Rewiring Your Home

Older homes are sure to need rewiring at some point. While no one wants to spend money unnecessarily, not renewing the electrical wiring and connections can result in losing the lot from fire. There is no way out of it: rewiring a home is a hassle. A professional electrician must do it, but the family is the one who must live through the exercise - not an easy task if the floorboards need to be ripped up.

This is most likely in a solid brick home, though there could be other options, such as finding a cavity in the wall to use. Timber homes usually cause the least hassle for rewiring because the wall cavities can be used, but if the house is of two storeys, then the second story floorboards always have to be cut at some point.

You may be lucky in that your home does not need a complete rewiring job, but if it does, you could arrange to go on a short holiday for the duration. It all depends on how much hassle you can stand. If everyone is away at work and school for the day, then the intrusion will probably be fairly minimal, since the workers will be knocking off at around the same time as you. Just be sure they hook up the power supply so that you can still get power for the evening.

By: Mel C

Mel writes about house and land, purchase land and other home-related topics.

Designing A Home For Healthy Living

Much is heard these days about ways to make our planet healthier, but our homes also need to be designed for optimum health. There may not be much you can do with the design of your home once it is already built, but you can certainly do many things to make it healthier. Here are some of them.

- Make sure your home is not damp. Mould grows in damp places and that is not healthy. Dampness also ruins carpet and flooring and contributes to smells that are unpleasant. It may also make getting arthritis more likely. Even simply keeping the windows open will help.
- Avoid furnishings that collect the dust. Long pile carpet is the worst offender, but lacy curtains also harbour dust. They can be replaced with blinds, vertical blinds, or fabric curtains with no texture.
- Simply clearing the clutter out of your home will make it easier to live in. For a start it will be lots easier to clean and dust, and there will be more room. Living in uncluttered space is good living.
- Choose colors to suit the use of the rooms. Bedrooms need have restful colours; living rooms can be more vibrant - unless you want to rest and relax there too.
- Use natural light wherever possible. Fluorescent lighting takes Vitamin A from the body and is a strain on the eyes.

By: Mel C

Mel writes about buying land, land release and other home-related topics.

Top 4 Reasons To Add Granite To Your Kitchen Or Bathroom

Even with all the modern materials available for kitchen and bathroom countertops, few possess the timeless beauty of granite. It's one countertop material that transcends trends and works in modern and traditional settings. As a favorite choice among many homeowners, you may also be considering granite for your kitchen or bathroom. If you're debating between a few different options, here are four good reasons to go ahead and choose granite.

Reason #1: Granite Countertops Are Beautiful
You'll probably agree that granite is one of the most beautiful natural materials. Few stones draw as much attention, especially in the home renovation world. You may stop to admire granite countertops in kitchen showrooms or in the home of a relative or friend, running your hand over its smooth surface. Yes, the almost glittery sheen definitely attracts attention. Granite will no doubt add a touch of glamour to your home as well.

Reason #2: Granite Countertops Last
You may be surprised to learn that granite is both beautiful and functional. It's so renowned for its beauty that many may forget it is actually a stone. Perhaps not the kind you dig up in your backyard, but granite is still a solid natural product. So while granite countertop or bathroom vanity needs a little attention and care, it's durable enough to stay beautiful with constant use. Granite is largely scratch and stain resistant, making it ideal for any family. And its low-maintenance cleaning routine will free you to do what you love most.

Reason #3: Granite is Versatile
Granite is one of the few materials that can work well in just about every style of house. It blends in with ultra-modern cabinets, sleek lines, and cold fronts of stainless steel appliances. It also enhances the curves, embellishments, and flourishes of more traditional homes. Even if the design of your house isn't so easily defined, the variations available in both color and pattern will appeal to a range of taste. You'll no doubt find granite a fit for whatever design category your home falls into.

Reason #4: Granite Adds Value to a Home
As you know, adding quality materials to a home increases its value. And out of all the products on the market, granite is at the top of the list when it comes to quality. Whether you're remodeling with no intention of leaving or renovating for the purpose of selling, granite will add value to your home. It's certain to attract buyers, if you intend to sell now or eventually. Either way, you will enjoy seeing those shimmering granite countertops everyday and may at some point reap the benefits of making the investment.

There you have it. Four good reasons to bump granite to the top of your materials list for your kitchen or bathroom makeover. Granite is beautiful, a strong material meant for everyday use, versatile, and will add value to your home. Now that you know why granite is so popular, you can move on the fun part and start shopping for the perfect granite countertop for your kitchen or bathroom.

