3 Reasons to Love Glass Stairs

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It’s not hard to see why glass staircases, in particular glazed side panels, have become so popular in recent times. As new-build houses seem to get smaller and smaller, and rising prices force many buyers to settle for modestly sized properties, home owners are finding creative ways to make the best of what space they have.

Using glass instead of wood or metal in your stair banisters can bring several benefits:

Light

The hallway is often the darkest part of the house, which isn’t ideal for making a good first impression on visitors. A traditional staircase balustrade, consisting of a handrail and base rail connected by wooden or metal spindles (also called balusters), will contribute to the gloom by blocking precious natural light. Using glass panels as the banister infill will instantly brighten the room by encouraging light to flow more freely.

Space

It’s amazing the way glass can make a room feel so much bigger. A transparent balustrade offers little or no barrier to the eye, increasing the sense of space. This is particularly useful for staircases situated in a living or dining room, as clear panels make the structure seem less obtrusive.

Style

Glass is much favoured by interior designers at the moment, and will suit almost any age of property. It can improve the look and feel of a modern house, boosting its contemporary credentials and bringing it bang up to date. At the other end of the age scale, glass can offer an interesting twist to a period home. A dark cottage with beamed ceilings and small windows, for example, can be brightened up and made more appealing by replacing solid wooden balusters with light-enhancing glass panels.

Which type of glass should you choose?

Good quality glazed panels should be made from toughened safety glass at least 8mm, and ideally 10mm, thick. Large single panels will create the most impact and allow maximum light flow. These normally have to be made to measure, so be prepared to wait a bit longer and pay a bit more than for standard sizes. Installation can be complicated, and is best left to professionals. Small panels are less showy, but more versatile and often the best choice for awkward layouts. They can also be combined with wooden or metal spindles if desired.

How is the glass fitted?

Depending on the staircase design and personal taste, you can usually choose whether to fix the panels to the balustrade with metal clamps (either at the top and bottom or at each side) or slot them into pre-cut grooves in the handrail and base rail. It is sometimes also possible to attach the panels to the handrail only, without using a base rail, so that the glass is suspended just above the steps. From an aesthetic point of view, fitting the panels directly into the wooden banisters results in a cleaner outline, but some people prefer the contemporary look of shiny metal clamps, or brackets. These are most often found in a chrome or brushed nickel finish. You can also use stainless steel discs if you’re after a particularly striking design.

Which handrail?

Wooden handrails are the most popular, and the most comfortable to use. A low profile (small and narrow) style will produce the most streamlined, modern effect, whereas a chunkier design may be more suitable for period properties. Metal handrails go well with glass for a contemporary look, and can be attached using brackets or grooves.

What about other glass stair parts?

Treads and risers are both available in glass. Treads can be made in a variety of thicknesses, usually between 20mm and 40mm. The glass should be toughened and laminated for extra strength, and include a non-slip finish. Glass risers are growing in popularity too. They can be fitted to the back of glazed treads or, more unusually, to wooden ones. This is guaranteed to produce the wow factor, letting light shine through the steps while keeping the safety benefits of a closed tread staircase.

Summing up

When it comes to creating a light and airy feel in your home, glass stairs are ideal – and the panels are available in such a wide variety of shapes and sizes that there’s a good chance of finding something to suit your particular circumstances. Just keep a cloth handy after installation, as smudges and fingerprints could spoil the impact of your stunning new staircase.

The Benefits of Building a House Extension

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One of the big issues generated when the children are growing up, and new members are included in the family, is how the space will be enough for them. Precisely for that reason, a lot of people start considering what to do in order to find solution for the problem. For example, some of them buy a new house or apartment, while others begin to think how to extend the current house. To be frank, I do not know the answer of this kind of problem but at least I can help by providing the benefits of the house extension.

It is well known that the market of houses is quite expensive. So in this sense I would like to say that this is the biggest benefit of the building of a house extension, the money you will save. There are other factors, which are also beneficial but this is the most important. Moreover, everyone searches for cheap and affordable solution of any problematic issue. Hence, it seems that the generated extra space of the house will be the best manner to accomplish such aim. As a matter of fact, I can say this in other way. It isn’t worth it to purchase a new property with two or three more rooms only because there is a lack of space, especially when you have chance to have them with less spent means. As a consequence, you and your family will have the necessary rooms with many other pluses.

Other merit of the building a house extension is the fact that you will be in your home. Everyone loves to spend his or her whole life in the birthplace. This is a dream for everyone, so when there is an opportunity for that to be done, we need to catch it. What is more, if you move in a place somewhere else you will encounter many problems. For instance, you need to move all your stuff. Probably, there will be a need of changing the schools of your children as well as their itinerary to the schools. Another bad thing is that you are supposed to have new friends and neighbors, something unnecessary if you extend the house. The route to your work will be different too. Hence, if you want to omit those obstacles, the best way is to make your home bigger.

