Being a homeowner is a big responsibility with plenty to take care of on the inside of your home and the outside, too. Unfortunately, hiring a professional landscaper can be expensive. However, a beautiful backyard doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With a little effort and some creativity, you can have the outdoor space that you’ve dreamed about at an affordable price point. To help beautify your home’s yard, get to work with the following easy DIY landscaping ideas.

Pergolas and Other Structures

Image via Flickr by Field Outdoor Spaces

Hardscaping is one of many landscaping basics that adds both visual interest and useful space to your yard. You can think of this concept as the use of hard items in landscaping such as decks, patios, pergolas, fountains, outdoor kitchens, and stone walkways. Many of these items are low maintenance and can last for years, especially if you plan first and use the right materials during construction.

Water Features

Water features can transform a regular yard or garden into a tranquil and relaxing oasis. You can add many unique water features to your yard, such as koi ponds, birdbaths, waterfalls, stone and tabletop fountains, reflecting pools, and more. Some water features are artificially constructed and others can be made with a bit of time and creativity.

Plants

From a lush, green yard, to colorful flower boxes and borders, plants are a must-have addition to any outdoor area. For example, you can add a simple stone border and mulch to dress up plain and boring flower beds.

To get the most out of your garden in every season, be sure to add a variety of plants as well as plants with a purpose. Plant a mixture of ornamental and edible plants, as well as flowers, evergreens, and plants that offer color during the fall and winter. You can also add extra visual interest to your yard by using container gardens.

Lighting

Making lighting a part of your landscaping not only adds beauty, but it also enables you to enjoy your outdoor paradise during the night. Consider adding soft accent lighting close to the ground or spotlights to make certain features stand out. Hang a thread of twinkling fairy lights to add a touch of whimsy or colored lights for a bit of mystic intrigue.

Privacy Features

If you want to create a relaxing place where you can enjoy your surroundings while escaping from the world, then you’re going to want some privacy. You can use several techniques to create your own privacy. Some of the most popular ways to create a private oasis include planting tall hedges or thick bamboo, building a stone wall, creating a living wall, hanging curtains around a patio or pergola, and adding wood fences.

A well-kept yard is not only beautiful, but according to the HVAC professionals of Dalton Heating and Air, it also helps to cut energy costs and protect your HVAC system. Landscaping and landscape design don’t have to be difficult. With a few simple steps, you can have an outdoor oasis outside your front or back door.

 

Our homes represent security and comfort. Being relaxed and content at home is something to look forward to after a hard day at work or time spent away. Wonderful soft sofas and a widescreen television might be at the top of your list for home comforts, but what about a comfortable and consistent home temperature? Weather can be unpredictable; mornings and evenings can be chilly, while the rest of the day can be disagreeably hot. Investing in a smart thermostat is the best way to make sure that your home maintains a desirable temperature all day long. With the convenience of a smart thermostat, you can select your desired temperature, maintain ambient comfort all year round, conserve energy, and even save money on your energy bills.

Think of a smart thermostat as the brain that controls your heating or cooling system. The U.S. Department of Energy found that a correctly programmed smart thermostat can save you a minimum of 5% and as much as 15% on your energy bill. To lower the cost of your energy bills, buy a smart thermostat that you can control with an app on your smartphone and take advantage of this convenience, controlling the temperature in your home even when you are not there. There are smart thermostats designed to fit every style of home decor and priced to suit all budgets. In addition to its ease of use, the system learns your preferences, making a smart thermostat a great choice for everyone.

The arrival of a new baby is always a happy event but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with challenges. A smart home can make life easier for harried parents, taking some of the stress out of caring for the newest member of the family. Smart homes automate crucial aspects of your home environment, making it easier to care for your baby.

