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Membrane roofs serve as an alternative to the layers of built-up asphalt traditionally used on low-slope roofs. Made from a single layer of rubber or plastic, membrane roofs offer easier installation and greater flexibility than older roofing systems. While early membrane roofs typically featured the same black finish associated with asphalt roofing, improved materials and coatings provide homeowners with a wide selection of color options to maximize aesthetics and energy efficiency.
When it comes to baby proofing your house, you might want to leave it to the experts. Rather than thoroughly analyzing every nook and cranny in your house and wondering how each could possibly turn into a hazard for your baby, you can contract out this work and welcome an experienced baby-proofing contractor into your home. However, you're the expert on your house and your baby, which means collaboration with a baby-proofing contractor is essential throughout the process.
Rooms in Minecraft can be made from many different blocks. Build a roof in Minecraft with help from a video game expert in this free video clip.
A hip roof, sometimes called a hipped roof, is one of the most common sloped roof designs. It is more complex and costly to construct than a simple gable roof, but it offers both practical and aesthetic advantages over a gable roof that make it an attractive option for many homebuilders, despite the extra labor required to build it.
A butler's pantry can be a practical choice for anyone who enjoys entertaining and needs a little extra kitchen space. Traditionally, a butler's pantry occupies space between the main kitchen and the dining area, providing a staging area for food service, dish storage, food prep and cleaning. Some helpful features include a dishwasher, ice maker, sink and filtered water. Most plumbing projects should be handled by a licensed plumber.
One of the most time-consuming, yet important, tasks of any do-it-yourself project is estimating your materials needs. If you are pinching pennies, figuring your requirements precisely ensures you don't end up with a lot of wasted wood and other materials at the end of the job. Most construction materials in the U. S. come in standard sizes that work together efficiently, so that with basic math skills, a tape measure and a bit of common sense, this job need not be difficult.
The plumbing code requires venting for every fixture in your house, so if your house is properly plumbed, you shouldn't have to add a completely new vent to get a sink to drain. Accidents happen, though, and the plumber who roughed in the sink may have omitted the vent or installed it incorrectly. A vent that is too far from the trap, incorrectly routed or too small, won't work properly. If you know the rules for venting, you can make corrections on your own, but seeking out a plumber's advice may not be a bad idea.
If your toilets or sinks are draining abnormally slow, and you can't find an obstruction in the waste lines, there's a good chance it's in the vent stack. The stack is the 2- or 3-inch pipe you see on the roof just above the main bathroom. If the opening doesn't have a cover, there's nothing to stop leaves, pine needles or even a small animal from blocking the flow of air that keeps water moving in your drainage system. To clear out the vent stack, you have to put on some rubber-soled shoes and climb on the roof.
Apple's iPad 3 tablet is just 9.4 millimeters thick and weighs less than 1.5 lbs, making it portable enough to take anywhere you go, like a job site. With just the tap of a screen, contractors can utilize the popular tablet device to essentially take their office into the field, streamlining operations. It'll get a contractor through a long day's work with a battery life of up to 10 hours of continuous use. The iPad offers Internet connectivity, hundreds of thousands of apps for download to make on-site jobs easier and a bevy of other features for aiding contractors.
If you have an air compressor in your shop or garage, use it wisely. Most air compressors are heavy. Don't move them around your shop when you need air. Plumb air throughout your shop with air lines. It's a simple procedure involving aspects of plumbing and materials. There are a few options when it comes to plumbing shop air.
Plumbing caulk is one of the most versatile and important tools that you can have in your arsenal. Learn about the benefits of plumbing caulk with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
Plumbing pipes come in a wide variety of different sizes for you to choose from depending on your needs. Learn about various plumbing pipe sizes with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
Different pipe sizes tend to serve different plumbing ventilation needs. Learn about pipe size for plumbing ventilation with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
You can stop condensation on plumbing quite easily by following just a few basic steps. Stop condensation on plumbing with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
PVC or CPVC plumbing are commonly designed to be used in very specific ways depending on the intention. Find out when to use PVC or CPVC plumbing with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
Pipe dope needs to be used in a very particular way, especially when a plumbing gasket is involved. Use pipe dope on a plumbing gasket with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
Repairing a plumbing tap only requires a few key tools and a little bit of know-how. Repair a plumbing tap with help from a contractor with over ten years of experience in this free video clip.
