Merry Christmas To all!

Wishing each and everyone a lovely celebration of the holiday season! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! 

"Christmas is a season of great joy: a time for remembering the past and hoping for the future. May the glorious message of peace and love fill you with joy during this wonderful season."

Step-by-Step Instructions for Installing Pre-hung Doors

If you’re building or renovating a home, installing your own doors is a great way to save a little money. Many builders and homeowners prefer pre-hung doors because they are convenient and fairly easy to install. Unlike a slab door, a pre-hung door is already attached to the frame. All you need is a rough opening to install it in, a few tools, and a little bit of know-how. Although slab doors are a little less expensive to purchase up-front, pre-hung doors can save you time and effort during the installation process. Following these steps will help ensure that you install your pre-hung doors correctly:

1. Gather Your Tools

Pre-hung doors can be quite heavy, so you should recruit at least one other person to help you install them. Before you begin, gather up the following tools: tape measure, finish nails, shims, hammer, nail punch, utility knife, circular saw (or jigsaw), level, and screwdrivers. You may not need the circular saw, but it will come in handy if you need to trim your doorjambs. Wood putty is important to have on-hand when you are ready to hide the nail holes in your installed doors.

6 Tips for Making Your Construction Site Safer

Working as a construction worker is almost similar to being a superhero. Each day you are entrusted with the responsibility of bearing heavy loads and using expensive equipment. Squatting on scaffolds and riding in cranes puts you so high up in the sky that you have the feeling you are flying. What makes your job extraordinary and enjoyable can also put a lot of stress on you. If you don’t take care, you can incur injuries while working. Here are some safety tips to follow to avoid common injury and stress on the construction site.

1. Lift objects properly

As a construction worker, backaches are your primary enemy. It is easy to get injuries while carrying heavy loads, but you can avoid this hazard altogether. Always bend your knees so that you don’t twist to the side while lifting. For a better balance, put one foot in front of the other.

2. Use ergonomic portable and high-powered tools

Tools are meant to make your work simpler. You may not realize it, but frequent use of poorly designed tools can make you develop conditions such as trigger finger, white finger, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendonitis. Even powered tools can make you develop serious problems due to their excessive noise and high vibration. Thus, as an employer or supervisor, ensure the tools you select for your workers have a long trigger and low vibration levels. For the hand tools, safety coordinators or employers must select those that require less force and don’t put a strain on the hand when held tight. The hand tools must also be balanced, and not conduct electricity or heat.

Laying It Down: Wood Floors

If it seems as if installing hardwood floors is something that should be left to the pros, you might be right. If you want to include complicated angles or a herringbone pattern, hiring installers could be your best bet. However, if you are doing a straightforward layout with interlocking planks, perhaps you could conquer the task yourself. Here’s everything you need to know before you get started on the project.

Materials
Gone are the days of the narrow oak plants you used to see in turn-of-the-century homes. These days, wider planks and larger pieces of wood in general are the norm. Fewer seams in a living space make the room seem bigger, it seems, so that’s the way manufacturers are leaning. Another trend in natural wood floors is unfinished planks; that is, wood that is sanded and waxed but not shined to the high gloss of finished floors. Even painted planks or unusual wood colors such as grey have risen in popularity in recent years.

You Are Qualified for the Job

Hey folks! I am  back in the blogosphere. My recent travels  are over now. I  am actually back to work for over a week. I guess, I am still having a jetlag and at the moment I am not really feeling good with some colds and cough. I am quite tired right now but let me give you a quick update before I sign-off to dreamland.

Last August, I submitted an application for another job. This is quite a better job than what I am doing right now. I know and I believed I can do it since it is quite related to my degree and work experiences. As a banker and with a degree of  Bachelor of Science in Commerce majoring in Accounting, this job is really so easy compared to what I do before at the bank being a Branch Operation Assistant, in which I served as an Accountant at the branch I worked before.

Yesterday, I actually received  a letter saying that I am qualified for the job. This morning, I received  a call for an interview tomorrow. I hope and  pray that I will  get this job...in God's will..so help me Lord!

I am slowly off to bed now. I hope I feel better tomorrow  especially for the job interview.

Take care folks and until then.

Autumn is Here, Time to Turn On The Heater

The pellets oven  at home.

Hey folks! How are things going on out there in your part? I hope you are having a good start of the second BER months.  So far, so good for me and I am thankful about it.  How's the weather in your area right now? It is getting so cold in this part of the globe.  Now wonder October is here and this is the time of the year when fall or autumn starts, which also means  that the temperature is dropping from day to day.  This is also the time of the year when heaters are starting to be used. Indeed, winter season is inevitable and it is coming so soon.

This morning when I went outside to pick up some mint leaves (to mix for my green tea)  in the garden, I did not went out right away because it was really freezing cold.  I picked up and wore my jacket first, afraid of getting sick due to cold weather.

Since winter is almost approaching,  our heater is also slowly running. It is not so cold yet inside the house because since two weeks ago,  our heater is already turn-on during the night.  During day time, we turn it off to save heater bills. Besides nobody is home, unless I am free from work.

We are actually using two kinds of heaters during high winter season. One is an electric heater made of marble stones and the other one is a pellets oven.  There are actually electric heaters installed  in every room, from the dining room to the bedrooms, toilets, living room, working room  and the hallway.   The pellet over is located almost in the middle of the house and it is the only one that is running 24-hours a day during high winter season. For now, since it is not too cold inside the house, we only turn it on  during night  time.

The pellets oven  is really a good heating equipment since we started using it in 2009.  In fact, we already save some bucks every year since we use it. On the other hand, the electric heaters are only turn-on  when it is  really so cold inside the house.

I wish, I can  find  more time in sharing how we are trying to save for our heaters during winter season. That is all for now peeps. I wish everyone a wonderful and blessed month of October. Take care everyone!

The Three Elements of a Good Contractor

If you are considering renovating any part of your home, the first step to getting a project started is to find the renovation contractor you will be working with. How do you go about finding the right contractor for the project? You will have to do your research and make sure that you understand the bidding process. Here are three elements of a good contractor that you should always look for.

Licensing and References
Before you contact any contractor for a bid on your renovation project, it is extremely important to understand the licensing requirements in the area where you live. Then you will be able to check any potential contractors to see if they meet all of the local requirements to do the work your are requesting.

Along with licensing, you should also try to get a couple of references from people who have used them on their own renovation projects. This will give you a first-hand experience on how a typical project will go from start to finish.

Getting a Detailed Bid 
Bids can vary widely. Even the term 'bid' can mean different things to different contractors. To clear up any confusion, a good contractor will let you know whether the bid is a fixed price or an estimate of the work. This will help you with your budget and help to maintain an honest relationship between you and your contractor. To get your renovation budget in even better shape, you can ask your contractor for an itemized list so that you know the breakdown of the total cost.

Checking on Suppliers 
Another way to tell if you are hiring a quality contractor is to ask where your contractor is getting his materials for each job. Then you can go directly to the supplier to make sure that your contractor has a professional reputation within the industry. If a contractor is fair, pays his bills on time and is courteous to his suppliers, you should have no problem with your own renovation project.

While taking estimates, it is important to see how well you and the contractor communicate. If they are difficult when answering questions, the process of working with them may also become difficult.