Home Based Archives - Page 4 of 12

September 11, 2019

Ways to Lower the Electric Bill

Going green can be an overwhelming concept, so starting small is never a bad idea. One place to cut down on overall waste is in the home. A benefit of reducing usage is that the electric bill becomes lower, too. Check out these easy ways to lower an electric bill, and remember to consult an expert for major inquiries or electrical repairs Chattanooga.

Heat and Cooling

The biggest way to cut down on energy is in the heating and cooling system in the home or apartment. In the colder months, make sure that there are a few drafts in the house as possible so that it is easier to maintain a warm temperature. A regulated thermostat can also help to keep a steady temperature. Conversely, in the warmer months, there are ways to cut back on cooling appliances that require quite a bit of energy. Try a little flexibility on the preferred temperature — even five degrees can make a difference. Wearing looser clothing can often help offset summer heat. Consider a smaller fan in the spring and late fall before turning on a full cooling system. When it comes to apartments, particularly if an older apartment only has window units instead of central air, keeping these units off when not in the home will help lower the bill significantly.

Water Temperature

Interestingly, even in a building or complex where water is covered, certain appliances have higher energy outputs when it comes to water temperature. Running appliances like the dishwasher or laundry units on cold water will help save quite a bit. Along the same vein, taking shorter showers will help decrease the amount of hot water usage. This will, in turn, decrease the electric bill. Make sure that appliances are running smoothly because damaged appliances will sometimes overcompensate and end up exerting more energy than necessary to get the job done.

Power

Of course, at the end of the day, all-electric usage comes down to power. One hack that isn’t widely spread revolves around fully unplugging cords on items that aren’t used very often. Sometimes, even when an item is not being used, it will still be draining power from an outlet. Unplugging something as simple as a phone charger can make a difference. Using dimmer switches will also help to not use more power than necessary because a lighting fixture will use less energy when not set to full brightness. Newer and greener light bulbs will help create the same effect. With all of these tips combined, the electric bill is sure to decrease.
Related:
What Appliance In Your Home Use The Most Electricity?
How To Make Your Home Energy Efficient in 5 Steps
Heating Choice an Ethanol or Electric Fireplace

August 29, 2019

How to Spray Paint Doors: the best ways to handle an Airless Sprayer

Welcome my fellow renovation enthusiasts. Spray painting isn’t a hard job, the difficult part is to make sure your work has the fine finish touch that every enthusiast aim to achieve.

Nobody likes a bubbled up and uneven surfaced door, especially us enthusiasts. The sight of them severely grinds our gears to the point of self-destruction.

That’s why I am writing this article to show some tips and tricks on how to professionally spray paint your doors with an airless sprayer.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

See also What to look for on an indoor paint sprayer now.

How to spray paint doors using an Airless Sprayer

What is an airless paint sprayer

An airless paint sprayer pump paint through the hose and allows the painter to spray paint an object with ease. However, unlike conventional paint sprayer, airless sprayers use hydraulic pressure rather than air pressure to atomize the air. It is because of this difference that an airless sprayer has many advantages.

I know this article is about how to spray paint using an airless sprayer, but it is also important to understand your equipment. Hence I will just briefly mention them here.

Reduce paint waste

The hydraulic system of an airless sprayer pushes the paint out of the hose without the use of atomizing air. That’s why paint is less likely to be impacted by airflow, spraying more than it should and a droplet of paint landing elsewhere rather than the object

High accuracy

The tip of an airless sprayer can break down the spraying paint into a fan shape. The fan shape is very efficient in ensuring the object can be spray painted evenly as long as it is done properly. Of course, this article will also tell you the proper to spray paint with an airless sprayer, so keep reading!

Elegant finish

The hydraulic system and the fan-shaped spraying are the main contributory factors to an elegant finish. After the paint dries out, you will be able to see a smooth and perfect finish on the objects without any uneven surface.

Instruction on spray painting

Step 1

Set up the doors so that they stand up straight with enough space for you to spray paint all sides including the front, the sideway, and the back too. You can do so by hanging them up on a rack, or screwing some gallon paint sticks on the wall and stabilize the door with them.

Step 2

Next is the spraying pattern. In order to ensure that the door is painted evenly and further reduce paint wastage, it is highly advisable to follow the spray paint pattern as per the illustration below.

Start from the top right corner of the door, steadily go down to the bottom right, move to left and go up. Repeat until the one surface is fully painted.

