Improvement For All

Month: September 2021

How To Upgrade a Boring Backyard

You don’t have to live with a boring backyard. Making even a few upgrades will transform the space into a place you want to hang out in with your family and friends. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Light it Up

It’s amazing what adding landscape lighting Tyler TX does to give your yard a magical look after dark. Light up pathways or add spotlights to highlight trees, shrubs or a garden.

Install a Patio

A patio gives you your own spot to enjoy the outdoors. Add a grill, few comfortable chairs and a table or two and you create a go-to place for a family barbecue or a night of stargazing. String a few lights around the perimeter to give the space a warm glow when the sun goes down.

Build a Fire Pit

A cozy fire pit creates a great gathering place for chilly nights. You can easily build one out of bricks or stones. Place some chairs or benches around the area so your family can enjoy a round of s’mores or an evening of stargazing.

Add Some Shade

If your yard is sunny, add some shady spots to give you a chill place to hang out with a glass of lemonade. A slotted pergola blocks the heat but still allows filtered sunlight through. For full coverage, install a gazebo or plant a large tree.

Plant a Garden

Give your yard instant appeal by planting a garden full of flowering blooms. The scent alone will entice you to hang around for a bit. If cooking is your hobby, plant a vegetable garden to provide your treasured recipes with fresh organic produce picked from your own backyard.

Making one or more of these changes to your backyard will transform it from a boring space no one uses to the new favorite spot of your home. 

Easy Ways To Upgrade Your Kitchen

Are you tired of the way your kitchen looks? Are you looking for an upgrade but don’t want to do a total remodel? Luckily, you can make a significant impact without emptying your wallet. 

Update the Paint

Paint naturally begins to dull and lose its sheen after time. This is especially so in the kitchen where the paint is subject to light and dirty hands and even oil from your cooking spraying a fine mist on it. Updating the paint can dramatically change the feeling in your kitchen. An accent color on one wall can bring character, and lighter primary color can open up the room and make it feel brighter and more spacious. 

When choosing the paint, make sure that you choose either a satin or semi-gloss finish. Those types of paint will allow the walls to be cleaned regularly, without having the paint rub off when you wipe the walls. 

Add a Backsplash

An often forgotten area in a kitchen is the backsplash. A backsplash not only protects the wall from damage but also helps your kitchen look great. There are many options to choose from wallpaper or paint to tile, so choose which you think is best for your situation. If you have kids in your home, you will probably want something more durable such as tile. If you don’t think that installing a backsplash is something you can take on yourself, tile backsplash installation Suffolk County services can help you. 

Change the Hardware

One of the quickest and most affordable ways to change the way your kitchen looks is to change your cabinet hardware. Popular styles change over time, and the hardware is often overlooked. Instead of having one style for all of the cabinets and drawers, consider mixing them up. Perhaps using pulls for the drawers and handles for the cabinets. With a plethora of styles, finishes and colors to choose from, the sky is the limit on the combinations you could choose. 

Valve Exercising Ensures Peace-of-Mind

An exercise program is as essential to the proper functioning of your business’s facility as it is to your body. Routine valve exercising ensures the optimum performance of all systems when you need them.

What Is a Valve Exerciser?

A valve exerciser or valve turner is a device that assists with maintaining underground or above-ground valves that control the flow of water or fuel to your facility. In addition, valve exercising is vital to your building’s safe operation because it prevents rust and debris from within pipes from rendering the system’s valves inoperable. Furthermore, repeatedly opening and closing the valves ensures their full range of motion, allowing them to open during an emergency easily.

How Frequently Should Valve Exercising Occur?

Valve exercising frequency depends upon the size and function of your facility. For example, a hospital or any building that depends on its water supply for vital services should undergo this process annually to prevent a malfunction due to rust and debris build-up. Other facilities can undergo inspections at least every few years. In any case, you do not want to neglect this vital maintenance that can save you time and money during an urgent situation. 

When Is Efficient Valve Turning Necessary?

A properly functioning control valve can ensure that you can shut off the flow of water or gas in your building in case of an emergency. For example, a broken pipe can quickly flood your building’s interior, but you can minimize the damage if you can quickly and easily turn off the valve and stop the flow. In other instances, a leaky hot water valve can cause unnecessarily high energy costs that can affect profitability and waste energy

Your building’s maintenance plan should involve periodic systems inspections. Part of the process should include hiring a valve turning contractor to perform regular maintenance to ensure the control you need during an emergency.

Condo Project Management Tips

Planning for projects at condominiums and managing the scope of work can be very time consuming. Property managers, condo board members, and project managers all have to play a role in overseeing a project. Here are some tips that can help projects go a little smoother.

Stay in Close Communication With Residents

It’s important to stay in regular contact with residents about how work will affect them. Try to give people as much notice as possible, but remind them again a couple of days in advance.

You also have to be prepared to answer residents’ questions about work. Their maintenance or assessment dues are paying for it, and it’s understandable that they want some reassurance about how a project is going.

Keep Documents Organized

All of the materials associated with a big project should be kept in a single location. You’ll need access to all permitting materials right away in case an inspector comes onsite. Also, losing track of any planning documents could result in having to pay to reproduce them. 

Save information physically and electronically. Make sure you have enough copies of everything for anyone who needs them rather than loaning out important documents. For help with BIM 360 docs Miami, reach out to a company that has experience working with project managers in the area.

Don’t Put Off Important Work

Major projects are often very expensive, and they can be disturbing to residents. Nevertheless, it is imperative that boards don’t wait too long to undertake capital needs improvements. Getting the work taken care of as soon as reasonably possible can prevent the scope of work from getting any bigger than it needs to be.

Strategic planning, organization, and communication are all integral parts of executing a project at a condo. These three key elements will help assure that an association will be happy with a project’s outcome.   

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