Prism poles have been an invaluable part of surveying for ages -- the only major change in use has been what they're used for. Back when they were first introduced as a visible aid in surveying, prism poles helped surveyors to keep lines straight and angles precise. Now, they still serve that purpose but often do so with GPS surveying systems. A prism pole is only as good as it is plumb to the Earth, which makes plumbing rods invaluable parts of the surveying process.
A hip roof is a roof with four sides. It binds the exterior walls together more tightly than gable roofs do, making it a wise choice for areas with high winds. The hip roof frame is composed of several different parts. The lower frame is a simple rectangle of wood that sits directly on the exterior walls. The ridge board is a single shorter board that forms the very top of the roof. Common rafters slope up from the middle of the lower frame to the sides of the ridge board. The hip rafters are special rafters that run from…
Soldering brass plumbing isn't impossible to do on your own, but it certainly requires a lot of care and consideration. Solder brass plumbing with help from a plumbing contractor with more than sixteen years of experience in this free video clip.
Galvanized plumbing pipes often need to be replaced as they get older. Learn about galvanized plumbing problems with help from a plumbing contractor with more than sixteen years of experience in this free video clip.
Plumber’s primer and solvent are necessary for creating a watertight joint when fitting plastic pipes together. The primer cleans the connecting ends in preparation for the solvent, and the solvent glues the pipes together. The solvent dries in 30 seconds, so it is best to measure, cut and fit the pipes carefully before applying the glue. For best results, choose a solvent designed for the type of plastic pipe you are using.
Fascia boards run along the eaves of houses to protect them from moisture and pest damage. However, they only function properly when completely sealed. When gaps appear between fascia boards, it is vitally important to seal them as soon as possible to maintain the structural integrity of your home. Sealing gaps between fascia boards is simple to do and takes only a few basic materials, but it must be performed well in advance of any wet weather since the sealant requires time to cure before it will be watertight.
Petcock-type bibs are uncommon plumbing parts often found in older homes. They were once used regularly to release pressure or to bleed plumbing, but they have since fallen out of favor for many plumbing uses. Petcocks still have their place, however. They are being used more frequently in automotive and engineering applications to control the flow of air or gasoline.
Most cob structures have a water-repellent metal or shingled roof with wide overhangs to protect the cob. Some have living roofs made of sod and straw. Roofs made completely of cob are appropriate on ovens and other small structures that will be protected by an awning or other structure. These roofs are built using a beehive-shaped sprung-arch design. Sprung arches are made up of many stacked pieces and are self-supporting when the cob is dry.
Installing a flat cement roof is a cost effective do-it-yourself project for those with moderate to advanced skills with basic building tools. Although not without faults, cement roofs might require less maintenance than their wood and tar counterparts because concrete does not rot. Before beginning the project, monitor the weather carefully. The project will take more than one day to complete, and rain during the period of construction will cause the project to fail.
Your roof joists, more typically called rafters, may end right at the edge of the exterior wall. Extending them allows you to create more shade and to add a soffit, a horizontal piece of plywood that can admit ventilation through vents. You may want to recruit assistants to share the work and complete it quickly since you need to temporarily open your roof to the elements for this job.
As roofs age, one of the first places leaks occur is in a valley. The breakdown of the valleys occurs for several reasons – from the shingle’s age, debris buildup or improper nail placement. Whatever the reason, many times a minor repair is possible without calling a professional to have the valley shingles completely replaced. Clean the valleys, check for leaks and replace or repair any shingles to prevent interior water damage.
Metal Sales Manufacturing Co. produces metal roof panels -- including the Pro-Panel II -- that may be used on residential structures. Metal roofing often costs more than asphalt shingles, but many manufacturers will warranty a properly installed metal roof for many decades, making a metal roof a solid investment. You will likely need a friend, or several friends, to help you with the installation of your metal roof because the metal panels are very heavy. Remember to wear heavy work gloves to protect your hands from the sharp edges of the roof panels.