By: Emi Bos

Granite kitchen counters and bathroom vanity tops are our specialty. www.factoryplaza.com is a direct importer of granite and marble specializing in fabricating and installing custom kitchen counters, bathroom tops and other home projects. We also sell: basins, fireplace mantels, mosaics, medallions, etc.

Installing A Bathroom Fan

Installing a bathroom fan is important in modern homes to reduce excessive moisture that can cause damage to paint and walls. The time to plan for a bathroom exhaust system is while the walls and ceilings are still open from new construction or remodeling.

Most bathroom fans have a metal box that needs to be installed between the ceiling rafters or floor joists. The fan will fit into this box as part of the finish work or final appliance installation.

The ceiling or attic is the best place to run the exhaust vent. A dryer vent hose makes the best vent because of its flexibility and low cost. One end of the flex hose attaches to the outlet in the metal box with a large hose clamp. The other end of the exhaust vent will lead to an opening in the roof or the soffit.

There are several types of exhaust fans available. If it’s a simple fan, then you can use a regular light switch to turn it on and off. If there’s a light and a heater with the fan, then you will need to use three switches to control each. There are some really nice triple switches that work well for these types of fixtures.

Be sure to turn off the breaker at the breaker box and make sure that other people in the house know what you’re doing with electricity.

Let’s say we’re wiring a light and fan combination. We can use 12-3 NM sheathed cable which has three wires and a ground wire. From the switch we’ll need to have the circuit wires to provide the power. We will run the 12-3 cable from the switch box to the fan. There will be a red wire, a black wire, and a white wire, along with a copper ground wire.

We’ll use a double switch that fits into one switch box. The 12-3 cable that runs from the fan to the switch can be wired first. You will need to wire the red wire to one of the hot receptacle screws on the switch. The black wire can be connected to the other hot receptacle screw. These will usually be on the same side of the switch.

The switch will also have a screw that attaches to the house circuit power. The black wire that comes from the power circuit will connect to the switch giving it power. The white wire from the circuit power and the white wire from the fan can be joined together with a wire nut. You can also attach the copper ground wires together with a wire nut.

Tuck all of the wires into the switch box and secure the switch in place.

Next, you will wire the fan and light with the 12-3 cable. There will be four wires with this fixture. The red wire from the fan will connect to the red wire from the 12-3 cable. There will be black wire from the fan light. It will connect to the black wire from the cable. The white wire can be connected with the other white wire and the ground copper wire can be connected with the cable ground wire with a wire nut.

Secure the fan in place with the attachment screws. Turn on the breaker to make sure that each component works when you flip the switch.

www.make-my-own-house.com

By: housebuilder

Larry Angell Is the author of Sweat equity, building a house at half cost. He runs an information web site that teaches how to build homes without the help of contractors. His instructional site has helped many people reach their dreams of homeownership.

Laminate Kitchen Floors

When remodeling your kitchen the hardest thing to choose is a brand new kitchen floor. This is hard for many of us to decide because there are dozens of choices. The best thing to do when trying to choose new kitchen flooring is to get something that is durable and easy to maintain.

One of the best and easiest to use is laminate kitchen flooring. This is also one of the most commonly chosen that is used not only in the kitchen but also the bath. One of the things that people love about using this type of flooring is that it allows people to be unique and diversified with the type of style and design that they choose.

Laminate flooring is available in a variety of colors, sizes, and designs. To make things even more unique you can mix and match the colors to create a pattern of your choice. Some homeowners will combine two different colors in their kitchen to create a checkerboard pattern.

Another unique thing about laminate flooring is that you can purchase it to imitate the look of brick, tile, or wood kitchen flooring. This allows you to have the look of a beautiful and expensive kitchen without the cost of one. Real wood flooring might add more value to your home - but it is twice as expensive.

Laminate kitchen flooring is usually sold in planks and manufactured with many different layers. The first layer of the plank is a clear hard type coating that will cover the design and look of the overall flooring. The manufacturer will then fuse the two layers together using a high density core. After this a backing will be placed on the plank to make it durable and able to resist moisture.

Because laminate flooring is built to withstand heavy wear and tear it is something that families love to use. It uses a special coating that makes it resistant to both food and dirt stains as well as moisture. This makes it easy and simple for you to clean messes up with a broom and mop.

Some kitchen flooring types are difficult to install and will cost you more money because you will have to hire someone to install it for you. However, laminate floors are one of the easiest types to install. You can snap the planks together and in some cases you can even place them over your existing floors.

By: Naomi West

There are many different types of Kitchen Flooring - but none is more popular than Laminate Kitchen Flooring. Learn how to decide on what Kitchen Flooring Covering you want to use in your home.