Now that you’ve bought your wood windows you can toss aside that window buying guide and refer to this window staining guide to learn the best tips for staining your wood windows. This is not a difficult task to accomplish, pretty much anyone can do it as you don’t need to be a seasoned do-it-yourselfer to make your raleigh replacement windows look terrific.

But there is a right way and a wrong way do to finish your wood and we are going to walk you through everything that you need to know to get the job done.

Selecting the Right Stain

First things first, find the stain color that best suits your home. This is going to be different than selecting the best paint as wood stain is designed to give your project a smooth, natural aesthetic, unlike paint which is usually chosen as a means of bringing a splash of color or contrast to existing color that is already present in the home.

You will find a myriad of options for wood stain shades and choosing the one that fits best is going to take some careful consideration of the appearance you wish to present. So, think about what might look appropriate in your home or if you’re still not sure, consult with a stain expert at your local hardware retailer.

Staining Your Wood

So now you’ve chosen the stain you want, it’s time to apply it to your wood windows. You’re going to need a list of materials, all of which are easily acquired when you buy your stain. You’ll need things like sandpaper, painter’s tape, a bunch of dry, clean cloths, a cleaning solution (vinegar-based preferable), your wood stain, a wood conditioner that you will apply ahead of your stain, some oil-based wood varnish, and brushes. Lots of them!

Now, let’s get to work:

Breakdown

You are not going to stain the window in its current form. You need to break it down into separated components. Don’t be lazy, this is an important step and you need to do it. Be sure to apply your painter’s tape to the glass so your lines are sharp and clean (and you don’t make a mess on the glass).

Detach the hardware and other pieces that could interfere with you doing a complete stain job.

Prep the Wood

Here is where you need your sandpaper. You are going to sand the surfaces you plan to stain, going with the grain until any impurities and rough patches are removed. Do this thoroughly as it will affect the look of your window frame if you cut corners.

Glass Surface Washing

Now you want to get that vinegar-based cleaning solution and wash down the glass of your window. Get every corner and don’t worry about streaking. If you find some streaks after you’ve rubbed the glass down completely, some clean water should help you get those streaks removed.

Mask the Glass

Grab your painter’s tape and mask off the glass and all other areas you do NOT want marred by your stain finish. This doesn’t need to be perfect, just enough to protect the pertinent areas.

Pre-stain the Wood

You want to ensure that your finished product is free from imperfections and the stain finish is smooth and even throughout every area of your wood surface. So, you will need to pre-stain the wood with your conditioner. This isn’t a tough step to perform, just follow the directions on the conditioner you purchased and you’ll be ready to get the job done.

Stain the Wood

Here we go, now the big step. You will need to be careful and thorough about applying your stain to the wood. It might require more than one coat to get the appearance you want on your windows. Don’t be sparing with the stain either, you can slather it on there to ensure that you fully saturate the wood surface. Wipe away excess stain with a rag and get a smaller brush to remove stain from crevices.

Varnish

Once you’ve finished applying the stain to your desired color, allow it to dry fully before you finish the wood surface with your oil-based wood varnish. Again, follow the directions on the bottle to help assist you in applying it properly and, much like with the stain, you might be required to apply more than one coat to the wood to achieve the aesthetic you have in mind. Take this step slowly as well and be thorough about your application.

Wood floors aren’t supposed to look perfect. They can and will sustain some level of wear and tear which is important in allowing the flooring to take on a life of its own. Your wood floor develops a character of its own, displayed in the myriad scuffs and scrapes and dents that become part of the aesthetic.

This is much different from damage, which should be repaired to keep the floor sturdy and reliable as a component of your home’s interior. The trick is knowing when it’s time to refinish a floor and that can depend a lot on the amount of foot traffic the flooring receives and the surface condition. Hardwood that has character is not the same as hardwood that is dull, faded, and tired.

So here’s what you need to know about floor refinishing austin tx and whether it’s time to have the work done in your home.

To Refinish or Not

No one wants a hardwood floor that looks like it’s seen better days and whether you plan to do the work all by yourself or you are considering hiring a professional at the task you need to first know how to determine if the floor needs to be refinished to its original luster or if it should be left alone.