Building a roofing cricket may seem like an unnecessary detail when a large roofing job looms. This small pitched-roof structure, however, makes a large contribution to overall job success. Stretching from one side of the chimney to the other, between the chimney and upper slope of the roof, the cricket redirects water that can cause severe indoor leaks. Incorporating a cricket into your roofing work prevents accumulations of water, ice and snow that can cause future problems.
Distortion on welded components is a common problem for welders. This occurs after the welding process, when the metals shrink as they cool. The welded metal cools faster than the thicker base metal. The metal stretches at the point of attachment to accommodate the difference. Welders can practice techniques that ensure smooth results during the welding process and eliminate the need to fix problems later.
Basement sewer pipes -- or main sewer pipes -- transport a home’s drainage and waste to the outside. Adding a PVC drain line onto a basement sewer pipe allows wastes to drain from other areas within the home into the main drainage line. Altering the main drainage line involves installing a “T” joint that connects to the new drain lines.
Roof curbs are basically boxes of pressure-treated dimensional lumber, typically 2-by-6-inch boards or larger, that create an elevated platform for roof installations such as fans or heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. For homeowners, roof curbs typically serve as platform for simple skylights that consist of double panes of glass set in an aluminum frame, which are easier to replace, if necessary, than skylights with built-in metal curbs.
Patio roof assembly calls for basic butt joints, face-nailed connections and prefabricated brackets. It's a rewarding project for do-it-yourself builders of all skill levels. Standard designs consist of a simple post-and-beam frame topped with joists, conventional roof coverings or open-air slats. Cutting and organizing your lumber before construction begins streamlines the process and helps you visualize the finished product. With proper planning and basic carpentry skills, you can build a patio cover during a weekend.
GAF is North America's largest manufacturer of both commercial and residential roofing. It was founded in 1886 and today offers a full line of roofing products for all types of roofs, including several options for flat or low-slope roofs. Flat roofs traditionally were "built up," composed of alternating layers of roofing paper and hot asphalt, topped with gravel to weight down the material. Today's flat or low-slope options tend toward membranes that can be laid down or rolled out and are installed without hot tar. GAF offers some self-adhering materials for the do-it-yourselfer.
A well-constructed roof is an essential part of any building, including your backyard shed. The roof must be able to withstand forces such as the weight of snow dumped on it during a snowstorm, or the winds of a hurricane or severe thunderstorm. You can strengthen the roof of your shed by installing additional bracing. Two types of bracing that you can install on your shed roof are truss bracing and collar ties.
You may have an older urban home with an existing upper story door leading out to a newish, flat EPDM rubber roof. The space looks perfect as a spot for a patio table for morning coffee or a few pots for a small herb garden. You can safely cover the roof to protect the EPDM membrane, using a deck composed of duckboards to permit drainage and cleaning.
If your flat roof drainage is insufficient for carrying water away from your house or foundation, it might be necessary to extend it. This project might have to be done at the point of the downspouts or it could simply be a matter of extending the pipe at ground level. It might be advisable to change the angle of pitch to the downspout to improve the pipe's ability to carry water away from the house. Determine which type of extension is required before obtaining the necessary parts. PVC pipe works best for outdoor plumbing applications. It is readily available, easy…
Prefabricated trusses are used for roof framing on most houses today. There are many styles to fit any type of roof. Cathedral or vaulted roofs, which have sloped ceilings inside, use special trusses which have no horizontal bottom chords between the outer walls. Truss builders use different types of internal bracing for these trusses. Manufacturers will engineer trusses to any specific roof width or slope, with internal braces required to support the roof, but all trusses also need some lateral bracing to connect trusses from one end of a roof to the other.
A tribrach is an adjustable mounting plate for a surveying theodolite or sighting target. For accurate surveying measurements, the tribrach must be adjusted to be perfectly level and absolutely plumb above a survey reference point. A tribrach uses an optical plumb sight for vertical orientation. Rough field conditions can jar the optical plumb sight out of adjustment, leading to inaccurate measurements by survey instruments mounted on the tribrach. Readjustment is relatively easy to do.
