Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

(PRWEB) January 31, 2014

When thinking of setting one's coffee pots to start brewing the minute one wakes up. One thinks of curtains that open and close based on the time of day. When one thinks of garage door openers and remote controls. Few take into account the capacity for greater security and easier home maintenance through home automation.

While one does tend to get a little more excited at the fun part of home automation, the fact remains that automating certain aspects of home security and maintenance can save one a lot of money in the long run, even after the initial investment of automating, and can even help to keep ones insurance rates down.

Home automation can be very tricky and time consuming to set up, or it can be quite simple, depending on the extent to which ones wish to automate ones living quarters. Automation can be as simple as using an app to record ones favorite TV shows remotely, or it can be as complex as rewiring ones entire house.

Detecting gas leaks with home automation may not sound like a lot of fun, said Christopher a writer for Android application company, But it can make you and yours that much safer.

In other words: detecting a gas leak without having to bring a professional into ones home to check it out may not be as tantalizing as adjusting ones recliner from across the room, but if youre going to take the time to automate ones entire home, it doesnt make a lot of sense to skip the basics.

To learn more please visit http://www.softwaregold.net/softreview/2014/01/security-maintenance-and-comfort-through-home-automation/.

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Security, Maintenance And Comfort Through Home Automation

The Grand Strands prolonged frigid weather has ramped up business for area plumbers and heating repair businesses, with some comparing the high numbers of calls for help in the past week to what happened in winters a decade or more ago.

We got absolutely slaughtered last week, said Steve Beatty of Four Star Plumbing and Air Conditioning in Conway. Things quieted down during the ice and snow storm the last two days, but Beatty said, When it finally gets above 40, its going to be a nightmare. As frozen lines thaw, busted pipes will become evident.

Plumbers and heating repair businesses that offer round-the-clock service said their crews have been out 24 hours a day battling frozen and busted water lines and defrosting overworked heat pumps.

Its been crazy, said Mike Scirocco of East Coast Heating and Air Conditioning in Surfside Beach. With this cold weather, its been nonstop.

While the National Weather Service says that things will warm up considerably Friday and through the weekend, the average high and low temperatures this month have been as much as 5 degrees off normal.

Dave Loewenthal, a forecaster in the Weather Services Wilmington, N.C., office, said the average high and low this month at its North Myrtle Beach monitoring station has been 42.7 degrees and 32.1 degrees, respectively. Thats three degrees cooler for the average daily high and a chilling 5 degrees below normal at night.

Temperatures have dropped into the teens since Monday and barely warmed to above freezing during the day. While it was expected to get to 38 degrees Thursday afternoon and melt some of the ice that covers most roads, it was forecast to refreeze overnight, making for a memorable Friday morning commute for those who brave it.

The Weather Service advised motorists to stay off roads until Friday afternoon, when the temperature is expected to rise into the low 50s.

Plumbers and heating services, though, cant ignore the pleas for help.

[Heat pumps] are freezing up and people are scared because theres ice on them, said Brenda Fergueson of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning.

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Myrtle Beach area water pipes, heat pumps struggling with weather

PHOENIX (CBS5) -

A Phoenix woman says the home service contract on her air-conditioning unit is not delivering the anticipated benefits. She's now going to maintain her air conditioning in a way that could be good for many other consumers.

Five-year home service contracts are common, nearly every Cooling & Heating company in Arizona offers them. Some consumers value the free maintenance and repair discountsoffered in these contracts, but they are not for every consumer. These agreementsmay limit your options and the discounts are hard to measure.

"I got a $600, five-year, maintenance contract," Becky Lehman said.

Lehman says she entered intothe contractwith Air Care Cooling & Heating strictly for the free maintenance and the promised discounts on repairs. The first time her unit had a problem, Lehman says an Air Care tech replaced a circuit board for around $900 and added a surge protector for around $100. Lehman had the box the new board came in, so she went online to research what kind of deal she just got.

"That part we could have bought as a consumer, delivered to our house, for $81," Lehman said.

Lehman says she found surge protectors online for around $40. She says all the work took the Air Care tech around 15 minutes to complete. Lehman says the promised discounts under the service contract didn't seem to exist, so she complained to Air Care and the company gave her an $800 refund.

"I'm very appreciative that Air Care considered the situation and did refund the fair amount," Lehman said.

The unit works fine now, but Lehman says she's done with home service contracts. She plans to service her air conditioner on a year-to-year basis only.

