Why Is There A Hill In My Laminate Floor?

By Lacy Foster

Laminate flooring is definitely a lot more durable than most other types flooring; laminate really could be considered the toughest of floors. Of course, there are still some issues with even laminate floors, and warping is the main one. So, let's look at warping as it pertains to laminate. A laminated floor that develops a look of something coming from under the house are being affected by peaking. The effect is a bit disturbing. Many people assume that water has somehow gotten under their laminate floor, or that their foundation is cracked, but this is very rarely the case.

What Causes This To Happen?

Your laminate floor might be peaking for a few reasons. If you want it fixed right the first time, you'll make knowing exactly what's happening your top priority. Many people assume that whatever affected their friend's laminate floors is also affecting theirs, but this is a dangerous and costly line of thinking. Assuming this can cost you not only money, but a ton of time.

Lack Of Expansion Space Causes Peaking

Everything around us expands and shrinks, and your laminate flooring is no exception. For this reason, laminated floors should always have the appropriate amount of space at their edges, before the molding. If there is no space, the planks will instead push up against one another. Once there is enough pressure, the planks will begin to rise. Although often minor at first, if this is ignored for a long enough time, a floor can develop a hump or hill.

Fixed Moldings Will Cause Peaking

Even if there is room to expand, your laminated flooring cannot take advantage of it if the moldings cannot move. This can sometimes be a nightmare to track down if the original installer was not consistent. Since laminate flooring is intended to be floating, which means not attached to either the moldings or the sub-floor, any solid point can cause an issue. Amateur installers will occasionally attach the laminate floor to molding to keep it from moving during install, or simply because they don't know any better.

The Length Of The Boards Can Cause Peaking

This one only pertains to some manufacturers of laminate flooring, and generally happens the least. When you have one board that is longer than it should be, the effect can be similar to when there is not room enough for expansion. This is an easily avoidable issue, and won't happen as long as no single plank is longer than the manufacturer recommends. If you didn't install the floor yourself, though, you may have difficulty finding the name of the manufacturer. Luckily, since this is usually only an issue when there are areas that are 40 feet long or longer, most people can consider this a non-issue unless they have a very big home, or are experiencing peaking in a hallway. But, if you just can't find where the laminate floor has been fixed to anything, then you might be left with pulling up planks to find manufacturer markings. - 29947

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Why Do Some Restaurants And Other Workplaces Still Make Use Of Disposable Coffee Cups?

By Deidre Connor

It's unquestionably a good thing that everyone is talking about saving the planet nowadays. Although we'll surely some day wonder why we thought what we did back in 2009 and 2010 was enough, it's really just good that the idea of going green isn't just secluded to a tiny minority. As thoughts regarding the environment have shifted, many businesses are rethinking a lot of their old practices and buying habits. Companies that don't care about anything but saving money are even looking at green products, even if they don't know it, as going green is now way cheaper than before. Let's examine one of the smaller things that most companies are still overlooking: disposable coffee cups.

Most Fast Food Joints Sort Of Have To Use Disposable Coffee Cups

Disposable coffee cups, for the most part, are purchased by only a few types of businesses: restaurants and, in some cases, offices. When it comes to a fast food restaurant, there's not much of a choice. Since they can't expect customers to return coffee cups, they have to give them the product in a container that is expected to be tossed. Unless someone develops a really innovative solution, fast food restaurants will have to continue to operate this way, creating a constant demand for the disposable coffee cup.

Sit-Down Restaurants Could Go Greener, But Is It Worth It To Them?

In those restaurants where people use dishes, though, the reason disposable coffee cups are used is generally due to money. They may not be saving as much money as they think they are, though. Although the up-front price is less, they're still repeatedly paying for disposable coffee cups when they could be re-using, saving a ton of waste. Of course, this would involve paying employees to clean the coffee cups. Is it worth the up front cost? The answer to that depends on many factors, including your dishwasher's pay rate, if your restaurant uses a machine and if it can handle the additional load, and the cost of the disposable cups over time. However, no one can argue that getting rid of disposable coffee cups would cut waste and help the environment.

Offices That Expect Visitors Use Disposable Coffee Cups

As a courtesy, many offices, such as lawyers and doctors offices offer free coffee to their visitors. This is, in some ways, similar to the fast food dilemma. Do you expect your clients to bring their own cups, or do you provide them with disposables? In the case of an office lobby, however, the solution is a bit simpler. Because the coffee is free, these offices have no financial stake in whether or not their customers get their coffee. Ironically, removing the disposable coffee cups, and therefore taking steps to help the environment, would probably be seen as rude by their customers.

