Here’s the dilemma: I would like to extend my deck spanning the whole back side of my house. That would give me a HUGE deck! The addition only is 12X33 ft!
My only concern is that the deck would take away daylight out of my finished basement. We have a play/family room, a bed and a a fullbath in the basement. The deck addition would take away a good amount of light from the play/family room.
So I guess the ultimate question is..
What has more resale value: a huge deck or one room in the basement with either more or less daylight?
Thanks all!
Painted Kitchen Cabinets
I need to plant something in my planters on my deck railings that will be in shade/part sun. I even tryed to plant marigolds and something will clip the blooms from the stems. I really want some color for my deck in the summer months.
Portable Closet
I sealed my deck with a Thompson’s like water sealer and I put too much on. Now the deck is exceptionally shiney and sticky; how do I correct this problem? Will Turpentine take it off?
Kitchen Decor Themes
I have tried countless times, but can never succeed in bridge shuffling. When I’m asked to shuffle decks, I try bridge shuffling, but the cards go everywhere. How can I learn to bridge shuffle a deck of cards without them going everywhere? Any tips?
Steps On How To Do CPR
If you’ve got a patio at your house you need great patio furniture on it? Why? Because patio furniture does wonders for the liveability of your home.
A patio if a great addition to any house. It extends your living area and allows you to take your living outdoors on a fine summers day. It makes you home more valuable and adds function. It adds, in effect, a new living space to your house. A patio adds value to your home.
However if you build a patio and don’t put some fine patio furniture on it you’re only getting half the value from your new patio. A patio itself is nice. It’s a new space for you and your family outside, but it’s not all that useful just as a patio. However by the addition of some good patio furniture you get full value from your investment in your patio.
Outdoor furniture and patio furniture is designed to increase the liveability of your patio. Add a good patio table and some nice chairs and you have a new way of enjoying your patio. Meals. On that hot summers day serve your meals outdoors on your patio table and chairs and you and your family can enjoy one of the best parts of a summers day. The sunset. It’s getting cooler and it’s the best part of the day, and you can enjoy your meal at the same time.
Perhaps add a BBQ as well, then you can cook your meal outside and enjoy the whole experience of your meal outdoors on a summers evening. It’s a bit like camping at your own home. Find some new and interesting summer meals that you can cook on your BBQ and you’ve got a new avenue of supplying new exciting meals to your family.
There’s all sorts of wonderful patio furniture to choose from. Whether it be timber patio furniture or perhaps bamboo or wicker, there is something to appeal to every taste in outdoor furniture, and so you have a stunningly wide selection to choose from.
But unfortunately good patio furniture isn’t cheap, or at least you can’t find cheap patio furniture in the stores. You can if you know where to look to find cheap patio furniture.
There is a stack of discount patio furniture online if you’re canny and find the right place. You can buy second hand patio furniture cheap, but there is also a stack of cheap patio furniture available brand new.
There are many reasons why you can buy brand new discount patio furniture. Perhaps a store is overstocked and wants to make room for the new models. Maybe it needs to do a stocktake. Or perhaps it needs some cash fast to pay some bills. There are many reasons why a store would need to sell some of it’s new stock of patio furniture cheap. And it probably won’t do it at the store as it mucks up their market for selling their outdoor furniture at higher prices when customers have already seen it there at lower prices. So they sell it online.
So if you’ve got a great patio or are thinking of building one, you need to consider your patio furniture as well. What will you add to your patio in the way of outdoor furniture to making it a functioning enjoyable patio? And make sure when you’re deciding that you look online to find some great deals on some cheap patio furniture so your furniture doesn’t break the bank.
Bamboo Vertical Blinds
Before you purchase anything to decorate your patio, you should first prepare a plan or drawing of your patio area complete with exact measurements. You then need to decide exactly what it is you plan on doing with your patio. Is your patio just for you and your family on a beautiful summer evening? On the other hand, do you plan to host Business meetings or parties? These are important questions that need answered before you purchase any patio furniture and furnishings. If you plan to host Business luncheons then you perhaps should make sure your patio furnishings are not a cheap plastic table and chair set. Lay it all out on paper before buying anything. How much space do you have? If you do not have enough space then maybe you should plan to build a bigger deck or patio first. Once you have got your plans drawn up and you are sure the patio is large enough, it is time to head to the store. Make sure you take your plans with you!