Keep Your Cool (or Warm Up)

 

Babies are extremely sensitive to high or low temperatures. They rapidly become chilled or overheated. Some babies sleep better in a slightly cooler room while others seem to relax when things are warmer. A smart thermostat keeps the ambient temperature inside your home at the perfect level. Better yet, smart thermostats can be used to regulate the temperature in individual rooms. This allows you to keep Baby’s room at the perfect infant-friendly temperature while the rest of the house is set to a level that’s more comfortable for the rest of the family. As well as letting you adjust the temperature in the nursery alone without affecting the rest of the house, a new, more efficient HVAC system with a smart thermostat will save money on your heating and cooling bills. That’s always good news when you’ve got a new family member to consider.

Lights Out

Babies generally sleep better in a dimly-lit or darkened room. With a smart lighting system, you can dim the lights automatically at a certain time of day and adjust them remotely without needing to get up and manually adjust the dimmer switch. Many smart home systems allow you to control the lights from your smartphone. You can use the app to raise and lower light levels and even change the color to the most soothing shade for your baby. As with a smart thermostat, automating your household lighting allows you to avoid wasting electricity, turning out lights when they’re not in use.

Quiet Nights

Babies and loud noises really don’t mix. The room where your infant sleeps needs to be quiet. Conversely, if the room is too quiet this can make some infants anxious and fretful. Smart home sound systems allow you to lower the TV and music when the baby is sleeping. They also allow you to control the sound systems in the nursery, playing soothing white noise or lullabies to calm your baby.

Automate Chores

Another benefit of a smart house for the harried new parent is the ability to automate many day-to-day chores. If you’re too exhausted to remember to put the coffee on in the morning or don’t have the energy to run the vacuum cleaner around as often as you’d like, there are smart appliances to take care of those tasks for you. A smart coffee-maker will automatically prepare your morning brew just the way you like it, while a smart robotic vacuum cleaner will keep your house looking neat and tidy even when you’re too tired to clean.

Best of all, a smart house gives you peace of mind. You never have to worry about leaving the lights on or forgetting to set the AC before you head home from work: you can check the status of all your smart technology via convenient phone apps.

 

If you’ve decided to switch over from a bathtub to a shower, you’ll need to take a moment to carefully plan your transition. Luckily, that’s just what we’re going to help you out with here in this post.

In this article, we’ll go over the cost of replacing your bathtub with a shower, the spacing and placement, the materials and much more.

Cost of Remodelling From a Tub to a Shower

When deciding to remodel, homeowners must decide whether they wish to tackle this matter by themselves or hire a professional contractor for the job. It’s expensive to pay for a plumber’s labor, but it’s even more costly if you make any mistakes, which is something that damages your plumbing.

To get started, here are the areas you need to consider when it comes to cost:

• Changing the pipes: The cost of replacing old or outdated with either copper or PEX could vary depending on how much needs to be changed. Plumbers might charge you anywhere between $45 to $150 per hour.
• Tiles: Using ceramic tiles to tile your shower could cost about $1.30 per square foot. Specialty tiles, on the other hand, can stretch as much as $20 per square foot.
• Dry rot or any other problems around the tub space: Check for any dry rot or any other issue that may have accumulated around your tub space over the years. If your tub has had a water leakage problem during that time, then it’s best you get it replaced with a shower soon before it damages your floor.
• Fixtures: If you crave a luxury experience, then we suggest special fixtures like height-adjustable or rainfall showerheads. These high-quality fixtures can be anywhere around a couple of hundred dollars.
• Door: A basic sliding door can cost you anywhere between $100 to $300 plus installation. You can even choose glass doors that are tinted or textured if your pockets are deeper.

Spacing & Placement

It’s pretty simple to install your new walk-in shower, especially when doing so in the same space as where your bathtub once was. Not to mention, the water supply and drain lines are already there in place. But when it concerns moving plumbing, you may need to hire a plumber for the occasion, which will obviously add to the cost.

Amount of Spacing Required for a Walk-in Shower

• At least 80 inches in height.
• At least 30 x 30 inches of floor space.
• At least 21 inches between the front of your toilet and the shower wall
• At least 15 inches between your toilet’s side and the shower wall
• If you’re thinking about getting a swinging door, be sure to consider the swing.

