Add French Patio Doors to Extend an Entertaining Area

When your small home begins to feel crowded, one way to enlarge the home without the expense of large scale construction is to do more entertaining outdoors. French patio doors allow your patio to be an extension of the home.

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While outdoor entertaining is not always possible, with the addition of patio heaters and a roof, that patio or deck can be used for a major portion of the year. Even without the roof, as long as it is not raining or snowing, you will find that the extension of your home is usable for eight or nine months of the year in most parts of the nation.

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Many homes now have an outdoor room. This room may be recessed into a corner of the home that provide a wind break but still allows residents to get needed fresh air but still be comfortable.

Outdoor rooms are often furnished with seating the might also be found in an indoor family room. Upholstery is often water resistant in case water was to be blown into the room. Heat is provided by outdoor fireplaces and access from the home can be through French patio doors or other doors from the home.

In addition to a conversation area, these rooms may also provide a dining as well as a cooking area. Even in colder climates, the outdoor room can be enjoyed several months of the year and can extend your living space.

Cooking in the outdoor room during the summer is the perfect way to avoid heating up the house with the additional heat of cooking.

During the summer, the outdoor room is an excellent place to entertain and to relax. While there may be times that it is too warm in the heat of the day, most people find that that the hours shortly after sunset are a wonderful time to spend a few hours outside.

If you live in a dry climate, the temperature of your outdoor room can be made much more comfortable through the use of misters or of misting fans. These devices work much like an evaporative cooler to lower the temperature of the outdoor room by as much as ten to fifteen degrees, making it a comfortable spot even in some very hot days. Since the room is open to the outdoors, humidity buildup is not as much a problem as it would be when trying to cool a home with an evaporative cooler.

During the days when you are unable to be outside due to the weather, the abundant glass in French patio doors still lets you see outside and adds a feeling of increased space to your small home.

Add French Patio Doors to Extend an Entertaining Area

Dola Raheem writes about French Patio Doors at http://www.frenchpatiodoorsfx.com/.

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Interesting Facts About Lewis and Clark's Expedition

Lewis and Clark

Lewis's family had been neighbors and friends with Jefferson for a long time, and Lewis was Jefferson's personal aide. He had also studied navigation. He was 31.

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Lewis brought along his Newfoundland dog, Seaman, but nobody is sure what happened to him.

Jefferson tried to send explorations 4 times before Lewis and Clark.

Sakakawea (other spelling) was kidnapped by another tribe of Indians when she was a young girl. She was then sold to a French-Canadian fur trader named Charbonneau. He married Sacajawea, and they had a son who was nicknamed Pomp. She was 16 and he was 3 months old.

The whole journey took 2 years 4 months and 10 days

It went for 8,000 miles.

The grizzly bear and the bighorn sheep were discovered on the mission. The grizzly bear made a really big impression on everyone on the exploration.

They sent a prairie dog back to Thomas Jefferson.

In total, they found 178 new plants and 122 new species of animals.

When they got back Clark was given the job of Indian agent for the west.

Lewis was made governor of the new Louisiana Territory, but he died soon after.

Clarks slave, York, went with them on the mission. York's father was a slave of Clark's father, so York was willed to Clark. He was the first black person the Indians had ever seen. York was married and wanted to live with his wife, but Clark would not let him. When they got back from the mission York was the only one not compensated for the journey.

The greatest distance traveled in one day was 50 miles when they were on a river going downstream.

The most popular trading items were colorful beads, but they also traded things like scissors, thimbles, and knives.

Frostbite was a common medical problem.

After the people on the expedition tried on the moccasins, they all began wearing them. Sometimes, they had to replace them every couple of days.

Interesting Facts About Lewis and Clark's Expedition

Compiled by: Krista Delle Femine

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Enhancing Your Doors With Enclosed Blinds

When you buy your first house, enclosed blinds might not be at the top of your list of most important things to purchase. However, after a few days of no privacy and bright sunlight, you'll start to understand how great enclosed blinds can be.

