Home & Garden

How to Weatherproof Furniture for Outdoor Use

Summary: Weatherproofing furniture is easier than you might think – and it’ll save you a bunch!

Weatherproofing furniture for an outside patio or deck is a great way to save both time and money. Here are some ways to make your old chairs and tables ready for all types of weather.

Wood Furniture

Wood furnishings require a bit of elbow grease and a DIY mindset. One option that you have is to use an outdoor deck stain. Start off by sanding the piece down to the bare wood. Make sure to seal any exposed end grain after the sanding process with a clear epoxy sealer before you apply the stain – normally the bottoms of chair and dresser feet. You can also prime the piece and use a paint that’s designed for outdoor surfaces. All in all, you’re unlikely to spend more than $30.

Wicker Furniture

Wicker tends to trap moisture easily, so you’ll have to take an unconventional approach to weatherproofing. You’ll want to start by layering two coats of paint, followed by a layer of spray marine varnish. To ensure that your furniture maintains its durability and look, paint a fresh coat every two to three years. This way, your wicker pieces will remain in optimal condition and still look brand new.

Metal Furniture

Metal might be one of the more difficult pieces to treat, as you’ll have to sand off rust and peeling paint. Then, you’ll want to add a primer to prevent corrosion and creates a surface that can be painted. If you own a metal piece that’s rust-free, one coat of spray paint is all you’re going to need.

Blog submitted by Wicker Paradise: Wicker Paradise provides the finest wicker products like the treasure garden umbrella and more. Visit them online today!

Tips to Make a Project Manager More Efficient

Smaller construction firms have a challenge. How do they tackle a large project like arena construction while maintaining the same quality of work? Bigger budget doesn’t automatically mean better, and some outfits have trouble scaling to meet these demands. If you find yourself managing a large budget, and you need to plan an efficient project, these tips from Lyle Charles Consulting will help you.

Project Planning

Your best chance at a head start is to enter the planning phase with efficiency on the brain. A project manager must balance the expected time of the shipments, when work can begin and how long that work will take given the manpower. Define these tasks and delegate duties. Be specific about the technology that will be used, and any methods that will help to save time.

Be careful that you allow some time for crews to rest up, especially in the middle of the project. Working overtime is good, but you need workers to be fresh and to follow safety protocols. Emphasize safety and allow some extra time to be sure protocol is followed.

Dealing with Claims

A construction claim does crop up from time to time, even on well-planned projects. Construction claims management is a skill unto itself. The paperwork and time involved is almost a full-time job. If you want to expedite this process, you should keep detailed records of every phase in your construction projects. All of these documents will come in handy when the time comes.

Bio: Lyle Charles offers construction turnaround services and claims preparation to commercial construction firms.

Gallagher fences for cattle

Gallagher electric fences are commonly used in farms to contain cattle. These fences function as psychological barriers and effectively keep animals within the confines of the farm area while at the same time driving away wild animals. There are several types of electric fences. Some of them even act over long distances. Wire fencing achieve the desired psychological effect on animals by sending a pulse from a charger located on the ground. In the event that an animal comes in contact with the boundary, a sharp but safe shock is sent. The animal is, in this way, trained to stay within the limits of that particular boundary.

As the electric fence is, in essence, a psychological boundary, it does not require a considerable amount of electrical current to function properly. Electric fencing systems, however, need to be designed properly to absorb shocks from the weather as well as the animals. Fencings chargers also need to be powerful depending on the length of the fence and the number of animals contained within.

Livestock fencing is a very cost-effective solution when it comes to enclosing animals and driving unwanted predators away from cattle. Another advantage of the electric fence is that it is quite easy to install and normally lasts longer than the common fence. These types of fencings are also widespread among vegetable planters who wish to protect their fruits and vegetables from rabbits.

Keep Your Horses Safe

There could be countless reasons why it you keep horses. It might just be for fun, they are definitely an enjoyable creature to watch roam wild. However, you may also use them for labor or to compete in pageants or sport. Whatever the case, you probably already know how much work is involved with these amazing animals. And though it’s worth it, you probably also want to make sure you keep your animals nice and safe. Not only will you lose an investment if they were to escape, but it’d be heartbreaking to lose one of your beauties too.

Of course, you also need to worry about animals from the other side of your yard that may look forward to killing your prized horses. They are even more of a threat to your four-legged friends.

Fortunately, all it takes is a simple electric fence and you can rest just fine at night. These apparatuses are affordable, easy to install (most can do it on their own) and, most importantly, effective. Once you have your fence up and running, the non-lethal zap will keep your horses well inside your land and also ensure that predators don’t push their luck either.

Solar Protection

It’s no joke that having a farm has a lot of costs and expenses involved with maintaining and securing it. It used to be the case that having a simple wooden or barbed wire fence could keep predators and would be thieves away, but now that tools and equipment that can easily bypass these perimeter defenses are easily accessible, a step above having these simple wires and wooden posts will be required. Fortunately, technology has also made an electric fence more affordable to produce and install around a perimeter. To be brief, an electric fence looks just like any barbed wire fence but with a twist; it is constantly being fed a strong current of electricity that can either buzz the victim to keep him or it out, or knock him or it out completely, depending on the amount of exposure.

Some people would think that having these electric fences would only be an added cost to the already sky high amount of expenses they have to pay for, but in reality, electric fence technology has progressed so much that they have found a way to source energy, not from your local power plant, but from the power of the sun. Solar powered electric fence have a solar panel that constantly charges a battery found in the center of the system and will act as the energy source once the sun comes down. Effectively reducing the amount of electricity you need to operate it. Think of it as an added insurance that your products won’t be stolen, which would cost you so much more.