About Home Appliances

Let's face it. Safe, clean water shouldn't just come out of the faucet in your kitchen. It should be available to your family in every part of the house. If you're shopping for water treatment equipment, then covering all your clean water bases with whole house water treatment is something you should seriously consider.Now before you disagree with me, just hear me out. The importance of having purified water doesn't end with drinking. You also need safe, clean water for cooking, bathing and showering. And still, it doesn't end there.Quality water treatment equipment should be able to remove corrosive chemicals that come into contact with your home plumbing. This means protecting your family from lead, copper and other heavy metals that can be leached from your pipes into your water. Whole house water treatment addresses this critical issue.

And there's one more thing I'd like to bring to your attention. There is also an environmental consideration to water treatment equipment: after the water is used, it returns into the city sewer line. Effective whole house water treatment ensures that your used water is free of harmful chemicals and bacteria. So in the long run, you are providing extra protection to your family, as well as your community.Whole house water treatment also makes sense in terms of cost and convenience. It costs less than 50 cents a day to have safe, clean water delivered to your family through faucets, showers, baths, toilets, washers, etc.

The upkeep for this type of water treatment equipment is fairly minimal. If you ever have to move, this system is easy to disconnect and take with you to your new location.I've done extensive research into whole house water treatment and have found a system that adds a HEALTHY component to their method of water purification. This water treatment equipment uses a method called multi-stage filtration, which comprehensively purifies water while leaving healthful minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium untouched.

Easily getting your daily mineral intake from drinking water is such a great way to support the health of your teeth, bones and other important bodily functions.This is a bonus that is not included with the more common water treatment equipment, such as distillation and reverse osmosis.Make no mistake. Whole house water treatment based on multi-stage filtration is the best way to cover all your clean water bases. I'd like to invite you to read more about this comprehensive water treatment equipment at my web site. I've done a lot of research so that you don't have to.

For more information, visit us at: http://www.orangecountyconstruction.com/
Posted by Orange County Construction

Home Theater Systems

If you are planning to purchase wireless speakers home theater, try to learn everything that you have to know about it so that the product you'll take home is exactly the one you need. These speakers have different price tags. Some are priced too much for regular home use.

So for you to get the right devices, consider the following tips:

1. Simple setup Homeowners would love to get rid of all the speaker wires in their living room in an instant. A strong suggestion is for you to get the one that works out-of-the-box. If you're a newbie to this technology, consider the ease of setup the product offers. To be sure, ask the sales person to show you how things are connected so that you'll have a fair idea of how things work. The lesser time spent reading the manual, the better.

2. Superior power output The intensity of the sound produced by the speaker is determined by its power output. Check the wattage and the frequency of the wireless speakers. Compare them with your needs. Then get the one that perfectly matches your requirements.

3. Sleek Style Always consider the elegance and overall appeal of the wireless speakers home theater that you're going to buy. While this doesn't directly affect its performance, it can do so much to improve the looks of your home theater system greatly. Sleek and sexy styles are the most popular today. The metallic finish of these devices adds so much to its appearance.The quality of sound comes first. This should be applied to all kinds of speakers, wireless or otherwise. When buying these devices, scrutinize the sound that is coming out of the system. The pleasing they are to your ears, the better. Don't prioritize looks over quality at any time.

Posted by Orange County Construction

Bathroom Tips!

Bathrooms are a great place to spend your remodeling dollars, as a beautiful bathroom ads instant value to a home. However, bathroom remodeling may turn out to be more than a homeowner could have ever bargained for, considering the high costs of materials and labor that accompany such a project.Fortunately, there are three specific areas where a homeowner can save significantly in their bathroom remodeling project. With a little extra time and a bit of bargain hunting, a homeowner can typically save about $200 to $2000 implementing the following suggestions:

* Bathroom Remodeling Tip 1-Search for Discount Tile: If you plan on using marble, granite or stone for your bathroom floor or shower tile, leave plenty of time to shop for clearance or discontinued material. Discontinued stone can be up to $10 per square foot cheaper than flooring or backsplash right off the showroom floor. This allows the homeowner to achieve a more upgraded look (i.e. granite tile) at a fraction of the actual retail cost.You can find stone materials that have been discontinued or that are on clearance online on popular bidding sites such as eBay, or in the clearance section of flooring supply stores.

