Blog Archives - Page 22 of 27 - Aluplex Glass and Skylights

Turn Your Porch into a Sukkah with Operable Kosher Skylights

September 30, 2019 By Ezra Vogel

The holiday of Sukkot is an exciting time for observant Jews. After all, who doesn’t want to get together with family and celebrate? The thing about Sukkot is that it means building your Sukkah. Aluplex makes building your Sukkah easier than ever. Read on to see how operable skylights can help make building a kosher Sukkah easier.

What is Sukkot?

For those who aren’t aware, Sukkot is a Jewish holiday. During the holiday, observant Jews put together a Sukkah. A Sukkah is an enclosure made of natural materials. It’s meant to represent the kind of fragile dwelling the Israelites dwelt in during their 40 years of desert traveling. During Sukkot, Jews will eat, and sometimes sleep, in their Sukkah. The Sukkah must be taken down and rebuilt each year.

Operable Sukkah Skylights

Aluplex has a fantastic solution for building your yearly Sukkah. Instead of having to build an entire structure from scratch, we’ve come up with a kosher alternative. By adding an enclosed porch to your home, this alternative becomes possible. All you have to do is have our kosher Sukkah skylights installed in the roof of your porch.

Build On Top

When it comes time for Sukkot, you can simply open up the skylights and build your sh’chach over top of the uncovered porch. These kosher skylights can be opened manually or pneumatically, since observant Jews are not permitted to operate electric switches during Sukkot and Shabbat.

Once the skylights are opened, you are free to build your sh’chach however you like. Your porch will then become your Sukkah, allowing you to eat and sleep in a somewhat more comfortable environment while remaining kosher.

Post Sukkot

One Sukkot is over, your sh’chach can be removed and the skylights can be closed. Your porch is then returned to normal and can be used however you like throughout the rest of the year. You can keep plants inside where they won’t be harmed by the harsh, Canadian winter. Maybe even a porch swing would go nicely inside. With the wonderful addition of skylights, your porch will be full of sunshine year round. These skylights are a worthy investment for any observant Jew.

If you’re interested in buying some of Aluplex’s kosher skylights, we’re only a call away. Contact us to learn more about our skylights and what other products we have to offer that may aid in the construction of your enclosed porch. We’re more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Repair Your Doors and Windows to Save Money

September 8, 2019 By Ezra Vogel

Fiber Glass double door with two sidelights

Do you have any doors or windows in your house that could use some help? People underestimate just how much money is wasted by aging or broken doors and windows. That’s why Aluplex is here to replace and repair your doors and windows to save you money.

Winter Savings

Not only are drafty doors and windows a bother in winter due to the breeze they let in, they also cost you money. For all of the cold air that leaks in during winter, your heater has to do extra work. And, for all of that extra work, your electric bill gets bigger.

Replacing or repairing drafty windows and doors means your heater is more effective. Without the heater having to turn on as often, you save money on your electric bill. The upgrade or repair pays for itself!

Summer Savings

Don’t settle for saving only in winter. Ensuring your doors and windows seal properly also saves you money in the hot months. During the summer, air conditioning runs to keep your home cool. Instead of cold air leaking in, this time it’s leaking out. If all of the cold air from your air conditioner is leaking out, it’s going to have to turn on more frequently. Just the same as the electric demand of the heater, your AC will raise your electric bill. By getting your windows and doors back in working order, your electric bill will lower.

Resale Value

It’s not just the temperature in your home that’s affected by your doors and windows. Did you know that having effective doors and windows are a huge selling point? If you have any plans to sell your house in the near future, you should have the doors and windows repaired or replaced.

People are willing to pay significantly less for a home that has damage to the doors and windows. That’s because it’s not only a waste of money to make up for the temperature changes, it’s a security risk. Your door is only as strong as the frame it’s in.

Avoid Break-Ins

An indirect way of saving money with window and door repair is by avoiding break-ins. You’ll certainly save money by keeping burglars out of your home. Did you know that when someone breaks a door in, it’s not the lock that breaks? Kicking a door in is actually done by breaking the door frame. The lock on the door, whether it’s a slider or a deadbolt, is not the target here. An intruder is aiming to put enough force against the lock that the lock actually breaks through the weak, wooden frame.

Ensure the safety of your home and repair your doors and windows. You want your home to maintain secure and safe by making exterior entries their best. The same goes for windows. If a window is old or the frame is weak, it’s even easier to break in. Do yourself a favor and give us a call at Aluplex. We’re looking forward to keeping you and your wallet safe from outdated entries.

