3 Tips for Stunning Paint Jobs

Many people every year look to touch up their homes by adding a new coat of color in the room of their choice. Simply painting a room, however, can become tedious and mundane. This is why people choose to enhance the room by outdoing themselves in terms of a paint job. Some people use murals, others do stripes or stenciling patterns. Regardless of the type of paint job you choose, there are a few tips that everyone can stand to benefit from when it comes time to change colors on your wall (or anywhere else for that matter).

Helpful Tips for Painting

Before you begin, you will need to do some preparation work. This prep work helps to ensure that your new color turns out exactly the way you envision it. If you want to skip the prep work you can, but it will show in your paint job unless you use extreme caution.

Start by lightly sanding down the area that you want to paint. This is helpful because it removes all of the paint chips and bubbles that may be leftover from the previous color. Use a fine sandpaper so as not to scratch the surface beneath the paint.

Once the area is sanded, you will want to apply painters tape to any areas you do not want the paint to touch. This includes window sills, borders or even any areas that you do not want to splash some unwanted color on - such as stripes that you will eventually paint a different color. You can use any painter's masking tape that you can find in a store.

If the paint you have on the walls is currently a darker shade than what you want to paint it, you will need to use a primer. The primer is a white coat that goes under the color you're putting on. This allows you to cover up the darker paint and not have it show through your new color. You may choose to do a primer anyway as a way of ensuring that your color shines through the way you want it to.

Once the walls are primed, you are ready to begin your paint job. Be sure to take your time and always paint from top to bottom. Doing so will catch any paint drips that you fail to notice at first. Before you know it you will have a stunning paint job and be ready for your next project. Don't forget to stock up on your painters masking tape!

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Wall It Up: Create Your Dream Home With Easy Drywall Installation or Repair and Paint in Every Color

Over time, interior walls take a beating. Kids, pets, cooking, and busy living really leave their mark. If your walls are looking a bit rough, here is some information to help you decide how to spruce them up.

Drywall Installation

Nearly every home and business today has walls and ceilings constructed of drywall boards, also called sheetrock, wallboard, or plasterboard. Drywall is pretty simple: the core is primarily composed of gypsum plaster, wrapped on both sides with thick paper. It is manufactured in a few standardized sizes (including extra-thick ones that provide fire resistance), so it is easy to choose the right pieces, as well as easy to transport to any location.

Wall boards are screwed directly onto the wall frame, or studs, with drywall screws. When pieces of board need to be cut, all that's needed is a measuring tape, a simple T-square, and a utility knife to cut through the board (some installers may use a saw to expedite the process).

When the boards are up, the installation crew goes over the whole thing again, this time with joint tape and joint compound (also known as "float and tape"). The seams between boards are covered with a layer of papery joint tape, and each joint as well as each screw hole is covered with a splash of mudlike joint compound. This process smoothes the surface of the wall and prepares it for the next step.

Drywall Repair and Replacement

One of the perks of using drywall to construct walls is the ease of installation. Another is the ease of replacement. If a wall is damaged, it is simple to fix. For example, imagine a wall that has had a hole knocked in it by a doorknob. Using a drywall saw, your contractor will cut out a square of wall around the hole. He will then carefully measure the hole and cut a corresponding piece of new drywall to fit. It is then a simple thing to fit the new piece into the wall, apply the joint tape and compound, and paint over the repaired area to match the rest of the wall.

What if your wall has bigger problems, like very large holes, mold, or water damage? That's easy too! Entire sheets of wallboard, or even the entire wall, can be uninstalled quickly and removed from your home. Then it's just like starting from the beginning like a new installation. If your wall is easily exposed to water, like in a bathroom, you should talk to your contractor about greenboard or cementboard, which are more resistant to water damage.

Painting

When your new walls are up, there's nothing else strictly necessary to be done. If you like grey paper with off-white lines and splotches of joint compound, this is perfect. But if you'd like some color, it's time for paint! Every hardware and home improvement store has a huge selection of paint brands and paint colors, in any color you could wish for. You can gather chips of each color that you like so you can see what it looks like in your home, and many stores sell sample-size amounts of paint so you can paint a swatch on the wall for a better comparison.

Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply, so you don't need to feel like you're committed to one color for life. If you dislike the color you chose or just want a change after a while, paint is easy to change - especially now with advanced primer formulas that make it easier to cover up old colors.

Paint is available in a number of finishes, from flat to ultra gloss. Your contractor can explain the differences and help you decide which is best for your space (for example, glossy paint is easier to clean so it's great for rooms that get messy).

Painting is a simple process on its surface, and many homeowners opt to do it themselves, with good results. This is an option for you too. But before you go out and buy rollers and brushes and dropcloths, consider hiring a contractor to do it for you. They already own all the equipment, and have lots of experience, so you know the job will be done quickly and correctly, so you can enjoy your new walls even faster!

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Hiring the Right Painter for Your House

Every house and structure, new or old must be painted. Painting is the best way through which new homeowners can customize their new residences. The quality of the painting is determined by the knack of the painter and the quality of the paint used. To guarantee a finer quality painting job, there are a few factors to consider.

To start off, search for the pros. There is no room for trial and error as it only results in extra costs that can be easily evaded. Ask around from friends and family for recommendations and take a look at their work. If there is a well painted house in the neighborhood, call on the owner and enquire about the painter. If someone managed to do a magnificent exterior job, then it holds that the same painter has the ability to do the same in the interior. Sample at least four high quality painters sorted from the nature of their previous painting works and organize initial meetings, preferably at the site. On site, observe how long the painters take to scrutinize the building, the longer one takes, the more realistic he/she is.

It is very important to enquire from the painters about the size of their team as well as their levels of competence. If your house is big, then you may require a painter with a larger team lest it takes a decade to be painted.

Some painting disasters don't always emanate from the painter's mistakes, but the homeowner's. This is mainly because some people don't clearly spell out their expectations to the painters when they express interest on their jobs. Some vital information that must clearly be stated includes, the number of coats you would like, the type of paint and the level of perfections that you expect. Most of these are determined by the budgetary estimates to the project. Listen to the painter and don't argue so much on the cost for purchasing the material, rather, negotiate on the painter's labor. If you want quality work, you have to invest in it. After clearly stating the expectations to each contractor independently, you can then ask them for their closest estimates.

Other than past great painting jobs by the painters, it is always safe to ask for their credentials as well. As much as minor details like being a member of a professional organization may not in any way mirror the quality of their work, it is crucial as it shows the painter's commitment to their work. Is the contractor licensed by the authorities? Find out from your state's authorities or ask to see the license. The same applies to their insurance covers, as well as that of their staff.

With all the details stated above verified, you can then draw up and sign a binding contract. In the contract, be precise and ask for a guarantee with the painter accepting to repaint any chipped, peeled or blistered painted surfaces within a specific period, say two years at no or very minimal cost. Keep a close eye on them at work to ensure that you attain the expected quality.

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Organic SEO Services: Find the Best Guest Post Opportunities

Guest posting is an effective way to get backlinks and build your online reputation. This strategy opens a whole new world for you and your blog in terms of traffic and exposure. It is a win-win for both the blog host and the guest poster; the blog host gets unique content and the guest poster gets exposure. However, you can't post content on just any blog. It is important that you write posts for high quality blogs that are relevant to your niche and receive targeted traffic.

With a few advanced search queries you can find several blogs where you can post fresh content. Google is your friend. Additionally, if you have a well established site and know a few people in your niche, ask them if you can guest post on their blogs. When it comes to finding the best guest post opportunities, your network can be a powerful ally. There is no doubt that this will be the first way to start growing your audience and establish your online presence.

Join a guest posting community. There are several online communities that connect guest bloggers with people looking for fresh content. These sites allow you to submit a request or offer to write content for other blogs.

You can also find some good guest post opportunities in blog directories. You have pages after pages of blogs in all niches. All you have to do is to find those that are relevant to your topic, check their popularity and rankings, and contact their owners. You will find a wide audience of bloggers looking for your services.

Many webmasters use Twitter to identify guest post opportunities. This social media platform allows you to find high ranking, highly followed blogs where you can write posts in exchange for a backlink. You can also use Twitter to find key influencers in your niche and announce your intention to write a post on their blogs.

