Loose fill insulation is just one of the many types available that you may choose to use in your home. The main difference in this type and other types is of course, the form that it comes in.

Loose fill insulation is manufactured in two different ways. It can be made of shredded materials or made in solid form and then shredded at the factory. It generally comes in bags and is blown into the openings with a special machine that you usually rent to do the job yourself.

There are three primary types of loose fill available, fiberglass, rock wool and cellulose. They are commonly made of recycled materials and are considered to be environmentally friendly.

Recycled glass is used to manufacture fiberglass insulation. These fine pieces of glass is why fiberglass is so irritating to the skin! Most fiberglass insulations include 20 to 30 percent of recycled glass. The glass is melted in a high temperature furnace and spun into fiberglass.

Rock wool is a substance that forms on the surface of metal that is molten, it’s called furnace slag. It is very similar to fiberglass insulation in the way that it’s manufactured.

Besides furnace slag, it also contains other materials that have a rock like feel. It’s basically made of materials that would otherwise just be thrown away and filling landfills!

Cellulose loose fill insulation is probably the best of the three types available. The small particles found in cellulose are made from recycled paper such as, boxes or newspapers.

Chemicals are added to the shredded paper to make it insect and fire resistant. But, this type is less irritating to the skin and without the need of high temperature furnaces, less energy is used in production.

If you have an area where it’s impossible to install rolled insulation, loose fill is the answer. It will surround pipes or other obstructions and is one of the best choices for insulating existing homes. You can install it without destroying the existing walls or finishes.

Installing blown in insulation is usually done through two holes drilled into each section between the wall studs. One hole should be placed about 16″ from the top of the wall and the other at around 24″ from the floor. Once you’re finished you’ll just need to repair the small holes!

It can be installed from the interior or exterior of the home. It’s even easier if you do it at the same time you do remodeling such as adding new siding or wood to your home, or even replacing or adding drywall.

Like with any material that you would use to fill a space, loose fill must be installed at the proper density. Most manufactures provide clear instructions on how much is needed to properly fill each square foot of space. You will need to follow those guidelines as closely as possible.

If it’s not correctly installed you will end up with empty spaces that have no insulation at all. The most common voids will be at the corner of the ceiling, top of windows, around doors and at the top of the wall.

While commonly used in walls and attics, blown in insulation can also be used in ceilings. If you’re insulating the ceiling there are some safety rules that you’ll need to follow.

Be careful not to cover any attic vents, these vents allow air to flow into the attic to keep moisture down. Any lighting fixtures in the ceiling need at least a 3″ space clear of insulation.

If used around stove or furnace pipes you should only use fiberglass. At high temperatures, cellulose will smolder and your home may end up full of smoke!

When we think about insulation we usually think about keeping our homes warmer during the winter. But, insulation is just as important in the summer months in helping to keep our homes cooler!

With the proper insulation you can save money on your cooling bills and be more comfortable in your home! Windows are a major source of energy loss, especially in older homes.

If just one of your windows has a crack as small as 1/16 of an inch you’ll lose as much warm or cold air from your home as a hole about as big as a brick! Imagine how much your losing when you combine all of the small cracks in your windows frames!

If your windows have sash locks, one way of tightening up your windows a little is by making sure the the sash pulls the windows tightly together. If there is any slack or gap in the window frames tighten the sash until it’s snug.

Weatherstripping is an excellent way to stop leakage. You can find it in various materials, but felt is probably the most common type used. It’s available in several thickness and you should purchase the one that will best fill in the amount of gap your windows have.

The weatherstripping can be attached with small tacks or it can be quickly stapled into place around your window! If the weatherstripping is too thick, it will be hard to open the windows! You can also purchase a clear weatherstripping tape that can be applied around the windows.

There are also several types of caulking that you can use to seal your windows. You can purchase caulk in tubes that can be placed into a caulking gun and you can purchase rope caulking. Rope caulk won’t shrink and it’s easy to remove, it also stays flexible.

Rope caulk is just what the name implies, it’s caulking that is in a rope or string form. You simply unroll it and place it where you need it and then you can use your finger to press it into place!

If you choose to use caulk you should purchase an acrylic latex caulk. Although, there are cheaper kinds of caulking, acrylic latex is the best suited for this type of project.

You should also remove any old caulking before applying any new caulk. And, clean the window frames throughly so that the new caulk can adhere to them. You can use turpentine, alcohol or a good soap to clean all the oils off of the frames.

When insulating your windows or doors, don’t forget to insulate the outside as well. Applying insulation to both sides of the window will double your chances of getting a good seal with less leakage.

Although, it’s a more expensive solution, storm windows are one of the best ways insulate your windows. It has been proven in studies that storm windows that fit tightly cut energy loss by around 50 percent!

A more cost efficient way to insulate windows is with plastic sheet kits. A good quality plastic kit will give close to the same results as storm windows in energy savings!

