gpmautogroup.com

Submitted by: Keith Smallwood

A well built deck provides a platform for enjoying your outdoor space and garden and decks rapidly become a focus for family gatherings in the warmer days. There is nothing better than enjoying food outdoors or simply enjoying a casual drink with friends and good conversation while listening to the birds and soaking up the sun. There is a lot to be said for building a deck on your home it enhances the look and feel of the property, increases your enjoyment and it also adds value to your home as well.

The style of your home should determine what kind of decking you should be using. You need to keep the decking in tune with the architecture and materials used in the construction of your home to avoid any clash which will detract from the appearance and feel. You should also consider that a deck is not simply an outdoors feature decking is usually found attached to the home (instead of being free standing) and as such, the deck becomes an intermediate space between the home interior and the rest of the garden. It is not unusual to find decks have become enclosed to some extent as a consequence of this intermediate status.

The materials you choose for the deck will also impact on your future costs and convenience. Wooden decking provides an excellent original effect and is warm and inviting, however you will need to seal it properly and reseal it every few years depending on the amount of use and the impact of the elements. Composite decking is made from a combination of waste wood, typically sawdust, which is then mixed with plastic (usually recycled). This can be made to look like natural wood and it has the added advantage of not warping or splitting.

Vinyl PVC decking provides true, long-term durability which is practically maintenance free. Ensure that the decking you use has a non-slip surface which is particularly important for vinyl PVC material in order to avoid any unfortunate accidents, especially when it is wet. Vinyl decks can be used in almost any part of the garden or home exterior and they are especially suitable for surrounding above ground pools where there is the risk of a lot of water, which will eventually accelerate rotting in wooden decking.

Aluminum decking is generally much more expensive compared to all other forms of decking material, however it is going to last the longest and it is very lightweight which means it can be used anywhere. Aluminum decking is also very stylish in appearance and there are no gaps on the surface of the deck itself.

Whichever decking material you use, building a deck will enhance your home and your enjoyment of it. You will be able to use your deck in almost all weathers, however enjoying a fine summer evening with a grill cooking good food and good company to enjoy the end of day is one of life s pleasures. Think carefully about where you want the deck to be built and what materials you are going to use, and it pays to consult with a specialist in order to get the very best out of the design and construction experience they will have.

About the Author: Keith Smallwood is the president of Creative Energy Exteriors, a leading provider of

Richmond home improvement

products and services such as

Richmond windows

and

Richmond decks

. Creative Energy Exteriors can be found online at: CreativeEnergyExteriors.com .

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=526049&ca=Home+Management

By Edward Kendricks

No matter what the size of your church is you probably have music of some kind. If you attend a bigger church you probably have a full band or a choir that needs to be heard by the congregation. This means that you will need a good PA system in your church to get the best sound possible. The PA system will help the person speaking be heard much more clearly. Also, in many churches the music is the centerpiece of the worship service which makes having sound very important. What is the point of having a band and singers if that cannot all be heard properly by those in attendance?

Depending on the budget of the church there are many options available in sound systems they can have installed in their place of worship. There are many companies that can do this and it is wise to have them send out a professional to install the system so that is installed correctly. They can make sure that everything is connected properly so that no speakers get blown and the system works properly for an extended period of time. They can also make sure that the PA system is installed so that it does not detract from the overall look and feel of the church during the service. You want your sound system to make the service better and more enjoyable. You do not want your sound system to be distracting to detract from the service in any way. A trained professional will be able to make sure that the PA system sounds good and fits into the design of your church.

There are many things that you need to consider when you are deciding what kind of PA system you want to have installed in your building. The most important of these aspects is how big you church is. If you have a larger church you are going to need a larger more state of the art system that can fill a big room and not distort from getting too loud. It needs to be able to handle the power that is needed to sound good in a big room. You will probably need both regular PA speakers and subs so that the low end does not blow out the speakers because of the bigger amount of power. You will also need a lot of good power amps to get a good clean sound as well.

Another thing you need to consider is what kind of presentations that you are going to be putting on. If your church just has a speaker and a piano player you will not a big mixing board to handle all of the channels you will need. If you have a large band with a choir you will need a bigger mixing board and probably a dedicated sound guy to handle all of the inputs for microphones and instruments that the service will require.

No matter what style of church you attend you will need some kind of PA system to help make your service more enjoyable and clear for those in attendance.

About the Author: Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), a UK

church PA system

installer.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=950848&ca=Advice

Brie Burkeman – Agent

by

Gumbowriters

How long have you been agent and how did you get your start Brie?

I started as a secretarial assistant at Curtis Brown (UK) thirty years ago, learnt the trade and after three years left and helped set up the Directors Guild of Great Britain. I then joined Jonathan Clowes Ltd and for sixteen years was a director there before taking a short break and setting up my own agency nine years ago. Having worked in tandem with Serafina Clarke for many years, we this month decided to consolidate our companies and so have just embarked on the next stage of life with Brie Burkeman & Serafina Clarke Ltd.

What makes your agency different than any others?

Our agency is a small, boutique agency, but we still work in all mediums; book, film, theatre and television. Being our own agency and small means the list can be as eclectic and, within commercial boundaries, as subjective as we like. I love finding that new voice but I also love the challenge of a well published or produced author who needs a new look at their career. We take the long view with our clients rather than looking at the short term.

What are you looking for specifically that you wish you would see more of?

The same thing were always looking for; original, commercial ideas combined with beautiful writing. The combination often feels like looking for the philosophers stone.

Brie what are you tired of receiving?

Badly conceived, unfinished material that isnt suitable for our agency in the first place. For instance, all the guidelines say we dont handle musicals. Does that seem to stop people sending them to us? Unfortunately no. There is so much good advice out there for writers now, not least on this site and your YouTube tips, on how to approach agents, how to prepare your material and what not to send that if a writer ignores all this information it doesnt encourage an agent to respond in the positive.

How can a new writer get your attention in a good way?

Follow the guidelines I mention, and these are available in free form in libraries, on the web etc. Get as much advice before approaching myself or another agent about the genre youre writing for and see if, for instance, the length is right. If you are writing a commercial novel for todays market and your book is only 35,000 words, its not long enough. If youre writing an authoritative book on, say, the mating habits of the American eagle, research your subject. Tell me why you are the person to write this book and what else is on the market that would be competition but why this book would be better. A new author doesnt have to be an expert in the publishing world but if they are interested in becoming a published author then some homework wouldnt go amiss.

How can a signed writer stay in your radar without driving you insane?

Im pleased to say that because our list is so small, we dont have a problem staying in touch with our clients. The beauty of email is that a short note saying hello can be replied to with an equally short note. Email is also great for helping to be in touch around the world quicker, cheaper and easier than in the past; our clients are spread around the world; they currently live in the USA, Britain, Ireland, Japan and France and we have no problems being in constant touch.

What do you wish more writers understood about you as an agent Brie that they don’t seem to?

Although being a small agency has many benefits it also of course means that we dont have the manpower to deal with the level of submissions that some of the larger agencies do. For instance a writers group in Arizona recently recommended us to their attendees and we received two hundred emails over four days. In that instance we just had to do a mass rejection as we couldnt deal with each proposal individually. As an agent, I am dependent on writers for my livelihood and I love nothing more than finding a new writer and working with them to build their career. That takes time and dedication and doesnt happen overnight. It also means reading a great deal of material and that also takes time.

What are your submission guidelines?

Our basic guidelines are available in all the good trade directories and on many of the good writers sites, but for our more detailed guidelines please visit: www.burkemanandclarke.com

This article is courtesy of http://www.gumbowriters.com

Article Source:

Brie Burkeman – Agent