When you extend your house, you will have supplementary space only for you. However, this is not as important as the next advantage of that to have extended house. To stop beating against the bush I will say that you are supposed to have bigger value of the house price.

Ideas for Home Improvement

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Most of the people take on a home improvement project to increase the value of their home. By adding new features to your home or doing a repaint can really increase its value of your home. However, there are also a lot of people who decide to work on the repairs or remodeling of their home if they haven’t gone through for their home renovations for.

There are so many ideas for home improvement that could be carried out to increase the value of your home while making it more attractive. Putting these ideas into action will makes your home more livable, enhancing the comfort you experience daily.

There are many home improvement projects like kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling and window replacement that have been using as the main aspects of home improvement. You can implement numerous ideas to make your home more good looking and comfortable.

Kitchen is a good place to start when considering a home improvement project. The good start would be to make your kitchen to have a new and shiny look. The biggest problem here is the kitchen cabinets. To get around this, you can either rebuild with new cabinets or reface the existing ones.

Another idea for home improvement work from your kitchen would be to change the kitchen floor. Kitchen flooring can make a huge difference in the general form of cuisine. There are many options for you to choose from, you can either use hardwood floors, ceramic and stone tiles or you can use laminate, which is a relatively new but increasingly popular option.

Bathroom is another prime area of the house when it comes to home improvement. If you decide to put your house on the market, a bathroom is one place that could easily put a potential buyer. So directing some attention that way can only be an advantage.

When it comes to the bathroom, there are some home improvement ideas that can be applied. Here, the change bar can be just what your bathroom needs a more modern look. Adding panels or changing the one that is already there could give the bathroom a more finished look. You may want to change a bathroom or add another one, there are only so many things you can do to give added beauty to the bathroom and make it more upscale.

Changing your windows, sliding windows, picture windows, bay windows or any of a variety of window styles are available may also be important for the appearance of your home.

Is Real Estate Investment the Most Lucrative Investment Form Today?

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Today investments in real-estate business is regarded as one the most profitable investments. But at the same time it’s accompanied with equally bound financial risks, especially when an investor isn’t well versed with prevailing trends of real-estate market. So in case if you are considering investing your money in real estate business, then it is essential to avoid most common costly mistakes. By knowing these mistakes made by numerous investors, you can avoid them and ensure better returns on the investment.

Below is a list of most common mistakes committed by investors according to real-estate experts and professional involved with real estate market.

No proper planning: Lack of planning is one of big and costly mistakes made by the beginners or new investors. It is better to find a property after planning an investment strategy, but instead most of the investors would purchase a property because of its price and later try to fit it into their action plan.

Believe in truth and invest for long term profit: Most of investors conceive that it’s easy to earn profits in the real estate business. But in fact this is just a myth and truth is that real-estate investment is a long term plan.

Doing real-estate business single-hand: Today the investors don’t want to build a team, instead they want to do everything single hand. On the other hand to run a profitable real estate business an investor should have real-estate agent, home inspector, appraises, lender and closing attorney for assistance.

Excess payment: This is another reason why investors fail to earn profits. In these cases the investors would investment or pay excess amount on a property for purchase. By investing extra money on a property, an investor will be left with no money for redemption.

Miscalculation of money flow: Majority of the investors whose basis policy is to purchase, hold and then rent out real estate property to generate enough cash for maintenance. The investors never allocate their funds to meet expenses like mortgage tax, advertising cost and insurance. As a result an investor’s asset would be turned into liability.

Nonprofit, Civic and Church Leaders Can Help Us Heal

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There is real human suffering happening in our country and around the world, but we all have to step up to help because here’s the reality, we’re all in this thing called life–together. No one is better than anyone else. And, as the adage goes, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Is it just me, or are you tired of the relentless stream of neurosis, disrespect, screaming and shouting that is dividing us on almost any and every level? If there’s an idea or statement made, there seems like there’s going to be someone out there who will take on the issue and as quickly as you can snap your fingers, there’s debate, particularly on social media. Often, these “debates” devolve into online name-calling, trolling, and utter disrespect. I have seen several conversations shut down in nonprofit and church social media groups, which is ridiculous when you think about it, because if people can’t have substantive and productive debates and discussions in these areas, where can they discuss critical social issues?

Here’s my message: We’re better than this.

I believe that nonprofit, civic and religious leaders can play a part in elevating the civil discourse.

Social networking has been great because, in practical ways, it has broken down borders. Connecting with people around the world is easy. For many organizations and groups, social media has brought down marketing and advertising costs considerably, raised awareness and leveraged resources.

