Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Keeping Cats Out Of The Garden

Friday, July 1st, 2011

It is very difficult to keep cats out of your garden, but do not give up, it can be managed. Cat owners may not understand why gardeners want to prevent cats gaining access to their gardens, but there are justifiable reasons, it is not always that gardeners hate cats. Cats are ferocious hunters and can also be very destructive.

For example, my next door neighbour had a cat, but felt lonely when her daughter moved away, so she permitted the cat to to have young. Now she has six cats. But cats are not like dogs. My dog stays in my garden not upsetting anyone apart from by barking if a stranger walks past the gate However, that is his job and he is not only telling me but the neighbours as well. These six cats do not stay in their own garden though, so we have all acquired six cats whether we want them or not.

The first issue I noticed was that birds stopped coming to pick my dog’s bowl clean in the afternoon. Then I saw a cat killing a lizard, a beautiful nine inch adult and then I remembered not seeing many lizards recently. There is one lizard, the Tokay, that they have totally wiped out – I used to listen to them calling at night, but no longer.

Cats also dig up flowers when they defecate and use furniture as scratching boards, so I do not want these destructive animals in my garden. But how do you keep cats out of your garden?

Walls are rarely protection against cats, but cats will often prowl along the bottom of walls and if they come across a gap, they will possibly go in out of inquisitiveness, so repair all low-level gaps in your fences. There is not much you can do about the top of your wall other than putting broken glass or electrified wiring up there, but that is not a good idea.

Some dogs are good at keeping cats away, but not all. My dog got a vicious and completely unexpected swipe of claws across his nose one day. He used to run after them when they were kittens, but now they have grown up, he only growls to tell me a cat is on the property. I cannot blame him.

In Australia, many gardeners reckon that transparent bottles full of water confuse cats, so they stay away, but in my experience, only Australian cats react in that way.

A row of prickly bushes or flowers along the base of a wall where cats regularly come in helps. At the bottom of high walls too, where the cat cannot see them until he is on top of the wall. I often see cats mewing (in frustration, I hope) on the top of one of my walls. The only way down is to go back.

If you still cannot keep cats out, then you will need to train them not to come in. This is easiest accomplished by using a few methods. If cats are using your flower pots are conveniences, try smearing the pots with pepper, lavender, lemon, mustard, or tobacco. Or you could leave a mothball in each pot. Some of these will have the desired result for you, others will not.

Then there are industrial repellents, but I do not want to resort to them. However, if you have a big garden and a big problem, it might be the only way. There are also high frequency sound emitters. Humans cannot hear them, but almost all animals can, so I think that that is deplorable as well.

At night, motion-activated external lighting is a great shock to cats. Cats have very sensitive night vision so a sudden flash from a floodlamp really puts them off a garden.

The best disincentive is water. You can get motion-activated sprinklers, which are brilliant at keeping cats out of your garden, but I like to sit in my office or in the garden with a powerful water pistol and squirt them by hand. The lizards have not come back yet, but nor do the cats quite so frequently either.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a few subjects, but is at present involved with visual comfort lighting. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Outdoor Wall Lamps.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Bamboo Flooring Vs. Traditional FLooring

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

If you are looking for an attractive yet effective alternative to your regular run-of-the-mill flooring, you will want to look into bamboo flooring. Bamboo flooring looks similar to traditional wood floors, and it comes in both vertical and flat grain patterns. If you are looking for a diverse range of colors, bamboo flooring may not be for you. It usually comes in a light honey colored variety, but if you want a darker offering you may be able to get your hands on the carbonized color.

Bamboo can be installed in one of two ways. It can be nailed down like a traditional wood floor. But at the same time it can also be floated, and put into place to make a perfect fit.

Many people worry that bamboo is not as strong as traditional options that are available, but this is definitely not the truth. Bamboo flooring offers about the same level of strengths and stability of regular hardwood floors.