* Bathroom Remodeling Tip 2-Use a Bath fitter. Rather than replace a bath or shower that is in decent shape to begin with, seek out estimates from companies that rehabilitate existing fixtures using bath fitters. A bath fitter will typically go over the existing tub and backsplash with a little bit of man power and lots of caulk, thus creating a new look for an old fixture.Choosing to go this route when updating a shower or tub can save the homeowner more than half of the cost of total replacement, while the finished project tends to look just as good (if not better) in the end.

* Bathroom Remodeling Tip 3-Purchase Discontinued Hardware. Paying retail for hardware fixtures such as faucets and showerheads is the most unnecessary budget drain in a bathroom remodeling project. While they may not look that expensive, new fixtures are an added expense running anywhere between $400- 1000 (especially in the case of custom orders).To save money in this area, shop around home improvement stores for fixtures that are discontinued or currently on clearance due to an open or damaged box. You may also find discontinued items by looking online for discount plumbing stores or eBay shops. Admittedly, this may take some time if you have a specific look in mind, but you'll be glad you waited when that $500 faucet shows up $200 cheaper at a discount store a year down the road.

* Bathroom Remodeling Tip 4-Use 'Green Plumbing': While not an immediate savings, using green plumbing fixtures such as high efficiency toilets and low flow faucets and showerheads will make a significant dent in your water bill at the end of each month.Furthermore, additional savings may come in the form of an instant cash back rebate, as some states are choosing to financially reward homeowners that "go green" with their plumbing choices.
Posted by Orange County Construction

Easy House Cleaning Tips

It's that time of the year again! Time for you to go through your home and organize everything that has accumulated throughout the year. That's right; it's time for Spring Cleaning! Whether it's actually spring or the middle of winter, it's time to get your house in order. This is not an enjoyable task, but it has to get done. After all, we all enjoy our home more when it is clutter free. To help you get started, here are some tips and hints to help you get rid of your old, unwanted stuff, sometimes with minimal effort from you!

Clothes and GarmentsWhether you have a bridesmaid dress from your cousin's wedding four years ago, or a shirt you bought that didn't fit and you lost the receipt for, most of us have clothes that we could easily part with. So get your unwanted t-shirts, jackets, skirts, jeans, and shoes gathered together into a simple garbage bag. Then, all you need to do is find a simple donation drop off box for garments. These are very common. Many charity organizations have them, whether they be Good Will, the Red Cross, or some other charity. In fact, most of these organizations try to make your donating as easy as possible, and put drop boxes at many stores or supermarkets. This makes it easy for you to rid yourself of your old clothes.

Just look for one of these boxes on your way to work or when you're out shopping, and you can get rid of your clutter with minimal fuss.Stuffed Animals and Other ToysFor those of us with kids, it seems there are always more toys then are needed. Some playthings they grow out of, and others they lose interest in. In that case, it would be better to get those toys to a child who will better appreciate them. Luckily, many charities encourage us to donate toys. You will often see toy "drives" where you are allowed to drop off unwanted items at your local supermarket and the charity will make sure that the items will get into the hands of those who will appreciate them. Or if there are no local drives, many churches are happy to take your old stuffed animals and games off your hands. You could even do a simple search on the internet and find someone locally to take your toys and get them into the hands of needy children in other countries.Furniture and Home AccessoriesThese are often the most difficult items to get rid of. After all, they are heavy and take up a lot of space. Still, you will be surprised how grateful others will be take furniture off your hands.

Ask around with your friends and family, and perhaps someone will know a college student who would be more than happy to a get a free sofa for their apartment or dorm. They'll probably even transport it themselves! Remember, your junk could be someone else's treasure. And if you can't find anyone, and are at all tech savvy, you could put an ad out on one of the many free internet classifieds, such as Craigslist. These are all great ways to get rid of your heavy furniture without having to expend much energy or cash on transportation costs. (You could also sell your old furniture for cash if it's in good condition). And if you have the ability to carry an item a short distance, you could even set it at the end of your driveway with a "free" sign on it.

