Saunas Are a Way to Relax After a Hard Day

There are many ways to relax after a hard day of work, or physical activities. Ok lets keep this G Rated folks, LOL. You can set back in a quiet setting and read a good book. Or how about sitting down with a bowl of popcorn and watch your favorite movie. How about considering a refreshing message at a day spa. Or a nice soak in a Spa; I have owned a few Hot Tubs over the years. How about a way to relax, adding some class to your home, and improving your health. How about a Personal Sauna.

Saunas began in Finland as far back as 1000 A.D. They did not become popular until recent times when Reino Tarkianinen brought them to the worlds attention. He was able monetize them and created Finlandia Sauna. He initially met the American market with resentfulness, but by the 1970s Saunas became a great way to relax. A new fad at the time, they have become very popular and are here to stay for a very long time. Saunas have a great number of benefits. They can reduce host of ailments from illnesses to everyday stresses by sweating out your bodys environmental toxins.

In fact, if done a few times a week saunas can dramatically reduce and speed up the toxins eliminations. Compared to other types of treatments Saunas, used sensibly are very safe. The basis of them being heat, it raises the heart rate and of course creates sweat. Increased heart rate releases endorphins. This in turn reduces stress and if youre congested, helps you breath easier. Saunas shouldnt be endorsed to cure someones health, and of course pregnant women, disease aggravated by heat or children under the age of five. Typically Saunas are heated with either electric, gas or infrared heaters and have volcanic rocks that sit on top heat units. The rocks are there to produce steam. When you initially go in, you sit in the dry heat and then ladle water over the rocks. It is very nice to take a shower afterwards to rinse off and wash the toxins that come through your skin and out of your body.

When considering installing your own Sauna, there are outdoor and indoor versions. You can simply purchase sauna kits and come with pre-assembled panels and roof that snap together. They usually come with everything you need and can either be permanent type or portable version. Typically they run in price from about $200.00 for a portable 1-person sauna to 5-6-K for a 6-person Cedar infrared Sauna with all the bells and whistles. Saunas have come a long way from there beginnings of using wood stoves. Todays models offer ease of installation, fast heat times, and year round enjoyment indoors or out. If you already have one, enjoy it to the fullest. If you are considering one, go out and get yours, and if you are just in the thinking stages of buying one, do your homework and buy the model that fits your lifestyle, person capacity and budget. Enjoy and dont sweat the details.

An expert in his field, Steve Merillat has been known as the Swimming Pool Spa

Electrical Outlet Problems

Horizontal Or Vertical Drywall Application

Let's start with the basic eight-foot sheet of drywall. Most drywall contractors apply drywall horizontally however I have seen some contractors working with metal stud framing install 10 foot sheets of drywall vertically.

The reasons for installing the 10 foot sheets of drywall up and down or vertically in this situation are quite simple. There is no structural strength required in these walls because they are simply partitions dividing rooms and usually the drywall only needs to be finished up to 9 feet. This is the only time I have seen drywall ran vertically.

In a wood framed house the drywall actually adds a little sheer value to the home itself.

The manufacturer suggests installing eight-foot sheets of drywall horizontally. The horizontal application of drywall means installing the 4 foot side of the drywall up and down and the eight-foot side of the drywall side to side.

What is the reason for installing the 4 x 8 sheets horizontally?

When it comes to finishing the drywall the 4 foot seams that run up and down or vertical will not be as noticeable as a seam running up and down the entire wall. If you haven't read one of my last articles on eye level window setting then let me give you a brief eye level education.

A person 5'8" in height will be more apt to notice things between 4'6" off the ground and 6'6" off the ground. If we ran the drywall vertical there is a good chance the eyes would be able to pick up any finishing flaws in the drywall. Running the drywall horizontally will just put us a little out of range from the lower eye level of 4 foot six with our finish.

Another reason for installing the drywall horizontally is there is a good chance your eyes would be able to pick up four foot lines in the wall going from floor to ceiling quite easily. On older homes you will see lines in the ceilings about every 24 inches. This is because the plaster or drywall ceilings is starting to sag in between the ceiling joist.

These lines are difficult to do anything about once the drywall is finished. The only alternative you would have is to remove the ceiling and re-drywall and finish it.

Drywall ran vertically will tend to crack easier than staggered drywall ran horizontally. The four foot section of drywall is stronger than the 8 foot section. If you stagger your drywall breaks every four feet this will increase the strength of your wall as well.

Try not to break the drywall at any door openings. The door openings seem to crack easily from the corners working their way towards the ceiling. Let the drywall run over the doorway and then cut the doorway out leaving the rough door opening during wallboard installation.

If you have ever seen a house that was drywalled by a professional crew the waste is unbelievable. The reason for this is simply that the drywall contractor does not want to come back and patch cracks in the walls three or four years after he is done. It can be quite labor intensive installing scrap pieces of drywall versus using larger sheets to cover the same area.

Don't forget and always remember that. Horizontal installation of drywall is recommended by the manufacturer.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Feeling Alive Teenage Problems

Bathroom Remodel Investment When Selling - Bathroom Remodeling

When you're planning any bathroom remodel, consider the costs of the bathroom remodeling versus the return on the actual investment. According to one of the popular remodeling magazines, the average bathroom remodel throughout the country cost around $16,000.

If you were to sell your house within a few years, you could recoup around $12,000 of your original investment. This would translate into a $4000 loss to your pocketbook eventually.

Using these numbers for your bathroom remodel investment, you would recoup around 75% of your original investment. If you know anything about investing money, this will not be a good rate of return and if you keep investing your money like this, you won't have any to invest, eventually.

Keep this in mind, if you're going to be selling the home within a few years. If the bathroom isn't in good shape and you're not planning on selling soon, you could remodel the bathroom and enjoy it for quite a few years. You wouldn't be looking at this as an investment but as maintenance costs.

If you need to remodel the bathroom, because it's getting a little run down and will create a problem when selling a home, I would suggest minor remodeling, if the toilet, fixtures and bathtub is in good condition, I would suggest changing the sink, cabinet, bathtub surround, flooring and some new paint.

If you're remodeling cost is now at $8,000, you would recoup at least $6,000 and would only lose $2000 on your original investment. Now this still doesn't make any sense, if you're still losing money, why would you even want to remodel the bathroom. Why not sell the home as it is and not lose any money? This is a tough decision to make and keep in mind, these are average costs.

You could recoup less or more than 75% of your bathroom investment costs.

Most real estate professionals will advise you to remodel the bathroom for two reasons, for one the house will sell for a few more dollars, and this will increase their sales commission. The second one is probably the most important for any one selling a home, the home could sell faster.

If you have the time and are in no hurry to sell the home, I would suggest trying to sell the home as is first and then sprucing it up, if you can't sell it within three months.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more House Remodeling Pictures or home building ideas.

Dog Creates Remodeling Nightmare

How many homeowners normally leave their dog in the backyard or they have full time access to the backyard through a doggie door. You're probably wondering how can a little dog create a remodeling nightmare for any contractor.

This wasn't the case this dog was a large Labrador retriever and tore up everything in the backyard constantly. The house remodel we were working on was a two story room addition over a single story house. This job lasted around six months and the dog was a daily reminder of how much attention a large dog actually needs.

Let's start with the first item of value the dog actually destroyed. It was my favorite tool bags of course that I have taken care of for over five years and deeply appreciated the fact that they were broke in just the way I wanted them to be. Kind of like a baseball mitt that doesn't quite fit right because of how stiff it is until you break it in.

While the homeowner of course apologized and never even offered to replace them. Oh but after that he did mention never to leave anything lying around in the backyard. Lesson learned of course and never forgotten. Well to make a long story short this large dog could chew up tools, lumber, plumbing pipes, electrical wire and was even able to destroyed the plywood fencing we would use to keep him away.

I'm going to stop right there with the remodeling nightmare created from this dog in hopes that other contractors can learn from my valuable lesson. As a contractor you should never assume that a homeowner will replace any damaged or broken tools and materials.

As a homeowner with a dog reading this article, think about having a place to enclose the dog if necessary while remodeling work is done on your home.

I love being around dogs and other animals but sometimes a problem like this can make life extremely miserable for both parties.

Greg Vanden Berge has been building and remodeling for over 30 years and his information has proven valuable to most contractors and homeowners all over the world. He usually tries to write at least two articles a day on home improvement or remodeling problems.

Greg is in the process right now of working on a home inspection website that will revolutionize the home inspection business. He is also working on a book to help homeowners and contractors as well as other home related professions in dealing with the home inspection process.

You can visit the home inspection website currently under construction at Home Inspection Help

Pest Droppings in the Attic - Pest Problems

Sometimes I wonder how these large animals can get through such small holes in our homes and into our attics and crawlspace's. A few years ago, I was working on a home that had water damage to the siding that needed to be fixed. The homeowner of course didn't want anymore water damage and this required repairing roof, the original cause for the siding damage.

