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I’ll admit it, I have floor envy. I was over at my sister’s house the other day, and she just had new floors installed. Her kids, much like my own, had destroyed her carpet. Now that they are over the “spilling everything on floor” stage, she took the plunge and installed brand new bamboo flooring. I’m practically sick with envy.

My carpet is well vacuumed, but looks pretty miserable. Life with a toddler and dog can be hard on something as absorbent as carpet, and the worn walking trails don’t help. My child is definitely not out of the spilling stage. I can’t help but imagine my house with bamboo flooring now, too. Believe me, it is daydream I’m ready to actually invest in.

I’ve taken my musing so far as to actually visit a flooring store and see what options are available. As it turns out, there are many. Bamboo flooring comes in a huge number of shades and patterns with grains running both horizontally and vertically. The selection is enormous, and so very tempting for dreamers like myself.

Armed with little other than a fancy, I made further inquires. It seems bamboo flooring is not only beautiful with vast selections, but also incredibly durable and affordable. Bamboo is also a waste product of clearing farmlands for planting in Asia, so its use in flooring is considered very eco-friendly, or ‘green’. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be very much working against the bamboo flooring, at least according to the salesman.

Of course, being the resourceful consumer that I am, I didn’t take anything he said at face value. I, like any other red-blooded skeptic, rushed home to fact check everything online. As it turns out, it is all true. Bamboo is a cane that replenishes quickly, thus no harm is done to the natural world while creating the flooring. It is also incredibly resistant to wear and tear. Finally, the salesman is right, it is extremely affordable.

This is all well and good, but I still have a dog and toddler to consider. How will bamboo stand up to the ultimate test - the leaky sippy cup? As I continued my research I learned that the sealant applied to bamboo flooring is water resistant, and so long as I follow my child with a paper towel, my bamboo flooring wouldn’t warp from drips, spills, and the occasional muddy feet.

So if bamboo flooring is affordable, beautiful, environmentally friendly and resilient, why did my sister wait so long to install it? For that matter, why did I? This is a problem that just had to be solved. Hey, I gotta go, my new bamboo floor has just arrived!

You too can go ‘green’. Visit http://www.bambooflooring.biz to discover the stunning bamboo flooring options available to you.

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There are advantages to using the new roofing products. The cost, durability, and life cycle are longer. The new products are created from recycled and natural materials. When your roof, made of shingles, needs repair, the old shingles are removed and taken to a landfill.

If you are considering one of the newer roofs, you must take the weight of the material into consideration. Some of the newer materials, such as slate and tile, can weight five to ten times more than asphalt shingles; therefore, the supports must be strong enough to hold the added weight.

While this will increase the expense of installation, the expense will only occur once. To determine the actual cost, you must take both the cost of the product and the added expense of strengthening the rafters or trusses. Then determine the length of time of your product warranty.

If you are concerned about the environment, you can use recycled plastic products. Since they weigh approximately the same as shingle, you will not have to strengthen the support system. This will save you added expense while still allowing you to gain the benefits of the new materials. Plastic can carry a warranty as long as fifty years.

Other quality materials to consider using are:

1. Slate
2. Tile
3. Shakes
4. Fiber-cent
5. Cedar Shakes
6. Pine shakes

There are companies out there today specializing in a variety of roofing materials. Check online for more information. Improving and maintaining your Real Estate will help when you decide to sell your home.

Nan is an Accountant and Real Estate Professional with an information and research site online
RealEstateLady and a Business
Writer with a blog BusinessTips.

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Rats, nothing will strike fear in a woman’s heart (and many a man’s heart) more than a rat in their home. It would seem like it would be easy to identify a rat problem but they can make themselves hard to detect. Sometimes you can not actually see the rats in your home. Even if you can not see them, there are several things that you can look for to identify a rat problem.

The first sign of a rat problem is noise. Rats will make scratching noises that can easily be heard from within walls and attics. Listen for their scratching and rustling noises after dusk when rats are most active. Next, look for rat droppings. You can usually find droppings around food sources like pet dishes. The droppings will be small, capsule shaped, black and glossy. You should also look for rat burrows and nests. You will find burrows in gardens and under places like compost piles. Look for nests around boxes, inside of drawers and near wood piles. A couple of other signs of a rat infestation are grease marks along beams and rafters (caused by a rats greasy fur) and gnawing marks on boxes and wiring. If you have any of these signs, you probably have a rat problem and should contact a professional exterminator.

If you do not have a rat problem, you should think about preventing them. Preventing them mainly involves keeping them from entering your home. To prevent an infestation, keep debris piles away from your home. Piles of debris can serve as homes for rats and mice. Also seal any entrances to your home that are larger than a quarter of an inch. Seal any holes you find with caulk or expanding foam and make sure all of your doors have good weather stripping in place. Following these simple steps should keep your home rat free.

James C operates the Pest Control Directory. Find information on all types of pests, insect and rodents including roaches, ants, termites, fleas, spiders and more.

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