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Slate flooring is becoming a popular option for use in the home. It is a hard wearing and durable product and is suitable for areas that experience more than their fair share of wear and tear. Colors that look the best for your slate flooring project include the Peacock, the Rusty and the California Gold.

You will need to put a little more time and effort into maintaining slate flooring as opposed to a porcelain or ceramic tile product. The unique appearance of slate flooring is sometimes worth the time and effort to own.

Because slate flooring is a natural stone, you should avoid using one pallet at a time, you should use pallets from all boxes at once. This will ensure that the pallets will blend well with each other when all pallets are installed. You can even use slate flooring outdoors as long as you set it on a solid subfloor with mortar. You should not install slate tiles on sand and you shouldnt use slate tiles for pavers.

As long as the slate flooring is installed on a proper sub-floor, your slate flooring should be highly resistant to any kind of damage. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the surface where you want to install your slate flooring, it is best to consult a professional before you attempt any installation procedures.

When you receive your shipment of slate flooring, it will not be unusual for 2%-3% of the tiles to be chipped or broken. You can have breakage of up to 10% that is considered acceptable by most manufacturers. If you find an inordinate amount of breakage on your order, be sure to take pictures and report it to the manufacturer as soon as possible.

Using slate flooring for your home improvement project is certainly an option you should consider. If you have any questions, you can search online and you are sure to find an answer to anything you may ask. You can search various sites to find the right deal for your budget and have your slate flooring delivered to your home in no time. If you still have any doubts, you can find a site that will offer you a sample free or for a small fee that will usually be subtracted from your order.

For more information about Slate Flooring? feel free to visit us at: http://www.aboutflooring.net/

You love the look of real wood and have always dreamed of owning a home with beautiful wood floors. But, is hardwood the best choice for you? Have you considered a very attractive alternative laminate wood flooring?

Laminate wood flooring is much less expensive than hardwood flooring, it's very durable, and it comes in almost endless colors and patterns. Laminate flooring can fool the most finicky of friends. Your friends may very well compliment you on your beautiful wood floors! You'll have to decide whether or not to confess that your floors are laminate.

Most often, friends will be very curious about your laminate floor and its installation. They will be impressed when they find out just how easy it is to install a laminate floor -- and that you did it yourself!

Here are five simple steps to follow when installing your new laminate floor:

1. Prepare the Sub Floor

Since laminate flooring is a "floating" floor your preparations will be minimal. The "sub floor" is the floor you are installing the laminate flooring on. You can install laminate flooring over tile, vinyl, concrete, natural stone, etc. The main point to ensure is that the floor is level and flat. Make sure that you remove any old carpet nails or lumps of glue that are inch high or higher. Any holes that are larger than three inches should be filled in. Be sure to clean the sub floor -- remove debris, dirt, dust, etc before beginning your project.

2. Determine the Amount of Flooring Needed

Measure the length and width of the room where the new floor will be installed. Multiply the width times the length to get the square footage of the room.

For example, a room that is 12 ft wide and 14 ft long would be 168 square feet. To simplify, round off the number to 170 square feet. If the brand of laminate flooring you are using comes in planks in a box of approximately 17 square feet, you will need about 10 boxes of flooring. You will need to add 5-10% more flooring due to waste when the boards are cut or for the few mistakes that may occur as you are learning. To be sure you will have enough, and extra is always better than running out, you need to buy about 20 boxes of laminate flooring for the 12 ft by 14 ft room.

Don't forget to buy the under layment - a 1/8 inch thick cushioned plastic that goes under the laminate and works as a moisture barrier and a sound barrier. The under layment comes in rolls about three feet wide by about 150 feet long. You will need the same number of square feet of flooring and under layment.

3. Determine Which Direction to Lay the Floor

Generally, you will want to lay the floor planks parallel to the light that enters the room.

4. Start Laying Your New Laminate Floor

Roll out the under layment across the length of the room in the direction you will be laying your floor. Cut the under layment to fit all the way across the floor with an overlap of about an inch on each end.

Lay out a row of planks to determine how many will fit. Beginning in the corner, lay the first plank on top of the under layment. Place inch spacers between the plank and the wall on the end and sides of the plank. Make sure that the under layment comes up higher along the wall than the laminate plank. Lay the second plank along the short side of the first plank and snap them together. Continue this until you can no longer place a whole plank on the floor.

