Swimming Pool Warranty Pit Falls and How to Avoid Them!

Do you want to get rid of a nasty swimming pool? Consider it done for our pool removal Sydney. When shopping for In Ground swimming pools, one important consideration is the warranty. Most folks simply ask, “What is the warranty!” They then take the sales person at their word. I say dig deeper. Don’t just ask to look at a copy, have them print a copy for you to take home. Secondly, take it home and spend a few minutes to read and think about it.

Remember, there are multiple warranties running simultaneously. You have the Equipment warranty which consists of; (Pump, Filter, Heater, Chlorinator or Salt System.) The warranty on pool equipment is backed by a manufacturer. The labor warranty is backed by the builder. Finally, the pool shell or structure warranty can be backed by the builder or a manufacturer. The pool vessel or structure is the biggest portion and expense of the project.

Let’s start with pool equipment. Almost all pool equipment is the same. If a builder spends too much time talking about pumps, it’s probably because his other products, like his pool, is lacking something. Most equipment pads come with a three year warranty, some things are extended to ten years but these items rarely need replacing. Make sure all equipment on the pad is from one manufacturer. The pump,filter,heater,chlorinator, or salt system, should be from the same manufacturer. Make sure there are proper warranty stations. Ask for a list of authorized warranty service stations. Make sure that the parts for the equipment pad are easily purchased at your local pool store, so after the warranty runs out you can purchase parts. Seals and gaskets are considered wear items and are usually not covered, so it needs to be convenient for you to get replacement parts. Never get products that can only be serviced by the builder, this will hold you hostage. That is enough about the pool equipment and as you can see there is a little more to your due diligence than just simply asking the question, what is the warranty?

When shopping in the swimming pool market there are many considerations on warranties. Fiberglass pools differ from concrete pools. With concrete pools the majority of your purchase goes to labor salaries. A very small part goes to the product. With Fiberglass, it is the opposite. The majority of your dollars goes to the product and a small amount to labor. So what does this mean? The warranty that the sales person vaguely represents is as good as the company that backs it. You can’t make a good deal with a bad guy or a bad company. Most in ground concrete/Gunite or Fiberglass swimming pool companies, even if part of a large franchise organization, are mom and pop shops. What does this mean to the future of the pool owner? It means if the warranty is backed by the builder, when the builder is gone so is your warranty. It also means if the builder is in financial trouble of having a lean year he will refuse to cover it. Read some of the complaints on some of the blogs and complaint driven web sites. You can hear the underlying tones of sorry, we just don’t have money to fix our mistakes.

Now I can hear the salesperson in the presentation, telling you they will be around forever, and it’s the best, and we will take care of you. In our current society, legally binding contracts and agreements are meaningless unless backed by some one of integrity. Think about it, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and is gone. They built the railroads and infrastructure for the United States. General Motors went bankrupt and had it not been for the bail out, it would be gone. The fact is, second generation business have a ninety percent failure rate. The Harvard Business review article says; The data support the saying, some 70% of family-owned businesses fail or are sold before the second generation gets a chance to take over. Just 10% remain active for privately held companies for the third generation to lead. In contrast to publicly owned firms, in which the average CEO tenure is six years, many family businesses have the same leaders for 20 or 25 years, and these extended tenures can increase the difficulties of coping with shifts in technology, business models, and consumer behavior. http://hbr.org/2012/01/avoid-the-traps-that-can-destroy-family-businesses/ar/1

So the truth of the matter is that most small businesses will not be around that long statistically speaking. Corporations and specifically publicly traded Corporations will be around longer based on the study quoted above and statistics. So now we have established that a publicly held Corporately backed warranty will most likely be around the longest, and be the easiest for a consumer to use. Not only does a corporations warranty have better backing, you don’t have to deal with the builders attitudes. Remember, every dollar of a builder backed warranty comes directly out of the builders pocket. It’s in the best interest of the builders pocket book not to fix the consumers issue. No, we also know long term this type of corrupt mentality will destroy the builders business in the long run. In a perfect world this would not happen. But it does happen, just research internet complaint history on some of today’s so called reputable builders. Corporate officers are usually held to a higher standard, and well educated. Corporate mentality exists for long term results as well as short term gain. They are accountable to the share holders for short term profits as well as the end user for long term growth. It’s obvious that a warranty backed by a stable, publicly traded corporation is better than individual or builder backed warranties.

Mark Naras
CEO
Aquamarine Pools of Houston, LLC
The Largest Viking Fiberglass Pool Builder in the United States

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mark_Naras/294508

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Why Keep the Oceans Clean?

