Home Improvement: Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans come in a wide variety of styles and colors to match any homeowners interior design wishes. They come with and without lighting. Three to five blades. In colors of black, white, brown, made of wood, covered with animal print fabric or styled with carved leaves.

Ceiling fans have come a long way since the industrial revolution where they were dreamed up by sweating factory workers. These workers attached wooden or metal blades to the overhead whirling shafts that were used to drive the machinery they worked on.

Ceiling fans are a great way to keep cool in the summer on those nights when you don't have to run the air conditioner. Ceiling fans are much less noisy and obtrusive than box fans that sit on your floor or in your windows. And, you know that heat rises, right? Well, in the winter months running your fan on low and in reverse speed will bring down the heat that accumulates up in at the ceiling, helping you to feel warmer.

Before you purchase a ceiling fan you'll need to consider the blade sweep. You don't want to overwhelm a smaller room with a ceiling fan that's too big, but, you also want to make sure that the ceiling fan will be able to displace enough air to cool you off in a larger room. Another consideration before purchasing a ceiling fan is the length it will drop from the ceiling. A home with an 8 foot ceiling would probably use a three inch down rod for a ceiling fan, and a room with a fifteen foot high ceiling would need at least a one foot down rod, up to a five foot down rod. It is suggested that you have at least seven feet of clearance from the floor to avoid accidents.

Installing a ceiling fan yourself is a fairly easy job for most do-it- yourselfer's. There are many online sites available to help you if you have any problems or questions.

About the author:
This article courtesy of http://www.about-ceiling-fans.net

How To Care For Your Encastic Tiled Floor

If your tiled floor is in an Edwardian property and beautifully coloured you are probably looking at an Encastic tiled floor. Most of the encastic tiled floors we restore have had a real beating. Smashed tiles, glue where carpet was probably stuck to it at one stage, old solvent based polishes.

The point is, once restored the floors are superb and an absolute joy to look at. It requires quite a bit of work but they really are worth it. The tiles themselves are clay information with the various rich terracotta colours burnt in making them extremely durable. They are made by mixing wax and turpentine and then heat bonded. Even when heavy objects are pulled across the tiles and deep scratches occur the colour will still be there unlike most modern day tiles.

The word encaustic comes from the Greek word enkaustiko which literally means "burnt in" the tiles are still available today for repairs from good stone suppliers such as our www.marblemasteruk.com/shop.

Clean the tiles is a relatively painless task as you can use a mild alkaline detergent and a good stone sealant from the shop to easily look after them.

Marble Master offers a restoration service for Georgian and Edwardian tiled hallways and fire surrounds.

Call us for more information on 0800 7317232


About the author:

Edward Green owns and operates the highly successful Marble Master Ltd Company. Marble Master specializes in Restoration and Refinishing of all types of natural stone and consultancy services to Architects, Restoration Companies and Interior Designers. http://www.marblemasteruk.com

Installing a Home Theater

Thinking about system? You’re not alone. Home theater is one of the fastest growing areas areas in home entertainment and the advent of DVD recorders means your set-up can now be entirely digital, without an inch of video tape in site.

Installing a home theater is a big decision and requires careful planning. Luckily there are a number of resources around to help you and you needn’t be a technical expert or a hi-fi buff to get the job done.

One of the first decisions you’ll need to make before you set about installing a home theater is whether your going to dedicate a whole room to the theater or whether it will share a space with a lounge, dining room, or office. Having a dedicated room allows you to position seating and speakers in the optimum position and you can seriously consider a projector and screen without it looking as out of place as it might in your living room.



Obviously budget is another consideration and this will dictate which equipment you buy initially and what you save for another day. As a bare minimum you’ll want a DVD player, widescreen television, and a surround sound audio amplifier and speakers. We’d recommend opting for a DVD recorder like this one from Phillips, or this from Panasonic. They’re obviously more expensive than a DVD player, but will give you much greater flexibility. And don’t forget to budget for cabling, its a very important part of installing a home theatre and one that’s often overlooked.

You’ll also want to think about the interior design of a dedicated home theater room and of course the seating is all important. You’re going to spend hours and hours watching movies and the last thing you need is uncomfortable seats.

About the author:
Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of Master Home Theater Design (http://www.master-home-theater-design.com), a website which provides information, articles, and tutorials on issues and products related to getting started with Home Theater.