Bakery supplies are the fundamental component of any baking business. These items are divided into several types and they can be acquired through a number of sources.
Running a bakery is arguably the best option for you if you have the passion and talent in baking. No matter what the season is, you would always have customers buying your breads, cakes, and pastries. But in order to make your bakery a success, you need to understand the factors that are necessary in starting this type of business.
One of the most important factors in establishing a bakery is the set of supplies that you need in producing your main products. The first type of bakery supplies consists of the pieces of equipment where you would mix the ingredients for your breads. These supplies include bowls, molds, pans, and baskets. Additional related pieces of equipment include rolling pins, spatulas, spoons, and other stirring instruments. Containers that have specific units of measurement are also included in this type of bakery supplies.
The next set of bakery supplies are the devices for cooking and baking the prepared ingredients. These include stoves, ovens, and toasters. The sizes of these baking devices depend on the quantity of products you plan to produce daily. In purchasing these devices, you need to take note of the power consumed by each device as well as the maximum heating capacity it can provide. Furthermore, to ensure that the breads and cakes are baked properly, it is a good idea to use devices that record and display the temperature within the aforesaid baking devices.
Another type of bakery supplies deals with the presentation and decoration of breads and cakes. These are knives and cutters, instruments for placing icing on cakes, trays where the products are placed, and small ornaments to decorate your products. This type of supplies also include the glass shelves where you would present your products.
Aside from these bakery supplies, your apparel as a baker should also be present. You need to have your baker hat, suit, apron, and a set of gloves. If you are working with several other bakers, you should make sure that they also have the necessary clothing. These supplies not only protect you from the heat, but they also ensure that your products are free from foreign objects. Plus these pieces of clothing make your work area look more professional.
Moving on, the most important bakery supplies is of course the ingredients used in the products. Common examples are dough, baking soda, and bread flour. Again the types of ingredients you would need depend on the products you want to make. Other fundamental ingredients are eggs, cream, cheese, batter, and sugar.
After you have learned about the general types of bakery supplies, you may now proceed to find their sources. Culinary stores are good establishments where you can browse through a wide array of baking equipments. These shops normally have sections that are dedicated to baking breads and cakes. Here you would find several brands of bakery supplies and personally check the features and quality of each one. With regard to baking ingredients, you can look for wholesale establishments where you can buy in bulk. Alternatively, you can search for baking equipments and apparel on the World Wide Web.
Barbecue is one of those crazy words that means different things to different folk. On one hand, fast food restaurants claim anything with BBQ sauce smeared on it is barbecue. On the other hand, hard-core backyard barbecuers (who tend to be a real particular bunch) think only a particular cut of meat with a particular sauce cooked in a particular way over a particular wood counts as barbecue. Smoking and grilling just confuse things more, are they different from barbecuing, or different types of barbeque?
Well, this article will try to clear all this up for you, describing just what exactly barbeque means. There's a bit of an argument over whether "barbecue" is a noun (a type of food) or a verb (a method of cooking). Personally, I'd argue that it is both, a cooking style AND a type of food (that, contrary to popular belief, does not necessarily include BBQ sauce). True barbeque cooking requires four things. First a barbecue almost always cooks meat (with some exception, like corn on the cob or potatoes). Second, it is generally cooked outdoors (but we'll make an exception for restaurants that build special indoor cookers). Third, meat cooked over a live fire, not in an oven or on a stove. Fourth, real, true barbecue is cooked slowly with indirect heat at a low temperature.
It's for this reason that grilling is not barbeque (and all you suburbanite grillers are free to slap me with your spatulas for saying that). In grilling, meat is cooked quickly (in minutes) over direct heat at a high temperature (5000F or over). In barbecue, meat is cooked slowly (in hours) in indirect heat at a low temperature (between 2000F and 2500F). Smoking counts as BBQ, it meets all the requirements listed above but is a specialized type that includes aromatic smoke to flavor the meat. Now, you may ask (and rightly so) how the end result of barbecue meat is different from, say, oven-roasted or pan-seared meat. The answer is that barbeque meat is extremely tender and juicy.
The low-temperature, indirect heat helps prevent the meat from drying out, keeping it juicy. The long, slow cooking time breaks down the collagen in the meat, making even the tougher cuts of meat nice and tender for easy eating. What most folks don't realize (including some hard-core barbecuers themselves) is that the marinade, ribs, bastes, and sauces of barbecue cooking are all designed toward this ultimate goal of tender and juicy meat. Marinades almost always include an acidic base ingredient, such as vinegar, lemon juice (or some other citric acid), wine, or even beer. During the long, multi-hour soak, these acids tenderize the meat by breaking down the tissue, making it more tender and allowing the meat to absorb more moisture for a juicer end product when barbecue. The rib almost always contains a healthy dose of salt, which draws the meat juices to the surface and prevents it from drying out. The basting BBQ sauces, usually applied in the later stages of cooking, frequently contain some form of sugar (brown sugar, molasses, or honey), which caramelizes around the meat from the heat and seals in the juices (olive and other oils produces the same effect).
