Homeowners Look to DIY Projects to Secure Peace of Mind

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Homeowners Look to DIY Projects to Secure Peace of Mind"

In the midst of today's soft housing market, and during a time when saving money is top-of-mind, many homeowners are embarking on small, do-it-yourself improvement projects around the home instead of extensive overhauls or making the move to a new home.

In fact, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry reports that many of today's homeowners, apparently reacting to current market conditions, are opting to undertake a series of "partial" improvement projects as their schedules, budgets and lifestyles evolve over time.

While many of these updates are intended to make the home's interior more functional and aesthetically pleasing, homeowners can also make simple improvements to the outside of their home.

For example, homeowners seeking an added sense of security can take steps to increase their awareness of what is happening outside the house -- from the driveway to the doorway to the backyard patio or pool. Now, enhancing your knowledge of any movement on or around your property can also be a manageable DIY improvement project that any weekend-warrior can tackle in no time.

Created by Chamberlain, the world's largest garage door opener manufacturer and leading do-it-yourself access control innovator, the CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert system allows homeowners to safely monitor the outside of their property from inside their home.

Providing affordable peace-of-mind about what's happening or who is approaching their property, these motion alert sensors allow easy installation at key areas around the perimeter of the home. Equipped with one portable base station and one motion sensor, this easy-to-install system is expandable up to four sensors, so homeowners can be alerted to any unexpected deliveries, unannounced guests and even potential trespassers.

Versatile and portable, the sensors can detect movement from up to 30 feet away and then transmit that signal, using both light and sound, to a portable base station capable of receiving alerts from up to a half-mile away, also making it ideal for the lake cabin, the boat house or even the campground -- offering the homeowner both peace-of-mind and protection at all times.

Turnover at DIY group Grafton fell 26% last year

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - Turnover at DIY group Grafton fell 26% last year"

CIARA O'BRIEN & BARRY O'HALLORAN

BUILDERS’ MERCHANTS and DIY group Grafton said turnover continued to stabilise during 2009, but fell 26 per cent compared with a year earlier.

In a trading update for the year ended December 31st, 2009, issued yesterday, the group said turnover was about €1.98 billion, compared to 2008’s €2.67 billion.

The second half of the year saw group merchanting turnover fall 14 per cent, compared to a 24 per cent decline in the first half.

DIY turnover was down 18 per cent for the last six months of the year, unchanged on the first half.

Manufacturing turnover also declined, falling 36 per cent in the second half compared to 49 per cent in the previous half.

There was some improvement seen in like-for-like sales per working day in the UK businesses, despite “challenging” conditions. The UK businesses, which account for more than two-thirds of group sales, fell 7 per cent in the second half. In the first half, they fell 18 per cent.

The company noted that “green shoots” in key UK sectoral indicators – increased mortgage lending, housing transactions, house building and some house price inflation – are leading to improving sales across its UK businesses.

However, in Ireland, like-for-like sales per working day in the second half were down 32 per cent, compared to a fall of 37 per cent in the first half.

Grafton said net debt was reduced throughout the year. It did not publish figures yesterday, but by the end of June, it had cut debt by €56 million to €380 million.

The update also indicated that Grafton’s cash position remained at least as strong as at the end of the first half of last year, when the company’s cash balances were €270 million.

Yesterday’s statement said the business continued “to be strongly cash generative” during the second half of 2009.

“While the group is cautious about the outlook for 2010, it will benefit from the cost-reduction and integration programme implemented over the last 18 months,” Grafton said.

“The group is well placed to capitalise on any improvement in its markets.”

Investors reacted positively to the statement. Grafton’s shares opened at €3.14 yesterday morning and hit a high of €3.30. The stock ended the day 1.9 per cent ahead at €3.20.

Mr O’Donoghue said in a research note yesterday:

“While we do not expect to make material adjustments to our 2010 forecasts, the signs are clearly encouraging.

“For instance, if half-yearly revenues have stabilised at circa €1 billion, this implies our 2010 revenue estimate of €1.9 billion may be a little light.”

He said that Grafton’s statement that its sales reached €1.98 billion in 2009 implied that revenues in the second half were level with the first at €990 million, a result that was ahead of expectations.

Do-it-yourself publishing takes-off

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Doug Gruse

“For Love of Yurts” probably won’t make The New York Times best-seller list, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a niche of readers excited about the how-to guide for constructing tent-like dwellings.

Ten years ago, a specialized book with a small market potential would have had little chance of getting published, but advances in technology have made it possible for budding authors to self-publish professional quality books in small print runs for a reasonable cost.

“The technology is perfect for those unique niche books,” said Debbi Wraga, the Print on Demand coordinator for Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vt. “Book stores are opening their eyes that self-publishing is part of the future. Even the how-to-build a yurt book has an audience. In the past, the author might have struggled, but now he can get his book out there.”

Northshire is one of three independent bookstores in the country that owns an Espresso Book Machine, a self-contained, printing and binding device that can produce a full book with the push of a button.

