My cat needs a house.

I love my cat and because I love him so much, he is very spoiled. One day, I found out that he is sleeping at the top of our refrigerator. Of course, I found it very inappropriate. Though I take him to bath everyday but I believe that he has lots of germs as well.

The next day, I decided to build him his own house where he could sleep. I don’t have him to stay at the ref all the time because it is not a good idea (aside from the infestation of his feathers that would cause germs to scatter).

As a result, I don’t have anything to do but to take pictures of him. This now explains.

Repairing Flat Roofs

Roofs that are flat or nearly flat usually are built up with as many as five alternating layers of roofing felt and hot tar or asphalt, fastened to the wood sheathing. This built-up roofing is often topped with a protective covering of gravel, pebbles or marble chips, or with a final layer of mineral-surfaces roll roofing; the light-colored stones or minerals help reflect the sun’s rays from the dark, heat-absorbent surface.

A built-up roof should last from 10 to 20 years, before the sun’s heat dries out the tar or asphalt and cracks develop over the entire surface. You can extend its life considerably by coating it with an asphalt-aluminum roof paint that shows the drying process and forms a stronger and more reflective surface.

When the roof does eventually fail, do not try to replace it yourself- that job calls for special equipment and the expertise of a professional roofer. But you can and should repair minor damages. Inspect the roof at least once a year for blisters, cracks, tears and storm damage. Blisters, which indicate the underlying layers of from the wood sheathing, should be treated immediately before they break open and admit rain water.

As you treat a blister, examine its interior. If it is dry, the blister is probably caused by poorly adhering or dried-out asphalt cement, and a simple patch can be an adequate repair. Interior moisture is a design that water has leaked into the roofing and seeped along the sheathing to a point underneath the blister. Locate the point of leakage – possibly in losses flashings at adjoining walls or around chimneys and vent pipes. It a substantial amount of water has penetrated the roofing, causing a large section to buckle or blister, cut out and patch the entire area.

Insulating a Finished Attic

Insulating a finished attic is no more complicated than working in an unfinished one, except for getting to the places you must insulate. You will have to cut out passageways in the ceiling and side –or knee – walls.

Once you have gained access thought the knee walls to the outer unfinished attic floor, you insulate for unfinished attic floors. Batts also are installed behind knee walls and on top of the level ceiling. Batts cannot be used for the sloping sections of ceilings because roofing nails are likely to rip them. Instead, throw loose fill into this space from above the flat ceiling. This can only be done after installing the batts behind the knee wall so the tops of the batts will keep the loose fill from falling behind the knee wall. If your attic space is too small to maneuver in, blow in loose fill.

A well insulated attic room.

Batts should be installed in all the outer attic space you can get to: above the flat attic ceiling, behind the low knee walls, and between the joists of the attic floor beyond the knee walls. Then loose fill can be dropped down the hard-to-reach sloped ceiling. Unless you left passageways to the outer attic when you finished the room, cut access panels on the ceiling and knee walls.

Where to insulate a house?

Houses come in infinitude of shapes and sizes, but all of them incorporate some of the elements of the dwelling at right. The overall rule in insulating a house is simple: insulation should be present at any surface separating living spaces form unheated areas, since that is where heat loss occurs – and also where the sun’s heat can make unwelcome entry in the summer. All exterior walls should be insulated, not neglecting any wall of a split-level house that rises above an adjacent roof. Any wall between a heated room and unheated area such as a garage, utility room or open porch also demands insulation, as do floors separating living spaces from such unheated areas. And do not overlook the overhanging portion of a room cantilevered out from the rest of the house.

If the house has unheated cellar or crawl space, the floors above must be insulated. In the case of a finished basement, the below-ground walls require insulation. Similarly, the floor of an unheated attic calls for insulation, whereas finished room in a heated attic must have an insulated ceiling and knee walls as well as production for the ceilings and walls of all dormers.

The Dos and Don’ts in Roofing Work

Working on a pitched roof is potentially dangerous, if you fear heights or if your roof is steeply pitched, the job is best left to a professional. But you can make repairs safely by taking these common-sense precautions.

Never work in wet, windy or cold weather. Roofing materials can become dangerously slippery when wet, and asphalt shingles are brittle when cold, crumbling underfoot.

Wear sneakers or shoes that have slip-resistant soels, and choose loose-fitting clothes so that you can move about freely.

Use an access ladder that extends above the eave so that you need never step over the top of the ladder. Keep your hips between the rails as you climb, and never lean over the side of the ladder to work on the roof.

Enlist a helper to steady the ladder as you climb and to feed you tools and materials once you are up there.

On a steep roof, use a roofing ladder with wood or metal brackets that hook over the roof ridge. These ladders not only provide secure hand and footholds, but distribute your weight over the shingles. On brittle roofing materials such as slate, tile or asbestos use a “chicken ladder”, a 1-by-12-inch board with 1-by-2-inch horizontal wood cleats.

Installing Sweeps

I do these two main things when installing sweeps. First, you have to cup sweep to door width and screw it across the bottom edge on the outdoor side so it fits snugly against the threshold when the door is shut, yet allows the door to open and close smoothly. Most sweeps have slots, so positioning is easily adjusted. Second, you have to adjust the width of the sweep to the thickness of your door by slipping the movable piece into the appropriate groove on the channel base. Cut the sweep to the width of the door. The swing the door open and slide the sweep under the bottom of the door. Close the door, let the sweep drop against the threshold, then drive the attachment screws in their slots partway. Adjust positioning initial the sweep drop is snug, but not so tight that the door will not work smoothly. Tighten the screws.

With these two simple steps in installing sweeps, I make it sure that my house will be protected against leaks.

Using a caulking gun

Hold the gun at a 45 degree angle to the surface and squeeze the trigger with a steady pressure. Keep the gun slightly slanted in the direction your are moving and draw it along slowly so that the sealant not only fills the crack but also overlaps the edges.

To get a smooth bead, fill a single seam in one stroke if you can. Pressure inside the cartridge will keep pushing out the sealant after you release the trigger; to avoid getting a lumpy bead, where several strokes and continue to move the gun as you slowly squeeze the trigger for the next stroke. When you want to stop the flow of sealant altogether, disengage the trigger by turning the plunger so that the teeth point upward and then pull the rod back an inch or so.