Even the barbecue sauces (which in the United States are either tomato or vinegar based) both contain acids that continue to break down the meat, keeping it tender and moist even while being eaten. A final distinctive element of barbecue meat is a smoky flavor. Cooking over a live fire allows the meat to absorb the smoke from burning wood. Even when cooking over charcoal briquettes or gas instead of wood, the meat still gains at least a hint of that indefinable charbroil taste. Smoking, of course, is a specialized form of barbecue that purposefully tries to emphasize the smoky flavor. So that's what barbeque is, meat cooked low and slow until it's tender and juicy. Different cultures in different countries have their own homegrown barbeque tastes and traditions, but we'll describe those in the next article.
About the Author
About the author:Gert van As has specialized in Recipes for the past 8 years and offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect meal. Subscribe and get your FREE recipes at BBQ Recipes You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
1 cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup Dijon mustard ¼ cup honey 4 garlic cloves, minced 3 small shallots, minced ½ tsp kosher salt ½ tsp freshly ground pepper ¾ cup Olive Oil Two-3 ½ lbs chickens
Marinate the chicken : In a bowl, blend together the vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Put the chickens in a 2 gallon resealable Plastic Bag and pour in the marinade. Seal and turn to thoroughly coat the chickens. Refrigerate overnight, turning a few times.
Mop
½ cup dry White Wine, ½ cup apple juice Combine the wine and apple juice in a spray bottle or small bowl.
Drain the chickens. Set them on a large rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle all over with the rub, inside and out.
Set the chicken breast side up on the grill grate over the drip pan, with their cavities facing the coals. Cover and cook for 2 hours, spraying the chickens with the mop every hour. Check the thermometer to maintain a temperature of 250° to 275° F.
After 2 hours, turn the chickens 90° F, still breast side up, so their sides are facing the heat. Be careful When turning the chickens to keep the juices inside the cavities. Spray the chickens with the mop. Cover and cook for 1 hour, then turn the chickens so that their opposite sides are facing the heat. Spray again, then cover and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours longer, until a thermometer inserted in the inner thigh reads 170° F.
Transfer the chickens to a rimmed baking sheet.
Pour the cavity juices into a Serving Bowl. Let the chickens rest for 10 minutes. Cut off the whole legs and transfer them to a platter. Slice the breast meat off the bone and transfer to the platter. Add any accumulated juices to the serving bowl.
Serve the chicken with the juices and your favorite BBQ sauce.
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Barbecue Party is a leading resource that provides a regularly updated news feed, a BBQ store that stocks BBQ smokers and grills from dozens of popular manufacturers, and provides competition schedules and results, product reviews, guides and hundreds of delicious BBQ recipes, restaurant reviews and much more.
Port Isabel is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is the oldest city in South Texas. It has a long and fascinating history going back to 1519 when it was charted by Spanish adventurer Alonzo de Pineda and inhabited by pirates and Indians. Port Isabel is domicile to 3 world class museums which take Port Isabel history to life. The Port Isabel Historic Museum, the Treasures of the Gulf Museum, and the 1852 Port Isabel Lighthouse are monuments to Port Isabel rich past. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage, on the grounds of the Port Isabel lighthouse also highlights the maritime history of the Laguna Madre area.
Port Isabel offers the perfect destination for families searching for adventure and fun in the tropical wonders of the lower Texas coast. Here you will find plenty to do, lots to see and enjoy, and enough events, attractions and activities to fill a family travelogue. From surfing to kite boarding to sailing to fishing to just playing on the beach, South Padre Island and the Port Isabel offer pristine vacation opportunities that will make memories to last a lifetime.
In Port Island you will find many fantastic restaurants in various types of food from Mexican, Italian, and Oriental. If you want to buy fresh seafood and you don't want to catch your own, there are many fresh seafood restaurants too. It also features unique shops for that special gift or addition to your collection.
Among the primary magnets in Texas are the Alamo and other Spanish missions, various cultures, interesting architecture, Tex-Mex food, country-western music and dancing, theme parks, barbeque, Austin and the Hill Country, Big Bend National Park, chili, Palo Duro Canyon, cowboys, rodeos, Padre Island National Seashore, Guadalupe River tubing, Enchanted Rock, camping, the Mexican border for day trips, birding, underground caverns and rugged mountains. They are a lot of number of amazing places, aren’t they?
One of interesting places is The Port Isabel Lighthouse which is the only lighthouse open to the public on the Texas Gulf Coast. A stroll to the top rewards the hearty with a 16-mile view. Since 1853, the Point Isabel Lighthouse has overlooked the Gulf of Mexico, South Padre Island, and the surrounding region. Visitors can climb to the top for a view of the coast.
Wherever you go in Port Isabel you’re never far from Laguna Madre. This large shallow bay separates Port Isabel from South Padre Island. It has a deep blue water, always warm, and usually calm. It offers unlimited opportunities for boating, fishing, water sports, and observing birds and dolphins.
There are a million reasons to spend your next vacation in Texas' Best Kept Secret destination. Discover South Padre Island, Port Isabel, and the Lower Laguna Madre region and experience paradise in your own backyard. It’s not fulsomeness if we say that Port Isabel is the secret for your travel.
