Category Archives: Yard & Outdoors

Heavy Equipment: Retirement Gifts For Machinists

August 01, 2021   Matt

Heavy Equipment: Retirement Gifts For Machinists

Who And What Are Machinists?

Machinists are those people who are engaged in a variable work description which ranges from operating mechanical machineries to electronic machineries and robotics to create a specific item with precision and consistency. Usually, these machinists are tasked to create only a specific part of a bigger item like a door of a car or even just the knob of a door. Nevertheless, they are those who interact with sophisticated and medium built machineries to produce the necessary component.

As these machinists retire from work, they would most probably still be craving to do similar tasks as that when they were still working in the factory. Retirement gifts for machinists would also most probably be related to machineries or anything that pertains to their hobby, which in this case would most likely be crafting.

Know What They Like

Though it doesn’t really and necessarily follow that the hobbies or off-work habits of these machinists are woodworking or machine crafting, it is a good start to know and project a gift that would at least start as something that they usually work with. One has to know the retiree to know what industry these retiring machinists would be coming from.

A retiree machinist who works in a car assembly factory may have a different training background with certain machines as to that who works with machines in a dry dock facility. Though both would be engaged in steel works and heavy machine equipment, the nature of the specific item being created would have different effects for the retiree’s preference as a gift.

Know To Identify Their Specific Hobby

In addition to the nature of the retiree’s machine related operation, knowing the nature of the specific hobby of the retiree would definitely help place a well valued and practical retirement gift for a machinist. For example, a machinist who has a home based hobby of wood carving would find a retirement gift of a good quality chisel set, or a new working table as a valuable present.

It may also be that the same machinist has a totally different hobby as compared with working with machineries. It may be that the retiree’s hobby involves something less strenuous such as painting or even knitting. It may sound funny to realize the extreme opposing activities existing in a single person but it is possible.

The last thing you want to realize is that you have presented a retiree with a gift which looks like work being brought home.

Know What They Still Need

Another thing to consider is to know what they really need. It may destroy the element of surprise in giving not just retirement but with any kind of gifts but it would be much more practical and economical. It would be economical in the sense that there wouldn’t be any money gone to waste by guying something that the retiree wouldn’t be able to use afterwards.

Another benefit of knowing the need of a retiree is to be able to properly complement the exact wishes of the recipient of your retirement gift. Also, if you really don’t want to spoil the element of surprise, you may ask a relative or a close colleague of his who knows his likes and needs. This way, you may get additional ideas on how to make such a retirement gift be a well placed gift.

Retirement gifts for machinists need not be mechanical or anything near sophisticated. It may be the most common of things or retain its complex characteristic which the machinist retiree has been accustomed to for many years. What ever the gift may be, the point on making a gift for machinists memorable and valuable is to make sure that it is something useful and meaningful.

Read More

Playgrounds – How to Make Them Fun, Safe and Affordable

July 27, 2021   Matt

Playgrounds – How to Make Them Fun, Safe and Affordable

While creating your own playground will take some planning, it is for certain that your kids will exercise as they are having fun. The good part about this is that the playground does not have to be huge, and therefore expensive. A wide selection of swing and slide sets as well as towers and sandboxes can make for big memories regardless of the playground’s actual size.

First of all, you need to assess the size of the area as well as available materials for your playground. Considerations such as safety and budget constraints should also be in the mix. To get started, ask yourself these questions:

• How much space is available for a playground?
• Is the area sheltered or mostly outdoors?
• Are you willing to build the equipment from scratch or would you rather buy them as kits?
• How much money will you set aside for the project?
• What safety issues do you foresee with the playground?

Space
One thing you should remember: bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. This is particularly so when space is limited. You just need to incorporate strategic pieces that will engage your tots. Great thing about children is that 90% of the fun they get out of playgrounds come from their own imagination. The remaining 10% you provide is just to give them something to work their minds on.

Selections for playground pieces have also corresponded to customers with the limited space and therefore have put out smaller versions of play structures like swings and slides.

