Different styles
There are many contemporary designs for a modern house, for older houses you can get reproduction fittings to suit the period, and for old country properties you can choose between period styles and reproduction antique iron fittings.

Before buying, make a note of the fittings you need. There are various extras and combinations of fittings, for example, a letter plate may incorporate a knocker and house number, but the basic items for exterior doors are: mortise knob, escutcheon, letter plate, knocker and/or bell push and house number. For an interior door you will need a mortise knob or lever handle and probably an escutcheon and finger plate. You will also need latches and locks, which you buy separately, and hinges.

You can get a whole suite of fittings in the same style, if you want a co-ordinated look throughout the house, you can match cupboard knobs, hooks, bathroom fittings and light switch plates with your door furniture. So having decided how many fittings you require, you must choose which style is most suitable.

Period
The traditional ornate patterns of door furniture – as found in Georgian, Regency and Victorian houses,for example – are now widely reproduced. Exterior doors normally have a carved knob and a knocker may be in the shape of a lion’s head, dolphin, Grecian head or urn. The fittings are usually made of cast brass, which is polished and lacquered. It retains its appearance reasonably well; but after a while the lacquer may deteriorate, especially when exposed to the weather, and will need renewing.

Other finishes are available to order, including antiqued brass, silver plate, oxidized silver, gold plate and bronze. Brass is also used for interior fittings and there are elaborate filigree patterns finished with lacquered French gilt. Classic designs are also made in porcelain, cut glass, alabaster and onyx and these are equally suitable for modern interiors.

Antiqued
If you have an old country house or cottage, you can enhance its rustic look with reproductions of traditional iron fittings. The iron is treated with a rust deterrent and is usually available in a matt black or armour bright finish. Fittings include knockers, thumb latch handles with lever latches, ring handles, pull handles, letter plates with or without knockers, bell pulls, hinges, hinges front, bolts, hat and coat hooks and gate furniture. Window fittings are also available in the same range.

Modern
Contemporary fittings are available in many materials, of which anodized aluminium is probably the most widely used for both exterior and interior doors. Aluminium fittings are generally silver coloured, other finishes include satin chrome-plate, satin nickel-plate and bronze metal-plate. Lacquered brass fittings are also made for inside and outside. Some ranges include switch and socket plates, bolts, hinges, door stops, door closers, cupboard knobs, window fittings and hat and coat hooks, enabling you to co-ordinate your fittings throughout the house.

Other materials used for interior fittings include clear Perspex, smoke brown acrylic, plastic in a wide range of colours, plain and decorated chine, and wood such as pine, beech and teak.

Simply use a shade sail to covering some outdoor area that you visit oftentimes. They could be courtyards, play grounds, areas around the pool, gardens or your house entrance ways or anything. The sail shade is a comparatively new modern type of garden sail shades that’s just lately become a part of a private garden. The sail shade comes in a variety of various shapes and sizes.It is not difficult to find it where you can buy shade sail for your home. You may browsing by internet online and you will find several sail companies which fit your needs.

Many another shade sail companies will make a product specifically for your space and also fabricated by high density polyethylene material that’s highly long-lasting, resistant to moisture, mildew and rot. A shade sail shade can be serviceable at practically no more extra costs. You can follow the instruction easily and they are comfortable to use.  You will be able to wash it down on a regular basis as you give your car a wash. They as well make great mode or style statements adding a special touch to your house.  You may consider the sail shade for your home, because this is one of the most versatile ways to enjoy the outdoors and the sun safely and comfortably.

Timber window sills
Flaking paintwork is one of the first signs of rotting wood, but even an outwardly sound paint surface can, on closer inspection, but hiding a multitude of troubles. If you suspect rot in a sill strip off the paint and cut back any rotting areas until you reach sound timber. If  the exposed timber looks grey it is suffering from surface decay, which you must skim away before repainting. When removing affected areas take out any nails or screws in the surface and plane down until you reach clean, healthy timber.

Don’t forget to check the underside of the sill as well. Dig a sharp penknife into the wood; if it goes in easily these soft parts will have to be dug out and stripped back as before.

