Adding a room onto an existing home is probably the most cost effective way to increase a buildings usable interior space. In this article, an addition means what a colleague calls a three sided addition. This phrase intends to avoid confusion with other sorts of home additions such as raising a building to create a new ground level space, or raising the roof to create a story between a ground level space and a roof area. The three sided addition means that the new and existing building will share an interior wall.

The first consideration when planning an addition is headroom: the height of a ceiling relative to human proportions. Most building codes stipulate minimum ceiling heights, but, as most people prefer ceilings that are at least eight feet (2.5 m) high, a well-designed space will probably meet or exceed these. Ensuring adequate headroom is probably the most challenging aspect of addition design, and is the main reason to start planning an addition from the roof down.

Begin your design thinking by trying to envision what you consider an ideal ceiling height for your addition when finished. As mentioned, most prefer a minimum eight feet, but a few inches less than this will still work in a pinch. It is important to start here, because your new ceiling will likely be hanging from the roof framing that will, in turn, attach to the existing building. If this framing attaches to an existing building too low, your ceiling will be too low. Lets look at a couple standard roof frame techniques to help clarify.

Gable Dormer: When most kids in the western world draw a house, it will have a gable roof. A gable roof is an upside-down V. A gable dormer is this same roof shape attached to an existing main building at a right angle. It will have a peak as does the childrens drawing, and where its roof meets the main roof is called a valley. As people have been using gable dormers for centuries, you wont need to look far for an example. The main advantage to a gable dormer when designing an addition is that the additions ceiling height is determined by how high its peak is relative to the main building. Typically, the higher the peak, the greater the available ceiling height.

As with any building project, there is seemingly no end to pro and cons, and compromises need be found. When using a gable dormer frame for an addition, the compromise is that much of its weight will bear on the existing or main roof framing because it overlaps this framing. As the main roof framing was not likely designed to support this extra weight, this main roof frame will need to be strengthened. Of course, there are a few more in and outs to know about putting a lid on your addition using the gable dormer method, but in my opinion, this method is the slickest, and in the long term, will offer better looks than most alternatives. Due to the structural bolstering, and other framing elements required when using a gable dormer, it will likely cost more, as well.

If considering the gable dormer method, one thing to bear in mind is that because a sizable additions roof dormer will cover up a substantial portion of the existing roof, hold off on re-roofing until the dormer is in place. This will save burying a lot of new roofing material under the new dormer.

Shed Roof: The shed roof or shed dormer has an unfortunate name, but when artfully built, proves a cost effective roof frame for an addition, as well as an attractive one. Starting again with that inverted V, the shed-style addition roof is a flat plane say the shape of a floor tile or square cracker that meets one leg of the upside-down V somewhere. Somewhere is the operative word because this versatile addition roof style can, when well supported, be attached anywhere on a building from the main roof to its exterior wall. For now, lets suppose the shed roof attaches at the base of the inverted V. Ideally, the roof joists your ceiling is hung from will land on the exterior wall plates where the main roof frame rests. This makes for easier framing.

But heres the tricky part of using the shed-style. Unlike the gable method which has its drainage slopes built into the design, that tile shaped shed roof plane needs to be tilted down, at least a little bit. How much depends on roofing know-how and the materials chosen. Using the so-called 1:12 ratio which I think of as minimum, for every foot the roof extends from the main building, the plane, that tile or cracker, tilts down one inch. The tricky part is that at this ratio, every foot away from the main building is one less inch of headroom. If the addition roof extends 12 feet (4 m) from the main building, an eight-foot-high ceiling becomes seven with the loss of an inch every foot. This means that landing your new addition roof on the existing exterior wall frame may not provide enough headroom, even when using the minimum 1:12 pitch ratio. Try this simple formula using a 2:12 pitch ratio to see why a minimum slope is often used. Losing two inches of headroom per foot results in the loss of two feet (60 cm) of headroom over 12 feet.

With headroom in mind, youre probably asking, Can I raise the ceiling to get more headroom? Yes, but you will simultaneously be determining where your new shed roof plane meets existing work. If that cracker or tile plane lands too far up the inverted V of the main roof, it will put weight on existing roof framing not intended to support it. This scenario, as with gable dormers, will necessitate some engineering thinking and doing, but in my opinion, will be worth the trouble. Shed roofs simply look better when they connect to a main roof, as opposed to being hung from an exterior wall under the eave.

