Posts Tagged ‘car’

Mobile Car Grooming – A Practical Way Of Saving Your Time

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
by Jamie Webb

A well maintained and clean car is the wish of every car owner, yet we are hardly able to groom our cars properly due to shortage of time and required skills. This is the sole reason behind the rise and prosperity of the car grooming business.

Car grooming companies have their teams of skilled professionals who have all the knowledge of cars at their fingertips, and can use their talent to radically enhance the looks of your vehicle. But with most of us racing against time, taking the car to the grooming company has become a luxury that few people can afford, and therefore mobile car grooming firms have sprouted everywhere.

The advantages of mobile car grooming are many. Most importantly, it saves you time and the hassle of having to drop your vehicle with a grooming firm and then bringing it back. Mobile car grooming service is provided right at your place, which means you can spend quality time with your children on weekends without worrying about your vehicle.

There is also some evidence that mobile car grooming is much safer for your car. A recently conducted study reveals that a car left by its owner with a grooming firm is under the threat of being damaged by mechanics who display a sense of carelessness. But professionals from the mobile car grooming business execute their tasks right before your doorstep, so they know that you can oversee their work if you want and even assess their abilities, which makes them careful.

Some people argue that mobile car grooming services are more expensive, but this is not true when you consider all the advantages that they bring. If you analyse the costs you incur for taking the car to the grooming company’s site and then driving it back, and the time you spend on the whole process, you’ll find that mobile car grooming is financially a much better option too.

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DIY Approach For Building A Flat Roof Carport: Part One

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
by John Moore

I have been considering building a flat roof carport for the better part of a year, and I have done a fair amount of research to prepare for my big project. While researching the type of carport that I would build I came across many different options, including metal carport kits which seem to be pretty popular from what I can gather. However, the esthetics of the available kits just didn’t suit me, so I am opting for a build from scratch project.

The first thing I did was to go to city hall and get a building permit. I had heard through the grapevine that I could get a building permit with only rough plans. I had also heard that there were some hefty fines for those you started construction before getting the permit. The permit must be posted to the outside of my house or affixed to a window and clearly readable from outside of my house. The permit has to remain there throughout the entire construction period.

The only hiccup that I ran into when applying for my permit, and this was not so much a hiccup as an oversight on my part, was the fact that my property taxes are going to increase as a result of building my new carport. I shouldn’t have expected any different, of course the carport will increase the value of my property, therefore my taxable value will increase. One minor comfort is the fact that my carport is not going to increase my taxes nearly so much as a fully enclosed garage would.

Following my fact finding step where I figured out what I needed to file with the city before receiving my permit, I now have the task of actually getting my visual concept onto paper where any details that need refining or problems with my concept will come to light before I commit my idea to a formal building plan. I have planned to build a carport that will echo the style of my house, so there are quite a few details that are cosmetic only, and I can add on top of the basic structure which will not impact the structural design. Deciding on a wooden carport actually has benefits in this way over a metal carport, since my final carport is going to blend in much better than if I had chosen a kit.

The final step before actual construction is to get my plans approved by an engineer. I have a lot of building experience but it is best to have a certified engineer go over the plans carefully before I even start the foundation. I think there is a very good chance that I might use the flat roof as the base for a second story addition at some point in the future. I don’t have the money to do the second floor addition right now but I want to have the option in the future. Accordingly, an engineer can help me calculate the load I need to plan for. I may do the second story addition in steps. Perhaps in a year I will build a deck with outside access.

So that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far with planning my big summer project – I just need to wait for the ground to dry out a bit since the spring has been pretty muddy, but I’m hoping to start digging some footings by the beginning of June. Even though I only have weekends to build my new carport, and I will certainly lose a few to fishing trips and weekends at the cottage, there’s still no reason that I shouldn’t get the whole thing built and finished off before fall. That will give me plenty of time to finish the details and painting before it starts snowing.

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