Laminate Floor Care and Maintenance

Laminate floor care and maintenance starts with proper installation. If you will be installing your laminate floor over a concrete sub floor then you will want to make sure that you install a vapor shield before you lay down the underlay material. If you will be installing your laminate floor on top of existing flooring or plywood, you will want to make sure that the sub floor is level. If you try installing the laminate flooring over an uneven surface you can cause the planks to crack or break.

The next stage of laminate floor care and maintenance is to keep your floors clean. Cleaning your laminate floor will typically only involve sweeping the surface once a week. You can help extend the life of your floor by making sure that you remove course debris from the floor as soon as possible. If the floor becomes sticky or grimy then you can use a damp cloth or mild cleanser to clean the floor. You do not want to over-wet the surface of your laminate flooring as this can cause warping.

If your laminate flooring is scratched of gauged you can repair this damage by using a repair kit or wood putty. Start by cleaning the damaged area. Then follow the application instructions offered by the putty or repair kit. Fill in the gauge or scratch with the putty using the applicator or a toothpick. Smooth the putty at the surface of the plank so that it is level and wipe off the excess. Allow the putty to dry.

If your laminate floor has a damaged plank that is beyond repair you can replace it. If the plank is near the edge of the floor you can remove the baseboard and then snap out the damaged plank and fit in the replacement plank. If the plank is not in an easy to access area of your floor, or if you have a glued plank floor then you will need to cut the plank out and replace it with a modified new plank. To get your new plank to fit in the hole left by the old plank then you will need to cut off its tongue before you glue it into place.

How Much Does Carpet Cleaning Cost?

If you have never had your carpet cleaned before, you might be a little in the dark as to what to expect. The fact that just about every carpet cleaning company has their own way of calculating cleaning prices doesn’t help either. Prices for carpet cleaning vary greatly depending on the method, the level of service and your location. There are however two basic ways of figuring a cleaning cost.

The first is by the room. This is probably the most popular method of pricing used by carpet cleaners. It allows carpet cleaning services to give consumers a fairly accurate price over the phone without the need to do an onsite estimate. The price should include first treatment and normal spotting. The cleaner will usually limit the room size to somewhere between 200 and 300 square feet. Any larger than that and you may be charged for two rooms.

The next method is square foot pricing. This pricing method actually requires the carpet cleaner to do an onsite estimate. They might be able to give you a ballpark price over the phone, but they will need to come to your home and take your room measurements to give you an accurate price. Some cleaners will measure the whole room and others will measure just the open space around the furniture. Either way will probably come to the same price when they multiply it by their square foot rate. Once again, this price should include first treatment and ordinary spotting.

Those are the two methods of pricing that most companies use. While I can not give you an average cleaning price, because it does vary, I can tell you that you should be cautious of the lowest bidder. Remember, you get what you pay for. If a carpet cleaner is not making between $80 to $100 an hour they are losing money. If someone bids a job lower than that they are probably going to try to pull one of many carpet cleaning scams on you. So get a few different carpet cleaning quotes and choose wisely.

Get Justice With a Civil Rights Attorney

Do you think you may need a Phoenix civil rights attorney? Are you being harassed at work? Have you complained repeatedly, and are still not being taken seriously?

Harassment is a very real problem that many people suffer from-usually at work. A person who is harassed because of their gender, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc. may have tried bringing the problem up with a supervisor, but do not see any change in the behavior of the harasser(s). Unfortunately, this is a catch 22 situation, as quitting could cause serious financial hardship in the current economy, yet staying will result in endless upset for the victim, or even being fired for “complaining” excessively.

If you’re a victim of a similar circumstance, any Phoenix attorney would tell you that you may not be fired legally for complaining about poor work conditions. Harassment on the job is without a doubt a poor work condition.

If you are expecting a new baby and being told that you may not take time off from your job in order to bond with your infant, without being fired, you should know your rights. The FMLA, or family medical leave act ensures this right for you as an American citizen. Anyone who tells you differently is either ill informed or lying. This is against the law, and a Phoenix attorney can help.