One of the best advantages of bamboo is that it is dent resistant. So if you are looking to lay a floor where there is a lot of traffic, you will want to look into bamboo flooring. It can withstand a high level of traffic without ever compromising its overall strength.

If you live in the United States, you will have to get your bamboo flooring from a retailer that imports it from the Pacific Rim. There are many flooring retailers that carry bamboo and would be happy to supply you with what you are looking for.

Overall, bamboo flooring is a great alternative to other more traditional options. The only drawback is that you may have a hard time finding this material. But if you devote time to your search, you will eventually find the perfect match for your home.

Want to find out more about wood floorings, then visit Moises Perez’s site on engineered wood flooring and bruce hardwood floors.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Eliminating Garden Pests

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Gardening would be a lot simpler without interference from garden pests. The majority of garden pests are small, but they sure are a big hassle. The the majority of widespread garden pests are insects, of course and it is a curious thing that these insects are apt to prosper in conditions that are not quite correct for flowers. Most garden pests do not actually live on the plants themselves, they live in rotting rubbish nearby or in sodden soil and go to the plant to feed. Some insects live in the roots if the soil is too wet.

So, one of the first things to do is to try to lessen the number of destructive insects in your garden. You can go a long way down this route by clearing away any old decaying rubbish and decayed wood. Make certain that your soil is well drained and keep cats out of your garden by squirting them with a water pistol until they get the idea. Cats discourage birds and many birds eat insects.

You should also support insects and other animals that feed on garden pests. Ants can be a nuisance, but they do feed on a lot of insects. Ladybirds do too and so do spiders. Larger animals such as frogs, toads and lizards eat loads of insects, so a small open-ended garden pond could be created to breed frogs and toads. Lizards will come on their own, if the conditions are right.

It is worth taking active steps to encourage the right sort of garden animals. Never use powerful insecticides on your garden as you will destroy all the insects that are on your side as well and the spray may poison the earthworms that are helping to aerate and dry out your soil.

A small pond will encourage birds, frogs and toads, but frogs and toads also like a nice rock to shelter under during the day. Place a couple of rocks the size of a loaf of bread around your garden in the shadow of trees or bushes. Set up a bird table. Birds that feed on bread and nuts do not usually eat insects, but some do. However, the sight of other birds in your garden may encourage insectivores to come in and have a look.

There are fundamentally two types of garden pests: the ones that actually feed on the plant and the ones that suck the sap out of it. Caterpillars can be picked off and destroyed of or you can spray the leaves that are being eaten with a poison for the caterpillars to feed on. Many of the sap-suckers can be seen easily, others cannot. A solution of washing-up liquid and water such as you use to wash dishes will kill the majority of of these including greenfly (aphids).

Slugs and snails do a lot of harm, but some birds including chickens and thrushes find them a delicacy. Chickens can be helpful allies in a garden, but they can be destructive too with all their scratching. Otherwise, you can reduce the population of slugs and snails by killing their eggs.

They are apt to lay their eggs in decomposing leaves or rotting compost, but not in compost heaps which are normally too hot for them, so a good clean up will eradicate a lot of the next generation.

You can kill the adults by placing a few low containers of beer by your plants. The slugs will drink the beer and drown. It is extremely efficient. Slug pellets should kill the t-totallers off. Taking these actions will greatly reduce the number of garden pests attacking your plants.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with exterior wall lighting. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Outdoor Wall Lamps.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Best Dieting Secrets Of The Top Stars

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

The stars always look so fabulous, do they not? Both sorts of stars do. Celebrities too. OK, we do not see them when they arise in the morning or with a bad hangover, but if we do see them, they always seem at the peek of physical fitness and dressed in perfectly tailored clothes. It is their job not only to act and remember their lines but to look good too.

most if not all of them have personal fitness coaches, dietitians and even chefs in order to help them fight the flab, so it is not really so difficult for them as it is for us, but the penalty for gaining weight is more ruthless, they might not get offered much more work, which would mean falling out of the limelight and that would be a significant thing for any star.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most stars have their own favourite tips for staying on top of the weight problem that faces most individuals every day of their lives. Here are seven celebrities’ pointers on how they accomplish it.