Someone will probably stop by and happily take it off your hands! Furniture doesn't have to be as difficult to get rid of as you think!So as you can see, no matter what form your unwanted clutter takes, there's always a way to get it into the hands of someone who will appreciate it. You can donate them to friends, family, or acquaintances, give them to a charity to place with the needy, or simply have someone pick them up from your door! Remember, spring cleaning does not have to be incredibly difficult. Just keep in mind these tips for making your clutter someone else's treasure. Good luck!
Posted by Orange County Construction

Concrete Driveways & Walkways

Concrete Flat WorkIt is widely used in two different ways that is traditional work and decorative flat work for interior and exterior of house. It is commonly used in flat work or floor work of basements, driveways, garages, patios and side walks. Stamped and stained concrete is used in traditional and decorative designs. It has some basic qualities such as strength, durability, low maintenance, energy efficiency, environmental friendly and beautiful. In early times it had industrial look that restricts its flexible use in homes. But latest technology of shaping, designing and coloring has added beauty and character that greatly increases the practical use of it.

Whatever your choice or where ever you use it has been guaranteed that concrete built house will last.Advantages of Concrete Flat WorkIt is an excellent flooring material whether it is used in plain and decorative manner. You can use it in both indoors and outdoors to add prestige and value to your property. Its use as flooring material offers many advantages to homeowners. Major advantages are durability, strength and low price. You can match your driveways and walks with home's exterior by using soft and natural palette. You can naturally blend patios and retaining walls with surroundings or contrast colors can be used.

Colored and textured concrete is used to create delicate look of interior rooms.

• It has been always used where strength and durability are required. It lasts longer than brick, stone and wood work. It also needs less maintenance. It absorbs very minimal amount of water this will not let it wrap in humid climate.

• It also has the ability to slow down the absorption of heat through wall. Due to this fact with same insulation house will remain cool in summer and warm in winter. Smaller air conditioning and heating units can full fill the air conditioning needs.

• It is classified as non combustible material and has very slow heat transfer. This has made it a good barrier for fire spread. But in case if concrete home catches fire the damage is not so much severe and can easily be repaired.

• It is natural building material. Natural materials are preferably used every where. It is made up of commonly found minerals. The area of land used to extract minerals required to make concrete is only a fraction of area used for timber logging.

• It can be recycled with out any loss in strength and performance. Micro topping and polishing are the techniques that recycle dull gray concrete artisans to beautiful floor without reproducing new slabs.

• It supports healthy indoor atmosphere due to its inert nature. It does not need any volatile organic preservative as wood require. It is water proof and fire resistant that's why it does not need any additional coatings and sealers. Cleaning is also very easy you can clean with organic, non-toxic substances that include simple house hold soap and water.

• It is very eco friendly does not release toxins in to your atmosphere. It is completely natural and it does not emit tar based residues in ground.Several coating materials can be used to coat garage floors. Commonly four basic types of materials are used to coat concrete garage floors. These materials include:

• Epoxy

• Polyurethane

• Acrylic Sealer/Stain

• LatexEpoxyIt is widely used as floor coating. It is very resistant to chemical but gets yellow and less glossy upon long exposures to direct sunlight. It forms hard long lasting surface and binds strongly with concrete surface. It is available in solvent or water based formulations with ratio of 1 part or 2 parts. It should be applied between temperature ranges of from 60 to 80 degrees in less humid environment. Epoxy will get dry in few hours if it is applied in high temperature range. But you have to wait for several days to get hard enough for vehicle traffic. Curing time can be reduced by increasing application temperature to 90 degrees. Major problems which occur during application are bubbling, blush and color streaking. Air trapped with nap roller causes bubbling while other contaminants of flooring material and moisture results in color streaks. Blushes are formed as white greasy or waxy layer. They are formed due to reaction between atmosphere moisture and hardening material. If garage is extensively used you need to recoat after every 3 to 5 years.PolyurethaneIt is bit expensive coating material than all other materials. It is more resistant to chemicals as compared to epoxy and does not get fade too much upon exposure to sunlight. It is highly durable and gives fine glossy finish. But it is not suggested to directly use on concrete flooring. It can only bind properly when applied over primer coat of epoxy. It is used as protective coating and creates special effect. Besides its expensive cost one can use if he/she wants traditional look.