The technology by On Demand Books allows the story to help authors print anywhere from one to thousands of copies of a book.

“It’s relatively quick. We can print 100 pages in about 6 minutes,” Wraga said.

The computerized system works with electronic files supplied by an author and transfers them to printed pages. The inside pages print in black and white, and the press also can reproduce black-and-white photographs. The paperback covers can be reproduced in full color.

Books can be between 50 and 500 pages in sizes ranging from 5-by-5 inches to 8-by-10 inches.

The bookstore, working under the moniker of “Shires Press,” offers a range of services to assist authors. Packages, which include a proof and one copy of the finished book, start at $69 and go up to $599. Additional copies of books range from 8 cents to 4 cents a page, depending on the number of total pages. For example, a 200-page book is 5 cents per page, so an author would pay $10 per printed book.

The press offers a 10 percent discount when authors order more than 30 books.

“We try to make it as painless as possible for our authors,” Wraga said. “It allows a lot of writers the opportunity to publish their work without a large upfront cost. Plus, they get one-on-one attention. They feel like they are in control of their book.”

The book store’s staff offers a wide range of support services – from text scanning and editing to graphic design and Library of Congress and copyright registration – depending on the publishing package purchased by the author.

In the two years since the store has had the Espresso machine, the press has published around 80 books, but the technology seems to be increasing in popularity, according to Wraga.

“It has motivated a lot of people to actually get their book in print. We’ve done everything form how to build a yurt for under $1,000 to a romance guide for young men – and anything in between,” she said.

Wraga said she experienced a rush during the holidays because many people used the self-publishing technology to create personalized gifts.

“A lot of people made them as Christmas presents. We published everything from novels to poetry,” she said.

The small print runs have made it possible for people to affordably publish a variety of personal books – from family journals to geneaologies.

“I am kept busy full time every day of the week, and we’re constantly getting inquiries from new authors,” Wraga said.

The diverse and expanding list of titles printed on site includes eclectic offerings like “Einstein’s Rabbi,” a philosophical coming-of-age novella; “Go Light: Exploring the Tao of Native America,” a bridge between Euro-American and American Indian thinking; and “French Fries for Siblings: The Forgotten Children of Autism,” a tool for the brothers and sisters of autistic children.

“Our youngest author is 11. The oldest is 97,” Wraga said.

The staff sees the machine – which will be upgraded in the next few months – as a perfect fit for the independent bookstore.

“Customer service is important to us, so this personalization of books is a natural step,” Wraga said. “It makes perfect sense in a store you’ve gone to for years and loved.”

For Wraga, helping authors fulfill their lifelong dreams of publishing a book is an inspiring experience.

“I’m still in awe that I can come into work and print a book. It a great place to come if you are a writer. You can see the whole process happen with your book,” she said. “For a lot of authors, it makes them feel they have input in something they feel passionate about.”

EASEUS Partition Master Gives You DIY Hard Disk Management Without Data Loss

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - EASEUS Partition Master Gives You DIY Hard Disk Management Without Data Loss"

PRNewswire

Want to create a new partition for a dual boot system, or just extend the existing system partition for Windows 7 installation? Plan to manage hard disks skillfully by yourself? EASEUS Partition Master, the "magic" partition manager and system optimization software for Windows-based administration, helps you manage a hard disk easily and safely, no matter whether you are a beginner or advanced user.

EASEUS Partition Master, highly recommended by editors of the most respected IT sites and by its users, is a truly comprehensive partition manager for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 and Windows server 2000/2003/2008. No matter whether you want to create new partitions for a dual boot system installation or manage your hard disk as you wish, this partition manager will give you a simple way to manage your hard disk just by yourself and without data loss. It helps resize/move a partition without data loss - even dynamic disks - extend the system partition, and create/delete partition for Windows 7 upgrades. And the remarkable feature for those who manage servers is that this "magic" partition manager enables you to extend NTFS system partitions without reboot, which will minimize the server downtime yet maximize the server performance without data loss. It works well with hardware RAID and virtual disk, too.

Besides the many useful partitioning features like copy partition/disk, label partition, and create bootable CD, this will simplify your tasks to wholly manage your hard disk. With the easy interface and just a few clicks, EASEUS Partition Master is certainly a must-have partition tool to manage hard disks.

Pricing & Availability:

A Web Special of $159 (original $199) for Windows Server users is available if you buy it from EASEUS' Website at: http://www.partition-tool.com/easeus-partition-manager-server/

Get a 20 percent discount for online sales now: EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition is available at the price of $31.96 directly from EASEUS' Website at www.partition-tool.com/professional.htm.

Additionally, free for home users, EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition enjoys most of the full version features and works well under Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 32-bit. Download it now here: www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm.

About CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co., Ltd.:

The company specializes in disk management, data recovery and backup software for Windows OS. Its other major products are Data Recovery Wizard, Partition Table Doctor and Todo Backup. For more information, feel free to visit www.easeus.com.

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE EASEUS Software

Shedmaker wins £500k deal with German DIY store

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A shedmaking firm in Draperstown has sealed a deal worth around £500,000 with one of Germany's top DIY stores.

