I think the answer to your question depends where you are located combined with what are the traditional building methods of the area and available skill. In my part of the world, the San Francisco Bay Area, seeing brick buildings is unusual as it can be costly to make them seismically safe. If one happens to have a real brick wall or walls, it can be nice to expose and clean it to make it a feature as it is seen infrequently. Some of the brick construction here is done as a veneer over wood framing. If detailed property it can be convincing, if not, it can just look like it is a thin veneer just pasted on another wall. Seismic concerns aside, brick construction can be seen as durable and long lasting. The thickness and weight of brick adds to that perception.

I'm a Certified installer for Trex decking. Trex Transcend is encapsulated board, with a finish that resists staining, scratches, mold and has a high definition wood grain surface. I don't know what you did to it or whoever worked on your house did something to it, but Transcend decking does not need staining or painting and the protective shell protects decking against fading. Trex Transcend and a few other Trex decking products like Trex Enhance, and Trex Select, they cannot be painted or stained. The only thing can be painted is Trex Transcend White Railings and you should only use light color paint. If you use dark colors, it will absorb heat and it will damage the surface and you can kiss your railings good bye. Also high quality fast drying primer should be used and you have to use Oil or Water based exterior paint and most importantly surface prep is the the key. When it comes to painting specialty surfaces like Trex Railings, hire a Pro to do the work. With that said, if you installed Trex yourself, you have to go to the store and have a Trex representative come out and check your deck. They will determine if loss of color fading was due because of negligence or not. If its a material defect, they will cover the material cost. If you had a Certified contractor do the work, they will cover material and labor. Call your contractor and he will get a Trex Rep to come out within a few days. Good luck

Tsilanko, I would always recommend professional installation where needed. But what I am doing here is suggesting that WHEN you are planning to build or renovate, to consider how your plans will affect you in 20 or 30 years time. Split levels are very hep when you are young. A kitchen 3 steps down at 30 is rarely a problem, but might be a hazard at 60, or, as Marjie1059 suggested, if you break a leg. ... All my parents' homes were terrible for old people. They were forced to move to a bungalow in extreme old sge because the location and design of their home was more suitable for an active young couple with a large family than for an elderly couple with stroke disabilities. I would not want to move again, so my present home has features built in that make ageing in place simpler. Mostly small changes, like grab rails, and lever handles on doors and faucets. A major disability suddenly suffered requires major changes if permanent. I did look at this because it came up in the discussion, but if you look at the heading, Planning for Disability, it means just that. Plan ahead so you don't have to make expensive changes later on. But thank you for your advice, yes, major changes are not in the DIY domain.

Selecting floor tiles requires a certain level of perfection. Floor tiles need to be durable, strong, and at the same time be visually appealing. There are many different types of floor tiles available, but the most suitable types are Porcelain, Glazed Ceramic and Vitrified tiles. Each have different features and suit a different purpose, let us compare these 3 types to know which tile suits you the most. Porcelain Tiles: Porcelain tiles are full-body ceramic tiles that is most used when it comes to floor tiles. They hold higher density and MOH’s scale rating with very low porosity. These floor tile designs have a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent. Due to their low-slip factor and water absorption rate, they are the most purchased floor tiles for bathrooms. The clay used to build these floor tiles is denser when compared to others. Advantages of Porcelain Tile: Wide range of colours, sizes, thicknesses, and finishes. Resistant to the most common acids which damage the calcium in marble Due to low porosity and high natural stain resistance, they are easy to clean. They retain their colours even after being exposed to sun, weathering or smog for longer duration. It contains no waterproofing chemicals, varnishes or resins and does not give off any gases even when exposed to flames. Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Ceramic tile is made from clay and sand. But the glazed ceramic tiles have a liquid glass coating on the surface. The liquid glass coating creates the texture, design and color of a glazed tile and protects the body of the tile from staining. Due to this extra layer, custom tile designs can be added to them. This allows the floor tiles designs to be available in multiple colours. Due to their vibrant allure, they are mostly used as floor tiles for kitchen and bathroom walls. Advantages of Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Glazed ceramic floor tiles are stain resistant due to the presence of the liquid glass coating which makes the tiles durable, less porous and strong. Similar to porcelain tiles, they also retain their original colours even after being exposed to sun and harsh weather. They are most cost effective tiles. The Ceramic tile prices can be easily fit into your budget. These floor tiles are scratch resistance, but continuous damage can render them useless. Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tile is a ceramic tile with very low porosity. They are often used outdoors due to their water and frost resistance. Vitrified tiles are manufactured through a process called vitrification which gives them their low porosity. These tiles are mass produced by machines therefore making vitrified tile prices low and easily affordable. These tiles are the most sought after floor tiles for bedroom and living room. Advantages of Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tiles are Time Savers as it takes very less time to lay these floor tiles. These tiles are pre polished during the time of production, and does not need extra time for polishing while setting the tiles on the floor. They have more strength and scratch resistance than marble or granite which are more prone to breakage. Despite their high durability and strength, they are thinner and light in weight. These tiles are non-porous due to which they are totally spill resistant and stain resistant. Now that we have known what these 3 types of tiles are suited for, now comes the important questions! What will be their price? Where can we buy them? Can we order good quality tiles online? Is this service available in Hyderabad, India? For all your questions, I have a single answer!! XFACTORY.IN It is an e-commerce platform that helps you buy all kinds of building materials online. It is a one-stop store for buying products from different categories like Cement, Steel, Paint, Tiles etc. from all top brands in the market. They have different brands of tiles like Cera, Kajaria, AGL and many more to choose from. If you are from Hyderabad and need to renovate your flooring. This is definitely the right place to check! Do tell me how did you find this discussion in the comments! Thank you for reading!!