www.erugmakers.com

Fire Alarm Systems - The Most Important Safety System

Many people are hurt, lose their possessions and die
because of fire. Although fire can easily be prevented it
is one of the leading causes of injury at home in the
United States. In some cases where individuals die of fire,
it is because they were not aware that their house or the
building that they occupy is on fire.

Fire alarm systems warn people of a potential fire. It
warns the occupant while they still have time to either put
out the fire or evacuate to safety. Most of today's fire
alarm systems automatically call or notify the nearest fire
department so that the fire will not spread out of control.
Fire alarms are either set off manually or by heat
detectors or smoke detectors.

Fire alarms are most of the time set to detect levels of
heat or smoke which usually is an indication of fire. And
some fire alarm systems have blinking or flashing lights
for those who have a hearing impairment. With today's
technology, fire alarm systems can now be integrated with
the home security alarm systems for the utmost protection
and safeguard of your home.

Smoke detectors are part of the fire alarm system, it
detects smoke in the air and sets off an alarm thus
alerting those nearby of a possible fire. Most smoke
detectors detect smoke nowadays either by ionization or
optical detection and some smoke detectors have carbon
monoxide detectors that detect carbon monoxide thus
preventing carbon monoxide poisoning.

The optical detector in smoke detectors is a light sensor
which uses a beam like laser. These beam sensors then sends
a laser like beam to other sensors, if smoke is
non-existent, the laser like beam passes through the
optical chamber of the light sensor in a straight line. If
smoke is present, the laser like beam is scattered by the
smoke particles as it enters the light sensor and the
scattered light then triggers the alarm of the smoke alarm.

Ionization detectors are much cheaper than light detectors,
although these types of smoke detectors are discouraged
from being used because of environmental reasons.
Ionization detectors work by detecting particles of smoke
by a small amount of radioactive "americium-241" (that is
why it is discouraged from being used). This radiation of
this material passes through an ionization chamber. This
chamber permits the steady flow of current of electrodes,
so that when smoke particles enter this chamber it
interrupts the flow thus setting the alarm off.

Some fire alarm systems have sprinkler system that will
contain or put out the fire before it becomes
uncontrollable. However the only way to prevent fire is to
take steps to be careful and take additional preventive
measures.

----------------------------------------------------
John Leo is an expert with over 30 years of experience in
the low voltage,fire alarm, home security and home theater
industry. He has managed the manufacturing and distribution
of low voltage products during his career. His primary
experience has been the manufacture and distribution of
alarm, audio, coaxial and home theater cable.
webmaster@worldwide-products.biz
http://www.worldwide-products.biz

Interior Design - A Perspective On Glass, Mirrors And Reflection

Using glass and mirrors as focal points in a room is
becoming increasingly popular in the world of interior
design. Interior design is so much more than giving your
home a fresh coat of paint and changing the furniture
around, it is more about making the best use of what you
have to produce a room that is not only aesthetically
pleasing and functional, but that also cleverly reflects
you and your own taste.

Obviously decorating comes into the equation, but you also
have to add the right kind of fixtures and fittings that
should fit in harmoniously with the colour, lighting and
theme of your home. Above all any room should be designed
with the safety of its occupants in mind. Fortunately it
is possible to find glass that is both beautiful and
incredibly tough so these days, glass and mirrors can be
used for everything from tables to staircases; we are
limited only by our imagination.

Naturally, the end purpose of the room will dictate whether
or not it is practical to make extensive use of glass and
mirrors but nevertheless, even on a smaller scale they can
add a whole new dimension to your interior design project.

Using glass and mirrors in your home

One of the advantages of both glass and mirrors is that
they can blend in very well with other types of materials
and enhance existing fixtures and fittings and of course
they also help create a bright and airy atmosphere.

Mirrors for example, can be so much more than just
functional accessories; they reflect a lot of light and
create an illusion of space, which is particularly
beneficial if a room is small. You could consider mirrored
surfaces or walls to give an interesting new perspective to
a room or place large ornate mirrors over fireplaces or
sideboards to serve as a main focal point.

Light travels right through glass so a well positioned
glass panelled sideboard or other piece of glass furniture
set off with subtle artificial lighting or placed where
there is a lot of natural sunlight could enhance the
overall appearance and ambience of a room and again, create
an illusion of space. Utilising glass panels in doorways
can increase the amount of natural light entering into a
room in the first place. Glass is versatile too; it can be
etched, frosted or even stained to add decoration and style.

Together, glass and mirrors in the right light can create
an air of elegance and sophistication and rooms can be
transformed from dull and dreary to bright and beautiful.
There are literally countless ways of using glass and
mirrors as furniture pieces or accessories to enhance the
appearance of any room and of course to mirror your own
individual style.

Reflecting your style

In order to get the right look for you, the one that will
reflect your own style, you first have to identify what
your style is. Popular styles include traditional, modern,
country, minimalist, retro or even a contrast of styles.
Regardless of which style you want to go for, glass and
mirrors work well with any of them.
Pay attention to what have other people done with glass and
mirrors that you could imitate or expand on to create your
own effect. Most of all ask yourself how a particular room
or look makes you feel. The idea is to identify what you
are comfortable with and what pleases you.

Imagine what your own focal point might be. Can you make
use of an existing feature in your room such as a window or
a fireplace or will you create a focal point using
furniture, or perhaps a painting, a mirror or even a work
of art?

