Photo: Kristof Bellens (Shutterstock)

Outdated tiles are a glaring eyesore that nobody wants. Maybe the tile hasn’t been changed since the 70s, or maybe it just isn’t your style. Sure, it is possible to reposition your home yourself, but not without extensive research and loads of accessories and equipment – including a wet saw for cutting tiles. This whole process can be overwhelming for a new do-it-yourselfer. You could also pay a professional to rip out and replace your old tile, but of course that comes at a price. But there is another option: freshen up the old with a simple coat of paint.

How to prepare old tiles for painting

In the best case scenario, your current tile is in perfect condition – it’s just out of date and needs to be reworked. In this case, no real preparation is required other than a good scrubbing. If you have nicks or scratches in the tile, you will need to fill, polish, and clean the tile. Such a job requires a spatula and some caulking.

Before filling the holes, make sure the tile is thoroughly cleaned and free of dirt, grime, or debris. Next, wipe the tile dry with a microfiber cloth. Once the tile is completely dry, take your putty and smooth it out in the cracks and holes. At the same time, wipe off the excess so that the tile surface is even. After the caulking dries, use a sander and sand the tiles so they are smooth.

Instructions for priming and painting tiles

After the tile cracks have been filled, smoothed and cleaned, you are ready to paint. There are two types of paint that adhere to hard surfaces. Latex or epoxy paint are best for painting concrete, bricks, and tiles. Latex paint is a less toxic option, but it is easily prone to wear and tear, especially in areas with lots of water (e.g. bathroom or kitchen splashbacks). Epoxy paint is available in a limited range of colors, but it can withstand moisture and moisture, making it a more durable option for your bathroom tile and floor. The Epoxy paint fumes are quite harshHowever, make sure you have adequate ventilation before you begin.

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Before applying any paint, you need to apply a primer. The primer is a special mixture that helps the paint adhere to surfaces. Once the primer has dried, you’ll need to use a basecoat. The basecoat is the first coat of epoxy (or latex) of your choice. Some brands of colors offer a combination of primer and basecoat to minimize time and effort.

After the base coat dries, you’ll want to apply a top coat. The Top coat acts as a sealant for longer lasting paint color and durability. This is particularly important for tiles in high-traffic areas of the home, such as B. Toilets and bathrooms. Paint company Rustoleum recommends applying the topcoat at least six hours after the basecoat so that it is completely dry before rolling up the next coat. Let the paint dry for about 24 hours and then enjoy your newly updated space.

Photo: Claire Lower

It’s hot outside … or at least it was. I can’t keep track of things. I’ll catch up with you: this week has done bad things to my brain. Starting the week at a scorching 115 and ending it at 75 broke me in a unique way. I never liked being hot, but now I fear the heat – but at least my garden made it.

That kind of heat – the unprecedented, scorching, alien heat of 115 degrees – isn’t the kind of heat that makes you have beach chair cocktails, but now that the “normal” heat is back, I think we are can start again. I originally wanted to start this long weekend with strawberry daiquiris shaken with homemade hood strawberry jam, but I’m out of rum so we’re using cachaça, which is sometimes called “Brazilian rum”, so checkmate, bar wagon!

And yes, I know I’ve written about a lot Jam cocktail, but this one is worth highlighting. The jam is sweet and has an intense strawberry flavor at the same time, and the cachaça makes it interesting – and all you have to do is shake it and strain it. Jam also tends to add a “breakfast vibe” to any drink it touches, so you can start drinking much earlier and not feel weird about it. To make this light pink cachaça cooler you will need:

• 2 ounces cachaça
• 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam
• 1 ounce lime juice

Combine everything in the shaker with ice and shake until the shaker gets too cold to hold. Strain through a fine sieve into a coupe glass and stir the jam in the sieve with a spoon so that it does not clog. Drink in the sun while you’re still getting on well with the thing, or sip in the shade or indoors or in a cool basement.

Photo: Podushko Alexander (Shutterstock)

Why can you do 250 pounds on the leg press at your usual gym but only 200 pounds when you go somewhere else in town? You didn’t suddenly get weaker, and contrary to popular myth, it’s not because the gym was lying to flatter you. Machines are just different.

Machine design is important

Let’s take the leg press as an example, as almost every gym has one. This is the machine that you have some sort of seat and platform for your feet on. You push with your legs to either move the platform while the seat stays in place, or vice versa.

There are many different ways to build this type of machine. Some are vertical, with your feet just above your hips. Some are horizontal. For some, the seat slides up a ramp, pulling weights on a stack. Each of these is a completely different machine, and it should come as no surprise that the one with a slope and weight stack is calibrated differently than the one where your feet are over you and you load weight plates on it.

Think back to Elementary school physics for a minute. When a machine has a lever arm, like a shoulder press, the length of the arm changes the degree of mechanical advantage (or disadvantage) you have in lifting the weight. The number of pulleys and cables in a cable machine can also change the force required to move the weight stack. When weights move on an angled path, the steepness of the angle affects how easily the weights move.