Another good way to increase headroom is by lowering the additions floor elevation. This is more commonly necessary with single story buildings, but can be a challenge even with a second story addition. The problem is, of course, that by the time that shed roof is extended away from the building and headroom is lost as per the formula, the ceiling is so low as to be impractical. In this event, about the only option available is to sink the addition a step or two down to ensure adequate headroom.

A main benefit of the shed roof is its simplicity. It does not demand advanced carpentry skills to execute as far as roof framing goes. Instead shed-style addition roofs are challenging in that they not only require greater thought about drainage and roofing materials, but ask also for consideration of how building loads are transferred to their foundations, as these are often less obvious than with gable-style additions. A last important note about using a minimal or low-slope roof is not only that a low-slope roof material must be used, but extra care is needed to ensure the additions roof membrane goes well up and under the main buildings roofing material. In general, the lower the slope, the greater this under-flashing.

As always, its better when planning a building project to make mistakes on paper instead of on the job. This thinking is particularly true in additions, where certain elements of a plan are pre-determined by an existing structure that may be expensive to alter greatly. Of course, its also true that Will usually finds a way, so with a little top down thinking about addition roofs and some basic tools, a buildings usable interior space can be substantially increased without mowing a building down and starting from scratch.

We all know how painful break-ups can be. In our teenage and early twenties relationships didn’t always last very long but we got over them! One of the outcomes of this was that we had coping mechanisms to deal with the endings.

As we get into our thirties and beyond breakups still happen but they are a lot less frequent. Quite often our well-intentioned attempts to soften the blow only result in confusion, humiliation, and even greater pain to the other person.

These guidelines below will help you through the potentially messy business of ending a long term relationship.

1. Make sure your doing the right thing for you.
It may seem an odd thing to say but it is important to be selfish! By that I mean you have to know what you want. Take time to reflect on how your marriage is going what bits are working and which bits aren’t? Are you gaining or loosing out overall? Depending on the state of your relationship it may not be possible to talk things through with your partner so you’ll need to start this off on your own, if so then I’d seriously recommend counseling.

Give your marriage a fair chance before you decide. I’m not saying you should put up with any abusive behavior, but allow your partner to respond to your actions. This is no easy task and will take time to do.

2. Be Clear.
Having made a decision some people then use vague lines such as ‘I need some space,’ or ‘I need to be alone for a while’ when they are actually finishing a relationship. You might think that drawing out the end over time is a gentle way of letting him down. Instead, you’ll be creating a more messy and painful end. Don’t give him hope, it’s not fair on him and can make things more difficult for you too.

If you’ve decided that for you it’s all over then in the long run it’s always kinder to be clear that this is the end.

3. Do your own dirty work.
Don’t deliberately try to force him to do the breaking up with you by becoming bitchy and unreasonable. Many women unhappy in their relationships start inventing absurd jealousies and complaints in an effort to push their partner away. You may have genuine reasons for wanting to end the marriage and think this tactic lets you off the hook. In fact, it’s cowardly. It draws out the inevitable, and creates bad vibes between you.

Take responsibility for your dissatisfaction; if the relationship isn’t working for you then say so!

4. Allow yourself to be upset.
As you tell him that, wonderful a person as he is, the relationship simply isn’t working for you, it’s OK to be upset. You may have practiced what you would like to say; but when you actually come to be in front of the person you have spent years with it is different. Part of the natural ‘grieving’ process is for you to feel emotional when you loose something.

It will help him realize that you are taking this seriously and it isn’t just a passing phase.

5. Offer a reason.
You need to offer a reason that’s believable. For a long term relationship it’s never likely to be simple. Over the years things that you didn’t notice or didn’t mind now become a major irritation. Be careful about blaming it’s safer to say how you felt when he acted as he did and to say how it has left you.

If you focus on how you haven’t managed to cope with the situation then that will help him to accept the break-up.

6. Don’t lie; being honest is ‘almost’ always the best policy.
‘This hurts me more than it hurts you,’ is insincere, because it never does; and even if it was true it wouldn’t help to say it. Endings are difficult, the longer the relationship then the more effort and emotional upset it will take to end it. ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ is far more credible and acceptable.

