How to Remodel Your Home and Clean up Afterward

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Home remodeling can be an invigorating and interesting project. It’s undoubtedly one that calls for a lot of work and effort, however. It involves everything from comprehensive decision-making to extensive cleanup work and beyond. If you want your home remodeling process to go off without a hitch, then there are numerous convenient and effective cleanup options on hand for you.

Work with a Home Renovation Company

Professional contractors can offer you a property renovation experience that’s hassle-free, efficient and pleasant. Seasoned professionals can provide you with remodeling service that can accommodate any and all of your requests. Reputable professionals will also keep their working sites neat and tidy. They’ll usually manage basic cleanup tasks once they’re through with their work. You don’t have to worry about them leaving your home looking like a disaster zone.

Seek Assistance from the Good People in Your Life

Home painting projects can lead to messes and disorganization galore. The same thing goes for cabinet replacement, floor replacement, addition construction and more. It’s only natural to expect your home to become a bit of a mess. If you want to tackle your messy home situation with ease, try to make a fun cleanup project out of it. Recruit helpful members of your household. Ask some of your closest friends for a favor, too. Vacuuming and dusting with some good buddies can actually be a pleasure.

Rent a Dumpster for Cleanup Purposes

Renting a dumpster can make the cleanup process post-remodeling a lot easier and faster. Dumpster rentals are available in many sizes. They make throwing particularly big and awkward objects away simple and stress-free. You can opt for dumpster pickup services once you’re through filling yours up as well. You can dispose of all kinds of things using a dumpster. Examples are old doors, flooring materials, and artwork.

Hire a Cleaning Company

If you want to get a fresh start with a tidy home, recruit a professional cleaning company for assistance. Professional cleaners can turn your home into a sparkling sanctuary. They can disinfect your wooden floors. They can dust every single nook and cranny in your renovated residential property. They can even clean all of the fixtures in your bathroom. Remodeling a home can be tiring. Professional cleaning assistance can help you recover from the project swiftly.

Home remodeling is a project that can be incredibly time-consuming. Meticulously cleaning your property after the fact can showcase it in the finest possible light.

Rope For Boating and Marine Use: What You Need to Know

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Anchors away – but, wait, what’s your anchor attached to? Rope is an important but often overlooked part of maritime activity, serving many functions.

Most widely used for docking, anchoring, towing, and rigging, rope is an important member of any boat crew! That’s why it’s important to pick rope for anchors and general marine use that will do its duty.

In the end, most boaters will generally use either Nylon rope or Polypropylene rope, depending on the size of their boat, weather conditions, and the activity they need it for of course.

To learn about the best rope for boating and marine use, read on!

What Rope Should You Use For An Anchor?

Unless you want to float away, having a good anchor in place is vital. The ground tackle system consists of the actual anchor and then the anchor rode, which can be a rope/chain combination or, all chain. Which kind of system you’ll uses largely depends on the size and type of boat you have.

However, if you decide that a rope/chain combo is the way to go, you should use Nylon rope. The elastic quality of nylon gives this rope great shock absorption. This is necessary given the force of the wind and waves. In addition, Nylon rope is very strong, flexible, rot/mildew resistant, and generally inexpensive. This rope is also easy to handle (compared to other types of rope) and holds up very well in the sunlight.

For nylon anchor lines, three strand rope is the preferred type, as it has stretch and resistance to abrasion, but braided will work as well. If you go with a braided line, be sure to pick a type that is less likely to snag. Remember, although your Nylon based anchor line will have no problem under tough conditions like wind, its breaking strength will decrease with age from knots, kinks, etc.

What’s the Best Rope For a Dock Line?

Just like with anchor lines, Nylon rope is generally your best choice for dock lines. When selecting rope for a dock line, it’s important to have two sets in mind: temporary slips and permanent slips, as they’ll both have different needs.

Nylon rope is the best for docking and mooring because of its strength and stretch. Double braid or three-strand line should do the trick. Easy to splice and reasonably priced, nylon rope is the way to go.

