How to Choose the Best Garage Door

Once you decide you need a new garage door, you have two options to choose from. You can either get a roller garage door or a sectional garage door. If you're not very familiar with garage doors, you probably can't decide which ones are better, cheaper, and more reliable.

Taking Measures

There isn’t a lot of difference in price and quality of garage doors so it may seem like you can't go wrong. Still, there is one key difference that could decide whether you will be buying a roller garage door or a sectional garage door. As you may already know, before you buy the garage door you need to take some measurements of the garage. You need to measure the height and width of the entrance, the height of the headroom and you need to measure how much room there is from each side of the entrance frame. There should be at least 10 cm.

Roller Garage Doors

Headroom is the key element that can decide what type of garage door you will buy. Roller doors, as their name suggests, work like a roller. They roll up in a box above the door. That box requires 35 cm or more, which means your headroom should be at least 35 cm high if you want to install that type of garage door.

Sectional Garage Doors

For sectional garage doors, the height can be lower. You won’t be needing more than 15 cm of free space above the door. On the other hand, you will need to have enough room on the ceiling, because sectional garage doors lift up when opened and go under the ceiling. So, measure the length of the doors, and add another 50 cm. If your ceiling isn’t that long, then you won't be able to fit a sectional garage door into your garage.

This is pretty much the only important difference and the only thing you have to think about when choosing your new garage door. If you have enough space for both options, then the choice is up to you. As for the price, there are a few factors to keep in mind. One of them is the engine of the door (this implies that the door is automatic, of course). You can from cheaper no name doors to more expensive ones such as BFT, Camai, or Beninca. More on choosing the engine in the next section.

Choosing the Engine

The engine is another important part of your garage door. Its price usually depends on its power. If you are buying your garage door for a longer period of time, for example 20 years or more, then you will need a high quality engine with a lot of power. You don’t want it to break down too often because the replacement takes a lot of time and money. So, getting a durable engine will be a good investment even if it costs a lot of money.

On the other hand, if you are getting a garage door for a garage you don’t often use, then you probably don’t want to spend a lot of money on the engine. Consult Residential Builders for more tips or if you need help with the installment.

4 Tough Things an Electrician Does For You

An electrician is one of those professions that are needed the most, plumber, cleaner and appliance repairer being the others. We can’t do things like opening the switch board and taking care of the things that have gone wrong inside it. In fact, even when there’s a power failure and the reasons are unknown, we can’t jot all our courage to open the switch board and checking things in there. Whenever there’s a major short circuit with a spark, we tend to get scared and be conquered by fear till the time the problem is not checked by the electrician. But have you ever wondered what all tough things an electrician has to go through in order to protect you from being harmed and let you enjoy the advantages of electricity? Let us help you know these four things that every electrician does for you.
 

1.    Physical strain:
An electrician has to climb up and down the ladders and staircases a lot of times, when it comes to repairing any electricity cable or wires that require repairing.  They undergo a lot of physical strain, which even leads to several health related problems to them at a later stage of their lives. These things are done for you so that you can enjoy comfort and peace under the brightness of the bulbs that work on electricity.
 

2.    Working in cramped spaces:
At times, the electrician is expected to work in cramped spaces or even on scaffolding. He has to get indulged into a lot of bending and constantly being in same positions to solve the electrical problems. He also needs to squat and bend on his knees to make connections in locations that can’t be accessed by being in standing or sitting positions.
 

3.    Exposure to noisy environment:
Electricians spend most of their times being outside on visits, either at commercial places or at the homes of clients. Moreover, they need to spend their times on sites where there’s constant noise. Even when it comes to the installation of electricity in under construction sites, they are exposed to noisy environment constantly. The drilling and digging sounds constantly bang in their heads, making them go through severe migraines or headaches. However, they still work as it is their profession. They don’t even have any rights to place complaints against such noises as it is a part of their job to bear such things.
 

4.    Emergency case handling:
Whenever there’s an urgent situation of a power failure, no matter what time it is, the electrician is expected to be true to his job and respond to the problems of the client of his firm. He needs to go to the sites to make emergency repairs no matter how snowy or rainy it is. Even when he is hired by a firm, this is stated to him as a part of his job that he needs to be present whenever required. If you opt for professional electricians from names like Birckhead Electric, you would get the services at any hour of the day.

About the author:
Miley Hopkins is a well known name in the world of content writers. She has more than 2000 articles published in different websites. She respects Annapolis Electricians for their hard work and spontaneous works.

All about an Efficient Air Conditioning System

An efficient air conditioning system is quite important for keeping your homes cool thus offering you with a comfortable stay. It only makes your stay cool but also helps in cutting down your energy bills. A well planned HVAC system can surely optimize comfort. Climatisation Sherbrooke offers the best of air condition systems that gives you all the controls. The air conditioning system allows you to control, change and regulate the humidity, temperature and dust level of a room.

Air conditioning is a part of heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The unit is placed outside the home and a liquid refrigerant is then pumped into the air handling unit. It then generates cooled or heated air. The cooled air is forced through the home with the help of supply ducts. In return to this a slightly warm refrigerant is returned back outside where it is again cooled and re-circulated. The air to be distributed in the home should be well planned thus, it is important that the HVAC system to perform well.

Technicalities of Air Conditioning Systems:
While hiring a HVAC contractor, one must make sure that he does perform all engineering calculations well in order to determine the proper duct size for each room. Properly sized vents will make sure that there is a good mixing of the air throughout the room. One can direct proper flow of the air conditioned air by installing dampers where required. These are the gadgets inside ducts that can be increased or decreased the amount of air being delivered to a room. Sizes of the vents that supply air to the room must be defined appropriately so that equal air is distributed throughout the rooms. As far as location of the vents is concerned it should be determined depending upon the climate.

In addition to this the stiffness of the duct, its location is an equally important point to consider in order to design a quality air distribution system. Moreover, if the ducts are not well sealed then the cooled air can leak before getting to the room.
The ductwork sealing and its location should be discussed at an early stage with the contractor so as to make sure that your home stays comfortable and cool. One must discus the following things:

• The SEER rating of air conditioner and the titular tonnage rating of the indoor coils. It should be one size larger than the tonnage rating of the outdoor condensing unit.
• Ducts must be sealed with a UL-181 sealant as these are the best performing sealants used in HVAC air conditioning systems.
• Ducts must be located inside the house the house layer that contains insulation.
• Location of the vents must be chosen effectively depending upon the climate.
• The sizes of the vents must be carefully selected to effectively throw air into the room depending upon the location.

These things must be discussed in advance even before the construction starts as then you have all the possibility to make changes and get the work done accordingly. However, making changes in an already constructed home can sometimes be difficult but still things can be worked out as there is always a way out to get the changes done for your home improvement.

Author Bio: Simon Hopes pen down his knowledge about efficient air conditioning systems and how their efficiency can be enhance with proper maintenance.

Green Home Inspection Basics for Homeowners

If you're in the market to purchase a new house and you're also someone who strives to be energy efficient, then this is an article that you'll be happy to read. That's because it is going to walk you through some of the "green things" that you should be looking for while doing a home inspection.

 

Image:nachi.org

If you make sure to put these five items on your to-do list, you can be confident that you'll find a house that is energy efficient, which is good for your budget as well as the environment too.

Look for insulation in the attic. Something that you're going to need in order to keep an even temperature in the rooms of your house is insulation. So, as you're looking throughout the home, make a point to go up in the attic to see how thick the insulation actually is. According to most energy experts, it needs to be around 12" thick and preferably made out of an eco-friendly material like cotton or even sheep's wool.

Look for a programmable thermostat. A small device that can make a really big difference in virtually any home is a programmable thermostat. By having one of those instead of a traditional mercury one, you can preset your HVAC unit for when you're home and when you're away. It's definitely an item that every energy efficient house should have.

Look for low-flow showerheads and toilets. An energy efficient home does not just have features that help to use less electricity but less water as well. For this reason, it's also wise to inquire about if the bathrooms have low-flow showerheads and toilets inside of them. If they do, you can be confident that you will save gallons of water each day and around 30 percent on your energy costs every year.

Look for exhaust fans. If in your previous home, you were having common AC problems partly because you were overworking it in order to keep humidity from being an issue, here's something else to consider. If you there are exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom, that will automatically help to pull moisture out of the air so that the rooms can remain a more comfortable temperature year round. Speaking of fans, it's always a bonus when a house has some ceiling fans as well. That can help to alter the temperature by several degrees without you having to rely so much on your HVAC unit.

Look for Energy Star appliances. During a green home inspection, one of the absolute best things that you can find is a home that has some Energy Star appliances inside of them. That's because they are designed in such a way that you can save as much as 40 percent on your annual energy costs. Although most of these appliances come with an Energy Star label, if you don't see one, you should still ask the current homeowner if they have the Energy Star seal. It's a great addition to any house. For more information on Energy Star appliances, visit EnergyStar.gov and put "appliances" in the search field.

Effective Plumbing Conservation Tips for Homeowners

Conserving water in your home could be just as simple as taking showers instead of baths or turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth, just for example. But when you understand that the equipment associated with the plumbing in your home has a direct impact on the amount of water you use with every flush of the toilet and turn of the tap, you'll see that swapping out plumbing fixtures could help you to conserve significantly more water, cut your carbon footprint, and save some money on your monthly water bill. Here are just a few effective ways to accomplish your water conservation goals when you address the plumbing in your home.

A good place to start is in the bathrooms, where the lion's share of your plumbing is in use. And you can literally address every source of water here. You could start by installing low-flow, 2-stage flushing, or high-efficiency toilets. Old toilets can use as much at seven gallons of water per flush (or as little as about half of that). But low-flow toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons every time you flush. And some high-efficiency units use as little as 1.28 gallons. This could mean flushing a couple of extra times to avoid blockages in certain situations, or you could go with a 2-stage system that uses different amounts of water depending on the amount of waste you're flushing. All of these options can save water when compared to older toilets.

You can also address unnecessary usage from faucets in both the kitchen and bathrooms by installing aerated faucets and shower heads. These fixtures use significantly less water than standard products, but they make up for any lack of water pressure that might result by forcing air into the spray to keep it strong. You can also think about using motion sensor faucets that automatically turn off when not in use and then start up when you activate them with the motion of your hands. This means no more wasted water while you wash your hands or brush your teeth.

Of course, you can also install energy-efficient and water-saving appliances, upgrading your dishwasher, washing machine, and water heater to conserve both energy and water. But you don't have to limit yourself to indoor water usage. One of the biggest forms of waste when it comes to typical home water use pertains to your lawn and landscaping, and you can address this in a couple of ways. You could start by landscaping with native and drought-resistant plants or creating a low-impact yard that eschews the use of thirsty grasses.

But you might also think about installing and underground sprinkler system or drip lines to make sure that more water is absorbed into the soil rather than evaporating. And if you're super keen to save you could even install a gray water system that filters your waste water for use on your lawn. There is no shortage of green plumbing solutions at your disposal, and if you're looking to conserve water, it behooves you to understand your options so that you can choose the products that will deliver the greatest efficiency at the most affordable price.