By the way, when you finish one straight line and moving on the next, remember to overlap the previous by 50%. The reason is that the fap shaped spraying of an airless sprayer produces more paint in the middle and less on the side. So, overlapping 50% of the spraying pattern with each other ensure that the intensity of paint is evenly distributed throughout the surface of a door.

Step 3

Painting sides of the door is pretty self-explanatory and intuitive. However, make sure that the center point of the fan-shaped spray pattern is where the sides of the door are getting painted.

Step 4

Repeat step 2 for the backside of the door and voila that’s one door done easily and efficiently with an airless sprayer.

Important note

Doorknob

Remember to remove the doorknob before painting your door. Even if you want to paint doorknob too, it is better to do so separately. Otherwise, the spray painting pattern above will be screwed in the area around the doorknob.

Respirator

Always wear a respirator. If you do not have a respirator, a surgical mask or something to cover your nose is better than nothing. Although, ideally, it is better to use a respirator to be 100% safe.

Painting multiple doors

If you have multiple doors to paint, line them up standing next to each other in a W shape. Leave adequate space between them so that you can paint the sides too. The tools needed to line them up can be easily found in almost any renovation shop.

Avoid humid weather

It is better to avoid spray painting your doors during a rainy day. The humidity in the air might mess up the finish of the door when it is drying (bubbly finish). If you are living in a place that is humid throughout the year, get a dehumidifier and close all the doors or windows.

If you are saving on budget, get a pack of charcoals and place them in the room where you are going to do your spray painting for at least half a day. There are thousands of DIY dehumidifier you can find on the internet so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Practice first

If this is your first spray painting, you might want to try it out on a piece of cardboard first. Try to familiarize yourself with the feeling of spraying painting and how hard you should press the trigger, as there are paint sprayer’s that allows you to control the output based on the pressure applied on the trigger.

Bottom line

Spray painting isn’t as difficult as some might think once you have got the hang of it. Especially with an airless sprayer, it makes the job even easier. Follow our tips and guide above and you will become a spray painting veteran in no time.

Remember to check out paint sprayers at https://gopaintsprayer.com/ and other related products and stay tuned for more tips and tricks on spray painting.

Have fun and good luck renovating folks!
[…]
Related:
5 Simple Kitchen DIY’s to Reinvent Your Kitchen’s Look
Forget Hobby Lobby: Home Projects You Can Do Yourself
Useful Tips For Junk Removal For Homeowners
I might receive compensation if you make a purchase after clicking an affiliate link at no cost to you.

August 9, 2019

Renovation Singapore Some General Guidelines for HDB homeowners

Renovation Singapore Some general guidelines for HDB homeowners As a homeowner, you have specific responsibilities to take care of, right from the time of planning until the end of the renovation work of an HDB flat. Failing to abide by the government rules and regulations can cost you enormous penalties. Hence, the article discusses some critical factors that you need to keep up with while working on the looks of your house.

The permissible hours during which the work can progress

It is crucial to make sure that your contractor or interior designing service provider puts up a renovation notice outside your home until the project gets over. At least two neighbors living next to your flat should also be aware of the same. The renovators need to inform them. And you have to follow this rule even if you do not need any permission for the type of work you intend to carry out. Make sure everyone in your neighborhood gets this information at least three days earlier of the beginning of the renovation. Besides, a few more things need your attention in this regard:

Between 9 am and 6 pm, the workers can carry out general renovation tasks. Getting things done on weekdays and Saturdays is not an issue. But you need to avoid public holidays and Sundays. This rule is necessary to implement for the convenience of your neighbors.
Only on weekdays, you can execute heavy-duty jobs, such as wall removal or demolition, floor finishing, tile cutting, etc., from 9 am to 5 pm.
You need to avoid noisy tasks on Saturdays, Sundays, and almost all the public holidays. Also, DIY activities should not take place before or after 10:30 pm to 7:00 am.

The tools and renovation materials that you can use

The workmen can use only two power tools that have approval from HDB in the process. And the work should wind up in three days. Also, pre-packed materials have permission. But the service provider should be aware of using these things the right way. For example, plaster applies to walls and screed to the floor. Pre-packed building materials refer to readymade mixtures that contain the right amount of necessary ingredients. Just sprinkle some water, and it is ready to use. It makes workers’ job bit more comfortable as they do not have to prepare anything on the site.

The time within which the work needs to complete

As per HDB renovation Singapore directives, no renovation work should consume more than one month in old flats, and more than three months in newly-finished blocks. The rule applies right from the date you get a permit. Also, once the work completes, you need to reach out to your HDB Branch for updating them about the status.

