HOME AND GARDEN DUDE New Driveway - HOME AND GARDEN DUDE

Your driveway is covered in stains from all the work you (or your husband) has done on his "toys." It is an eyesore, but you do not have the money to replace the driveway - or maybe you just want a new look - you're tired of looking at the same old, boring concrete. There is a way to get a new look without spending a lot of money on the driveway.

Clean the driveway - use Dawn dishwashing detergent. Dawn gets a lot of grease off the driveway. You may still have grease marks on the driveway, but they are just stains in the concrete. Once you cleaned the driveway, do not drive on it. Let it dry completely. It should dry for at least eight hours in the hot sun.

Buy epoxy paint - ask at the paint store how much you need for your size driveway (bring the measurements with you). You will also need rollers with long handles to apply the paint. Use a thick-nap roller, as you want the paint to be applied thickly. Starting at the top of the driveway, apply the paint. Cordon off the driveway with rope, so people do not accidentally drive on it while the paint is wet. Let it dry for at least two days before using it again. If you wish to give your sidewalks a freshening, paint the sidewalks while you are painting the driveway.

Epoxy paint will help keep the driveway from staining up again. If you have any spills or leaks, just clean it right away with Dawn, and you will keep your new driveway and walks fresh-looking and clean.

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Upholstery Repair

It seems that fewer and fewer people are taking the time to look into upholstery repair before they toss a good piece of furniture to the curb. Too many people consider an item ruined as soon as there is a rip or something of that nature. By allowing something to go to waste like that you are not only costing yourself more money in the long run but you are also causing more junk to be piled in our landfills when it was not really needed in the first place. What you should do before you go out and buy new furniture is to see if a little upholstery repair can't help the piece of furniture.

Upholstery repair is a lost art and it used to be something that a lot of people knew how to do on their own. Now, those who are interested in saving their furniture simply take it somewhere and hire someone to do the work for them. Upholstery repair can be a little on the pricey side but it is a lot cheaper then buying new furniture all over again. Another great thing about upholstery repair is that you can add your own unique style to the furniture to make it like no one else's.

If you are on a tight budget then you may want to consider tackling this project on your own. There are a lot of books out there that can walk you through the steps of upholstery repair so that you can do it on your own. This will certainly save you a lot of money though it may take a little bit of time to make it look professional. It is probably a good idea to start with furniture that you can use as practice. Your new skill of upholstery repair will be a great thing to have for many years to come.

Shades & Sails

Is your outdoor deck or patio unbearable in the summertime? Does your house warm up inside during the summer and become a heat box? Then you might consider installing a shade or sail on the sunny side of your home or over your deck or patio. They provide instant shade, and can cool an area as much as 20 degrees, and they aren't nearly as expensive to install as a patio roof or pergola.

Easy to Install

These shades and sails are easy to install, too. Usually they attach to your structure with cable and eye hooks, and are held up by cables or rope. That means you can quickly take them down if you need to, and just as quickly put them back up when you want to enjoy your outdoor space. If you want to install them away from your home, you can use posts to attach the shade or sails, so they really are a versatile way to bring shade to just about anywhere you choose.

Save on Cooling Costs

If you have a house that gets a lot of afternoon sun, shades are a great way to cool down the interior, too. If you install them from your roof out to several feet from your home, they'll shade the area in the afternoon, and keep the interior cooler. That can mean significant savings on cooling, and you can remove them in the winter to take advantage of the sun's warming rays.

Maintenance

Your shades are easy to maintain, too. They can be made from canvas or PVC, and both have their advantages. PVC is strong and waterproof, while canvas is strong and supple. Canvas can be washed, too, and both fold easily for winter storage. They both come in a variety of colors that you can match to the colors of your home or garden. PVC also repels UV rays, so if that's a concern, you probably want to choose a PVC shade or sail for your home. If they get dirty, you can simply hose them down with a garden hose, and if they happen to tear, you can repair both canvas and PVC easily. Canvas will break down over time, and PVC will become brittle over time, so expect to replace your shades and sails every few years, but with good maintenance, they will last for several seasons. Be sure to clean your shades and sails thoroughly before you store them for the season.

Shades and sails are cost-effective, attractive, money saving, and a great way to increase the living space of your home. Install a shade this season, and you may be surprised at just how comfortable your outdoor living space can be!

Shop Fitters

Shop Fitters are a trade skilled job in many areas of the work force now. They perform many of the following tasks in the area of their work assemble and install counters, start designs and working drawings, select and order many different materials for different jobs, make templates. Also they might be required to assemble fittings and fixtures both on site and off site for jobs. Todays shopfitter is very professional with blending traditional skills with modern business ability and technical expertise. It is only by being a master of all these diverse talents that a Shop Fitter can deliver the best possible results on time and close to budget to the customer that they are working for at the time. Places that Shop Fitters may be employed are construction and manufacturing companies, Also there are just shop fitting firms just for their types and kind of specialties they have for certain job needs. You may though find that Shop Fitters are self employeed and that might be the best way for you to get the attention and details you want from a Shop Fitter that is fully self employed then they can give you all the time you need on your project and not think ahead to other projects they might have going on with other companies. Shop Fitters do also work very closely with the other professionals who perform other aspects of work during whatever job process is being done either it be your electricians, plumbers or even tile layers and cutters. Shopfitters also develop new techniques to implement them when all possible to keep their skills up and to top peak performance at all times. There is also The National Association of Shopfitters is the only trade association that exclusively promotes the shopfitting industry and has been doing so since 1919 to get the word out about the Shop Fitters for the quality work they do. You can find your area Shop Fitter right in your yellow or white pages in the phone book.

Rendering

Rendering is a very easy way to keep your home up-to-date and hide any surface flaws. Render can be applied on both old and new homes that will keep a modern look that is really low maintenance. It can be neutral, coloured or painted which will always help to keep the home as modern as possible. Render can be applied to many different surfaces such as brick, concrete, cement or stone surfaces. It can also be applied to earth type surfaces also such as mud brick walls etc.

There is indeed a correct way to prepare a surface before render can even be applied. Dirt and any nastiness needs to be hosed off. However, if there are any signs of mould then deffinitley use a fungicidal wash on the walls. Render will not stick to paint though so you will also need to remove any excess paint there might be on the surface you wish to render. Any render that might be old or falling apart also needs to me removed as well as loose pointing. But there's no need to worry because when you hire a professional, they will do all of this prep work for you!

Two types of renders are Cement and Acrylic. Cement render is made up of lime, sand and cement. Lime makes the render more workable and helps with cracking issues once it is hardened. If in any case you are leaning towards a coloured render then you should have the professional make a sample and let it completely dry before continuing with the job. Acrylic cement of course uses acrylic in the cement which makes it more resistant to cracking than other renders. This render is fast drying; it will only take 2 days while almost any other render will take up to 28 days to fully dry!

Solid plastering or wet plastering is a soft material used as finish work, not anything structural or anything. When the professional applies it, it goes on wet and hardens while it dries. Plaster can be finished in many different textures and colours and should always be used by a professional.

When you hire a rendering professional you need to make sure they are licensed and qualified. It would be in your best interest to get some kind of quote so you know how much the job will cost. If it is an option, ask for any previous work or references to ensure you they know what they're doing.