Rain Rain Go Away!

It’s raining outside. Let’s face it, you don’t want to do any outdoor housework today. If you already had plans to do some work, you are now having second thoughts. And trust me, you are not alone. There are reasons why people tend to postpone outdoor DIY activities during unfavourable weather. Aside from the apparent health risks such as catching a cold or slipping and injuring yourself, there are jobs that just simply cannot be finished in the rain; who is going to try to paint a fence in the rain?

So what can we do during rainy days aside from cursing or praying for the rain to stop before the sun goes down?

I say this is the perfect time to plan your work. Sounds simple and trivial? Well you’ll be surprised as to how many people do not plan their DIY projects ahead. I’m not talking about the overall scope of a project, such as “let’s fix up the fence on the weekend!” or “let’s build a new dog house for Sparky”. Everyone can plan these broad activities in advance. However, I am talking about planning ahead for these activities in detail.

What tools do you need to finish these jobs? Have you thought about whether there might be underground utilities where you plan to erect a fence? Do you have a blue print for the dog house you plan to build? Have you considered safety gears?

These are important questions that seems so obvious that we tend to neglect them and just dive right into the projects. The last thing anyone wants when they start working is to realize they don’t have a measuring tape or a pen or a hammer. Now time is wasted while scavenging for a measuring tape. This happens in construction more often than you think. How many times have you drove by any construction site and you see 7 people standing around talking and not doing anything? It’s true that they may be on their break, but more often than not, a lack of foresight leads to stand-by time (trust me, I’m in the construction industry).

Typical Wednesday afternoon

So how should go ahead and plan? Through my experiences, I find the best way to plan ahead is to walk through a project in your mind break it down step by step. Stop and think about what might happen in every step and jot down what you may need to complete that step. For example, if I am erecting a fence, I would break down the project into 4 steps:

1.      Layout

2.      Digging post holes

3.      Erecting posts and panels

4.      Painting and finish work

Now I would plan each of these steps in detail. I would think about the problems I would encounter and what I need to finish these steps before moving on to the next. Doing all this may sound tedious, but a project that finishes smoothly and without a problem will save you both money and time.

www.naturalartfence.com

Property Value Creation: Fence

Does a nice fence increase the value of a property?

The short answer is "yes". The long answer is "yes, yes it does".

Premium Quality Concrete Fence from Natural Art

Nowadays you will get contractors coming to your house and telling you that putting up a fence does not really affect the property value and so they will try to sell you a cheap fence. Now this is true in a very small scale. For example, if a house is located in an area where no houses have fences, then in this case, the value of a property may actually decrease by erecting a fence. Now think to yourself, how often do you see neighborhood where no property are fenced. Furthermore, if a contractor is trying to sell or replace a fence in the first place, the contractor is already proposing value creation to your property.

In general, the appearance of a fence adds value to the property overall. Everyone loves their privacy and so do buyers when they consider buying a house. Many potential buyers are looking for a home with a fence because they have pets or want their children to be able to play in the yard safely. It can be said that the benefits of having a fence outweighs not having a fence significantly. In fact, according to appraisers in the article "13 Big Threats to Your Home's Value" from MSN Real Estate, when you look at standard appraisal forms, there is a premium paid for fences! As a result, a fence can impact the value of a property by as much as 5 to 10%!


Next time a contractor tries to make a quick easy buck by selling you a cheap fence, ask him questions and see if he really knows what he is talking about. My guess is, the contractor probably has no real estate knowledge.


www.naturalartfence.com

What is With All the Noise Pollution?

Do you live in a noisy neighborhood? Concrete sound barriers could be your solution to peace and quiet.

It is about time to turn down the volume! Noise pollution has been a major concern of health deterioration due to restlessness and sleeplessness. We should not have to compromise our quality of life to bear with our noisy neighbors. Whether you live near a school zone, construction site, high traffic area, or any areas with excessive noise, concrete sound walls are the most effective methods of cutting down the noise! By reading this article you will understand what you can do to reduce the level of intrusive noise entering your home.

To begin, let’s understand the nature of sound waves. Sound waves are very similar to water, as it would bounce off objects and flow through holes. For instance, sound waves from cars zipping pass your home would bounce off your drive way and flow through the window that you have opened in your living room. However, unlike water, sound waves can also pass through objects that are thin and uncompressed. This means, even if you had closed your window, sound waves, that are strong enough, could also pass through your drywalls and enter your home without an invitation! We recommend using dense objects materials such as concrete to absorb or reflect sound from entering your home. Another rule to remember how sound waves travel is the “line of sight”. If the source creating the sound is in your sight, then you’ll be able to hear it! This means if you live on a hill, you may want to build a taller wall!

An important factor to look at is sound wave intensity, which is measured in decibels. The loudness of sound generally doubles when sound is increased by 10 dB. According to Harvard Medical School Health Letter, studies have shown prolonged exposure to 85 or more decibels can cause permanent hearing loss. More importantly, physiological damage can also occur at lower levels! The following chart retrieved from http://wordinfo.info/unit/620/ip:1/il:D illustrates the intensity of sound at factors of 10 dB:

0 – 1 dB	Faintest sound that can be heard
30 dB	Quiet conversation, soft whisper, quiet suburb
40 dB	Many computer hard drives range an average of 40-50 dB, soft whisper [five feet]
50 dB	Light traffic at a distance of 100 feet
60 dB	Conversation at one meter, or average street traffic at 100 feet
70 dB	TV, noisy restaurant [constant exposure], busy traffic [at one meter]
80 dB	Heavy city traffic [25-50 feet], alarm clock at two feet
90 dB	Pneumatic drill [or hammer] at one meter
130 dB	Sound vibrations felt, thunder or near a four-engine jet at thirty meters
140 dB	Gunshot blast, or jet plane take-off at close range [approximately 200 feet]

Chart: Correlations of dB levels to causality of noise.

In Canada and the United States, the maximum permitted noise exposures level for 8 hours are within 80 dB to 90 dB depending on which province or state you live in. At 80 dB, heavy city traffic is one of the most pervasive unwanted noises transmitted to residential homes! When noise pollution hit your front lawn, precast concrete sound barriers may be an ideal solution for noise abatement to your ears. 

According to National Precast Concrete Association, “concrete’s greater mass reduces sound penetrating through a wall by more than 80% compared with wood or steel frame construction”.  With this being said, precast concrete sound barriers will surely provide you the peace and quiet that you’ve been aching for. Finally, before you head out to build your precast concrete sound barriers you may want to consider the following points:

-        * Understand where most intrusive noise are coming from

-        * Decide on the level of decibels reduction you want your sound barriers to have (not all walls provide equal noise reduction)

-        * Understand the maximum permissible height that you can build your sound barrier (ranges differently in each province/state, check with your municipality)

-        * Determine the thickness of your sound barrier (thickness usually equates with price)

-        * Determine the design your sound barrier (some concrete walls have holes, which would not be ideal in reducing noise level)

Sources:

http://wordinfo.info/unit/620/ip:1/il:D

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1046429,00.html

http://precast.org/2011/02/quiet-please-2/

www.naturalartfence.com