What are Enclosed Blinds?

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Enclosed blinds are more upscale and less frustrating than mini-blinds. Unlike mini-blinds, they sit between two pieces of glass so they're not exposed. Mini-blinds are the most common blinds out there. They're very popular in apartment buildings and rental houses because they're cheap. Mini-blinds are plastic. They're opened with a long chord that frequently gets tangled up. The shutters are opened by turning a rod.

Enclosed blinds are much more user friendly, they last longer, they don't need to be dusted and they're more decorative than mini-blinds. These blinds fit the windows more snuggly because they sit between two layers of glass. They can be opened, closed and tinted by using a tab on the frame. This eliminates all tangled strings.

Because the blinds are placed between glass, they can't get caught in the door or window and they don't get tangled. This is an especially nice feature in high traffic areas of the home. Enclosed blinds attach to an aluminum frame and are most commonly used on doors.

Advantages of Enclosed Blinds

Enclosed blinds share the same benefits as vinyl mini-blinds. They keep out sunlight, which in turn keeps your house cooler. They also give you privacy. Unlike mini-blinds, enclosed blinds don't need to be dusted because they're never exposed to dust. Instead, they sit safely between two pieces of glass.

Finding Enclosed Blinds

You can find enclosed blinds in a variety of different places. Home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowes carry enclosed blinds. These places will install your enclosed blinds for a fee. Many enclosed blind buyers install their own blinds because it's a relatively simple process.

Enclosed blinds come in all different colors and can be made to custom fit unusual doors. Before you go shopping for your blinds, measure your door window. You need to measure the height and the width of the door measuring from the center of the screw holes. Your salesperson should be able to tell you if you need custom blinds.

Enclosed blinds are more expensive than mini-blinds. For a full-length door, enclosed blinds cost more than 0. You can find them for about for a door that has a half-piece of glass. This may be expensive, but keep in mind that you'll only need enclosed blinds for doors. You don't have to get them for every outside door in the house, just the high traffic areas. If your family never uses the patio door, you don't need enclosed blinds for the patio. You really only need enclosed blinds for the doors that are most commonly used.

Enhancing Your Doors With Enclosed Blinds

Looking for a great combination for your home? Try bamboo shades for your windows and enclosed blinds for your doors. Learn more about this beautiful and functional combination at http://www.mywindowtreatmentpro.com

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Rough Openings For Doors

One of the most important parts of framing walls is getting
the rough openings right. Items that determine what the
height of One of the most important parts of framing walls is getting
the rough openings right. Items that determine what the
height of your opening will be are floor finishes and the
use of underlayment. Door widths will stay constant with the
size of a standard door.

In new construction most doors are hung after the floors are
installed. This allows flooring contractors (tile, hardwood,
vinyl, laminate) to lay their flooring products without
making tricky cuts around door jambs. It also makes for a
neat and clean door installation. Exceptions to this are
carpeted floors. Doors are hung before the carpeting is
laid. When doors are hung in carpeted areas, its a good idea
to shim them up 1/2", putting a shim under each jamb leg.
This eliminates the need to cut the doors down after the
carpet is installed.

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For a 6' 8" high door (80 inches) I like to frame my rough
opening height at 82 3/4". This allows room for all the
situations mentioned above. If your header material is a
double 2x12, holding it to the top plate will give you that
height.

Rough openings for door widths are pretty much standard. The
rough opening width is 2 inches wider than the door itself.
this allows room for the door jambs which are usually 3/4"
thick. This gives you approximately 1/2" of play and shim
room when installing a prehung door. For a 36" door (3' 0")
the rough opening width would be 38". Here are the most
common door sizes and their rough openings.

