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One of the best home improvement projects for updating the look of your home is a fresh paint job. You can achieve the look of a professionally painted room with these easy, basic tips.

Lets start with the tools you will need. I suggest that you buy good quality tools and supplies, (brushes, rollers, paint, etc). Its not necessary to buy the highest priced tools and supplies, but good quality tools and paint will allow you to achieve a professional look. And, if you take care of your tools by washing and drying them after each use, you will be able to use them for years.

A list of supplies and tools you will need includes:
Paint
Primer (optional - see below)
Paint Brushes (suggest 1 wide - 3 inch and 1 narrow - 1 inch for "cut in" and trim)
Paint Roller
Roller Covers
Extension Pole (for ceilings and high walls)
Paint Tray (metal is best)
Caulk (to repair seams, fill in spaces)
Caulk Gun
Painters Putty (to repair holes, scratches)
Putty Knife (2 inch, 4 inch, or 6 inch, depending on size of holes)
Sander (to smooth walls after patching with putty)
Sandpaper
Plastic or drop cloths to cover furniture and floors

When shopping for a paint roller and extension pole, look for comfortable grips, and a roller and extension pole that are not too heavy. This will allow you to roll the paint on the wall using smooth strokes without struggling. You will be rolling the paint with a "push-press" motion that may be difficult with a heavy roller or extension pole. If you're not comfortable with selecting your tools, ask an experienced salesperson to make suggestions for you. Describe your project, and your salesperson can recommend brands for you to choose from.

When buying paint, a great way to get a rich, professional look is to choose a color that complements some decorating aspect of the room. As a suggestion, pick a color from a piece of furniture and select paint in that shade for the walls. You may want to pick a slightly lighter shade than the color you are matching. This creates a soothing background look that decorators and home improvement consultants often suggest. Also, purchase paint for your trim if you are using a different color for the trim than on walls. Again, I suggest buying high quality paint. Better paints will roll on with a beautiful finish, without streaking, and you will not have to apply as many coats for complete coverage.

Depending on the paint finish you want, select:
High or Semi Gloss, (shiny - great for bathrooms, and wall areas you would like to be able to wash)
Eggshell (my favorite - a very slight gloss that dries with the beautiful texture of an eggshell)
Satin (a slight gloss finish between semi gloss and flat)
Flat - no shine or gloss.

A note on primer: If you are painting walls with a lighter color than is currently on the walls you will need primer. Primer serves two purposes, it covers and neutralizes the darker color you are painting over, and it serves as an adhesive for the paint, allowing it to be applied evenly for a smooth finish.

Step 1: To get ready to paint, prepare your walls by patching holes, scratches, and minor wall separations with putty or caulk gun. Allow caulk or putty to dry. Gently sand for a smooth surface.

Step 2: Remove light switch and outlet covers, and apply masking tape to wall mirrors, (example: bathroom wall mirrors).

Step 3: Cover furniture with plastic or drop cloths. As an alternative to covering the entire floor with drop cloths, you can spread the drop cloths on the floor for protection where you are painting, and move them around as you paint the room.

Step 4: Now you are ready to paint. Its best to "cut in" walls first by using your brush to apply paint from the top edge of the wall next to the ceiling using horizontal brush strokes down to about 6 inches away from the ceiling. You are creating an area that you will roll up to with your roller. I like to "cut in" 2 walls at a time then fill in by rolling on paint. Start rolling at the bottom of the cut in area with even up and down strokes, and blend into the cut in area for a seamless appearance. Watch for drips and remove them with a damp cloth, or work paint drips in with your roller right away. Roll walls with even pressure. The correct motion is push-press, for smooth, even, paint application. Again, check for drips, and work them in or remove them with a damp cloth.

Step 5: After painting walls, apply paint to molding and trim with your brush. Apply a light, even coat with horizontal strokes.

Now you're finished. You can admire your freshly painted room that looks great, with the appearance of a professional paint job!

This article was written to provide professional home improvement techniques for crafters and hobbyists. For expert home improvement, home repair, renovation, and contractor services in Atlanta, GA and surrounding counties visit: http://www.craftprodirect.com

There are many professional uses for GPS systems. Some are simple, such as using a GPS system to find a worksite before it is actually surveyed. Others are more interesting. One is the GPS Compass. A pair of GPS systems can accurately determine direction without worrying about magnetic declination, as magnetic north can be slightly different than true north in some parts of the world.

Weather Reports Another professional use for GPS systems is to increase accuracy for weather reports, with special systems able to determine information such as air density, temperature, moisture and electron density. This information can be fed into computer models in an attempt to increase the accuracy of the system.

Emergency Services

Perhaps the most dramatic uses are for emergency services. Both in terms of calling in locations when initially reporting the issue and aiding first responders to quickly find the location afterwards. E911 requires that all mobile phones be locatable by GPS, though not all parts of the US are E911 compliant at this time. GPS location is actually less power hungry than the radiolocation system which was the previous standard while increasing the accuracy.

