Redbird

You know what its like to get up on a chilly morning and the last thing you want to do is to take a shower in a cold bathroom. I have come across a solution to many a miserable morning – towel rails and underfloor heating.

Imagine stepping into your bathroom in the morning and its cold and wet outside. The floor is warm – no horrid cold tiles on your bare feet. There is welcoming warmth in the room and to finish to experience – your towel is both warm and dry. This all sounds like a dream – how we would like our bathrooms to be.

All of this is actually achievable. It is all so simple – simply install underfloor heating and add a towel warmer or rail.

Underfloor heating is a modern, economical and silent form of heat distribution. It comes in packs which are available as Electric or Warm Water systems. Electric packs are available as mats or loose cables most of which can be tiles straight over. Warm water systems are designed for use with an existing heating system.  Both types of heating come in packs that are suitable for your room size. Just measure your room size and order the pack most suited. Timers and thermostats complete the packs, some of which are included and some you need to choose and order separately. They can be fitted under different types of flooring, eg tiles, wood, laminate and carpet. Just remember that both of these systems should be installed by a competent installer or registered tradesperson.

Towel warmers and rails are available in many different styles. There are some simple and classic styles right up to some imaginative and stunning room features. Obviously the size of your bathroom will play a part in the size and style of your towel rail. The ladder style is the one you may have seen in bathrooms before. These rails and warmers are becoming very poplar especially as there is now such a wide choice available. They warm and dry your towels and are a source of heat in the room. Most come as chrome finished but an alternative of white is also available.

One more item that I have discovered will finish off this warm morning experience is the clothes warmer. This is a plug in clothes hanging rail and it not only will keep your suit beautifully uncrumpled, but fantastically warm and free from damp.

All that is left is to wish you lovely warm mornings on our Irish cold damp ones.  If you’d like to know more just call us on 041 981 1860

Look! I realise that he’s the President of the USA and all that but has the man no shame?

 I recently posted about our new treehouse and pretty much the same day Barack and Michelle put this in their garden

Malia and Sasha's New Swing

Jack & Aaron's New Swing

If nothing else it proves that the President Obama does indeed read my blog (which I’ve always suspected).

I was planning to post about our new outdoor, heated, olympic sized swimming pool but I think I’ll keep that to myself now! 

Imitation I suppose is the sincerest form of flattery! 

PS Mr. President, I’ve no idea how much you paid for this swingset but I could have cut you a deal…you have my number!

Redbird doesn’t have that many files to keep backed up but the few that we do have are precious. I couldn’t begin to imagine what business would be like if I lost Sage or my Outlook contacts or my invoices.

What we do to ensure backup files is:

1. Email them to our Gmail account
2. Back them up on our second PC
3. Back them up on a 500GB disk drive

About this time last year I looked at Online backup.  2 companies told me that an engineer would have to call to install the software and thereafter it would be online. All companies wanted at least €50 per month. Sure I only have a few Gigabytes!

This morning, I read The Tuesday Push, 5 minutes later, I’d signed up to PutPlace with a trial account, downloaded and installed software and started my first backup.  For others it might be par-for-the-course but for me (I’m a builder!) it had the Wow factor.  How can something that’s caused me a headache for so long suddenly be so easy!

Well done PutPlace!  I’m converted!

Now, anyone wanna buy a 500Gb Disk?  One careful owner. Only crashed once!!

Most of you know that no matter what you undertake, you’ll step back afterwards and think “I could have done that better”.  I always look back at a job and figure out how it could have been faster, cheaper, neater, etc.  That said, every so often we’ll do a job that is perfect from start to finish.  Where I can step back, admire the work and be content that NOBODY (and I mean NOBODY) could have done it better!

Last week we started a simple, straighforward job of dividing a room, 10 metres across and installing a single 32 inch door in the middle of it.  From the very start we were on fire, the stud partition and door frame was completed by 3pm on day one, it was slabbed and skimmed on day 2, second fix carpentry on day 3 and days 4 & 5 were spent FULLY redorating both of the new rooms.

The last brush stroke was applied at 4pm on Friday and we finish hoovering and washing floors at 5.30pm!  On saturday morning I went back to see the finished work and with an objective eye I just knew that it really was the perfect job!

PS. 99.5% perfect, I forgot to photograph it!

I was taking a look at my site stats earlier this evening and was surprised to find that one of the top search terms was “how to build a bird house”.  Its not our area of expertise however I’d hate to disappoint!  Unfortunately, it doesn’t require electrical, plumbing or plastering and there’s not a great deal of money in birdhouses! So thanks to WikiHow I’ve dug this up.

How to Build a Birdhouse

1. Prepare the pieces of wood. Align them as shown in Figure 1.�
   

   Birdhouse Plan

2. Tap the nails into position at the joints. Then, apply waterproof glue along the joint edges.
3. Butt and glue the two bottom sides together as shown in Figure 1.
4. Glue and nail the back section to the bottom sides.
5. Glue and nail the inside supports; see Fig. 1 for positioning on the back.
6. Drill a hole in the front section with the 1 3/8″ (4.1 cm) hole saw, making sure the top of the hole is 2″ (5 cm) down from a corner (see finished photo for details). Use a 1/4″ (.63 cm) bit to drill a hole for the dowel perch, 5-3/8″ (14 cm) below the bottom of the larger entrance hole. Sand the edges smooth, and sand all of the other inner parts of the bird house before nailing down the front.
7. Glue and nail the front to the bottom sides and the inside supports.
8. Position the roof sections so that they meet but do not butt at the top. Glue and nail the roof sections into place. Notice how the roof overhangs at the sides.
9. Glue the 5″ (12.5 cm) dowel in the channel between the roof sections to complete this joint.
10. Sand all of the surfaces.
11. Glue the 3″ ( 7.6 cm) dowel into position as a perch. (This perch may be eliminated as birds do not need perches and it may in fact allow a predator a place to launch an attack on the nestlings.)
12. Stain or paint your birdhouse’s exterior to your liking! (Keep in mind that lighter colors attract less heat.)

Things you’ll need

• Hammer
• 1/2″ (1.25 cm) finishing nails
• Waterproof glue
• Sandpaper
• Drill with 1-3/8″ (4.1 cm) hole saw and 1/4″ (.63 cm) drill bit
• 1/2″ (1.25 cm) plywood in sizes shown in Figure 1, for two bottom sides and two inside supports
• 1/4″ plywood for two roof sections, each 7″ (17.5 cm) x 5″ (13 cm)
• 1/4″ (.63 cm) plywood for the front and back sections, each 5-7/8″ (15 cm) square
• 5″ (12.5 cm) length of dowel to finish the top
• 3″ (7.6 cm) length of dowel for bird perch (optional)
• Bird-safe paint or stain (optional)

Thanks WikiHow