But, I think that as we’ve become more “connected,” there’s incredible division. Divisiveness has got to stop.

Church, civic and nonprofit leaders can help our communities heal.

Do you remember the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule was simple, and I think leaders should remember it each morning as they head to work and ask that their teams adhere to its tenets.

The Golden Rule has a religious origin. It came from the words that Jesus said in the “Sermon on the Mount.” The principles became religious teachings incorporated into the Bible.

Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Those words are so simple–treat others as you would like to be treated.

I think our society is in a precarious place. We are not listening to each other. We are shouting and screaming past each other. We are ignoring each other.

And, here’s the bigger thing for me–many of us are expecting attention and the world to hear us, and we are not giving others the same respect.

This has got to stop.

I think nonprofit, civic and church leaders are in a unique position. Often, because of their position in communities, they are leaders.

Package Forwarding Service

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As far as international shipping is concerned, you have many options. But one of the best options is hiring a good package forwarding service. Let’s take an example Suppose you reside in Australia or UK, and you want to buy an item from eBay or Amazon. In this case, you have to use a package forwarding service. This service will help you save a lot of money, as you won’t need to pay high shipping charges. it’s not difficult to use such service. Read on to know more.

Registration

First of all, you need to choose a package forwarding site. Once you have a good and reliable provider, your next step is to sign up to get an account. By signing up, you will receive a forwarding address. You will use this address to meet your shipping and shopping needs from time to time.

Make sure you check everything carefully before signing up. The shipping cost shouldn’t be too high. Aside from this, you need to find out about other services offered by the provider, such as package consolidation, repackaging and fees, just to name a few. it’s very important that you take all these things into consideration or you will regret your decision later on.

Address details

As far as entering your address is concerned, you can use the same address you saved at the time of signing up for the first time. Once you have chosen the address, you can go ahead and place your order. This way you won’t have to type your address each time you place a new order. Next, you should wait for the delivery of the package from the seller to your address.

Package handling

Now, you need to make arrangements for your parcel handling like repacking. Another option that you can consider is package consolidation. When you place orders with many retailers, you can try out this option. You can save a lot of money with package consolidation. However, you need to keep in mind that choosing this option may add to the custom duty for some countries. In this case, what you need to do is get the package sent separately instead of paying high custom duty.

Shipping fee

Keep in mind that you will have to pay the international shipping fee if you want to get the package at your doorstep. Once you have paid the shipping, the package will be yours.

Important things to consider

You may want to prefer a forwarder that charges no membership fee
Remember: lower shipping fee can’t be translated to reduced total amount
For package delivery in tax-free states, you can save more.
Consider the membership fees
Make sure there are no hidden fees, such as storage fees
Don’t place your order for prohibited items as they won’t be forwarded

Long story short, if you are going to choose a package forwarding service in the near future, we suggest that you consider the advice given in this article. This will save you a lot of headache down the road.

There Are Many Reasons Why You Should Use Courier Services

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When you use courier services, you can rest assured that you get convenience, reliability and security with each service they offer; whether you need to send a parcel to a recipient in the country or internationally, whether you use overnight services or same day services, with courier companies your parcel is in excellent hands and you will always know its whereabouts.

Courier services offer lots of options

With a courier service, your parcel can be sent the next day, on the same day, nationally as well as internationally. In fact, with an international courier you can send your parcel to practically any corner of the world, door to door. Courier services offer many different choices in terms of delivery and collection options and there are many different pricing structures to choose from as well, depending on your specific requirements such as the type of parcel, how urgent the delivery is, and the type of content.

You can always keep tabs on where your parcel is

Perhaps one of the best things about using a courier service is the fact that lost parcels are practically a thing of the past. The sophisticated tracking methods that are used by parcel services these days offer complete reliability and peace of mind. At any stage of the delivery process you can keep track of where your parcel is and whether it has arrived safely and securely. This enables you to inform your recipient about the expected delivery time and if you are unsure about what is happening with your parcel, you can either give your courier a call or you can go to their website, enter your parcel tracking number and you will have access to all the particulars of your parcel, literally at your fingertips, in real time.

More affordable than you think

There are many different courier companies which make the courier industry incredibly competitive and give the client the benefit of choosing the delivery options and pricing structure that best suits their needs, whether it’s for business deliveries or for personal parcel deliveries, locally or internationally, overnight or same day. The emergence of parcel booking agents and re-sellers means that your parcel collections and deliveries can be even more affordable than you ever may have thought possible.

With the courier service industry being such a competitive market with many national and international courier companies trying to get their hands on a piece of the pie and each one offering more sophisticated parcel services than the next; it may be hard to decide on which courier to use. It is important to do research before making a choice so that you get the best possible service at the most affordable prices.