There are plenty of different materials used to make patio furniture. Remember what your main use of the patio will be, that will help you decide on your purchase. How much care do you want to put into looking after the patio furniture? Do you want to put it away every night? Most people want to leave their patio furniture right where it is all summer. Therefore, you will need something that can stand up to the elements.
Wooden patio furniture needs protecting with oil regularly unless you choose to paint it or perhaps you will decide to keep that rustic gray ‘weathered’ look. Unless you choose Teak Wood, Teak has natural oils that protect it from the environment. Aluminum is lightweight and is perfect for a low maintenance patio setting. Wrought iron patio furniture is an old favorite that suits the English garden look. Wicker outdoor patio furniture coupled with the long lasting qualities of resin is also an option. Cafe style, patio furniture is great for a quick break from your gardening. For my money, Teak wood patio furniture is the way to go, Teak is an oily dense wood that combines durability, beauty and quality and is great for outdoor furniture. Teak will naturally weather to a beautiful silver-gray.
Teak wood’s density of grain prevents it from splintering. That is the reason why ship builders used it for the ships decks. Teak furniture’s natural oils also resist rot and decay. You can keep the golden appearance of new teak patio furniture by simply oiling the teak every year if you do not wish for it to turn a silvery grey.
As you can see, there are many choices to make when selecting patio furniture. Always have a plan before you go shopping. Patio furniture can really enhance your outdoor living space.
Painting Vinyl Siding
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When my neighbor first decided to install a paver-block patio, he chose paver stones for several reasons. He thought they would last longer than other materials like wood, or poured concrete, and that they would be maintenance free. While they do look great and they’re incredibly durable, it wasn’t long before he learned that they aren’t completely maintenance free.
After several seasons of rain, snow and sun, the patio didn’t look as good as when he had it installed. The sun was beginning to fade the color in some areas, the sand between the stones had been washed away, and weeds had started growing in the gaps between the pavers. He even began to see ant colonies forming using his precious paver sand as their new home.
The solution to his problem was fairly simple. It was time to clean the patio up and seal it for protection. “Just observe these simple 11 keys”, I told him, “and when you’re done your patio will look like it was done by the Pros!”
1. Take your time. With every project that I undertake, I can’t stress this point enough. When you rush a project through you make mistakes, and mistakes are what the pros are able to avoid. Sometimes it’s just a matter of cleaning the surface a little better, or rinsing things off a little more. Maybe it’s allowing a little more time between coats for your sealer to dry or waiting a few more hours before re-installing your patio furniture. The chances are much better that when the work is all done, you’ll look at the finished result and be satisfied that it turned out just as you had hoped it would.
2. Often times when you inspect the patio, prior to washing you’ll notice stains. Leaves that have remained on the patio can leave tannin stains. Iron furniture that sits on the patio can leave rust stains. Whatever stains you find need to be removed prior to sealing or they will become permanent, so now is the time to work on them. The simplest way to get the stains out is by using an acid cleaner. Conventional muriatic acid works well and it’s cheap, but I hate it. If you get it on your skin it burns and the vapors from it are just terrible. Instead, I use a “safer” cleaner, such as Defy Safer Masonry Cleaner. For severe stains, I simply pour a little cleaner at full strength on the stain and give it a few minutes to work before rinsing. If the whole patio is fairly dirty, dilute the cleaner 4:1 (four parts water to one part cleaner) and using a garden-type pump up sprayer, spray the entire surface with cleaner. Allow the cleaner to remain wet on the surface for 5 minutes or so, and then rinse using a power washer.
3. In regard to the prep work, sealing you patio isn’t much different than staining your deck or painting your house. Much of the quality of the job comes down to how well you prepare the surface.
Patios that have weathered will often times have mildew, moss and algae growing on the stones and in the sand between the joints. Weeds that have begun to grow as well as any other foreign debris need to be removed, and for a patio that means a good cleaning. The easiest way to clean things off is with a power washer.
Make certain that you select a washer with enough power to do the job. I try to never use anything rated less than 2400 p.s.i. Select a tip that will fan the water out slightly, 15° or so. Also, always work in sections.
Patios should be constructed so that water runs away from the home. So begin working near the house or the high side of the slope of the patio. Rinse debris down the patio’s natural flow, away from the house. You’ll loose some of the sand between the joints during the cleaning process and that’s ok. We’ll replace the sand once the patio is cleaned up. Just be careful not to blow out more sand than is necessary while doing your cleaning.
4. With the patio now cleaned, look around and inspect the condition of the pavers. Over time, paver stones can settle or shift, making them unlevel. If you have some bricks that are out of place, using a screwdriver and a stiff putty knife, pry the uneven stones out. Once removed, you can add a little sand, smooth it out with the blade of your putty knife, and re-install the bricks.
5. The last remaining step in getting the patio ready to seal is to re-grout the joints between the stones with fresh sand. This step isn’t hard, but it does take a little time so be patient. To do this, I use a fine grade of play box sand. Pour a small amount on the patio and begin sweeping it into the joints using a push-broom. Sweep in both directions; back-to-front and left-to-right to insure the joints get completely filled. As the sand gets used up by filling the joints pour a little more onto the patio and keep sweeping.
6. This is the part you’re going to love. Go take a break! Remember when we started I said to take your time? After all of the cleaning that we did, the ground under those pavers is soaking wet and needs to dry out. Give the patio a couple of good, hot sunny days to dry out before applying any sealer. If you don’t, you could end up trapping moisture under the sealer and the whole project will turn a milky white color…yuck!
7. It’s time to pick out your sealer now and the choices are solvent-based products or water-based products. I hate solvents! “Why?” you ask. Here’s why:
1. They’re bad for our environment.
2. They kill grass and flowers.
3. They smell terrible.
4. Everything has to be cleaned up with messy solvents.
Water-base sealers are a much better choice. Besides being both easy to use and easy on the environment, they offer another amazing advantage. They “stabilize” the sand. When cured, water-based sealers such as DEFY Paver Sealer will harden the joint sand and lock it into place. This prevents it from washing out during future rains.
8. Every manufacturer’s product can be a little different so always read the directions. It only takes a few minutes but it will ensure that you have all the right information before you get started. Pay attention to details such as how many coats of sealer to apply, how long to wait between coats, how to properly apply the product and how to clean it up. There are any number of variations to these questions and more. Read the label first and you’ll be likely to get it right the first time.
9. Now the fun begins…applying the sealer. To do this, I love to use a garden-type pump up sprayer but I’ll warn you in advance, don’t buy a cheap one! The better sprayers (they usually cost over $50) have a metal fan-style spray tip and do a much better job than the inexpensive weed sprayers. When you’re looking for a sprayer, the key here is to look for a “fan-style tip”.
The patio edges can be cut-in using a 4″ nylon brush and then you’re ready to start spraying. Water-based sealers normally require two coats to be applied. Once you’ve cut-in the edges, spray the entire patio with the first coat. Then wait for the sealer to dry enough that it can walked on, and do the same thing all over again. If you get it too heavy and the sealer starts to puddle, use the brush to get rid of the puddling by brushing it out.
10. Ok, if a little is good then a lot must be better, right? No! Remember, we’re sealing concrete paver stones and these stones are sitting on a bed of sand. When the sand gets wet and then the sun comes out, these pavers need to breathe, meaning they need to let any water vapors pass through them. When too much sealer is applied, the water vapor can no longer pass through, which results in a white “blushing” effect or even potentially peeling. Limit your application to two coats and you won’t have a problem.
11. Ok, great job. Now for some maintenance. Blow the leaves off when they fall to keep them from staining. Rinse the dirt and debris that shows up over time. And as the weather begins to dull down the finish and the patio loses its luster, simply rinse it off and apply a light maintenance coat. Catch it before the patio gets too weathered and it’s really that simply.
So that’s it. That’s everything. Eleven keys to sealing your patio. Go ahead and try these eleven keys for yourself. See what the results are when you set out on your next project to do it like a pro. You might just surprise yourself!
Wagner Paint Sprayers
What is the appropriate depth of the decomposed granite and do I need to use base rock? Should I use a stablizer or mix it with Concerete? Ideally I would like the patio to be solid and have concrete like feel. My main concern is that drainage will be an issue.
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My current slab has settled about 8″ and I want the new patio to be about 6″ above ground level. What prep do I need to do?
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My mom has this great iron patio furniture that has, over the years, rusted and I’m interested in fixing them up for her. I’d like to be able to do it as a mom/daughter project. Any ideas?
Cleaning Vinyl Siding