Material
Now comes the choice: Metal? Plastic? Wood? What are the pros and cons? Here is a brief run-through:

Play sets made of plastic are perfect for small children. They are light and therefore setup is easy, and it is portable as well. They can also come in a wide selection of bright colors for mini playhouses, jungle gyms, and swings. They can easily be bought either online or at your local retail stores.

Metal playground pieces should be made galvanized to prevent rust from forming. Painting also prevents rusting as well. Make sure that thick gauge steel is used for the swing set particularly for the top bar. Standard swing sets made of metal can sufficiently usually support a limit of 70 pounds for every child.

Play sets made from quality wood like redwood and cedar are more sturdy and attractive. Given proper care and maintenance, they can outlast plastic or metal sets. These can hold around 115 pounds or slightly more per child. Such wood as well as the pressure-treated variety can withstand moisture.

To buy or to build?
Metal and plastic play sets are factory-manufactured and are available in local stores or online. It is preferable to shop with the children so that you can target items of their preference as well as of their size. You are sure to find one that not only meets these criteria, but safety and prize as well.

It will be good to remember that you will need to assemble these sets yourself. This can be done in just a few hours. Also remember to include the delivery price to the retail price of the set as it can cost you significantly. In such cases, try to arrange for your own transportation to do this.

If you choose to get a wood play set you have these options:

– Save money by buying a detailed kit (except for the wood, which you need to buy yourself). You will have to spend more hours to cut and drill the wood before moving onto assembly. You will need to be prepared to do some exact measuring as well before you can bolt together the pieces.

– You can buy the kit, which includes the wood you will be working on. The wood comes pre-cut and pre-drilled and will not take as much time to assemble.

– If assembly is not really your thing, you can avail of the kit and installation services and not have to worry about a thing.

Finally, you need to go over the play set and play area thoroughly for safety issues. It is best to have a child’s mind and eye with this one. Always ask yourself “How would my child see this particular slide/swing?” Are there bars or chains that can potentially snags clothing or injure your child? If there are, remedy these immediately before you allow the child to play in the area. Also, never let a child play unsupervised – this by far, is the prime reason for serious, if not fatal accidents in the playground.

The work it takes to build a playground may be exhausting. But it is definitely time well spent. You are not only giving your child a good play set, you are also allowing him or her the opportunity to build many happy memories.

Read More

Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment System

July 22, 2021   Matt

Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment System

Disagreeable taste, foul odor and undesirable color are just few of the unwanted things we don’t want our drinking water to have. In as much as we want to keep our drinking water safe, the cost of water treatment technology is escalating. It is true that there are plenty of water treatment procedures and equipment available in the market but only few are proven to be safe and effective. Those that have gain positive reviews are becoming more expensive each day.

One of the newest methods in treating water is reverse osmosis water treatment system. This method has demonstrated the ability to lessen the content of substances that naturally occurs on water that changes its taste, color and smell. These substances can also cause the water to be unhealthy. All these water problems are eliminated if reverse osmosis water treatment system is utilized.

Reverse osmosis water treatment system is generally utilized to reduce the number of solid particles that might form scale in the long run. The chemicals that cause scale formation like nitrate, sodium, and sulfate are thus removed from the water. The presence of carbon filter in reverse osmosis water treatment system can help diminish the presence of “soluble organic compounds” like pesticides, chloroform and other unnecessary organic compounds.

Reverse osmosis water treatment technology is also considered as super filtration water treatment method because the process includes the passing of water into a permeable membrane with ultra small orifices, that can only allow water molecules to pas through it. The larger compounds found in water are screened. Other reverse osmosis filters use electric current in eliminating unwanted chemicals.

A simple and ordinary reveres osmosis water treatment system typically include particle filter which inhibits solid particles and other chemicals to pass through; membrane component, which acts by rejecting certain contaminants from passing through; Storage tank, where the filtered water are kept; post-filter, which to remove undesirable taste and any form of residue that are present after the treatment; and the delivery tap where treated water are stored.