What is Mediation?

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Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution. Mediation is a process of assisted negotiation that aims to help you to reach a mutually agreeable resolution to your dispute. The mediator remains an impartial party whose role is to facilitate productive conversation between the disputing parties. The mediator does not offer legal advice, make decisions or determine who is right or wrong. It is solely the responsibility of the disputing parties to decide on an agreement. It is the role of the mediator to help reduce tension, anger and misunderstandings between the disputing parties so effective negotiation can occur.

Mediation is a voluntary process in which both parties work collaboratively in an effort to settle their dispute in a mutually satisfying agreement. It is a safe, impartial, non-threatening and controlled environment where each party can have an opportunity to have their voice heard both confidently and confidentially. Mediation is an alternative to filing a court claim.

Mediation is best for civil cases that are not associated with criminal activities. The following are examples of the types of cases that can be resolved through mediation. This list is not meant to be all inclusive. Most types of civil disputes can benefit from the mediation process.

o Divorce & Other Family Disputes

Property division, custody arrangements, alimony payments, child support agreements, loans, verbal agreements, etc.

o Landlord/Tenant Disputes

Evictions, property damage, maintenance neglect, lease violations and other rental issues

o Neighbor to Neighbor Disputes

Property line issues, noise and other disturbances, children, pets, etc.

o Personal Injury Disputes

Car accidents, slip/fall, property damage, vandalism, etc.

o Business (Creditor)/Customer Disputes

Refunds, warranties, contract violations, customer service policy, credit collections, childcare/babysitter issues, negligence, etc.

o Employer/Employee Disputes

Benefits compensation, employment contract breach, harassment, workmen compensation, slow pay, etc.

o Intellectual Property Disputes

Copyright violations, plagiarism, contract breach, royalties, etc.

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Phoenix Real Estate Schools

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Travel and home magazines describe Phoenix as a tropical paradise. Financial and investment publications feature articles about the real estate situation in Phoenix and its rich economic vitality. As a result of this demand for property, real estate brokers and agents have a thriving practice. This has motivated many people to seek a career in the real estate business. As in any other field, professionals in the real estate business require specialized education.

Real estate schools coach and train aspiring real estate agents and guide them through the mandatory certification and examination process. These schools also offer their expertise in helping a student acquire real estate licenses.

Real estate schools in Phoenix offer online courses and the duration ranges from a month to a year. Typically, one year of study is required to complete a pre-license course. Completing a pre-license course gives students 63 hours of credit, which is required as a prerequisite for the real estate sales associate license. On completion, a student would have met the educational prerequisite to appear for the Phoenix State Exam. It is not necessary to be a U.S. Citizen or a Phoenix resident to obtain a Phoenix real estate license. The eligibility criterion are that the applicant must be at least 18 years of age, he/she should not have had a real estate license denied within one year or revoked within the two years prior to the application date.

Phoenix real estate schools provide adequate knowledge and support to its students in order to make them masters of the profession. It is advisable to plan the course as per each individual?s requirements and availability of time.

In recent times, many real estate schools have sprung up in Phoenix. Experts advise caution when choosing one for enrollment. Some of these schools are relatively new and do not have sufficient credentials to back their claims. It is believed that many don’t even have a standardized curriculum. Choosing a reputed real estate school with a updated curriculum and practical sessions is critical to becoming a successful real estate professional.

The Health Care System is Broken – Should Big Parma Buy Hospitals?

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We all know that the health-care system in the United States of America is broken and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. As podium pushers and politicians tell us that they will give us universal health care we all know that that is impossible. We also know that the Social Security system is running dry and we can barely afford that.

We know that there are all kinds of lobbyists from the health-care industry in Washington, DC trying to keep it going and keep the government paying for all these health services in our hospitals. The truth this is the Medicare system in the United States was originally ill-conceived and it is only gotten worse throughout the years. Today it represents a huge cost that we can no longer afford.

Indeed the health-care system is broken, but who is coming to the rescue and how come these politicians keep promising us universal health care – a scheme that would clearly bankrupt our nation? So who is going to bail out all the hospitals if the government stops footing the bill?

Maybe big Pharma and the pharmaceutical companies might buy up all the hospitals in order to make sure that those hospitals only sell their drugs? America is on drugs there is no doubt about that and the average Grandma now is probably taking 13 different medications all counter-acting each other, wow, now that is certainly quality of life.

It is incredible this crisis – maybe we should combine these two crisis – the health-care industry and big Pharma and put them together so we can manage them better as we cut off some of this excessive corporate welfare? Too hard hitting for you? So, what’s your solution then?