Most kits come with thin cardboard strips to hold the plastic in place, but you can increase the results by using small strips of thin boards. The cardboard strips don’t secure the plastic well enough and will allow air to escape or enter the home.

Plastic kits can be purchased that will shrink with the use of a blow dryer to make them look better and fit snugger. These types of kits also usually allow a better view of the outside since they are more clear.

If your windows are in really bad shape, you can use polyethylene sheeting. It’s a heavy duty plastic that will give a good seal, but it will almost totally block any view of the outside. This may be something you only want to use in extreme cases.

Having a home swimming pool is really great through the hot summer months. They can be a place for birthday parties, gatherings and other family events. But, they are also places that introduce a high risk of danger right into your own back yard especially if you have children, or there’s children in your neighborhood!

There are around 250 children that are under five years old drowned in swimming pools each year! A number that can be greatly reduced with some extra precautions taken to keep children away from the water when you’re not there to supervise.

Pool alarms are another way to increase the pools safety. The alarm sits at the side of the pool and alerts you whenever there are any waves on the pools surface! The monitor is installed inside the home, so that you’ll be able to hear it better.

You can also find wrist bands that have alarms built into them. These are simply worn by the child like a bracelet and will alert you whenever they get wet. They will lock into place so that the child won’t be able to just take it off.

Wrist band alarms are the perfect thing for when you need to run in the house for cold drinks and don’t want to make your child go with you. They’ll be able to play outside or sit by the pool safely and wait for you to return!

One of the best ways to protect not only your children, but any children that may live in your neighborhood is with a fence. All kids seem to love water and the neighbors kids may sneak over to play when no one is at home.

The fence should be at least four feet high and run all the way around the swimming pool. If the pool is off of a deck, you might choose to have a solid fence and enter the pool area from inside the home. But, if you want to have a gate entrance, make sure that you have a good sturdy lock attached to the gate.

You can even purchase gates that will automatically close and latch. This is a great way to make sure that no one forgets to shut the gate after entering or leaving the swimming pool area.

This type of gate will have a latch that should be installed near the top so that children can’t reach it. The gate should be kept in perfect working order at all times, if the gate fails to latch it’s not going to provide safety!

Self locking mechanisms can be purchased and easily added to any existing gate. It’s just a matter of attaching the brackets and the latch with screws. The latches can be placed on the outside or inside of the gate.

Installing a gate alarm can also warn you when the gate is opened. These battery operated alarms mount right to the gate. They come with sensors that need to be attached to the gate and the gate post. They are easily turned off with the push of a button to allow you to use the gate without the alarm going off.

Although you may not consider a mesh fence to be a strong means of protection, they are actually quite tough and strong. A mesh fence can be setup and taken down as needed.

These will only work for swimming pools that have decks. Holes are made in the deck that the aluminum fence posts fit into. The fence is setup in sections that are held together with bolt snaps.

Mesh fences are very convenient, they can be setup or taken down within minutes. Another feature of mesh is that children can’t climb it! And, their feet and hands can’t get caught in the fence!

If your pool is located at a deck connected to your home, make sure that you install an alarm on the door. Most alarms will go off after the door has been open for several seconds to warn you that someone has went out to the pool area.

These alarms can be turned on just when you’re not using the pool. The alarm should be placed higher than the child can reach so that they can’t accidentally turn it themselves.

Just remember that using any or all of these safety features still won’t guarantee that your pool is 100% safe. The best measure of safety is of course, supervision. But, these added extras will still make your swimming pool a lot safer place!

If you have a closet with a really wide door, sliding doors are the best way to go. But, they’re also very useful even on smaller door openings when you don’t have a lot of room for a door to swing out!

Whether you choose sliding or bi-fold doors is really a matter of preference. Although bi-fold doors will give you more open space to get into your closet to find something.

Sliding doors will simply just slide apart and create a opening in the center or at the side. But, bi-fold doors will fold up almost completely against the door frame, opening up a wider view of the closet interior!

Before you go shopping for the perfect closet doors, make sure that you take good accurate measurements. The standard size for sliding and bi-fold doors is 80″ tall. Some bi-fold doors can be shortened, but depending on the design, some can’t be cut off.

If you’re door opening is less than 80″ make sure that you purchase doors that can be cut off. If you want a certain design that can’t be shortened, then you can find places that will custom order the size you need.

You should measure both vertically and horizontally, measure both side and both the top and bottom. If you’re lucky both side measurements will come out the same and both the top and bottom measurement will be the same.

If the door opening is wider at the top or bottom, you’ll need to line the opening up. If the difference is just minor, you can usually plane some of the facing off or even cover the misalignment with decorative trims.

If the difference in measurements are quite a bit, you’ll have to rebuild the door opening. This can run into a little work and even mean that you have to remove the drywall and replace it. The drywall around the door will have to be removed, the door frame straightened and then new drywall hung.