The temperature has been rising since the Fourth of July. The hot months of summer are upon us. The summer season offers blue sky and plenty of opportunities to play outdoors: in the park, on the beach, or in our own backyard. On the other hand, the hot weather should also play a role in our decison on the gifts we send to our friends and loved ones for their birthdays, anniversary, or other celebrations during the dog days of summer. Gifts such as chocolates that are great during other seasons are not recommended for shipping during summer. There is no guarantee that the chocolates will not melt even with added ice and heat protectant in packaging. So instead of sending a gift of the recipient's favorite food, it may be better to send a gift based on the favorite activities of the recipient. This article provides some summer gift ideas in accordance with the activities that the recipients enjoy.
summer is busy and enjoyable time for gardeners. They are busy caring for and maintaining their garden in full bloom. For the avid gardener in your life, you can send a gardening gift. Inside the basket are gardening tools, cloth gardening gloves for hand protection, foam kneepad for planting, packets of seeds, watering can, ice tea mix, and gourmet snacks. Some may even contain a wooden birdhouse, a ceramic decorative plaque, or a book of wisdom for the gardener. Some gardening gifts have their contents filled in a tote instead of a basket, such that the gardener can carry all her tools in the tote while working in the garden. The gardening gift will be a most welcomed gift for your mom, wife, sister, or other female recipient who are avid gardeners.
Summer is time for picnic in the park, sitting on the green grass, listening to the birds, and watching the kids play. Picnic basket filled with all the fine food one will need for picnic in the park would make a great gift. One such basket contains smoked salmon, summer sausage, wheat wafer, veggie dip, cheese spread with Cheese Knife, breadsticks, and short bread cookies. Your recipients will appreciate your great taste when this gift arrives.
Summer is also time for barbeque by the pool, in the park, or in the backyard. Barbeque gift baskets are popular summer gifts, especially for men. Men are usually proud masters of the grill. Send a bbq gift basket filled with barbeque utensils, sauce and seasonings, gourmet treats, and BBQ recipe cards. Give him the opportunity to show off his mastery of the grill, and share the fun with the family.
Summer is time for outdoor activities such as golfing, fishing, motor cycling, camping, and hiking. There are gifts especially designed for these activities. For example, for the golfer in your life, you can send a golf gift filled with treats for the golf course and treats to eat. One of these gifts is filled with golf-theme treats including golf tees, birdie pack, greens keeper turf kit, golfers fortune cookies, golf ball magnet, golf coffee mug, summer sausage, hot pepper cheese and other snacks. Your recipient will be delighted with this special golf-theme gift, both on and off the course. Golf gifts for lady golfers are also available. For the fisherman in your life, you can send a fishing gift box with a built-in compartment organizer and see-through lid. Inside the box are items that can really be used for a fishing trip, including a safety key chain with compass, whistle, and flashlight, multi-function stainless steel pocket knife, fishing floats/bobbers, and fishing lures. Some gourmet snacks are tucked inside the box for the avid fisherman to enjoy. If your recipient enjoy these outdoor activities, you may want to consider selecting these gifts.
Summer is time for the man of the house to work on projects such as outdoor Painting, and other maintenance chores. If you want the to do list to be completed sooner, it will help to send him a men at work gift box along with yourto do list. Inside the paint bucket are packed with pistachios, jelly beans, cheese dips, cookies, along with a gift card from a home improvement company.
Lastly, summer is the time for vacatons. If you are invited to stay in your friend's house for a vacation, don't forget to send a thank you gift to the host family afterwards. It makes good etiquette to send a thank you gift to show your appreciation of their thoughtfulness. Some of these thank you gift basket have thank you imprinted on ribbon and on boxes of treats. They will sure receive your message of appreciation clearly.
In summary, summer is time to enjoy favorite outdoor activities such as gardening, picnic, barbeque, golfing, fishing, camping and hiking. There are gifts with special theme on these activities. Send summer gifts accordingto your recipient's favorite activity, and share the fun.
Kate S. is the CEO of Gift Basket for All, LLC. You can visit her site, http://www.giftbasketforall.com, for gourmet gift basket, anniversary, new baby, birthday, corporate, get well gifts.
Playa Del Carmen Homes In Villas Tranquilidad – Top Luxury Choice
Mexico Homes are among the most ideal choices for Americans and Canadians looking for a beachfront lifestyle, and among these, Playa del Carmen Homes are offer some clear advantages for buyers looking for luxury. At the north end of Playa del Carmen, a new high-end, gated community, called "El Cielo" is currently under development. The community includes a hotel and tourist area directly on the beachfront, and, a very short walk back, across what will a future extension of Playa del Carmen's famous Fifth Avenue, you can find one of Playa del Carmen's, if not Mexico's, top choices for beachfront homes; Villas Tranquilidad.
Villas Tranquilidad is development of 6 luxury villas, which, in addition to their own qualities, enjoy all the benefits of "El Cielo." The 6 villas include a modern design, with features included for comfort and convenience. Each of the 6 homes has a private yard, and the 6 share a beautifully designed common area, with a pool and a "palapa" – a hut-like structure perfect for a barbeque on a warm, sunny afternoon, or just to sit down and relax with some friends over a few drinks. Lifestyle in Villas Tranquilidad is defined by three ideas; modern, comfortable, and relaxing.