A badly worn or damaged floor is going to need some attention sooner than later while a well-aged floor should be left alone and allowed to develop that visual character. Do you know the difference between the two? There’s one place to look: the grain. The grain of your flooring will give you all of the information you need to know.

Take a good long look at your floor, do you see patterns and small incongruities in the surface of the wood? These are things that aren’t just only normal but they are to be expected in a healthy hardwood floor. Some scuffs and scrapes are par for the course and should be allowed to remain in the wood.

But if you notice your wood has started to look dirty and damaged in areas, then it’s time to have some work done on your floors.

Identifying Problem Areas

Some homeowners are a little too critical of their flooring and they will refinish the wood a bit earlier than they should. This could actually do greater damage to the surface of the wood than if you just left well enough alone. Some blemishes and minor dents are not a reason to have your floors refinished.

But if you notice areas of the floor where the finish has been worn away and the surface of the wood is bare and exposed, then it’s time to refinish. Further, if you find some deep cracks, fractures, broken floorboards, discolored wood, or water damage, you will need to have the problems fixed. All of these issues are serious and should be acknowledged immediately. Don’t put these things off as they will only deteriorate the condition of your flooring and that could result in higher repair or replacement costs.

Trees are a useful and necessary component to life. They provide a myriad of benefits that outweigh the troubles they can often pose to your residential roof…and, let’s face it, they can be a real nuisance. But as long as you practice some smart routine maintenance for preserving the condition of your roofing, you can avoid high repair and replacement bills from your local roofers Alpharetta GA.

So, let’s consider the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to tree damage and the roof on your house. You can avoid many of the most common dangers by taking some simple steps for prevention before something falls on your home and steps for cleanup after branches or other tree-borne debris come down and land on the house.

Trees and Roofing

Believe it or not, the two do mix or at least they can co-habitate together. Even if your nearby trees are dumping branches and debris on your roof, they can still bring plenty of benefits as well. Besides the obvious things like shade and curb appeal, trees have other qualities about them that make for good reasons not to cut them down simply to prevent damage to your roof.

Wind Reduction

Older and larger trees are very good at blocking the velocity of wind that can have a serious negative impact on the condition of your roofing shingles. This is particularly helpful during heavy rainstorms that come with high winds.

Ultraviolet Protection

Trees provide shade so when they’re standing high above or even near your roof, the UV rays from the sun are filtered and dissipated which can help prolong the life span of your roofing materials. In addition, that can also help reduce the temperature in your house as the sun’s rays and heat are filtered and that prevents your shingles from absorbing as much heat which can seep into your home’s interior, making it warmer and uncomfortable during the summer.

Distance from Roof

So, while there are benefits to having trees near or above the roof of your home, you should also be aware of the safe distance necessary to keep your roof from sustaining damage. The overall rule of thumb as to the space that you should maintain between the ends of a tree’s bough and the roof is approximate six feet.

This means planting larger trees about twenty to thirty feet from the house to keep that safe distance between the tree branches and the roof. Your homeowner’s insurance policy may also have some recommendations or even hard mandates as to how far your branches must be kept from the roof. While these types of insurance policies cover damage done to the home and the roof by trees and branches, you may find your claim being denied if your insurance provider determines you allowed the tree to get too close and the damage occurred as a result of your negligence.

Eliminate the Debris

Roofs are going to be hit with minor debris in the form of leaves, sticks, branches, blossoms, and other various needles, nuts, and even fruit. Having any of these things fall on the roof may not seem like all that big a deal. However, when all of that stuff starts to collect up there you could be courting danger.

That’s because when all of those items accumulate, they can begin to threaten the well-being of the shingles. You might be surprised at how easy a roofing shingle can become cracked by debris from a tree. If not a crack, you may find some shingles shifted out of place. That can lead to bigger problems, particularly water damage from precipitation.

The next time it rains, even small trickles of water seeping in beneath or in between a cracked or shifted shingle can bring lead to more water and that could end up with your home sustaining major water damage in a relatively short period of time. That can be costly to repair and you may not even realize it’s happening until the damage has become very bad.

Clean Out the Gutters

Your gutters are there for one very important reason and that’s to move water away and off of your roof when it rains. It’s a simple design, the water sluices from the roofing into a channel that leads to the ground. But for that design to work properly the gutters need to be free and clear of obstructions. If the gutters are clogged with leaves, branches, and various other detritus that can prevent the unhindered flow of water.

