Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Expert step-by-step instructions for installing a conventional storage tankstyle water heater

Storage water heater is the most common type. Photo: Whirlpool

For many homeowners, replacing an old water heater is simpler than they imagine, especially if the new unit is similar to the old one. If you want to switch from electric to gas or vice versa, however, discuss the various installation options with a professional.

If your home is in an earthquake zone, you will need to install straps around the new water heater (check with your local building department for exact specifications).

If the new tank is a different height than the old one, use flexible pipe connectors for the water inlet and outlet; they will bend as needed to make the hookup.

If the pipes are not threaded, replace them with threaded nipples, and secure the connectors to the nipples with an adjustable wrench. Install a new temperature and pressure-relief valve on the new tank, and test it by squeezing the lever.

1. After draining the tank, unscrew the inlet and outlet fittings.

1) After shutting off the water and gas or power supply to the tank, connect a hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank, open the valve, and run it to a nearby drain or to the outdoors. Use two wrenches to unscrew the inlet and outlet fittings from the top of the tank.

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How to Install a Storage Water Heater | HomeTips

Check the Plumbing Measure the center-to-center dimension between the hot and cold water pipes on the top of the water heater and try to ensure the new heater has the same dimensions. That will make the plumbing job a bit easier. Take a look at the plumbing connecting to the old water heater. Make sure you have a gas union in the gas line if you have a gas water heater, and make sure there is a water shutoff for the cold water inlet pipe and a union connector for the hot water outlet pipe. If you don't have these you're job is a bit harder as you'll have to cut the pipes to remove the old heater, then install the cold water shut off valve, and / or gas union or hot water pipe union. But most plumbers did the right job in the beginning so hopefully everything is in place.

Setting Up Getting the water heater off the truck and down the stairs (if you have a basement installation) is a two person job. I also recommend renting an appliance dolly if possible. For around $20/day it makes bringing the new heater down and the old heater up a lot easier. They are bulky and heavy. Once you have the new heater brought down to the location of the old heater you're ready to go.

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Replacing a Water Heater - Installation Preparation

An outdoor water fountain can add a lot of interest to a lake or pond on your property. It can add value but the real pleasure is aesthetic. Its not difficult to add an outdoor water fountain. It only requires a few materials and you dont need any special skills.

The first thing to do is measure how deep your lake is in the area youll be putting your outdoor water fountain. To do this youre going to have to wade into the lake, but youll be spending time there anyway when you install the outdoor water fountain.

To create the pipe for the fountain, youll need to measure the height of the pump for your outdoor water fountain. Attach rigid tube to it. Cut the tube to a height you desire thats above the level of the water in your lake. You can find these tubes at hardware stores or nurseries.

Its best not to put the pump for the outdoor water fountain directly on the ground, as this means it can fill with debris and clog more easily. You need a good flat rock for it to rest on, one thats big enough to easily accommodate it.

The pump should come with a filter to cover the water intake. This will keep out dirt and debris. If your pump doesnt have this, try attaching a hose to the intake and positioning it so the end of the hose is off the floor of the lake.

At this point youre ready to place your outdoor water fountain in the lake. Put the pump on the rock, with the rigid tube pointing up so it projects out of the water. You have a choice between simply letting water come out of the tube or buying fountain attachments for the tube end. The different designs of fountain attachments are easy to put on the pipe, and will create different effects in the way the water sprays.

You need to be able to secure the fountain in place so it wont tip over if disturbed. One way to do this is to use rigid netting. Cut a hole in the center thats large enough to accommodate the tube. Use stakes that are the depth of the water. Attach one end to the netting and push the other into the ground under the water of the lake. This will keep the outdoor water fountain in one place.

The pump for the outdoor water fountain wont run without power, and thats provided by electricity. The cord for the pump is submersible and waterproof, but the plug will need to connect o an outlet where its dry and sheltered. When plugged in the outdoor water fountain will start automatically. Youll need to adjust the flow from the pump up or down until youre happy with the way it emerges.

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How to Install an Outdoor Water Fountain in a Lake ...

home section Interior Design Housekeeping Entertaining Home Improvement Gardening & Plants Landscaping eHow Home & Garden Building & Remodeling Interior Remodeling Wood Trim Moulding Ideas

Sienna Condy

Sienna Condy began writing professionally in 2001 while attending the University of Cincinnati, and she's been at it ever since. Since graduating, she's written everything from marketing materials to articles on removing stains. Today, she enjoys writing about weddings, legal issues, science, health and parenting.

