Home Related Questions and Answers

Sunday, January 13, 2013

What kind of wood is used or how is it treated to prevent it from splitting?

Q. I want to dabble in rustic log furniture building. Wondering what kind of wood is used and/or how is it treated to prevent it from splitting as it ages. See http://www.yellowstonefurniture.com/images/alderchair.jpg

A. For branch-built furniture, willow is a good choice.
For log furniture, it's fairly typical to use species of pine... as the knots provide interest. (Sometimes the splits do, too.)
To keep from splitting, would recommend using seasoned wood... wood that has been dried in a kiln or left to dry naturally for at least a year. More is better. Moisture is the enemy and if you work with green wood, it will eventually shrink and may split. Another tactic is to pre-drill all the fastener holes and use dowels and/or mortise/tenon joints.

But, that's for big things like beds and large chairs. For bentwood... it's branches and brads or binding material to hold shape. Rawhide makes a good lashing... put it on soaking wet, let it dry = super strong.

And, of course, I'm sure there are a host of DIY sources on the web.

Good luck.

What are the most sought after type of wood in Australia?

Q. I reside in a country in Asia which is rich in its natural revenue and I have a wood manufacturing business. I'm looking to expand it to Australia via exportation and I need to know what the market demands nowadays in Australia - for furniture, building, whatever it is - I heard that the most sought after right now is Red Oak for flooring is that right? What other type of wood is popular over there?

And any legal requirements, unwritten rules among manufacturer/exporter, ANY info would be very much appreciated! :)
Thank you

A. Have a look at companies like Bunnings and Colli they are builders merchants that stock timber.

Jarra is popular in western Australia but WA is also the only place on earth it grows so unless you can sell ice to eskimos..

Can you recommend a good interior designer to do a 30-sq condo in the Philippines?

Q. I need an interior designer for a 30-sq condo. in Quezon City Philippines. We have a new baby, need a working little kitchen, and a nice bathroom. I prefer Japanese design, minimal furniture, built-in cabinets. Interested parties can reply to this question or email me:tometooo@yahoo.com. Many thanks.

A. I am a decorator and home stager and it would be my pleasure to design your new room. I can even give you testimonials from my clients. All you have to do is pay my air fare round trip. I can also work with email and digital photos. Feel free to contact me at info@divadecors.com

Where in columbia south carolina can i get some free living room furniture for my friend?

Q. I have a friend who recently got her own place,but she's on SSI and don't have any money right now.She's been working part-time and still looking for a more stable job and most of her money goes toward paying rent and household utilities.She's not from columbia so she don't have from direction on which way to go to find living room furniture for free.I'm not from here either,but i told her that i would ask around.

A. free cycle.com

What does it mean when a guy tells you that you have nice living room furniture?

Q. So this guy was my boyfriends bestfriend. It was the first time I had ever met him. He goes "Hello, My name is *blah blah* you have nice living room furniture." He has never been to my house!

A. If he said it right after saying hello, as in there was no pause in between, he was probably nervous or feels attracted to you, if he actually looked around for a moment then he probably just meant it as what it was.

Inexpensive living room furniture?

Q. I am moving in October and would like to buy new living room furniture. Basically I would like a sofa, chair, some type of tables (but not committed to anything). ottoman and TV armoire. Because I bought all of this only a few years ago, I don't want to go overboard, but want something modern and comfortable. And of course not too expensive.

A. try the ikea website for ideas.

What is the difference between a floor plan and a floor finish plan?

Q. Can you also give an example on what things are to be placed in a floor plan and floor finish plan.
Thanks!

A. Floor plan is the whole layout of the house from bird's eye view.

Floor finish is what you use to make the floors look good.

what causes bubbles in floor finish?

Q. I had this happen when I finished some floors yesterday. The floor is black & red v.c.t. and the bubbles kind of look like drops of water hardened under the floor finish. It didn't happen until I applied the 2 coat & only got worse with the 3rd. I gave extremely sufficient dry time, a lot more than usual (hours) and the weather here was extremely dry & sunny. I have never had this problem.
The floor was given 1 hour to dry with a lot of air flow in about 85 degree weather. The area that bubbled is just as you walk inside the building, about 2 rows of tile deep.(2 ft.) They aren't really bubbled, but look like it, you can barely feel it. Seems like it is somewhat like a shallow pitted effect?
By the way, I am a janitorial service...I have never seen this..kind of wild but my dad has been in the flooring business for 40 years and said he was unsure unless there is water trapped under the tile and coming through. But I appreciate everyones help. I think it may be air.

A. Sereral possibilities.

Air entrainment.. either during pouring or during brushout..

I like using a lambswool applicator for floors, which puts down a smooth coat.

Pulling the coat too quickly can entrain air.. try a slower motion.

Too THICK a coat in your DRY conditions may be causing the coat to skim too fast and not let the microscopic air bubbles out. You can add a retarder (like Penetrol for oil base finishes). This will let the finish level out. The draw back is more dust

Finally, water-based finishes are less likely to form bubbles since each coat is thinner and can level out

What type of floor finishes would you recommend for the following cases?Justify your answer please...?