One of the best ways to find blogs relevant to your niche is to look at your competitors' backlink profile. If they have been guest blogging as a link building strategy, you will be able to make a list of blogs that accept posts just by analyzing their profiles. When you write on other blogs, you can use the resource box to advertise your desire to guest post. Don't forget to use Facebook and Google+ for finding relevant blogs.

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Backlink Building Service: Link Building Tips for Charities

With so many non-profit organizations competing for funding, it is difficult to stand out and spread the word about your mission. Charities that have websites or blogs showing up on the first pages in search engines will see an increase in traffic, which will result in more donations. If you run a non-profit organization and you find it hard to come up with enough money to run your day to day operations, consider starting a website.

Setting up a website requires minimum investment. For the start, you can use a free hosting service like Blogger or WordPress. Once you add information about your non-profit organization, you will have to build links and promote your website to the target audience. Increasingly more SEO companies are offering free link building services for charities. Most of them have strict requirements. However, there are a few strategies that you can easily implement without professional help.

Start by adding quality content. Write about your mission and values. Give people a reason to support your cause. Use a free analytics tool to find keywords that relevant to your organization. When you promote a charity online, you are not only appealing to the local community, but you are also appealing to those who are interested in your cause. Don't force people to use a specific anchor text or link back to a particular page. Suggest it, but allow for give and take. Don't go overboard with link building.

Create a Facebook fan page for your non-profit organization. Provide compelling information and include a link to your website or blog. Profile links are highly valuable. You can also join a number of forums, post meaningful replies, and tell other users about your cause. Add a link in your signature in order to drive traffic to your site and get quality backlinks.

Networking is a central part of any non-profit organization. Many charities work with government associations and schools, so there's a great chance of getting some very strong links from.gov and.edu sites. Contact your associates and request links from them. They will be more than happy to have their names associated with your organization.

Create a dedicated section on your site for your campaign. Optimize your landing page and share it on social media sites, forums, and online communities. Keep in mind that the key to reaping the rewards of a charity link building campaign is to use relevant keywords that aren't overly competitive and have a decent search volume.

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Microsoft Launches the New Windows Azure Marketplace

Google and Bing search APIs let you develop software to retrieve search results from these major search engines programmatically.

You can use requests to get either web search or image search with these APIs.

An API key is required by the Google Custom Search API, which can be obtained from the Google APIs console.

The APIs provide 100 search queries per day for free. More results mean you have to pay for them ($5 per 1000 queries, for up to 10,000 queries per day).

Starting from August 1st 2012, Microsoft is charging for access to the Bing Search API (that previously was free) through the Windows Azure Marketplace.

For less than 5,000 queries per month people can access the APIs for free. This probably will involve most non-profits, educational institutions, and smaller scale applications.For more than 5,000 queries per month, a subscription can be purchased on the Windows Azure Marketplace. If you are only interested in web results there is a lower cost offering.

The paid service has also required some integration work by developers to accommodate some changes in the API.

A lot of resources can be found on the web explaining how to migrate to the new platform for php, .net, java, delphi, python programmers.

They now can retrieve web, image, news, and video search results, and also related searches and spelling suggestions using both XML (eXtensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).

When they were launched, Bing's APIs have been entirely free to use, whereas Google has always charged for getting search results. The two services deal with their free quotas in a different way, so it's not easy to do a direct comparison, but it seems that Bing is cheaper in nearly every circumstance.

But what is Windows Azure Marketplace?

On Msdn Microsoft states that "The Windows Azure Marketplace is an information and application marketplace. [...] The Windows Azure Marketplace provides both trusted public domain and premium commercial data via integrated consumption experiences and easy data discovery, exploration, and purchase on any platform".

The new Windows Azure Marketplace is designed to match information providers with end users and programmers. It's probably one of the most complete cloud offerings available.

Data providers provide information that may immediately accessed by users with Microsoft applications.

When it was launched, the Windows marketplace included 77 data sets across from 28 publishers.

Data sets are from many different categories, form entertainment and media to finance; from health and wellness to mathematics.

With the revolution of cloud-based platforms, data is available for developers in one central place.

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