Home Improvement

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About Goodway Landscape : Goodway Landscape will meet with you during the design process to ensure that you are comfortable with the direction the design is going in. We will meet with you once more before the design is finalized and provide you with an estimated cost. While the design doesn’t typically change much at this point, we can determine how much of the project will be installed during the first phase. Because financial considerations are given at the outset, Goodway Landscape is often able to accommodate your budget and therefore install the design in one phase.

For every pest in nature there is a predator bug that will leave the plant alone while dining on the terrible bugs. These are called beneficials and include ladybugs, praying mantis and lacewings. Protecting beneficials takes advantage of nature’s control mechanisms. Chemical pesticides kill both pests and beneficials, which leads to pest population explosions once the predators are gone. The new approach to pest control is through least toxic measures designed to protect beneficials while controlling pests.

To lower pH, ferrous sulfate and aluminum sulfate are often recommended. Ferrous sulfate, which also adds iron to the soil, is of the most help to plants that show yellow leaves as well as overall poor health. You’ll also lower the pH of alkaline soil over time by regularly applying organic amendments such as compost.

* You may have noticed that soluble fertilizers – like the liquid mixes – must be applied every week or two. The reason is that plants are only able to utilize seven or eight percent of the nutrients per application. So they need to be reapplied quite frequently which can be costly and tedious. Conversely, organic and natural fertilizers only need to be applied a couple times a year, because as they break down, they continue to feed the roots.

Goodway Landscape News Most projects start with tearing out the existing landscape unless there’s already nothing there. Be sure to let your design consultant know if there are any items you wish to remain so that we can incorporate it into your design. Before the tear out takes place we question you to tie bright colored ribbons or tape on the plants that are going to stay.

Plant more trees.

Many newer neighborhoods in this country just don’t have enough trees. Recent suburbs and developments are built on former farm fields with no trees. If possible, homeowners should plant trees. Trees, just like all plants, breathe oxygen back in to the atmosphere. They make shade which can cut air-conditioning costs for your home and they add all-season beauty.

Goodway Landscape Caring for a pond takes less effort than maintaining a lawn. The ecosystem you have helped to make by having Goodway Landscape install an Aquascape™ pond does most of the work for you. So aside from stepping out of the way and allowing nature to take its course, there are a few basic things you need to know.

Buys to Make and Tools You Need

* Mail in your warranty card for your Aquascape™ pump that came with your pond.
* Buy a digital thermometer for your pond.
* Pond and waterfall lights won’t last forever. Simply remove the bulbs and take them to your local hardware store. Easy to replace!
* Aquatic plants are necessary for taking up sludge and excess nutrients. Goodway Landscape installs plants for 90 percent of our customers; but, many of you delight in adding plants after we have gone, as well you should. When adding plants take them out of their containers.
* Algea are a natural part of any ecosystem and should never be thought of as something you want to completely do away with. but, string algea is best taken care of with a product call Algae Fix® . (Coming soon to our Products page.)
* Pond Salt only gets added once per pond filling and is optional. Add 1 cup of Pond Salt for every 100 gallons of pond water for healthier fish. Using more than this application will hurt your plants and is not recommended. Less is more, in this case. A excellent formula for figuring out pond gallons: Length x Width x Despth x 7.48 = Gallons. (Example: for an 11′ x 16′ pond the formula would be: 11 x 16 x 2 x 7.48 = 2,633 gallons or 25 cups of Pond Salt.)
* Test your pond water with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test Kit. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals sells a kit that provides a chart for aquarium solition / PH Balance / Pond Salt for Ponds with plants.

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No matter how you wish your home to be as safe as possible, as long as there are molds in it, this goal will never be realized. Therefore, if you see any signs of molds growing in any part of your house, you must do whatever it takes to get rid of them. This process will always start with a diy mold testing.

