As a general rule of thumb in stair building the sum of the tread and riser should equal around 17 1/2 inches. This is a general rule of thumb for a comfortable, easy to walk up and down set of stairs.

For example if your stair tread is 10 inches and the stair riser is 7 1/2 inches you have a comfortable stairway. Walking up and down a stairway using this formula creates a comfortable set of stairs. The next time you walk down any uncomfortable set of stairs measure the stair tread and riser. You will be amazed at what you’ll find.

For public stairs or heavily used stairs this method will become one of your best friends. On public stairs you have liability issues and of course lawyer issues if you are the owner of the building. If you are not building a safe set of stairs that meets your local building codes standards you could be in for a whopping financial nightmare.

Building safe stairs as a contractor is your obligation to society. I don’t know how many times I come across a loose stair tread or a broken hand rail. One of the biggest problems I find is in the poorer neighborhoods you come across some major construction problems and safety hazards. I never have been able to figure out why a building owner would not want to protect himself financially and the people that occupy and use his buildings safety.

Here’s something you need to avoid when using the stair building general rule of thumb. This rule of thumb does not apply to good to an 8 inch tread with a 9 1/2 inch stair rise. You don’t want to be building a latter you want to be building a safe set up stairs.

The maximum stair rise you can use for most building codes is 8 inches. You will not find the stairway to comfortable with a 9 1/2 inch stair tread and an 8 inch riser. If you have no choice and are cramped for space and you can’t redesign this stairway to fit in the house or building then at least make sure you have a nice sturdy grip able stair hand rail.

This formula works great when you are working with exterior landscaping and you have a long run of stairs with a small rise. For example: if you have a 14 inch stair tread and you use a 4 inch riser this will lead to a comfortable step.

Look for stairs in your neighborhood or around some apartment complexes that don’t follow these rules and have 16 inch stair treads with 7 inch risers. You will find yourself taking two steps on the stair tread on every other step and it is not a real comfortable stairway.

Happy stair building and keep this formula in mind for a nice comfortable set of stairs in your building future.

It is extremely easy to make holes into a wall, however it is extremely difficult to fix a hole if you already have one. Actually it’s not that difficult, there are some easy steps that you can follow to make the job easy.

1. Measure the size of the hole

You need to work out the size of the hole that you want to repair as different sizes of holes require different methods of repair. If it’s a very small hole then simply patching it with some compound is enough. When it has dried then you should sand back the spot for an even finish.

If the hole you want to repair is a bit bigger, perhaps as big as a light switch box then you should fill the hole with some newspaper before you apply the compound. This means that you don’t need to use as much compound.

For holes that are around 30cmx30cm you should use hot patching. This means that you fill the hole with some drywall.

For very large holes in your wall you will need to treat them as new areas that need recovering. Start by removing any nails and screws that are sticking up through the plasterboard. Cut a new piece of dry walling and secure it into place, then tape and finish as normal.

So first thing to do is to measure the hole and then see what method is suitable.

2. Preparation

When you’ve found the right technique to fix your hole then you need to make sure you have everything you need in order to fix it. You will need some specific supplies in order to complete the project. When the compound is mixed you need to work quite quickly so that you don’t risk it drying too quickly.

If you are filling a large hole then make sure that the drywall is already cut to shape before you mix the compound. Make sure you double check any measurements so that everything is correct.

3. Don’t Over Spackle

If you have a large hole then simply applying compound isn’t good enough because there’s nothing for the compound to stick to. This patch will almost certainly crack or fall out in the near future. You should apply as little compound as possible and make sure it is smooth and even. Applying too much compound means that you will have a long time sanding down the excess!

4. Be patient

When you are trying to complete any project then you need to be patient as it won’t all be possible over night. If you try to sand the compound before it is completely dry then you will make a lot of mess and you might have to start again from the beginning. You need to consider that you need some time to relax, you can’t spend all of your time on these projects.

5. Sanding and Finishing

The compound might look like its smooth, but it’s not. You need to sand it the best you possibly can. There might be very small bumps which you don’t notice. Sand down the area so that the wall is completely smooth before painting.