If you want to add your own special touch to your home's architectural decor, use wood trim molding to put your own flavor on a room. You can use wood trim molding to create everything from simple trim pieces to more elaborate window casings. Unlike fiberboard trim, wood trim holds stain, allowing for a more natural look. Wood trim also tends to be more durable, but it typically costs more than fiberboard trim.

For an elaborate look in a dining room or formal living room, stack up pieces of wood trim to create a more formal look. Add a touch of brilliant color, such as gold, to a narrow piece of trim at the top of the stack to give your trim a bit of grandeur without overpowering the whole. Create a two-toned trim yourself by staining multiple pieces of trim different colors. Wait for the pieces to dry, and stack them together to make a brand new trim style and design for your home.

To add a creative touch to your home, try handcarved wood trim moldings. Order handmade trim moldings from a mill or local woodworker. For an unusual touch, have unusual designs of your choosing carved into the corners of window or door casings. Add carved birds or flowers to the molding around a fireplace mantel, or create a special curlicue to place around a central doorway or festive room.

Use wood trim to add detail and decorative touches all over your home instead of just the windows, doors and baseboards. Turn a simple mantel into the central focus of a room by using wood trim to create columns or other architectural details around the surround. Use wood trim molding to add a chair rail or a hand rail to a room to give it a more formal look, or spice up your kitchen by adding wood trim around a built-in range hood or kitchen island.

As a kind of wood molding, wood trim dresses up corners of the house, disguising uneven plaster or paint. One type of...

When you are building or renovating a home, the trim is an important consideration. Wood trim decorating ideas changed with the architectural...

Using wood trim around your doors and fireplace draws the eye to the space and makes a more dramatic look. The wood...

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Wood Trim Moulding Ideas | eHow - eHow | How to Videos ...

Christmas tree recycling will be available throughout Kane County after the holiday, with some municipalities offering removal programs. Also, there are opportunities for residents to drop off their trees.

One drop-off location will be at the Advance Disposal (Veolia) transfer station, 766 Hunter Drive, Batavia. All decorations and lights should be removed. The cost is $15. Trees may be dropped off from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturday. For information, call 630-879-3587.

Another drop-off location will be at Midwest Compost, 1320 Spaulding Road, Elgin. All decorations and lights should be removed. The cost is $10. Trees may be dropped off from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. For information, call 847-931-2900.

Among the municipalities offering services will be:

Aurora Township: The Aurora Township Highway Department will have a tree and wreath pickup service for unincorporated areas of the township only. The pickup will take place on Jan. 6. There should be no bags or plastic of any kind, and the cut end should face toward the street. Also, the township will accept trees and wreaths at its facility at 220 Butterfield Road, North Aurora. Drop-off times are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, from Jan. 2 to Jan. 10.

Batavia: Advanced Disposal will pick up trees on residents' regular collection dates. Residents will not have to use a sticker for tree removal on the designated dates, but after the dates, residents should affix a sticker to the tree and place it at the curb on the normal collection date. All other materials should be removed. Those on the south side of the city (Wilson Street to the south, between Kirk and Randall roads) will have collections on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15. Those on the north side (north of Wilson to Fabyan Parkway between Kirk and Randall roads), will have collections on Jan. 9 and Jan. 16. Those on the far west side (Randall Road west to the city limits) will have collections on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17.

Elburn: Trees will be picked up curbside by Waste Management on Jan. 2 and Jan. 2. Decorations should be removed.

Geneva: Tree pickup will take place in the second and third weeks in January without a sticker. A waste hauler will pick them up, not city trucks.

Maple Park: Trees will be picked up on residents' service day after Wednesday. Pickup will continue through January, and trees must be free of decorations.

South Elgin Allied Waste/Republic Services will remove trees through Jan. 16 on normally scheduled refuse days. All decorations should be removed.

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Tree recycling: What to do with the tree after Christmas

TULSA, Oklahoma -

The ice storm has companies working overtime to clear fallen limbs and trees.

We won't be above freezing until Tuesday, so many more limbs are going to fall.

All across Green Country, yards are full of downed tree limbs and branches.

12/22/2013 Related Story: Crews Make Headway Restoring Power To Northeastern Oklahoma

Trees, complete with extra weight of the ice, are leaning dangerously close to power lines, homes and property.

