7 Reasons Why You Should Update your Pool's Filtration and Cleaning System

 

Thinking about replacing your pool's filtration and cleaning system? If you haven't considered it then it's time to start thinking about just how old your current filter and pump is. Letting this one slide may not be the best idea. Here's a few good reasons to think about replacing your current system:

1. Your pool filter and pool pump work hard to keep your pool shining and fresh almost year-round. Having something running for that long over such a large period of years is cause enough to replace it. Think about the appliances in your house that you've recently replaced and how much life they had left in them at the time. Not much? A pool's filtration system needs to be in top working order. If not, then it's likely to be not cleaning your pool as efficiently as it needs to be cleaned.
2. It's expected that one day they'll give up the ghost and you'll have to replace them. There's a danger that they'll both go at the same time, when you'll have no funds behind you to sort out the mess. Your pool pump, filtration and cleaning system are the reason it looks so sparkling clean. As a pool owner, you may well have let your duties slide a little bit from time to time. Imagine if you had no choice but to wait for a replacement, and all the while your pool is descending into something resembling a green primordial soup.
3. New technologies are constantly being created and developed specifically to make your life a lot easier. If you're using an old-fashion vacuum that you have to push around the bottom of a pool with a pole then it's definitely time to move on. Newer models of automated pool vacuums are efficient and more hands-free than ever before.
4. The time you spend on your pool maintenance is only going to grow the more you put off replacing your system. With innovations such as leaf eater attachments for your vacuum and salt water chlorinators, the time you spend on pool cleaning and maintenance can be cut down to a fraction.
5. As with all new technologies, the pool maintenance industry is creating more environmentally friendly products. A new cleaner and filtration system uses less energy (saving you money) and is more efficient at its job.
6. If your pool pump is old and cranky, it's likely that it's making a lot of noise. You could simply replace the motor, but it's only a matter of time before the rest of the pump begins to perish.
7. If you're replacing one part of your pool's system, perhaps installing a salt chlorinator or new vacuum, think about its compatibility with your current system. Old and new technologies will not necessarily mix well. Replacing the whole system may seem costly at the time, but it will ensure that all parts of your system are running smoothly and at their best.

There are multiple reasons to replace your current system, but it boils down to the simple idea that a new, more efficient cleaning and filtration system will do the job far better than your old one, leaving you with more time and energy to enjoy your pool.

Modern Prefab House Residence by Progetto Arquitetura & Interiores, Brazil

I love modern home design, It usually designed in prefab house style, this is my favorite residence design, located in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil. this stunning residence has been designed by Progetto Arquitetura & Interiores. The idea of this project was to combine both the indoor and the outdoor areas using a contemporary architecture, and the result is an expanded area for different activities that feels part of the entire residence. This residence has three main levels: the kitchen, living and dining areas on the bottom floor and the bedrooms and private areas on the top.

Verandas and landscapes- How to create a beautiful exterior and a great living space

Landscaping has become one of the favorite DIY and design trends in recent years, and it’s also become an area of design which is considered somehow unaffordable. That’s way off the mark. You can add a lot to your home environment, with just simple but versatile verandas or pergolas. You can also do your design in affordable stages, and reduce outlays to suit your budget.

Landscaping and verandas
Landscaping is actually based on features. The elements of design will be relatively simple.
For example:
• Lawn
• Garden beds
• Rockeries
• Fountain
• Border features and fencing
The idea is that a veranda will complement these features, and provide a transitional environment from the house to the garden landscaping. The designs are naturally interlinked.
If you’ve seen those fabulous old style verandas which seem to create another part of the garden, all decked out with hanging pots, the faithful old family table and bric a brac, you’ll know the design mix a veranda can achieve. It’s not as difficult as it looks. Modern verandas have morphed into a design feature of much the same kind, just slightly more complex.
The modern veranda is now part veranda, part living space, and often enclosed to some degree. This is the “sunroom effect”, based on the fact that many sunrooms usually started as verandas, and people liked them so much they evolved into home extensions.
Design structure
Whatever sort of veranda you have, you can reinvent it into any form, and scape around it as you wish. Forget the mythology of massive expense and unspeakably fashionable bruises to your house budget. The design structure for mixing landscaping and verandas is extremely simple and you can do it at your own speed and on any budget.
You need:
A concept and a look to work with. Pro landscapers work with a plan from the start, and they just develop it into a landscape design.
For example:
The veranda faces south with a nice view. It’s a solid timber design, aged treated pine. It gets heat in one season and cold in another. The basic concept is to provide screening while keeping the view. The homeowner starts by installing some box frame covers with adjustable screens, very cheap, made to measure.
The screens also shield the house from hot and cold. The landscaping, external, now uses plantings to create further cover, like an ivy trellis, a few Chinese pines (small trees which as so beautiful they fit any design and are absolutely zero maintenance.)and some trees outside the view which also function as flower beds while blocking out the hot glare and sun angles and the cold blasts.
Net cost? Some time, but not a lot of money. The result is a beautiful landscape, made to personal tastes, and an upgraded, all-weather veranda.

One of the most loved landscaping icons, pergolas are an additional cover feature, and you can produce the most beautiful covered paths with a pergola, using roses, bougainvilleas, and other climbers.
If you want your place landscaped your way, start with your veranda, and consider what you’d like. The rest is incredible fun

Tips on Designing a Landscape Garden with Planting Grass Seed

Like any other plant, grass seed must be properly planted in order to grow. Although nothing can guarantee a perfect lawn, here are some tips that will stack the odds in your favor.

Picking the Seed 

For most places, you will want to use a mix that will thrive in both sun and shade. Read the bags carefully and choose a seed that will grow well in the conditions you have. For instance, while Kentucky Bluegrass is beautiful, it is high maintenance and a challenge to grow in some areas of the country.

Preparing the Soil 

Get a large quantity of fresh topsoil and spread it evenly over the area. Make sure it is at least 3 or 4 inches deep. Break up any sizable clumps. Although it’s easier if the soil remains relatively dry while you plant, don’t worry if you are interrupted by rain.    

Spreading the Seed 

Don’t spread the seed by hand. You won’t get the proper distribution and your grass will grow in clumps. For a small lawn, you can use a hand crank broadcast spreader. For larger lawns, a push spreader is ideal.
To improve the distribution, if you have enough seed, repeat the application over 2 or 3 consecutive days.

  

Cultivating

Once spread, use a rake to work all the seed into the soil. Keep in mind that any that remains visible will likely become birdseed.
Tamp the soil to 'lock' the seed underneath, and level as much as possible. Then water the entire area liberally. Continue watering generously on a daily basis until the grass sprouts evenly. In most cases this is 1 to 2 weeks.
Water at a time of day when the water drops on the new grass won’t burn it—generally late in the afternoon or early in the evening is the best time to water. If it rains significantly, of course, you should avoid over-watering.

When to Mow and Treat 

You don’t want to mow the new grass until it is well-established. Wait 2 to 3 weeks after the sprouts appear or until the blades are over 3 inches high.
Also avoid applying weed killer or fertilizer to newly planted grass until it is established. These chemicals can actually burn tender new plants.  

Brown Patch Repair

In an established lawn with bare or brown spots, start by digging up the browned areas. Apply more soil if needed. Treat the bare spots as if they were little patches of new lawn, and follow the above steps for seeding a lawn.
You could also purchase grass patch—a dry green foam infused with seed and fertilizer—to place over the bare patches. Simply apply and keep moist until grass sprouts.


Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-plant-grass-seed#ixzz0yQidORk6

Guides on Planning an Outdoor Lighting Layout

Outdoor lighting projects such as garden lighting, park, landscape lighting need a serious planing. A successful outdoor lighting plan requires selecting the right fixtures, then placing and wiring them correctly. The first thing before planing an outdoor lighting is Selecting the right design and components, Walk into any home center or garden center this spring and you’re guaranteed to run into a towering display of low-voltage lighting. You’ll find $69 prepackaged sets and $100 individual lights; plastic fixtures and metal ones; lights you can shine down from trees and up from ponds.

Use waterproof pond lights for illuminating pools, fountains and other water features; offset path lights for lighting walkways; cone lights for highlighting both walkways and the surrounding plants; tree-mounted spotlights for simulating moonlight; and flood lights for illuminating trees, buildings and other large elements.

Consider that a Special lights need special effects too, A MOON LIGHT should be installed 15 to 30 ft. high and have one or more branches between it and the ground to simulate moon shadows. Provide at least 24 in. between the light and branches to prevent “hot spots.”

Here are another tips on designing an outdoor lighting plan:

• If your lights come with press-on fittings—the type that bite through the insulation and into the wire to make their connection—cut them off and use the wire connectors shown in Photo 4. 
• The farther a light is from the transformer (and the more lights installed between it and the transformer), the less light it will put out.  
• Always leave a little extra wire as you hook up the lights. This will give you the freedom to move a light after you’ve hooked it up for testing or after you’ve installed it.
• Burying the wires should be your last step. Lay everything out, hook up your lights, test your voltage, and look at your results at night before burying the lines.
• Purchase a transformer with a built-in photocell and timer. Orient the photocell with some western (sunset) orientation so it doesn’t turn lights on too early.

more information: rd.com

Outdoor Lighting System of Confort Myojindai with EYE CERA ARC lamps

The outdoor  lighting system for this housing complex was revamped along with exterior improvements of the housing development. Pole lights and approach lights of human scale and height have been set up along the pathways for the development. Here is an outdoor lighting system of Confort Myojindai, located in Yokohama City, Japan.

By combining wide-span light distributing Cerca fixtures and highly efficient EYE CERA ARC lamps, a lighting environment was created, which contributes to energy conservation while ensuring sufficient illuminant for safety. Environmentally-friendly lighting system that controls light pollution gently illuminates the garden.

The solar LED blocks are set up along the roads, for creating a visual guidance effect and therapeutic space, so it make a romantic and safety road to use the roads. [eye]

Outdoor Lighting Basics for Designing Garden and Landscape

Several garden and landscape designer forgot to designing the outdoor lights elements, Outdoor lighting is an often over looked, but crucial element to creating great outdoor spaces. Outdoor lighting extends the function of outdoor spaces into the evening, and helps define a warm and inviting living space. A variety of lighting effects are possible through proper use of outdoor lighting.

Uplighting: Uplighting can be used to highlight a vertical object in your outdoor space such as a specimen tree, an interesting façade, or landscape structure such as trellises and arbors. In order to prevent glare, fixtures should be aimed away from viewer. For objects viewed multiple sides, well lights with louvers should be used, and located as close to the base of the object as possible.

Spotlighting: Special landscape features such as sculptures, specimen shrubs or benches can be lighted from above utilizing shielded spot lamps. Lights should be concealed in adjacent trees or structures, and should be used judiciously in the landscape.

Path Lighting: Patch Lighting is accomplished by utilizing low mounted spread lights along one edge of a path. Path lighting is available in an endless array of styles, and often becomes a feature of your outdoor space.

Moonlighting: By strategically locating small ‘up and down’ fixtures inside of large trees, it is possible to replicate the effect of moonlight filtering through the branches. It is crucial the fixtures are specially designed for this purpose.

The key to all these affects is to not over due it. Nothing is more tacky than washing your property with gigantic flood lights. Remember, part of what makes a beautiful outdoor space at night, is the fact that it’s dark out!

Outdoor Lighting Ideas with Energy-Efficient Technology

Before designing an outdoor lighting, anyone who plan a new home or refurbishing an existing one should give early thought to lighting. Timely planning of electrics pays off: it enables comfortable, energy-efficient outdoor lighting solutions to be taken into account in the design phase.

There are four types of outdoor lights, with varying energy efficiency.

LED Outdoor Ligths are energy efficient. Look for multiple bulbs and higher wattage for garden beds and sculptures. A low-voltage LED (light-emitting diode) has a transformer to convert 240-volt household power into a safer 12 volts.

Low-Voltage Halogen Lights are brighter than LED but use more electricity. They’re best used for accent lighting around the deck area, and they also have transformers to convert power to 12 volts.

Solar Lights have rechargeable batteries powered by solar panels. They’re inexpensive to run, with the occasional battery replacement needed, but aren’t as bright as other types. They don’t require wiring and are good for lighting pathways.

240-Volt Halogen Lights are the most powerful and good for lighting trees, but require installation by a qualified electrician. They consume the most electricity so consider using with a timer for energy efficiency.

Dining under the Stars Extend the outdoor dining and entertainment area with lights for function and ambience. Always check if the lights are suited to being used outside and use just one long outdoor extension cord for mulTIP:le lights rather than piggybacking lots of cords into one power outlet.

Task Lighting should be unobtrusive and focused over the dining area. Set up a spotlight with a soft glow rather than harsher white light to brighten the dining table.

Accent Lighting adds texture and a decorative element. Highlight planters or position lights for dramatic effect with shadows. Connect outdoor lights to automatic sunset timers that sense dusk and dawn to operate more efficiently.

Ambient Lighting can be used on the table with candles or overhead with soft light from a chandelier.

Heavy Duty Lighting Minimise glare from floodlights by focusing them away from the direct line of view or diffusing the brightness by positioning rocks and foliage around them.

On the deck
Position matching downlights under the eaves for even light distribution onto the deck, and drape LED fairy lights along tree branches for year-round entertaining.

Outdoor Lights for Garden and Landscape

Outdoor Lights for Garden and Landscape

Outdoor lighting become important since it used not only for making-over the garden and landscape, here are several beautiful outdoor lights system that installed on garden or landscape. There's much more to lighting than meets the eye, and considering how to light your garden can drastically change the look, feel, and ambiance of any outdoor lights system.

Outdoor lighting has some general, obvious uses: it helps you do things easily, makes you feel safe, and makes your home comfortable. But it can do much more when used to its full potential.

Outdoor Lighting Design for Enhancing Home Security

One of the most important — yet often overlooked — aspects of creating an aesthetically pleasing outdoor lighting area is landscape lighting. Its important to know that an outdoor lighting will provide security to the center most part of your home.  If you pull into the drive after dark, the lights will turn on and allow you to see your way to your home.

They also have an economical benefit that a lot of people overlook. Since the light is only designed to stay on for a certain amount of time, there’s no worry about someone forgetting to turn it off. Or perhaps you want to turn off the exterior lights when you go to bed, you can be assured that the front of your home is still covered.

Outdoor Lighting as an Outdoor Lights for Your Garden Landscape

Outdoor Lighting gives you and your home  a new sense of security and style., especially for garden and landscape. The customized outdoor lighting will highlight and enhance your outdoor living space. Outdoor lighting products like accent lights, spotlights, floodlights, back lights or decorative outdoor lights are the most common outdoor lights which are used for outdoor brightening purposes. When we go to market, we can see thousands of outdoor lighting products and want to buy all of them. Some people become confused when they go to market for buying the lighting products for their outdoor places.

Its important to know that the lighting products for outdoor use must be decorative so that they may look pleasant on specific place and may increase the beauty of the specific place as well as make it bright. The lighting products for outdoor use are used basically for decorating the specific place. You should keep this point in your mind when you go for buying the lighting product.

Modern Home Design with Contemporary Extension Exterior

Many terraced houses have a side return that's usually used for garden storage - but could be used to widen what is traditionally a long narrow back room. Here, the extension size is minimal, but the impact on the house is big, So, it's an inspiration in creating a modern home design with contemporary extension exterior.

When you plan your new extension, plan the garden at the same time - and get the work done as one job, if you can. For example, buy a flooring material for inside and out that matches (this helps stretch the space further visually), and plant around the extension. This will increase privacy and improve the view from indoors.