Month: February 2020

The Way to Measure Square Footage for Painting Walls

The Way to Measure Square Footage for Painting Walls

When preparing to paint a room, among the most important details to consider is the amount of paint required. Calculating the square footage of your walls accurately will ensure a cost-effective, timely endeavor. Expand your walls is an easy project requiring only a tape measure or yard stick along with a calculator and also basic math skills.

Length Times Height

Assess the length of one wall to be painted in feet. Then assess the height of the wall in feet. Multiply the length of the wall from the height to get the square footage. If you’re painting more than one wall, find the square footage of each wall and then add them together for the total square footage. If there are doors or windows located on the wall, perform the same measurement — length times height to find the square footage of those openings. Subtract the square footage of the door or window from the wall to calculate the total wall area to be painted.

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What Is Torque on a Lawn Mower?

What Is Torque on a Lawn Mower?

It is challenging enough to attempt to figure out family power dimension, but it becomes downright confusing once the method for describing those measurements changes. For example, your house air conditioner was rated in lots, but is currently rated in British Thermal Units, or BTUs. Not so long ago your lawnmower motor was rated in horsepower. Lawnmower manufacturers now typically rate their engines by other measurements, such as cubic centimeter displacement or gross torque.

Turning Power

Horsepower is a measurement of work. It was initially developed by James Watt to describe how much coal a horse could pull from a coal mine over a specified time period. Watt figured a healthy adult horse could transfer 33,000 pounds 1 foot in one minute, making 1 horsepower equivalent to 33,000 foot-pounds/minute. While horsepower measures function, torque measure force against a fixed pivot point. To put it simply, torque is turning electricity.

Lawnmower Torque

While measuring your lawnmower’s engine in horsepower might be more comfortable, since its long history makes it increasingly familiar, your lawnmower’s torque rating might be more useful. Horsepower only explains how much work the engine is capable of producing, whatever the direction in which that function is implemented. Torque explains how much electricity goes to actually turning your lawnmower’s rotary blade.

Lawnmower Design

A number of variables can impact a lawnmower’s gross torque rating, for example, engine configuration, mower configuration and motor size, usually described by cubic centimeter displacement. Based on the way in which the motor and mower are configured, an engine with less horsepower might actually deliver a larger volume of gross torque. Greater torque translates to improved, more efficient performance.

Horsepower to Torque Conversion

If you bought a new lawnmower ahead of the origin of the 21st century, odds are its motor was rated in HP or horsepower. A 3.5 HP motor was generally good enough to handle a small lawn of less than a quarter-acre, while a 5 HP motor would perform the task to get a larger yard. Replacing that old 3.5 HP lawnmower with a present model with the identical amount of power based on its gross torque rating might be challenging, since there’s absolutely no exact conversion method that thrives HP to torque.

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The way to Remove Yellow Stains From Antique White Fabric

The way to Remove Yellow Stains From Antique White Fabric

Antique white sheets provide your decor a crisp, timeless look. Whether you are serving a holiday dinner on a vintage linen tablecloth or decorating a guest room with white lace curtains, yellow stains may ruin the decor. A number of factors can leave yellow stains on your own antique linens, from improper storage to food spills to nicotine in the air. Because chlorine bleach can damage antique linens, use more natural products for yellow-stain elimination.

Lemons and Salt

Cut two large lemons in half and juice them with either using an electric juicer. Pour the juice through a strainer if required to remove seeds and pulp.

Put a clean white towel onto a flat surface. Put the stained section of the vintage fabric above the towel.

Pour the undiluted lemon juice on the stain, saturating it completely.

Rub a generous quantity of table salt to the damp stain with your fingertips and allow it to sit for thirty minutes.

Hold the cloth over a sink and rinse the salt away with vinegar. After rinsing with vinegar, then rinse with cold water.

Peroxide Glue

Mix 1 tbsp of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide with 1 tbsp of cream of tartar in a bowl. Stir the solution using a soft toothbrush.

Scrub the stain gently with the toothbrush, applying more of the peroxide paste as required.

Let the solution sit on the stain for half an hour. Rinse with cool water. Repeat as necessary until the stain is completely eliminated.