We need a suitable green waste disposal services for our plants at home so that they will not go somewhere in our oceans. The relationship of the Oceans to Planet Earth is the same as Man’s lungs are to life. Just as our lungs purify our blood, the oceans absorb massive quantities of pollutants, not only from the air, but from the land as run-off from rainfall. And, just as, if Man’s lungs fail, death is imminent, so too will our Planet die if the oceans cease to perform their critical cleansing-action.

People who live far from the sea may not realize how important those great bodies of water are to their daily lives and that their garbage more often than not ends up traveling to the sea. Even the multitudes who live at the beach or visit it often, still tend to forget what an important “life-asset” the ocean is. For all of us, climate change begins with the oceans; that’s where the sun creates evaporation and generates humidity which leads to life-giving rain everywhere which eventually returns to the sea.

Wind-blown trash can travel miles on land but once it reaches the sea, tides and currents may carry it thousands of miles to the natural ocean-vortex not too far from Hawaii in the North Pacific. There, where the currents converge and swirl, the floating trash cannot escape. At present, in that location, there exists a buoyant, sub-surface “island” of non-biodegradable, consumer-waste hundreds of miles in diameter. Oceanographers call it The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to the east of Bermuda, is another vortex area of similar size − The Sargasso Sea − which is also progressively accumulating floating plastic waste. It’s estimated that combined, the Sargasso Sea and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are currently choking with more than two hundred million tons of plastic waste.

That’s 200,000,000 tons!

Even though the plastic breaks down over time and eventually becomes plankton-sized pieces, they retain their poisonous properties and inevitably make their way into the food chain from which we humans eat. Because those contaminants and poisons are ingested and absorbed by the maritime creatures, they eventually pass it back to Man. As the oceans become choked with inorganic waste and laced with polluting poisons, the food-supply derived from the sea and consumed by Man, must dwindle and eventually fail. Thousands of sea-creatures under and around both the Garbage Patch and the Sargasso Sea, incapable of distinguishing between “food” and the indigestible and poisonous bits of non-biodegradable plastic, die there every year.

In all of the oceans and seas around the world, sea-life, such as turtles, manta rays, whales, dolphins and fish of all kinds are increasingly becoming victims of plastic garbage from netting and beer six-pack carriers which strangle, Styrofoam cups and plates, super-market bags, plastic wrap and soda bottles that choke and poison.

Lung cancer in Man leads to death and those massive Trash Islands are the tumors bought on by the “ocean cancer” in our Planet. Each bottle you throw away, every little piece of trash not disposed of correctly, contributes to the planetary infirmity. We all need to become more conscious of our waste-disposal habits and take corrective action.

Reduce, Re-use and Re-cycle !

Just because most of us will never get to visit those vast and sluggish whirlpools that are the Garbage Patch and the Sargasso Sea, or may never even learn of their existence doesn’t mean that one day the problem will simply go away. For millions of years, the Oceans have done an amazing job of recycling the Earth’s bio-degradable waste, but in less than two hundred years, Man’s mindless abuse has turned the Oceans into a cesspool! The oceans cannot heal themselves against Man’s perpetual onslaught of polluting waste.

Does anyone really believe that the oceans can “absorb” garbage endlessly?

Shouldn’t such an important and valuable asset be treated with care and respect? Or, is it because it’s free and so seemingly vast, we assume it can take care of itself?

Planet Earth is in serious need of Emergency Room help!

While a large proportion of beach trash floats in on a tide, at least half of what’s collected from beaches is generated locally. And, thirty percent of the locally generated trash is exclusively cigarette butts and packets.

More than a hundred countries currently take part in a campaign to remove floating garbage from lakes, rivers and beaches and the trash collected weighs in at over 4,000 tons a month. How much more sinks to the bottom or gets buried in transit?

Close inspection of the garbage can pinpoint its country of origin. Might it be appropriate to impose fines on the greatest polluters? It would certainly help to have a mandatory “money-deposit” on all plastic containers. Even if a soda bottle only earned a two cent refund there are millions of dollars worth of them everywhere! And then there are detergent bottles, plastic buckets, shopping bags, throw-away foam cups and containers, all of which are carelessly disposed of and end up “somewhere” usually beyond the litterer’s knowledge or concern.

Is “pollution” an individual problem or a community one? Has it simply become another negative part of our modern “culture”? Must we wait for government legislation to impose fines or is this something Man can attend to personally?

Those corporations who supply their products in one-trip bottles or in throw-away packaging need to consider what those products and packaging do to the environment. Shouldn’t they assume a large share of the responsibility for the pollution problem that currently exists and continues to worsen every day?