Door Size Rough Opening Size

2' 0" x 6'8" -26" x 82 3/4"

2' 2" x 6'8" -28" x 82 3/4"

2' 4" x 6'8" -30" x 82 3/4"

2' 6" x 6'8" -32" x 82 3/4"

2' 8" x 6'8" -34" x 82 3/4"

2' 10"x 6'8" -36" x 82 3/4"

3' 0" x 6'8" -38" x 82 3/4"

To figure the rough opening for double doors or french
doors, take the door size times 2 and add 2". The most
common sizes for exterior doors are the 2'8" and the 3'0"
doors. The 2'8" is usually used for the back door and the
access door from the garage. That size door for exterior use
is being used less these days because of the size of
appliances and furniture. Exterior doors with sidelights and
sliding patio doors rough openings vary from manufacturer to
manufacturer. These should be verified and gotten from the
supplier.

Getting the rough openings right the first time keeps the
sawzall in its carrying case and having to change the
opening after the walls are drywalled and painted.

Mike Merisko (c) 2006

http://www.sawkerfs.com

Rough Openings For Doors

About the Author: Mike Merisko has been a carpenter for 26 years. Most of those years were spent in the homebuilding and remodeling industries. He was also in business as a carpentry and general contractor. While that is his forte, he also has experience in bridge building, commercial construction, and exhibit building which is how he earns his living these days. You can browse through articles by him and others at his website http://www.sawkerfs.com or visit his blog at http://www.sawkerfs.blogspot.com

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Accentuating Your Home Decor With French Closet Doors

French closet doors, without a doubt, are great addition to your home decoration. Many are well constructed, durable, sturdy and elegant. They can go with modern or contemporary home style. Because clean, straight lines are the basic elements of a contemporary design, these doors, with their sleekness and elegance, go into this category.

The basic designs of French doors are sliding, bifold, folding and pocket. And the common materials used are glass, wood or mirror. If you are planning to install French doors in your bedroom closet, be organized which means that you have to keep everything in its place to avoid messy closet interior which would not look good on your doors.

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When installing these doors, you must know the exact dimensions of your closet doorway. The sliding type of doors is ideal for walk-in closet. It is a must that accurate dimensions must be taken because an error in measurement would not allow your door to fit properly in the doorway.

This is true with folding or bifold doors which operate on tracks, thus they are not adjustable and therefore, they require exact measurements for installation. Many French doors are available online. Check out some retailers and compare their prices to get the best deal. Here are some products that you can find online:

French Doors by Jiangmen Huayi Door Industry Co. Ltd.:

Globalsources.com offers this HY-3052 molded French interior door in diversified designs. The door is made of MDF board covered with wood skin or PVC coating. The glass is designed with grill in the center for a simple and classic look. The dimensions include a door standard size of 800 by 2,000 by 40mm and a left and right opening direction.

French Doors by Shandong Hongyuan Group Co. Inc.:

This door has custom-built dimensions which the manufacturer can produce based on your requirements. The materials available are pine, oak and fir. The door surface may be veneer, PVC or painting.

60-inch 10-Lite Wood Reversible Hand Interior Double Pre-hung Door No Casing:

This Reliabilt door is available at Lowes.com. It measures 1 and 3/8 inches thick. You have the option to stain or paint it in any color of your choice because the door comes unfinished. It retails at 8.00 under model number 30151023948.

Masonite Pine French Double Door Clear Flat Jamb Pre-hung:

This door measures 60 inches by 80 inches by 1 and 3/8 inches and requires a flat jamb. It features a tempered safety glass and can be purchased unfinished to allow you to paint or stain with any color of your choice to match your home decoration. This door provides a sleek style and contemporary look all of its own. It is best used as walk-in closet doors and you can alter its style by using frosted glass or mirrored panels.

French Closet Doors by The Sliding Door Co.:

The sliding French closet doors offered by the company have a framework width of 1 and 1/2 inches or 3 inches. It is built with aluminum anodized and powder coated in black or white. The framework is available in maple, walnut, silver, wenge, white and black. You have materials choices of glass, frosted, laminated linen, mirror or milky. The designs available are Quattro, Pentagon, Trio, Tokyo, Duo T and Combo.