Yardmaster International, which makes flat pack metal garden sheds and garages, won a contract from Hellweg in Dortmund that will see its self assembly sheds on sale in the company's 80 DIY depots across Germany and six in Austria.

Founded in 1984, Yardmaster currently employs 70 people at Draperstown.

Keith Kyle, the company's export marketing manager, said it had been focused on expanding its business in Germany, and had been helped by Invest Northern Ireland's office in Dusseldorf to identify new business.

"We've been working to develop our DIY sales in Germany over the past two years because it's a huge marketplace, probably the biggest in Europe. In fact the DIY market is currently worth around £15bn a year.

"The move into retailing builds on our success with The Otto Group in Hamburg, the world's biggest mail order company and the second biggest internet sales operation. It gives us an extensive network of sites at which German DIY enthusiasts can see the quality and flexibility of our product," he said.

He said Invest NI's team had helped identify the right retail partner in Germany.

Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI's trade director, said Yardmaster's breakthrough in a strategically important market showed the depth of practical support that Invest NI's in-market teams can provide to local companies, particularly smaller businesses wishing to increase export sales.

"The Dusseldorf office has assisted many SMEs to set up and grow in one of the most competitive and challenging European markets," she said.

PointAbout Brings DIY to iPhone Apps

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - PointAbout Brings DIY to iPhone Apps"

Gavin Dunaway

In high school I wasted a good deal of class time coding a game for my TI-82 graphic calculator about an evil piece of bacon. Instead of paying attention to lectures on the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act (which comes up so often in my daily discourse), I giggled while imagining various gory ways for a slice of bacon to dismember the protagonist.

If the iPhone is the new TI-82, then it’s time for me to write a sequel — and startup PointAbout will make it come to life in less than an hour. Oh, and for only $199, not tens of thousands of dollars.

In October, Appcelerator announced that several ad agencies had signed with its partner program to use its integration platform for iPhone and Android applications, which simplified app coding and shortened the construction time line to weeks rather than months.

However, PointAbout’s AppMakr can build a native app in 27 seconds, according to the company’s blog. The publisher can then customize his or her app with Twitter and YouTube feeds and add icons such as graphics and tabs. Finally, just like those professional apps, these homemade apps can be sold via iTunes and feature advertising via AdMob or AdSense.

Then again, you get what you pay for… Is anybody expecting a memorable app for less than $200? Users only have so much control over the app, which bares the AppMakr logo on its main screen.

Not surprising, customization options are rather limited. For 500 smackers, a user can push out the app completely under a brand, but the construction and management of the app still rests on AppMakr.

PointAbout is the real deal in terms of app cred, having been building apps for Gannett and Burger King over the last year and a half. It’s interesting that the company has tested AppMakr by making apps for bloggers such as Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin — this seems like a tool for inexpensively branding people or music groups.

It kinda reminds me of Thomas’ MySpace Editor for iPhone…

DIY Detox your way into 2010

"DIYRock.Com - Enjoying Your DIY Life Here! - DIY Detox your way into 2010"
As January rolls around and the festive feasting comes to an end, many feel tempted to stock up on expensive detox products.

However, turning to home-made products could be just the ticket your body needs and, more importantly, will cost very little meaning that those all-important pennies can stay firmly in your pocket.

Getting the balance right when detoxing is crucial as eliminating too much of your daily nutrients can leave your body exposed to winter colds and flu as herbalist Anna Hill explains.

“We always say ‘you are what you eat’ but it is not ‘you are what you eat’ but ‘you are what you digest’.

Ginger and lemon in hot water is a great thing to swap your morning cup of tea with: “The lemons contain vitamin C and vitamin C is really good for our liver,” Hill explains.

“The liver needs vitamin C to help cut the toxins down and get rid of the toxins and the ginger basically increases blood flow around the body and it warms us up.”

Including foods high in antioxidants such as fruit, vegetables, herbs and good quality dark chocolate is also a good way to improve digestion.

“If I was recommending herbs for someone to take during their detox, bitter herbs would be part of that. Bitter [foods] helps with your digestion and remove the toxins in your body.

“One square of dark chocolate, as long it is bitter, will help with your digestion.”

Dry skin brushing is another cost-free method to detox and exfoliate your skin at the same time: “It is about brushing the skin when it is dry, so before you shower,” she said. “You always brush towards the heart and this increases circulation and lymphatic flow - the lymphatics remove toxins throughout the body.”

Detoxing your body can cause some people to get headaches so Hill recommends taking it easy and avoiding that Friday night out you had planned for a relaxing bath if you know you are going to be detoxing that week.

And why not kill two birds with one stone, and detox while you relax by swapping those scented bubbles in your bath for bicarbonate of soda.

“It softens the water up and can be used instead of gentle cleanser because it does cut through grease so if you want to simplify everything, even how you are cleaning yourself, you can just put bicarbonate of soda in your water.

“There are all things in your kitchen at home that you can use, you don’t have to go out and spend hundreds of pounds on products.”