El Cielo itself is designed to add to this atmosphere. Especially planned to integrate the area's natural traits into the community, home owners can enjoy the community with a nice afternoon walk, or a bike ride on the extensive bike trails.
The community is also within a short drive of Playa del Carmen. The future extension of Fifth Avenue directly to El Cielo will bring the atmosphere of one of world's favorite beachfront towns right to residents' doorsteps.
In this part of Playa del Carmen, there are plans for further high-end home developments – in "El Cielo" and in neighboring communities and a beachfront golf course, making this a growing community with real neighborhood atmosphere, and plenty of activities to do nearby. In addition to lifestyle, the area includes easy access to excellent shopping, and high-quality, modern hospitals.
TOPMexicoRealEstate NETWORK; Mexico's Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely
About the Author
Mexico Real Estate NETWORK; "Mexico's Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely!" Region: Playa del Carmen Real Estate by Thomas Lloyd graduated from Purdue University Krannert School of Management with a degree in Management/Financial Option Investments. He has been living, investing, and working professionally in Mexico for over 15 years. A Mexican Certified Realtor he is the current president of TOPmexicorealestate, you can contact him at (512) 879-6546.
Free Barbecue Tips – Ten of the Best Tips for your Garden Barbecue
These free barbecue tips are designed to help you enjoy your forthcoming garden barbecues during the warmer months, and will help to improve both the safety and the quality of your garden barbecue with very little effort.
1) Oiling the grill.
Prior to cooking, spray or brush on some vegetable oil onto the grill surface, avoiding adding too much. This will reduce the chances of your food sticking to the grill resulting in exposed flesh, and tough food.
2) Aluminium foil BBQ tray.
Use kitchen aluminium foil, doubled over, to line the base of your barbecue. Turn up the edges of the "tray" 2-3 inches, and then cook on your barbecue grill as usual. During cooking, the juices and fat drippings will collect with the rest of the residues from cooking and be easy to remove afterwards. This will help to reduce the time it takes to clean up your garden barbecue afterwards.
3) Barbecue sauces.
If you are basting your food during cooking with a barbecue sauce, make sure that you do not place the meat too close to the heat too early on during cooking. If you do, it will result in charring and bitter tasting food.
Adding BBQ sauce early on does nothing for the flavour, instead, add a little sauce to food during the end of cooking, around 5-10 minutes before serving so that the sauce sticks to the meat properly and provide a tasty coating.
4) Barbecue marinades.
Marinades improve the flavour and texture of all barbecue food, so use them often. Preparing for a barbecue the following day using a few minutes of your time in the evening will result in more succulent food with additional taste. Marinades take a few minutes to prepare, and when finished, you can cover the marinaded food in cling-film and place in the fridge overnight for excellent results.
5) Cooking small pieces of meat.
If possible, cook smaller pieces of meat indirectly, and if not, cook on a low heat around the edges of the grill while you cook the larger pieces in the centre of the grill where the heat is higher.
If smaller pieces of meat, such as chicken wings and sausages are cooked before a whole chicken, or beef brisket, remove them from the grill, wrap tightly in kitchen foil, and place in the bottom of the oven on 120f until you are ready to serve.
6) Cooking large pieces of meat.
When cooking larger pieces of meat, apply a seasoning, known as a barbecue rub, prior to cooking. This will enhance the flavour greatly at the end. If time allows, cook the meat for an extended period of time, using a much lower temperature than may be used normally. Ensure that meat is cooked properly at the end by using a temperature probe.
Chicken is cooked through at 165f, steaks and chops at 165f and ham at 160f. Using a barbecue thermometer to test your cooked meat is both a sensible safety precaution and is a great investment for the kitchen as well.
7) Make a dry rub or barbecue seasoning
To maximise the flavour from barbecue food, you can use a "dry rub", also known as a seasoning on the meat prior to cooking. Dry rubs can consist of as little as salt and ground black pepper, to much more flavoursome varieties that include dry spices such as ginger, cinnamon, garlic, thyme, sage, paprika, ground cumin and many others.
Try experimenting with dry seasoning's, and remember that a little goes a long way. If you have any seasoning left over afterwards, seal it in an airtight container and store in a dry, cool place for several weeks.
Use Barbeque wood chips.
If your barbecue grill has a lid, or cover of some sort, consider using BBQ wood chips, remembering to prepare them properly before use. Moisten the wood chips before use by placing a handful or two according to the manufacturers instructions, into a bowl of water, allowing them to soak for at least half an hour before use in your BBQ smoker or garden barbecue.
Avoid placing unprepared wood chips directly onto charcoal or near a direct heat source as they will burn quickly and release a bitter tasting smoke that could ruin your food.
9) Eating healthily.
Avoid drinking milk during the course of a barbecue as this slows down digestion of food. Instead try drinking other beverages that complement the food you are cooking, such as imported lagers and ales, white and rose wines, spritzers and fruit cordials for younger guests.