This ultimate water treatment system is relatively costly but the benefits obtained from this system are much higher than its cost. A reverse osmosis water treatment assembly can cost up to 0 to as much as 00 depending on the quality and the size of the unit. Other cost would include regular replacement of the membrane, which is about 0-0 while the cartridges for the filter is priced at .

Reverse osmosis water treatment system is practically suggested for household use only. Any attempt to utilize the system might prove to be much expensive and impractical. Nevertheless reverse osmosis water treatment is and effective method it ensuring a safe and clean drinking water.

Read More

Helpful Landscaping Ideas

July 12, 2021   Matt

Helpful Landscaping Ideas

In architectural terms, landscaping means the art of modifying land areas through the use of natural, cultivated, or constructed elements in an organized manner and with accordance to a comprehensive yet aesthetic planning. If you are getting interested with this art, it is best to come up with fresh landscaping ideas to set your self apart from the rest.

Indeed, landscape design is one of those terms that can be quite overwhelming especially for neophytes. But, this doesn’t have to sound so intimidating because the underlying principles in it can be translated in simple terms or layman’s terms, so to speak. Once translated into less complicated terms, landscaping would be easily understood and more people can do it on their own.

Aiding the ideas of creation

If you new into landscaping, you need to landscaping ideas to help you create you own one. But, before going gaga over numerous landscaping ideas out there, you need to familiarize yourself first with the basics of the art. These include knowing the basic elements of landscape design such use of colors and its combination as well as the various color theories. The standards of forms, lines, scales, and textures should also be pondered upon.

To help you come up with your own landscaping project, here are some helpful landscaping ideas that you can use in order to enhance the beauty of your home or make your own personal space pleasing to the eye.

1. Always assimilate the hardscape into the initial and final landscape design. “Hardscape” refers to elements and features including fences and other decorations used in the garden as well as patios and decks because these will give a wonderful transition coming from your indoors to the outdoors of your garden. Always make sure that the elements used in hardscape will complement other elements such as plants.

2. Try building a dependable but fashionable set of fences. People might not notice it but fences—if placed and designed properly—can create a huge difference in the overall look of the house. When doing your own landscape, make sure that you invest on great-looking fence because it will be standard in the garden. To be more creative, try to use plants as a fence aside from using the traditional wood ones. Here, you have a unique and reliable fence that will speak of your distinct taste and preference. But, if you plan to use plants as fence, make sure that they are composed of shrubs so they will be easier to manage.

3. Consider using foliages and drought-tolerant plants to use. If you are not sure if you can take care of the plants in your garden regularly, make sure that you use plants that don’t need constant watering and taming.

4. Combine colors of plant foliages and flowers. To create an eye-catching landscaping, always think of the characteristics of the foliage. Make sure that the foliage of plants has various textures and colors to create easy patterns that are pleasing to eye.

5. Be experimental in choosing materials. One of the most refreshing landscaping ideas out there is the use of substitutes in place of the traditional ones. This is because in enables the designer to explore more possibilities and lets him or her to be more creative.

One good example is the use of wood chippers especially for those who constantly redesign their space. These are a good option especially for people who want to trim their growing plants often.

Read More

Landscaping DIY: Learning the Basics

July 07, 2021   Matt

Landscaping DIY: Learning the Basics

Landscaping DIY style can be successful only if one has learned about the basic principles regarding landscaping in general. Whether you are borrowing a certain landscaping idea that you found in a magazine or on the Internet, knowing about the basic landscaping principles would be able to help you understand what you would be doing later on. Knowing about these principles can even help you improve your own creativity as you try to develop your own landscaping ideas.

One of the basic principles of landscaping is aiming to achieve some form of unity in design. Unity, as a principle, should be considered as one of your main goals in landscaping design. Unity can either be applied in the form of consistency and repetition. Repetition creates unity in landscaping design by repeating similar elements such as plants, plant groups, or other types of decor throughout the landscape.

