Tips For Building a Deck

Deck Out Your Backyard This Season

With winter finally over and the weather becoming nicer with each day, Canadians like to get outside and make the most of the sunshine.  If you’re lucky enough to have a home with a yard, you may be considering building a deck this season.  Here are a few tips for building a deck, and some things to consider for the project:

1. Plan first, then build.

Decide exactly what style of deck you want to install and make sure it’s going to work for your space. How many levels will it have, are you going to install a gazebo, hot tub, pergola, where do you want the stairs to be, etc.

Planning the project first helps prevent potential mistakes or problems down the road. Ask a professional for their opinion on your plan. Doing this every day, they know what works and doesn’t and can offer ideas you may not have thought about.  Also, make sure to find out if you need a building permit in your area before you start construction to avoid potential fines / having to remove what you built.

2. Cedar or Pressure treated

Pressure treated is substantially cheaper than cedar but doesn’t last as long or look quite as nice.  If you go pressure treated, let the wood completely dry for at least a few months before applying a stain or water repellant.

Tip: if you want the look of cedar but are on a budget, try framing the deck with pressure treated wood and then capping it with cedar and using cedar deck boards.  It gives it the cedar look but with some cost savings in the areas that you won’t be able to see.

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Feature image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Lisa Berry Shortlisted for Prime Time Emmys

Canadian Actress Lisa Berry has been selected to be in the ballot nominations for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 64^th Primetime Emmy®Awards under the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or A Moviecategory. Lisa has been recognized for her role as Stella Marz in TNT’s Silent Witness where she played the part of an assistant district attorney charged with the task of taking on Tony Lord played by Actor Dermot Mulroney.
 
The Television Academy launched this year's 64th Primetime Emmyseason, posting nominations ballots on the Academy's trade website. The nominations will be announced on July 19, 2012 live from the Leonard H. Golsenson Theatre in North Hollywood, California. The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards is set to air September 23, 2012, on ABC.
 
Actress Lisa Berry will be guest starring in an upcoming episode ofShowcase and SyFy’s hit supernatural drama Haven. Playing Rica Hamilton, Lisa transforms into a wealthy, loving stay-at-home mother who is the glue of her family. However, tragedy strikes and it is up to her to keep her head up and do what is told in order to make things right, but when finding herself her true fears are revealed.
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Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Why is Hollywood intent on slaughtering fairy tales?

If you’ve been waiting for a good retake of an old fairy tale to come out of young Hollywood, Snow White and the Huntsman is probably not going to do it for you.

There’s not much to spoil about this plot, since the story is too well-known. An evil queen (Charlize Theron) usurps a kingdom by killing its king (King Magnus, which means “big,” played by Noah Huntley). Her step-daughter, the young princess (Kristen Stewart), is basically treated badly–in this instance, kept locked in a cell for a decade or so. When the girl comes of age she becomes a threat to the queen’s beauty, because that’s what’s important to queens. The queen attempts to have her assassinated. In this version, the princess escapes into the forest, and a drunk huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to kill her. The assignment doesn’t go well. Along the way they meet a group of dwarfs in the forest (none of whom, save Toby Jones, is actually smaller than average in real life), and bump into Prince Charming, who happens to be named William (Sam Claflin) in a fit of unoriginality. We’ll suspend disbelief and not point out that William’s father, Duke Hammond (Vincent Regan), must (in order to be a duke) be the king’s brother, thereby making the duke her uncle and Prince Charming her first cousin. The young princess then gathers her guts, raises an army, and overthrows the evil queen. Easy.

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Women We Love: Elle Patille ~ The Man Sphere

Sex kitten Elle Patille has gone from Playboy cover model to sharing her bed with jungle cats! She’s the traveling animal activist, helping children along the way. Beautiful but crazy, this girl won’t give up on her causes even though her life has become a circus of its own. Sexy is a dime a dozen but sexy, smart, dare devilish, courageous, bold and brave , amusing and witty, is a tough combination to come by. She's involved with every city she stumbles upon and gets right in there, from the top of active volcanoes to 2,500 ft below the sea; from meeting with mayors and former presidents to hanging with rock stars; but always leaving a mark and a remarkable difference behind. 

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Name: Elle Patille Occupation: Playboy Cover Model Education: College degree in Sign Language Stats: (how do you quantify your own awesomeness?) By the amount of smiles and lives I can change for the better. Mother Teresa said it best: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." How did you get started on your current career track?

I was introduced to modeling as a child pageant star at the age of seven, which lead me into a career of runway modeling overseas as a teen, and now Playboy and numerous other publications.

What gives you the most satisfaction as an artist?

Having my voice heard. Believe you me, I’ve got a lot to say. Lol.

If you weren't doing this, what could you see yourself doing?

Home furnishings, textiles and colors excite me more than pretty dresses and shoes so I’d have to say…. interior designer.

What are you working on right now?

Changing the stereotyping of a Playboy models. Lol. Actually, I’ve recently returned from India and Sri Lanka where I had the opportunity to spend time with orphaned children in two SOS Children’s Villages. SOS Children’s Villages is an independent, non-government social development organization, which has been active in the field of children’s needs, concerns and rights since 1949. Its activities focus on neglected and abandoned children and orphans, as well as disadvantaged families.

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