"A lot of our old growth trees have been devastated from the ice storm in '07," certified arborist Shae Brown said. "They've already been depleted from all the nutrients they already have."

Brown said when ice accumulates on trees this time of year, there's nothing else the tree can do but break.

"In the winter, the trees are dormant so there's not as much sap flowing the wood to be able to make the tree as strong as it needs to be," she said.

Rickert Landscaping and Tree Service had crews out this weekend taking care of homeowners who were immediate danger of losing power or their homes from trees falling.

The rest is here:
Oklahoma Ice Storm Keeps Tree Trimmers Busy

Allow an arborist from our Tucson office to provide you with preventive tree care and landscape management services to the greater Tucson area, including Green Valley, Sahuarita, Vail, Marana, Oro Valley, Sun City, and Saddlebrooke. View more details on the areas served by our Tucson office.

Arborists in our Tucson office are committed to helping local residents and businesses maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. Our arborists are experts in diagnosing and treating tree and shrub problems specific to the Tucson area. Plus, with access to Bartletts global resources and advanced scientific research facility, we can provide customers with benefits that just arent available from other Tucson tree services.

Bartlett Tree Experts offers a variety of services to help our customers maintain beautiful, healthy trees and shrubs. No matter the size or scope of your tree service or shrub care needs, we want to work with you to protect your landscape investment. Access a complete list of the tree services we provide in the Tucson area.

Cabling and Bracing Cables and brace rods can help reduce the risk of failure of weak branches and multiple stems.

Insect and Disease Management Bartlett uses an integrated approach to suppress pests and manage tree diseases on your property.

Pruning Pruning is periodically required to improve the health and appearance of woody landscape plants.

Fertilization and Soil Management To thrive, trees and shrubs require a healthy blend of nutrients in the soil where they live.

Plant Analysis and Diagnostics Contact an arborist to determine the cause of a plant health problem or to identify a pest infestation.

Tree Removal Expert removals can be performed for a number of reasons ranging from dying trees to new construction.

The TCIA Accreditation "seal of approval" helps consumers find tree care companies that have been inspected and accredited based on adherence to industry standards for quality and safety, maintenance of trained, professional staff, and dedication to ethics and quality in business practices. Through research, technology, and education, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) promotes the professional practice of arboriculture and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees. The Board-Certified Master Arborist credential is designed for arborists who have reached the pinnacle of their profession.

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Bartlett Tree Experts: Tree Service and Shrub Care in Tucson, AZ

My south west tile work at home
Home project with a 10 most difficult score.

By: michaelmichelmathieu

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My south west tile work at home - Video

Here's a quick look at ongoing events and work planned this week in the Tyler and Atlanta districts:

U.S. 79 Expanding U.S. 79 to four lanes between Tile Factory Road in Palestine and Texas 294. The $43.6 million project let to contract in September 2012, began work in November, and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016.

FM 59 Adding shoulders between FM 753 in Henderson County and U.S. 287 in Anderson County. The $6.1 million project let in September 2013, work began in December 2013, and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2015.

U.S. 80 Widening to accommodate continuous left-turn lane and adding curb-and-gutter between Texas 42 in White Oak and Fisher Road in Longview. The $3.5 million project let to contract in December 2012 and broke ground in February. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.

South Loop 281 Building an overpass for the railroad crossing near FM 2087. The project let to contract for $13.3 million in August 2011 but was delayed by utility relocation issues. Work began in August 2013. The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Texas 42 Widening to accommodate continuous left-turn lane in Kilgore between Texas 31 and Interstate 20. The $3.7 million project let to contract in August 2013 and is scheduled to begin in January 2014.

Texas 19 Widening to add passing lanes in various locations between four miles south of FM 1615 (Coon Creek Bridge) and the Anderson County Line. The approximate $6.4 million project let to contract in August 2012, began in November of 2012 and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014.

Texas 31 Repair and resurface between FM 773 in Murchison between FM 773 and FM 1803, and repair and resurface westbound lanes only between FM 1803 and FM 314 in Brownsboro. The $5 million project let to contract in April 2013, began in June and is scheduled for completion in spring 2014.

