Answers

A dedicated home theater room has not been as popular as it used to. A growing trend appears to be hybrid spaces where a large LED 4k TV or a hidden projector screen is used. Consumers like their movies and music so the addition of a media server to store music, videos, and use the internet is growing popular. Now you can watch YouTube videos from your couch instead of the office. Wiring a home is a painstaking process and expensive so many homeowners gravitate towards the SONOS wireless setup or a soundbar. The audiophiles will always want better speakers and sound quality though.

We always clean up after the job every day. If you leave things go then they build up over time and make a bigger mess. Carpet runners, plastic covering doors, and setting expectations for your employees/subcontractors is a must.

Hire a reliable electrician who has many years of experience. Do not settle for the best price.

Here's what to do if you wake up some frigid winter morning to find a water pipe frozen solid:Step 1: Open faucet so steam produced by your thawing activities will be able to escape.

Step 2: Start thawing pipe (see pipe-thawing options below) at faucet, and work back toward other end of frozen section. As you melt ice, water and steam will come out open faucet. If you started in the middle, steam produced by melting ice could get trapped and build up enough pressure to burst the pipe.

Pipe-thawing options: There are several things you can do to thaw your home's pipes. Here's a list:

• Probably the most popular and safest pipe-thawing option is to use hot water. Wrap and secure heavy towel or burlap bag around pipe to concentrate and hold heat against it. Place bucket under pipe to catch runoff water, then pour hot or boiling water over towel.
• A less messy but far more dangerous heat source for thawing frozen pipes is a propane torch equipped with a flame-spreader nozzle. With this heat source, you must be extremely careful to prevent torch flame from damaging or igniting wall behind pipe. A scrap of fireproof material between pipe and wall is a good precautionary measure, but the way you use the torch is the main element in safe pipe thawing. Keep flame moving back and forth. Never leave it in one spot very long. Be especially careful if you're near any soldered pipe joints. Pass over them very quickly or else they may melt and cause leaks, and you'll find that you have a much more serious plumbing problem on your hands than a frozen pipe. Caution: Never use torch or other direct high heat on plastic pipe.
• If you want to avoid the messiness of thawing with hot water and the danger of melting soldered joints with propane torch, try heat lamp or hair dryer as heat source. These work less quickly but are much safer.

To thaw a frozen drainpipe, remove trap, and insert length of garden hose into pipe. When you can't push hose any farther, it has probably reached the ice. Raise your end of the hose and feed hot water in through a funnel. This way, the hot water is sure to get to the problem area. You must be careful when using this technique.

Until the ice melts and drains down the pipe, the hot water you pour in will back up toward you. Have a bucket ready to catch the overflow, and be careful not to scald yo

urself.

I would call a local company that sells quartz countertops and find a service rep that can come out and handle the repair properly. This will ensure that it is repaired by a professional. First I would call the company that installed the countertop and they may be able to take care of it for you or point you in right direction.

The process of repairing quartz countertop problems and blemishes is a very special skill that involves complicated processes. The painstaking task often requires painting and chip repair so you should never try to fix blemished pieces on your own. In fact, you should leave all of your installation and repair to professionals. If you try to fix them yourself you will doubtlessly be creating more problems for yourself down the road. This can be an expensive and annoying mistake if you constantly have to repair a wrongly installed countertop.

Hi John, where are you located? It sounds like an expensive endevor to go artificial. How large is the grass area that we are talking about. This could help with the cost estimation.

Check out this Houzz site for ideas http://www.houzz.com/outdoor-basketball-court

Do you have a budget? This would be the first question I would ask which also relates to your potential. You are looking at 15-20k typically.

Then are you looking at concrete or a rubber base?

I agree, 300+ is typical.

Communication is one of the big differences between custom builders. Lack of communication on simple items or steps can detrail a relationship and cause many headaches.

Look to see if they belong to any local organizations such as NARI.

I agree with Lane. There are maintenance companies that can services your entire Hvac system at a low cost so you keep the life of the units.

Here are some helpful steps to make the process safe:

http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/bed-and-bath/remove-a-bathroom-mirror/project

There is minimal maintenance to keep the water heater running good as new. Here is a quick link to some helpful steps http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-a-Tankless-Water-Heater

You can also use the GuildQuality "Find a Contractor" at the top of the webpage. THere you can find local contractors. I agree with Dennis that NARI is also another great option.