An important part of the sill is the drip groove, a U-shaped channel running the length of the underside. This ensures a free passage for rainwater and must therefore be kept free dirt.

If you have discovered rot in its early stages you will have only small cavities to fill. This operation is carried out using a hard stopping such as an exterior wood filled or waterproof stopping.

Warning

If you use putty instead of a hard stopping, when the sill has been repainted the oil content trapped beneath the surface of paint film could cause blistering when the paint is subjected to excessive heat.

Let the stopping set according to the manufacturer’s instructions and sand smooth. Where resinous (sticky) knots are revealed apply a coat of shellac knotting and leave to dry before painting. Repaint the entire surface with primer, undercoat and top coat.

Where it has been necessary to remove a large chunk of rotten timber, to repair by filling would  not only be impractical but unsound. Here you will need to make good by cutting a new piece of timber with a panel saw to the same size as that removed. Position the new piece of timber and mark a drip groove in pencil, following the line of the existing groove. Remove and tenon saw the groove to the require depth and width, gouging out the waste timber with a narrow chisel. Glasspaper smooth for a clean finish.

Fix the new piece of timber in position with exterior adhesive and galvanized nails. Sink the nail heads below the surface with a nail punch and fill the cavities with exterior filler or waterproof stopping. Repaint as before.

The most troublesome timber is oak which, because of its open grain, tends to encourage breakdown of the paint. Here strip back to bare wood and rub fine surface filler well down into the grain with a piece of clean rag. Let it set and then smooth with glasspaper, working only with grain. Finally apply a coat of aluminium primer, then undercoat and top coats of paint.

Ideally oak is the best left in its natural state and protected by coating with boiled linseed oil or a timber preservative. So when you strip the sill decide which finish you want – natural or painted.

Making a concrete sill
In extreme cases of rotting, where the sill has to be removed completely, it is worth casting a new one of your own in concrete. This is not difficult or expensive and removes forever the possibility of rot.

Chisel out all remaining pieces of the old sill. Apply one coat of acrylic primer to the bare wood of the frame for protection and apply a second coat immediately prior to casting the sill. To reinforce the concrete, drive a row of 150mm (6in) nails, 150mm apart and a third of their length, into the timber along the bottom of the window frame.

You must then construct a shuttering box from 25mm (1in) thick timber, screwed together, into which you pour the concrete. The tops of the sides of the box should slope slightly downwards away from the wall to prevent rainwater from collecting on the sill and causing possible rotting of the window frame. To support the shuttering box crew a batten to the wall below the window frame, ensuring the screws are well anchored. Remember to make the top of the box the level you intend as the top surface of the sill, and that the inside measurements of the box will be the outside measurements of the sill.

For your drip groove, stretch a length of stout cord – sashcord is ideal – along the base of the box and through specially drilled holes in the side pieces, knotting at both ends to keep it taut.

Mixing the concrete
Using one part fine shingle, two parts clean and sharp sand and one part cement, add water gradually untill you have a buttery, rather than sloppy, consistency. Shovel the mix into the shuttering box and smooth level with the top edges of the timbers with a steel float. Allow a few days for the concrete to set thoroughly, remove the box and cord, then paint with a proprietary concrete paint.

Having the option of having the installation of Double Bathroom Vanities in your house.

Designing paths
The essence of good design is the ability to understand the potential of a feature and use it to your advantage in a variety of ways. The folly of dividing a long, narrow garden with a path down the middle should be obvious. In this case the pats is fulfilling the requirement of access at the problem and compounds it by chopping the available space into even narrower section. If you lay the path in a zig-zag fashion or from side to side of the garden, the area will be divided into more managable proportions and will allow you to give each section its own theme and make better use of the available space.

In basic terms, in a garden of average size you should have an area close to the house which has an architectural theme; this area will link the garden with the building. As you move further away from the house, the composition should be looser and softer. This arrangement will create a feeling of depth, space and movement and your paths should act as links between the different areas. In this case the path should lead eyes and feet in a predetermined direction.

Although paths should provide the type of access you require, they need not be a continuous surface. Stepping stones offer a more delicate design, while a solid path will give better access for wheelbarrows, bicycles and children’s toys.

