Wednesday 25 March 2009

Hot Tub Gazebos Give You The Privacy You Need!

When you install your hot tub on the deck and start to enjoy it, it is then you realize that you need to have a gazebo or an enclosure to give you privacy from prying eye when you are inside. Hot tub gazebos come in a wide range of designs and will give you this element of privacy that you need.

Not only does such a structure prevent others from seeing you relaxing in the jacuzzi or hot tub, but the sound of the swim spa and the conversation will be muffled. A simple lattice frame covered with greenery will accomplish this so it doesn’t need to be very expensive.

When you look at the many designs of hot tub gazebos, you should consider the size and location of the hot tub and the exterior design of your home and garden when deciding which one you would like to have. For example, if the exterior of your home is brick, you can have a brick gazebo.

If your deck is constructed from pine or cedar, use the same wood in the construction of the hot tub enclosure. You will find many plans for this construction online and in magazines. Many of the plans you find online and free and you only have to download them along with the instructions.

You can also purchase kits for hot tub gazebos that contain all the materials you need. You do need to have the correct measurements if you plan to use one of these kits for building a swim spa or hot tub enclosure with a hot tub cover because all the materials are pre cut to the lengths that you need for the size of gazebo you choose.

When browsing the many kits available, think of how you want to use the hot tub. If this will be a place where you want to entertain guests, you can look at designs that include benches, bar tables and of course, a built-in bar. You will also need to have storage places for towels and hooks for hanging towels and clothing.

Would you like to see the stars when you are in the hot tub at night? This is entirely possible in the designs of hot tub gazebos that do not have a roof. However, there are also disadvantages with such a design because the heat of the sun will be bearing down on you during the day and there is the increased possibility of dirt and debris blowing into the water of the tub. This will give you more work in cleaning the hot tub more than is usually required.

One thing that you do have to consider when choosing the hot tub gazebo, swim spa, or sauna of your dreams is that you have to leave room for getting at the pump and the other components of the hot tub whenever the need arises. You cannot assume that you will not encounter any problems once you have it in place.

Like all other water features you have in your home and your bathroom, there will be an occasion when you have problems with the hot tub and need to have access to the components in order to do the necessary repairs. Get ideas for hot tub gazebos and helpful advice for the construction process by doing a search online. The Internet is a valuable source of information about hot tubs, enclosures, and gazebos.

By: Allison Ryan

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA specializing in home improvement and installing and remodeling spa and bathroom features. For the ideal swim spa or hot tub for your home or backyard, please visit www.mybath.biz/.



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What To Look For When Buying A Gazebo

When people decide to purchase a gazebo, they often strive to achieve a certain viewpoint in the yard, either from the inside looking out or the outside looking in. Whether a poolside retreat or a garden centerpiece, a gazebo may also fulfill a longtime desire to revisit childhood memories many people growing up in the south have said they wish to relive.

The three most common materials gazebos are made of include wood, metal, and vinyl. Wood that lasts like metal and vinyl is the most requested. Unlike patio covers that are mostly overhead and exposed to the weather, thus making metal and vinyl the best choice, a gazebo is to be felt all around you, and the feel of wood cannot be duplicated. That is probably why they repaint wood at Disneyland every night after closing instead of using anything other than wood.

While pine or redwood gazebos are less costly than weather resistant woods such as pressure treated and others, they will not last a long time in moisture-laden areas. Whether at the beach, the mountains, near the golf course, or the swimming pool, wood deteriorates over time. If this happens, the entire structure is compromised and soon has to be replaced. When is the last time you saw a telephone pole be replaced because it rotted from moisture? Even though they are put directly in the soil, they last for a very long time. They last because they are pressure treated.

As for the roof of a gazebo, solid composition, wood shingle, or metal will allow the gazebo to stay the cleanest and less likely to need repainting. These are usually decided upon by the need to match the home roof or surrounding yard setting, and the same goes for the color of the roofing. For the open slatted roof, painted wood can be used but will require maintenance, while metal or vinyl have the advantage of longevity in the weather, and can be used without completely losing the feel of wood down below.

The majority of gazebos are painted white to stand out from their surroundings, but can be painted or stained almost any color. Most of the major brands of paint have transitioned from oil to water base over the years and offer 25-year guarantees of endurance. With a good primer it should only be necessary to repaint due to fading or wear in the coming years, and the second coat even lasts longer since a certain amount of the first coat is absorbed into the raw wood.

Now as far as whom to buy your gazebo from, all the tried and true rules apply. References and character go hand in hand. Most thieves don’t care to uphold their name over time. They want your money fast and the consequences they’ll deal with later. The most incredible scenario that is seen time and time again is how customers will settle on the first gazebo merchant that seems reasonable and amicable, and in their haste they settle without comparing between other companies. This will come home to roost in about 4-5 years when it becomes evident the gazebo will not last very much longer, from lack of quality materials. Even the cheapest materials used on a gazebo look great and are hard to detect from the ones that will last, when first installed. And you can bet the builder will not be able to do anything for you when you realize your mistake.

Most gazebo builders have a magnifying glass on their competitors, and while all is not to be believed by one source, you can start seeing a pattern when the same opinion is shared by two or more sources. The lack of customer comparison allows many seemingly reasonable, but actually uncaring companies to continue, no matter how many customers find out the truth too late. As with any product or system, a checks and balance makes it possible for the weeds to be separated from the good, and the customer ends up with the gazebo they imagined they would receive.

By: Chris Murphy -

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Chris Murphy is an independent, freelance writer who enjoys writing about informative topics of interest to readers. For more information on this article, please visit www.gazebosnow.com

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Exotic plants at winter time

garden flowerImage by suchitra prints via Flickr

Winter is quite a rough time - for us and for our garden plants. It's cold and we aren’t in the mood for anything. Our plants are feeling bad too. How to make them feel good? Which plants are more likely to survive at this time of the year?

A winter garden is one of the best places to grow flowers, especially the exotic ones. We can also have vegetables, lemons and oranges there.

The most popular winter-garden plants are climbers and hanging type plants (for example ivy), high species (i.e. Chinese roses, oranges) and low species (winter begonia). You can also use your greenhouse to grow forced vegetables for example paprika or tomatoes.

In the winter garden we have to take care of the plants and the conditions that they are in more carefully than in summer time. The most important conditions are the temperature, lighting and air humidity. There are sometimes situations when people grow very demanding plants in their gardens like Chinese Gooseberry (well known as kiwifruit), or passion fruits. Having winter gardens can bring us a lot of benefits.

We can put the plants that we grew earlier in the greenhouse into our home and they will increase the quality of our air, and bring an original look to our interior. The smell of leaves and flowers have a positive impact on our mood and thanks to them we feel calmer.

We will only achieve these results when we treat our plants well. Mistakes made in growing may end up badly. Not seldom we have situations of damaging the flowers or even death. The main course for blame for this is bad conditions or choice of wrong place. Symptoms that should worry us are spots on the leaves and their strange colour.

It depends on us, our imagination and needs, what we will do with our winter garden and what plants we will have there. But it's worth thinking about when we are at the planning stage of designing our garden.



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