How to Install a Mixer Shower
Written by Screwfix
Mixer Showers are not as complicated to install as it may look like. However, you must have a solid understanding and knowledge of how they work before you proceed to a DIY project.
There are several types of showers that are installed in a property so make sure you know how to work it. A mixer shower takes in cold and hot water feeds from your boiler system then mixes both feeds in a chamber that is within the shower unit. It then enables you to control the temperature and the rate of flow through dials and levers. It applies the same principle in your kitchen as well.
General Installation Guidelines
First of all, when you go to a DIY Store, buy a tap head and a mixer tap. Installing shower fittings and bathroom showers differ greatly depending on the particular product at hand. Every product is made differently and its best advised to follow the manufacturer’s instructions which come with the product. Hence the instructions below are not intended to be used as detailed fitting directions:
1. Heating System for the Mixer:
If you have a heating system installed in your property, you can rely on it for heating the water. However, when you purchase the shower mixer valve, make sure it is suitable for the particular heating system. Most central heating systems in properties can also heat up the water but not always; for instance, you may have an immersion heater and electric radiators for providing hot water. The common types of hot water systems are:
Standard vented cylinder, which features low pressure collected cold water and low pressure collected hot water
Combination boiler, which does not store hot water or cold water
Unvented cylinder, which features mains/high pressure cold water and mains/high pressure stored warm water
2. Water Pressure:
In order to get your home shower mixer to work, make sure you have water pressure of at least 0.1 bars. If the pressure is not up to 0.1, you will need to use a pump to get the flow working.
3. Thermostatic or Manual Mixer:
Although manual showers are relatively cheaper and simple to use, they involve a high risk of scalding. Compared to that, a digital thermostatic mixer allows flexibility and you can adjust the right temperatures accordingly. Therefore, if the budget allows, get the thermostatic one.
4. Distances and the Height
According to Grohe recommendations, if the body height is about 1.8 metres, the shower mixer should be approximately 1.262 metres. Accordingly, the head showers should be 2.373 metres.
5. Mounting
Although there are different designs available but chiefly they fall into two categories: surface and recessed mounted showers.
Recessed shower valves are used on hollow walls. The advantage is that the valve body and the supply pipes can be accommodated behind the wall, hence giving a neat appearance. These are ideally used in small cubicles. Surface mounted valves enable the valve to be visible, where the pipework is installed right on the surface.
Company Profile:
Screwfix is the UK's largest direct and online supplier of trade tools, accessories and hardware products. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, we despatch tens of thousands of parcels every week for next day and weekend delivery to tradesmen, handymen and serious DIY enthusiasts all over the UK.
To view the full range of mixer showers from Screwfix customers can visit our website.
Bad Weather: Insurance Pain
Written by Chris Spann / Moneysupermarket
As you might have noticed if you’ve looked out of your window at any point over the last couple of days, you’ll probably have noticed that the weather has been less than clement as of late. We’ve had floods, we’ve had snow, we’ve had winds and we’ve had hail; and none of these things or any good for that pile of bricks and tiles that you call home. So, question is, what can you do to protect your home from the cold?
Outdoor Taps
Anything that stays outside (for example garden hoses) should be completely disconnected to avoid freezing and splitting, and if at all possible all outdoor taps should be shut off at an indoor valve if at all feasible (and possible!) This can stop outside taps from freezing solid and breaking, leaving you with a tap that won’t stop pouring once the weather improves.
In the Attic
Get up into your attic and get some insulation on those pipes up there: - You don’t want to have to deal with the results of a burst pipe in the attic, believe me. Whether you choose something as simple as insulation sleeve or as hi-tech as thermostat controlled heat cables, just get something down before you turn your storage space into a giant aquarium.
Find and Fix Drafts
You know that external door with the slightly wonky seal? Well it could be time to get that sorted. Not only will drafts and the like simply lead to you pouring money down the drain in terms of heating bills, but you also run the risk of the cold freezing and damaging pipes in places like behind the units in your kitchen, and other colder, unheated places.
Know Where Your Stopcock Is
Simple one, this: Make sure you know exactly where to go to shut off the main supply to your home. Knowing where to go in the event of a leak can save you a huge home insurance claim for items like ruined carpets. The quicker you can stem a flow to your property, the safer you are.
Colors, libido and other body functions
How do you choose your wall colors? Or what color do you want your sofa to be? How do you make that decision?