In-wall drain vents and drain traps work together to prevent sewer gases from entering your home. As the trap's water prevents gases from wafting through drain openings, the vent pipe admits air to keep the trap's water from siphoning into the drain system with the flow of waste water. Although constructing drain vents is similar to joining drain and waste pipes, vent systems have special design requirements in terms of pipe diameter and the proximity to the plumbing fixture that they serve.
If you have a leak in the plumbing underneath your slab foundation, the only way to fix the problem is to locate the pipes and tear up the slab around them to get at the leak. You need to remove the damaged section of pipe and replace it with a new copper pipe. Do not patch the leak in the existing pipe, as such patches do not have the lifespan of a new pipe, and this could make you do the repair twice. Do not replace the old pipe with PVC or galvanized pipe, as these do not hold up…
Roof sheds are not uncommon in densely populated urban and inner city areas. Atop flat-roofed buildings where people go for leisure and relaxation, sheds are used much as their regular yard-based cousins: for storing barbeques, seats and patio furniture. They are also frequently used as pigeon lofts. Extending a roof shed is done in the same way as extending a shed in a garden or commercial yard.
Cisterns can be cavernous and they can be small. You have at least one in your home: it's the tank of water behind your toilet seat, commonly called a cistern in the plumbing world. If you are replacing your old toilet cistern, you may be tempted to call in a plumber to make sure the job is done correctly. However, if saving a few dollars is important enough to you that you're happy to do the labor yourself -- with a friend or two for supervising -- there is no need to hire a professional to plumb your cistern. As…
A dormer is an extension off a roof to provide more space or more light in an area. A roof may have one dormer or several, small dormers with single windows or wide ones with several openings. Some dormers have simple shed roofs with a single slope, while others have gable or hip roofs to match the roof of the house. Making a dormer is basically the same regardless of size or style. The dormer is framed much like a room, but is set perpendicular to the house roof and connected to its roof rafters.
The terms “sunroof” and “moon roof,” while often used interchangeably, actually have slightly different meanings. A sunroof is moving panel – electric or manual – on the roof of a vehicle that allows light, air or both into the vehicle. A moon roof, on the other hand, is an electric-powered glass panel that opens by sliding between the vehicle’s headliner and roof. So technically, a moon roof is actually a type of sunroof. The Cavalier’s moon roof uses a small switch mounted on the headliner to open and close it. From the factory, Chevy painted “open” and “close” on the…
Refurbishing a bathroom may seem like a small project when comparing the room's size to the overall square footage of a house. But costs and schedule can run out of control if homeowners neglect to ask a contractor the right questions before signing an agreement for a bathroom makeover. To avoid a home-improvement headache, clarify some basic matters with contractors before signing on the dotted line.
A hip, or hipped, roof is made up of sides that all slope down toward the ground. That means that no part of the exterior walls will go above the roof length. A hipped roof with a pyramidal structure is also called a pavilion roof. Knowing the volume of a hip roof can be useful when you're planning to remodel or simply doing some home decoration. The volume of your hipped roof should be expressed in cubic feet.
Most gable roofs are simple, with a center peak and two sloping sides. Some architectural styles, however, place two gable roofs side by side. A Shingle style, popular in the late 1800s, has front-facing gables on either end of a basic gable peak. Some Craftsman designs from the early 1900s use side-by-side gables with one side projecting in front of the other. Some additions simply add another structure and roof beside a gable house. Whatever the style, building side-by-side gables is framing two roofs over two structures.
The Mighty MIG Turbo welder is a CO2-mixed-with-argon-gassed welder that has a better duty cycle and wire-speed range than the previous welders. Unlike other welders, the range now allows for working with thicker or thinner materials. The speed of the wire exposure is set on the front of the machine next to the power switch and the amperage switch. Another advantage of using the Turbo welder is the better air-cooling system, which allows for faster, longer welding.