Laundering

Fill a top-loading washing machine using hot water and add 1 cup of vinegar. If you do not have a top-loading machine, fill a bathtub or sink with hot water and add 1 cup of vinegar.

Add the item to the water and let it soak for two to three hours or overnight. Drain the water.

Launder the item in warm water, either by hand or on the delicate cycle, with mild laundry detergent and a scoop of oxygen bleach. If desired, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the rinse water.

Hang the item or lay it flat to dry in bright sunlight.

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What to know prior to Replacing a Furnace

What to know prior to Replacing a Furnace

With good maintenance, the normal furnace can last 25 years or more. Since your furnace reaches the end of its life, it may break down frequently or function less efficiently, leading to costly repairs and improved utility bills. Before you replace your furnace, consider the heating capability, fuel supply and cost of each potential replacement option to get the right furnace for your home.

Signs Your Furnace is Out-Of-Date

Age alone is usually not sufficient reason to invest in a new furnace. Instead, look for signs that could help you determine if it’s time to replace your furnace. According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, any furnace that originally had a coal burner should be replaced, even if the burner had been previously altered to burn petroleum or gas. The council also suggests replacing your furnace if it’s equipped with a pilot lot as opposed to an electric ignition or even if it is not equipped with vent dampers. The U.S. Department of Energy suggests replacing your furnace if it takes regular repairs or your energy bills appear to be increasing for no great reason. A house that just doesn’t feel cozy and warm anymore or even a noisy heating system may also serve as notice that it’s time to get a new furnace.

Size

When the furnace reaches the end of its life, it may be tempting to just order another unit with the exact same heat capability as your old one. Ordering a furnace that’s the exact same size as your old one may wind up costing you in terms of the upfront and operating costs. That’s because most furnaces are substantially oversized, based on ACEEE. Rather than basing your furnace size off of your house’s square footage, then choose a furnace provider that can allow you to size your new furnace in accordance with the Air Conditioning Contractors of America’s Manual J. The manual serves as the industry standard for sizing residential heating systems. This technique requires examining the construction of your house, how well it is insulated and other factors that determine just how much heat capacity you’ll want to keep the home warm and cozy.

Efficiency and Payback

The normal furnace costs about $3,000 as of publication time, in accordance with The Old House. Understanding furnace efficiency ratings can help you decide on a new unit that will make it possible for you to recover this cost thanks to reduced energy bills. As an instance, if your present furnace has an efficiency rating of 80 percent and you replace it with one rated at 97 percent, you can cut your annual energy bills by 20 percent. Going out of a 65 percent efficient unit into a 95 percent efficient furnace can save you $32 for each $100 of heating costs, according to ACEEE. You can use this information to determine how long it will take you to pay for your new furnace and if choosing a high efficiency unit is well worth the additional cost.

Fuel Sources

Before you replace your existing gas furnace with a different gas-burning unit, consider the various heating fuel sources available on the market. Prices for gas, petroleum and other fossil fuels have a tendency to fluctuate, so it’s possible that the most inexpensive fuel accessible when you purchased your furnace is no longer the cheapest option. Compare prices and availability for various fuels, and take the time to check out new fuels that weren’t available in earlier times such as wood pellets. Pick a fuel that’s easy to get, great for the environment and affordable, then find a door designed to burn this fuel.

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Common Lime Tree Adaptations

Common Lime Tree Adaptations

The fruit of this lime is used in cooking, cocktails, refreshing juices and even kitchen cleaners. Also grown often in and around the home for its visual beauty, the lime tree has proliferated into many varieties. Each of those varieties features adaptations which help the specific lime tree serve a specific purpose.

Cool Weather

Lime trees are a part of the citrus family also, like many citrus, are indigenous to warm and humid subtropical regions. While lime trees still are a few of the very sensitive to cold, cultivated seedless lime varieties, such as the “Bearss Seedless” lime (Citrus aurantifolia “Bearss” Seedless”), may prosper in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 9 through 11. Older lime varieties, such as the Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia), are too frost sensitive, growing instead in USDA zones 10 and 11.

Manageable Size

While lime trees need full sunlight for healthy development, bringing them inside at night can reduce the chance of frost damage. This is just 1 reason many dwarf varieties of lime trees, such as the “Dwarf Bearss Seedless” lime (Citrus aurantifolia), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 9 through 10, are readily available. These trees comprise adapted root systems which grow well in containers and also a smaller overall size which make it possible to transfer the plant from place to place without severe distress. These trees make smaller fruit or no fruit at all, and often are grown for decoration rather than as a food crop.

Aroma

In addition to their edible fruit, lime trees produce fragrant leaves and may add an aromatic dimension to your landscape. Due to this, many varieties, including the Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), which grows in USDA zone 9 through 11, are adapted to produce extra fragrant leaves. These fruit trees produce fewer, if any, fruit which aren’t as flavorful as some other varieties, but also make leaves whose fragrance may waft over the whole landscape.

Flavor

The sour flavor of a lime is an indicator of the high level of citric acid in the flesh of this fruit. This degree of acidity was adapted by the plant over time to ward off some insects and creatures while attracting others. Varieties, such as the “Bearss” seedless lime generate larger fruit with more flavorful flesh and juice.

Seeds and Seedless

Among the broadest elastic splits between limes is the seeded and seedless split. Seeded limes include the the Key lime. These seeded limes often are smaller but more fragrant. Seedless limes, including the “Bearss” seedless lime, tend to be larger and juicier than their seeded cousins.

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The Plant Pot Sizes for Landscapes

The Plant Pot Sizes for Landscapes

The price of purchasing a landscape plant varies with the magnitude of this pot the plant is in. Until recently, customers looked for quart containers, 1-, 5- and 10-gallon containers and apartments of plants that are smaller. However, these names were not accurate descriptions of this pot’s capacity, therefore the names have changed. It is still buyer beware though — look for well-rooted specimens to prevent paying extra for dirt.

ANSI

The American National Standards Institute — or ANSI — today regulates pot sizes to infer exactly what size pot you’re becoming. Even signaling the pot’s width, such as a 10-inch pot, doesn’t tell you exactly what the quantity — and therefore the prospective root dimension — of the grass is. 1 grower could utilize a taller 10-inch pot than another grower, leading to different quantity “10-inch” containers. The current ANSI standard for nursery pots premiered in 2004.

Big Pot Classes

Manufactured pots need to fall within the ranges that define their classes. This allows for variations in heights and widths from other manufacturers to suit different growers needs, but nevertheless standardizes the quantity. Manufacturers indicate large container classes by the pound sign, #, followed by a number 1 through 100. Manufacturers used to predict these containers different sized “gallon” pots. Together with all the new container system, the bigger the number, the bigger the container is. In cubic inches of volume, a #1 container — that was commonly called a 1-gallon pot — is 152 to 251 cubic inches, a #2 container is 320 to 474 cubic inches, a #3 container 628 to 742 cubic inches and a #5 container — that was commonly called a 5-gallon container — is 785 to 1242 cubic inches.

Smaller Pot Sizes

Small plant containers, usually holding perennials or annuals, are suggested by “SP” followed by the period of the side of this grass for square pots — or even the diameter, for around pots — measured in inches. Because the period of the pot’s side determines that category it falls under, manufacturers are limited in the grass heights they could create and stay within the allowed volume. There are only five categories for small pots: #SP1 is 6.5 to 8.0 cubic inches, #SP2 13.0 to 15.0 cubic inches, #SP3 20.0 to 30.0 cubic inches, #SP4 — previously called a combined container — is 51 to 63 cubic inches and #SP5 is 93 to 136 cubic inches. Cell packs, such as SP pots, must indicate the period of the side of the individual cell plus the number of cells are in the tray.

What Kind Pot to purchase

Nurseries sell annual plants at the #SP 1 through 5 sizes. The larger the pot, the more room the origins have had to climb and the sooner the plant will have the ability to blossom. You can find lower-priced perennials at #SP 4 or even #SP 5 pots, but they might not bloom the first year. Commonly, #1 containers hold second year perennials or young shrubs, while more mature shrubs are offered at #2 to #5 containers. The bigger container sizes, such as #95, are for trees.

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