A home is a very personal thing, which is why everyone wants to make their home the best that it can possibly be. Interior design is one thing, but now many more people are starting to design their own home and build it from the ground up.

Even if you don’t know anything about designing houses then you can still help to create your dream home by assisting a contractor with decisions. The success of your home will depend on the design, rather than the team that you are employing. You might think that you are excited about your dream home, but how do you know what you actually want. How should you design and lay out your room. You should take some time to plan your own home design, and do so carefully.

Open House

The first way of getting some inspiration is to go out and visit other houses which are already completed. There are many open houses which you can visit for inspiration and ideas. Sometimes people will spend all day driving around looking at houses to get some great ideas. As well as getting ideas about your home you can also see some interesting sights that you wouldn’t otherwise have seen.

It’s a good idea if you can go out on a Sunday as you should be able to visit some of the open houses which are held by a number of different estate agents. This can be a really good way to get some ideas and see how they can really work in your own home.

Magazines

There are also a number of perfect living magazines which might give you just the right idea for your own home. Many people think that it’s silly to look at these magazines, however it really is a good idea. You need to spend some time checking out these magazines so that you can get inspiration and ideas.

You need to remember that you are not creating a simple home, you are creating your dream home. You want to make sure that you create something which you will love and never want to leave. You might also want to get some ideas at your local home improvement store, many of the staff in these stores will be able to assist you and offer their advice.

Every year big companies run competitions offering people the chance to win their dream home custom designed. That has never actually made sense to me because nobody else will know how your dream home will look except you. Make sure you plan your own home so that it really is your dream home. Only you will be able to create the home of your dreams, nobody else! If you need some advice then talk to professionals.

The one thing every household must have to generate light is electricity, clearly – unless, of course, you’re the type of person who is more embracing of the simplistic, natural-lighting ways of living. But, assuming you’re thinking differently and acting modernly unlike the Amish and primordial people of old, there’s no doubt you use light bulbs, and have been for years.

What’s needed and proves quite necessary to channel the charge of electricity -and, in the process, cease walking into walls- once nighttime hits are those tiny things called light bulbs, and a good number of them, too. As devices solely designed to produce artificial light from electricity, light bulbs are humans’ current means to do, live and function once the sun dips under on the horizon. Without light bulbs and their electrical transmitting abilities, we would be in a much more darkened and simplistic living position. But, we’re not. We’ve let the light in and have been doing so ever since Thomas Alva Edison provided the first incandescent light bulb.

Progressing Forward, Far From Incandescent Ways of Old

Now, thanks to human inventiveness and scientific advancement there are many different types of light bulbs to choose from. Beyond the incandescent options originally made and provided, people can now choose from halogen, fluorescent, compact fluorescent (CFL), high-intensity discharge, low-pressure sodium and many other types of bulbs and/or lamps. Many people these days, though, typically opt for light bulb options they’re familiar with and have used in their childhood and current households. The most common type of light bulb used, and still holding strong today, are the original incandescents.

But, gaining much more popularity, as of late, are CFL light bulbs or Compact Fluorescent light bulbs. Why, you ask? The reasons are primarily linked to the current conservation and energy issues that are so significant in our day and age.

An Eco-Friendly and Energy-Saving Lighting Craze

That epiphanic cartoon style light bulb has been popping above peoples heads all over the place – an energy-saving notion has been spreading wildly. And whether these individuals are already eco-friendly or are looking to ease their way into a green way of living, they figure the first corrective step would be best initiated in how they use electrical energy.

And it is truly a wise decision, especially when looking to be actively green. The numbers are there to support such a choice too. As it stands, CFL light bulbs are acclaimed for their considerable energy saving abilities.

Using Less Electrical Power & Saving The Atmosphere

CFL light bulbs are about 4 times more efficient than incandescents. Also, in terms of life-spans, incandescents have nothing on CFL light bulbs as CFLs last up to 10 times longer. This means using 1/3 less electricity on average simply through using CFL light bulbs. And in terms of released CO2 emissions, by utilizing the CFL bulbs (and this is just in the case of one CFL bulb) nearly a half ton of CO2 is kept out of the atmosphere. So, figure that if you replace all the incandescent bulbs in your home with CFL light bulbs – and let’s just say you replace 10 incandescents in total – that means you’re actively stopping 5 tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere, and subsequently, weakening it.

