Portal:Home improvement
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Home improvement is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Often, a professional handyman is hired to perform the improvements but, typically, most improvements are done on an amateur DIY basis by the homeowner. A homeowner can hire a general contractor to oversee a home improvement project that involves multiple trades. A general contractor acts as project manager, providing access to the site, removing debris, coordinating work schedules, and performing some aspects of the work. Sometimes homeowners bypass the general contractor, and hire tradesmen themselves, including plumbers, electricians and roofers. Another strategy is to "do it yourself" (DIY). Several major retailers, such as Home Depot and Lowe's, specialize in selling materials and tools for DIY home improvement. These stores even host classes to educate customers how to do the work themselves. Bob Vila is a well-known author and television host in the home improvement field. Also, the sitcom Home Improvement uses the home improvement theme for comedic purposes. Template:/box-footer Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The roof, the top covering of a building, is one of the universal structures found on all buildings. Its purpose is primarily to shed water off the building and to prevent it from accumulating on top. To achieve this goal, roofs may be highly pitched (sloped) or low sloped in form. Low sloped roofs are commonly found on industrial/commercial type structures. Pitched roofs are the primary design found on residential homes. Metal standing seam roofs are becoming increasingly common on low sloped roof assemblies. Cool roofs and green roofs are becoming increasingly popular, and in some cases are mandated by local codes. Residential roof designs in mild climates or where there is little precipitation tend to exhibit lower pitched roofs and drainage at the exterior wall; an example of residential flat roof is that of the adobe construction in the American Southwest. In northern climates, where temperatures drop below freezing, or in southern climates with high temperatures, the need for greater thermal resistance will dictate the type of roof design as well as the waterproofing membrane specification. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The shotgun house is a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, with doors at each end. It was the most popular style of house in the Southern United States from the end of the Civil War, through to the 1920s. Alternate names include shotgun shack, shotgun hut, and shotgun cottage. The style was developed in New Orleans, but the houses can be found as far away as Chicago, Illinois; Key West, Florida; and California. Shotgun houses can still be found in many small southern towns. Though initially as popular with the middle class as with the poor, the shotgun house became a symbol of poverty in the mid-20th century. Opinion is now mixed: some houses are bulldozed due to urban renewal, while others are beneficiaries of historic preservation and gentrification. Shotgun houses consist of three to five rooms in a row with no hallways. Several variations of shotgun houses allow for additional features and space, and many have been updated to the needs of future generations of owners. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  Credit: Malene Thyssen A claw hammer.
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