The finishing touches

Once you have taken into consideration the purpose of the
room that you are designing and any practical issues
associated with it, you have identified your style and the
fixtures and fittings and colour schemes you are going to
use, and you have worked out what your focal point will be,
you can begin to put the finishing touches to your room.

The finishing touches to any room can make or break it but
it is you that will decide. You could make use of drapes,
plants, mirrors, paintings, floral displays, scents,
lighting, cushions, curtains, and even sounds to enhance
the beauty of a room and you can be as creative as your
imagination will allow. If you like the end result and it
makes you feel good and it fits in harmoniously with the
rest of your home then you will have succeeded in creating
a space that beautifully reflects who you are.

----------------------------------------------------
David McEvoy is an expert in interior design. If you are
looking for a leather sofa to give the finishing touches to
a newly decorated room then please come and visit our site
http://www.leathersofa.uk.com

Basin taps you love to have

Bathroom accessories are as crucial as any house decor
product. For, bathrooms are considered to be part of house
decor, not to be ignored. Bathroom decoration is an art.
Not many are well versed with the work of decorating a
bathroom.

An important accessory in every bathroom is the basin tap.
Apart from the shower, a basin tap is the most used
accessory in any bathroom. So, while selecting a basin tap
for a bathroom, look for quality and durability in the
product. There are multiple brands that offer basin taps as
part of the package for bathroom accessories. However, take
care to ensure that the store does not sell a cheap quality
basin tap since it is part of the package.

Always, visit an e-commerce site or website of a store
selling a wash basin tap for clear information of the
product. Evaluate its use before deciding to purchase it.
If you are buying the basin tap through the store website,
make sure that the product matches the quality mentioned in
the online catalogue. Booking a basin tap online is very
easy. The steps to be followed for booking the basin tap
are provided on the website. Payments can be made using a
credit card. The products are usually delivered within a
week's time.

Among contemporary basin taps, the choice range is
tremendous. Most of the contemporary basin taps come in
metallic colors to match the interiors of the bathroom.
Choose the best basin tap that ideally matches the
bathroom's walls and tiles. Most households choose steel
metallic basin taps since they go well with all kinds of
interiors.

The color combinations are many -- taps that go with colors
of all seasons, taps that indicate particular seasons like
spring and rainfall; brightly colored taps like red, purple
and green that are in trend. Some basin taps come in strong
colors especially for bathrooms used by kids and
youngsters. There are basin taps that come as part of the
entire theme for the bathroom like nature, painting, and
river and so on.

The contemporary basin taps come in several designs. These
designs are in sync with the present time and can be found
in most households. These taps are easy to handle and do
not hinder water flow. The basin taps come in separate
versions -- for flow of hot water and cold water. There are
taps that offer the unique advantage of flowing both hot
water and cold water through the same by just twisting the
tap lever in the opposite directions.

----------------------------------------------------
Darren Dunner is the author of this article on contemporary
basin taps. Find more information about the subject at
http://www.buyplumbing.co.uk

Upgrading To Plastic-Lined Nipples Can Help Keep Your Water Heater From Rusting

Steel will rust when it comes into contact with brass or
copper. Hot and cold water lines on top of the water
heater are often made out of brass or copper. The water
heater's tank is made of steel. When they are connected
together, the steel tank rusts and weakens while the brass
or copper connections do not rust at all. Dielectric
unions and plastic-lined nipples were invented to defeat
this problem. We will discuss plastic-lined nipples in
this article. If your tank is installed with copper only
pipe nipples touching the steel tank, you should replace
them with plastic-lined nipples immediately. Don't panic
though. Unless your water heater is brand new and only a
few months old, there won't be a damaging corrosion problem.

If you are handy with plumbing, you can install gate valves
on your hot and cold lines on top of your water heater.
Use brass valves and install them into plastic-lined
nipples instead of directly into steel plumbing. Do not
install it to the steel plumbing directly or it will cause
the steel to rust. This will allow you to have positive
control of your water lines at the water heater itself.

Heat traps can be used where the plastic-lined nipples are
installed. Hire a plumber to do this to increase the water
heater's efficiency. Make sure adapters are attached to
the copper plumbing. If you have a combination anode rod
installed, the nipple you choose is very important as well.
Install a plastic-lined one if at all possible. If you
have a curved dip tube installed inside your water heater,
you will need a three inch long plastic-lined nipple as
well.

The easiest method of adding plastic-lined nipples if you
have steel plumbing is as follows: Attach to both the hot
and cold lines a plastic-lined nipple where the lines
protrude from the wall. Attach to both of the hot and cold
lines another set of plastic-lined nipples where the lines
connect to the water heater. Use copper flex-connectors to
connect the hot line from the wall to the water heater and
do the same for the cold line. Make sure to have heat
traps installed as well for increased heating efficiency.

Plastic-lined nipples may also be installed on the T&P
valve. This keeps the T&P from getting any trapped water
inside and allows it to flow out of the T&P for your
safety. This is not essential, but it can help.

----------------------------------------------------
Check out http://www.waterheater-info.com or contact
johnnyhayneser@gmail.com for contact information on solar
water heaters (they're the ultimate in energy efficiency),
tankless water heaters (they save you money on your energy
bill), traditional tank-type water heaters (they're the
cheapest and easiest to install), water heater repair and
maintenance, brand information, warranty information and
which installer to hire.