I had a friend back in high school who painted his room orange. He had read from some magazine that scientific experiments showed that orange increased the libido of geese by seven percent, and he thought that for some reason it would be a smart move to follow the example. I don't know what the effect was on him - he was a young man, not a goose. And normally teenage boys really don't need any boost for their libido.
Color can also be used as a healing method, suggested some ancient Chinese therapists. This practice was known as chromotherapy and here's something about this treatment:
-Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.
-Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.
-Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.
-Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.
-Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.
More from here: http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm
An orange bedroom in Singapore. The Normal Room member who posted it wrote that it's his old bachelor's pad (wink wink nudge nudge).
Themed Home Theaters
Written by James Helliwell
Many families have looked into building home theaters as a great way to provide the ultimate television and movie watching experience for the family and for when guests come over. Move theater style seats, huge projection screens or televisions, and top of the line sound systems are all purchased in an attempt to get a great home theater. However, for people who want to go above and beyond in their home theater, there are themed home theaters. Themed home theaters are a great way for people to really set their home theater above the rest, and provide a truly impressive home theater experience.
There are several ways to go about creating a themed home theater. First, you must decide on a theme. There are many potential themes available. When selecting one, consider who you'll be sharing your home theater seating with, and what type of things will be viewed most. For example, if you typically use your home theater for sporting events and have your friends over to watch the game, consider having a sports themed home theater. You could deck out the entire room including the seats with logos from your favorite team or teams, so the entire room is a complete dedication and representation that you're a huge fan. This is a great way to truly enjoy a game, as you're surrounded with support for your favorite team. Another option is to make the home theater resemble a sporting venue. For example, you could paint the walls in murals to resemble a baseball field or football stadium. You could also arrange for custom theater seats to be more like seats at a sporting event. This would really enhance the experience of watching a game, as it would seem like you're actually at the event.
If your home theater is typically going to be used by your kids and their friends, you'll likely want a theme aimed at younger children. Consider having characters from their favorite movie or TV show all over the room. Another option is to have several characters from different shows. This helps the kids feel like they're completely surrounded by the show or movie, with characters and items from movies surrounding them.
You can also do a theme that's completely unrelated to movies or television, but that helps enhance the home theater experience in general. For example, having a beach or tropical theme can be a great way to help your home theater "take you away". The walls could be painted to look like a beach, and decorations could be beach themed to add to the room. This way, no matter what you happen to be watching, you'll always feel like you're on vacation. If you don't like the beach, you can do the same thing with a mountain view, a forest, or any other type of location that you enjoy and would like to spend more time in.
No matter what theme you decide on, you can be sure that having a theme is a great way to make your home theater even better, and set it apart from everyone else's. Having a themed home theater ensures that you will truly enjoy your entertainment experience, and every time you use your home theater, it will be absolutely incredible.
Fresh water and poo shouldn’t mix
I went to the local aquarium the other day. Among the fishes and corals they had a big tank with a toilet seat standing in the middle, big dull looking fishes swimming around it. A sign next to the tank said that the capacity of the tank was 30 000 litres, equal to the amout of water a two-person household uses every year flushing toilet. People are using fresh water to dispose human waste. That's a a lot, especially in this world of climate change and warming temperatures. Soon fresh water will be a scarcity - it already is in some areas.
A long time ago a solution was posted on Normal Room. The image showed a combined toilet/sink. The water used in washing hands went straight to the toilet's water container, and was then used to flush the toilet. Excellent - no problem flushing the turdies with dirty water! The photo was posted from Japan, so I assume that it's a japanese invention. That naturally doesn't surprise anyone, I believe. That kinda combination is also a great way to save precious space in bathrooms.
A toilet seat in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Interior design (or no-design) is the new rock’n'roll?
I believe it was Johnny Rotten who once said that the purpose of rock'n'roll is to deepen the generation gap. It's not like it use to be anymore. Rock'n'roll doesn't shock anyone. Middle aged people don't even get shocked by death metal, or violent gangsta rap. The ones who are now in their sixties grew up with the Stones and Led Zeppelin. They've seen it all, the holy trinity of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. There's nothing so disturbing that could be used as a tool to voice generations frustration and anger. Except one thing - actual filth and dirt. Even though todays parents in their youth have spent their friday evenings hanging out in sleezy clubs listening to noise and thumping and consuming all kinds of illegal and legal products, they still want to keep their homes nice and tidy. A home needs to be in order. But look at the photo below. This decoration definitely is repulsive to the older ones! This is today's punk and grunge and whatever. Pure rebellion. You over 40, admit it, you don't want this to be your home? Just an idea of it makes you feel sick, Just like Johnny Rotten screaming ”God save the Queen, she ain't no human being” made your parents feel ill.