Your path can also be used as a mowing edge to separate a lawn from softly planted border. Set the hard surface just below the level of the turf so the mower can run smoothly over; this eliminates tiresome hand-edging. If necessary you can neaten the line between path and lawn with an edging iron. A path laid in this way also prevent the mower snipping off overhanging blooms and shrub branches.

Designing drives
Drives are on a different scale to paths since they provide vehicle as well as pedestrian access; they therefore work differently in design terms since one is so much larger and heavier. There is, however, considerable overlap in the types of materials you can use for both paths and drives.

The main problem is to blend such a large and obvious feature into the overall composition of your house and garden; you will probably want a feeling of intimacy rather than that of a racetrack. In all but the largest garden, where the drive can be delightful feature winding through shrubs or even woodland, the distance between the road and house is small. This means the front garden can often only be looked upon as a way in; if you do think of it as a garden with a lawn, trees and planting, this could lead to hopeless overcomplication and an inevitable mess. It is far better to plan the drive and the associated hardstanding areas as a complete entity, link them to the house so they blend in and avoid complex planting; plants should be kept as a soft background.

The design problem with a front approach as just described is to prevent the area becoming boring. A straight drive should be at least 2 3/4m (9ft) wide – 3 3/4m (12ft) is a sensible width which allows vehicle doors to be opened without hanging a wall on one side or damaging plants on the other. This type of straight drive is attractive in financial terms; but it involves backing vehicles out into the road, which can be dangerous even in the quietest street.

Such a drive also has a tendency to incorporate a separate gate and path to the front door; this could leave you with a series of narrow strips in various material which have no design cohesion. It is far better to allow the drive to extend into the garden area, giving room for a vehicle to turn round or park, and incorporate an integrated path to the front door. In this case you could have a wide drive entrance and a wide gate such as a five-bar type, giving access to pedestrians and vehicles alike.

Choosing materials
The materials you can use for paths and drives are broadly similar; the size of the latter will probably mean cost is an important factor to consider when making your choice. To lay a path in York stone would be a reasonable proportion, but to surface a drive in this material would be prohibitively expensive. Look for a material for the drive which is hard-wearing and realistically priced; the simpler the laying operation, the more attractive the price will become. To lay a drive in brick paving involves a large amount of labour; using concrete or gravel is much easier. Concrete, gravel, tarmac, precast concrete slabs and chippings of various sizes are all relatively inexpensive and involve only minimal labour.

Concrete This is the most versatile drive surface since you can lay it in panels of various sizes and patterns. By using aggregates or brushing the surface as it dries, you can also provide a non-slip surface and give different finishes. As you lay the material, you can easily incorporate curved shapes to follow the sweep of a vehicle turning circle or to bend along the drive.

Tarmac As a material for drives, tarmac has many of the advantages of concrete; if necessary, you could lay it on top of a concrete base. However, the life of a tarmac is not indefinite and after some years it will need resurfacing. Don’t attempt to dress up plain tarmac using white or coloured chipping or overall colours; this can look garish in a domestic setting. Make sure you retain the edges to prevent the tarmac crumbling and water undermining the surface.

Gravel If concrete and tarmac are essentially for urban use, then gravel is basically for rural setting. Washed 9mm (3/8in) pea shingle is the best to use and should be laid on a base of well-prepared hoggin (a mixture of sand and gravel); hoggin acts as a binder and makes a durable and attractive surface. Avoid the problem of loose gravel being brought into the house by rolling the surface properly as it is laid; the loose gravel will then serve only as a top dressing.

Gravel is really only suitable on a relatively flat surface since on a slope it tends to fall to the lowest point. Where lawn and gravel join you can make a definite edge by positioning large stones; this will prevent vehicles damaging the grass. Paint them white so they will be clearly visible in car headlights after dark.

Paving modules These modules, or blocks, are available in natural stone, precast concrete and brick versions. The smaller the module you choose, the more expensive and time consuming the path or drive will be to lay. You could use the modules in conjunction with a background surface of gravel, tarmac or concrete; this will add visual appeal and interest to drive. If one section of the modules becomes damaged, you can easily replace it. One type is pierced so grass can grow up through it and give the impression of a lawn.