Ensure that excess fat has been trimmed away from all meats before cooking, and once cooked, food may be gently patted down with Kitchen Towel to remove any excess surface fats before serving. The food will look more appetising and result in healthy BBQ food at the same time.
10) Safety first.
Ensuring your friends and families safety at a garden barbecue is paramount, and a few basic precautions will go a long way if an accident should occur. Always have a bucket of water near the grill when cooking. This is fine for use on a charcoal or gas barbecue, and remember to use sand on an electric barbecues should a fire occur.
Fire blankets are an inexpensive and versatile piece of safety equipment that can be used in both the kitchen and the garden, and are readily available at most D.I.Y. stores.
Use tongs when handling food over a hot grill to avoid burns, and use oven mitts when handling hot griddle plates and other items that are too hot to the touch.
About the Author
I hope you found these free barbecue tips useful. There are many more useful ideas and guides available for your next garden barbecue, so make a point of stopping by and try some new delicious barbecue recipes at the same time.
How to take care of timber decks, cladding, garden sheds, furniture stores etc coffee tables, tv stands – the proper way. Where do I turn for proper advice? There are scores of products on the market for protecting and beautifying timber etc, some good and some not so good. There are equally as many variations in advice offered, some good and unfortunately lots not so good.
Every day I come across the after-effects of all such products and bad advice out there in the course of my work as a wood care specialist / troubleshooter. It is remarkable how often I come across people who have been mislead, badly advised, or simply picked up the first tin of something they might have seen on the T V, even if it was totally inappropriate for their particular needs. It is very hard to find dedicated store staff who make an effort to acquire a proper data bank of knowledge in whatever field they are involved in no matter what that is! From curtains, to electronic gadgets, to woodcare protection etc. When you do come across one of those ‘walking treasures’ don’t you just feel so glad you did? Yes, they are out there but we could do with seeing more of them. Anyway, back to timber, taking care of it and keeping it looking at it’s very best for many years. Before one can advise he / she must learn first, both the theory and the practical real-life stuff. During the last ten years or so with IGOE INTERNATIONAL LTD, I’ve invested most of my working time learning from several of the leading wood care experts from Scandinavia, U.S.A, and elsewhere, while dealing hands-on with numerous on-site cock-ups, on all kinds of wooden structures from decks, marinas, yachts, sailing ships, cladding, hardwood garden furniture, fencing, log cabins etc, the results of poor advice and so on and so on. Here are my findings and some practical, sound advice which, hopefully will save you and or, your friends or relatives from one of the aforementioned cock-ups and their associated cost in money terms as well as all the added frustration and stress. My top of the pile of ‘what’s out there’ in woodcare would have to be a bunch of wood care products from the Owatrol stable. Underdogs to some big brand names they may be, but in my opinion, they do the business second to none. A division of The Flood Company, Ohio, U.S.A., one of America’s leading deck / timber-care product manufacturers, Owatrol International covers a complete line of highest quality timber care products. They are not the cheapest mind you, but to my mind they would safely qualify as the best, hard earned money can buy, and given the fact that your beautiful timber doesn’t come cheap, why skimp on a few coppers for the sake of getting that job done right first time? From my travels, I do know, that more and more quality deck installers, both in the U K & Ireland are recommending this same system I am about to tell you about here today. There is a complete family of products to suit the different situations, needs and tastes.
Here are some of the main issues to look at before deciding what to do with your exterior wood whether it’s new, old, treated or untreated etc:
1. New wood – What should be done with it? 2. What do you want your wood to look like when you’re done? 3. Has it been treated by you or by a previous owner before? 4. Was that wood ever treated? 1. New Wood – what should be done with it?
Lets take it step by step and start at the beginning with new wood. FACT: The first year is the worst year for all new exposed timber! Irrespective of whether your new deck is pressure treated or not, it is still possible that the new wood will crack, split, warp or cup. Pressure treating is basically designed to prevent ROT and DECAY, not splitting etc. New deck timber frequently has mill glaze (a shiny finish caused by a combination of timber planing, wood oils, resins etc during manufacture) which prevents the proper penetration of practically any finish whatsoever. The net effect of this mill glaze etc is that the wood’s pores have been slammed shut by the planer blades and may take several months before they become open again properly, or open enough to allow the wood be treated properly. The one thing that has a very high success rate of getting into this very same wood is good old rainwater! After lying for some time on the wood it will get in to the timber. In other words, you are wasting your money applying any regular off-the-shelf finish like stains, cheap deck oils etc, because they probably will not penetrate properly and will peel off or wear off in no time. Some mis-informed people advise that you should leave your wood to weather with nothing on it for several months and not to apply anything. That advice is both right and wrong. It is right to some extent because virtually no treatment gets into new wood’s pores – hence the thinking is, wait until the pores open fully.
That advice is wrong because, meanwhile water WILL get into the wood and will do damage such as splitting, cupping, warping etc. The Western Red Cedar Association in North America says new cedar etc should not be left unprotected for this very reason. New Wood “The Myth”:
“This wood is pressure treated and does not need to be looked after” This kind of comment had been bandied about by some well meaning, but seriously mis-informed timber sellers or deck installers. The fact is, pressure treatment basically takes care of wood rot related issues and does not deal with water and sun related problems which are the biggest ‘visible’ problems you will probably ever come across.