Sliding doors can be added to almost any closet or doorway by installing a track at the top of the door jamb. Some doors may require a track at the top and bottom both to guide the door correctly in place.

Hold the jamb in place and use a level to see if it’s completely level. If the track isn’t level the door won’t slide smoothly. Small shims, or thin pieces of wood can be placed under the track to level it up.

Next attach the door rollers on to the top of each door. These rollers fit inside the track and can be adjusted so that the doors hang flush together. You don’t want one door higher than the other!

Now you’re ready to hang the doors and fit them into the bottom track if you’re using one. Some doors will only need a small bracket at each side where the small plastic or metal pivot will sit into to hold the doors against the side frames.

Bi-fold doors are installed in much the same way. You should install the top track first and then install the bottom one. Again, some bi-fold doors will only have a small bracket that goes on each side, while others will require a track all the way across the bottom of the door.

To install the doors, place the pivots into the top and bottom of the door. Put the bottom pivot into the guide or track, then insert the top pivot into the guide. The top pivots are usually spring loaded, just hold the pivot down and then release it into place.

The top guide is adjustable, you can loosen the screw to slide it toward the center or slide it closer to the door frame. The doors can be raised higher or lower by adjusting the bottom pivot, usually it will just screw in or out to adjust the height.

Tighten the top guides pretty tight so that they don’t slip loose while opening and closing the doors. Once you’ve gotten either type of door installed, you can use decorative trim to cover up the hardware or any slight gaps.

When trying to do your part to save the environment by going green, flooring may be one area that you don’t think about! But, with the rising demand for green products, flooring manufacturers are doing their part to!

Green flooring can help benefit the environment on a global level, but it can also be a great benefit on a personal level. Green flooring actually reduces the toxicity levels in your home and can help reduce the effects of illness like allergies and asthma!

There are now several types of flooring products that are very earth and environment friendly, but they are also beautiful. The most common types are wood, cork, concrete, natural linoleums, natural carpets and bamboo!

Wood is a natural flooring choice, but not all wood falls into the green category. Some woods are heavily treated with pesticides and many are taken from forests with no regard to the wildlife.

To make sure that your new wood floor meets green standards look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. The FSC requires that loggers and foresters meet 57 guidelines to protect the environment.

There are many different woods that carry the FSC certification. You can find Hickory, Maple, Oak, Cherry, Birch, Walnut and even some exotic woods like Teak.

Just remember when finishing your new green wood floor to use green finishes and stains. Using finishes and stains that are full of chemicals will just defeat the whole purpose of using a green wood!

You’re probably thinking that bamboo should have been included in with the other woods. But, believe it or not, bamboo isn’t a wood, it’s a grass!

Bamboo is a highly renewable source for both flooring and furniture. It grows very fast, can regenerate without the need for replanting and needs very little fertilizers and pesticides.

There’s no official certification method for bamboo. The best way to make sure it’s earth friendly is to purchase it from a reputable dealer that knows where the bamboo came from.

Manufacturers often use formaldehyde as a binder when processing bamboo. So, make sure to check for low levels of this chemical when purchasing. It’s not healthy in the first place, but can cause complications for people with allergies or breathing problems.

It may suprise you to know that cork can be used for flooring! We’re all use to cork boards that are soft enough for push pins, but it is a great choice for flooring.

Cork has several benefits, it serves as a natural way to absorb sounds and feels warm on bare feet. Another great advantage is that insects and mold don’t like cork, so it’s really beneficial to anyone with allergies!

Cork is made from bark taken from a cork tree. The main green benefit is that removing the bark doesn’t kill the tree! Within 7 to 10 years the tree will naturally renew the bark. When purchasing cork flooring watch for an all natural product that don’t have a PVC backing.

Concrete use to be mainly for porches, patios or used under carpeting. But, more and more homeowners are using concrete flooring especially with modern style homes.

The drawbacks of using concrete are that it’s very hard and cold on bare feet especially during the winter months. Walking on concrete for extended periods of time is also known to cause back and foot pain.

However, if you’re planning on using natural stone which is hard and cold anyway, concrete can be a good substitute! Concrete is fairly inexpensive and can be finished in a variety of ways.

It’s easily painted and stained with products made for concrete. And, it can also be stamped with any pattern and scored to look like stones or tiles!

Green carpeting includes natural materials such as sea grass, sisal, jute, wool and even coconut husks! It can also be made from any kind of recycled materials.

Regular carpeting contains high amounts of chemicals such as stain resistors. Green carpets are naturally stain resistant and contain low amounts of chemicals. Just remember to check and make sure that the backing is “green” to and to use green padding products.

Vinyl flooring can emit harmful air pollutants during production, a green alternative is linoleum. Linoleum comes in a variety of natural materials such as limestone, tree rosin, cork, linseed and jute.

The use of these natural materials makes linoleum biodegradable and not toxic, unlike vinyl flooring. Linoleum will also provide you with many years of use. And, it comes in a wide variety of colors and designs.