Look for Materials

Materials are the next thing on your list after spacing. For this, you’ll require

• Screwdriver
• Plywood to protect wood
• Utility knife and putty knife
• Wrench and/or Allen wrench
• Prybar
• Jigsaw
• Reciprocating saw or drywall saw

You should also think of renting out a 10-yard dumpster to dispose of your bathtub in as many cities won’t accept bathtubs for curbside pickup. And even if they do, you’ll need to wait for a monthly or yearly bulk collection day.

Remove Your Tub

Now the action begins. Use these steps to remove your bathtub:

1. Detach any screws or nails the connect your tub to wall studs.
2. A utility knife is suitable for cutting through any caulk between the tub and the floor.
3. Use a prybar to pry your tub a couple of inches from the wall.
4. Get someone to help you and then use a prybar to pry up one end of your tub and then maneuver it upright. Make sure it fits through your doors.
5. Or, you can cut through the middle of the tub using a jigsaw to put it into two pieces. Pry each one of them up and maneuver it until you’re able to slide it out of its space.
6. Toss your old tub in the dumpster and then repair the drywall you cut away.

Install Your Shower

Now the last thing to do is to install your shower, which you can do by either calling your plumber or use your shower stall kit for the job.

 

The quality of your indoor air is very important for your wellness. For instance, you can avoid air-based problems such as allergic reactions and other negative health impacts by doing things that improve the air quality in your home. Here are five methods that you can use for better indoor air.

Keep Pollutants Out

Preventing pollutants from entering your home is the best way to improve your home’s air, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). So you should use source control to prevent bringing products with a high level of chemical emissions into your dwelling. To start keeping pollutants out, you can use an online tool to check whether the products that you use or plan to use are safe for you and your family.

Use Charcoal

Activated charcoal, which is charcoal that has been reheated, can improve your home’s air quality by attracting pollutants from the air to its surface. To use this technique effectively, you need to buy charcoal that does not have any additives, so using your barbeque charcoal, which has a lot of additives, is not a good idea!

You can use bamboo charcoal products or some additive-free pieces of activated charcoal and leave them in your rooms to clean your indoor air. Rule of thumb: As your charcoal products will become less effective over time, put them outside once each month for a few hours to reactivate.

Ventilate Your Home

 

Increasing the quantity of outdoor air in your home is another way to improve your indoor air. If you live in a rural area where there is a lower level of air pollution, you can ventilate your home by simply leaving the windows open for a while each day. Using this method is more complicated if you live in an urbanized area in which the outdoor air is polluted, but you can still leave your windows open early in the morning to air out your home.

Maintain Your HVAC Unit

Maintaining your HVAC unit can help you to enjoy good indoor air. One way of doing this is to have a maintenance plan for your system. Your unit needs its air ducts and its air filter cleaned regularly. You also need an HVAC service to check for leaks and damaged components and handle any necessary repair or installation. Hiring professionals to maintain your unit can help you to avoid expensive repairs in the future and extend your unit’s lifetime in addition to improving the air in your dwelling.

Grow Plants Indoors

Having indoor plants can be an enjoyable method of purifying indoor air. A NASA study found that certain plants are very effective in ridding the air of pollutants. Peace Lily, English Ivy, and Boston Fern are some of the plants that you can use to improve your indoor air quality.

There are many ways in which you can improve the air quality in your home. Using these tips can also make your dwelling more comfortable. So start improving your home’s air quality today!

 

Thermostats are essentially the gatekeepers to indoor comfort. They decide if the furnace is warming things up, the air conditioner is cooling things off, or nothing is running at all. Old-fashioned thermostats require constant checking and changing to maximize their usefulness. These days, programmable thermostats allow you to easily set the temperature to your comfort, the time of day, or even the season. Here are four reasons programmable thermostats can be a huge benefit to your home.

Lower Energy Bills

Besides a mortgage, energy bills are often the largest recurring family expense. Homeowners can save up to 30% on their energy bills by using a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats can help lower your energy bills by using a schedule to adjust the temperature of your home throughout the day. In the winter, you can set the home temperature cooler when you are work, allowing the furnace to run less. In the summer, give the AC a break by setting the home temperature a bit higher while you are away from the home. Your programmable thermostat can restore your home to your preferred temperature right before you arrive, allowing you to save money without sacrificing comfort.

