Roofing Materials

In Eastern Pennsylvania farmers used to get up to milk the cows and due their chores early in the morning.. My, have things changed since was a boy. Not only are there very few of us left, but we have had to cope with urban sprawl. Our farm is in Bucks County. This county and Montgomery County are some of the fastest going suburban areas on the East Coast. In the morning I go downtown and take my father to breakfast at 6am. Yes, I can start the day at anytime but this is the best hour. This trip is not so much for the meal which I don't really need, but to check out route each day that the trash trucks will follow. I want to make sure I do my shopping early!!! This way I can check out the early morning trash routes for the free bargains that are set out during the night. I have come home many a time with a full load in my pickup truck. I even got a Frozen Purdue Chicken last month, boy was it tasty!!!

Yes, I am an urban farmer. Our farm is in the heart of Bucks County, just 25 miles north of Philadelphia. See http://www.seedlingsrus.com/Palocations.html The last dairy cows have been sold in our area, so you can imagine, fields and fields of houses surround our farm. But, our good neighbors do provide us with their discarded items. We have found this as our new resource. Thus we have come up with new ways to capitalize on being a suburban farmer. If there was ever a place where one can take a bull by the horns, its on a farm. There are many ways to operate a farm. Farmers can buy or build there own equipment. Farmers can collect what is junk to most people, but is inventory to the farmer. An old car to a farmer can become a mobile tool box, some old cars become shelters for farm pigs, or old cars become sources of needed parts for repair of other machinery. At Highland Hill Farm, we value items that most people would put out to the trash. This article is about us, and our collecting of used items for use on our properties.

Our nurseries, farms, and ranches are always in need of all sorts of used items. We are always looking to trade for items that we are able to use in our operations. We use steel, such as angle iron and metal rods. Old bed frames make a cheap substitute for angle iron. Old curtain rods are a great substitute for metal rods. Old hangers, well, we use them in place of welding rods.

We believe that the best way for us to obtain needed supplies is to have a hardware store approach to inventory for our operations. We want to have all sorts of materials on hand and at many of our locations to supply a lower cost source of materials for the operations. This means we buy in bulk, and accept used or items that need repairs. We have the ability to fabricate some of our own equipment so that means we will collect salvaged iron, metal pipe, and construction materials. We build our own additions and do our own renovations to our properties so used constructions materials are wanted. I am color blind so colors don't matter. Roofing shingles need not match, only protect.

We are always looking for used power equipment and tools. It is easier to have tools on site than to carry needed tools to some of our remote operations. Thus we want all types of machinery. We can modify and repair items and thus condition of the item may not be suitable for your needs but great for ours.

Do you have rolls or partial rolls of barbed wire or woven wire? Fence supplies, electric chargers, fencing tools, gate, posts.... We can trade. See http://www.seedlingsrus.com/TradesWanted.html

We are also interest in collecting rocks and boulders that we can sell at our nurseries. Wall stone and old building foundations are great sources of rock and stone. Why throw it out we may be able to recycle it? You may also have left over pavers and flagstone. We again are interested in them. In December of 2006 we began to sell hardscaping materials thru our web site http://www.digatree.com

We have a store in Milan Pa that sells used items from furniture to farm equipment. There is virtually no item that is reusable that we can't sell or recycle for you. See http://www.seedlingsrus.com/MilanHirst.html

We are not a one way street. We have thousands of plants from seedlings and liners to 20' trees. We grow trees, plants, and shrubs in Fountainville and Milan Pa. See our web site for details on plants that we carry. http://www.seedlingsrus.com Do you like to hunt? We have lots of recreational sites on our farms and ranches. See http://www.seedlingsrus.com/recreationalops2.html for information on hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, arrowhead hunting, bird watching, bone hunting and meteorite hunting on our ranches and farms. Maybe you could just help us by transporting items from one farm and ranch to another. Highland Hill Farm farm is located 1 mile west of Doylestown in Central Bucks County, Pennsylvania,( at 5275 W. Swamp Rd.) ( for our location near Doylestown see http://www.seedlingsrus.com/Palocations.html ) whose name is not at all derived from the many deer to be found (that would be too easy), was established, wa-a-a-y back in 1681 when the king of England, Charles II, owed one of his old admirals 16,000 pounds Sterling. (That's about 4 million of our 2006 dollars.) For payment of the debt, it became the admiral's son who was given a "tract" (a parcel, a piece) of land in "the New World," on the northern continent of the western hemisphere before it got the name America.

When William Penn saw just the eastern edge of the 40,000 square miles he had gotten he was most pleased, understandably so, with a forest that seemed to never end. Dad's woods, he thought, deciding to name the place where he would start a democratic sort of Quaker colony, Pennsylvania, Penn, -sylv (a Latin word root meaning "woods"), -ania (Latin suffix for "land"). So that's why our home sounds like Count Dracula's (Tran -sylv -ania, tran for "between," as in, between the Carpathian Mountains and the old Principality of Wallachia in what is today's Romania, there's a land which is woods. Maybe Newfoundland should have been named Newfoundania? Naah.

William Penn established just three counties at first, all in the southeastern corner of his wooded land, all with names from mother England. Philadelphia County surrounded the original village there, Chester County was to the south, and Bucks County to the north.

In England, Buckinghamshire was, and still is, a county just northwest of London that forms an irregular rectangle running from the southeast at the edge of London, northwesterly. BUCKinghamShire, was shortened to Bucks in conversation. So William Penn named his land's similarly sized, irregular rectangle county, which ran northwesterly from Philadelphia's edge, Bucks county. Of course when you come to our farm be prepared to visit our county and experience its diverse culture and history.

When you come to visit us at Highland Hill Farm in Fountainville, an interesting place to visit is Haycock Mountain. It is a cooled 130-million year old "almost a volcano" that didn't get to come out of the ground. It stayed below, but made the ground bulge upward, and the hot, liquid magma cooled to form coarse-grained "diabase" rock. Ayres' Rock in Australia and Wyoming's Devil's Tower are world-famous examples of what is called a "laccolith." Milk is "lacco" in Latin and "lith" means stone. Haycock Mountain is a laccolith, Buck's County's highest point at 959 feet above sea level.

Haycock Township surrounds the mountain. Haycock Elementary School is having their annual band concert at the nearby high school in the town of McLean on Tuesday, December 20, this year. You don't think that Bucks County has a town named McLean? You're absolutely right! Although there's the Haycock Elementary School we know on Old Bethlehem Road (Route 212), there's another one at the intersection of Haycock Road (Route 703) and Westmoreland Street, in McLean, Virginia just a few miles across the Potomac River west of Washington, D.C. Then, there's Haycock Mountain, in the southwestern part of the state of Utah, not to be confused with Haystack Mountain, Utah. Haycock Mountain, Alaska deserves mention, as well as Haycock Mound in Kansas. "What's in a name?," Shakespeare observed over 400 years ago.

So you get the point; haycock is a common word, but just what is a "haycock?" Before the days of baling machines, cut grasses for "haying" were spread out in the sun to dry ("gotta make hay while the sun shines") and then collected to be taken to where it would be stored. That dome-shaped mound, that pile, that heap, that stack of hay, will have a rounded top exactly like our Haycock Mountain in Bucks County.

If there's no barn with a "mow" (pronounce it like Chairman Mao) to store the hay out of the rain and snow, an extra large haycock can be piled up and this "hayrick" will have a protective outer layer of hay that will be used for bedding the farm animals, or for composting, etc. If a roof set on poles can be created to cover the hayrick, much less of the hay will have to get wet and subsequently rot... So there's a Hayrick Mountain in Texas and another Hayrick Mountain in Oregon. What's in a name? Try, Highland Hill Farm? And guess what we Raise? Highland Cattle and Nursery stock. Our most popular tree is the Green Giant arborvitae.( see http://www.seedlingsrus.com/GreenGiant.html ) Here is why:

The hardiness zone the Green Giant Arborvita tolerates is from zone 5 to zone 8. That's where extreme cold temperatures get down to a temperate level of about 15 or 20 degrees in the winter (Zone 8), but also as low as a frigid level of 15 or 20 degrees BELOW zero (zone 5). Green giants are evergreens, being cedars. Their rapid growth rates can in ideal conditions reach 3 feet per year. Site requirements for the Green Giant Arborvita are sun to partial shade, moist well drained soil preferred (but still does well in clay), and protection from wind, at lest when young.

The Green Giant is a beautiful tree. It has an aesthetically fine form. It's conical, being narrow to broadly pyramidal, reaching from 50 feet to 80 feet in height in southeastern Pennsylvania. The width at the base of the cone is usually about 15 feet to 20 feet. The leaves are rich green making graceful foliage.

Green Giants make a superb privacy screen and living fences. They keep their foliage color year 'round, great for brightening bleak gray winter days with snow on the ground. The cinnamon bright red bark when young turn rich russet brown with time crating a strong contrast with the needle leaves.

Green Giants' flowers, their fruit are pretty little light brown half-inch female cones. (Just so you know, Green giants are females, so its okay to call the cones pretty.) The Green Giant is also a wonderful shade tree, casting a dark, dense shade. The wood is strong too, once the tree is beyond its youth.

This is an arborvita that should outlive even your grandchildren. There are Green Giants out west documented to be over 300 years old. Just don't plant these too close to the ocean, or roads in areas where there's a lot of salt used for snow removal. If you get over 100 inches of snowfall and more per year, no roadside Arborvita planting where salt is used, PLEASE. The greatest soldier of ancient Greece in the Trojan war had his one little weak spot, what proved to be a fatal flaw, and the "Achilles Heel" for Green Giant Arborvitae is hypersensitivity to salt. If you plants this Arborvitas just keep away from the splash of road salt and it will make a great living fence.

So when are you coming to visit us in Bucks County?

See our many web sites at:
http://www.zone5trees.com , http://www.highlandhillfarm and http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.greengiantarbs.com http://www..HuntingRelics.com Delete Reply Forward Spam Move... Previous | Next | Back to Messages

Bill Hirst has been growing plants on his 200 acre farm in Bucks County for 30 years. His web sites are http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.digatree.com You can see Bill's fossil hunting web site at http://www.huntingrelics.com Sign up for Bill's newsletter at http://www.seedlingsrus.com/123456signup.html

Everything Your Need To Know About Basement Waterproofing

Waterproofing your basement is an essential project to take on in order to avoid some very serious and costly problems later on down the road. During the hot summer months you will typically not have many problems with regards to your basement being wet, but when the rainy season arrives you will definitely start to notice areas that need improvement. Perhaps you may experience a flooded basement floor or maybe some heavy condensation build-up.

If you are living a newly build home, the chances of you having serious basement waterproofing problems are slim to nothing. Newer homes are usually pretty well waterproofed. It?s the older homes that you need to worry about. Anything built before the year 1970 will need to be inspected for poor waterproofing. In the past, the construction of homes was not as good as it is today, which is why there tends to be more problems with older homes.

Aside from poor construction, other issue may lead to waterproofing issues. For instance, through out time you may have a water protection system start to break down. As this system becomes less and less efficient, you will start to have problems with excess water entering into your home. Your basement will be the first place to start showing signs of wetness. Whatever you do, don?t ignore this problem. The problem will only become worse if you neglect it.

It is extremely important to fix a wet basement problem. In the beginning stages of a wet basement problem, you will start to smell an unpleasant odor. Some people ignore this odor until the problems becomes worse. As the problem begins to progress, it will start to form mildew. The mildew will continue to spread and start damaging furniture in your basement and other important items. Furthermore, mildew leads to pests and breathing difficulties if you are exposed to it for long periods of time. For these reasons, it is better to waterproof your basement before it causes serious damage to your house and to those that live in it.

Bottom line, if you notice a leak in your basement, or any other form of water damage, it is recommended that you have your basement inspected by a professional as soon as possible. The amount of waterproofing needed will depend upon how large the leak actually is and the amount of pressure that is being applying to the wall. If the problem is detected early enough then your waterproofing project should be rather simple and cost effective.

For more information regarding waterproofing basements, and to get a free estimate on basement waterproofing from a prescreened contractor visit www.WaterproofingKey.com

All About Roofing

Experts recommend that you repair or replace your roof every ten to thirty years. Since they're the first things exposed to damaging elements of nature (like rain, wind, sun, snow, hail, ice, etc.), it's not surprising that they need a little attention now and then. Of course the climate in which you live will determine how often you repair or replace your roof as well. For example, a roof in a climate that changes from extreme cold temperatures to extreme hot ones year after year after year is prone to problems like brittleness or even crumbling. Roof Styles There are six basic styles of roofs. The most common roofs are gable roofs and you can immediately recognize these types because they're in the triangular shape that we're all familiar with. A flat roof looks just like its name implies. Although there are many variations, most roofs are structured along these two basic styles.

For example, most roofs are sloped (or pitched) and depending upon the climate, a roof may be high pitched or low pitched. High-pitched roofs are found in climates that produce a lot of precipitation. As you might have guessed, precipitation such as snow or rain doesn't stand much of a chance against a high-pitched waterproof and/or thermal resistant roof. In warmer climates, like the southwest, you'll find many buildings and homes with low-pitched roofs. For your protection, your city may mandate a specific roof pitch (measured in degrees). How Roofs Are Born To build a roof from scratch, constructors (more appropriately called, roofers) will more than likely either frame it (put it together) at ground level and then hoist it onto the house, or attach a prefabricated roof onto the house in the same manner. The idea is to build as much of it within easy walking distance before attaching to the top of a home - where roofers later have to climb up and apply additional materials. What Roofs Are Made Of What materials? Well first, roofs begin as 2 x 4s. These act as a roof's frame. Once the frame is built, it's hoisted atop of a house, and then it's covered with plywood, or sheathing. If advisable, your roof's sheathing may be covered with insulating board as well. As a precaution against water damage, vital parts of the roof may even be covered with metal flashing.

Atop of the 2 x 4s, the plywood, and sheathing lies what most of us finally recognize as a roof: it's covering. Coverings range from asphalt to clay tile, and from slate to concrete tile, however most of them are covered with either hot tar or shingles. Shingles are squares of roofing materials overlapped and nailed to the surface beneath it.

When you talk to your contractor about the type of roof you want, you're bound to hear some terminology that you're unfamiliar with. Defining all these new terms is beyond the scope of this article, but you can rest assured that your contractor is well familiar with the lingo and is more than happy to describe your options.

Author Paul White represents FloridaHomeBuild.com. A site designed to help home owners from Florida locate local home contractors with their home improvement projects.

Visit http://www.FloridaHomeBuild.com

Soundproofing Your Fence with Dr. Bob

So you have just purchased your home but when you first looked at it, you didn?t realize just how bad the traffic noise in the backyard really was. Now you are committed to a 30-year mortgage and asks ?What can I do Dr. Bob? Well, I?m glad you asked.

You can construct a soundproof or a sound-control fence. Now will this fence block 100% of the traffic noise? I?m afraid not, but will it make your backyard life tolerable? You bet it will.

There are some things that you need to know about building an effect sound control fence that will make it more effective. First and foremost, you new sound control fence needs to be 8 ft above the noise source. Now you need to check with your city or township to see if they have height ordinances regarding fences. If they will only allow a 6? high fence, you can always build an earthen berm to increase the height of the backyard where the fence will be erected.

Now lets talk about the fence itself. I recommend building a cedar or redwood slatted fence as high as possible, (8ft being the minimum height above the noise source). The term ?Above the noise source? means simply this, if the noise is coming from an automobile muffler, then the fence technically needs to be 8? above the cars tailpipe. This should be simple enough. If you fence isn?t exactly 8? above the noise source will it not be effective? Of course it will, but at the 8? level you will get the best sound blocking.

Let?s talk about constructing your fence. The new redwood or cedar fence will have at least 4? X 4? posts mounted in concrete footings and sunk at least 2 ft into the ground. You will want as stable a foundation as possible for your new sound control fence as you will be adding heavy sound blocking agents to it. Once the posts are set and the concrete has cured, you will then add the fence cross members. These are generally 2? X 4? beams that connect the posts together and offer extra support for the fence slats. Now once the fence framing is complete, you will then be ready for the soundproofing membrane to be installed. You will have already called the professionals at Soundproofing America and ordered a product called ?mass loaded vinyl?. Mass loaded vinyl is a loaded vinyl soundproofing barrier that comes in rolls that are 35?x 4? or 30? x 4 ??. Once you have your rolls of mass loaded vinyl and the acoustical caulk and tape that go with the MLV, you are ready to install the soundproof membrane for your new fence.

Your first step is to stretch the MLV along the frame of the fence, you want to make sure the that the MLV extends all the way down to the ground so that the sound does not leak though the bottom of your fence. Once the MLV is stretched across the fence frame, you will staple or nail the MLV to the frame. I recommend that you overlap the MLV by at least ?? and that you will liberally caulk between the overlap with acoustical caulk. You will also want to caulk the outer perimeter of the MLV membrane with the acoustical caulk. The next step is to tape the caulked Seams only with a PVC seam sealer tape along with the acoustical caulk.

As soon as the MLV membrane is secured to the fence framing and all the seams and perimeter have been caulked and taped, it is time to slat the fence. You will use 8? dog eared slats and but the slats as close together as possible, it is also a good idea to caulk the seams of the slats themselves, but this is absolutely not essential.

I would also recommend slats to the other side of the fence in an effort to protect the MLV membrane from the elements. This is a common practice, but once again is not essentials for good sound blockage.

One final note, some of my customers use a combination of both mass loaded vinyl and America mat closed cell foam as the septum for their sound control fences. By adding the closed cell foam you are adding sound absorption to your fence as well as the best in sound blockage. If you use both of these weather proof products, you will want to leave at least a 1/8? gap between the slats on the side of the fence that faces the noise source. In other words if you are using both America mat and MLV you will need to slat both sides of the fence and leave the gaps on the side facing the traffic for example. These septum fences work great for loud and obnoxious neighbors as well. I hope this give your new hope for having a nice quiet backyard.

This is Dr. Bob?..Out!!!!

Dr. Bob is the Senior Technical Advisor at Soundproofing America Inc, the leading authority in Soundproofing and Acoustical treatment technology.

Dr. Bob O.
Soundproofing America, Inc.
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing Expert to The New York Times, The San Francisco Herald Examiner, The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Charlotte Observer
Ph (877) 530-0139 Toll free Fax (347) 721-9079
E-mail: Dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
http://www.soundproofingamerica.com

Building and Soundproofing a Home Recording Studio

"How do I soundproof my garage, basement, or a bedroom in my single family house or condo so my 4 piece rock band can practice and record and not bother the neighbors?"

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question, I would be in the Bahamas right now, instead of writing this article. Many factors need to be considered prior to beginning your studio or practice room-soundproofing project. Some of the questions you should be asking yourself are: What type of amplification will the band be using, are the drums going to be acoustic and miked or are they digital. Are you going to be recording live late at night or are we going to be doing "line in" recording only? These questions and many more need to be considered before the actual construction begins. If live recording and rehearsal are the plan, then maximum soundproofing will be needed. The most effective way to soundproof a garage, basement, or bedroom is to actually construct a room within a room (go to www.auralex.com) and download the free booklet "Acoustics 101", this is a wonderful resource for the home studio builder.

Their ideas are solid and applicable to any studio-soundproofing project. The room within a room concept utilizes the sealed dead air space that is captured between the inner walls and the outer walls to help greatly with the soundproofing endeavor. It is probably easiest to frame the walls on the floor and then tilt them up into place thus making dry walling the outside of the walls much easier. It is also highly recommended that another ceiling be joisted out for the room within a room, however, this is often times not possible due to space constraints.

In this case, the existing ceiling and ceiling joists may be used as the ultimate ceiling for the studio, provided that it is adequately soundproofed with materials such as the mass loaded vinyl or a combination of closed cell foam mat and MLV. I will elaborate on these materials, as we get further into this article. Once the walls are framed out and the right amount of "Dead air space" is determined, then it is time to install the soundproofing. The first order of business is to consider what needs to be done to the wall cavities prior to installing a barrier and finally the wallboard. I like to line the inside cavities with a closed cell vinyl nitrile foam mat such as American Mat. This mat (generally 1/4" thickness) is adhered to the inside cavity walls as well as the studs and joists using a contact cement to adhere the mat. Keep in mind that the American Mat is used to line the cavities only, not to fill the cavity. If thermal insulation is needed, use products such as rock wool, mineral wool, cut wool fibers, or my favorite, Roxul. Roxul is a great thermal rock wool based batt type insulation that has great soundproofing qualities. If thermal insulation is a requirement for the practice room or studio, then Roxul is the way to go.

Now we come to a crossroads, it is time to determine if decoupling the walls using resilient channels or American Sound clips is a necessity. De coupling is used when impact transmission or low frequency noise is a factor. Impact would come primarily from the drums (acoustic type) or the bass amplifier. However, if the band is using Marshall high powered amps (50 watt amps with 4 X 12 cabinets for example) along with miked acoustic drums and an Ampeg bass system, then decoupling will most likely be necessary. These methods and procedures will be explained in later articles. If decoupling were determined to be unnecessary, then the next step would be to find a good barrier material such as American mass loaded vinyl (which is a high grade mass loaded vinyl barrier). This barrier could be stapled directly to the studwork on a wall assembly or directly to the joists. This is a method that is used if cost or space constraints are factors. If the barrier material is to be stapled directly to the stud or joist framing then it is best that the seams be over lapped, caulked (using OSI acoustical caulking compound) and then taped with either a lead tape or a heavy-duty PVC seam tape.

Once the Mass Loaded vinyl (MLV) is installed and sealed, it is time to install the final layer of drywall. I always recommend using 5/8? drywall as the final layer because of its mass and its sound blocking abilities. . It is always advisable to butter the edges of the last layer of drywall with acoustical caulk. You want to grab every STC (sound transmission class) point you can when trying to make your new studio as soundproof as possible. Finally you will tape mud and paint your final layer of drywall. Now you have a great soundproof home recording studio. We will discuss acoustical treatments for your studio in subsequent articles, but for now you are well on your way to having a professional grade-recording studio in your home.

Dr. Bob O.
Soundproofing America, Inc.
Senior Technical Director
Soundproofing Expert to The New York Times, The San Francisco Herald Examiner, The San Diego Union Tribune, and the Charlotte Observer
Ph (877) 530-0139 Toll free Fax (347) 721-9079
E-mail: Dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Website: http://www.soundproofingamerica.com

Basement Waterproofing - Get Ready For Rain

The noises - a trickle, a drip-drop, or heavy rush or splash. Ahh, the sun is gone, rainy days are here! Roofs, gutters, and downspouts function in harmony to keep us safe and dry during a downpour. Rainwater rolls down our roofs; much like it does down the mountains. It is then collected in gutters before they are channelled into downspouts like waterfalls. All of these show what roofing and waterproofing is all about.

1. More Protection

Waterproofing is more than just channelling the water away from our roofs. It extensively prevents water from entering the house through a substance application specifically designed for waterproofing.

2. The Concept

Basically, to ensure basement waterproofing, one has to take two steps. The first step is to mount a very reliable drainage system. This is because if your drainage system becomes clogged with leaves or simply can not handle the amount of water capacity, water will accumulate instead of being neatly cyphoned away.

Of course, even with the best gutter and roof, water still penetrates the ground naturally when it rains, because not all rain will fall on your house, some will fall around it, perhaps on your front or back yard, or your neighbors yard.

Either way, if too much water is retained in the ground, the possibility of water entering your basement exists, and the only solution is to have your basement waterproofed.

3. Never Again - Find The Source!

Before you do basement waterproofing, it is a must that you find the cause of leakage first

- Is there a crack in the wall? - Was the house built with weak structures? - Are waters outside flooding and causing too much pressure?

In order to detect any of these problems, inspect your house thoroughly. Usually, water will penetrate on areas where there are cracks, usually on the floor or walls of the basement area. Do all of these things before you apply basement waterproofing.

The unfortunate part is that in order to actually apply a coat of waterproofing, you have to dig at least six feet right next to the wall. The waterproofing mixture must be applied directly to the outside of the basement wall - it can't just be poured on the ground next to your basement! This is an extremely physical task and so in all honesty you should hire a handyman or better still, contact a service to do this for you. The service will come with the added benefit of providing you with a warranty for services offered that guarantees you won't experience the problem again for a set amount of time.

For more great basement waterproofing related articles and resources check out  http://www.waterproofing-advisor.com

Childproofing Your Home Office

Patterson

Childproofing Your Office

If you are working from home while the kids are there, your kids will be in your office with you, at least some of the time. This way you can keep an eye on them, besides, they want to be where Mom or Dad is anyway. Childproofing your office makes it a safe place for your child and a safe place for your business.

If you have very young ones, literally crawl around your office to get a perspective of the enticements and dangers to your child. Older children are able to follow any office rules you lay down, but even they can be tempted by some new item. Evaluate your office from their view and make changes before your child or your work is jeopardized.

- Move or cushion furniture with sharp corners and secure
heavy furniture that can be toppled
- Lock drawers
- Put outlet covers on any open outlets
- Hide cords that beg to be pulled or tripped over. Use cord
organizers or run them under special cord mats or behind
furniture
- Cover disk drives and other enticing openings with tape or
cardboard attached with Velcro
- Put away the small stuff like paper clips, rubber bands,
and staples.
- Put away the sharp objects as well, scissors, push pins,
pencils, etc.
- Set up a screensaver with password on your computer
- Keep objects you don't want touched in less accessible
areas: on shelves, on filing cabinets, in closets
- Pack books tightly in the bookshelf if you don't want little
ones pulling them out.
- Install shelves on the walls to place items above reach
- Purchase plastic bins with lids for storing supplies.
Colored bins obscure the contents inside and provide less
temptation.
- Create a filing system that keeps papers filed away.
Desktop trays or vertical wall hanging folders work well
for in and out boxes.

Tracey Dishman Patterson
tranndee@parentshomeoffice.com
The Parent's Home Office
www.parentshomeoffice.com

Metal Roofing - Choosing The Right Roofing Supply Materials

When you decide to remodel your home or are just on the process of starting to plan about doing it, metal roofs can be high on your list of choices these days. Since some of the types of this roofing material can be cost-effective and particularly, metal type of roofing can be easy to install and can compete in durability and effectiveness to wood or asphalt shingles thanks to their added coating of zinc.

In the world of metal roofing, you can easily choose from a few common materials. It will all be to your preference as they do not easily rust or corrode. Here is a quick guide to some metal roofing supply materials:

1. First up is steel. Steel is your first choice but the heaviest of the bunch. They are sturdy and can be undoubtedly protect your home with no problems at all. It is also coated and sealed with zinc. Along with the treatment, they will look polished so you can always get a good view of your house even from afar.

2. The next is stainless steel. They give out the best overall impression. They will never rust but with the downside of being expensive. Nevertheless, if you are onto investing a good roof, this will be the easiest answer for you.

3. Another type is aluminum. When you hold aluminum, it is light and this is also true to aluminum roofing panels. It resists corrosion and oxidation. They must be treated to obtain the shine and gloss that the other metal roofing materials do.

4. Next up is copper. This is by far the most expensive of the bunch. However, with that said, they have top-notch durability. They might be the softest metal roofing, but this is a good feature as they can be easily bended to the contours of your roof and can add some nice roofing ideas.

Be warned, though, that copper is prone to losing their natural color, it will turn green after a few years but a good treatment will dramatically extend its natural red sheen.

All of them are recommended roofing materials. However, it all comes down to going around your target budget. You can easily choose steel as they are commonly used. Alloys are also available but since they are the most expensive. In the end, it would all be good as you can have a good style of roofing and will likely enjoy them for many years to come.

For tips on using metal roofing, visit http://www.metalroofing101.com