REMOVING OLD ALUMINUM WINDOWS

Written by John Rocco


This week we are going to talk aboutrepparttar process of actually removing your aluminum windows in preparation for installing vinyl replacement windows. Let's start with a horizontal sliding window, which is pretty common nationwide. There is going to be a sliding panel and a stationary panel. You want to removerepparttar 100097 slider first. All you do is sliderepparttar 100098 panel open, grabrepparttar 100099 sides ofrepparttar 100100 panel with your hands,lift up and swing out. Under ideal circumstances, it would be that easy. However, there are small obstacles that can prevent you from lifting outrepparttar 100101 panel.

Many sliding windows have rollers onrepparttar 100102 top as well asrepparttar 100103 bottom. The top rollers don't actually do anything, they are there more as spares to replacerepparttar 100104 bottom rollers when they wear out. But many timesrepparttar 100105 window installer will adjust these top rollers to prevent anyone from lifting outrepparttar 100106 panel. If this isrepparttar 100107 case with your windows, there will be a screw atrepparttar 100108 top of each side rail. If you loosen these screws, then lift up onrepparttar 100109 panel, it should come out. Another obstacle involves a little piece of rubber thatrepparttar 100110 manufacturer places inrepparttar 100111 top track. This rubber piece hasrepparttar 100112 same effect as adjustingrepparttar 100113 top rollers. It prevents you from lifting outrepparttar 100114 panel because it's wedged betweenrepparttar 100115 top ofrepparttar 100116 window panel andrepparttar 100117 top ofrepparttar 100118 upper track. If you can see thatrepparttar 100119 window panel isn't lifting allrepparttar 100120 way up inrepparttar 100121 top track, andrepparttar 100122 top rollers are notrepparttar 100123 reason, then you have to dig out that rubber piece. It's usually atrepparttar 100124 point inrepparttar 100125 center, whererepparttar 100126 sliding panel and fixed panel overlap whenrepparttar 100127 window is closed. Reach in there with a long, thin screwdriver, and try to pry it out.

Once you haverepparttar 100128 slider out, take outrepparttar 100129 screen. You can just pull it out. No need to be gentle since you're throwing it away anyway. The last step isrepparttar 100130 fixed panel removal. There are a few different applications here. All of them will have a center vertical bar. It's usually there to acceptrepparttar 100131 locking mechanism onrepparttar 100132 slider, but not always. Look for screws holding this center bar in place. They will either be onrepparttar 100133 outside top and bottom, or you might find them onrepparttar 100134 side channel whererepparttar 100135 screen would go. Checkrepparttar 100136 top and bottom corners.

Assuming you foundrepparttar 100137 screws and removed them, you now need to takerepparttar 100138 center bar off. Take a screw driver and a hammer and taprepparttar 100139 center bar atrepparttar 100140 very bottom. Tap it offrepparttar 100141 fixed panel frame. Now, pullrepparttar 100142 fixed panel away fromrepparttar 100143 side where it rests inrepparttar 100144 side channel. What you are trying to do is sliderepparttar 100145 fixed panel openrepparttar 100146 same way that you didrepparttar 100147 sliding panel. Then, you can liftrepparttar 100148 fixed panel up and out. Sometimes,repparttar 100149 fixed panel won't want to slide open because it has gotten stuck inrepparttar 100150 side track. You can put a screw driver intorepparttar 100151 side channel and pryrepparttar 100152 fixed panel away fromrepparttar 100153 side. It doesn't matter if you bendrepparttar 100154 frame that's still attached torepparttar 100155 house, because we are going to hide all of that anyway.

Why laminate flooring is the perfect choice for family households

Written by S.A. Smith


If you've ever had carpets or vinyl flooring you've probably had your share of stains, spills, and rips that no matter what you do, you can't quite wash out. Or perhapsrepparttar family pet has scratchedrepparttar 100096 carpet edging, or even worse - had a bathroom mishap onrepparttar 100097 children's favorite playing area?

Your flooring nightmares can finally end! Laminate flooring was designed to stand up torepparttar 100098 rigors and demands of a busy family household and when compared to other types of flooring solutions easily outperforms in almost every category. Here our our top reasons for selecting laminate flooring for a family household:

Laminate flooring is tough

Designed with a tough and durable wear layer, it is much stronger than most installed solid hardwood flooring, vinyl's, and carpets. It stands up much better to dents and scratches thatrepparttar 100099 softer surface of solid hardwood floors, and is a much better surface to install if you have heavy foot traffic, kids, or household pets. Best of all - it continues to look brand new even after years of wear and tear.

Stain, fade, and moisture resistant

Most laminate flooring manufacturers offer triple warranty protection against stains, fading and moisture damage for 25 years. In contrast, solid hardwood floors are susceptible to wood grain staining, fading in repeated sunlight exposure, and are not a suitable floor for areas with high moisture or humidity levels.

Laminate flooring is easy to install

The popular quality brands of laminate flooring have gravitated towards a glueless click together floating floor installation process.

These floors simply need to be cut to size, clicked together, and are immediately ready to walk on or place your furniture. Most weekend do-it-yourselfers can handle this installation, but should expect to take 2 - 3 times longer than a professional installer.

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