Consistency creates unity by enabling some or all of the various elements of a planned landscape to fit together and be considered as part of a whole. It can be achieved through the consistency of character of the different elements such as height, size, texture, color schemes, etc.

Another important principle essential for landscape design is balance. Balance is a sense of equality in the overall design. There are basically two types of balance being employed in landscape design. Symmetrical balance is characterized by the equal spacing of the matching elements in the garden design. A garden design strikes up a symmetrical balance when the elements share all or part of the same shape, form, groupings, colors, theme, etc.

Achieving asymmetrical balance in garden design can be a little more complex. While element characteristics such as textures, forms, colors may remain constant to create some unity, some shapes and design may be more random. In achieving this form of balance, it is often essential to makes use of separate or different themes in the landscape design but with each one having an equal yet different type of attraction.

Another principle to consider in landscape design is natural transition. This principle can be used to avoid radical or hasty changes in your landscape design. Transition is basically gradual change. It can best be shown in terms of plant height or color. Natural transition can also be applied to all the other elements in the landscape such as textures, shape and size of the different landscape elements.

The transition can be achieved in the natural means by gradual, ascending or descending, arrangement of different elements. A good example of achieving natural transition would be employing a stair step effect from large trees going to medium trees then to shrubs and then finally to bedding plants.

Simplicity is another basic landscaping principle that can be one of the best guidelines you can follow when just beginning landscaping DIY. The aim to just keep things simple can provide certain advantages to begin with. One is that you can achieve more by doing less. Improvements can be done later.

Picking two or three basic colors to use for the landscape and then repeat them throughout the garden design is a means of keeping things simple. Keeping the use of decor to a minimum and limited to a specific theme is also a means of achieving simplicity in garden design.

Read More

Backyard Fun In The Sun. Learn How To Reduce The Chance For Play Set Injuries This Summer

July 02, 2021   Matt

Backyard Fun In The Sun. Learn How To Reduce The Chance For Play Set Injuries This Summer

Now that the weather is warmer and kids are heading outdoors to play, it is important for parents to take some essential precautions to create a safer backyard play environment. According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there were nearly 47,000 injuries to children under age 15 on home playgrounds in the last year studied. The chance of these injuries occurring-ranging from bumps and bruises to head trauma-can be reduced by following some simple guidelines.

“Nothing is more important than active adult supervision to enforce the rules that will help prevent a serious injury on backyard playgrounds,” says Meri-K Appy, president of the nonprofit Home Safety Council. “In addition, parents and caregivers should make sure their children’s play set is age-appropriate and in good condition-and that the surface underneath and around the equipment provides a soft landing if and when their kids do take a tumble.”

Backyard Play Set Safety Tips:

1. Ensure your play set has proper surfacing. Proper surfacing is an important component in reducing injuries due to a play set fall; however, it is often an overlooked backyard playground safety feature. Dirt and grass do not provide the appropriate level of cushioning. Instead, loose fill materials such as wood mulch, wood chips, fine sand or fine gravel is recommended. The material should extend at least six feet in all directions and depth should vary from nine to 12 inches, depending on the surfacing type.

2. Make sure that your backyard play set is sturdy. Lumber sturdiness is also an important element to play set safety. Using four-by-four corner posts will minimize the side-to-side sway motion that less substantial lumber may sometimes cause. Also, make sure that you use A-frame legs to provide a firm footing for the swing beam.

3. Select a backyard play set that meets maximum safety guidelines. Parents also want to choose play sets that meet ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards. Although these standards are voluntary, they can help assure parents that the play sets were designed with safety in mind. One manufacturer that complies with these guidelines is Swing-N-Slide. It has introduced an innovative new bracket technology for play set assembly called the Rapid-LOC system. This system features four special brackets combined with self-drilling fasteners, which provide secure anchoring for deck supports, four-by-four uprights and accessory beams. The interlocking nature of the Rapid-LOC brackets keep the play system’s supports tightly locked-even if a screw comes loose-producing a stronger backyard play set.

Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »

  • Subscribe

Support us!

If you like this site please subscribe