Acrylic Sealer/Acid StainAcrylic Sealer/acid stain adds unique and expressive finish in multiple tones and colors. You can recreate the appearance of your stone flooring. It will give you chance to experiment and diverse patterns and designs. Acid stains are translucent and make design with blemishes of concrete flooring. It is not a coating it chemically reacts with floor. That's why floor must be free of contaminants. It is kind of permanent finish and needs additional protective coating with acrylic sealer. This protective coating can be damaged with exposure to sun light and dragging of heavy objects across the floor surface. Sealer needs protective waxing one or more than one time in order to maintain its proper look.LatexIt is least expensive material among all other coating materials. It is a synthetic polymer that resembles to latex obtained from rubber tree. There are many misconceptions that it is not a good floor coating material. It can be a good option of floor coating material. Performance mainly depends on the formulation of paint.
Posted by Orange County Constructio

Wood Decks

With every home improvement project that is completed, a sense of accomplishment is felt. A job well done can now be enjoyed and shown off. If the home owner isn't quite the handy man then perhaps that enjoyment is few and far between in coming. This doesn't mean that the new decking addition should wait any longer. A top quality deck can be designed and crafted in about half of the time it took 15 years ago. This is because of advances in engineered and composite decking as well as hardware and types of fasteners that have been invented in recent years.The problems with most decks assembled in the past is that they were vulnerable to rot, expansion and contraction, fading and are now safety hazards.

Everyone has seen the decks with split and warped boards. As the temperature changes throughout the seasons, wood expands and contracts. This expansion and contraction acts to loosen the screws or nails holding the deck boards to the joists ever so slightly. This is enough to allow moisture down into the screw holes. After the deck has endured its first winter, the rotting process begins.To help combat the short life of traditional decks and improve safety, engineered or composite decking was invented. Now the homeowner has a myriad of choices from composites, which are recycled wood and plastics molded together with resins, to full plastic decking lumber. One might think that the plastics would be tacky and flimsy like vinyl siding, but not so.

Plastic deck boards are very dense and have been molded to look exactly like regular lumber boards with a variety of color choices. Two of the most prominent advantages of engineered decking is that it greatly helps in the conservation of woodlands and animal habitats and it is much more durable than traditional wood deck boards. Each material, whether wood or engineered, possesses different characteristics which the decking contractor should be able to discuss with the homeowner.Deck fastening hardware has undergone somewhat of a revolution from the simple days of nailing the deck board to the joist. In the past problems with nails or screws popping up created safety hazards that caused falls and cuts. The only way to correct this problem was to install more unsightly screws in the top securing the board to the joists again. Today hidden deck fasteners have gained in popularity.

These hidden fasteners have even been improved upon and now there is a large variety and functionality. Some deck fasteners require that installation be done from underneath the deck joists while others can be installed topside. The most immediate benefit of all of these hidden deck fasteners is that the beauty of the deck itself can be enjoyed without the constant repetition of ugly screw holes.Although these advances have made the assembly process faster and much more durable, they have not made the actual design of the deck itself easier. Another challenge to do-it-yourself decking is the type of soil and drainage that may cause problems if not addressed correctly. Unless the homeowner possesses basic carpentry skills and some knowledge of foundations or footings, decking is best left to the professionals.

CSLB - Unlicensed Contractors

CSLB Press Release - 06/16/10
Unlicensed Operators Cut Down to Size During Contractors State License Board Sting in San Bernardino

Undercover operation nets 23 for illegally bidding on tree trimming and painting projects
SACRAMENTO — Nearly two dozen people went out on a limb by contracting without a license in San Bernardino. In so doing, they were caught in a sting operation conducted on May 26 and 27, 2010, by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). The CSLB operation included support from the San Bernardino Police Department, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Department of Justice (DOJ).

Members of CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) posed as homeowners and took bids for tree trimming and painting. During the two days, 22 suspects received Notices to Appear (NTA) in court for contracting without a license. One of those 22 received an additional charge for soliciting an excessive down payment; another suspect will answer to charges of being an unregistered Home Improvement Salesperson.

California Business and Professions (B&P) Code requires all home improvement jobs valued at $500 or more for labor and materials be performed by a state-licensed contractor. The code also requires that contractors put their license number in all forms of advertising. Those without licenses may do jobs valued at less than $500, but their ads must state that they are not a licensed contractor. It’s also illegal to solicit a down payment greater than ten percent of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is less. There is an exception to the down payment provision for about two dozen contractors, noted on CSLB’s website, because they purchase special bonds for consumer protection. Another section of B&P Code requires all people who sell home improvement contracting services to be registered with CSLB.

Homeowners seldom realize the risks of hiring illegal operators. Phony contractors don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance or the license bond required by B&P Code that enables consumers, subcontractors or materials suppliers to collect if the job is incomplete or not completed according to the contract.

"Homeowners can end up financially devastated by hiring these illegal operators," said CSLB Registrar Steve Sands. "If somebody gets injured while working on your property, you may be liable."

Provided by the CSLB website for publication