"I would establish a relationship with a contractor that I trusted, word of mouth from someone who said this person does a nice fair job," Lehman said.

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A/C home service contracts not always best for homeowners

Most Affordable Gutter Cleaning Service in Germantown Maryland!
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By: CrocSquad

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Most Affordable Gutter Cleaning Service in Germantown Maryland! - Video

Regardless of what type of gutter system you choose, gutters and roofs need maintenance. If you have open rain gutters, they should be cleaned at least twice a year: in the Spring after trees bud, dropping flowers acorns, and seed pods; and in the fall after they drop their leaves. Depending on weather conditions where you live, an additional cleaning or two may also be necessary.

If you also have a low-sloped roof, even a leaf protection system cannot prevent debris from accumulating on your roof, so with or without a leaf protection system, roof maintenance is required. A simple cleaning with a broom or blower is all that is necessary. Plus, loose debris accumulating on the roof is a fire hazard and is extremely bad for the roof, accelerating wear and backing water up under the shingles.

However, cleaning out your gutters and brushing debris from your roof, though an important task, is not an easy one. Climbing and moving ladders and working several feet off the ground can be dangerous. It requires strength and agility to maintain your personal safety, as well as climbing protection systems or devices. If you cannot do this safely, call a contractor or install a system that offers leaf protection. (see our section on Gutter Guards, Gutter Covers and Gutter Screens).

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Gutter Cleaning & Maintenance - Gutters.com

Enhance the look of your backyard even more with outdoor gazebos from Kmart. Kmart offers a wide selection of gazebos from Garden Oasis, Colony Bay Outdoor Structures and Cobraco. Find gazebos with hexagonal, rectangular and square canopies, such as the Garden Oasis garden pop-up gazebo with its pitched roof, corner curtains, inside valance and netting. Accentuate your patio dining set, and create a shady, beautiful place to gather in your own backyard.

Find matching patio umbrellas for your outdoor furniture. Browse umbrellas with floral, solid, specialty and striped fabric patterns, such as the striped Jaclyn Smith Bellflower and Ferndale umbrellas. Select replacement canopies, bases and traditional patio umbrellas from Garden Oasis, Simply Outdoors, Agio and Country Living. Invest in the Jaclyn Smith Today Addison nine-foot umbrella, which complements the Addison patio set. Use the Off-The-Wall Brella to provide a convenient source of shade just outside your patio door.

Relax in the comfort of your own backyard with outdoor swings from Vifah, Cedar Looks, Pawleys Island and Garden Oasis. In addition, Jaclyn Smith Today swings are available, such as the Addison three-person cushion swing, which also complements the Today Addison patio furniture set and matching umbrella. Choose traditional wood swings, such as the Cedar Looks four-foot American Garden swing or the Vifah Modica five-foot swing for the garden or porch. Swing under the shade with a Garden Oasis cushioned swing with matching overhang.

Even more options in outdoor casual seating are available for the backyard, patio or deck. Choose from sets that seat up to four people and feature chairs with olefin and polyester material. Ceramic tile, steel and tempered glass tabletops are also available, such as the table included in the Jaclyn Smith Today Avondale four-piece seating set. Select popular casual seating sets from Atlantic, La-Z-Boy, Country Living and Simply Outdoors. In addition, choose the Garden Oasis Jayden deep-seating set with two club chairs, a sofa and a coffee table.

With beautiful outdoor gazebos and the right outdoor casual seating, extend your living space to the great outdoors. Shop Kmart online or at the store for more affordable patio furniture, swings and outdoor living accessories for your patio.

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Outdoor Living | Buy Gazebos, Canopies & Pergolas and more ...

SAN ANGELO, Texas From cutting trees and mowing grass to building gazebos and fixing sprinklers, San Angeloan David Rodriguez has done it all in his 35 years working with the city and has no intention of retiring.

I love my job, every day its different, said Rodriguez, crew leader for the Parks Department, after a ceremony Thursday at the McNease Convention Center that honored 146 public servants for their loyalty to San Angelo.

The annual Service Awards Presentation celebrated employees who spent five to 35 years with the city, which made a cumulative total of 1,830 years of experience.

Congratulations to the guys in the trenches, to the supervisors, said Councilman Don Vardeman, who spent more than 30 years working for the city before his retirement. Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Rodriguez, 58, began working for the city in 1978.

Rodriguez received a job offer from the city and the state, but he chose the city because it paid employees once every two weeks as opposed to monthly by the state, said Operations Director Shane Kelton with a laugh.