Jennifer Aniston: follows the 40:30:30 course of action of counting types of foods. That is:

40% of what she eats has to be slow-burning, low glycaemic foodstuffs like beans, root vegetables (like swede and potatoes), dark-green leaves (such as cabbage) and fruit (like bananas).

30% of what she eats has to be lean-to-fatless protein such as skinless chicken, tofu, turkey, ostrich, veal, fish and low fat dairy products.

30% of what she consumes should contain essential fatty acids such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Kate Hudson; placed on 60 pounds during her pregnancy but was determined to lose it particularly after the media was so nasty to her about her size. She did it in four months by concentrating on eating only high protein, but small meals frequently and training rigorously. This sounds a lot like the Atkins diet, but it worked for her and now she looks better than ever.

Oprah Winfrey: uses a similar plan to Kate Hudson’s. She works out at least five days a week and tries to consume mostly fish, nuts, fruit, beans, seeds, chicken and vegetables. She is particularly careful to avoid, but not totally cut out, white sugar and white flour and last but not least, she does not eat after 19:00 hours.

Gwyneth Paltrow: has a routine that is similar again. She as well avoids white sugar and flour, but follows a macrobiotic diet of vegetables, brown rice and very lean meat and fish. She does not eat any dairy produce at all and does yoga every day.

Madonna: also does yoga every day and follows a macrobiotic diet of organic vegetables, brown rice and fatless protein. She has given up junk food entirely.

Claudia Schiffer: will eat just fruit before noon and after noon she adds salad and steamed vegetables to her diet, She drinks lots of tomato juice and herbal tea and is especially fond of black grapes.

Christie Brinkley: is a strict vegetarian, who has also eradicated all types of junk food from her diet. She snacks on sweet potatoes and if she puts on a few pounds, she goes on a crash diet of fruit juices.

Do not forget that these celebrities have paid and almost certainly still are paying thousands of dollars for their advice, so if one of these outline diets appeals to you, do some more research and test it out free of charge. It works for them as you can plainly see.

If you would like to know more about Welsh food, food in general or the essentials for a healthy diet in particular, just visit Traditional Welsh Recipes

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Choosing Your Patio Garden Furniture

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Once you have finished making your patio, your deck or your lawn, you will unquestionably start thinking about how you can enjoy more time out of doors. Therefore, you will need some garden furniture. Many shops stock garden furniture. You can try home improvement centres, large department stores and garden centres. There are also businesses on line that will deliver. The hard job is picking your garden furniture.

There is a very broad range of designs of garden furniture – a style to suit every person and complement every garden. So, before hurrying down to the garden centre, it is worth thinking for a while what you would like to achieve with your open-air seating zone. Do you require a theme? Do you want to have company or dine there? Or do you just want to sit peacefully, enjoy your garden and read a book?

Indeed, the answer may well be a combination of all those variables. If you simply want to sit there with a drink and a book, you may be satisfied to just buy a couple of chairs and a small table, but if you want to have guests or take family meals outside, you may prefer a more substantial table. A large oak table would be quite costly, but it would look magnificent and last for a decade or more.

If you choose a table, you will have to have chairs to match, but do you want loungers as well? They could be of plastic and stored in the shed until wanted.

You will likely need some form of shade. This can be supplied by folding, even removable umbrellas or by overhanging trees or shrubs. Wisteria or clematis can do the task as well and cost you next to nothing.

Do you anticipate cooking in this area? If you do, what and how? Do you want a barbecue pit or a real hob and oven? A lot of people in areas where the climate allows are doing a lot of cooking outside in a carbon copy of an indoor kitchen, but without all the walls.. If you design the outdoor kitchen well, you will be able to use it in the rain too. I find it great not to have kitchen odours in the house and cooking outside is a good experience as well.

