Saturday, April 5, 2008

Add Floor Liners And A Cold Air Intake To Your Christmas List This Year

Don’t know what to ask for this Christmas? Why not ask for something you can actually use – durable floor mats.
The fresh smell of evergreen and incessant jingling of bells can mean only one thing: Christmas time. Ah yes, the season for giving. But your days of toys and bicycles and games are behind you. Don’t fret, there are plenty of good gifts to get.He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice… Have you been naughty? Have you been nice? Have too many curse words poured out of that cynical mouth of yours? Been flirting a little too much with the new leggy secretary? Hopefully, your courteous and noble deeds have landed you on the nice list this Christmas season. If so, cash in on that good behavior and make a killer wish list. So what should you ask for? Well, you may not be able to get that new truck you’ve been dying for, but you can still get some great accessories. During the winter months, a majority of our country is bombarded with snow and ice. I used to live in Boston so I know how long winter really is. A solid set of floor liners make an excellent present. And although they may not be the “coolest” present, they are a great investment. Plus, they aren’t cheap! Why not have someone else shell out the bills for them so you can spend your money on what really want – beer and season tickets.If you’re like me and enjoy getting to the mountains, then rubber mats are a “must have” item. When I get into my car after a long day of snowboarding, I don’t want to deal with being clean. I just want to rip open some chips and chuck the wrapper on the ground. I also to keep my feet warm, especially after being in ski boots all day. So my car’s floor heater will melt all the snow that my boots have accumulated. Without my floor mats, my feet would be resting in a puddle of water by the time I get home. Any not to be too gross, but my feet usually aren’t too “fresh” after skiing. Actually, I think the smell of damp, sweaty feet will probably make you gag. Now that I have liners, I can just open the door at a red light, pour out the water and be good to go. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I highly recommend getting some mats.Now that I have covered the practical mats, the Dr. Jekyll if you will, I want to suggest getting a cold air intake, the Mr. Hyde. There are few “fun” presents to ask for once you hit 18, but I believe this is one of them. I don’t drive a Ferrari, but I still crave performance and get a thrill when I slam on the gas pedal. A cold air intake is an aftermarket air intake that is specifically designed to draw cooler air into the engine, thus giving you more horsepower. And this part will also give your vehicle a nice throaty growl; unlike your buddy’s Honda with the tin can muffler.It depends on your vehicle and what modifications you have, but adding a cold air intake can add anywhere from 5 to 40 ponies. Not bad for a few hundred bucks if you ask me. I recommend these two products because they are moderately cheap and give you the best bang for your buck. If you are really craving performanceHealth Fitness Articles, then you might want to ask for a whole performance exhaust system. But I guess that depends on how naughty or nice you were this year.

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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

How to install a hardwood floor

The first decision that you need to make before you get to work choosing the materials for your hardwood floor is whether or not you are going to be doing the finishing on your own.

If you have a lot of experience with hardwood floors, then you might find that this is a good idea. However, if it is your first time installing a hardwood floor, then you should purchase a pre-finished floor. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you should be careful to make sure that you don’t scratch the finishing during your installation.

You should make sure that you put the wood you’re going to be using for your floor inside of your house for a few days before you actually install the floor. By doing this, you’ll be letting the humidity in your home affect the wood. This is very important as it will lessen the amount of warping that you will experience after the floor installation.

You will need to start with a clean subfloor, so make sure that you clean it off properly before you start your installation. Once you are done with this, you should start with a layer of asphalt felt. This will cushion the boards as well as provide a good base for the floor installation. You should look for 15-pound asphalt felt for this installation.

Before you put down the boards, you need to make sure that you chalk out the lines for where the boards will end. You need to leave a half an inch between your walls and where the boards end. This will allow the floor to expand with temperature and humidity changes. Don’t worry about the half-inch of space – this will be completely covered up by your baseboards.

When you start to lay the boards, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. First of all, you should use the longest boards against the wall. These will start the floor off right. Then, make sure that you are careful about where you put the seams between boards. In order to minimize any cracks that could appear in the floor, make sure that the seams between two boards are at least six inches apart from each other. You should also make sure that these seams do not line up with the seams in the subfloor.

With a little bit of time, you should be able to install your very own hardwood floor!

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Tips on How to Repair Hardwood Floor Scratches

Hardwood floor scratches are inevitable. At some point, scratches will happen. If you have hardwood flooring, it's important that you learn how to do simple scratch repairs yourself. However, before you start fixing any scratches, you'll need to learn how to differentiate between scratches and gouges on your hardwood floor.A scratch is typically a visible, but not deep, marking on your hardwood floor's surface. Hardwood floor scratches can be caused by dragging furniture across the floor or by glass that has fallen and cut the surface of the floor. A gouge, however, is much deeper than a scratch. Think of a gouge as a "flesh wound" a hardwood floor could sustain. Dealing with a scratch is much different than dealing with a. For instance, it's useless to apply hardwood floor scratch remover on gouges.You'll need to be sure that you really are dealing with a scratch instead of a gouge before you can initiate any kind of scratch repair work. Between scratches and gouges, scratches on hardwood floors are much more common. It's near impossible to keep hardwood floors from getting scratches. Moving pieces of furniture across or dropping sharp objects like glass are not the only things that can cause scratches. You may be causing scratches on your hardwood floor when you sweep it with a broom with not-so-soft bristles or you wipe off spills using a hard piece of cloth.Again, scratches are nearly impossible to avoid, so the best thing you can do is learn how to deal with the scratches, like learning how to do simple scratch repairs. It's pretty simple; you don't have to hire a professional to do it for you.Follow these steps:1. Using a fine steel wool or sandpaper, rough up the scratched area.2. Rub the whole length of the scratch. Cover both margins.3. Make sure to rub in the direction of the wood grain, or rub in a circular motion to avoid damaging the wood and floor finish too much.3. Dampen a soft cloth with mineral spirits. Use the soft cloth to wipe off any wood and dust particles on the scratched area of the floor.4. Let the solution dry up on the floor. Depending on how big the scratch is, the scratch removal solution and how much of it you use, drying time may take from several minutes up to a few hours.5. Take a fine paintbrush, dip it in the finish originally used on the floor and brush it across the scratched area. Wipe with a soft cloth.6. Be careful and gentle when you brush in the finish onto the scratch. Too much or too little and the area will look much different from the rest of the hardwood floor. Brush in just enough finish so that it looks almost the same as the rest.7. Give the new finish some time to dry. This may take between 30 minutes to a few hours.If you followed the directions carefullyPsychology Articles, the scratch on your hardwood floor should be gone.

Laminate Flooring Installation

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