A good analogy would be the expensive paint job on a brand new car, doesn’t it look great? Doesn’t it need to be looked after, washed and polished from time to time to maintain it and keep it looking great? Leave it to the mercy of our weather, dirt etc and it won’t stay looking good for long! The same applies to your new timber or wood (whichever you prefer to call it)… left to its own devices it will soon look like a pile of old pallets not to mention the damage done to its fibre structure! Back to the new wood, and what to do with it. Irrespective of whether it is pressure treated or not (pressure treated wood usually can be identified by a greenish tint) the new wood should be protected against damage and algae etc if you want it to last, look well, be most importantly -safe in the case of decking. Owatrol do a product specifically designed to treat new wood, called SEASONITE.
SEASONITE, a deep penetrating treatment, is applied as soon as possible after installing your deck, cladding, wooden garden furniture, shed or any other new outdoor timber structure. It is wetter than water, and gets into those tightly closed pores where very little else bar water will get in. Seasonite’s job is to allow the new wood ‘weather’ in a controlled fashion, i.e. it allows excess moisture escape GRADUALLY from the new wood over the course of six months or more, while at the same time preventing NEW moisture or water from getting into the wood. Splitting and cracking etc, generally takes place during changes in weather conditions, from sun to rain to sun etc, which causes the damp wood to suddenly expand and then crack and so on.
Did you ever ‘hear your deck creak’ after a shower of rain followed by a bit of sun? Why does it do that? The wood absorbed the water and as soon as the rain stopped and the sun comes out, the sudden, dare I say it – heat, causes the wood to swell or expand, and that’s when the damage is done, cracking, warping etc. Plain common sense. It’s a real shame to see lovely planks of expensive wood with ugly big splits and cracks all over it.
SEASONITE is not a product designed to make a big impression on your visual senses, it’s main job is just to protect your wood in it’s first, and most vulnerable year, leaving it properly prepared for the next phase of protection where shade, colour etc comes in. Another huge benefit of Seasonite is that it contains a fungicide which helps prevent the growth of algae etc. (That’s what causes decks to become slippery & possibly dangerous when wet). 2. What do you want your wood to look like when you’re done? (2a) That Silvery Greyed Look?
Depending on how you want your timber to look eventually, i.e. a continuation of that lovely just installed look, or what some people like, that silvery greyed look which is the way Cedar decking, cladding etc ends up if left untreated. If you want a silvery, weathered look, all you need to do is apply one coat of Seasonite every year or two. This is a very simple job and can be done in no time at all with a simple, pump type garden sprayer or even a roller or sweeping brush etc.
It is not a dirty job and anybody with the slightest DIY ability can do it easily. The Seasonite will prevent ‘new’ water / moisture from getting in, and keeps the wood inside in good condition while at the same time the outside weathers and takes on that weathered silvery look. So you get the look you want but without letting your timber go to rack and ruin.
(2 b) The Natural New Wood Look or different shades? (Most popular) If your preference is for that beautiful, natural, recently sawn-wood look I would suggest the following course of action. After seasoning has taken place, ideally having been treated with Seasonite when installed, & several months (6+) of controlled weathering has taken place, your deck is now ready for the next phase of treatment. Clean & restore the original colour Clean it.
Even if you used Seasonite as mentioned above, when the wood was new, it will fade and turn grey as well as catch some dirt, bird droppings, water stains etc. So before you do anything, the deck, or whatever it is, must be cleaned, and the original natural colour of the wood completely restored with Net-Trol, a revolutionary and environmentally safe product. It will also remove any remaining Seasonite from the wood, necessary before the next phase of the job. Here’s how.
All you’ve got to do is wet the wood thoroughly, apply a mixture of one part Net-Trol to about three parts water (the less water the stronger the mix) and apply with anything like a clean sweeping brush, or whatever is handy. After about 10 minutes, it is a good idea to slightly agitate the applied cleaner with something like a stiff bristled nylon brush just to help ‘work it in’ to the pores etc. After about 30 minutes rinse off thoroughly with clean water. If you’re doing this job on a dry sunny day and the Net-Trol cleaning treatment is drying out prematurely, just moisten the area with a fine mist from a garden hose to keep it wet, because the cleaning action stops working if it dries out. If the wood has been really dirty or very badly faded, you may need to repeat the above exercise. (Alternatively, see info on the very powerful PrepDeck below) You will also see a vast difference in the look of the wood and the original colour will come right back. When the cleaned wood dries out it will brighten to some degree but it will look very much like it did when new. Now, to beautify and protect your wood…Oil it. I recommend that you wait for at least three days with good drying conditions after the above cleaning has been done before attempting to apply any protective coat. Ideally, 3 to 4 good drying days should allow your wood to be fully dried out again making it receptive for further treatment. This easy job is done using a very easy to use product called TEXTROL and anybody reasonably competent with his or her hands can do it. (Take all the usual precautions like wearing rubber gloves etc)
Textrol is an anti-UV, deep-penetrating clear oil, which goes into the wood rather than on it, leaving a nice matte finish. There are two ready-tinted versions of Textrol called Golden Oak and Rustic Oak. For the more adventurous, the Textrol clear can be tinted (by the paint store) in a nice selection of semi-transparent colours from cool blues to warm browns using the Textrol as either a yellow or clear base.
