Although building a fence is one of the easiest projects that you can complete on your own, you will still be quite hard pressed to find a guide that tells you all you might need to know before you start one. This is because of the number of options that you have when building a fence. There are dozens and dozens, possibly even hundreds of different kinds of fences, so no one can claim to be expert on each and every one. If you want to learn how to build a fence, you must first decide exactly which type it is that you wish to build.
If you are just looking for a way to separate your house from the houses of your neighbors, or to fence in your dog, or to stylishly enclose your property, and you live in a low crime, suburban neighborhood, I would probably suggest building a picket fence. Building a fence of this type is easy, if time consuming. You must simply hammer in the individual spikes of wood, then attach them together with a horizontal cross-member. Then all you have to do is paint your fence, and you are ready to go. Many residential communities have very strong and specific rules governing building a fence, so often the picket fence is your only option anyway/
On the other hand, if you are building a fence for security purposes, you might want to consider a few other options as well. Building a wrought iron fence can be a way to get some security, while still preserving style. Although these type of fences are far from unbeatable, they are stronger than picket fences, and can be bought tall enough and sturdy enough to keep out most unwanted visitors. Many iron fences have spikes that are both decorative and functional, making them almost impossible to climb. Although someone who is really determined to get into your house will no doubt find a way past this defense, building a fence of steel is enough to scare away most perpetrators. After all, the crooks are looking for an easy target. A more common option that combines the affordability of a wooden fence with the greater security of metal is a chain-link fence. building a fence out of chain link is easy, because it can be bought premade. All you have to do is to sink it into some concrete, and you are ready to go.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Building A House
Some years ago, my husband and I moved to the country to build a house. Plots of land were going cheap near the East coast of England., and we took the plunge. We had considered many possibilities of building a house or converting an old one. We did look at a number of old, run down properties which were advertised for restoration. The problem was there was so much work to do on the roof, the wiring and plumbing, that it would have been easier to knock it down and start again.
We decided to start from scratch, and be rewarded with the exact house we wanted. It had to be a house that fitted our particular needs. I wanted an office and my husband paints, so he wanted a studio with plenty of light. He also wanted a room with a pool table but we never did manage that! Building a house is a lot of hard work, unless you have the money to pay contractors to do everything. We were on a tight budget, and fortunately my husband is very handy and he can do just about everything. He is a trained electrician and has also picked up other skills having worked on lots of construction sites.
The only practical way to accomplish this was to buy an old caravan, which we put on the land and we lived in for six months whilst building a house. It was ok in summer but the winter months were tough. One morning, we woke up to find our bedding had stuck to the caravan wall and frozen. It was desperately cold and we took it in turns to be the one to jump out of bed, and put the gas heater on and fill the kettle for tea. When you start building a house, you're exposed to the elements and it's dusty work. I remember my husband stoically laying bricks in the snow.
Work parties were frequently organized, when friends kindly volunteered to come over at weekends and lend a hand. This was in exchange for hot meals and a night down at the village pub. Laying the foundations is the most tedious and time consuming bit of building a house. Once that's achieved, you feel like you're getting somewhere. Then there's the bricklaying, plastering, putting the roof on, plumbing and painting. It all takes time and it always costs you more than you think.
At last, and within our time limit but over budget, we got our dream home and moved in. Building a house is probably the most difficult but satisfying thing we have ever done. It was a glorious day when we saw that old, clapped out caravan rolling away.
We decided to start from scratch, and be rewarded with the exact house we wanted. It had to be a house that fitted our particular needs. I wanted an office and my husband paints, so he wanted a studio with plenty of light. He also wanted a room with a pool table but we never did manage that! Building a house is a lot of hard work, unless you have the money to pay contractors to do everything. We were on a tight budget, and fortunately my husband is very handy and he can do just about everything. He is a trained electrician and has also picked up other skills having worked on lots of construction sites.
The only practical way to accomplish this was to buy an old caravan, which we put on the land and we lived in for six months whilst building a house. It was ok in summer but the winter months were tough. One morning, we woke up to find our bedding had stuck to the caravan wall and frozen. It was desperately cold and we took it in turns to be the one to jump out of bed, and put the gas heater on and fill the kettle for tea. When you start building a house, you're exposed to the elements and it's dusty work. I remember my husband stoically laying bricks in the snow.
Work parties were frequently organized, when friends kindly volunteered to come over at weekends and lend a hand. This was in exchange for hot meals and a night down at the village pub. Laying the foundations is the most tedious and time consuming bit of building a house. Once that's achieved, you feel like you're getting somewhere. Then there's the bricklaying, plastering, putting the roof on, plumbing and painting. It all takes time and it always costs you more than you think.
At last, and within our time limit but over budget, we got our dream home and moved in. Building a house is probably the most difficult but satisfying thing we have ever done. It was a glorious day when we saw that old, clapped out caravan rolling away.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Basics Of New House Building
Building a house is a complicated project and utilizes dozens of subcontractors, workers and suppliers. Building or supervising a construction project requires a minimum of knowledge, but equally important, a tried-and-true method. Keep in mind that home design, plans and homebuilding can be quite time consuming, and may be quite a strain on you and your family if you try to do too much yourself. It is a big job in itself just to do the new home plans, oversee construction and deal with the numerous, sometimes complex, situations involved in home designs and housebuilding. Plans for every aspect of building your home is the key to a successful project.
Plans for every aspect of building your home is the key to a successful project. With good blue prints, by the time construction begins, you should be able to supervise the project from in front of your TV. You want to be very clear about the overall costs to ensure that you can afford to finish and maintain your project.
Unless you are buying a house that is already standing or in a subdivision tract, you will most likely need to choose and employ the services of an architect and/or builder. Individuals who perform the function of a builder are often referred to as Owner Builders. Here are the things you must know in order to be on equal footing with your home builder: How to avoid the ýmodel home trapý used by every big builder. How to prevent your builder's assembly line construction techniques from getting in the way of the quality and craftsmanship you deserve. How to discover if your new home builder is telling the truth about claims of superior quality and customer satisfaction. How to prevent damaging mold growth that has become common in new homes. The tactics used by new home sales people to "up-sell" and persuade you to unnecessarily spend thousands of extra dollars. How your builderys attorneys are working overtime to make sure they have the upper hand.
By acting as your own general contractor you can expect to save from 15 to 40percent on the cost homebuilding. How much a house costs, how it looks, how comfortable it is, how energy-efficient it is--all these things occur on paper before you pick up even one tool. The result is houses end up being more costly and less energy-efficient than they should be. It is important to estimate how much it is going to cost you to buy the land and build the house.
Plans for every aspect of building your home is the key to a successful project. With good blue prints, by the time construction begins, you should be able to supervise the project from in front of your TV. You want to be very clear about the overall costs to ensure that you can afford to finish and maintain your project.
Unless you are buying a house that is already standing or in a subdivision tract, you will most likely need to choose and employ the services of an architect and/or builder. Individuals who perform the function of a builder are often referred to as Owner Builders. Here are the things you must know in order to be on equal footing with your home builder: How to avoid the ýmodel home trapý used by every big builder. How to prevent your builder's assembly line construction techniques from getting in the way of the quality and craftsmanship you deserve. How to discover if your new home builder is telling the truth about claims of superior quality and customer satisfaction. How to prevent damaging mold growth that has become common in new homes. The tactics used by new home sales people to "up-sell" and persuade you to unnecessarily spend thousands of extra dollars. How your builderys attorneys are working overtime to make sure they have the upper hand.
By acting as your own general contractor you can expect to save from 15 to 40percent on the cost homebuilding. How much a house costs, how it looks, how comfortable it is, how energy-efficient it is--all these things occur on paper before you pick up even one tool. The result is houses end up being more costly and less energy-efficient than they should be. It is important to estimate how much it is going to cost you to buy the land and build the house.
Building Houses Through Housing Projects
I've been in construction for over 27 years and I've seen some pretty scary things. I'm a glazier by trade. I've had my own glass and storm shutter business. I've been a foreman working on glass buildings. I was a field supervisor managing custom homes,condominiums,tract housing projects and commercial buildings.
What I want to do here is pass on some knowledge to people so that when they go to build or buy a house they can look for things that are normally overlooked. Things that can cause serious damage down the road. I'm going to tell you about things you don't see and about things you can't see. Home inspectors help, but you need to find out their background to see if they have had any experience in construction. I inquired about going to take a course to be a home inspector. They told me that I would spend a week at their facility and 2 days more if I wanted to be certified for mold inspection as well.
I'm sure that you could learn a lot in a week, also it has to be better than the one offered to you by mail, but again a background in construction would help. Give a second thought to using a home inspector that is recommended buy the realtor that is showing you the house. I'm not trying to downgrade the home inspection industry. It's always good to have an inspection done before buying a house. For what little it cost to have one done, it could save you alot of money down the road.
Building inspectors are great, but there are those who do drive buy inspections and what I mean by this is that they go up to the permit board and sign off on an inspection and never even looked at the job they were supposed to inspect. Some of this happens because they are so over loaded with inspections that they can't possibly do them all in one day. Normally if someone calls for an inspection then the building department is obligated to give them one in a certain time frame, like 24 - 48 hours. When construction booms it's hard for them to keep up with the demand. Hurricane Andrew was a fine example of what can happen when inspectors get overloaded.
There are a lot things that happen when a house is going to be built right through to the closing. If you are going to have a house built it would be a good idea to hire someone with experience to keep an eye on the progress of your house. Someone who could do an inspection at each stage of the house. This way things could be corrected before it got to far along. There are certain things you can't see after the job is completed. The person you hire doesn't have to be there everyday, only at certain phases of the project. There is also another way to do this.
As your house progresses, you'll have different trades coming and going . You could find out when they are going to be completed doing their job, and hire someone from a different company to inspect their work. A house is a big investment and for what little it would cost you to hire someone to do an inspection you would benefit in the long run. Even if they found everything up to par, you would be able to close on your new house without any fear.
I'll give you some examples of things that went wrong. One lady just moved into her new custom home. She had to do a load of laundry and run an errand. When she returned home she found her whole floor flooded. Apparently, no one ever hooked the drain up for the washer. At this other custom home which cost about 1.4 million dollars the plumber that installed the toilets left the wax ring in the plastic cup that it comes packaged in. So down the road when they turned the water on and somebody flushed the toilet, they had a small flood. They also didn't install an end cap on a pipe in the ceiling. Water came down through the ceiling and the light fixture as well. In another custom home a plumber hooked up a hot water line to the toilet. It seems like some companies don't take the time to train their employees. I've checked jobs before we would send installers to put windows and doors in and more than once someone installed the concrete window sills in backwards. You just never know what's going to happen when a house is being built.
There are different building codes and manufacturers installation specifications to follow in all parts of the country. In the United States we have earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other conditions that a house has to be built to be able to withstand. If someone doesn't follow say the NOA'S (notice of acceptance) or product approvals a house could be in big trouble. NOA's are basically test reports and they also have installation details that must be met so that whatever condition that product must face it will be able to perform according to it's purpose. The NOA's can be tricky and confusing to read. Usually windows, sliding glass doors, entry doors, storm shutters and roofing material will have to have NOA's submitted to the building department before a permit is issued.
Once the permit is issued and the house is built you have to rely on the installers to do their installation according to the NOA's. Then it's the inspectors duty to make sure that the installers followed the NOA's. If neither one of them did their job, your house might not make it through let's say a hurricane. You and your family's lives could be at risk as well. That's why it is important to have an outside party do an inspection on your house.
Well I'm going to bring this article to a close. Look for my next article on this subject. I hope this information will benefit you. It also might be a good idea to have an inspection on the house you are living in now. Don't wait till it's too late. Thank you and God Bless You.
What I want to do here is pass on some knowledge to people so that when they go to build or buy a house they can look for things that are normally overlooked. Things that can cause serious damage down the road. I'm going to tell you about things you don't see and about things you can't see. Home inspectors help, but you need to find out their background to see if they have had any experience in construction. I inquired about going to take a course to be a home inspector. They told me that I would spend a week at their facility and 2 days more if I wanted to be certified for mold inspection as well.
I'm sure that you could learn a lot in a week, also it has to be better than the one offered to you by mail, but again a background in construction would help. Give a second thought to using a home inspector that is recommended buy the realtor that is showing you the house. I'm not trying to downgrade the home inspection industry. It's always good to have an inspection done before buying a house. For what little it cost to have one done, it could save you alot of money down the road.
Building inspectors are great, but there are those who do drive buy inspections and what I mean by this is that they go up to the permit board and sign off on an inspection and never even looked at the job they were supposed to inspect. Some of this happens because they are so over loaded with inspections that they can't possibly do them all in one day. Normally if someone calls for an inspection then the building department is obligated to give them one in a certain time frame, like 24 - 48 hours. When construction booms it's hard for them to keep up with the demand. Hurricane Andrew was a fine example of what can happen when inspectors get overloaded.
There are a lot things that happen when a house is going to be built right through to the closing. If you are going to have a house built it would be a good idea to hire someone with experience to keep an eye on the progress of your house. Someone who could do an inspection at each stage of the house. This way things could be corrected before it got to far along. There are certain things you can't see after the job is completed. The person you hire doesn't have to be there everyday, only at certain phases of the project. There is also another way to do this.
As your house progresses, you'll have different trades coming and going . You could find out when they are going to be completed doing their job, and hire someone from a different company to inspect their work. A house is a big investment and for what little it would cost you to hire someone to do an inspection you would benefit in the long run. Even if they found everything up to par, you would be able to close on your new house without any fear.
I'll give you some examples of things that went wrong. One lady just moved into her new custom home. She had to do a load of laundry and run an errand. When she returned home she found her whole floor flooded. Apparently, no one ever hooked the drain up for the washer. At this other custom home which cost about 1.4 million dollars the plumber that installed the toilets left the wax ring in the plastic cup that it comes packaged in. So down the road when they turned the water on and somebody flushed the toilet, they had a small flood. They also didn't install an end cap on a pipe in the ceiling. Water came down through the ceiling and the light fixture as well. In another custom home a plumber hooked up a hot water line to the toilet. It seems like some companies don't take the time to train their employees. I've checked jobs before we would send installers to put windows and doors in and more than once someone installed the concrete window sills in backwards. You just never know what's going to happen when a house is being built.
There are different building codes and manufacturers installation specifications to follow in all parts of the country. In the United States we have earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other conditions that a house has to be built to be able to withstand. If someone doesn't follow say the NOA'S (notice of acceptance) or product approvals a house could be in big trouble. NOA's are basically test reports and they also have installation details that must be met so that whatever condition that product must face it will be able to perform according to it's purpose. The NOA's can be tricky and confusing to read. Usually windows, sliding glass doors, entry doors, storm shutters and roofing material will have to have NOA's submitted to the building department before a permit is issued.
Once the permit is issued and the house is built you have to rely on the installers to do their installation according to the NOA's. Then it's the inspectors duty to make sure that the installers followed the NOA's. If neither one of them did their job, your house might not make it through let's say a hurricane. You and your family's lives could be at risk as well. That's why it is important to have an outside party do an inspection on your house.
Well I'm going to bring this article to a close. Look for my next article on this subject. I hope this information will benefit you. It also might be a good idea to have an inspection on the house you are living in now. Don't wait till it's too late. Thank you and God Bless You.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
House Buying And Building Projects
I've been in construction for over 27 years and I've seen some pretty scary things. I'm a glazier by trade. I've had my own glass and storm shutter business. I've been a foreman working on glass buildings. I was a field supervisor managing custom homes,condominiums,tract housing projects and commercial buildings.
What I want to do here is pass on some knowledge to people so that when they go to build or buy a house they can look for things that are normally overlooked. Things that can cause serious damage down the road. I'm going to tell you about things you don't see and about things you can't see. Home inspectors help, but you need to find out their background to see if they have had any experience in construction. I inquired about going to take a course to be a home inspector. They told me that I would spend a week at their facility and 2 days more if I wanted to be certified for mold inspection as well.
I'm sure that you could learn a lot in a week, also it has to be better than the one offered to you by mail, but again a background in construction would help. Give a second thought to using a home inspector that is recommended buy the realtor that is showing you the house. I'm not trying to downgrade the home inspection industry. It's always good to have an inspection done before buying a house. For what little it cost to have one done, it could save you alot of money down the road.
Building inspectors are great, but there are those who do drive buy inspections and what I mean by this is that they go up to the permit board and sign off on an inspection and never even looked at the job they were supposed to inspect. Some of this happens because they are so over loaded with inspections that they can't possibly do them all in one day. Normally if someone calls for an inspection then the building department is obligated to give them one in a certain time frame, like 24 - 48 hours. When construction booms it's hard for them to keep up with the demand. Hurricane Andrew was a fine example of what can happen when inspectors get overloaded.
There are a lot things that happen when a house is going to be built right through to the closing. If you are going to have a house built it would be a good idea to hire someone with experience to keep an eye on the progress of your house. Someone who could do an inspection at each stage of the house. This way things could be corrected before it got to far along. There are certain things you can't see after the job is completed. The person you hire doesn't have to be there everyday, only at certain phases of the project. There is also another way to do this.
As your house progresses, you'll have different trades coming and going . You could find out when they are going to be completed doing their job, and hire someone from a different company to inspect their work. A house is a big investment and for what little it would cost you to hire someone to do an inspection you would benefit in the long run. Even if they found everything up to par, you would be able to close on your new house without any fear.
I'll give you some examples of things that went wrong. One lady just moved into her new custom home. She had to do a load of laundry and run an errand. When she returned home she found her whole floor flooded. Apparently, no one ever hooked the drain up for the washer. At this other custom home which cost about 1.4 million dollars the plumber that installed the toilets left the wax ring in the plastic cup that it comes packaged in. So down the road when they turned the water on and somebody flushed the toilet, they had a small flood. They also didn't install an end cap on a pipe in the ceiling. Water came down through the ceiling and the light fixture as well. In another custom home a plumber hooked up a hot water line to the toilet. It seems like some companies don't take the time to train their employees. I've checked jobs before we would send installers to put windows and doors in and more than once someone installed the concrete window sills in backwards. You just never know what's going to happen when a house is being built.
There are different building codes and manufacturers installation specifications to follow in all parts of the country. In the United States we have earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other conditions that a house has to be built to be able to withstand. If someone doesn't follow say the NOA'S (notice of acceptance) or product approvals a house could be in big trouble. NOA's are basically test reports and they also have installation details that must be met so that whatever condition that product must face it will be able to perform according to it's purpose. The NOA's can be tricky and confusing to read. Usually windows, sliding glass doors, entry doors, storm shutters and roofing material will have to have NOA's submitted to the building department before a permit is issued.
Once the permit is issued and the house is built you have to rely on the installers to do their installation according to the NOA's. Then it's the inspectors duty to make sure that the installers followed the NOA's. If neither one of them did their job, your house might not make it through let's say a hurricane. You and your family's lives could be at risk as well. That's why it is important to have an outside party do an inspection on your house.
Well I'm going to bring this article to a close. Look for my next article on this subject. I hope this information will benefit you. It also might be a good idea to have an inspection on the house you are living in now. Don't wait till it's too late. Thank you and God Bless You.
Boom in Construction And House Building
The rapid growth of the Irish economy over the last 10 years has led to a boom in construction and house building. This strong growth in the construction sector has resulted in increased sales of building materials across the Republic and a 45% growth in the builders merchants market over the past five years to reach almost 3.7bn in 2007 and an increase of over 150% in the DIY and home improvement market over the same period to reach an estimated value of 1.1bn in 2007.
The substantial increases in the value of construction output have largely reflected high levels of economic growth in the Irish Republic, with several key drivers including EU supported infrastructure projects, increases in new house-building, high levels of RMI and investment in civil engineering projects. In addition, in January 2007 the second National Development Plan was launched, with an estimated 184 billion to be invested for the period 2007-2013 and is expected to support public sector construction activity for the next 7 years.
Recent years have seen big increases in construction costs with building materials prices rising at a faster rate than labour costs. Much of this increase is due to a rise in raw materials costs, while energy prices are also increasing rapidly in 2007. As a result, the forecast for building materials inflation for the full year is 6%
2007 has seen the Irish construction market enter a new phase in its development and it is now widely believed that the 'boom time' for the sector is now at an end and will be followed by a more sedate and sustained period of growth over the coming years. Rising consumer incomes and investment remain the drivers of growth, with funds from maturing SSIA accounts and the election in 2008 expected to underpin construction activity in the short term, while strong growth in employment and consumption will boost the demand for non-residential buildings.
Perhaps most significantly, the key sector which has underpinned growth in the construction market in recent years - residential house building - has now peaked at around 93,000 completions in 2006. Volumes have been falling rapidly in late 2007, with forecasts for 2008 varying, but all indicating a reasonably substantial decline, at least in the short term.
Distribution of building and home improvement products in Ireland is dominated by the Grafton Group, following its acquisition of Heiton, with a strong position in both the builders merchants and DIY sectors. Other leading operators with expanding operations include Wolseley and B&Q, while Travis Perkins and Homebase are now also expanding their Irish DIY operations, which should result in a very competitive market over the next 5 years.
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