Accentuating Your Home Decor With French Closet Doors

For more information about French Closet Doors, visit http://www.replacementclosetdoors.com.

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Create a Custom Laundry Room Using Stock Cabinets

One of the latest trends in home design is the creation of customized laundry rooms. With today's emphasis on customized spaces, there are a lot of companies that are cashing in by claiming to sell customized solutions specifically for the laundry room or garage. While they may call them custom, there really isn't anything custom about the cabinets. Similar to custom garage solutions, they are usually made out of particle board or flake board with a white veneer, which is exactly what you would buy if you were shopping at Home Depot or Lowes. The high prices are based on the concept that you buying them specifically for that space.

If you are planning on building a custom laundry room, you might want to think about using stock kitchen cabinets for the space. Kitchen cabinets are going to have the same features and functionality that you would get from these "custom laundry room cabinets, but you will be paying half the price. These cabinets usually feature higher quality materials, such as solid wood face frames and doors, and will usually have solid plywood sides as well. Rather than paying a company that specializes in custom units, consider buying these cabinets and installing them yourself.

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While stock kitchen cabinets can usually be found at your local home supply store, you can usually find some pretty good deals on-line as well. Recently, there has been a flood of companies importing stock cabinets and selling them on the internet. So rather than paying a premium for so-called "custom" cabinets that are designed specifically for your laundry room or garage, trying using kitchen cabinets. Not only will you get a durable product, but you can also coordinate the look of your house by having the same cabinets throughout.

Create a Custom Laundry Room Using Stock Cabinets

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French Doors - Bring the Outdoors Inside

What are French Doors?

french doors at home depot

French Door, is a type of door, is extremely popular and is extensively used allover the world. They are generally set up in pairs that if opened together, create a large entrance to the home. The glass panels in the door provide a lovely view of the outside world when closed. We say that the French Doors bring the outdoor inside your home. Through their combinations of window paneling they provide a nice outdoor view.

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Door Construction

French Doors come in different varieties. The frame can be wooden, metallic, or fiberglass. The wooden frame lends a softer interior look and is available in many varieties of hardwood species that can be painted or customized in any preferable shade or color.
Fiberglass doors are also very popular and provide a clean, sober and modern appeal. Fiberglass are easier to maintain and can be painted any color as per the requirements. The synthetic material in the fiberglass makes them more durable to exterior climates and there are almost no chances of peeling, swelling, or warping.

It is also possible to have a combination of wooden door with aluminum trim that will provide the durability and also give it the required style leaving a unique appeal.

Glass Selection

The most distinct portion of the French doors is their glass paneling.
The glass panels can be smaller multiple panes, large bigger panes, or a combination of both. The glass can be stained, glazed, beveled, textured, etched, or as per the individual taste and imagination goes. There are various types of glass used in these doors in order to protect the home from the exterior elements.

Special-quality of glass are available that enough strength to face hurricane winds and high-velocity objects without fracturing. Most of the windows are insulated and can help in providing the required energy leakage and high utility bills during both summer and winter. Also, most frames are water and insect resistant and provide safety.

French Doors - Bring the Outdoors Inside

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What Are French Closet Doors?

French closet doors are doors with glass that is vertically placed that spans the length of the door. The word French refers to the glass. They were originally designed to draw light from exterior rooms to the inside of the home. The glass used is usually either one large panel or divided into a number of smaller ones with each pane placed in a separate frame.

french doors at home depot

Many of the modern French doors are designed with a number of glass panes. They can be one or two door designs. The two door design is what most people think of, but they can also be single with framework that creates a number of panes of glass in them. They are available in a variety of styles such as sliding, folding, mirrored and bifold. You can even find them in a pocket door so that when they are opened they are hidden within the walls surrounding the closet.

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When you are measuring for your French closet doors it is important to get the most accurate dimensions for the doorway that you can. These are not adjustable and they cannot be trimmed to fit so the dimensions must be precise. Your local retailers will be able to order the exact dimensions you need for your doorway if they do not have them in stock.