Be strong enough to say “it’s not working for me.”

If you follow the above points you may manage to achieve that rarity: an amicable break-up from a long term relationship. You and your ex might even move into a pleasant post-relationship friendship.

But if, despite your best efforts, he doesn’t accept your story then you need to stand your ground and plan your exit without him. At least you can leave with a clear conscience!

years ago I became interested in the theory of the existence of perpetual motion.I looked it up on the internet and to my surprise I found that a lot of people claim that they have designed or even build devices that proof the existence of perpetual motion.This fascinated me and I started doing research by means of reading articles and watching on line videos.Soon it became clear that a lot people do not really understand what the theory of perpetual motion is.

According to Wikipedia,perpetual motion is (quoted) ” motion that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy” or “the motion of a hypothetical machine which,once activated,would run forever unless subject to an external force or to wear”.Therefor I find a big difference between perpetual motion and changing one form of energy to another form of energy.

The laws of energy is simple.”energy cannot be created or destroyed,but only be transformed from one form to another.”It is constantly happening all around us.For example,think of a household electrical kettle.You put water in it and switch it on.After a while it turn cold water to boiling water.This will not be possible if the kettle is not using electrical energy.So it converts electrical energy to heat.Any object that is in motion while in contact with another object will generate heat due to friction.It is the by- product of changing one form of energy to another form of energy.

I wanted to experiment with magnets to see if I can create a kinetic device that would keep on moving once it started.I started making designs using a CAD(computer aided drawing) program on my computer.It looked good and I was convinced that I have found an design that will work.After buying magnets and having parts made by an precision engineering shop,it was time to put it all together and see if it works.

To my surprise,it did not work due to one factor that I did not think about.That is balance.Not the type that people use to walk on ropes using balancing poles,but magnetic balance.I call it nature`s balance.No matter what I tried, the magnets always balances each other out by ending in an state of equilibrium.That meant it was back to my CAD program. After a few,long nights in front of the my computer and many different designs,I finally had a design that looked promising.

The next day I went back to the engineering shop with my new design.During the next few days,while waiting for the parts,I went on to the Internet to see if someone had made something that is similar to my design.What a shock it was when I found out that not only was my design already build,but it had a name.It was called a V-gate.

One thing that I had noticed was that a lot of people called it an perpetual motion device.In some cases people even called it a “free energy device”.I disagree with this,because it is still an device that converts one form of energy to another form of energy.In this case magnetic energy is used to create kinetic energy.Therefor I see it the same as an car`s engine which uses fuel to create motion.

So what about perpetual motion?The word “motion” means that what ever is used to proof the existence of perpetual motion is going to move,therefor it will have kinetic energy.To create kinetic energy without using any other form of energy some laws of the universe will have to be broken.

One should take in consideration the laws of thermodynamics,which is basically the following:
First law: “Energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed. That means energy can be converted from one form into another”.
Second law: “In all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state.” This is also referred to as entropy.”
Third law: “As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a minimum.”
Fourth law: “When body A is in thermal equilibrium with body B and body B is in thermal equilibrium with body C, then body A is in thermal equilibrium with body C.”

That facts is simple.Perpetual motion will always stay at an theory level unless an way is found to break the laws of thermodynamics.Therefor designing an device that converts magnetic energy to kinetic energy is definitely not perpetual motion,but an interesting thing to do.It would not have been so interesting to design,if I did not have a CAD program and a computer,for all the research,to design it on.

Now that you’re hooked on playing Cornhole with your friends and family, have you purchased or made your own Cornhole boards yet?

Have you come up with unique ideas to decorate your Cornhole boards? No, of course, you don’t need to decorate them at all, but why not? That personal touch adds character to your games.

We’ve seen lots of pictures submitted by Cornhole game lovers who have decorated their boards in some most unique ways.

It seems the most common decorations for Cornhole boards are alma maters and sports teams. If you’re not good at freehand drawing, you can cut out color logos from sporting event programs, print out logos from the internet, or purchase decals or posters from sports stores.

If you don’t have Cornhole bags yet, don’t forget to buy or make them it matching colors!