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And even when you compare two apparently identical machines, there can be subtle differences. One might be better lubricated than the other so that its parts can slide more easily. They cannot be exactly the same either; Perhaps the manufacturer moved a pulley to a different location between the 2018 and 2019 models. You have the idea.

By the way, machines are not to be equated with dumbbells. Just because you can squeeze X pounds on your legs doesn’t mean you can put a barbell on your back and do the same amount of squats.

So are the numbers meaningless?

Not at all. Only the numbers matter on this machine. If one of the plates in the stack says 50 and the next plate below it says 55, then you know that you are stronger if you can repeat the 55 than if you could just do the pin at 50.

When visiting a new gym, go by feel. If you could do eight reps on the 55 pin at your old gym, find a weight that could do eight reps on the new machine. It doesn’t matter what number is on that weight or how much the stack of weights would weigh if you could pull it out of the machine and place it on a scale.

Think of it like game currency: you wouldn’t waste time Googling how many Monopoly Dollars are equal to how many are equal Robuxbecause there is no reason for either of them to ever measure each other meaningfully. Everyone is useful in their own world and nowhere else.

So yeah, be sure to put these numbers in yours Training diary. They help you track your progress. But don’t expect them to be the same on another machine across town.

Photo: Aleksey Boyko (Shutterstock)

Every July 4th, when fireworks explode in the night sky, millions of dogs run for cover or bark and howl in confusion at the sounds that attack their delicate dog ears. Fireworks are terrifying and confusing for dogs who don’t know that the cacophony outside is celebrating “freedom” and is not threatening their hearth or home.

Since your dog is just a helpless bystander here, do him a great service by preparing him for the trauma of the fireworks season. There are many methods you can consider to manage your stress levels – from equip them with a weighted “thunder shirt” to put them on anti-anxiety medication– but the simplest one could be some form of exposure therapy.

In the days (and weeks if you have the time) before Fourth, make it a point to make a loud, explosive movie when it gets dark. As your dog gets used to hearing cinematic explosions (or some other similarly bombastic soundtrack, such as YouTube video of a fireworks show) before chaos ensues, hopefully they will get through the vacation without mistaking the noise for the collapse of civilization.

Why are dogs so afraid of fireworks?

Your dog is not a hypochondriac. Just as their sense of smell is not like yours, their hearing is far superior – and more sensitive. Dogs can hear decibels so high that humans cannot hear them, and sounds that are so quiet that humans cannot hear them. It makes sense that super loud noises with no visible source would scare them as a result – but that doesn’t fully explain why dogs are so triggered by a fireworks explosion.

A variety of them are more likely to help make your dog shiver when the festivities begin. “It can be the smell; it can be the noise and the flashes of light, ”veterinarian Judy Morgan said the American Kenel Club. Some dogs may have traumatic associations with loud noises in general. Smithsonian magazine details How a dog might learn to associate the loud noises of a construction crew with abandonment:

For example, if a construction worker hammered on the wall in a neighboring apartment while a puppy was home alone, that puppy might associate beating with abandonment – without its owner knowing about it.

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Still, dogs are generally afraid of the tumult of fireworks, regardless of their particular life experience. One Study from 2019 found 52% of the surveyed dog owners stated that their pet was affected by fireworks noise, with “almost a third of the dogs being given the highest possible severity”.

The range of behaviors for dogs that panic during fireworks is wide, but they are all bad. Jennifer Green, Veterinary Director, Camden University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Australia, said Phys.Org What behaviors a dog owner might expect from a frightened puppy on July 4th or even during a severe thunderstorm:

These include panting, up and down, moaning, drooling, hiding and destroying things around the house. They are often so scared that they try to escape. Many dogs go missing in storms or fireworks.

Taking steps to prepare your pup for the trauma to come can go a long way in calming his or her nerves.

So play a loud movie or white noise before the show

You can get your dog used to the racquet outside by making a smaller racquet in your house. Indeed, one option is to find a noisy movie – perhaps one with lots of special effects and explosions – that plays regularly before the celebratory explosives detonate. The aim is to desensitize your dog to the noise outside and reassure him that he has nothing to fear – or to confuse him so that he cannot distinguish between the outside noise and what is coming from your television. You can also combine the loud soundtrack with one of your dog’s favorite treats to create a pleasant association.

Jenn Stanley, a canine behavioral consultant, explained how to do this with the American Kennel Club:

The volume should be low enough for your dog to hear it, but not showing any signs of stress such as wheezing, walking back and forth, leaving the area, or trying to hide. We call this keeping the dog “under the threshold” and it enables learning. If the dog is overwhelmed, it will try to escape the situation and will not be nearly as capable of learning that it is not a threat.

Remember, the goal is to normalize the sound of fireworks to the point where your dog will find the pops and bangs harmless. Which will pay off as the fireworks season usually goes well beyond July 4th.