They add a certain contemporary style to your home while still keeping with the timeless fashion of modern times. The contemporary style simply means that they are a modern door that is sleek and has straight lines. If you choose bifold or sliding, they are even more contemporary than single doors. They offer the beauty of French doors with the convenience of a folding door. The Sliding kind allow you to slide it completely out of the doorway leaving it free from all obstacles. It is a little more difficult to find the folding French kind but these will also help give your room a contemporary look.

If you are apprehensive about putting glass doors up for a closet you may want to consider using the mirrored variety. These are sometimes called faux French doors. They give the appearance of French doors while offering you the benefits of mirrors. Mirrors have a way of making a small space look larger. These are great for small bedrooms or even a bathroom closet.

Prices of will vary greatly. Mirrored doors will be less expensive than a stained glass kind. Another variant that will affect the prices of these doors is whether you choose single or double doors and the size of the door opening. Remember that the dimensions are extremely important in fitting these doors properly to your door opening. Retailers should be able to help you determine the correct dimensions and help you choose the doors that are right for your closet opening.

What Are French Closet Doors?

For more info about French Closet Doors, see http://www.contemporaryclosetdoorsonline.com.

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When to Use Fiberglass Entry Doors With Sidelights

Some homes must endure tougher locations and more movement than others. When a house is without fair weather, or has more people moving around, in and out, the front door feels the brunt of these harsh conditions. One popular solution to these problems are getting fiberglass entry doors with sidelights. The use of fiberglass as surface material for doors is borne out of its resistance to warping, splitting and rotting compared to wood, especially under those severe conditions. It is energy-efficient as it insulates three to five times better and permits natural light into homes. It is also supposed to be eight times stronger than vinyl and twice as strong as steel. The addition of sidelights is not only to fortify entry and patio doors with extra support and insulation but also beautify doors further just like accouterments of a fireplace or wall.

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Sidelights are narrow panes or windows added to the side of doors or larger windows. A door may have a single sidelight on one side or bifold sidelights flanking either side. This is often determined by the width of the entryway. Houses where the entryways are wider than general door sizes could use fiberglass entry doors with sidelights, one or two depending on what can fit in the entryway. A wood grain surface on these doors, which mirrors older solid wood doors, finished with various wood textures, is one of the most attractive qualities to buyers. Another is the make using fiberglass and composite material, which provides resistance to air and moisture penetration, insect damage and rotting, and stainless steel in various parts, which provides resistance to corrosion.

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Installation should be considered. For one, the door components do not disassemble easily. The actual door is likely attached to the frames of the sidelights, or a joiner accommodates the door unit and the sidelights. The threshold of the door is likely one single unit under the door and the sidelights. Replacing either just the door or the sidelights, or the frame from the threshold, may cause real damage. When priming, pre-finishing or pre-glazing comes standard with the product, it adds magnetic appeal to remodelers and homeowners. Glazing ensures that glass is protected and easy to clean. Priming gets the surface of the door ready for painting, pre-finished with a mahogany, oak or cherrywood staining. In this electronic age, it also still matters that the door has increased security, such as protection against forced entry in the jamb, lockset & deadbolt areas.

Quality should never be neglected, especially that fiberglass entry doors with sidelights constitute an entire door system with various components. Established door makers add enticement with tighter quality control and easier product access. Masonite operates one of the biggest research & development facilities, and Milgard makes most parts internally through its vertically integrated production. Benchmark by Therma-Tru is distributed exclusively at Lowe's stores, and Feather River, at Home Depot stores. SureFit provides full-service installation with sales support. An extensive store network providing fast, convenient access to products, and the bonus of doubling as a professional installation service, certainly makes for additional enticement.

When to Use Fiberglass Entry Doors With Sidelights

Ward Eichelberger reviews how to get the best from Fiberglass Entry Doors With Sidelights. Please visit his Fiberglass Entry Doors site for latest news.

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