When that occurs, the gutters get backed up and the water starts to rise up and spill back onto the roof and down the sides of the home. More water hitting your roofing shingles increases your risk of moisture penetrating in between and underneath them, leading to the same potential for water damage under the roof and inside the home.

So be very diligent about monitoring your gutters and clean them out regularly. Even the smallest obstruction can create a clog and force the water to become backed up.

Regular Inspections

As we’ve seen thus far, trees can be a benefit and a burden when it comes to your roof. But the best way to prevent tree damage is to conduct routine inspections of the roof. Go up there right now and take a look around. You may need to clear away random fallen debris that is up there at this very moment.

But there are other specific times you should inspect your roof, such as after a major storm or high winds. Those are the times when the roof can sustain some damage, large or small. Either way, you want to diagnose problems before they become too big and you’re paying large sums of money to fix things. Even more important, finding those problems early can prevent you from taking on bigger issues with more widespread damage in the future.

Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to roof damage and if your roof has had any debris on it for any length of time, you may want to do a full inspection now to make sure everything is okay.

 

 

Business websites tend to go out of date quite rapidly, and most will need updating every few years. In fact, a lot of firms invest in regular programmes of updating and change to ensure that their digital assets are in line with the latest trends in the marketplace and compliant with emerging technologies.

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Whether or not you have a large or small budget, there are various interesting features you can consider for your website that will offer your customers a great experience.

The Customer Journey

All of the best websites have excellent usability which is delivered through good site mapping. This activity involves working out what customers will want to see on your website and providing a quick and easy route to finding that content. Drop-down menus are always useful, and a search function is provided by many. Some websites will go one step further and provide some form of customer diagnostic to help the customer to drill down to the right level of information, especially if a number of services or products are offered by the brand or if the site is informational and rich with content.

News Functions

Content is key to a successful website, and a good news feature allows you to keep your site fresh by presenting the latest news, case studies and other snippets. These can also be integrated with social media channels so that your website pushes out the latest content to your social followers and provides a seamless experience without requiring a digital resource to manage multiple platforms and accounts. Firstly talk to someone like a ryco seo belfast agency who offer SEO Belfast way.   Speak to a digital expert to find out how you can integrate your digital assets and automate news updating and other functions to reduce the need for administrative resource.
Design

A well-designed website is a thing of beauty and helps with function. The next wave of websites may see advances in immersive and interactive design, but for today clean and crisp graphics, clear layouts, grid formations and animations and tiling sliders are all useful ways of providing information in an attractive and engaging way. Find a web designer, who will provide designers and developers to deliver your next project.

Customer Self-Service

Most customers value the ability to log on to their account and find details of services that they want to buy, see recent orders, track deliveries, change their personal details, chat with a service operative or carry out some other kind of high-value online transaction that doesn’t require them to make a telephone call or see someone face to face. Online purchasing, applications and similar functions are also greatly valued by customers in an online format, especially when the individual can store his or her information for further use. Businesses that can integrate payment processing gateways, CRM systems and other software to provide a secure customer account area will automatically provide a ‘sticky’ purpose for the site and a reason for the customer to come back for more.

These are just four interesting features that regularly appear in good business websites. What features and functionalities are you considering for your next website build?

More people are starting their own business than ever before, many from their kitchen table or other small premises. This includes small catering businesses beyond the ‘traditional’ restaurant or cafe. With the popularity of cupcakes and other baking on the rise, many are home-based ‒ at least to start with.

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In such small spaces every spare centimetre counts and catering equipment needs to be smaller and consequently more complex as business owners strive to make everything work harder.

Kitchen table enterprises

Working from home is an attractive proposition for many, providing more flexibility to fit around other commitments and family life. A food-based cottage industry, provided the right certificates and assessments are in place, can be a low-risk, low-cost way to try out the very popular food industry. The Office for National Statistics details the rise of self-employed workers in 2014, with the trend set to continue this year.

Space at home is often limited and owners of these start-ups are looking for more compact appliances for their kitchens, such as commercial dishwashers. Businesses such as 247 catering supplies to suit all business sizes and requirements. The Catering Equipment Suppliers’ Association highlights why understanding refrigeration is important, as getting this wrong could be very costly.

Festivals galore

With more festivals each year, demand for food trucks and outdoor dining ‒ or at least food on the go ‒ increases. Festival catering is fun and versatile for entrepreneurs, with the opportunity to be ‘niche’ with the menu.

Would-be customers take the same approach, assessing a food truck as they would a restaurant, with cleanliness often the top priority followed by food quality and flavour. Having the right commercial equipment on site can help to make finding favour more easily achievable. Consumers are not forgiving with their high expectations from smaller outlets, even though the chef has much less room in which to work.

Less kitchen space

As commercial catering equipment becomes more efficient, businesses are realising that kitchen space can be squeezed. More space out front means more covers and more cash. This potentially makes a business more profitable, although beware squeezing the back-end too much. No matter how well designed a kitchen is, there comes a point where it is simply too small to cope with demand.  You can be clever about the space used inside and outside by contacting businesses like rackzone pallet racking who are a Pallet Racking Ireland company to put your products on and resources.  These are great for storing items on to which is exactly what you need for your business.

We all love Netflix… and Halloween, so why not place the two together and take inspiration for your October 31st fancy dress outfits?  Organise all the Residential Park Homes owners to get together for a halloween party and have some fun.  If you are interested in finding out more about park home life and the fun they have, don’t forget to check online.

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Stranger Things

Eleven, from Stranger Things, has provided inspiration for Halloween outfits for a couple of years now, but her iconic peach dress and blonde wig look is still a perfect one for an easy party look. Look for a traditional peach dress with a Peter Pan collar, combined with a pale blonde long wig with a 70s style curl set – and wear with flat pumps and cream tights. A little fake blood to suggest a nosebleed will complete your look perfectly. Just hope that you don’t encounter the Upside Down on the night…

Riverdale

This show provides several great characters to draw inspiration from. Why not sport a long red wig and matching scarlet lipstick to channel Cheryl? Or go all-out Veronica with black hair, dresses and high heels? The cheerleading outfits will always be a great choice too, and you can always adapt them to go zombie cheerleader if you want to be darker!

Gossip Girl

How about adopting Blair Waldorf as inspiration for your costume, but an undead version? Rock her sassy hairband and attitude, but go for deathly white face makeup and powder in your perfect black blow dry. Most of us can’t afford Chanel originals, but a box cut jacket and pencil skirt from the local charity shop will do, with some costume jewellery and sheer tights for that Upper East Side finish.

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Breaking Bad

For the men, Breaking Bad is obviously a great choice for a Halloween costume, and Walter is the easiest to adopt, with a Heisenberg style hat, glasses and a moustache.

Planning to stay in for Halloween, rather than head to a party this year? You can still dress up and have your party at home, before watching a scary movie or two. Just make sure your TV kit is all up to date beforehand.  Sort your TV aerial if you need to upgrade your set or place a new one in your home, to accommodate your spooky party film-watching session.

Remember, Halloween comes but once a year, so don’t forget to celebrate it with great costumes, family games, trick or treat and that all-important Jack o’ Lantern in the porch!

Mayo Food Festival

Each September sees the Mayo Street Food Festival return to tempt tastes at Castlebar. The event aims to showcase the best of the Mayo food world, highlighting the fantastic handicraft products the region has to offer, including the culinary genius of local chefs, with lots of entertaining and live music along the way. This year, a popular party is taking place! Bridge Lane – part of the Greenway route through the county town of Mayo – will host the festival.

Tastes of Achill

Flavours of Achill Island is an exhibition of the area’s unique food culture, its producers and the land that produces food. Taking place on 21 September and 26 October, the day tour visits 4 island producer; Achill Island Sea Salt, Mount Calvey Achill Sheep, American Irish Whiskey Products and Keem Bay. This tour will also serve lunch at a local restaurant with a menu that displays the taste of the beautiful Island. It is a tour by bus through the dramatic backdrop of the wild Achill Island, Atlantic Ocean and the rough, wild landscape. Keep reading reheat chicken wings.