At this point, you will need to measure how long of a plank you will need to fill the remaining spot. Using an electric handsaw, you can easily cut the plank. Snap that piece into place and your first row is completed.

Use the cut piece as the first plank in the second row. On this row and continuing rows, you will snap the plank onto the long side of the previous row. The subsequent planks will be snapped into place on the long side of the previous row but than also must be snapped into the short side of the new row. You will need to use a hammer and a special block to gently move the new plank into position. Continue this process until all rows are complete.

5. Finish the Edges

Now all you need is to finish the edges. Add baseboards or round trim to the edges of the room to create a finished look. Also, install door jams to separate your new laminate flooring from other types of flooring.

At this point, your floor should look fabulous. Congratulate yourself on a job well done. Replace your furniture and invite a few friends over to enjoy your new floor with you. Chances are you will receive many compliments.

Don't choose your new laminate wood floor, or any other flooring, without taking a few miniutes to find out what's available and what will fit your lifestyle and budget the best. Learn more tips for making home improvements and learn more about laminate wood flooring.

Mortgage lenders are allowed to make there own application processes, so sometimes if not done with a formal written document, and with the use of employees and other loan officers or brokers, it can be unclear on whether or not the applicant is simply an inquiry or an applicant.

When the loan process begins with a potential applicant asking for the mortgage lender's qualifications, which may include loan amount, interest rates, loan to value ratio and debt to income ratio, it is considered just an inquiry. However, it is how the mortgage lender responds that qualifies the person as an inquiry or applicant, not what the applicant says or asks for. Meaning, the mortgage lender calls the shot when it comes to whether or not the information is just an inquiry or actual application.

For example, if a mortgage lender verbally disqualifies a potential borrower on legitimate underwriting basis, then the lender is treating the inquiry as an application. If enough information has been collected by the lender to qualify a loan, regardless if it is done through written documentation, and a denial has been communicated to the applicant, then it is considered an application. This is true regardless of the amount of information that has been collected, whether or not any fees have been paid, the lender's application process, if the prospective applicant has identified a loan amount, or whether the communication is verbal or written.

A mortgage lender can treat an inquiry as an inquiry if the information given is general, such as loan terms, the maximum amount that could be borrowed under various loan programs, and of course explaining the loan process that the prospect must follow in order to submit a mortgage application. If however, after this initial meeting occurs, and the mortgage lender has an opportunity to review the inquirers information and decides not to approve the inquirer and notifies him or her of this decision, the inquiry just became an application, and the mortgage lender is responsible for paper work to address this denied application.

An example of this would be if in the process of reviewing the inquirers information and the mortgage lender finds out about a pre-qualification aspect that is not met, such as not having a certain credit score or bankruptcy, and the mortgage lender does not approve this information, then this case has been treated as an application.

Another example of distinguishing an inquiry from an application is if the mortgage lender communicates with the potential borrower that his or her qualifications do not fall within the mortgage lender's guidelines, but offers compensating factors that might get the application approved, this is still an inquiry.

However, if the mortgage lender does not give positive compensating factors and the applicant is left with the impression that the lender would not approve the loan, then the inquiry would have turned into a denied application. The denial does not have to be explicit in nature and can be conveyed in any sort of communication that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that an application would be or has been denied.

If a prospective applicant is urged to continue, then the mortgage lender must further define what will be taking place or constitutes as an application. The mortgage lender can decide the qualifying factor for an application. For example, the lender may want the applicant to show a written contract to purchase a certain property and file a formal application with the lender to be reviewed, and then accepted or denied. Because it can be somewhat unclear in what is an inquiry and application, if you are unsure in the response you get, go ahead and ask the lender. If they do deny at any point in the process, whether it be beginning or end, they just give you a valid reason why. This reason why must be legitimate, meaning it is based only on your financial history and current information, and not on such factor as age, race, ethnicity etc.

Always speak directly and honestly with the mortgage lender or his or her staff, and understand all terms of a mortgage before you do apply. Also, pay attention to how they speak with you, and whether or not they turn your inquiry into an application by making decisions on the spot. If you have any discrepancies or questions, get clear by asking for clarification. Never make any decisions unless it is based on your own free will and on accurate, verified information.