How to apply: The very first application (only) should be two coats, one soon after the other. Do your project in manageable sections, i.e. you must go back and apply your second coat before the first coat ‘sets up’ Depending on the porosity of the wood, your first coat should be absorbed in about half an hour or less. If you wait too long and the first coat sets up, your second coat will have difficulty getting in, which in turn means that the wood will not have had enough to ‘drink’. The knock-on effect of this is that the protection will only last half as long as it should. If you are working on a deck and some ‘ponding’ occurs from excess Textrol, just wipe it off with a clean cloth to prevent ‘skinning’. (See TIP re doing Decks) Textrol also contains a fungicide which keeps algae etc at bay, and most importantly, in the case of a deck, helps keep it from becoming slippery when wet. Textrol will not peel or lift and can be recoated without sanding which is a great advantage. If you have a deck that is made of the less expensive pressure treated pine or spruce etc (often grooved), the Textrol Rustic Oak will make the deck look more like a teak hardwood. It all depends on which wood you have and what your preference is.
Cedar looks beautiful with the Textrol clear, it enhances the grain and has a lovely natural look. It would be best described as looking like clean, new, wet cedar. The Golden Oak would darken it a little and you may like that look also. Another point to consider is that the two tinted versions will last longer than the clear because they Have More pigment in them and they resist the UV rays better.
Textrol (clear) by the way, can last, when properly applied, from1.5 to 3 years depending on its position relative to the sun. The less exposed to direct sunlight the longer it lasts and visa versa.
Textrol is water repellent (allows wood to breathe) and ideally should be recoated with just one coat without sanding every twelve to eighteen months, depending on sun exposure. As with Seasonite, Textrol is very easy to apply, if you have a pump sprayer, use that, or you could use a clean sweeping brush, paintbrush or roller. One point to remember is, as soon as your wood starts to get grey looking it’s telling you it needs some more oiling with Textrol. NOTE: We recently introduced Tropitech, a new, hard wearing, long lasting, acrylic wood finish also from the same suppliers Owatrol – also worth a look, check out the website page http://igoe.ie/products/needalonglasting.htm meanwhile for more information. I will be adding pictures and more on Tropitech soon. 3. Has it been treated by you or by a previous owner before? You need to find out what you are dealing with before you can effectively restore or treat it. Perhaps your deck or exterior wood has been treated before by you or a contractor and you cannot remember with what, perhaps the wood was messed up by the application of inappropriate coatings, or they were applied in the wrong way? Or maybe you’ve recently moved into this house and the exterior woodwork needs doing but you don’t have a clue what to do to restore it? Important that you deal with this. Start at the beginning and do a simple test on various parts of the wood. Wait until the wood is dry; apply a few drops of water here and there (gently). If the water droplet soaks into the wood after about 5 to 10 minutes, (might be a little longer in hardwoods) that tells you that your wood is porous and that it can be treated after a relatively easy cleaning with Net-Trol. (See Clean & Restore above) On the other hand if the water droplet stays there and does not soak in, but rather sits there on the wood, it tells you that there is something there like a previous coating (which may or may not be clearly visible) of some sort, and it must be removed properly before doing anything else. This can be achieved with a very powerful stripper cleaner like the PrepDeck. This product can be used diluted with water at a ratio of 1 part PrepDeck and 10 parts water for wood that is not excessively dirty looking, or you could go all the way up to neat Prepdeck for disaster situations, such as heavily coated with old stains, coatings etc. It may be useful to do a few tests using different mix ratios to get a feel for might work best for your situation. Work from weak towards strong. Apply PrepDeck on to dry wood. Next, a few words of caution re PrepDeck:
• Shake very well before use. • Wear protective gloves, eye protection etc and cover anything you don’t want splashed or interfered with including shrubs etc. • Decks can be very slippery while being treated with PrepDeck so take extreme care. • Do not let the PrepDeck dry out while it is working, keep moist. • On vertical surfaces, it is better to work from the bottom up to minimise streaking etc. • PrepDeck, because it is so powerful can, and will darken some woods during the course of the cleaning action. Don’t worry though, you can restore the natural colour of the darkened wood again by treating it with Net-Trol diluted about 4 parts water to 1 part Net-Trol. In any event, whether the wood darkens or not, the PrepDeck will remove the toughest of old stains, oils etc and bring the wood back to its original look. • All wood cleaned with PrepDeck must be neutralised immediately afterwards while still wet with Net-Trol, diluted about 3 or 4 to one before a final thorough rinsing off with clean water. You could use a garden hose or even a power washer at about 500psi (low pressure) and make sure, if you are using a power washer that you run with the wood grain, not against it which might raise the wood fibres and or even cause splintering. Working time for PrepDeck would be around 20 to 30 minutes for stubborn stains, oils etc, and for less challenging cleaning jobs it can be diluted by as much as 20 to 1 and take about 10 to 15 minutes to work. NOTE: In all cases, after you use PrepDeck, the wood must be neutralised with diluted Net-Trol immediately afterwards while the wood is still wet. Do not, under any circumstances, apply Textrol on to any wood that has been cleaned with PrepDeck unless the wood has been neutralised with diluted Net-Trol (see above) prior to drying off. Now, keep that newly cleaned and restored wood looking great! Wait for at least three or four good drying days or even a little longer, for your wood to dry out completely and then you can treat it with any of your TEXTROL options as mentioned in 2 b above. 