Texas 64 Business Redesigning the bottleneck intersection with Marshall Street, North Mill Street and Highland Drive west of the Henderson Star. The estimated $2.1 million project let to contract in August 2013, work began November, and is scheduled for completion fall 2014. Lone Star

Loop 323 Resurfacing between U.S. 69 North and American Legion Drive. The $3.8 million project let to contract in March 2013, began in July 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2014.

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TxDOT Report

This article is about the device discharging the water. For the complete system, see fire sprinkler system.

A fire sprinkler or sprinkler head is the component of a fire sprinkler system that discharges water when the effects of a fire have been detected, such as when a predetermined temperature has been exceeded. Fire sprinklers are extensively used worldwide, with over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. In buildings protected by fire sprinklers, over 99% of fires were controlled by fire sprinklers alone.[1][2]

In 1812, British inventor Sir William Congreve patented a manual sprinkler system using perforated pipes along the ceiling. When someone noticed a fire, a valve outside the building could be opened to send water through the pipes.[3]

A large furniture factory had repeatedly burned down, and Hiram Stevens Maxim was consulted on how to prevent a recurrence. As a result, Maxim invented the first automatic fire sprinkler. It would douse the areas that were on fire, and it would report the fire to the fire station. Maxim was unable to sell the idea elsewhere, but when the patent expired the idea was used.[4][5]

Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, CT created and installed the first automatic fire sprinkler system in 1874, using solder that melted in a fire to plug holes in the otherwise open water pipes. At the time he was the president of Mathusek Piano Works. Parmelee invented his sprinkler system in response to exorbitantly high insurance rates. Parmelee patented his idea and had great success with it in the U.S. Parmelee called his invention the "automatic fire extinguisher".[6] He then traveled to Europe to demonstrate his method to stop a building fire before total destruction.

His invention did not get as much attention as he had planned. Most people could not afford to install a sprinkler system. Once Parmelee realized this, he turned his efforts on educating the insurance companies about his system. He talked about how the sprinkler system would reduce the loss ratio, thus saving money for the insurance companies. He knew that he could never succeed in obtaining contracts from the business owners to install his system unless he could ensure for them a reasonable return in the form of reduced premiums.

In this connection he was fortunate enough to enlist the sympathies of two men, who both had connections in the insurance industry. The first of these was Major Hesketh, who, in addition to being a cotton spinner in a large business in Bolton, was Chairman of the Bolton Cotton Trades Mutual Insurance Company. The Directors of this Company and more particularly its Secretary, the late Peter Kevan, took an interest in Parmelees early experiments, and eventually it was to Major Hesketh, its Chairman, that Parmelee owed his first order for the Sprinkler Installations which were installed in the Cotton Spinning Mills of John Stones & Company, at Astley Bridge, Bolton, to be followed soon afterwards by the Alexandra Mills belonging to Mr. John Butler of the same town.

Although he got a contract through his efforts, the Bolton Cotton Trades Mutual Insurance Company was not a very big company outside of its local area. Parmelee needed a wider influence. He found this influence in James North Lane, the Manager of the Mutual Fire Insurance Corporation of Manchester. This company was founded in 1870 by the Textile Manufacturers' Associations of Lancashire and Yorkshire as a protest against high insurance rates. They had a policy of encouraging risk management and more particularly the use of the most up-to-date and scientific apparatus for extinguishing fires. Even though he put tremendous effort and time into educating the masses on his sprinkler system, by 1883 only about 10 factories were protected by the Parmelee sprinkler.

Back in the US, Frederick Grinnell, who was manufacturing the Parmelee sprinkler, designed a newer and more effective version which became known as the Grinnell sprinkler. He increased sensitivity by removing the fusible joint from all contact with the water, and, by seating a valve in the center of a flexible diaphragm, he relieved the low-fusing soldered joint of the strain of water pressure. By this means the valve seat was forced against the valve by the water pressure, producing a self-closing action, so that the greater the water pressure, the tighter the valve. The flexible diaphragm had a further and most important function. It caused the valve and its seat to move outwards simultaneously until the solder joint was completely severed. Grinnell got a patent for his version of the sprinkler system. He also took his invention to Europe, where it was a much bigger success than the Parmelee version. Eventually, the Parmelee system was withdrawn, which left an open path for Grinnell and his invention.[7]

Fire sprinkler application and installation guidelines, and overall fire sprinkler system design guidelines, are provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 13, (NFPA) 13D, and (NFPA) 13R.

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Fire sprinkler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia