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New Tool for Homeowners Researching Their Next Home Improvement Project
BuildLens, a Central California based startup in the residential construction space, is an exciting new platform for connecting homeowners and residential contractors.
BuildLens makes it easy for homeowners to find ideas for their next home improvement project, establish an appropriate budget, and hire a contractor near them.
BuildLens maintains a searchable gallery of construction projects completed all around the world. Each of these projects has been uploaded by contractors who have chosen to advertise their work via their “portfolio.” Every project in a contractor’s portfolio includes images, descriptions, a location of the project, and an associated “budget range” that is appropriate for a project of that particular scope. Homeowners browse through these completed residential construction projects, get inspired, establish an appropriate budget, and then search for contractors with impressive portfolios near them.
With a simple and elegant user experience, homeowners can now view galleries of construction projects completed all around the world or in their local communities. They can filter their search to specific project categories such as tile flooring, outdoor bbqs, or kitchen cabinetry. In addition, all projects are identifiable by, and can be sorted by, “budget ranges”, which are assigned by the contractor that completed and uploaded the project to their portfolio. Because the exact scope of every construction project is different, identifying a “budget range” for each project allows homeowners to set reasonable expectations with regards to what they can get for their money.
An increasingly social site, BuildLens encourages homeowners to rate and share their favorite projects with others via email or their preferred social networks. Homeowners are also able to share their entire list of favorites, which comes in handy during the contractor selection process.
Once a homeowner has built up an extensive collection of “favorites”, they begin searching for contractors with impressive portfolios in their community. After deciding on a small handful of contractors to reach out to, homeowners can simply email their entire list of favorites to prospective contractors. By sharing this list, homeowners are immediately able to convey their ideas for the project, along with their chosen budget range. This has proven to be an invaluable tool for both homeowners and contractors.
“For the first time, we’re seeing clients who know exactly what they want and what they should expect to pay for it. This helps weed out the ‘tire-kickers’, and allows us to focus on what we do best- remodeling,” said Jack Whealan, President of SkyTop Builders.
With a strong belief in the power and simplicity of visual, location based advertising; BuildLens strives to maintain the largest searchable gallery of completed residential construction projects- in the world.
To learn more about BuildLens, including upcoming feature releases, visit http://www.buildlens.com.
Fresno, CA (PRWEB) March 28, 2012
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Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) Flooring Vs Red Oak Floors
Red Oak flooring has revolutionized the hardwood flooring industry in the 80’s but with new technology and demands, we have discovered a stronger, more durable and beautiful hardwood that lends a more sophisticated look. Ipe also known as Brazilian Walnut offers all those qualities and when comparing the Janka Hardness and fire rating coupled with the warm natural beauty of the wood you will begin to understand why Ipe flooring is the wood floor for the future.
This is a test ad.
What is Janka hardness? The Wikipedia definition states: The Janka hardness test measures the hardness of wood. It involves measuring the force required to embed a 11.28 millimeter (0.444 inch) steel ball into wood to half its diameter. This method was chosen so that the result would leave an indention 100 square millimeters in size. It is one of the best measures of the ability of a wood species to withstand denting and wear.
Red Oak has a rating of 1290 compared to Ipe at 3640. In essence Ipe flooring is 3x’s stronger than Red Oak.
What is the fire spread rating? Business dictionary states it is: Rough measure of a material’s propensity to burn rapidly and spread flames. Red Oak has a class III rating vs. Ipe at class I, the same as concrete and steel. This is an excellent safety feature for commercial applications.
Red Oak tends toward a medium color and wide variation in grain where Ipe is a tighter grain dark color. It has a more traditional look where Ipe can fit both traditional and contemporary settings. The physical attributes are quite visible but the behind the scenes properties give you a good idea on the longevity and durability of these woods. Red Oak did serve a great purpose for the 80’s but with the technological advances and more responsible forest harvesting available, Ipe floors are quickly becoming the hottest product for your wood flooring selection.
Rosi Lehr is a contributing writer for Advantage Trim & Lumber Co.
Ipe Decking
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Southeast Michigan’s Tile & Stone Works adds Spanish Manufacturer The Roca Tile Group to its Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Products Offering
Utica, MI (PRWEB) March 9, 2010
Tile & Stone Works has again expanded its offering of ceramic and porcelain tile products by teaming up with the Spanish tile manufacturing firm The Roca Tile Group. The Roca Tile Group is an off-spring of the Roca family. The family brings over 90 years of experience in how to do things right. Roca?s history is synonymous with guaranteed performance and trust. The family-owned Spanish company has created an international business network spanning more than 80 countries including operating 45 factories in 18 different countries.
The Roca Tile Group’s four well known and highly respected international brand’s Incepa, Laufen, Roca, and The United States Ceramic Tile Company will compliment Tile & Stone Work’s current offering with high quality residential, commercial, and Green tile products. Roca’s broad product spectrum and strong inventory and logistics capabilities will further strengthen Tile & Stone Works rising position as a direct supplier in the Michigan market of ceramic and porcelain tile products and installation materials.
“Tile & Stone Works is more than just a ceramic tile flooring store,” says general manager and owner Matt Scarsella. “We are bringing high quality ceramic and porcelain tile products at an incredible value direct to the consuming public by partnering with manufacturers like The Roca Tile Group. Indeed, the days when you had to know someone in the business to even buy ceramic tile products are quickly coming to an end. There is an incredible amount of product out there but only a few reputable and well established manufacturers like The Roca Tile Group. We are extremely happy and proud to represent and market The Roca Tile Group’s products.”
With all of the big box home improvement stores and internet flooring companies selling hard surfaces consumers have many more options today than they did just a few years ago. Many of these sources sell much more than hard surfaces and lack the expertise and product variety to properly guide consumers through the highly technical selection and design phase. Competition today is fierce and Tile & Stone Works’ expert design staff and roots as a large scale installation contractor give them an advantage in the market.
Tile & Stone Works is a wholesale and retail supplier of hardwood flooring, ceramic, porcelain, glass, metal, and natural stone tile and installation materials. The company is also an importer, fabricator, and installer of granite and solid surface countertops and other cut-to-size slab materials. They have found success in a niche working directly with the public consumer and a select group of installation contractors, builders, architects, and designers in an industry and market traditionally dominated by large multi-state wholesale distributors.
Compañía Roca Radiadores, S.A. was founded in 1917 by the Roca brothers who originally manufactured cast-iron radiators. The company quickly dominated the market and the founders initiated expansion programs to widen the product range.
Roca stormed the bathroom decoration market in 1925 with the introduction of the first cast-iron baths, and in 1936 with the launch of sanitary-ware fixtures. The Roca brothers possessed savvy instinct to diversify products, leading them to enter the air conditioning market in 1963.
In 1980, Roca began producing wall and floor ceramic tiles. The ceramic plant located near Castellón, Spain was built in 1998 and was the most advanced in the ceramic tile sector. In 1999, Roca opened the first fully automatic warehouse in the ceramic industry in Spain.
With almost a century of history, today, The Roca Tile Group is a world-wide leader in manufacturing, distributing and marketing of high-quality ceramic and porcelain tile under four brands Roca, Laufen, United States Ceramic Tile, and Incepa. The product range offers solutions for all types of uses, from the rustic elements to the high resistance floor tiles, covering single colors, marble, decorated tiles and complements.
Roca’s precision processes guarantee the highest level of quality. Roca tile is designed for optimum wear resistance, retention of glazes and decorative effects, color fastness, precision in formats, and perfect flatness in every single item produced.
Roca has warehouses in Carson, CA, Miami, FL, Houston, TX, Suffolk, VA, and Chicago, IL. In addition, Roca also has 3 Corporate Showrooms in the U.S. located in Carson, CA, Miami, FL, and Chicago, IL.
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Vinyl Flooring
What’s the ideal kitchen or bathroom flooring option?
Would you agree that Vinyl Flooring would be perfect in these areas? If you did you wouldn’t be on your own because plenty of home owners opt for Vinyl Flooring in bathroom and kitchen areas. Why? It can often work out cheaper to have Vinyl Flooring fitted when compared to real wood, laminate or tile flooring. Cost effective Vinyl Flooring is hardy, it’s easy to keep clean and it now comes in more style options than ever before. It also feels warmer underfoot when placed inside bathroom areas compared to tile flooring and that’s worth considering if you are choosing flooring at the moment.
Durable flooring options
Think about the areas of your home that tend to see most action and the bathroom and the kitchen tend to be busy places. With so much foot traffic passing through them on a daily basis you need to have durable floor coverings that can cope with the demand.
Its little wonder people have Vinyl Flooring fitted in these areas. The average Vinyl Flooring lasts for many years and it’s easy to maintain. Simply sweep the floor and mop it on a regular basis and the Vinyl Flooring will look fabulous. Pick from a host of designs and your new Vinyl Flooring can provide you with many years of steadfast services. Durable Vinyl Flooring is the sensible choice if you are looking to invest in new floor coverings.
Heavy domestic Vinyl Flooring
You want value for money flooring. It has to look good and last for a number of years. You quite like the look of tiles but don’t think the budget will stretch that far. Turn your attention to Vinyl Flooring instead. Great ranges of Vinyl Flooring are now available in styles that look just like tiled or stone flooring. On first inspection you’d be forgiven for thinking they were the real thing. Slate grey tile effect Vinyl Flooring looks stunning in kitchens and bathroom areas and when you see how affordable the flooring is it’ll put a smile on your face. There are Vinyl Flooring options that look just like real wood too but they cost nowhere near as dear. Think Vinyl Flooring in the future and a number of rooms within your home can look fabulous once the floor covering has been fitted.
Floors4home.co.uk supplies high quality flooring for your home including Vinyl flooring . We have a range of products to suit your exact requirements; visit our site for more information.
Easy to install rubber vinyl flooring. Needs no nails, glue or power tools. You can still wear your tool belt if you are feeling butch! Just make sure your work boots match your belt :-} house whisperer
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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Hardwood Flooring
Wiki defines hardwood flooring as a term used to describe the hard wooden materials used in the construction of flooring products. There are two main types of hardwood flooring, solid hardwood and Engineered Hardwood Flooring. Hardwood flooring will not refer to wood laminates. Laminate wood flooring is becoming a popular choice, and has become synonymous with manufacturers like Pergo. Laminate wood floors are comprised of a synthetic layer that is colored and textured to look like wood, but are priced lower and have increased durability.
Engineered hardwood floors can be identified by multiple layers that are bonded or glued together. This type of flooring has a plywood middle with a top layer veneer which usually comes prefinished with a stain and sealer.
Solid hardwood flooring is cut from solid lumber material and does not have a plywood core. Although you can refinish a solid wood floor more times than you can usually refinish an engineered wood floor, they tend to be less stable over time. What does that mean for you, the client? It’s standard to see gaping and hear creaking in the floor through the year and as seasons change.
HSW Floors exclusively installs high quality engineered wood flooring for our customers. We have a partnership with ProSource with locations in Addison, Allen, and Ft.Worth where you can pick from hundreds of samples to find the right one for you. You can also obtain your wood directly from them, along with any transition pieces and adhesives need. From there, we’ll pick up your engineered wood flooring and install it expertly, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Our clients favorite choice is, by far, a solid red oad hardwood flooring, installed by HSW Floors and finished on site with a hand scraped texture and then triple sealed with 3 layers of a water based polyurethane. Solid hardwood floors installed on the first floor usually require the installation of a plywood subfloor and a few levels of vapor barrier. HSW Floors provides everything you need to complete the project including the removing of the old floor and baseboards, installing and painting new baseboards, any adjustments needed on your doors and shoe mould.
This article was brought to you by Wood Flooring Dallas. At Wood Flooring Dallas, our goal is to provide you, the homeowner, with the flooring you really want, at prices you’ll love, and with service you’ll be amazed with.
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How To Install Hardwood Floors
Let Lowes help you install your hard wood floors.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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How to install laminate flooring
www.askmediy.com In this video I’ll show you how to install laminate flooring.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
This short video shows how to install solid wood flooring onto a concrete base using Rewmar MS Polymer flexible adhesive. This adhesive is so easy to use and contains no solvents. Perfect for sticking down both solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. For more information please vist the website www.rewmar.co.uk This product can be bought online from: www.wood2u.co.uk
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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