A living room!
Bed quotes, part 2
What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.
- Bob Dylan
I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
It's no treat being in bed with me.
- Howard Stern
A sold-out house my first night back. Do you have any idea what kinda pressure that is? I could have been at home in my warm bed, playing Nintendo.
- Richard Pryor
I was changing a light bulb over Groucho Marx's bed, so I took my shoes off, got on his bed and changed the bulb. When I got off the bed he said: 'That's the best acting you've ever done.'
- Elliot Gould
Sometimes, an afternoon spent in bed with someone can be the most important thing in the universe.
- Malcolm Wilson
If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.
- Anita Roddick
Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone. It's very charming. It's very sweet. It's what the whole world should do.
- Michael Jackson
Thank God we're living in a country where the sky's the limit, the stores are open late and you can shop in bed thanks to television.
- Joan Rivers
No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it.
- Grace Slick
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A master bedroom in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, USA
Santa Barbara style
I didn't know that even Santa Barbara has it's own distinctive decorative style. The place is of course famous for every wine enthusiast because of it's good quality wine production and large valleys with never ending rows of grape trees. I think the movie "Sideways" made the place famous for the rest of the world.
But referring to an article in Remodelista, Santa Barbara also has it's own design look which at least can be seen in local kitchens. That unique style means lots of pots and pans, bottles and glasses and an overhelming use of color beige.
Link to the article on Remodelista
The Normal Room -picture below is from user kerouac featuring an insider look to a fridge situated in Buellton (in the heart of the wine making valleys near Santa Barbara). Does this look like a fridge Miles (Paul Giamatti) could have?
Good Night Sleep
Good night sleep is precious. You miss it only after you've lost it.
Here's info by familydoctor.org staff on how to sleep well:
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, even if you didn't get enough sleep. This will help train your body to sleep at night.
- Develop a bedtime routine. Do the same thing every night before going to sleep. For example, take a warm bath and then read for 10 minutes every night before going to bed. Soon you'll connect these activities with sleeping, and doing them will help make you sleepy.
- Use the bedroom only for sleeping or having sex. Don't eat, talk on the phone or watch TV while you're in bed.
- Make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark. If noise is a problem, use a fan to mask the noise or use ear plugs. If you must sleep during the day, hang dark blinds over the windows or wear an eye mask.
- If you're still awake after trying to fall asleep for 30 minutes, get up and go to another room. Sit quietly for about 20 minutes before going back to bed. Do this as many times as you need to until you can fall asleep.
A bedroom in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Get a flower – be happy
People are filling their homes and gardens with flowers, all kinds of flowers - yellow and red, tulips, roses and whatever. Flowers are even brought to hosts as gifts by polite and thoughtful guests. A lot of examples of houses with flowers can be found in Normal Room gallery..
I don't know much about flowers, so it often makes me wonder what is it in bringing fauna inside the house. My opinion is that they don't look great in vases, they are just a poor attempt to move the beauty of nature somewhere where it can be controlled.
But maybe all this is just subconscious action? Maybe people who decorate their homes and gardens with colourful flowers do that because there's some psychological benefit in it? Maybe colour and nature help people to relax, or to concentrate better?
And actually this is the case. I just found a study that was published few years ago that confirms this. The study was done by Rutgers, the state University of New Jersey. According to the research presence of flowers trigger happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and has an effect on social behaviour in a very positive manner.
"What's most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way," said the lead researcher of the study Professor of Psychology at Rutgers Jeannette Haviland-Jones.
The link between flowers and life satisfaction was explored by investigating participants' behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers during ten monts. The results show that flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. Flowers also have a long-term positive effect on peoples' moods and they induce intimate connections - if people are surrounded by flowers they want contact their loved ones.
Academic paper can be read here -
http://www.aboutflowers.com/images/stories/HealthBenefits/ep03104132.pdf
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A lobby in Sao Paolo, Brazil.