Follow different building rules

HDB flat renovation works also need to be in alignment with the guidelines around floors, walls, kitchen, fall ceiling, door, and gate, etc.

You will need a permit if you want to replace your ceramic, terrazzo, homogenous, marble, timber or any other such flooring. The new finish and screed must not be more than 50mm thick.
In the case of the walls, you do not need any permission for building a hollow block wall (63mm), or glass block wall (80mm). However, make sure you do not use more than one block of any of these materials. If you need to make an opening in the nonbearing wall between two flats, then you would first need the board’s approval. But you can get gypsum partition done without seeking a nod from the authorizing committee.
If you are modifying your kitchen, you can extend it to the service balcony or yard without requiring any green signal from the board. However, you have to see that this work does not need to demolish any walls. Additionally, you do not need any permission for attaching clothes drying hanger to the ceiling of your service yard or kitchen.
You can paint your main door and metal grille gate from outside. You can also replace your main metal gates without permission. However, you cannot alter the actual size and shape. So, be careful.
Similarly, you do not need to wait for approval for adding a false ceiling to the existing structure of the false ceiling by HDB. Just make sure you do not tamper the joists.

Singapore is strict about renovation work. So, it’s better that you hire an established interior designer or contractor for the job. The service providers should have complete knowledge of how to work on HDB projects. It is also one of the rules that you cannot get this kind of work done by any random contractor. The company should have proper rights and experience in the field. Besides, make sure you go into the specifics of all the guidelines before conducting a renovation exercise to avoid slipups and confusion.
[…]
7 Strategies To Follow Your Budget During A Home Renovation
Thinking of Renovating Your Kitchen Keys To The Season in 2018
Professionals Every Homeowner Should Have Listed in Their Contacts
*This post may contain affiliate links and it is a way for the site to earn advertising fees and I might receive compensation at no additional cost to you if you click on an affiliate link.

July 14, 2019

Common Obstacles To Avoid When Selling Your Home

Selling your home can be quite a long and complex process. There are all kinds of considerations that need to be taken into account when getting ready to list your property for sale. Often times, sellers make mistakes which potentially impact their finances as well as the overall peace of mind.

From start to finish, the process can be stressful, challenging because homeowners often times overlook the various obstacles.

Below we take a look at some of the most common items that come up when selling your property:

Listing Your Property on the Market with an Unrealistic Price

Setting the “right” price for your home is critical. If you price your home way too high, you will turn off a large buyer pool and your home may stay on the market and never sell. It is extremely important that you have a licensed Realtor guide you to make sure your home price is competitive and not too high.

There are many instances where sellers simply “want” a certain price for their home, regardless of the market conditions. This is simply something that should be avoided, especially if you’re looking to sell your house fast and not be stuck with it for months.

Handling Repairs

Before you put your house on the market, you need to make sure the home in inspected and that all major repairs are ideally taken care of to make your home more appealing to buyers and during open houses.

Often times, experienced licensed real estate agents will negotiate with the seller on behalf of the buyer to reduce the price of the home if there are significant or concerning repairs that need to be taken care of.

Indecisive Buyers

If you’ve taken efforts to upgrade your home and make it open-house ready, you’ll occasionally run into indecisive buyers which can drag the process out. Some homeowners may be ready to sign the offer letter and then back out, which leads to you putting the house back on the market again. This extends the timeline and depending on how competitive your market is, it may really slow you down.

Buyer’s Mortgage Approval / Bank Loan

Buyers shopping for a home should be pre-approved by their bank so that they know the price of a home they’re able to afford. Often times, the pre-approval letters that buyers submit with their offer letter could be false.

This is why often times you see properties end up going back on the market with clauses such as: “Back on Market Due to Buyer Financing”.

If you’re selling a home, be sure to have your Realtor carefully review the buyer’s proof of funds and pre-approval letters. Experienced agents will call the lender directly to make sure that the buyer’s taxes, income, and financial statements have been fully vetted, ensuring that the pre-approval is in fact legit.

We hope that you found these tips helpful. For additional information, Investopedia has a great resource section that outlines the process in even more detail which we strongly recommend you go through.
[…]
Related:
First Time Home Buyers-4 Key Elements Before You Buy a Home
4 Ways That New Home Buyers Can Negotiate a Good Deal on a House
7 Cost-Effective Methods of Improving Your Curb Appeal
Home Series: Easy Ways to Make your Home More Eco-Friendly