Offices That Do Not Expect Visitors Have No Excuses

Some offices who don't see many, or any visitors, still provide disposable coffee cups. This is not only expensive, but it's also wasteful. Modern offices, especially those where employees have their own desks, can certainly expect employees to have cups of their own and, if the company is feeling generous, they can always hand out coffee cups with a company logo, or something else of interest to their employees. In this case, the cost savings would come quite quickly as disposable coffee cups are never ordered again. - 29947

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Why You Should Take A Look At Wooden Flooring

By Wendy Flores

Wooden flooring has seen so many improvements in recent decades that, to some degree, it could be considered a new product. There are a lot of advantages to using wooden floors in one's home, but so many people won't even consider a wooden floor at all. A lot of people dismiss wooden flooring immediately because of all the common misconceptions. Let's examine all those old realities and see how things have changed.

Wooden Flooring Is Hard To Maintain

Wooden floors are not nearly as difficult to maintain as they were in the past. It's almost never necessary to refinish them, even though most manufacturers of high quality products make their floors with this in mind. Using floor protectors beneath furniture and area rugs in high traffic areas, even really cheap wood floors can be kept looking nice for quite some time. The only thing your really can't control when it comes to wooden floors is moisture.

Wooden Flooring Is Not Terribly Expensive

Like all things quality in life, wooden floors are certainly capable of being expensive. They are certainly not, by default, the most expensive floors, however. As they come directly from natural sources, unlike many other floors, the area that you live in can have the largest impact on the pricing of anything wood. There's also some aesthetic considerations with real wood that aren't really an issue with most flooring types. If you find that wooden floors seem to be priced rather high, make sure you are comparing like products. Beware of accidentally comparing completely different quality floors.

Wooden Flooring Is Not Bad For The Environment (No, Really)

One of the largest, most well known myths about wooden floors also happens to be the least true. Everyone knows that we get wood from cutting down trees, and we know that, recently, trees are disappearing like crazy. This is what we're told, anyway, both by the media, and by our own eyes when we see large areas cleared for development. However, the reality is, there was actually quite a bit less living, standing timber half a century ago! This is the result of forests which are grown for timber, and careful management. There is no other flooring that comes straight from resources that are simply regrown from the ground.

Isn't Wooden Flooring Bad For Allergy Sufferers?

To those who have carpet, it seems whenever they go into a home that has wooden flooring, they're attacked by both dust and, if there are pets, pet dander. It's ironic that this is really more of a sign that wooden floors are actually healthier than carpet, especially for allergy sufferers. This is because pretty much anything that can inhabit the air can also inhabit carpet. This includes, but is not limited to, dust mites, mold, and the toxins that we gather on our clothes and selves every day. With wooden flooring, all you have to do is sweep, and the floor is clean. Unlike most floors, wooden flooring itself is almost impervious to any contamination. - 29947

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Eliminate Aches and Pains With an Ergonomic Kneeling Chair

By Kim Adams

Everyone who has ever sat facing a computer screen for lengthy time periods realizes that significant discomfort can develop in the neck, shoulders and upper back that is triggered by constantly remaining in that position. Part of the reason for this discomfort is that the standard chair doesn't give adequate support the backbone. The truth is, it causes you to either slump or to do your best to maintain an upright spine entirely by employing the back muscles. In either case, the muscles in the back become weary and the backbone gets pulled out of position, creating a sore back commencing from the hip area straight up to the head.

One solution to this predicament that scientists have produced is the ergonomic kneeling chair, which helps to keep the spinal column properly aligned which means the muscles are not strained or flexed unnaturally, and the nerves won't be pinched. This style of chair is frequently considered be the best office chair offered nowadays. The Jobri kneeling chair is one of the favorite models.

An ergonomic kneeling chair positions the person in an actual kneeling stance which helps the spinal column to stay aligned in the proper way. Quite different from conventional computer chairs, ergonomic kneeling chairs don't have a back. This makes it appear as if they may supply less support for the backbone than a typical computer chair with a back. But, since these chairs force the person into a kneeling posture, they lead the hips to shift frontward which means the backbone stays perpendicular without the usual muscle ache that's generally related to keeping up that posture.

Rather than the chair back being the only spot that an individual can get some form of support, an ergonomic kneeling chair provides support by way of the tilted seat pan, which keeps the hips aligned and forces the backbone, neck and shoulders into the correct pose. As well, it makes the shins offer support due to where they're placed beneath the person in the modified kneeling posture. Therefore the support is entirely given by the knees and hips, decreasing the strain on the back.

One downside to ergonomic kneeling chairs is that they do involve some time to adjust to since you will not be in a typical sitting pose. Yet, because these office chairs do not have a back rest, and the feet of the user are never on the ground if in the kneeling posture, the individual is instinctively seated in proper alignment rather than having to concentrate on the common ergonomic considerations like having their feet level on the ground and adjusting the seat appropriately. Consequently ergonomic kneeling chairs are not hard to operate and very comfortable over the long term. - 29947

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