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Monday, January 20, 2014

What Makes High Gloss Interior Paint a Good Choice for Your Home



An interior paint job can transform your living environment within a short span of time. But you have to consider several factors to make the paint job innovative and durable. Along with deciding the best interior painting services and color, you also need to choose the right interior paint for your home. As the interior paints are available with varying finishes, you have to compare the sheen, gloss and texture of each brand of paint. Also, you can opt for high gloss paint to avail a number of benefits.

4 Distinct Benefits of High Gloss Paints

1) Greater Sheen
The luster of the surface is determined by the sheen of the paint. The ability to reflect light makes high gloss paint an effective for home interiors. The sheen and high gloss of the paint can constantly draw the attention to the surface covered using the paint. Further, the paint can be used on decorative moldings as well as on the trim around doors and windows. However, the high gloss often fails to hide the imperfections on the surface. So the surface must be prepared properly before starting the paintjob.

2) Durable
The high gloss paint is considered to be more durable than other paints. The frequently handled surfaces require a hard finish that can be provided only by dry high gloss paint. At the same time, the paint is also effective in holding up on doors, cabinets and trims. The kitchen, bathroom, entry areas and other parts of your home that take constant abuse can be covered using high gloss paint.

3) Waterproof
In addition to being durable, the high gloss paint is also waterproof. Unlike the less glossy paints, the high gloss paint does not absorb oil or dirt. Further, you can simply use a damp cloth to clean the surface covered with the paint. The effectiveness of the paint in resisting humidity, also make it the best option to cover your bathroom doors, trims and cabinets. The easy-to-clean feature of the paint also makes it suitable for covering the surfaces that are used and abused frequently.

4) Decorative
You can further use the high gloss paint as a decorative tool to avail its reflective quality. If a room receives adequate natural light, the high gloss paint will have a glassy or mirror-like appearance. It is also a good idea to combine different high gloss paints to make the surface more stylish and appealing. 

It is also a good idea to choose the high gloss paint according to the recommendation of the interior painting service provider. The consultants will help you in choosing the right interior paint with the required level of sheen and gloss.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Exploring Different Ways to Keep Rainwater Out of Your Screened Porch



In addition enhancing your home’s aesthetic appeal, the screen porches can provide you a comfortable and usable living space without investing a lot of money. During hot summer months, your family members will love to hang out in the cool and shaded area without any hassle. But you have to look for effective ways to prevent damages caused to the items placed on these screen porches during heavy rain. You can further make the screen porches more durable by keeping water out of these during the rainy season.

Different Ways to Keep Water Out of Your Screened Porch

Storm Windows: You can find a variety of storm windows at the local home improvement stores. You have option to clip the storm windows onto the existing exterior screen porch windows on a permanent or temporary basis. If you install the storm windows permanently, these need to be closed during heavy rain. Also, you can clip the storm windows onto the existing exterior screen porch windows during rainy weather to keep the water out of your porch. Despite being a bit expensive, the storm windows can effectively keep rain water out of your screened porch.

Specially Designed Eaves: You can prevent the rainwater falling vertically from entering into the screened porch by installing eaves or overhangs. However, you must choose the plastic or metal eaves that are designed specifically to prevent rainwater. You also have option to choose the stationary or retractable eves. The retractable eaves can be rolled out to prevent rainwater from entering into the screened porch. Despite being cost-effective, these eaves are not effective in protecting your porch during extreme weather conditions, hurricanes or heavy wind.

Plastic Sheets: Instead of investing additionally in eaves and storm windows, you can consider placing plastic sheets to protect the screened porch effectively from rainwater. You have option to choose the specially designed plastic kits. Also, you can buy the plastic sheets can be easily measured and cut according to the size and design of the porch windows. Once you adjust the sheet to fit porch windows, these can be attached using a stapler or shrunk using a hair dryer. Despite being inexpensive and hassle-free, the plastic sheet may adversely affect the aesthetic appeal of your porch.

Floor Drains: It is also a good idea to protect the screened porch from rainwater by placing floor drains inside the porch. These drains can be attached to the hole cut into the floor of the screen porch. After being attached to the hole, the drain will effectively divert the water from the floor to lawn. However, you cannot use the floor drains to keep water out of the porch effectively. These drains can be placed as an additional option to prevent damages to the porch by removing the water entering into it during rain.

While constructing screen porches, you must consider several factors to keep water out of these effectively. For instance, if the screened porch is being constructed on a concrete patio slab, you must ensure that the center of the slab crowns slightly. The crowned slab will prevent the water from pooling without putting any extra effort.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

4 Simple Steps to Clean Your Screen Porches



You have several options to expand your existing living space. But none of these options except screen porches adds great outdoor space to your home without investing a lot of money. You can further choose from several types of screen porches according to your specific needs. Along with providing respite from hot sun and frequent thunderstorms, the screen porches will further keep the mosquitoes, bugs and pests away.

But the porch screens will be filled with dust and pollen due to constant exposure to harsh weather elements. The dust and pollen can further affect the comfortable outdoor space by causing allergy problems. So the porch screen must be cleaned regularly to keep the outdoor space comfortable. You can use a set of simple items to clean the porch screens without putting any extra effort.
Steps to Clean the Porch Screens

1) Weaken the Dust and Pollen
The dust and pollen must be removes from the porch using a vacuum. The initial vacuuming off of dust and pollen will make it easier for you to scrub the area properly. Also, you can consider using the hose attached to the vacuum to weaken the dust and pollen more effectively.

2) Scrub the Porch Screens
After vacuuming the dust and pollen off the porch, you have to prepare a washing solution by combining a bucket of warm water and one teaspoon of dish soap. Now dip a scrub brush in the bucket, and use it to scrub the porch screens lightly. You must remember that scrubbing too hard may stretch the porch screen. So you must be careful and scrub the porch screens lightly.

3) Rinse the Screens
Once you scrub the porch using the scrub brush, these needs to be rinsed by squirting water through the screens. You can squirt water through the screens by using a squirt bottle. Alternately, you can also use the garden hose to squirt water through the porch screens.

4) Prevent Mold
You have to use a pump sprayer additionally to prevent mold. Start by filling the pump with one cup of bleach and water. Now spar the washing solution from inside out without soaking the porch. However bleach is tend to stain clothing. So you must wear irrelevant or useless clothing while working with the bleach. 

Instead of the pump sprayer, you have option to use a power washer to clean the porch screen. But the washer must be positioned from the inside of the porch to outside to prevent the porch from getting soaked.