For the rest of us, let’s dispose of our trash responsibly. Let’s help the environment by reducing our personal demand for plastic throw-aways, re-use whatever we can and re-cycle everything possible.

Reduce, Re-use and Re-cycle should be the motto everybody lives by as far as their personal trash is concerned.

Luigi Kleinsasser is a certified fitness instructor and diet counsellor specializing in weight loss and fitness programs. His concern is not just human health but the maintenance of the environment as it relates to Man’s survival on Planet Earth.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Luigi_Kleinsasser/455754

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How Much Does It Cost To Repair Car Headlights?

Whether you need to repair the car lights because of aesthetic reasons or you need better vision on the road to avoid potential hazards, one thing is for sure: Cost is often the primary concern for car owners. And, why shouldn’t it be an important factor in making a decision? If you opt for a wrong headlight bulb that is of inferior quality or choose one that doesn’t match your vehicle, your money may go to waste. This window cleaner from my car need to be clean, any idea what car cleaning products are good.

Repairing the Headlights – What is the Cost involved?

No matter the make and model of the car, headlights are an essential part of it. You may not notice them until they start to dim or burn out completely. When they fade, you will suddenly find yourself in the market for new headlights. But, before making any purchase decision, let’s understand the average cost involved in repairing the headlight.

1. Problem: One of the headlights needs Repair

If one of the headlight is working fine and other one is giving you problems, it usually means that the bulb has burned out. Bulbs have limited life. And, if you are using the car regularly for nighttime driving, the bulbs go out quickly.

Solution: Replace the Bulb to Solve the Problem

If you simply need to replace the headlight bulb, you cost can be $15 for a set of halogen replacement bulbs. If your car has HID headlights, the problem can be with the bulb, the ignitor or both. You may have to spend $100-$150 to replace both the bulb and the ignitor.

If one of the bulbs has failed, it is possible that other one will go out soon. It is best to replace both the bulbs for consistent vision on the road. Also, do not forget to consider the labor and installation cost involved. Depending on the level of complexity and the number of hours required to finish the job, your local mechanic can charge you $50 or more.

2. Problem: Both the Headlights do not work

When both the headlights do not work, it becomes difficult to drive the car at night time. It means inviting potential accidents and putting your life in danger. If the headlights do not work, you need to address the problem immediately.

Solution: Visit a Mechanic Today

In such a situation, burned out bulbs is hardly the reason for the problem. There can be multiple reasons that cause the headlights to fail. It is best to take your car to an experienced mechanic to understand the problem clearly. Find a reputed mechanic who knows your car model inside out. Usually, the inspection will cost you $50.

It is possible that the fuse is blown and it needs to be replaced. The wiring may be damaged over a period of time. It can cost you $100 per hour. The reason behind the problem may be a faulty headlight switch. Often times, if the headlight works only on high beam or low beam, the dimmer switch may have broken. The average cost of replacing the headlight switch or the dimmer switch is in the range of $150-$250.

3. Problem: Headlight is broken and Damaged

Sometimes, accidents can damage the headlight and you are left with no option but to replace the entire assembly unit. It can be a costly affair and you may need to spend a couple of hundred dollars to pay for new headlights.

Solution: Replace the Headlight Assembly

The cost of replacing the entire headlight assembly can change phenomenally depending on the make and model of the vehicle and also whether you have a sedan, pickup truck or SUV. The price of a good-quality headlight assembly can be anywhere in the range of $250-$700. And, if you have LED headlights in your car, your cost may increase even more. If you are bothered by the price, search online to find the best deals at affordable rates. But, don’t forget that opting for cheap headlight assemblies can result it terrible visibility on the road.

Most new car models have headlights that come with multiple fasteners and bolts making it complex to change the entire assembly. So, you may have to pay $150 for installation.

4. Problem: Insufficient Illumination on the Road

When the headlights are not performing to their optimum level, your visibility on the road is compromised. It is very dangerous to drive such a car at night time or during bad weather.

Solution: Upgrade the Headlights

If the issue is dirt or moisture in the headlight housing, it is easy to remove. But, if the car uses old technology, it is time for an upgrade.

You can choose new technology such as HID headlights and LED headlights over the old halogen bulbs. Go online to find high-quality, reliable HID conversion kits and LED plug and play replacement headlights to upgrade the lighting of your car. A HID conversion kit is easily available in the range of $100-$180. LED headlights may be a tad expensive but their ability to last for a very long time makes it for the price.