Perhaps you have developed an illness which requires you to take frequent and unforeseen time off of work due to treatments, recovery, or a similar health reason; but your employer becomes annoyed and threatens to fire you if you continue to miss work. This, too, is a violation of your civil rights, as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act. A Phoenix civil rights case may be justified if you have or are in this type of situation at your workplace.

If you believe that you have been or are currently going through a similar situation as one of the above mentioned cases, you should know that your rights need to be defended. Speak to a Phoenix attorney as soon as you can to find out how you can correct the situation.

Home Improvement Contract Tips

Many a soul has hired a contractor to do repairs or improvements on a home only to find something is fishy. Here are some tips to avoid problems.

Home Improvement Contract Tips

Hiring a contractor to do work on your home is not always as easy as it sounds. Many people call themselves contractors, but really are not. The first step to avoiding problems is to make sure you hire someone with who is actually licensed as a contractor. If you subsequently have problems, you can contact the licensing board to raise a dispute.

Most contractors are ethical, honest people and businesses. There are, however, others who are not. These individuals assume you do not really know what is involved in the construction process. This provides them with an opening to make substantially more profit. While you might think this means they will overbid the project, it does not. Most contractors believe you will pick the lowest price, so they rarely run up their estimate. There are, however, two other ways to boost profit.

The first thing unethical contractors will do is use low quality supplies. As with anything you buy, there is a high quality and lower quality version. While you may want the high quality version, you may have a hard time determining if you received it. The difference between high and low quality is often how long something lasts, not how it appears. The way to beat this problem is to specify the exact brand, size and part number [if possible] in your contract. Doing so accomplishes two things. First, it puts the contractor on notice that you know how the process works. Second, you can always resort to legal action if you later find the correct materials were not used. Since you have everything in writing, the contractor has little defense.

A second unethical tactic is the bait and switch. In this process, the contractor gives you a bid price that can’t possibly cover the project. You think you are getting a deal, but the contractor starts coming to you after the project has started requesting more money. The contractor refuses to continue work if you do not pony up. In this situation, the best defense is again to have everything in writing in the project contract. Make sure to include an attorney’s fee clause in it. If the contractor tries this tactic, you should contact an attorney. The attorney will set the contractor straight. If the contract refuses to finish the job, you will probably be told by the attorney to hire a new contractor while he sues the unethical one. Since an attorney’s fee clause is included in the agreement, you should end up paying no legal fees. This is not the best situation, but it beats getting scammed.

In general, the best way to find a contractor is to ask for referrals from trusted friends. Next, get everything in writing. With these two steps, you should avoid any major problems.

Copyright Infringement in the Digital World

Downloading files from the internet is not a crime, but if you download files for free which you usually have to pay for, then there’s a problem. The piracy issue occurs when the copyright owners do not get the amount that they are due.

Piracy is the illegal copying and selling of copyrighted materials, but the common misconception is that people don’t think it matters because no one gets hurt. In reality, the evolution of piracy from burning CDs and DVDs to digital copying has affected the global economy. Pirating a physical copy or streaming illegally affects the livelihood of artists too.

Pirated copies are not always great

Most of the time, illegal copies do not have the same quality as the legal content. A pirated movie may have been recorded on a camcorder at the back of a cinema, so the quality is poor. Its content may be grainy or black and white at some parts. Copies downloaded from the internet on the other hand may suddenly stop at some parts and the sound quality can be very quiet and muffled.

Easy digital access

Downloading directly from the computer has become popular among internet users primarily because of the ease of access. Even with the number of sites that offer legal downloads, there are still file-sharing networks that offer free access to copyrighted materials. And it’s sad that many are active in some form of piracy, either through streaming, downloading, or the old school style of buying counterfeit DVDs.

In any case, piracy costs the entertainment industry. It is stealing from the businesses involved in the art. People must remember that nothing is free. Pirate sites make money through subscription costs or advertising when a consumer streams illegal content. The operators of these sites earn from sharing copyrighted materials that they do not own and have no permission to distribute.