5. Was the wood ever treated? If you know that your wood has never treated by you or anybody else, even if it was pressure treated, it can easily be brought back to life and look great again. If it is not too severely stained or dirty you will get a Very Good result using Net-Trol (See Clean & restore the original colour above). If the wood is heavily stained, has all sorts of grime and dirt on it; you may need the more powerful PrepDeck to get the stubborn stuff off. See 3 above (Followed by Net-Trol – see 3 above) My advice is try the Net-Trol first (as per above instructions) even if you have to use it almost neat. Do a few simple tests using different strengths of Net-Trol diluted with water. Obviously the less Net-Trol you get away with using, the better it is for you! You may need to do it twice, but that will be determined by your tests. NOTE: You will not see the real result of your test until the wood has dried out to a reasonable extent, so just go off and do something else meanwhile. When you are happy that you have got your wood as clean as possible, wait until it has fully dried out and then you can apply the two coats of TEXTROL as per 2 above.
DECK TIPS • On a new deck, it is advisable to put planter boxes, etc into waterproof trays and if possible, raised off the surface of the deck. Move them around from time to time. This will prevent “rings” from forming and allow the deck to breathe uniformly. • Deck furniture such as chairs, umbrella base etc should have rubber or plastic cups fitted where possible. • Bar B Que’s should have some form of protection on the deck floor to prevent serious burn marks or bad stains. Try a small sheet of aluminium or steel, about one meter square, (available from a good DIY store or Builders merchant) which can be removed after cooking. This can possibly be stored away underneath the deck. • If you have rusting nail heads, hanging flower brackets etc leaving rust stains on your wood, they can be cleaned off with the Net-Trol product mentioned above. When dried out, apply some Owatrol Oil directly to the rusted nail or screw heads etc to seal them up and prevent the rust reforming again for many years. • When oiling a deck with TEXTROL, work from the furthest point backwards to avoid having to walk over an area you’ve just done. Ideally, Textrol the wood by treating about 6 planks, or whatever you at a time from one end to the other.
Barbeque Guide – Explains How To Easily Get The Best & Tastiest Barbeque Food Results
Ever used a barbeque guide to make your grilling delights the talk of the town? A barbeque just is not a barbeque without that special little something that gets the tongues wagging and causes fellow outdoor grilling buddies to bend your ear as to how you created something so delicious. What if it was not just one speciality, but virtually everything that you had prepared, you would have had to have the best barbeque guide available to achieve that, or would you?
So what makes a good barbeque a really great barbeque, is it the nice wines, food, or people or all of them, in some cases it could even be the grill itself that gains all the attention, but generally everything seems to hang on the food tasting spot on and it is certainly the focal point, and if it is not as people preconceived it to be can prove to be disastrous.
There is nothing better than seeing a really nice spread of great tasty food and nibbles at a barbeque, and if the host has done their homework in the preparation then they are probably in for a great time and will end up becoming a mini celebrity for the duration of the event.
Sometimes it is not always easy to get the desired results or achieve excellence due to lack of ideas, but by using a little forethought some things that are so simple can appear to be a culinary delight.
Why settle for second rate results when you can achieve some of the most delicious culinary delights simply by using a barbecue guide or grilling guide. They are not expensive and can be easily obtained using any of the major search engines such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, AOL. Simply type into the search bar Best Barbecue Guide or Best Grilling Guide, you will have several choices to choose from and by picking one that suits you will maintain that your barbeques are spoken about for a very long time.
About the Author
Clive Anderson started using the Internet in 2005 as a means of gaining knowledge on various subjects in order to achieve a better understanding that would enable him to express and demonstrate more clearly information that was of help and substance to others.
Having had no previous Internet knowledge and very limited computer ability this meant improving online skills was paramount. This also meant achieving the goal that was set out would be a real challenge, but one that was accepted as a necessity if the objective was to be conquered.
Like so many he has faced many trials and tribulations both on and offline in order to reach the point that he is at today.
Writing has become a two pronged sword. At one end is the reward that is brought by being able to offer others beneficial assistance, information, expertise, discoveries, and experiences through the expression of writing.
Added to that is the overall enjoyment, fulfilment and sense of achievement that can be found from actually writing articles.
One thing is crystal clear and that is that you can only achieve good things in life by helping others to overcome their own restrictions, obstacles, and hurdles.
Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
Ever Thought What You Would Attempt if You knew That No Matter What You Attempted You Could Not Fail? Why not give it a try? You might be pleasently surprised.
US $12.00
Use Barbeque wood chips.