How Skylights Help Protect the Environment

September 8, 2019 By Ezra Vogel

A skylight might seem like a luxury addition to a home or a superfluous choice for a commercial building. The truth is, skylights are more than that. Not only do they add a lot to any building’s design, they also help protect the environment. How can they help protect the environment? It’s simple. Let’s take a look!

Electrical Use

While electricity has the potential to be produced from a clean energy source, current production methods affect the environment. Power plants are often powered by fossil fuels which produce a lot of carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide causes things to heat up, affecting the climate in a negative way.

What does all of this have to do with skylights? Well, when a building uses a lot of electricity to light itself up, it can make an impact on the environment. That’s because it’s using power from a power plant that creates carbon dioxide. With houses, one or two doesn’t make a huge difference. But, how about when a whole neighborhood does?

Skylights Are Green

No, not green like the color. Skylights are green as in, they help the environment. When a building installs a skylight above a main room, it can make electric lights unnecessary. For that space. One kitchen’s overhead light might not seem like much. However, the massive amount of houses in Canada mean there are a lot more than one.

Adjusting

What happens fairly often is that people become accustomed to electric light and stop relying on natural light. The thing is, if you open up your curtains or blinds in a room, it’s usually light enough. Unless you have really small windows or a room that doesn’t allow much light flow, natural light can fill a space. This is even more true when using skylights, as the light comes in from above and floods a room.

The tricky thing is adjusting. Some people will turn on electric lights even when the window is open. But does it really make a noticeable difference? The truth is, the light being turned on doesn’t often make the room any brighter, it just changes the color of the light to something warmer. Even if it does make a small difference, it’s actually possible to let your eyes adjust. Try not using so much electric light and getting used to a slightly dimmer room. You may find that after a few days you aren’t having any trouble with it anymore. Your eyes just needed time to get used to their new normal.

Commercial Skylights

Now, getting a huge number of people to suddenly spring for skylights isn’t super likely. It’s hard to get that many individuals on board with a big change. That’s why commercial buildings that opt for skylights are so important. These buildings are run by one person with the power to make a large impact.

Commercial buildings use up a lot of energy lighting up large spaces. Public places like malls save money and help the environment by opting to light large spaces with skylights. So, next time you see a big skylight overhead, remember that it’s more than just a pretty design choice!

If you want to do your part in protecting the environment, contact us with any of your order inquiries!

4 Ways to Make Your Home Stand Out in Your Neighbourhood

August 6, 2019 By adminAPX

The first impression of a home is like the first impression of a person – what you initially see and feel will dictate your reaction. If the front yard is cluttered with toys and the grass looks like a jungle, it doesn’t give off a good impression. However, if you walk up to a house that has a well-kept lawn and nothing that you have to step over, you’ll have a better feeling.

The same goes for the inside of your home too. If you want your home to stand out amongst the rest, there are small changes, or more drastic ones if you prefer, that can make a significant difference.

Here are four ways that you can make your home stand out in your neighbourhood.

Add Lots of Windows

Windows add a whole new element to a home, no matter what size it is. Inside, windows allow the natural sunlight to illuminate the entire house. On the outside, it adds a unique feature, especially if you use different windows that other people use.

Skylights are another way to make your house pop. Although you don’t always see them from the road, when you’re inside, though, they add a unique feature to the room.

Paint Your Front Door

If you drove down a street that had the exact same house side-by-side, but one had a door painted a vibrant colour compared to the other, chances are your eyes would go towards the house with the vibrant door. Giving your front door a pop of colour can really draw in people.

Have fun with colour options for the front door. However, stay within the same colour pallet of your home. You want your home to stand out in a good way.

Hang Decorative Art

Not only does art give you and your guests something to talk about, but it can also add a new feeling to the room. Think of a time that you went to someone’s house, whether it be a friend or when you were house-hunting, and you saw artwork that grabbed your attention. If you really like it, you likely think about it often.

An easy way to make your home memorable and stand out is to add decorative art. It could be paintings on the wall, sculptures, or even accent pillows on the couch.

Plant Trees

Another way to make your house pop is to plant trees in the front and backyard. Trees serve a real-life purpose, but they also can make your home stand out compared to the ones beside it.

To step it up a notch, add trees that have a pop of colour, especially when the leaves turn in fall. Take a drive around town to see the yards with trees and how they stand out amongst everything else.

Whether you’re looking to sell your home or redecorate, use the list above to help you add elements that will make your house stand out in your neighbourhood.