If it gets nippy in the evenings then you can think about buying some patio heaters. They are not expensive to buy or to run and one standard patio heater can keep quite a group of people warm. (By the word ‘standard’ here, I mean upright, like a lamp post).

Lighting is the last major consideration in the list when choosing garden furniture. There are actually two sorts of garden lighting to consider: lighting to see by and lighting to lure insects away. Again, you could use standard lamps to illuminate your patio. They cast their light far enough so that you can still look at your garden after dark or you could have separate wall light on dimmers.

The one light I would definitely have is a mosquito lantern. Hang this away from where you sit, because they do draw insects to them which they then electrocute with a pleasing zap.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a few subjects, but is now concerned with visual comfort lighting. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Outdoor Wall Lamps.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

How You Can Safeguard Your Financial Life

Monday, May 16th, 2011

The first step on the road to financial stability is clearing your short term debts, which is basically everything except your mortgage. The second is to have some sort of emergency fund, what individuals used to call ‘savings’. I read somewhere not so long ago that the average bank account has less than 300 in it – it seems to be a very sorry state of affairs, when a new set of tyres for the car can put most of us in debt.

My father used to say: “If you can not afford the tyres, then do not buy the car”.

That has always seemed a good rationale for running my financial life and has always stood me in pretty good stead. Saving is a good habit to get into and should be encouraged in children even to the point of letting kids buy Premium Bonds (in the UK), which is nationalized gambling (the total interest on the bonds nationally is given out each month as prizes).

The next question is how much do you need to be safe. Well, there is no real answer to that question. At least not in real monetary terms because we all have different financial requirements and responsibilities, but you could say enough to keep you ‘in the lifestyle that you would expect’ for at least three months. Perhaps even six months, if you do not have a right to social security payments in the country where you live. It would be lovely to have a year’s worth would it not?

So, if you can do that, why have a credit card, you may be wondering. Well, a credit card saves you having to carry your gold around with you like the rich men of old had to and it makes Robin Hood’s task more difficult too.

It also makes financial sense to be given thirty days free credit on purchases when you are earning thirty days interest on your money. Credit card purchases more than a certain amount normally confer additional rights on the purchaser too – benefits like free insurance against loss for a year.

If however you are just beginning down the road to financial independence, the first thing you ought to concentrate on is paying off your credit card debts. Mortgages are a financial tool that can save you tax, so do not worry about them too much, only make certain that you never- ever – miss a payment. In fact, keep one or two payments in advance, if you can.

I know that this all sounds terribly simple and I know that you are thinking that it is not, but you are wrong. It is easy and the earlier you begin, the easier it is. Learn to put money away each week. If it is too late for you, teach your children. You might think that the banks are ripping you off – I think they are too – but what else can you do?

Put money away each and every week and be proud to see the amount rising. Be proud that you can afford a new set of tyres, but hoping that you do not have to buy them is all right as well.

Have you had a few financial problems recently? Should you be Safeguarding Your Financial Future? If so, please go along to our website called DIY Credit Repair

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Putting Down Hardwood Floor

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Hardwood floors nowadays are being used to replace the use of carpets in different homes. Aside from the fact that carpets are so hard to clean when it gets dirty, it also looks old easily. So instead of using carpets, many homeowners switch to installing hardwood floors in their homes. Aside from being convenient, hardwood floors are also very easy to clean and to take care of. Here are some of the steps to guide you in installing your new hardwood floor.

The installment of your new hardwood floor includes two parts namely the preparation and the installment proper. With the preparation, you have to start by clearing out the whole area. Remove all the furniture, rugs and the like situated on that part where you will be installing your floor. You also need to remove your carpet and you have to make sure that you also removed the tack bars there.

After clearing the area, you still need to sweep off the floor to get rid of the dust and debris left. You may opt to use a vacuum cleaner if you think that the sweeping does not do the work so well. With the use of a regular glue gun, you need to apply the OSB or the Oriented Strand Board onto the sub-floors. You have to attach then the red rosin paper to the OSB.

To proceed with the installing proper, place a 3/8-inch mark away from the baseboards where every floor joint is located. This is to prevent the expansion or contraction of the floor due to temperature and weather changes. You will then have to place your hardwood flooring over perpendicular the baseboards where you placed the marks at. You have to start on the longest wall.

Through the use of a hammer, nail or tack bars, attach the hardwood flooring by nailing it into the sub-floor. Always make it sure that you won’t nail into the surface of the floor as it will damage the appearance of the hardwood. You have to continue with the construction of the tongue and groove flooring. You have to use a pneumatic nail gun to ensure that they will hold in place tightly.

You can do in your home the installation of the new hardwood floor of yours in replacement of your looking old and very hard to clean carpet. It’s as easy as this process and you can do it without the help of paid assistants.

Learn more about wood floorings. Stop by Hazel Mccoy’s site where you can find out all about cleaning hardwood floors and hardwood flooring reviews.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Kitchen Design And Lighting

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

If you have just moved into a new, old house, one of the first things that you will probably want to do is refurbish or remodel the kitchen, especially if you like cooking or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. If you use a kitchen a great deal, you will probably already have a good idea of what you would like the kitchen to look like in the end.

One of the first decisions to make is whether you are going to do it yourself or oversee it yourself. There is a lot of work in a kitchen refurb and I have seen amateurs spend years, literally years, doing what a professional could have done in weeks. This always leads to family tensions. Once that I know of, it even led to divorce. It seems that everybody wants to boast that they are having refurbishments done, but no one actually wants to go through the hassle of having it actually done.

If you are not completely sure what you want your kitchen to look like, it is a good suggestion to visit show kitchens at home improvement stores and even pick up brochures there to look at at home. You could also buy a few magazines and surf the Internet for ideas.

Once you see a few examples that you like, be sure to cut out the pages and print off the image files after downloading them. This way you can build up a folder of the things that you would like to integrate into your new kitchen..

Once you are happy that you have all the components you like, you have to collate them. This does not have to be to scale or exact, but just as good as you can do with what you have. Take a large sheet of paper, say A3, and mark in your kitchen’s windows and doors.

Then cut out the pictures of the items you want from the magazines and brochures and stick them in place. If you think that this is not realistic, draw them in and label them clearly so that you can refer back to your picture file.

You need not stop at one design, you can play about with it. If you cut the images out, but do not glue them down, you can move them around until you are contented. You may also want to get the input of other members of the family and have a brain storming session

When you have finished, decide how you are going to illuminate the kitchen. Do you want a hanging light over the table? Do you want spots pointing at the cooker and the sink? Do you want hidden down-lighting to shine on the work surface? How are you going to see what you are doing? It is a very important question. Wall lights are good for ambient lighting.

In conclusion, you have to choose a colour scheme and you are almost ready to begin, unless you are using a contractor and then you will have to select one first, but that will make up the contents of another article.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several subjects, but is at present involved with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Planning The Landscaping Of Your Garden

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Landscaping techniques allow the gardener to transform a simple backyard into a lovely garden. There are many routes to having a stunning garden, because there are many types to select from and there are different tastes too. Each to his own. Some styles of garden require a great deal of looking after and others less so, but even a slabbed or concrete backyard requires some looking after.

The best way of going about making something lovely out of your backyard is planning and perhaps the simplest way of planning is to create a plan or a drawing of your garden.

If you choose this route, the first thing you will need to do is get some graph paper and plot the exact size and form of your garden onto it, with as large a scale as will fit on the sheet of graph paper.