Changing Car Headlights: Make a Cost-Effective Decision

If you ignore the dim headlights, you are not only inviting heavy fines from the local authorities but you are also putting your safety in jeopardy. There are plenty of affordable car lighting options available in the market. Consider choosing headlights not only on the basis of price but durability as well. So, forget the dull, fuzzy yellow lights and say yes to bright vision on the road.

Choosing Your Surfing Wetsuit

Do you enjoy your surfing skills? Even if you are not an expert surfer and if you are just into your learning days than there is a lot more that you need to learn to ensure than you turn out to be an expert surfer over a period of weeks. While learning you can also use a surfing app. You would always have an added advantage of surfing if you live in a place which is very close to the sea. As a beginner you always need to have a good knowledge of the sea you are surfing in and also about your safety gadgets that can prevent any unfortunate events.

Wetsuit is one such gadget that acts as your safety guard while you are surfing the waves. Many a times you might be surfing in the cold water and that can be fun but dangerous as well because although you might enjoy the cold waves but your body might react to it differently. Wetsuit acts like a wall between your body and the cold waves and therefore it is made from neoprene which contains small nitrogen gas bubbles as nitrogen gas has very low thermal conductivity. This helps the surfer to enjoy the waves without any problems because the wetsuit keeps the surfer’s body warm and cozy although he might be surfing in cold wintry waters.

However, it is very important that you know the basics of purchasing wetsuits before you jump into the water during winter. You can read about problems that can arise due to surfing in cold waters and one of them is hypothermia where heat from your body quickly moves out. Hence, always buy a wetsuit that is perfect for you. The wetsuit should fit you like a second skin so make sure that it is not too loose or not too tight for you because in both the case the effectiveness of your wetsuit will minimize. If the wetsuit is loose around your collar than the water can quickly get close to your body and you may soon begin to lose the body heat eventually suffering from hypothermia. On the other hand, if the wetsuit is too tight than you might find it difficult to flex and move your body while surfing and might even have breathing problems. There are various sizes available for wetsuits so make sure that you try your wetsuit before you buy them from a good wetsuit and surfing gadgets store.

The quality of your wetsuit is also equally important and therefore you might have to spend a little extra if you are looking for an excellent quality wetsuit. Good quality wetsuits are normally made up of neoprene or other thin fabric like spandex and have a thickness of around 1mm to 5mm depending on the quality. The fabric should be stretchable because you will be flexing your body as when you are surfing. It is always advisable that you buy wetsuits from a good reputed store rather than purchasing it online because you should always try it before you actually go ahead and buy it.

Expanding Your Catering Business: Some Suggestions

You started to cater small parties from your restaurant just a year back. You have successfully handled them and your clients were more than happy with your service, food and competency. That is why it is high time to expand your catering business to handle bigger parties this holiday season. As with any new business, you will need to invest in some equipment before you take large orders. It includes serving dishes, plates, cutleries, etc. If you are not too keen on buying them, you can rent those that you don’t have for the initial stage of your business. Sometimes you might pay for staff working lunches with your directors to eat whilst they’re at work.

In this regard, remember that there will be many caterers in the business during this holiday season and many of them rent equipment. So make sure you book yours as soon as you get an order so that you are not left without necessary plates and spoons on the day of the event! Now if your servers had been working in your small catering events, it is time to expand their roles. Pick out the best three and train them to become team supervisors.

On the floor of your restaurant, they can also double as spokespersons when someone inquires about your catering business. Apart from regular wages, you can promise them incentives for their role. As for servers, you can hire temporary people for the events. First, you should ask them to meet you in your restaurant so that they are familiar with each other. Then you can give them the details about the event you are catering and how they should serve those attending.

As for your food, it is time to introduce some new dishes. Experiment with new entrees, appetizers, salads, desserts. See which ones are most popular and keep them on your catering menu. On this subject, try dishes that you can be partially cook on your premises the day before and complete on the day of the event. Some can be finished at the catering site so that you can present piping hot dishes. As for dining options, prepare for both sitting and buffet.

Now that you have the ball rolling to expand your catering business here are some tips to help you tell the world

First, send an email to your previous clients telling them you are now catering weddings, corporate parties, conventions and other such large events. There is a good chance that at least one of those clients will be responsible for organizing the company’s annual party or some other event and will recommend you.

Similarly, if there are regular corporate workers lunching or dining in your restaurant, don’t forget to tell them about your catering business. Most companies have annual parties for their associates, clients, staff and their families during the holiday season. Therefore, if you can get the word out, you will have a chance to get some great orders this holiday season.

Going for larger events will certainly be a big step for your catering business. However, with the right planning and organization, you can surely pull it off.