Optimal HVAC Performance

HVAC systems can run more efficiently when paired with a programmable thermostat. When it is set on a schedule, your HVAC won’t run all day long, reducing wear and tear on major components. This means a programmable thermostat can even help your older HVAC last longer.

Consistent Comfortable Indoor Temperature

Have you ever gotten stuck sitting in a hot, stuffy room in the summer or a freezing room in the winter? Old-fashioned thermostats often leave homeowners waiting for the HVAC to catch up to temperature changes. This results in inconsistent indoor temperatures and an uncomfortable home. With a programmable thermostat, your HVAC will run consistently throughout the day, maintaining the temperature you set in the schedule. Should the weather be different than expected, many thermostats allow you to adjust your thermostat using your smartphone.

Spend Less Time with your Thermostat

With an old-fashioned thermostat, you need to change the temperature when you leave the house for the day. When you get home you need to adjust the temperature again. On the way to bed, you will need to stop yet again and adjust the thermostat. Smart programmable thermostats allow you to avoid the need for constant thermostat checking. Thermostats controlled by a smartphone or your voice make it easier and faster to maintain a comfortable home. This allows you to spend more time enjoying the comfort of your home and less time in front of your thermostat.

We all want our homes to be as comfortable as possible without breaking the bank. Programmable thermostats allow you to have the best of both worlds. With their ease of scheduling and the ability to maximize HVAC efficiency, programmable thermostats are a beneficial addition to any home.

 

Many people today opt to downsize into tiny homes, which typically measure between 300 and 500 square feet. They are easier to maintain and less expensive to live in than traditional homes. There are tiny home DIY kits that allow homeowners to build their own homes without much building experience. However, if you do choose to build your own tiny home, it is best to use a professional HVAC contractor for your heating and cooling systems.

HVAC professionals will take into account that there are special considerations when installing heating and cooling systems into tiny houses. Tiny home HVAC systems can differ from what a traditional home needs.

Determining the Best System

There are different HVAC systems for use in tiny homes. These include a furnace with duct work, mini split systems, wall-mounted electric heaters, and air conditioning units. There are pros and cons to each system and an HVAC professional can work with you to determine which is the best based on your location. For example, needs in Arizona are different than in Pennsylvania. The size of the tiny home and your budget also make a difference. If you choose a traditional furnace, you may still need to investigate air conditioning options.

Traditional Furnace and Ductwork

If you choose a traditional heating system, you’ll need to have ducts installed. This can be tricky because ductwork is bulky and can take up valuable space. Besides considerations for the ductwork, furnaces require indoor space for the furnace itself plus clearances around the unit. A professional HVAC technician can provide the optimal layout of the ducts as well as offer suggestions on the type of furnace that would best heat the space without overheating it.

Installation of Ductwork

Proper duct design and installation is critical to your system working properly according to the US Department of Energy. Ducts that aren’t sealed can cost you hundreds of dollars per year on wasted energy and may result in uneven heating. An added concern in tiny homes is the location of ductwork. When not properly planned, ductwork can severely affect storage space.

Ductless Systems

You might find a ductless system, or mini-split, the best option. Mini splits are mounted on the wall or ceiling with an outdoor heat pump and provide heating and cooling. They take up less space and are energy efficient, without requiring ducts. Mini splits must be installed by a professional, certified HVAC technician who has a refrigerant license. These are only available for tiny homes that are stationary.

No matter which heating and air conditioning system you decide is best for your situation, a professional HVAC technician who is familiar with tiny homes is a must. Tiny homes have extra considerations, such as location, size, budgeting considerations, and personal preferences.

Whether your tiny home is stationary or on a trailer that can be moved also impacts the type of system you can use. An HVAC technician can help you select the right system, plan where the system should be installed, install ductwork that doesn’t interfere with valuable space, and maximize your comfort all year.