A  mold test is proven to be effective enough in preparing yourself for an effective into the project of removing these bothersome creatures. This test is basically conducted by mold removal professionals before. But, hiring professionals can not only be a total waste of time but also involves a lot of money. Excellent thing that today, a diy mold removal can already be done by anyone. This is pretty as simple task really as there are a lot of kits and equipment that comes handy in the market. This includes the following:

1.    Instant DIY mold testing kits.  Here, once you conduct a mold test, the kit can tell you in less than 10 minutes whether or not the substance you suspected is really a mold or not. This does not involve any sending of the test equipment to some sort of laboratory. More than this, this kind of equipment is very easy and convenient to use. You simply need to remove its plastic cap and swab the particle in it. Afterwards, replace the cap and wait for a couple of minutes. There is a color indicator there to tell you what the result of the test is.

2.    Lift tape mold analysis test kit. Like every mold testing kit for diy, this kit is also designed to be easy to use. Its only difference is that it comes in a very affordable price. Here, you will just stick the tape right on the top of the substance you reckon as a mold and then pull it back off. Those that will go and stick with the adhesive will be the one to be sent to the manufacturer’s laboratory to be examined for free.  The problem here is that you my wait a couple of days before you can know the results.

3.    DIY machine test. Due to the fact that molds do not only appear in open surfaces, it is a excellent thought to invest on this kind of machine. This is because there can also be mold spores that are present in the air you and your family breathes. This kind of machine has the capacity to check out molds from air samples. Though this is an expensive one, this is very helpful equipment in terms of mold testing.

With all these diy mold testing equipments, the process of checking out these hazardous substances at your own home comes so easy already. Therefore, there is no more reason not to give attention to the safety of your home. In as simple as starting diy mold removal, you can save your family from the threats the molds are known to give.

A renovation project, such as remodeling your bathroom can be one of the most stressful undertakings that homeowners can embark on.

Nevertheless, millions of people want and need to improve their living conditions. Remodeling IS the answer but how do you ensure that you don’t become a victim of a remodeling nightmare?

You’ve heard it so many times from friends and relatives, “Expect a nightmare. It will take twice as much and take three times as long.”

News Flash: Remodeling your bathroom doesn’t have to be that way!
After 25 years in the remodeling industry and after running two successful remodeling and home building companies, I’ve seen it all. And, I’ve been able to boil success down into Matt Plaskoff’s Six Secrets to Successful Bathroom Remodeling.
6 Insider Secrets to Successful Bathroom Remodeling From One of the Original Consultants for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

Secret #1: Have a Plot!

Would you head off on a long expensive trip without a road map? Of course not! That’s unless you were looking forward to surprises along the way.

Well, in bathroom remodeling, the only surprises are disastrous ones. Figure out what you want BEFORE you start. Place it on paper with your Designer or Contractor. Figure out:

What is the layout?
What are the exact products you want?
What colors are you using?

Answer and document all of these answers BEFORE a single hammer hits your bathroom wall.
Secret #2: Don’t Start Your Bathroom Remodel Until You Have Everything You Need!

So your contractor demolishes the bathroom (the only one you have in the home by the way) and then he decides to tell you that the tile you picked that he thought was going to come in today is delayed 6 weeks.

This is NOT a excellent scenario but an all too often real one. Order the products. Get them delivered. Open the boxes. And make certain they are the right color, not broken and fit together properly before you allow anyone to tear up your bathroom.
Secret #3: Hire a Professional. All Contractors are NOT Made Equal

A remodeling project is one of the largest investments you can make in your life and home. For example, a properly constructed bathroom remodel can return over 132% of the invested value.

In contrast, a poorly constructed project can make hurt that far exceeds the savings you thought you had loved by hiring “the guy your friend used to paint his room.”

Protect your assets and your personal belongings by hiring a licensed and insured contractor to remodel your bathroom. Require a contract that lists EXACTLY what you are getting, a “guaranteed price” (a professional should be able to tell you exactly what it will cost) and a guaranteed time frame. Tell them to place their money where their mouth is and sign a penalty clause if they don’t end on time. This way, you’ll find out who the real professionals are.
Secret #4: Hire Experience!