5 Home Improvements to Add Value to Your Home

August 6, 2019 By adminAPX

Buying a house is an investment that typically increases in value over time. In some circumstances, there isn’t much more you can do to the property to add more value. However, in many situations, even the simplest improvement can drastically change the value of your property.

If you’re planning to sell your home or are looking to spruce things up at the moment, we have five renovations that you can do to increase the value of your home.

Replace and Update the Windows

If you want to add a bit of value to your home, replacing your windows is a sure way to do it. You don’t want just any windows, however. Energy-efficient windows are the way to go. People are always looking for ways to save on their utility bills, and energy-efficient windows allow you to keep the warm air in during winter, and the cold air in during summer.

If you don’t have one already, consider installing a skylight as well. Skylights add a different source of natural light and are another way to allow the fresh air inside.

Update Your Kitchen

For most families, the kitchen is the heart of their home. It’s where everyone congregates after a long day, where you entertain the majority of your guests, and the most obvious reason, where you cook and sometimes eat your meals.

Updating the kitchen can go two ways – either it can significantly increase the value of your home, in which you recoup most of your costs, or you could invest too much that doesn’t match the rest of your home and never get that money back. As you remodel your kitchen, keep in mind the style of the rest of your home.

Change a Room

It’s easy to think that you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars, expanding the square footage of your home to increase the value. However, simply converting an existing room into something different can help. If you haven’t finished your basement, complete that task and turn it into a second living room or a recreational room for kids. You could even turn the attic into a craft room or a new office space.

Before doing any drastic changes to your home, consider reinventing certain rooms that don’t get used very often. You’d be surprised the ideas you can come up with, and how much it affects the value of your home.

Finish Simple Upgrades

Although you may not want to do them and can easily say that the new owners can take care of them, but if you want to recoup as much of your investment as possible, finish any simple upgrades around the house. Adding things like a fresh coat of paint, replacing broken tiles or splinted trim, or even fixing plumbing problems, are upgrades that can help you out with the value of your home.

Upgrades to Avoid

Not all updates will add value to your home, no matter how much you enjoy them. Adding in pools, installing crazy expensive appliances and turning your kitchen into a gourmet restaurant, won’t help you in the long run.

If you want to add more value to your house, think of practical improvements that will help the house.

5 Ways to Keep Your Home Cool During Summer

July 2, 2019 By adminAPX

In Canada, even though we’re known for our cold winters with lots of snow, we still can get sweltering summers. When the sun beats down, and the house warms up, your first instinct is likely to turn up the AC to cool everything down. You’ll know that method works when you stop sweating, and when you get your next power bill in the mail.

Turning up the AC will rack up your electrical bill really quickly. If you don’t want to pay more but prefer not to sweat when you’re sitting in your home, then it’s time to look for different ways to cool your house in the summer. Try one of the following five ideas below.

Close the Blinds

If the sun is shining into your home, it’s going to warm it up. It’s nice to let the sunshine in throughout the day and enjoy the benefits from it. However, when it’s above 30 degrees outside in the middle of the afternoon, that sun will sure warm up your house.

Close the blinds to block out the sun and subsequently its heat. Especially for windows that face the sun in the afternoon, keeping the blinds closed will help prevent how much heat enters your home. Blackout curtains will work the best.

Use a Fan

Sometimes all we need is to circulate the sitting air around our house. Instead of relying on the AC to do that, have a fan. If you work from home and find the afternoons unbearable, a little fan on your desk will blow enough air in your direction to cool you off.

Want more than circulation? Using this trick can turn your fan into a mini air conditioner. Put a bowl of ice in front of the fan, so it blows the coolness towards you.

Open Windows in the Evening

As the sun sets so too (typically) does the temperature. When this happens, it’s the perfect time to open any windows and skylights you have in your home to let in fresh, cool air. On days that are colder than normal, you can do the same thing. Plus, not only will it cool your home, you get to enjoy the benefits of fresh air in your home.

Turn Your Ceiling Fan Counter-Clockwise

Did you know the direction of your ceiling fan can change the feeling of the air? When you turn it counter-clockwise and put it at high speed, the airflow turns into a wind-like breeze that will cool the room below. So, if you have a ceiling fan, keep it and crank it up in the summer.

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated isn’t just essential for your health, but it can also help keep you relatively cool. Drinking icy-cold drinks can help keep your temperature at a tolerable level. Just like you would grab a hot cup of hot chocolate on a frigidly cold day, grab that cool glass of water (add some fruit to infuse it for an extra taste) to cool you down.

If you’re trying to save money and conserve energy, turning up the AC in the summer should be your last resort. Try using these hacks first to keep yourself and your house cool when the sun is at its hottest.