Digital Cameras

Some digital cameras can be connected to GPS systems and insert the datetime group and location into the picture, useful when there is reason to desire pictures to be tied to a specific time and place, such as pictures of work sites or crime scenes.

Some tasks require precise timing and are connected to GPS systems, not for location but for timing. The systems are self correcting to ensure the GPS itself requires very accurate time in order to function, and there is no reason for other devices not to take advantage. So some devices such as seismology sensors which are in known locations have an integral GPS in order to keep that accurate time.

Surveying

Surveying is also becoming a GPS dominated function, with Survey quality GPS systems used to place survey markers, roads and buildings. Mapping quality GPS systems are used to keep accurate locations down to 10cm. Geophysicists and geologists use GPS systems to record locations in realtime, which can be of exceptional value in circumstances such as a volcanic eruption, a sinkhole or other rapid movement.

Military The original intended use for the GPS system was military, and the armed forces are still heavy users of the technology. The systems are so popular that some soldiers who are not assigned a GPS system will buy a civilian system for the added convenience of having one at any time it might be needed.

Navigation

Boats and ships make exceptional use of GPS systems. From knowing where they are on the chart to quickly reporting the location of a crisis such as a ship in distress or man overboard, a working GPS system turns navigation from a task requiring an extensively trained professional to a task that can be accomplished quickly by an amateur. This does not mean it isnt a good plan to have such a trained professional handy, of course.

Practical Solutions provides complete GPS, mobile navigation/mapping and other hi-tech solutions! Check us out at: http://www.ps-gps.com

Plumbing refers to a system of pipes that allows water into and out of a building or a structure. The term itself comes from a Latin term, plumbum, which is commonly known as lead.

Here is a piece of history on plumbing.

The first plumbing systems were installed to get rid of human wastes. In the Indus Valley, which is found in western India and Pakistan, most shelters had assembled drainage for waste disposal by the year 2500 BC. Moreover, a palace on the island of Crete had pipes to supply the dwellers with drinking water by about 2000 BC. The ancient Romans used lead metal for their pipes. In addition, their old systems still have installed iron pipes and older houses have lead pipes for their water and wastes, respectively.

However, present-day plumbing make use of copper pipes for central heating pipe-work and for water feeds. However, the use of modern plastic pipes, brass, and even steel are also slowly taking place.

Why is copper popular in modern plumbing?

Many plumbers and manufacturers have discovered some advantages of copper over lead and iron pipes and these are:

1.Copper costs low as compared to lead and iron.

2.Copper does not corrode relative to iron.

3.Copper is non toxic relative to lead.

4.Copper is easy to work with and relatively soft as compare to both lead and iron.

5.Copper pipes are manufactured in an array of sizes:

a.between 8 and 10 mm for micro-bore heating systems

b.between 12 and 15 mm for connections to appliances and individual taps

c.22 mm, 28mm, and 35 mm to overcome pressure drop

Moreover, trade outlets may keep stocks between 3 and 4 meters while those DIY or Do-it-yourself outlets may stock sizes between 1.5 and 2 meters.

Below is some information on connectors:

1.Connectors are typically fitted to the size of pipe. The main styles, which cater for needs for pipe-runs are:

a.straight connector

b.connector with 90-degree bend

c.T-shaped connector

Normally, they are made to connect to pipes that have the same sizes or different sizes at each end.

2.Connectors can be made to integrate modern pipes that have sizes in meters to copper pipes that have bigger sizes to outside screw threads such as used on sink taps and/or iron pipes.

The two basic types of connectors used for linking copper pipes are:

a.Compression connectors

These are used as internal rings, which are compressed onto the copper pipe. In addition, end nuts are tightened onto the body of the connector.

These connectors can be reassembled and dismantled easily. Also, if a pipe run is to be dismantled, the end of the pipe can be cut so that the end nut can be removed. Then, the connector can be reused again with a new set of olives.

b.Solder connectors

These types of connectors are made to provide a fit that slides into the pipe that is made of copper. To do this, the joint is usually heated. Then the gap between the connector and the pipe is filled with solder thru capillary action.

There are connectors that assemble a ring made of solder into the body, while others are made of solder and copper and need to be integrated around the exposed gap after heating the pipes or connectors.

Unlike compression connectors, solders are not reusable. They cannot be dismantled and disarranged too.

This article is made to provide you with basic information on copper pipes and connectors. I guess we can leave the plumbing to the plumbers themselves!

Copper and metal price is soaring due to the global growth, and many markets respond with a growing and outstanding demand for copper, copper piping is one thing you should know about, if you are planning to make home improvement repairs, you can do a lot with Copper Pipes, learn more about copper at http://copper.zupatips.com