If you have permanent dock lines, you’ll want to protect the rope from chafe since it will be constantly in use. This can be done with chafe guards, eye splices or galvanized shackles. Transient, or temporary dock lines, are lines stored on board designated specifically for travel.

What Rope Do I Need For General Marine Use Like Pulling/Towing?

Polypropylene rope (sometimes referred to as the “Yellow Rope”) is most commonly used for activities like wake-boarding and water skiing. It’s also used to tow dinghies and tenders, although Nylon Rope can work too.

Polypropylene rope floats and is almost as strong as Nylon, making it perfectly acceptable for these types of activities. Keep in mind though, this rope is far less resistant to the sun’s UV rays and will not last as long as Nylon rope.

There’s a reason that sailors know so many different types of knots.  It is because there are many ways to incorporate rope into their work.  As you can see, rope serves many important functions onboard your vessel, so don’t skimp!  Always select the best rope for boating and marine use that you can.  Ootherwise it can rot, degrade, and break.

*Not part of an article on marine rope, but many of the reasons yellow Polypropylene rope works well for skiing makes it great for other tasks.  I use it myself for lashing projects, and the 1/2 thick 600 foot roll pictured at the top is very useful for homestead building projects.

How Federal Gun Background Checks Work

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The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the fundamental right of Americans to keep and bear arms.

Purchasing a gun in the US, however, is subject to a federal background check, that is, if you buy a gun through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). Retailers at Walmart and other smaller- brink-and-mortar shops selling guns fall under this category.

Should you find yourself charged with any violation of the Gun Control Act, you will need to have a gun criminal defense lawyer by your side to help you mount an effective defense in court.

If you decide to purchase a gun at a federally-licensed retailer;

Here is what you will have to go through:

  1. Fill out a 4473 form – All prospective gun buyers at FFLs are required to fill out the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ 4473 form, also known as a Firearms Transaction Record. It asks for your basic information, including your full name, address, sex, birth date, and ethnicity. The form also asks questions about your immigration status, mental health, and any criminal background, all of which could lead to a denial of purchase.

Providing false information on the form is a felony which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine.

  1. NICS check—Once you’re done filling out the federal form, the retailer or person selling you the gun will run the information you provided in it through the FBI-maintained National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

The NICS check will take about 30 seconds. You can proceed with the purchase if the background check doesn’t find anything on your record that will indicate you are prohibited from buying a firearm. However, if the background check registers a hit, the NICS will mark the form as “canceled” or “denied,” and the dealer cannot legally sell the gun to the prospective buyer.

When a NICS background check returns a “delayed” response, the transaction will be on hold for at least three business days. In that period, the seller will have to wait for NICS to designate the transaction as “denied.” However, if the three-day period elapses without a cancellation or a denial, the transaction can proceed under federal law.

Who is prohibited from owning a firearm?

Under federal law, a person is not allowed to legally own a gun if he or she is any of the following:

  • A drug user or addict
  • Dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces
  • A convicted felon sentenced to a prison term of more than a year
  • A fugitive from justice
  • An illegal immigrant
  • Convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence
  • Mentally-ill as declared by a court or have been committed to a mental institution
  •    An ex-US citizen who renounced his/her citizenship
  • Subject to a court restraining order issued on behalf of an ‘intimate partner,’ a partner’s child, or children

Private Sale Exemption

Also referred to as the gun show loophole, the private sale exemption refers to the absence of the background check requirement for private-party sellers of firearms. That means people buying guns online, from a gun show, and from other dealers that are not federally-licensed can just get the firearm of their choice without being checked whether or not they are eligible to own a gun under federal law. It is this loophole that has allowed convicted felons, drug addicts, illegal immigrants, domestic abusers, and other ineligible people to purchase guns legally.

However, some states have stepped in and have plugged this loophole by requiring unlicensed sellers to perform background checks on gun buyers.

Still, even with this background check system in place, offenses that involve firearms continue to take place, with some offenders unjustly facing weapons charges for one reason or another.