Learning how to build wind generators was one of our top priorities when we moved off the grid a couple years ago. We already had some solar panels but after building our own home we were pretty short on money to invest in a bigger Renewable energy system.

What kind of options did we have?

· We could buy an expensive wind generator

· We could learn how to build solar panels (which we did later)

· Or learn how to build wind generators

First off we figured we could perhaps buy a wind generator but that option went out the window when we saw the huge price tag of $3200 for the 1000w model we needed.

We did learn how to make solar panels but that was after this project. It cost us a bit more per watt of production power for the solar energy but it did work out well. We decided the wind turbine was the best place to start.

For the same money it takes to produce 100 watts of power with solar panels you can make a 1000 watt home wind power machine. Solar energy is good in that it works well in clear weather when the wind doesn’t blow usually.

So, it turned out that learning how to build wind generators was our best option to start with.

We found some good plans to get started that promised an inexpensive yet good looking turbine.

We had seen some pretty ugly home made wind generators in our travels and we wanted ours to look good. That was very important since it would be up there for all of our visitors to see.

The PVC wind turbine blade design is what convinced us that this was the best route for us to take. The PVC is cut on a bit off center to capture the wind more effectively and work more efficiently, and the colored pipe looked professionally built (and we got it free from a construction site).

That’s another great point to make, most of the parts are available free if you just know where to look for them and that is explained in the plans.

The only real investment we had to make was a DC motor for wind generators. It cost us about $36 but it was shipped directly to us which was nice.

The tower we salvaged from our neighbor, his old TV tower was just sitting there and he let us have it for free.

This was probably the fastest way for us to produce Renewable Energy with the least investment.

And it looks good with PVC pipe blades and a stainless steel body, all shiny and colorful; all of our visitors say it looks like we bought it.

There is little doubt that more people are getting interested in renewable energy sources to provide the energy needs both in their homes and portably. One such system that fits into this category is solar power. This article will cover the pros and cons of using solar power.

Solar thermal and light energy can be used to provide our homes with power. Solar light energy is used in many portable devices. A major advantage of such systems is that they are clean systems. The energy comes from the sun, so there is no need to excavate and process the raw materials to create a usable energy resource.

Using such systems also cuts down on pollution. It does not contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions. It does not pollute the water supply.

Solar power systems can be expected to last a long time. They are tough-wearing and sturdy. They have to be built to last so that owners can recoup their investments. It turns out that solar power systems last much longer than that.

The costs for maintaining a solar power system are very low. Some components of the system may last decades without any maintenance at all. Solar panels are often warranted to maintain 80% of their efficiency for up to 25 years. Other parts will need to be replaced sooner, but if all goes well there should be no maintenance costs at all for the first five years.

A solar power system is neither too dangerous nor too complicated for most people to run. It requires no supervision from the government or any other agency because it poses no risks. The cost of running the systems is also very low.

There are certainly a few negative aspects of using solar power. Before consumers can have any solar power, they have to make a large investment on the equipment and installation. They will make up this investment over the life of the solar power system but this large up front sum can deter many people. There are more grants and incentives being introduced to minimize this deterrent to getting solar energy.

However the biggest issue with solar power is it’s reliability. Ideally you need a location that gets plenty of sun throughout the year. If you get plenty of cloudy days then your supply may be interrupted or decreased. And it doesn’t work at night. There are ways round this, like storing power in batteries or having a back up system however reliability will always be an issue until solar cells can be made more efficient.

To this extent, many governments are not keen on large scale solar energy plants to power towns and cities and see nuclear power as a better option because it is viewed as more reliable (which many people may dispute).

Given that efficiency of solar cells should increase and the costs will come down, it makes a lot of sense to get a solar panel for your home. There should be a fall back system because of the reliability issue. Most people go for a grid tie system whereby they keep grid power and sell their solar power to the utility company, thus getting a discount or cheaper utility bills. This is a stress free way of using solar power.