How to minimize the problem?

Having internet service providers get on board in helping fight piracy and detect copyright infringements has always been a struggle. It would require content holders to educate people and private entities to be responsible, make them understand the importance of copyright, and encourage them to support different ways to consume content legally like going to the cinema or subscribing to Netflix and other video-on-demand sites.

Piracy may not be easy to kill but it can be reduced. Besides, with all the latest technology coming out, we only need to keep up. Also, there are entities that help fight piracy with the use of software to detect copyright infringements.

Printed Pens and Press Releases: Marketing on a Budget

Multi-million marketing budgets probably won’t do a business any harm, but for a small business which is just finding its feet it’s completely unnecessary. There’s plenty of ways of making your modest budget go that bit further, to maximize your potential revenue and ensure that you’re not getting lost in a sea of competitors.

What you need is big budget results on a small budget.

If it works, stick to it

Trial and error isn’t always advisable when it comes to business, but with marketing it often is. Trying lots of different techniques on a small scale will help you clarify which methods work best for your particular industry. Usually these will vary from business to business, but there are lots of more general concepts which can be used in all sorts of industries.

Make sure you inquire how your leads have come across your business. This will help you identify whether your printed pens or your website is working hardest for you. There’s no need to continually trial new, fad marketing styles. These will usually only work for a very short time (and by the time you’ve heard about it, it could well already have run its course).

What we’re saying is don’t write off the traditional physical marketing techniques like brochures and printed pens.

Market for your business

It might sound obvious, but what works for huge brands categorically will not work for your small cafĂ© in the center of Leeds. Big brands can get away with all sorts that won’t work from small and local businesses.

Keep things simple, and always keep your customers at the front of your mind. Don’t use language which they won’t understand, or try and over-complicate your product or service. Simple, easy to understand concepts sell best because people don’t feel as if you’re trying to manipulate or trick them with language.

If you have several products, produce a brochure for each to keep things very simple.

Promotional marketing

When you attend trade shows or simply when you’re signing contracts, a printed pen is great to have on hand. These are useful resources which all of us will use at least once a day. It means that your key information will always be on hand. If nothing else you should include your logo, your website address, and your telephone number.

Printed pens are incredible value for money, as they have such longevity.

Texas Real Estate Commissions

TREC or Texas Real Estate Commission is a government body that was created in 1949 to administer four specific laws such as real estate license act, real estate inspector act, residential service company act and Texas timeshare act.

TREC regulates activities of real estate brokers, salespeople, inspectors, residential service companies, timeshare developers and education providers for real estate and inspection courses. Main purpose of TREC is to protect legal rights of citizens of Texas and provide them with honest, trustworthy and competent real estate service. The commission reviews programs dealing with education providers for real estate and inspection courses. It tries to identify and regulate errors and drawbacks present in it.

TREC has made it mandatory for real estate brokers and salespersons to maintain specified levels of education in order to hold a valid license to work as a real estate agent. Provisions of real estate license act and rules of Texas real estate commission are binding on all real estate agents and professionals in order to provide customers with a competent and honest service. TREC also gives licenses to real estate inspectors, agents, residential service companies and real estate schools. This commission also does registration of timeshare properties.

Texas Real Estate Commission has statutory relations with three state entities namely, real estate center at Texas A&M University, Texas department of savings and mortgage lending and Texas appraiser licensing and certification board. The commission has partnership with Texas A&M University’s real estate center for conducting research along with some education projects. It also appoints two members to mortgage broker advisory committee of Department of savings and mortgage lending. Issues relating to real estate licensees and mortgage brokers are resolved by cooperating with this agency. Commission also has signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas appraiser licensing and certification board under which it provides administrative support to them, which is approved by their governing bodies.

Denver Real Estate

Denver real estate can be very expensive, but you can manage to get good deals if you find the right real estate agent. The climate for real estate in this part of the United States is booming, and now is perfect time to invest in Denver properties.