A Prepper’s Guide to Choosing the Best Work Boots

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A Prepper’s Guide to Choosing the Best Work Boots

When hard times hit, your old sneakers, chunky high heels, and furry slippers will not be useful to you. Hiking, long distance traveling and making your way through rough terrain will be difficult if you have the wrong footwear. Top quality tactical work shoes help in keeping your feet issues at bay. Whether you are struggling with blisters, fasciitis or sore spots, a good pair of work boots will help you get through any situation; harsh elements, rough terrains and toxic spills.

They need to feel like a second skin whether you are marching through forests or urban areas. Therefore you need to be sure of your choice, and whatever you opt for, your boots need to be manufactured from heavy duty materials, as well as being comfortable and secure.

Practical Tips on How to Choose Your Best Footwear for Survival

As a self-sufficient prepper, you need multi-functional boots that are not only a good fit for the tactical environment but also complement your natural lifestyle. Check out these extensive boot features that will make your prepping efforts effortless:

Safety Toes

Safety features can either break or make your work shoes. A perfect work boot consists of a robust safety toe feature that makes for an excellent addition to your work shoe especially when you regularly deal with heavy falling objects.

They include a steel toe, aluminum toe, and composite toe. Steel toes are extremely important since they handle more of a crushing force than composites and they also act as conductors in cold and hot climates. Composite toes, on the other hand, consist of plastic, carbon fiber or Kevlar and they offer you protection without exposing your feet to the harshest of elements. According to MyBestWorkBoots, steel toe work boots allow you to face any situation with confidence.

Metatarsal Guards

It is another layer of heavy-objects-falling protection for your toes and higher foot. It preferred by by companies operating in the most extreme conditions. They are incredible for welding and surroundings wherever hot objects can be a headache.

Traction

Traction is a vital factor that keeps you on your feet once the going gets tough. One-third of all construction-related accidents were a result of a fall or slip. Therefore traction is the key to avoiding some significant hazards.

The best methodology for avoiding stupid accidents is for you to be aware and mindful. That is why prepping is all about; being tuned in to the inevitable misfortune and preparing for it preemptively.

To cut the story short, you will need Vibram rubber soles with superior index.

If you are however operating with some harsh chemicals, TPU (Thermo Poly Urethane) they can provide you with high resistance to grease, abrasion and other chemicals. TPU is lighter and possesses more wear-resistance than a rubber sole.

Support

Every a part of your operating boots influences its support system. Midsoles, insoles, puncture plates, shanks, and outsoles all provide their overall contribution to the general feel. If there is no universal formula here, you will only try them on and see how supported your feet and ankles feel. If you experience frequent blistering, you need to consider upgrading the insoles and opt for EVA midsoles for ultimate flexibility and cushioning. You have all the protection you need in the world in your work boots. Therefore you do not have to deal with stiffer polymer midsoles.

Construction

Your work boot construction is essential. The primary feature of any work shoe is the Cement Construction. It refers to the “cementing” of the out-sole and upper. They are very flexible and lightweight and you can re-sole them. There is also the Goodyear Welt that is the most durable option for your boots’ construction and is very simple. Last but not least, there is the Blake Stitch where uppers, sock liner, and soles are all connected via single stitch. It is a very secure attaching method, forming a robust bond between all the integral parts of the work boot.

In conclusion, A Prepper’s Guide to Choosing the Best Work Boots will hell you keep your feet prepped and ready for action with these robust features because they are paramount in any survival situation.

United States Navy Foundry Manual

Book Review: United States Navy Foundry Manual
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The United States Navy Foundry Manual was a navy field manual designed to allow naval personnel aboard ship to reproduce vital parts without having to wait on resupply.

It has a huge amount of information, but is written so that even a squid can understand it.

I find this book to be a huge help in designing molds for casting metal parts in my home workshop.

Not only does this book cover mold making, it also covers metallurgy, types of foundries, and a lot more.

This book, along with the gingery series, should be in every prepper’s library.  you may never use it, but the knowledge contained within can go a long way toward rebuilding society in a collapse.  If you knew how to program industrial machines and cast metal then you could probably do most anything in a grid down collapse.

I have a hard time using my foundry in the small subdivision that I live in.  However, I get a shed built down on the land, I hope to get back into casting.  Then I can share the videos with to (as well as build a gingery lathe.