John R Blakefield is a mortgage and real estate specialist. For more information, articles, news, tools and valuable resources on home mortgages or investment loans, refinancing, debt solutions, visit this site: http://www.scourtheweb.com/mortgage/

The Alaskan Malamute might be a very poor choice for an apartment. They are large, intelligent dogs that need room to exercise and they can shed profusely. She is an Arctic sled dog, bred for power, big muscles, deep chest and vigor. She has a thick, coarse coat, of course, and a wooly undercoat. They come in various coat colors, ranging from light grey through black, sable and even a red tint. The tail is carried over the back of the animal.

The Malamute does not like warm climates due to its heavy fur that was designed to withstand extremes in cold. Shaving this dog so it tolerates heat has the opposite effect because of the way dogs cool themselves. They are very friendly but not suitable for an apartment as they shed heavily, are large and need exercise. Fencing this dog in will help in the exercise area, as long as the climate is cool. They will seriously dig so if you fence, some of the fence needs to be buried to keep them in. Also, if you have a nice landscaped yard, you had a nice landscaped yard.

*Are Malamutes good with children? They are good with older children. They are a large breed so younger children may get hurt by them accidentally. They love people. Never leave young children alone with a dog for any length of time without adult supervision.

*Temperament. The Alaskan Malamute is friendly, affectionate, loyal, devoted, playful and not a one man dog.

*Approximate Adult Size. Males run about 25 inches at the highest point of their shoulders and can weigh 85 pounds. Females run about 23 inches to the top of their shoulders and weigh in at about 75 pounds.

*Special Health Considerations. The Malamute may be subject to hip dysplasia, cataracts, inherited polyneuropathy and progressive retinal atrophy.

*Grooming. They shed quite a bit of fur. Brushing several times a week is good and baths should be rare. Their coat generally does not smell.

*Life Span. They live between 12 to 15 years with proper nutrition and care.

*History. The Malamute is a Nordic dog that originally came from the Wolf. Its name comes from the Mahlemut tribe of upper western Alaska, who used Malamutes for transportation. These dogs have been very valuable as freight and work dogs through the ages. They were especially prized during the Alaskan gold rush of 1896. They even helped Admiral Richard Byrd reach the South Pole. DNA testing reveals that they are one of the oldest breeds of dogs.

*SPECIAL GOOD POINTS
They hardly bark.
Very friendly.
Generally like everyone, including outsiders.
They keep themselves clean.

*SPECIAL NEGATIVE POINTS
Can be predatory against small animals.
They hardly bark.
Poor watch dog.
May be aggressive towards other dogs.
May attempt to dominate his owner.
Gets bored. Needs mental stimulation.
May howl like a wolf.
May ignore commands.
May dig when bored, or to escape an enclosure.
Can be difficult to housebreak.
Sheds like crazy.

Mitch Endick is a short article writer for the popular pet site: http://www.petpages.com He provides informative advice on all pets including dogs, puppies, cats, fish, reptiles, birds, ferrets, rabbits, mice and even pet bugs. Petpages.com also has an extensive pet classified ads section.

As a young child, fishing and camping were normal weekend events in our family. Camping always kept my full attention. Boating, swimming, and late night campfires with the ones you love were the most memorable experiences that I had. Fishing was never a high interest of mine at that time.

Now that I am older with children of my own, I have a different outlook on many different things. A friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to go on a fishing trip with the guys. The trip was at Lake Erie and I had never been there. All of my fishing trips consisted of rivers, reservoirs, and small man-made lakes. I met my friend and we continued to the nearest bait store for our fishing license and of course, bait.

What I did not expect was,.. I was about to have the ultimate fishing experience of my lifetime along with getting in touch with my inner spirituality. The experience was one in which I will never forget for the rest of my entire life. I stepped onto the boat and felt anxious to get out onto the water. Once the boat was out and moving through the channel, anxiety was still going through my body. Then, there it was. The wide open, beautiful Lake Erie. As the boat began to get up to a high speed, the feeling that I had just being on this huge body of water was indescribable. I felt a calmness run over me. The wind running through my hair and the smell of the outdoors over a body of water had made the Indian in me feel the spiritual sensation.

As the boat came to it's destination, all the fishing poles were set out. The boat began trolling. The whole entire party on the boat had caught fish after fish. Walleyes, perch, and bass. The boat stayed out for ten hours. The whole time that I was out there with the sun just beaming down on my body, I felt like nothing else in the world existed at that time. There were no worries, crime, work, children, or anything else that goes on in our everyday lives. It was simply breathtaking.