Why invest in Denver real estate

The Denver area is an excellent place to live in, which is why Denver properties quickly appreciate in value. Denver has superior shopping, dining and entertainment infrastructures. More importantly, it has excellent schools, a lot of community centers and wide parklands. Even the surrounding areas of Centennial, Littleton, Aurora, Englewood and Parker are just as beautiful.

Finding properties in Denver

You should definitely seek the help of a professional Denver real estate agent before you decide to invest in the area to get sound recommendations on what properties are worth investing in. Professional real estate agents are the first to know about great deals and can give you the best prices before everyone else finds out.

Professional real estate agents in Denver are well versed when it comes to the Denver housing market, and can definitely help you find a home faster than you would if you searched on your own. Most professional Denver real estate agents take care of the paperwork, so that all you have to do is sign and move in!

This does not mean that you should rely solely on your agent. It definitely helps to do some research yourself. Visit different areas in Denver, so that you can get a feel of areas you like. Your agent can then focus efforts in finding properties that meet your requirements.

Non-Human Primates in Medical Research

Animals continue to be extensively used as research specimen in almost every major medical breakthrough. Utility of animals in medical research has been widely acknowledged. A wide variety of animal species are used for research that range from fruit flies to non-human primates. Research using non-human primates is required for testing drugs, clinical trials, neurology studies, evolution, genetics, behavioral aspects, reproductive biology, cognitive science and even in Xenotransplantation. An estimated 65,000 non-human primates are used annually for research purpose in UK and USA alone.

Use of non-human primates is significant as their brains share structural and functional similarity with the human brain. Most commonly used non-human primates for research purpose include apes, gorilla, chimpanzee, macaques, marmosets, baboons and orangutans. However, the use of non-human primates has always been controversial as it is related with ethical issues.

As per the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human interests are protected by the law as they are considered legal persons. Non-human primates do not enjoy any such privilege. However, this status has always been a continuous topic of debate. Considering research on primates as unethical, various countries including Australia, Sweden, New Zealand and Netherlands have prohibited doing any kind of experimental using great apes, a biological family that comprises of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and humans. Considering the fact that animals do have a similar sense of pain and trauma as like humans, several organizations, animal rights groups, philanthropists, animal lovers, researchers, philosophers and primatologists are advocating for a world wide prohibition over the use of primates in research.

Bowtrol Colon Cleanse

Bowtrol is an all-natural, non-habit forming colon cleansing treatment that cleans the vital organs and the lymphatic system. Bowtrol’s action is mild and safe. Internal cleansing takes place by stimulating elimination minus the usual pangs and cramps that are characteristic of most cleansers.

One of the most interesting features of Bowtrol is that unlike other cleansers, it is not made up of fiber. Instead, it contains a number of all-natural herbal ingredients like Turkey Rhubarb and Cascara Sagrada that promote better elimination.

Some of the benefits of using Bowtrol colon cleanse are:

– Improved digestion

– Decongests the intestinal tract by flushing out accumulated toxins and eliminating parasites

– Less constipation, indigestion, gas and bloating

– Improved energy levels through better absorption of nutrients

– Aids weight loss

Some of the most common symptoms of ill health due to improper internal purification are constipation, lack of sleep, inertia, exhaustion, indigestion, uncontrolled food cravings, caffeine and drug dependence. Many of the common ailments people suffer from, including but not limited to food allergies, flu, body pain, headaches, respiratory problems and sinuses have their root in improper elimination.

In order to prevent the above conditions, it is necessary to undergo a thorough internal cleansing from time to time. While choosing a product, particular care must be taken. You must select a product that helps you eliminate without any nasty cramps. Eliminations should be regular but non-interfering, meaning that the product should induce only 1-3 eliminations per day. More than that and it begins to interfere with your life and health.

If you have used other colon cleansing products, you’ll be happy to note that Bowtrol colon cleanse is quite different from the rest. For starters, it is non habit forming, which makes it safe for long-term use for the entire family.

Another big plus is that there are absolutely no reports of side effects associated with Bowtrol. No headaches or cramps. All you have to do is identify the number of pills you need to eat (varies between 3-8) in order to have healthy elimination.