In more than three decades with the city, Rodriguez said things have changed somewhat.

He said he laughs when younger staffers complain about weed eating, because it is so much easier than it was in the 1970s. At that time, he said, parks staff would use a tool called yo-yos, which was like a manual trimmer.

Its gotten better, with the new technology, Rodriguez said. Those days are gone.

Back then, he said, staff also would mow the city parks with a push mower, and it would take all day.

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City's event honors its own

bb feng shui 24 01 2014 005
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By: desertalexandra

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bb feng shui 24 01 2014 005 - Video

The Year of the Horse, which begins Friday, is a dangerous one for investing, according to Master Koon, a Hong Kong-based feng shui master.

The Chinese zodiac runs on a 60-year cycle, as the 12 animals occur in combination with each of the five elements of traditional Chinese cosmology: wood, water, fire, metal, and earth. The wood horse, which is up this year, represents instability and disruption, Master Koon said. A previous wood horse year, 1894, saw war break out between China and Japan hardly an auspicious sign.

Property, the stock market, the economy, politicstheyre all unstable, said Master Koon. So investments need to be conservative.

Master Koons analysis flatly contradicts that of brokerage CLSA, which argued in a recent report that the Year of the Horse would be a good one for stocks. Based on its own survey of five feng shui diviners, CLSA calculates the Hong Kong stock markets benchmark Hang Seng index will likely rise 28% over the next year.

It seems the masters of feng shui are no more in agreement than professional economists, whose prognostications for Chinas growth vary from an export-driven resurgence to financial meltdown. It isnt clear which profession has a better record of forecasting.

It is pretty common for feng shui masters to have different views, said Mariana Kou, a CLSA stock analyst who worked on the firms report. Its more of an art than a science.

Whats not in doubt is that this year China will have to work through a series of economic challenges, from mounting local government and corporate debt to a property boom that is putting home-ownership out of reach for many first-time buyers. The near failure of a 3 billion yuan ($496 million) investment product, bailed out at the last minute earlier this week, raised the specter of financial turmoil as years of bad investment start to be exposed.

Most economists expect growth to come in a little below last years 7.7% pace, but the risk of of a debt crisis means there is a chance of much worse performance.

Still, a look back at previous turns of the zodiac cycle shows how far China has come. The last year of the horse, roughly coinciding with 2002, was a good one for Chinas economy. Having joined the World Trade Organization in the last month of 2001, China suddenly found its trade soaring as other countries dropped import barriers.

The economy moved up a gear, making 2002 the first of six years of accelerating growth that ended only with the financial crisis of 2008. The impact on living standards for ordinary people has been profound.

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Feng Shui Masters at Odds Over Prospects for Year of the Horse

Feng shui, the art of placement to "harmonize the human existence with the surrounding environment," is usually applied to homes and offices. And just like your bedroom and your workplace, your car is also an environment where you spend a considerable amount of time. And so, to kick off the Year of the Horse, our friends from Ford Philippines share these tips to put some order into your car and attract positive energy:

* Name your car. "Once you name it, you start getting attached to it," as Mike Wazowski of the movie Monsters, Inc. said. Giving your car a name encourages a strong connection to your vehicle, so it also encourages you to take good care of it. "Using decals and vanity plates are other ways to encourage that connection," Ford adds.

* Use ch'i enhancers. A ch'i enhancer promotes well-being through the senses. Ford advises that you add this to the interior of your vehicle. Hang small chimes. Pick a calming essential oil to help you relax while you drive home after a stressful day from work. Or use an essential oil that perks you up, or an antibacterial one to fight off unwanted microorganisms.

* Choose a car color that balances your personality. Color is very important in feng shui. "Fiery individuals can choose a water element color like black to calm down and perhaps avoid tickets," Ford advises. On the other hand, fire and wood element colors such as red and green create more liveliness.

* Employ symbols that will help you drive safely. Just like colors, symbols are important in feng shui. Add in your car a small icon that will help remind you to be courteous so you can avoid road rage or reduce stress, or aid you in being alert as a driver. This symbol doesn't necessarily have to be visible to the driver all the time; the driver just has to know it is inside the car. It can even be tucked in the glove box.

Do you have additional feng shui tips (assuming you believe in it, of course)? Share them through the comments box below!

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TIP SHEET: Chinese New Year special: 4 feng shui automotive tips from Ford PH