Jacks- of-All-Trades abound in the remodeling and construction industry. Everyone wants to be everything to all people. You wouldn’t hire a heart surgeon to do a nose job so why would you hire a kitchen specialist to remodel your bathroom. Hiring someone who specializes in bathroom remodeling projects will lead to a much higher quality, more efficient and timely project. Don’t let your general practitioner perform a chin implant.
Secret #5: Let Your Contractor Buy All the Materials

Yes, you can save a few bucks if you buy that tub yourself and cram it into the trunk of your BMW. The problem is that most homeowners don’t know what to buy, what fits with what or how much to buy. Do you really have time to go back and forth from the plumbing supply house to return the incorrect thing and get the right one… five times!
Secret #6: Don’t Make Changes!

Changes are the single largest cause of remodeling nightmares. You’ve done everything right so far. You’ve followed the previous five secrets but you just can’t help yourself and you make changes during construction.

Well… all bets are off.

The schedule flies off track, your contractor can’t manage his or her time and new materials have to be bought. The key to not making changes is to LIKE your plot and be certain that your team knows exactly what you want.

Yes, back to secret #1: Have a Plot. But don’t just have one… LIKE IT! Don’t sign a contract until every product, color and layout is exactly what you want and then let the professionals go to work.
So, there you have it, six secrets to successfully remodeling your bathroom. I’m confident that if you follow these six secrets, you’ll increase your chances of remodeling success one hundred fold.

Corporate Relocation: Tips to measuring a cities business climate.

Getting to know a variety of municipalities around the country, in my role on a corporate relocation team, showed me the excellent, the terrible and the just plain hideous. Some cities were so hard to deal with that they never made the first cut.

The day-to-day difficulties, even getting through on the phone with a responsible city official, were perplexing. Or in others no one seemed to be in charge, and it took forever for the most minor decisions to be approved. Compared to our corporate choice making process many cities approach was indeed glacial in its speed.

In other cities, many in the same state or area, showed an impressive efficiency. They were attuned to the needs of the relocating corporation, their officials were available for consultation and choice making and they made a excellent faith accommodation to answer our relocation concerns.

In one community they had developed such a proactive approach in helping the small employer (for example, recently they attracted a body shop with 2 employees, an Ebay entrepreneur with 5 employees and a tile shop/contractor with 4 employees) that it was a simple transition to effectively work with the larger employer. Their successful focus was to encourage the smaller growing employer to broaden their cities economic base. This proactive approach had grown from suffering a long period of economic malaise when a large employer had went from the area over 20 years previously.

All along the relocation process we will question ourselves and were making judgments on which city or area would we relocate to or open a new operation. So our first step in finding a location to relocate or expand a new operation would be to make a general subjective assessment of the business climate in the community. Rarely, would a city make the first cut if the subjective factors were negative even though the purely economic factors might look somewhat favorable.

The first step is to identify cities that are motivated to generate job growth and revenues. This is the core trait we were on the lookout for. Is the city making economic development happen? Not just “elephant” hunting but is the business climate attractive to the smaller employer?

Here’s a method that helps us arrive at the ultimate small list. We call it our “Wendy’s” approach.

When the founder of Wendy’s Dave Thomas was starting, the tale goes; he couldn’t afford a huge expensive real estate department in researching new locations for his restaurants. After some thought he concluded the huge guy on the block, McDonalds, had a an extensive real estate operation so he would just piggy back onto whatever location was analyzed, picked out and opened by McDonald’s. Once Thomas chose to locate in an area he would locate the busiest McDonalds and find real estate for his new Wendy’s on the most well traveled street near the McDonald’s. The strategy worked and Wendy’s took off like a rocket.