Other decorating options include designs that incorporate the actual cornhole into it. If you’re like some Cornhole fans, your design might try to hinder opponents by hiding the cornhole in the design. Others like to highlight the cornhole so it stands out and is perhaps a bit easier to play. It all depends on your preferences and strategies for getting an upper hand in those all day games.

If you don’t want to decorate with a sports theme, consider something from your favorite hobby, an interesting design, fun photos from the internet, or even print out photos of your family or favorite vacation spot. What about decorating with actual autumn leaves bursting with fall colors or pressed flowers?

Once you have your decals, photos, or other items secured to the board, use a coat or three of clear varnish or polyurethane to protect your items and to even out the playing surface of the board.

If you need to paint straight edges, but aren’t so good at freehand painting, here are some suggestions. If you have a long straightedge, of course that will work. If you don’t have a straight edge, masking tape or painter’s tape will work, too. Once you paint one color, let it dry, then retape a new straight edge and mask over the first painted color so you get a crisp line when you paint the second color.

To paint neat circles, find round objects around the house to trace, like cups, wastebaskets, coffee cans, etc. Or, you can make your own circles of your own specific diameter. First you need a length of string that will end up being half the diameter of your circle. Tie a nail or pen or pencil to one end and another pen or pencil to the other end. Hold one pencil end or the nail end to the center of your circle. The other end you will drag around in a circle, making the outline you will later paint around. It’s a do-it-yourself pencil compass.

Now, if you’re not all that good at painting around the curved lines of a circle without going outside the lines, you can also make a template from cardboard or even a manila envelope or folder. Tape your template to the board and paint. (Note that spray paint might work better to get your clean edges rather than using a paintbrush.)

Whatever you choose, the point is to have lots of fun playing one of the hottest games around. And if your designs give you a home court advantage, so much the better!

After weighing the advantages as well as disadvantages of vertical blinds you have finally decided that it is worth every dime. Entirely replacing the blind if a pet accidentally chewed on the bottom part of it seems uneconomical and unpractical. With these, you could easily unsnapped the damage part and replaced it with a new one.

Vertical Blinds were first introduced by Edward Bopp and Frederick Bopp, from Kansas City Missouri. It used to function as a mere screen to the window. However as the years passed it has evolved into chic, fashionable as well as functional adornment in homes. Undeniably it has been present at homes, and offices, which left many manufacturers to seek constant improvements or enhancements that would address the needs of the users.

It should be noted that you should first let your windows and doors professionally measured or get a detailed instruction from a company on how to measure it. This would save you from unnecessary inconveniences and cost. The price of vertical blinds varies depending on its style and design.

Users have a choice of either sticking to tradition or opting for the modern and convenient way of drawing the window blinds. It seems that manually drawing the blind has still been retained by the modern society. It is much less expensive compared to using motorization. Through remote control switch, and personal computers, some users could open or close the window blinds without sweat. However its efficiency comes in a high price.

These blinds feature numerous advantages. They could be custom ordered to fit nearly any window. Styles and type of these blinds are seemingly endless, and you could easily choose the one that fits your room or house. These blinds are fairly easy to replace. If a house pet accidentally chewed on the bottom of the blind then you could easily unsnapped the damage one. It is cost efficient compared to the horizontal blinds that needs to be entirely replace.

Large sliding doors could be covered by these blinds. The slat are generally 5-6 inches wide and can be open and close without hassles. These blinds would be suitable for those who have kids and pets, sliding glass doors and windows that open and close horizontally. However there are also disadvantages in using vertical blinds. They rattle in the wind, as compared to horizontal blinds that generally keep the noise out.

In contrary the horizontal blinds would need to be entirely replaced. This would save you a lot of money. The vertical blind has slat that is 5-6 inches wide suitable for large sliding doors, and windows that open horizontally. However it is does not keep the noises out of the room and it usually rattles when the wind blows. Users have noticed that horizontal blinds are more efficient in keeping the noise out. Privacy might also be a concern for those who choose to have these. It opens a bit when the wind blows.

So if you are someone who value tranquility and privacy, then the horizontal blinds would be suitable for you. However if you have pets and kids around and if you wish to save, then opt for the vertical blinds. In the end it all boils down on your assessment of your priorities, surrounding and preferences.