Q. What type of floor finishes would you recommend for the following cases?Justify your answer.
a) A chemical laboratory
b) A hospital
c) A garage
d) A bath room

A. a) Chemical resistant coating on a concrete floor.
This will allow for a variety of spills without degrading the concrete's strength

b) Jointed flooring system
This will allow for an easy installation on a large surface area. It will also allow spills to be cleaned up easily without any seeping through.

c) Concrete floor with a standard sealant
This will keep the dust down and allow for easy cleaning or such things as oil spills. It will help prevent permanent staining of the concrete,

d) Ceramic tiling
With the large amount of moisture that this flooring will be subjected tom you need a material that is impervious to moisture. Ceramic deters the growth of mold and mildew as it is a nonporous surface.

Hope this helps!

IM SICK & TIRED of people saying i cant be a minimalist if i have a computer in my home and tv. Im a minimalis?

Q. t because i dont buy things i dont need
and i throw away a lot of stuff every week, at least 1 bag of junk.

and just because i have a big pile of books, i like to read, how does that make me non-minimalist?

A. You will be a true minimalist when you are no longer dependent upon the approval of others to affirm your identity. ( :

But anyhow...I never heard of a minimalist before. That's cool. I'm kind of like that. I don't have a microwave or television or a car or a computer. I housesit to get caught up on tv, I use the computer at the library, and I like to make healthy meals from scratch. Thanks for the word. I'm going to add it to one of my profiles.

What color should I paint 1 wall in between livingroom and hall?

Q. I have a small hallway that I am painting yellow . The livingroom and hallway have one wall that is in both rooms. Should I paint it yellow like the hall,or keep it taupe like the livingroom? Or other ideas please?

A. It depends what kind of look you are going for, but for me I would Paint it a really suddle green colour that ties into the yellow. To go along, get some really nice furniture, or paintings that go super well. A nice antique brown would go great with the green.

What would be a good paint color for our livingroom?

Q. Our livingroom sort of flows into our kitchen so the color will have to blend well with our kitchen color, which is now "Cafe Au Lait". Thanks for your suggestions!

A. Hello my suggestion is to choose a color that creates a mood for your living room and at the same time matches with Cafe Au Lait, I would take a look in the following guide to make up my mind

How do you hang Christmas lights in your livingroom?

Q. I live in an apartment but my livingroom is kinda big. I don't know the exact size. What I'm really concerned is what can I put on the walls in order to hang the lights? Can I find that product at target? Ps- I live in Los Angeles, Ca in case you don't know what target is.

A. there is a brand called command that has removable hooks in clear plastic

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Why is it important for a home appliance such as a stove or washing machine to be good quality?

Q. Also,

Why is it important for a home appliance to have very few company defects?

Please use full explanations for these 2 questions.

A. Home appliances have to be of good quality because of the task they are expected to perform and the length of time they are expected to perform. Buying a cheaper brand may save you initially, but you will be replacing it or repairing it in a few short months. These appliances are expected to last for years.

As for the company defects,,, I would think that a defect would only relate to a safety issue. Meaning the appliance would work okay, but have a hidden defect that could possibly cause harm to you or your home. The company is responsible for notifying you of this, or recalling the appliance.

Who knows where I can download 2008 catalogs of Sony, Samsung, LG and other brands for home appliances?

Q. I need to download 2008 catalogs of Sony, Samsung, LG, Hitachi and other big brands for home appliances. Appreciate your help.

A. You can refer to their individual sites. www.sony.com..........www.samsung.com.....etc.

Why do we use two batteries for common home appliances?

Q. We usually use two batteries for remotes etc and other home appliances.Why there are only few appliances that require only one battery to operate?

A. Anything that uses and LED will probably use at least 2 batteries. The lowest voltage an LED operates from is typically 1.8 or 1.9 volts. Some LED's need an even higher voltage. You could use 1 battery and have a DC to DC converter to supply the higher voltage but it's simply easier and cheaper to design it for 2 batteries. You also get better battery life this way.

How/where to install kitchen cabinets: directly on wood subfloor or on the tile?

Q. My kitchen has been gutted. The walls, the electrical, and the wood subfloor has been preped. Should the base cabinets be installed directly onto the wood subfloor (my house has a 3 to 4 foot crawl space...not concrete slab), or should the kitchen floor be tiled first and then install the base cabinets on top of the tile? What is the proper way to do it? Thanks in advance for your answers.

A. http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Kitchen_Cabinets_and_Floors__Which.html

How can I make our kitchen floor less slippery for my elderly mother?

Q. Our kitchen floor is very slippery. We are afraid that Mom might slip on it. We don't want to carpet it. Is there another solution?

A. If replacing the flooring is an option I would head to Lowe's and look into flooring that is designed specifically for the kitchen/bathroom. Explain your concerns to the sales person and if they don't know, place a piece of the flooring on the ground, dampen it and step on it and just test it to see how slippery it is.

What is the best kitchen flooring for a home with a very slobbery dog?

Q. My dog slobbers a lot on the kitchen floor when we are out. We come home to lots of very watery slobber on the floor. Our current linoleum flooring is old and needs replacement. I would like something in style but it needs to withstand the slobber. Thanks for any suggestions.

A. The subject of kitchen flooring and dogs can be a real dilemma for those who have large rambunctious pups and a small budget. Some of the more durable floor types can be somewhat expensive. When it comes to flooring, you get what you pay for. While some kitchen floor types can entail high upfront costs, in the long run, they may just help you save money.
Some Kitchen Floor Types for Dogs:

Linoleum flooring
Ceramic tile flooring
High-pressure laminate
Rubber flooring

Hardwood is affected by changes in humidity and is not recommended for bathrooms, kitchens, or below grade. Many laminate floors are water-resistant, but you should check the warranty to be sure what is and is not covered.