Using the “Wendy’s” approach we first review the city’s latest economic development report. Has the city recently received a significant HUD grant or maybe grants? Has the city successfully attracted one or more development firms for mixed-use development? Depending on the size of the community is the development commensurate with the community’s resources?

Another sign the city is willing to help start a new enterprise from scratch; does it have a new business incubator program? What is its track record? Again look critically at the program’s results. Business success tales and failures from the program, interview the participants. What is the community doing to get the most bang for their buck with this program? Compare the program to others in the state. With this information you’ll have an early picture of a serious effort or a community just taking advantage of state and federal funding.

Another “Wendy’s” tip is to look for the recent arrival of banks in town or the expansion of local banks. A sure sign of a city that is friendly to business is its level of local investment activity. Banks enter markets in order to generate quality loan activity from newly established or expanding credit worthy businesses. Likewise, look for newly opened, trendy restaurants and gauge their lunch and dinner traffic.

On the retail side, are shopping districts vibrant? Better still, are older stores and shopping malls spending dollars to modernize? These are vital signs of a strong growing business climate.

Lastly have a look at the central business district. This is where you’ll find results if the city officials are successful in reestablishing a downtown where residents can live, work and have fun.

Compare these two cities: in one they placed over 80 planters filled with flowers in the downtown area but neglected to water the plants so instead of a colorful positive backdrop all you saw were dead flowers. In the other community they cut out planting areas in the centers of the downtown boulevards for planting of flowers and shrubs. They involved local service clubs and schools. One city employer had the task of driving a tractor pulling a trailer with a tank and watering the plants. Driving into the downtown area of the second city was like driving into a well cared for garden. Who do you reckon scored higher in our “Wendy’s” analysis?

Overall the “Wendy’s” approach is an brilliant starting point in winnowing down possible city candidates for the relocation or the opening of a new operation. From here you can more closely study other data vital to your corporate needs. Lastly, if the candidates are about equal the “Wendy’s” factors can be used to break the tie.

Do you know what’s going on in your home when you’re away at
work? Do you have a reliable home security system that can
relieve you of your worries and concerns when someone is
breaking into your home when you’re away? If you already have a
home security system in place, how reliable and steadfast is it?
Has anyone ever broken into your home even with your current
home security system in place? Do you know that you can now
install a home security system that utilizes the Internet so
that the home security system can really alert you of unusual
activities at home?

That’s how far the home security system technology has advanced.
If you’re still having one of those ancient home security systems
that blares a siren whenever there’s an intruder, then you’re
not doing the best you can to protect your home. How many times
have you heard one of those sirens cut through the silence of
the night and ignored it because the siren is turned off about a
minute later? Intruders who break into homes know how to turn
off the ancient types of home security systems and they can usually
break through any of those home security systems easily.

With the advancement of technology, home security systems have
developed into more than just an electronic alarm system that
detects opened windows or doors. Conventional home security
systems have sensors built into the home security units that
detect interruption in the flow of electricity. Whenever the
home security system detects the interruptions, it will either
let out a deafening siren or activate strobe lights to attract
attention.

But have you ever thought about this – what if others choose to
ignore the sirens and lights?

What you really need is a home security system that will
silently alert guards and you of the activities in the home.
Combining the advancement of the technology used to make and
develop home security systems together with the Internet, the
home security system will silently send signals of the intrusion
to a call center run by the home security company. It will also
send a message to your cell phone or make a call using your
telephone line to you to alert you of a possible break in. With
the home security system’s silent method of alerting various
parties, the intruder is not alerted but YOU are. Therefore, it
will give the police and the relevant authorities enough time to
act and catch the intruders in action.

In fact, the latest home security systems in the market today
allow you to activate and deactivate your home security system
via the Internet or through your phone. This is what I call a
TOTAL convenience to home security systems.

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla
lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of
http://www.at-home-source.com on which you will find a longer,
more detailed version of this article.