A Basic Repair Blog

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It’s true that many believe water-based finishes are safer than other finishes, and that they are also safer to handle. However, water-based finishes still use some of the same resins used in urethane and acrylic finishes. Water-based finishes are indeed much safer than traditional lacquers, but you should still be careful when you use them. Most of you have used latex paint before. Therefore, you know that the fumes can be quite intense, especially in an enclosed space. This is also true for water-based finishes, and you’ll want to take proper precautions to protect both your skin and lungs. Make sure there’s adequate ventilation, wear proper protective clothing, and wear a respirator as well.

Many harmful additives have been replaced by water in these types of finishes. The resins are not easily mixed with water, though, so they have to be chemically modified in order to be emulsified with the water. These require chemicals called surfaces and solvents to be added; among these are glycol ethers, which force resins to mix with water.

Yet another problem with water-based finishes is that the water will often raise the grain in the wood. Try this sometime. Sand a piece of wood and then rub some plain water on it. You’ll notice that the wood fibers will absorb the water and swell, which makes them “stand up” and roughen. To get around this problem, you can use a seal or coat of shellac. This will add a barrier between the wood and the next coat of finish. It will also give your wood a little bit of an amber color. Alternatively, you can use a couple of light coats of standing sealer. Once the standing sealer has dried, you can lightly sand the wood, which will smooth it out.

Fortunately, though, water finishes are of a neutral color, which means that they don’t add any color to the wood as other finishes might. Other lacquers might cause a slight amber color to the wood. Therefore, if you want to keep your wood’s natural color without any distortion whatsoever, a water-based finish is a great choice. However, there are certain woods that do not do best with a water-based finish. These are the darker woods such as cherry or walnut. If a water-based finish is applied, this tends to “tone down” the color of the wood so that the deep rich wood color is somewhat negated with a water-based finish.

Therefore, water-based finishes have both pros and cons. Pros are that they are not flammable and are less polluting than traditional finishes are, they don’t yellow, dry fast and can be either sprayed on or applied with a brush. In addition, water-based finishes have much less of an odor and clean up is much easier than it is with other types of finishes. However, they have drawbacks too. Most cannot give wood a deep, rich color as we are used to with a solvent-based finish. In addition, the water raises the wood’s grain and can be very difficult to apply, since humidity and temperature play a role in both application and drying times.

In addition, with water-based finishes, the tools you’ll need will be slightly different than those with solvent-based finishes. For example, steel wool will rust quickly with water-based finishes, and natural bristle brushes will absorb too much water and become limp. In addition, if you’re using either a conventional or high-volume low-pressure spray gun, you’ll need to have stainless steel needles and nozzles so that corrosion does not happen.

Author Megan Cherry runs PegandRail.com.

Glass break sensors or Audi Discriminators have been around for a number of years. The technology has advanced in recent years and there are now a number of different versions available. The basic concept of a glass break sensor is to detect and sound an alarm if there is a sound of breaking glass. The original concept was based around a single technology which only picked up on the sound of breaking glass, however today there are now dual frequency devices which will not only pickup on the sound of breaking glass but also on the splintering of wood. Most of the glass break sensors today will use the dual frequency technology.

The technology works by listening at the frequency that glass breaks and if this sound is detected then the alarm is activated. There are some points that need to be made clear before you decide on this form of security, firstly the technology does not work through walls, ceilings or doors. With this in mind you would need to have a sensor in each of the rooms where you have glass windows or doors. This can be a costly exercise to have sensors in all of these places and you may not wish to have this many around the house in every room.

The sensors are wall mounted and have a range of around 35 feet in all directions; therefore their coverage is good for the home environment. There are however on glass sensors that can be purchased, these are sensors that are attached to the windows directly usually using a glue adhesive. The off-glass sensors can be discreetly wall mounted and are most likely the preferred option for many people. Today it is possible to buy the devices as either hardwired or wireless units like much of the security equipment that can be brought today.

A lot of the glass break sensor units will provide many advanced features including false alarm detection which will eliminate the chance of something other than the breaking glass triggering the alarm systems. Most of the glass break sensors come with excellent guidelines on how to install the system allowing the homeowner to be capable of setting up the systems quickly and simply. Testing features are generally built into the sensors allowing the user to easily verify that they are functioning correctly; usually this is achieved by lights on the sensors.

As like any home security product it is important to follow the correct planning routine in order to ensure that the product is suitable for your requirements. Some of the most important aspects when you are looking to install glass break sensors will be the number of rooms, how many sensors will be required per room, whether a window would be accessible from the outside by an intruder. Check the features included in the glass break sensor that you are purchasing and make sure they are suitable to integrate into your current security setup. When you purchase the sensor keep in mind whether you need a wired or a wireless sensor and whether you want the off glass or on glass sensors. Always read the instructions carefully before attempting to start the installation process, you need to ensure that they are setup correctly otherwise your security could be compromised.

Author Steve Strong runs SunSecurity.com.

People who are considering doing some home improvement will be intereseted to know that the money you spend in order to complete your project is eligible for tax deduction. It is very important to know exactly what you are doing in your home improvement process, however, as home improvement is different from home repair. In the case of the tax deduction, home imporvement will qualify for the reduced rate, but home repair will not. It is imperative to know the difference between what constitutes repair and improvement.

SImply put, home improvement is an addition that will add to the appearance and the quality of your house. Items that fall under this category include things like kitchen remodeling, adding a fence to your yard, adding a swimming pool, extending a wing on your house and including a new room or two, building a garge, adding a porch or deck, installing new insulation, or upgrading heating and cooling systems. All of these upgrades are considered to be capital expenses.

Home repair, on the other hand, is in a different category. Home repair is a project that is undertaken in order to prevent the decay of your property. It does not add value to the house, instead it prevents the value from going down. This includes things like repairing holes in the walls or broken windows. These repairs correct a problem, and therefore are not considered eligible for tax benefits.

Ther is a way, however, that you can include your home repairs in your home improvement deduction. A clause in the act states that if an area of the house in need of repair is in the same area in which remodeling is taking place, the project undertaker is allowed to claim teh entire project as an improvement. Basically, if you are remodeling the kitchen, remember to fix the leaks in the roof and then claim the repair as part of the improvement.

Timing is definitely a factor when it comes to home improvement. The best time to do some upgrades to your home will be when interst rates are low. The lower rates mean that in the long run, the person using a loan to finance their improvemets will be able to spend less money. Refinancing is one way that many people secure the money to spend on their project. Loans secured in this way can be deducted in the same year as the refinance as points. If the proceeds of the refinancing are not used to improve a house, then points towards the improvement can be deducted over the life of the loan. If a project only uses a part of the loan that was taken out, then the deduction is considered proportional, with the remainder being taken off over the life of the mortgage. It is important to keep in mind that the points which are not taken off by the time the loan expires are usually deductible according to the percent rate in the final year.

Improving your home, in the end, will always add value. It is important in terms of saving some extra money that the home owner is aware of what can be deducted and what cannot.

Author Peter J Mason runs Kitchen-Cabinets-Tips.com.