 

The average homeowner spends around $2,000 a year on optional maintenance. For the most part, professional pest control is considered optional maintenance. In reality, investing in pest control services should be something you view as a priority.

Without the help of professionals, you run the risk of allowing harmful pests into your home. Allowing a company to perform a thorough pest inspection can provide you with peace of mind. Before hiring a company to do this work, be sure to consider the experience they have and get a feel for what they charge.

Here are some of the benefits that come with hiring a pest control company.

1. The Experience Needed to Perform Pest Inspections

Some homeowners think that running down to their local hardware store and picking up tons of pest control chemicals is the only way to treat an infestation. In reality, these chemicals can be extremely dangerous if used improperly.

The only way to truly get rid of pests is by hiring professionals to find out where they are gaining access. Sealing off these access points is the only to keep the pests from returning.

A homeowner will not have the tools or the experience needed to get this information on their own. Rather than making mistakes during this process, you need to work with a professional pest control technician.

2. Professional Pest Control Saves You Money

The main reason most homeowners cite when asked why they handle their own pest control is cost. Some people think that DIY pest control can save them money, but this is far from the truth.

The pest control chemicals you find at your local hardware store are not only expensive, but they are also ineffective. This means that you will spend a lot of money without seeing the results you are after.

Paying professionals to handle this work is the only way to avoid these issues. Before hiring a company to perform these services, schedule a few onsite estimates. These estimates will provide you with all of the information needed to hire the best pest control company.

3. Consistency Is Important

Keeping pests away is only possible if the treatments are consistent. Simply spraying for bugs, ants or rodents once will not produce the results you are after.

Most pest control companies provide their clients with very affordable monthly services. By keeping the pest control treatments consistent, you won’t have to worry about bugs or rodents returning.

Don’t Rush Through the Pest Control Company Selection Process

Getting pest inspection and extermination services will require you to find the best professionals. Getting impatient and rushing through this hiring process may lead to mistakes being made. This is why you need to weigh all of your options before hiring professionals for this job.

Are you looking for more articles related to owning and maintaining a home? If so, check out the rest of the content right here on our website.

Creating a space for you to work in your own house or apartment is not an easy task. Study spaces are needed whether you are a student, a family head, a father, a mother, a designer, an accountant, etc., it doesn’t matter, you’ll always need a place in your home that is yours and only yours to work in, think, develop and everything else.

Concentrating on a place that doesn’t have the space you need can be pretty difficult. One of the first things you have to consider is looking at another place to live in if yours isn’t comfortable enough. You can take a look at some Emaar Beachfront apartments and new projects by Meraas. Dubai Creek Harbour projects can also be a good choice.

But if you’re planning to stay right where you are because you’re comfortable and happy, there’s also the option of creating your own workplace or ‘study nook’ that encourages working, developing and learning.

1. DISCOVER YOUR PREFERRED STUDY ENVIRONMENT

You’ll need to decide whether you like a private, personal space where you’ll be left alone with your stuff or if you won’t have any kind of problem working on a messier environment. You’ll need to figure out what works best for you. Some people would study in their bedrooms while others would prefer the living room.

2. CREATE COMFORT… BUT NOT TOO MUCH

Do not trust and rely on your bed or the kitchen table as your main preferred workplace because things simply won’t work in such places. Your bed equals sleeping and relaxing while the kitchen is associated with eating and socializing. You have to be smart when choosing this new workplace.

3. DON’T IGNORE CORNERS, NOOKS AND CRANNIES

If you start thinking outside the box, you can turn that empty wall or that blank corner into an amazing study space that fits all of your needs and, best of all, it’ll be in the comfort of your own apartment. Look for places where you can easily fit stuff like a small desk and a chair. You can always take some inspiration from Pinterest or any décor magazine or website.

4. FOCUS ON LIGHTING

One of the qualities that are essential for this new workplace in your apartment is proper lighting. If you can get straight or indirect sunlight you’ll be all set up, but desk lamps and LED lights can also do a good job for you.

Don’t forget to be creative and don’t make this process something stressful for you, have fun!