When I bid the job, I had no idea what I was about to run into. The first day on the job, went smoothly as I repaired some damage fascia board, but the next day I was in for a surprise, as I removed the damaged siding, I found what looked like dog poop in the attic.

I was looking around in the attic and trying to figure out how a dog could of got up there. I know that I shouldn't have, but I walked around the home inspecting it for a large hole, any holes, something that a small dog could have wiggled his way into. I got my latter off of the truck and then went on the roof, trying to find a place where a dog could have got into the attic.

I couldn't find any holes and after wasting about an hour, I decided it was time to get back to work and since the homeowner wasn't there, I couldn't show him my new findings or ask him any questions. I cleaned up the mess and repaired the water damaged siding, but in the back of my head I kept thinking about how in the heck a dog got up in the attic.

To make a short story even shorter, when the homeowner arrived home that day, I showed him my findings and he informed me that he didn't have a dog. He did however inform me that he has been hearing something walking around in his attic for about a year now. He had a pretty good idea that they were raccoons.

I told him, that I had inspected his home and only found one small hole on top of his roof underneath the roof eave, but there's no way that a small raccoon could fit through that hole. He told me that you would be surprised, what these animals were capable of squeezing into and out of.

Well that's about it, the mystery was solved, I repaired the small hole in the attic and have never heard from the homeowner again. Hopefully that meant I did my job well and not that he was embarrassed about the poop in the attic.

Pest Control Ideas, House Pest Pictures

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Atlanta Hotels

Studded with beautiful monuments and lots of happening places and events, Atlanta is truly an amazing place to be, either for business meetings, conferences, or simply for enjoyment and leisure. And to help us in enjoying this beautiful city, luxurious and beautiful hotels are sprawled all over the city.

Downtown hotels, midtown hotels, airport hotels, and even luxury hotels are all available in plenty, providing high-quality amenities and services.

Downtown hotels are usually situated in the middle or heart of the vibrant and happening city, and surrounded by business and entertainment centers. Some truly amazing downtown hotels are Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Hilton Atlanta, Ritz Carlton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Omni Hotel at CNN Centre, Wyndham Atlanta, Courtyard Atlanta Downtown, Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel, Quality Hotel Downtown, Marriot Marquis Atlanta, Amerisuites Downtown Atlanta, and Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Atlanta Suite Underground.

The aforementioned hotels are an amalgamation of beauty, luxury, convenience, and comfort. Situated in downtown Atlanta, such hotels are minutes away from all the major attractions of the place like Georgia Dome, Georgia State Capital, Underground Atlanta, CNN Center, Turner Field, Golf Course, Stone Mountain, Georgia Gift Mart, Centennial Olympic Park, World of Coca-Cola, High Museum of Art, historical mansions besides others.

Airport hotels, on the other hand, are located quite close to the airport and most of them offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. They are constructed in unique ways so as to reduce the impact of sound. Some truly fabulous airport hotels include the following: Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel, Sheraton Gateway Atlanta Airport Hotel, Renaissance Concourse Hotel Atlanta, Courtyard by Marriot Atlanta Hotel Airport North, Amerisuites Atlanta Airport North, Crowne Plaza Hotel Atlanta Airport, Best Western Atlanta Airport, Westin Atlanta Airport, Marriot Atlanta Airport, and Peachtree Hotel Atlanta Airport.

Luxury hotels found in Atlanta have the combination of beauty, dreamy comfort, and convenience to the utmost level. Ritz Carlton, Atlanta; Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta; Grand Hyatt Atlanta Buckhead; The Georgian Terrace Hotel; Westin Peachtree Plaza; Ritz Carlton, Buckhead; Intercontinental Buckhead Hotels and Restaurants; Hyatt Regency Hotel; Omni Hotel at CNN Center; and Sheraton Gateway Atlanta Airport Hotel are some examples of luxury hotels in Atlanta.

The aforementioned hotels usually offer a wide array of amenities such as data ports, internet services, complimentary newspapers, a coffee maker, irons and ironing boards, cable television, hair dryer, handicapped rooms, restaurants, indoor or outdoor swimming pools, spa or fitness centers, business center, and many more services and are ideal for business meetings, conferences, weddings, and other occasions.

Atlanta Hotels provides detailed information on Atlanta Hotels, Atlanta Luxury Hotels, Atlanta Airport Hotels, Downtown Atlanta Hotels and more. Atlanta Hotels is affiliated with Boston Luxury Hotels.

Easy Way to Repair a Large Hole in Your Wall

Great video on how to fix a hole in your wall .

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more home inspection or home building ideas.

Cabinet Frame Damage