After you have completed that, mark in unmovable items like a brick shed, a drain or septic tank, a fish pond and doorways et cetera. Then you should photocopy it, maybe five or ten times. This is so that you can make mistakes, change your mind or even permit everybody in the household to make their own design from their own investigations and imagination.

If you consider that this is beyond your skills, you are almost certainly wrong. It really is not difficult, kids draw on graph paper all the time in maths classes. Anyway, if you do not want to do it this way, then you will have to rely on ideas cut out of journals.

So, collect all your ideas from magazines and put them in a file. Likewise, if you are making a plan on paper, collect your ideas in a folder, but also mark them on your graph paper.

Set yourself or your team a deadline of say, a two weeks or a month, but you do need to do the majority of your work in the spring or the summer, when the weather is warm. On the appointed day, get together and amalgamate all your plans into one.

Put all the redundant material apart and forget about it. Do not over complicate the matter by having all the designs in the active file. Now you are prepared to go to work and instigate the plans.

The choice is now whether you do the work yourself or whether you get a builder in. A builder will have experience, and so will be able to get the job done quickly. They will also be able to offer practical suggestions, if what you want to achieve is difficult. The other side of the coin is that it is a lot more expensive.

If you choose to do it yourself, you may find it a good idea to split your plan into sections. It could be completed in quarters of the garden at a time, if that is practicable, or you could do all the groundwork first, followed by the brick and blockwork, then the pond etc. Depending on your diagram. The only thing that really has to be done last is the planting of the plants

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with outdoor accent lighting. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Outdoor Wall Lamps.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why You Should Use Contemporary Fine Art In Your Hotel Decor

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Businesses of all kinds have come to realize that contemporary fine art makes fantastic, yet inexpensive decor and the lighting necessary to illuminate them is useful for lighting corridors too. Hospitals, hotels, airports, restaurants and bars are jumping on the band wagon as well.

There are all types of paintings and objets d’art, so many in fact that you will always be able to find something to fit in with whatever style of decor that you have. You can use contemporary fine art to give barren walls an interest and to keep people interested while they are waiting for something to happen.

For example, contemporary fine art displayed in a restaurant will prevent diners from becoming bored while they are waiting for their order. Contemporary fine art in a bar will give solitary travellers something to do while they are passing an hour or two in your establishment. Likewise for hospital patients, looking at contemporary fine art might help relieve anxiety and stress.

Hotels and Guest Houses.

When people come to check in, you want to offer a warm, yet stylish appearance to them. Many hotel guests travel alone and spend time sitting in the lobby to pass their evenings or weekends. An interesting display of contemporary fine art will keep them interested for hours.

Put your paintings or and objets d’art at regular intervals around the walls, but do not crowd a wall. You should pick a warm, yet neutral colour for the wall’s emulsion. Lighting is also very important. Up lighting, down lighting or back lighting are common methods of illuminating pieces of art work, but you can also use spotlights to highlight something out of the ordinary.

The lobby can also contain a few plants and a coffee table or two with an interesting wrought iron lamp on each. A matching lamp shade helps to create a warm, co-ordinated effect.

You should also put some contemporary fine art in the guest rooms, because, once again, many travellers are alone and have to spend hours sitting in their rooms alone. If you are stuck for a theme, think about your location. Is it near the sea or is the town famous for something? Does it have a well-known historical association? Once you have your theme, you will surely find pieces of contemporary fine art to decorate it with.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the average person who comes to stay or eat at your establishment. Is he there for business or pleasure? If it’s pleasure do families come or is it mostly singles? Whatever the type of hotel, guest house, restaurant or pub, you will find a theme and the rest will follow because there is so much choice of contemporary fine art.

Consistency is a good thing when you are decorating a hotel or guest house. Try to keep everything ‘on topic’. The colours, the furnishings, the plants, the contemporary fine art – the lighting should be subtle and the whole decor must be in the same theme, if it is to be wildly successful.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several subjects, but is at present concerned with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »