Asphalt Shingle Roofing

When it comes to roofing, there are many options available. Among these options includes asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles happen to be one of the most popular roofing options. They offer several benefits which include easy installation, affordability, versatility, and stylish good looks. Furthermore, asphalt shingles don't require any specialized accessories for the roof edges, wall terminations, and chimney or vent flashings.

Asphalt shingles traditionally come in 3-tab profiles. However, you will now see newer homes that have steeper roof pitches coming in laminate shingle profiles. A wide range of "architectural" shingles are available, whose profiles suggest the random shadows and patterns of slate, wood shingles, or ceramic tile. Furthermore, you should know that there are also two kinds of asphalt shingles on the market which include fiberglass shingles and organic-mat shingles. Both types are made with asphalt.

Quality and durability are important factors to consider with roofing materials. Asphalt singles come with a wind warranty. Quality shingles range from a 60 mph wind warranty to a 110 mph wind warranty. There are also several other options in between. Keep in mind, however, that warranties are a marketing device and are not a reliable predictor of lifespan.

To ensure quality, be sure to demand shingles that meet industry manufacturing standards. New shingle products are designed to resist damage from impact and high winds. Several manufacturers offer asphalt shingles designed to resist the effects of severe weather such as wind and impact from flying debris or hail. Make sure that you do your homework before selecting just any asphalt shingle for your roof.

It?s easy to find a shingle that will suit your home because there is such a wide range of colors and patterns available to choose from. If you find yourself having a hard time selecting one that will best suit your home, consider asking a roofing specialist to help you out. They can usually direct you to homes that have examples of different shingles. Seeing the shingles on real homes gives you a much better idea of what to expect.

For more information regarding asphalt shingle roofing and for a free cost estimate on shingle roofing visit www.RoofingKey.com

Future Proofing: Why You May Need An Enduring Power Of Attorney

People can become unable to manage their own affairs at any stage of life. An accident, or the onset of mental illness, may make the everyday routines of buying and selling a house, paying bills, managing a budget and making financial decisions difficult and stressful, if not impossible. By completing an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) you can ensure that if this should ever happen, the person you choose to be your representative (your Attorney) will look after your affairs. Friends and family do not automatically have the right to take over. The EPA has been created to ensure that while you are of sound mind you can appoint someone you trust to look after your affairs.

What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

An EPA is a legal document granting to a named person or people the authority to act on your behalf. Subject to certain important conditions and safeguards it continues in force until death, even if you become incapable of looking after yourself.

What happens if I don't have an EPA?

Without an EPA the Court of Protection will appoint a Receiver to act on your behalf. This process takes time and is expensive. With an EPA in place there would be no Court of Protection charges or solicitor's fees payable and no annual fees charged by the court. Minimal fees apply to register the EPA.

What safeguards are there?

When mental capacity is lost the EPA must be registered before the Attorney can legally act. You and your closest relatives will be informed allowing you to intervene with the registration should someone try to use the EPA illegally.

Am I in control of my affairs if I sign an EPA?

Yes. The EPA does not restrict your rights to go on looking after your own affairs for so long as you feel capable. The EPA simply means that there is someone to take over if, and when, you cannot cope.

An Enduring Power of Attorney can help you prepare for the future. Ask your financial planner about it today.

Find out more about EPAs and estate planning from Stephen Hall Associates

Sharon Hurley Hall is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor.To contact Sharon, visit http://www.doublehdesign.com/

Is Insulation Really effective Soundproofing for Walls?

One of the oldest and most established methods for improving the sound isolation of walls is the use of insulation. It?s fast, reasonably inexpensive and easy to install. You probably have some interior walls in your own home filled with insulation. But how effective is it, anyway? Does it stop the type of sound that is most annoying you?

It might be best to first consider how sound moves from one side of a wall to the other. A typical wall will have a sheet of drywall / stud / drywall. The wall will have air spaces in between the studs. The drywall is very rigidly connected to the studs.

Sound waves will hit that wall, and attempt to vibrate through to the room next door (or floor below, etc). The sound can vibrate into the next room through one of two paths:

Through the rigid drywall-stud-drywall connection path
Through the open drywall?airspace?drywall path

The insulation will only be able to affect the vibration traveling through the airspace between the studs. The rigid drywall?stud?drywall connection is not reduced with insulation, obviously, and will conduct vibration just as effectively whether insulated or uninsulated.

This has been an extensively laboratory tested scenario, fortunately. The detail of such lab tests are conclusive, and one finds that the low frequencies are not stopped by the addition of insulation. Further, the high frequencies are not reduced significantly. Mid frequencies are reduced somewhat, however, allowing the overall rating of an insulated wall to be 2-3 STC (measurement of sound isolation) points higher than an un-insulated wall. This seems like a good thing. At least the insulation reduces the middle frequencies.

The problem, however, is that most sound isolation problems are in the low frequencies that insulation does not affect. This means that for many of us, insulation alone won?t stop the sounds that bother us the most.

Does this mean insulation is useless for soundproofing? Not at all. It simply points to the fact that insulation shouldn?t be relied on as the sole solution for soundproofing. If you are building a home or an addition or remodeling, you just can?t rely on insulation alone to soundproof.

So where does insulation play a role in sound isolation? Insulation is a great synergist with any of the following other sound isolation techniques:

De-couple the walls with staggered stud or double stud construction (very effective)

Increase the mass of the wall (moderately effective) by adding drywall.

Damp the wall with a field applied damping compound (very effective)

By deploying a combined technique approach, you will have much greater success in your soundproofing efforts.

Childproofing Your Home

One of the most important steps you can take to prepare for a baby is childproofing your home. Little hands will get into things you never even thought of, so being prepared is critical to your child?s safety. Here are some areas of your home that need attention to get you started on your childproofing project.

? Electrical Outlets ? You can buy inexpensive covers to keep little fingers out of your outlets, or simply put a piece of furniture in front of them.

? Cords ? Be they electrical cords or cords for blinds or draperies, they are a risk. Cords from blinds or draperies are a choking hazard, and electrical cords can cause a shock, or can cause baby to pull something heavy (such as the lamp at the other end of that cord) down on top of them

? Rickety furniture ? Be certain that you don?t have unstable furniture around. When your baby begins pulling up, he could pull the furniture right down on top of him. Sometimes it?s necessary to attach furniture, such as top heavy bookcases to the wall.

? Plants ? Some houseplants are poisonous, so be certain to keep plants out of baby?s reach.

? Radiators ? If you live in an older home with radiators, you will need to put barriers in front of them or radiator covers over them during winter months.

? Fireplace ? Be certain your fireplace is equipped with a grill or glass doors to protect your child?s little fingers.

? Stairs ? Install baby gates to keep your little one from tumbling down the stairs.

? Cabinet doors and drawers ? Install childproof latches so that your baby is unable to open drawers and doors, particularly those where you store sharp objects or cleaning supplies.

? Railings ? Be certain that any railings in your home, such as those on your stairs, have no more than a five inch gap between any vertical posts. You?d be amazed at how easily a baby?s head can get stuck.

All of these are important steps to readying your home for those days when baby starts crawling around. But, probably the most important thing you can do is to learn to keep your everyday things put away. Items that adults use regularly, like scissors, pins, coins, buttons and letter openers can all be very hazardous to a baby. It?s going to take some getting used to, but with some preparation, you can organize your life so that your everyday activities don?t put your baby at risk.

Sarah Veda is a 41 year old wife and mother of two boys and one girl. She spent many years as a manager in the corporate world, and gave it up to be a stay at home mom. Go to http://www.infantresources.com now and get her incredible baby minicourse ? absolutely free.

Four Seasons Roofing and Siding

Four Seasons Roofing and Siding can be found on GOOGLE.COM. Because of recent instability of the major search engines, please look for us on GOOGLE.
Montgomery, Bucks, Monmouth, Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset County, Pa. and NJ

Thank You.

25 year veteran of the roofing wars.

Four Seasons Roofing and Siding can be found on GOOGLEBob

Four Seasons Roofing and Siding has put a great deal of effort into our Web presence. We value the fact that our potential clients in Montgomery, Bucks, Mercer, Monmouth, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Delaware Counties of NJ and Pa., can find us and learn about how we do business. Recent instability in the search engine industry has us buried on some of the major portal offerings. We dont wish to be lost in the shuffle, so find us at http://google.com. We recommend that you use their very stable and relevant search engine for all your search needs.

Better yet, got to http://fourseasonsroofingandsiding.com

25 year veteran of the industry.

Waterproofing Your Foundation? What Is The Right Choice?

What is foundation waterproofing?

Waterproofing is Protecting your property foundation be it residential or commercial from cracks due to natural processes such as water damage, thermal movement, shrinking, settlement and other causes.

Think of foundation waterproofing as a long term solution for protection of your property.

Did you know that 44% of new homes have leaking basements without 3 years of completion? And the warranty on dry basement on a new home in USA and Canada is only 1 or 2 years?

Think of what can happen if you dont pay attention to properly seal your house foundation.

It not only causes countless damage to your property it also decreases value of your house, costs money to repair, wastes time, not to mention various health and life hazards.

So what is the Solution to this problem?

Waterproof your property the right way as you build it!

There are many products on the market and it is difficult to choose at times, but not all are the same quality.

The easiest, simplest and smartest way is to apply rubberized liquid membrane. Liquid rubber membranes are elastomeric polymerized coatings made from liquid rubber the same quality tough material your car tires are made from.

Advantages: They are easiest to apply, quick to dry, cold applied. You can do it by yourself, by using sprayer, roller or trowel. The liquid cures into an elastic rubber coating on the wall, able to fill up eventual cracks in foundation wall because of its flexibility. They also come with a long warranty and are very cost effective.

If you want the best ones you should aim at the ones which are environmentally friendly, non-toxic, non-flammable, also VOC compliant, offer superior vapor and water barrier protection, and no priming is required before installation.

Disadvantages: Possibility of inconsistency in coverage, but the newest liquid rubber foundation waterproofing membranes will help you to determine the "right" thickness by intensity of color f.e. the Gray Coat All Seasons Formula from Aquasealusa.com blends in with the concrete foundation, so over-spraying is no longer a problem, making it much easier for the applicator to apply.

There are of course other products on the market like sheet membranes, cementitous waterproofing, hot tar or bentonite, but they either dont offer such a long warranty, are labor intensive or low quality, or you have to use company employees/certified technicians who are the only ones allowed to apply their product which will cost extra money.

Basically it comes what your needs are and how much money your are willing to invest to protect your property properly.
Waterproofing-foundation-guaranteed.com

Dagmar Rakos is the site Administrator for Waterproofing-Foundation-guaranteed.com

Highly effective, easy to apply foundation, basement and specialty waterproofing products for ICF and standard construction. For home builders and waterproofing contractors.

Available at http://www.waterproofing-foundation-guaranteed.com.com.Organic Roses in the Flower Garden Part 1Sandra Dinkins-Wilson

Many people believe growing their flowers and vegetables organically is healthier for them and their environment. It is natural that you may wish to grow your roses this way also. Using the pesticides and insecticides that are usually considered to go along with growing roses and keeping them healthy can cause many people have to health problems . Maybe you just don't want those kind of chemicals in your garden and around your children. This article will give some pointers in using more natural methods of growing your roses.

1. First do your homework and find out what type of roses grow well in your area. Buy disease resistant varieties. If you live in an area that has problems with a certain disease, look for a variety that is resistant to it. If you can, purchase organic roses. As they have already been growing with organic methods, this supposes they are "healthier". and not already loaded with chemicals. Thus they have a stronger immune system. Of course, buy roses with no blemishes on them.

2. Roses like full sun. Make sure they are placed so as to get 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day.

3. Do not crowd your roses together. Ensure that stress is reduced by providing lots of space for air to circulate around the bush. Take growth of the rose bush into account.

4. Plant your roses in good loamy soil. If your soil is not ideal, then amend it with organic material such as from your compost pile. You do have a compost pile, don't you? Roses like well draining soil but they don't want it draining as fast as you might get with sand, so amend your sandy soil. If you have clay soil, an alternative requiring a bit of work is to build a raised bed for your roses much like vegetable gardeners use. It should be at least a foot deep but more is better. Fill it with will amended soil.

5. Keep your watering consistent. Don't allow your plants to dry out and suffer stress before watering. Roses can need up to 2 inches of water a week. Water every two to three days. This, of course, depends on your area and the type of weather (how much rainfall) you are getting. Also, be careful not to stress the plant by overwatering and depriving the roots of oxgen.

6. Mulch, mulch, mulch! Mulching can reduce the stress on your rose in several ways. It helps to hold in moisture which can be very good in a hot, dry climate. It helps maintain a more even temperature in the root zone. And mulch can smother weeds that could be competition for your lovely roses. As the mulch decomposes, it adds more nutrients to the soil around your plant. Lastly, it can cut down on some of your work. ;-)

7. Roses are, what could be considered, heavy feeders. They respond well to fertilizer and should be fertilized on a consistent schedule. Most organic fertilizers are slow-acting and may produce less spectacular results of a non-organic fertilizer. Some organic fertilizers to consider are composted manure, fish emulsion, alfalfa meal, blood meal, and cottonseed meal. If you wish to have a truly organic rose garden, you should ensure that your fertilizer is also organic. Of all these the only one you can be sure is truly organic would be your composted manure if you know exactly where it comes from and how the animals are raised. Perhaps you should consider your own animals raised organically. Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and some localities allow a small backyard flock. Make sure it is composted thoroughly as chicken manure is very "hot" and will burn your plants.

8. Prune your roses in the early spring. To keep your roses healthy, get out the dead wood, damaged wood and anything that starts to look diseased (and don't compost these trimmings). Thin out your plant to keep it from being crowded. Don't allow branches to rub against each other. This will allow air and sunlight to get to the whole plant keeping it healthier.

In part 2 later this week, we will discuss some organic methods of combating specific diseases and pests. http://flowergardenlovers.com.

Roofing Shingles

Only professional roofers and contractors know how much work, measurement, and precision go into each roofing job; what looks like a simple pattern of overlapping roofing shingles is actually the last step in a very involved process. From measurements to laying plywood to affixing each and every shingle in a professional manner, roofing is challenging and painstaking work. Getting your measurements right is crucial to getting jobs completed correctly and under budget.

Getting a good estimate on a roof is important to a client. Roofs are not cheap! The right estimate will allow them to make an informed decision about which roof and which contractor to go with, and a good estimate will prevent you from under-bidding and losing revenue. Overestimating the amount of roofing shingles you need can seriously cut into the profit margin of a job.

Speed up Your Roofing Shingles Process

From the first measurement of a roof, to laying the last roofing shingles, it's important that the job be effectively planned and timed. Roof Calculator 6.1 can keep jobs clean and easy, with the right materials on hand, and every measurement and total you need available at the touch of a button. From plywood to sectionalized calculations of roof squares to other metrics, you can pull up the details of present and past jobs in an instant.

Running a business depends on having good information, and conveying confidence and consistency to clients. This is exactly why we have developed this software. As roofers with years in the business, we know what it takes to make a great impression!

As Northern Virginia Roofing Contractors, Roofer911.com takes great pride in maintaining customer satisfaction for all types of new roof installation and roof repair work for residential and commercial roofing accounts. Does your website need more exposure to the search engines? Add Your Site Today to our free directory.