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This unique experience will give you hands-on experience with local Achill food and beverage producers.  There is the chance to learn how locals maintain food production on the island and how the island inspires great creativity with food and drink through the use of local resources. On the tour, you will learn that island life encourages ingenuity and produces a strong sense of character which matches the character of island life. Come and enjoy the authentic flavours of Achill Island and make new friends along the way! Travel here with Irish Airports at https://irelandwestairport.com

Island Harvest Banquet

The Harvest Banquet at Westport House is an opportunity to sample some of the best seasonal and locally sourced food along with wine tasting and entertainment. The evening features a truly extraordinary menu celebrating all that is great and good in local food & drinks. The only event of its kind along the Wild Atlantic Way, it combines new innovative products from local suppliers and places filled with history. The Chef Team from Westport Hotels will partner with local artisans to produce and prepare delicious banquets using the best ingredients and local products on the market.

Located on a 400-acre estate, this stunning 18^th century Westport House provides the ideal setting for this year’s Westport Harvest Banquet. They are very fortunate to have so many local craftsmen producers on their doorstep, the locals know where to find it, but many visitors don’t, so Westport House wants to create a truly authentic experience for their products to be exhibited.

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Wild Atlantic Way Food Tour

On October 11, starting at the Mulranny Park Hotel, take part in a food tour along WAW, where you will meet some fascinating locals who produce some of the best products in County Mayo. From butchers to famous oysters, you can hear stories, gain industry knowledge into the food business and even sample some of their amazing products. The tour starts on Achill Island before heading into Westport, finishing back at Mulranny Park Hotel. A Lunch, transportation and taste tests are all included in the event. The Gourmet Tour was chosen as one of the 5 Best Tourism Activities along the Wild Atlantic Way at the 2019 Irish Tourism Awards.

 

A 2012 study focusing on the effect of hospital paint colours found white gave a “clinical appearance.” It made people feel intimidated and on edge. Consider instead choosing a colour for your office that is subtle, if you want to put people at ease.

Most people learn to associate bright colours with energy, but it turns out they might not represent the right kind of energy. For example, a psychology study found red increases the speed and strength of emotions. Red gives us the sense that everything needs to happen right now, making us feel edgy and anxious. This is probably not the kind of atmosphere you want to create in an office but this is ideal for sales, which is why retail outlets use red in their sales signage and offers.

Blue – of the Mind

The blue colour stimulates the mind, leading to greater productivity. The blue colour palette is ideal for staying focused in the repetitive industry. Accounting offices often use blue to increase productivity and keep their employees focused. Perhaps this colour will suit your next office refit. For Office Refurbishment Companies, visit Mobius at work

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Red – of the Body

Red evokes urgent feelings, so for physical labour such as building, red will boost energy levels.

Yellow – Emotion

Yellow stimulates emotions, which makes it the perfect colour for the creative industry. It also brings feelings of contentedness and can lift the spirit.

Green – Balance

We might think of green as the colour of money, and rightly so. Green is about balance, calm, and certainty. So, if you work in the financial industry, green is the colour of your office.

Colours That Work Best for Your Office

Now you might have an idea of ​​what works for your particular industry, here are some suggestions for the best colours for your office.

1. Off-White

White may have a clinical appearance, but a pale white colour in an eggshell texture will soften the appearance of the original white. It’s easy to decorate and design around, giving warmth but not the clinical appearance.

2. Teal / Light Blue

Because duck egg blue is a combination of blue and green, it can turn any workspace into a productivity engine. It is important to be careful not to use too many colours. Brightness and intensity are also important for the desired effect.

3. Grey

Grey falls between black and white which gives a neutral atmosphere. There are many different shades of grey that evoke different feelings. Classic grey is very subtle but can make your staff, customers or you feel a little sad.

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4. Light Blue

A soft light blue colour will calm your environment and give a peaceful impression. This is a good choice for a private doctor’s office, especially specialists, who handle nervous patients every day.

5. Chocolate

Brown works very well in a room that needs to feel confident and strong. Coupled with rich wooden office furniture, a deep chocolate brown will also provide pleasant warmth.

6. Purple

Purple has a lot of features in its range but using something like violet is the right choice for a feminine space like a salon.

7. Green

A full, hearty, velvety green is perfect for industries like finance and health. Choosing lighter or darker shades will change the atmosphere of the room. Whenever you see green, remember how the light will hit it. A lime green might be a little too dazzling if your room has lots of windows.